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Faith
102: "Response to a Skeptic" of Answers
to Tough Questions Skeptics Ask about the Christian
Faith by
Josh McDowell and Don Stewart
A
reader from Ohio on Amazon.com book
reviews writes, "Joke,
this book is a joke. The typical run-around
answers Christians always seem to give
when posed with a paradox in their faith"
Dear
Reader: by Lynette
J. Hoy, NCC, LCPC
I
wonder whether you have
ever really studied the evidence for Christianity? Have you ever
read C.S. Lewis' books:* Mere
Christianity, or The
Problem of Pain or Josh McDowell's
book Evidence
That Demands a Verdict: Historical Evidences for the Christian Faith or Know
Why You Believe by Paul Little or Letters
from a Skeptic by Gregory & Edward Boyd"?
I guess I also wonder if you have
ever read the Bible , especially the Gospel of John
in the New Testament?
To write off Christianity implying
that the leader of Christianity, Jesus Christ, is a joke, is very
sad & probably the greatest mistake a person can make in his/her lifetime. Many
people at least call Him a great moral teacher.
Have you truly thought about
it? Jesus is the one
Person Who claimed to be God and backed it up with miracles, teachings,
knowledge, and his own resurrection which was verified historically by over 500
eye-witnesses. If you don't believe Jesus was who He said He was- God,
then you have only 2 other choices: to believe that He was a liar or a lunatic,
because only a liar or a lunatic or God would or could make such extraordinary
claims. C. S. Lewis, a converted
atheist, wrote in Mere Christianity...
"I
am trying here to prevent anyone
saying the really foolish thing that
people often say about Him: "I'm
ready to accept Jesus as a great
moral teacher, but I don't accept
His claim to be God." That is the
one thing we must not say. A man
who was merely a man and said the
sort of things Jesus said would not
be a great moral teacher. He would
either be a lunatic-on the level
with the man who says he is a poached
egg-or else he would be the Devil
of Hell. You must make your choice.
Either this man was and is, the Son
of God: or else a madman or something
worse. You can shut Him up for a
fool, you can spit at Him and kill
Him as a demon; or you can fall at
His feet and call Him Lord and God.
But let us not come with any patronising
nonsense about His being a great
human teacher. He has not left that
open to us.
He did not intend to."
And
what are His claims? That
He forgives sins; that He is God: "I
told you that you would die in your sins;
if you do not believe that I am the one
I claim to be, you will indeed die in
your sins." and , "I tell you the truth," Jesus
answered, "before Abraham was born, I
Am!" John 8:24 & 58. Jesus
claimed
to be eternal and called himself "I Am" which expressed the eternity of His being
and His oneness with the Father (compare with Exodus 3:14- God's I Am declaration).
Jesus claimed to have power to raise
the dead and give life, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes
in me will live..." John 11:25. Christ stated that He must receive the
same honor & worship that His Father receives & that He will be the
judge of mankind: "For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life,
even so the Son gives life to whom He is pleased to give it. Moreover, the
Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may
honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son
does not honor the Father, who sent Him." John
5:21-23. He claimed to be the only way to heaven...."I am the way, the
truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me." Jn. 14:6; that He
is the Light of the world; that He is the Good Shepherd; that He came to
seek and save the lost; that He is the Redeemer, Savior, a Friend, that He is
coming back; that He is the Creator.....
Can you mock and laugh at this Man
Jesus... the Son of God, the King of kings and Lord of lords?
Someday, every knee shall bow and
every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Will you be for
Him or against Him? Jesus said, "If anyone is ashamed of Me..., the Son of
Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His Father's glory with the holy
angels." Mark 8:38.
I will pray that you might begin
seeking the only One, Jesus
Christ, Who can save you from sin
and death. For Jesus said,
"He who believes in me has eternal
life, but he who does not believe in
me shall suffer the wrath
of God." John 3:36
So
how can a skeptic like you believe in
Christ? Why not consider the evidence
for Christianity before making a final
judgment. Read the articles on Faith,
How can a good God allow suffering and
Lord, Liar or Lunatic for more answers
to questions you may have
about Christ and Christianity.
*Read
the suggested
books above and this Book
Review of Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis
Lynette
Hoy
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More on Living
for Christ:
There
is nothing like living fully for Christ. When you walk with Christwholeheartedly
you will experience: His love, presence, power, peace, purpose and victory
over sin. There is nothing like living for Christ. He is the living
water and will satisfy your needs. Your needs will never be satisfied by
anything or anyone else the way that Jesus can satisfy
them. These verses talk about the experience you will have as you grow
in Christ.
John 15:1-2 "I
am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch
in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that
does bear fruit he prunes
so that it will be even more fruitful."
John 15:5 "I am
the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will
bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
John 16:24 "Until now
you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your
joy will be complete."
John 16:33 "I have told
you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have
trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
John 16:27 "No, the Father
himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from
God." (NIV)
With Christ
there is freedom & forgiveness from our sins and self-centered
lives:
I Jn 1:9 If we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us
from all unrighteousness.
John 8:36 So if the Son
sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Rom 6:18 You have been
set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
Rom 6:22-23 But now that
you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you
reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal
life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life
in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NIV)
I encourage you to
visit Pastor Ray Pritchard's Keep Believing
site for
a pastoral/ theological perspective.
Read the article on Faith in
order to understand how to become a Christian.
Lynette Hoy, NCC,
LCPC
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