So...

[kandrathe]

And therein lies my problem. If "the code" as it exists in the 10 commandments, Christ's teachings, etc. is discernable through the use of reason or attendance to natural sympathies alone, then why is it that one must be "a follower of God" if one is to be priviledged with an afterlife? On principle alone, why does it concern God whether you act virtuously thanks to the "proof" of God's existence that was to be derived from Christ's physical resurrection or if you act virtuously purely because it seems the right thing to do and Christ's teachings simply make sense? Why should it matter to God whether or not you deem Christ immortal? Isn't the person who acts virtuously because it is right and good a 'better' person in some sense than is he/she who act as such because they know it is right on the basis of Christ's authoritative position via his resurrection?

In Christianity "sin" is a barrier between man and a pure God. That fact precludes man from the presence of God. The events of the coming of the messiah were foretold in the old testament book Isaiah. The intercession of Christ to atone in advance for the sins of all humankind was the new covenant offered by God, and replaced all the former agreements God made with men. One very devoted Christian I met in college told me that she was loath to sin, because each time she would visualize that sin as an additional burden on Christ on the cross. Understanding "The Passion of Christ (on the cross)" for instance, is the ultimate understanding of Christianity.

In Christs time there were many sects of Judaism dedicated to leading the "pure" life and being sinless, but Christ labeled them as hypocrits. He taught that actions, or refusing to take action and even ones own thoughts could be sinful. He taught that the number one commandment was to love God with all your being. If you do that one, the other virtues would follow on as one would desire to be obediant to God. The Pharisees (technically sinless Jews) were a powerful group at that time, and one notable Pharisee (Saul of Tarsus) was to become the apostle Paul. He was tasked by the Sanhedrin(ruling council) to hunt down Christs followers and arrest them, but he was confronted by the spirit of Christ on his way to Damascus and then became one of his most ardent followers. He wrote in his letter to the Philippians while in prison;

3:3 For we are the circumcision (meaning cut off from Judaism), the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, exult in Christ Jesus, and do not rely on human credentials 3:4 —though mine too are significant. If someone thinks he has good reasons to put confidence in human credentials, I have more: 3:5 I was circumcised on the eighth day, from the people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews. I lived according to the law as a Pharisee. 3:6 In my zeal for God I persecuted the church. According to the righteousness stipulated in the law I was blameless. 3:7 But these assets I have come to regard as liabilities because of Christ. 3:8 More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things—indeed, I regard them as dung!—that I may gain Christ, 3:9 and be found in him, not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness—a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness. 3:10 My aim is to know him, to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to be like him in his death, 3:11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

If Christ was resurrected in order to prove to us that his teachings were true, that they truly came from God, then it seems as though the people who understood the truth of Christ's teachings in advance of his resurrection were the ones who truly deserved the gift of heaven.

Christian's would point to much more than just the resurrection, his story is filled with miraculous occurances. There are incidents prior to his death where some people identify him as the messiah, which he affirms and which if I recall he does make a special note of their faith.