17 Nov 09 Two Scoops of Reasons
On Wednesdays I meet with students from a university downtown. (BTW, it takes me an hour and a half to get there. UGH!) But it is worth it, b/c the students are really cool and we have great conversations. These students are not Christians, but are interested in learning about Jesus. We just went through the book of Mark studying the life of Jesus. At the end, I made them face the decision that this Jesus we just studied has to be on of three options.
–A liar
–A crazy man
–The Son of God
Now, Jesus said he was the only way to God. Jesus said he would die and rise again. Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. These are incredible claims. Also, Jesus healed people, exorcised demons, walked on water, fed thousands, was killed, was resurrected, and really ticked off the religious people. Now, these things happened or they didn’t.
So, after asking them, who do they say Jesus is…one person responded that they did not have to choose one of the three options. This person said, “I believe Jesus never existed.” Wow. So I asked, “Did Socrates exist?” The response was amazingly “no.” What in the world?! I said bro, these guys existed. The questions are who were they, and what did they say, and what did others say about them? This student thinks there are no answers in life, and that we will never know truth. I could go on and on with how our conversation continued. It was actually quite interesting…especially when he said there are no absolutes, to which I responded, “the statement you just made was an absolute.” Truly, logic was in the back seat of our conversation.
So, this week, I have been building up some what of a defense for WHY I believe the Bible. As Christians, we should always encourage logic and reasoning when others are searching for truth. I’m not afraid to discuss all religions or beliefs. To not allow myself in the discussion of other beliefs would mean that I am afraid of truth. Many cults do this. They want their people to take their message to the world, but if anyone starts reasoning or asking deep questions of their faith, they are taught to move on to the next person. These people are afraid of truth.
As Christians, we should not be afraid to discuss and reason with people who may ask difficult questions of our faith. This is a good thing. I don’t just believe the Bible cause my momma told me it was a good book. There are reasons why I believe the Bible and not the Koran, nor the book of Mormon, nor other spiritual books. So, that is what I will be doing tomorrow…giving my reasons for trusting the Bible as a reliable source for knowing God.
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Another good word from you! Although a few days late, I will be praying for this conversation…with the Duke fan that is!