Cross Examination

Let me give you three reasons why I think the resurrection of Jesus was not made up by early Christians.

We can’t seem to give up the clarity, comfort, and community that religious frameworks provide.

God created the world to work in certain ways and follow certain rules. The sun rises and sets.  Seasons come and go.

As a Reformed Christian, I cling to the unconditionality of God’s grace, by which my sins are forgiven.

What we see in Jesus’ truthing is the embodiment—the flesh and blood expression—of God’s love.

I affirm that, indeed, God is love and that we come to know something of God through experiencing and witnessing love.

Apart from having faith that God can and will preserve his Word, there are four arguments that build a rock-solid case for why we can trust the New Testament.

If we relegate the healing ministry of Jesus to the New Testament alone, then how can we say that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever?

When we allow Scripture to dig deep into our imaginations, it can reveal things about ourselves, about our world, and about life that we would never encounter by more didactic or rational means

From the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s to the #MeToo movement of the 2010s, we live in a world where we are bombarded with sexual messages at every turn.

Recalling the story of Jesus’ birth in this season is fitting and good.

What makes us think that God is portrayed differently in the Old Testament than in the New Testament?

What do we do with all the promises for peace on Earth that got stirred up during the Advent and Christmas seasons?

How can we trust that the Bible we have is any good if the canon was selected by the early church and preserved by church tradition?

People are willing to die for their faith in God. People are not willing to die for their faith in Santa Claus.

There must be a lot of incompetent scientists in North America if half their membership still believe in something their own field has apparently disproved!

We do not choose our beliefs based simply on how good or useful they are. Truthfulness is as important a criterion as goodness.

As a Christian at a public university, I am asked this question most often. People naturally assume they’re pretty good. The psychologically healthy have a humble recognition of the good in themselves.

Perhaps the best way to respond to people who feel this way is not with an apology or argument but with a testimony of how we’ve personally experienced God as relevant. 

Who among us doesn’t feel weak from time to time and in need of something to lean on? So, sure, faith in God is a wonderful support to lean on when we are weak. Except when it’s not.

At one point or another, most of us wonder about the afterlife. What happens when we die? Will we remember our lives from here on earth? Will we recognize loved ones? What about our pets?