A letter....
...from a Christian, troubled by the skeptical websites
Dear Glenn,
I have been accessing your site for some time now, and
unfortunately I have been particularly drawn to the atheist
and skeptical pages. I use the word unfortunately because
it has caused me seriously question my faith, the bible,
and even the existence of God himself. I found the ZZZ pages particularly compelling and disturbing. To say
it has shaken up my faith would be a major understatement.
I prayed that God would strengthen me before I started
reading the material and I also read the spiritual read me
first page you have so graciously provided. Unfortunately
I was not prepared for such strong and overpowering
arguments. I have been a serious Christian for over four
years and I thought I was totally prepared. I have a few
books on apologetics and a few commentaries, and my pastor
is extremely faithful to the word of God. Even with that
kind of good bible teaching I am still at a loss on how
to
deal with all this. Any suggestions would be helpful
.......................................................................
dear, dear YYY...
I can only make a few remarks; it's very late here...
- First of all, recognize that you are supposed to be troubled by those
arguments--it's a sign of honesty and a sign that God is growing a
commitment to truth in your heart! In itself, it is an 'evidence' of
God's progress in your life...
- Recognize that this represents an opportunity for you to trust
God...believe me, many (if not most) of their questions and arguments were raised in the
1st three centuries of the faith, and they have all been replied to by
brilliant saints throughout the ages...trust your Father to meet your
need--but give Him the benefit of the doubt...
- Recognize I Cor 10.13--these issues have bothered many others like
you, throughout history, and God is able to get your through them...
- Recognize them as a challenge--if they were easy, then you wouldn't
grow from them!
- Think of the questions He has undoubtedly already answered for
you--however small they seem now, they were "big" once...He has a track
record with you already...why change your estimate of His power?!
- Relax in His promise to meet your needs--even this one...One professor
said "Some students try to hold the Rock up, instead of letting the Rock
hold them up"!
- Recognize that you will get your answers little-by-little...your
loving Father has many, many things He would like to do in your life, and
questions are only part of it...
- Go ahead in faith and THANK HIM AHEAD OF TIME for the answers He will
provide you
over the rest of your life! (I have seen Him answer questions this past
year that have bothered me for decades--and only when I remembered how
GOOD and KIND He was, and remembered how He wants me to confidently "charge" into some of these issues, did I experience His guidance into
solutions)...
- Relax, relax, relax--men smarter than us had devoted lives to studying
these issues, and most of them have already been written up
somewhere...you just need to read more to find the really 'good' stuff...
- Finally, realize that God is VERY interested in you growing in knowledge
and truth...He will guide you like he already has...
- The only other thing to remember is that you will ALWAYS face challenges
to your faith--some intellectual, some moral, etc.--so expect this kinda
stuff--
Just recognize that these will come, and simply resolve to 'calm down',
trust Him, and plow ahead in loving/serving others...and He will dish out
the blessing of answers...
The only other piece of practical advice, if you are going to read that
stuff, is to PRAY for the authors--that God would give THEM answers too,
answers that would cause them to see the love and kindness and truth of
the Risen Jesus...
Also, (randomly, obviously)...if the objections are purely philosophical type
objections, take them with a grain of salt...the historical realities of
the resurrection and fulfilled prophecy are 'hard data' as opposed to the
machinations and speculations of the human brain...
and recognize that whatever you learn in this experience, you will be
called on to share it in a few years or decades with another 'YYY'...God
comforts us, so that we may comfort others...2 Cor 1...
warmly,
glenn
The Christian ThinkTank...[https://www.Christianthinktank.com]
(Reference Abbreviations)