When I logged on to Facebook today I found this post from a staunchly atheist friend of mine:
“I had a really good/interesting talk with some theists (Christians) today. Anyone who says ‘religious people are stupid’ needs to talk with some theists, like this guy I was talking with most of the time.
He helped me understand more about Christian thinking. I mean I disagree with most things he said, but he clearly has well thought-out reasons for believing what he does. I’ve never understood faith based on evidence before…”
This is a major step forward for my friend – for him to even admit that Christians don’t reject facts and ignore their intelligence in order to have faith is a surprise!
We should not underestimate the power of being able to talk knowledgeably about our faith. The Bible clearly teaches that we are saved by faith (Eph 2:8), and not by what we know. But it also instructs us to always be ready to explain our faith (1 Pet 3:15). There is much historical evidence for the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and in fact, many educated men have set out with the intention of disproving it, only to find the evidence before them undeniable! (For example CS Lewis , Simon Greenleaf, and Frank Morison)
Being informed about the historical facts, or the many hundreds of prophecies in the Old Testament which point to Jesus, these things may not be necessary for your faith – but it may be something that helps your friend to take a step closer to Jesus, by breaking down barriers and objections.
Alpha starts this week, and during the course some of these ‘thought out reasons for faith’ will be shared. But I encourage you, don’t leave it to Alpha. Make sure you too have an answer and are ready to respond to someone when they have questions. You never know, a conversation with you where you are able to show more than (as it appears to the world) unquestioning faith, may be the key to someone saying ‘yes’ next time they are invited to Alpha!
There are many resources to help, including many online articles, as well as books such as:
- Who Moved the Stone by Frank Morison,
- The Testimony of the Evangelists by Simon Greenleaf
- Mere Christianity by CS Lewis
For Old Testament prophecies about Jesus, take a look at this link
