Cross Examination

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?

Crosses are hung on necklaces, embroidered on sleeves, tattooed on arms, faded into hairstyles, painted on fingernails, branded on belt buckles, stuck on car bumpers, mounted on church steeples, engraved on tombstones, printed on coffee mugs, and posted on Instagram. Crosses are everywhere.

Atheism is a religious worldview because it claims to know something fundamental about reality that hasn’t been—or can’t be—proven. Like theists, atheists operate out of a foundational faith or belief that shapes their perceiving, thinking, and living in the world.

What would happen if we were to think of ourselves less as sitting on the truth and more as pointing to it? We’d invite nonbelievers to join us as learners of the way of Jesus, journeying deeper into God’s truth. This is a humble stance from which to share our faith with others. 

Mary’s willingness to risk everything allowed all of us to gain so much more.

The answer to this question is all about the Holy Spirit.