Crisis of Faith 3

I read a good book by Daniel Taylor recently called The Myth of Certainty. Taylor's message is that we are not wrong or weak to have questions about our faith. I recommended the book to the person I am corresponding with in this "Crisis of Faith" series. She asked two very good questions in her last email, so I will answer both as completely as I can while being as brief as possible. First she mentions that her circle of “friends” is all anti-Christian. I told her what I told my youngest daughter (the reflective one in our brood): "Get some Christian friends. If your church doesn’t have a group of young, vibrant people to hang out with, maybe you need a new church too. Have you considered volunteering at some Christian ministry in the area? That is another way to meet people who think Christianly.

"You say you want a position that is 'defensible.' Christianity is, in fact, the most defensible world-view I know. The only 'morons' in the scenario you describe are the ones poking fun at you. The word 'moron' comes from a Greek word meaning to be foolish or to act without knowledge. What your derisive co-workers don’t know is that the Bible has more empirical data supporting its validity than any other ancient text. Jesus’ existence and even his resurrection are better attested to than many commonly accepted events like the assassination of Julius Caesar or Washington crossing the Delaware (and thousands of others.) Your co-workers despise the Bible because it destroys their comfortable presuppositions. They cannot believe the Bible because it reveals their entire world-view as a sham."

(It may be comforting to know that more and more scientific types are finding a Darwinian, evolutionary explanation of the universe to be untenable. Not that they are all becoming Christians, but the last report I heard said a majority of scientists now reject Darwinian evolution in favor of some kind of design theory. That puts Christians in the majority with a possible explanation for the design which science is now finding impossible to explain in evolutionary terms. One author believes that we are witnessing the last generation of people who will try to defend Darwinian evolution.)

"Now for your second issue: does God send 'good people' to hell. No. Categorically, no. Surprised? I can say that with authority because there are no 'good people.' You know that too. 'All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.' You must have read Romans three. Ever since Adam chose to go his way instead of God’s way, every human born is destined for hell. That is just the way it is. As our federal head, Adam messed it up for the entire race. You may not like the sound of that; it is harsh. I agree. But you said it yourself, 'We [are] mostly just nasty people struggling to contain our irrational, aggressive, selfish natures.' The key word you used is 'selfish.' We have a hard time accepting the fact that there is a God up there who gets to make the rules, not us.

"At this point I am going to tell you something that could get me in a lot of trouble. I think that many Christians have a simplistic view of salvation through Jesus. I believe unequivocally that there is no salvation in any other name but Jesus, just like the Bible says. However, I think God gets pretty creative in how he saves those he wants saved. We just heard last Sunday from a former missionary about a whole Muslim village having a dream about Jesus the night before someone came to preach there. I have heard stories like that all my life. I also think that God saves infants (like all the aborted ones) who never receive Jesus in the typical way. I think God saved every Old Testament saint without their ever saying the name Jesus. Some would say these are exceptions or special cases. I think every person is a special case. Frankly, I think God can save whomever he wishes to save. There will not be one single person in hell by accident because they didn’t get a chance to hear the gospel.

"When you say this sounds 'uncaring and inflexible' you are applying human judgments to God’s actions. That’s your mistake. We can’t judge God by our standards; he judges us by his standards. If reading Taylor gave you the same kind of confidence kick he gave me, you should be able to stand up to your atheist co-workers and give them what-for. Honestly, the ground they stand on is a whole lot shakier than where you stand. Remember the parable about the house on the sand and the house on the rock. Remember you stand on the Rock. Those other guys are on quicksand."