Welcome!

I am very excited that Dr. Mark Mathewson will be authoring this blog along with me. Check out his profile for all his info. He holds a doctorate from University of Nebraska-Lincoln in philosophy and is currently Academic Dean of Christian Leadership College. He's someone I have learned a lot from in the past and will continue learning a lot from in the future! Now you're really going to get some good stuff!!

Prepare For Attack!

I've been thumbing through a new book I bought called Apologetics for a New Generation: A Biblically & Culturally Relevant Approach to Talking About God and I came upon these paragraphs that show the importance for training young people in apologetics:

"Training in apologetics also provides an anchor during trials and difficulties. Emotions only take us so far, and then we need something more solid. Presently, most teens who enter adulthood claiming to be Christians will walk away from the church and put their emotional commitment to Christ on the shelf within ten years (Kinnaman & Lyons, unChristian, 74). A young person may walk away from God for many reasons, but one significant reason is intellectual doubt. According to the National Study of Youth and Religion, the most common answer nonreligious teens offered for why they left their faith was intellectual skepticism...From the moment Christian students first arrive on campus, their faith is assaulted on all sided by fellow students and teachers alike." (18-19)

When my son came home from junior high one day and told me that the speakers at his school's weekly chapel had said more than half of Christian kids will walk away from the Christian faith after they leave their parents' home, I wasn't surprised...I had experienced the things McDowell talks about in the above passage when I was in college. My professors taught that the Bible was man-made, inaccurate, legends, & formula stories - and I didn't know how to answer their claims. Could they be true? My faith was on the line.

Now, I know that when a person is truly saved, God never lets go of them, and I am so thankful for that. But think about the heartache and the sin & consequences that can be avoided if these young people stand firm in their faith and walk with God knowing their faith is on solid ground instead of being influenced by what they're being taught in universities or by the opposing worldviews they're suddenly faced with when they strike out on their own.

1 Peter 3:15 says, "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;" Scripture tells us we should be prepared to defend (respectfully & lovingly) our faith and one important reason for that is so that we ourselves aren't influenced by the lies we are sure to hear when we are away from our churches and our Christian friends & families.

So parents, don't let your kids take their faith for granted...and don't you take it for granted either! There are too many forces working against them and they need to have answers to the attacks on Christianity that they're going to hear. They need to have a strong emotional and intellectual faith.

And youth group leaders, Sunday School teachers, Christian educators of any kind...encourage the young people you are leading to ask their questions and then embark on a journey with them for the answers. Jesus has no reason to fear any of our doubts or questions and discussing them shows young people that their faith is reasonable and intellectual - not backwards, ancient, or ignorant.

And young people...don't be afraid to ask your questions. It doesn't mean your faith is weak! Find someone who is devoted to biblically accurate answers and let them help you find those answers.

Is Jesus the Only Way?

I'm in Texas right now visiting my grandparents. Since I have some free time, I was thinking about this blog and I started thinking about how my grandparents have been so instrumental in my belief in Jesus as Savior. Our family's legacy of faith goes back much further than my grandparents, but they were my foundation and example. For me, it has not been hard to believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life because I was raised with a Christian family around me. (I did come to a point when all the questions I had wondered about growing up coupled with college professors who scoffed at Christianity, if they weren't downright hostile towards it, led me to start questioning my beliefs. The search for the answers only strengthened my faith and showed me I didn't need to fear the questions and has led me to begin learning how to answer those who try to discredit the Christian faith. That is why I think it's so important for young people to know they have a reasonable faith that stands up to the questions before they encounter opposing worldviews that try to tear down their faith.) But what about those who are raised in different faiths, or no faith at all? What are the points that we can make that would lead them to believe - or at least start giving some serious thought to - the belief that Jesus is the only way to eternal salvation?

The belief that Jesus is the only way is wildly unpopular among our culture today. It is said that Christianity is exclusive and Christians are close-minded. But if those who make this protest stop and think, they will realize that Christianity is very inclusive. Anyone can get in! There are no ethnic requirements; no gender requirements; no success level one has to achieve first. The apostle Paul (the very first apologist!) says this: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to the promise." (Rom. 3:28-29) Paul is telling the Jews that God's promise is not exclusive to only those who follow the Jewish law because through Jesus God has made the promise available to everyone who accepts Him as Lord and Savior. No one is excluded! So don't be fooled by those who would disdainfully claim Christianity is exclusive because we believe Jesus is the only way. Anyone who wants to can accept this free gift from God.

So Christianity isn't exclusive, but is it the only way? Do all roads lead to heaven, as they say?

Let's think about what Jesus gives that no other religion can claim to give. There is no doubt that we as humans are fascinated with what happens to us after we die. Though there are some who are convinced that we die and that's that, most people believe in some sort of an afterlife. Christians can reasonably believe that we continue to live after we've physically died and will be resurrected in our physical, transformed bodies. This is a reasonable belief because Jesus didn't just die for our sins, He was physically (not just spiritually) resurrected three days later. He is the prototype of what will happen to everyone who believes in Him. Paul (the very first apologist!) writes, "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." (1 Cor. 15:20) Jesus is the living Savior and that is hugely important because it means that He has conquered death and we will share in that victory!! He is the only relgious figure to have ever claimed that He will conquer death and then back it up by rising from the dead. No other religious figure makes that claim or provides a way for us to have an actual life after death.

Second, it is important to see which religion or worldview best deals with the reality of our world.

God has had a plan that began to unfold from the very first verse of Genesis. He knew giving mankind free will to love and accept Him would mean that there would be rebellion and that rebellion would lead to mankind's, and the universe's, fall away from the perfect state in which He created things. But His plan from the beginning was to set Israel apart as a separate people from which Jesus - the sinless God-Man - would eventually come to die in order to set in motion God's redemption of the universe and His people, which now included anyone who put their belief in His Son. Jesus' death and resurrection defeated death and took care of sin, suffering, and evil, the ultimate results of which will be seen when Jesus returns to bring in the new heavens and new earth.

No other religion or worldview deals successfully or realistically with death and evil. Some have tried. It was thought at one time that man, with all his intelligence and technology - could make the world a better place where evil and crime and suffering would cease to exist and mankind would live in peace with one another. Can anyone say that has even come close to happening? No, because no one but God through Jesus Christ has the power to defeat death and evil.

Scripture tells us that Jesus is the only way to the Father. I have left this till last because it will be unconvincing to those who don't hold the Bible as the authoritative Word of God, but perhaps we can tackle that in another post if anyone is interested. For now, I hope those who don't believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God will hold judgment until they have done some investigating into the reliability of the Bible if they haven't done so.

The Gospels tell the story of Jesus' birth, ministry, death and resurrection. They show that Jesus knew He was the One through whom God would work out His plan. He would be the faithful Israelite that would die and rise again according to God's plan of redemption. "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began." (John 17:1b-5) These verses say Jesus was given the authority to grant eternal life. Coupled with John 14:6 which says, "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me," it is clear to see that Scripture teaches that believing in Jesus as Savior is the only way to eternal life in God's redeemed universe.

We have already mentioned Paul who was at one time a zealous persecutor of those who followed Jesus. That is until he met the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus. His experience was so real and so life-changing that he became one of the most out-spoken Christ followers in the history of Christianity. That in itself should give one pause when considering the reality of Jesus' resurrection. In fact, Paul tells us that if Jesus has not been resurrected, then our belief is in vain. If Jesus has not conquered death, our faith is useless.

There are also many, many prophecies in the Old Testament that speak of the coming Savior, and only Jesus fulfills all of these, a feat that is so unlikely that the chances of anyone accidentally fulfilling them all are astronomically slim.

Again, I know evidence based on Scripture is not satisfactory to those who don't believe in the authority of Scripture, but I hope this will lead to some searching. I recommend starting with The Case for Christ by former atheist Lee Strobel who, among other topics, investigates the authenticity and reliability of the Bible.

I hope this will get people thinking about Jesus' claim to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life; I hope people will thoughtfully consider why Christians firmly believe that all roads do not lead to heaven and all religions are not ultimately equal. This post is not a conclusive argument, but I hope it can open a dialogue for those who disagree or want to explore further! It will be fun to get into any of these things further.

I hope your search is as rewarding as mine continues to be! Hope to read lots of thought provoking posts from many of you; or get many questions to learn the answers to! Bye for now from Texas :)