My son and I ran into Lance at a park in Madison, WI. He was willing to take a few minutes out of his relaxing day in the park to share with us his thoughts about morality, God and the afterlife. He was a genuinely nice fellow and I enjoyed the conversation very much. I found his answers straightforward and honest.
Reflections:
I think Lance represents the mindset of many people that I meet, which is basically this: "I learned about Jesus at church when I was a child. I went to school and learned about the real world and am not sure what to believe about religion." My experience exactly. I remember dropping "churchianity" in high school and the early days of college because I couldn't find anyone who could offer me reasonable explanations for reasonable questions. Thankfully, God broke into my wanderings, but many continue to wander. After asking questions without answers for years, many give up searching and move on to living life in the here and now.
God is reasonable and is not afraid of reasonable inquiries provided we're honestly looking for His answers. He gave us our minds and an ordered universe that makes disciplines such as science and philosophy possible. True faith is never a leap against reason, but a step of trust because of reason. For example, in 1 Cor. 15 we read, "If Christ has not been raised from the death your faith is useless." Faith in Jesus Christ is reasonable and based on reasonable evidence. We don't believe because "the Bible says so" but because "these things are so and have been written down for our benifit." Yet faith is still required, but not in spite of reason, but in cooperation with our reason. Faith is simply personal trust in Jesus Christ. If the gospels are true,and I believe they are, we should trust Him.
A few lines of evidence to consider:
- fulfilled prophesy: see Isiah 53 and Psalm 22. Detailed descriptions of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ and surrounding events, including the resurrection, 100s of years before the events took place. Only a God outside of time/space could do this.
- The Resurrection of Jesus Christ: Authenticates His identity as God in the flesh, a true revelation of the unseen God who has power over evil and death and the authority to forgive our sins and to judge all mankind.
Are there reasons to believe these things are true? Yes. That's part of the real world, but unfortunately we don't usually get a chance to take time to search out answers to the questions that matter most. Hopefully some will.
Check out a few of the links under resources for reality. I'd especially recommend
"Whose truth is True?", "Is the Supernatural real?" and "Is the Bible real?"
Reflections of your own? Post a comment.
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