These questions we posed yesterday by Amy Wellborn. There are a lot of comments on her site but I will put my two cents here instead.
Why Jesus? He wasn't only a thinker, prophet or teacher, he did things on this Earth that only God can do. Compare His life with Buddha's or Mohammed's and you will see what I mean.
Why here and why this way? The Catholic Church was founded by Jesus himself and our lives, as his was, are to be sacramental. His grace is not only conferred on us through the sacraments, but the sacraments are the divinely appointed means He gave us to share in His life. He conferred his grace by physical means, i.e. healing the blind man with mud he made with his spittle, and he comissioned the Apostles to continue this sacramental activity through the Eucharist, forgiveness of sins, laying on of hands, etc.
Another question might be why not another way? I hear from Protestants, mostly Evangelicals, that "you can't put God in a box." By that I think they mean you don't have to have rules and rituals to experience the grace of God. That's true, but unfortunately they also mean some of the rules don't matter, particularly the ones they disagree with. Just because God has revealed truth doesn't mean that He Himself has limited himself, He has simply shown us the way to eternal life. Dogma does not confine God, it reveals Him.
So, Amy, that's not a feeling or a "faith experience." That is the fullness of truth.
