Posts Tagged ‘sceptic’
The blind leap of faith
To conclude our series on Questions Sceptics Ask by RUSTY WRIGHT, Rusty suggests how we might respond when someone says:
I could never take the blind leap of faith that believing in Christ requires.
We exercise faith every day. Few of us comprehend everything about electricity or aerodynamics, but we have evidence of their validity. Whenever we use electric lights or airplanes, we exercise faith – not blind faith, but faith based on evidence. Christians act similarly. The evidence for Jesus is compelling, so one can trust Him on that basis.
As you respond to inquirers, realize that many barriers to faith are emotional rather than merely intellectual.
As a teenager, I nearly was expelled from secondary school for some problems I helped create. In my pain and anger I wondered, “Why would God allow this to happen?” I was mad at God! In retrospect, I realize I was blaming Him for my own bad choices. My personal anguish at the time kept me from seeing that.
Your questioners may be turned off because Christians haven’t acted like Jesus. Maybe they’re angry at God because of personal illness, a broken relationship, a loved one’s death, or personal pain. Ask God for patience and love as you seek to blend grace with truth. He may use you to help skeptics become seekers and seekers become His children. I hope He does.
Rusty Wright is an author and lecturer who has spoken on six continents. He holds Bachelor of Science (psychology) and Master of Theology degrees from Duke and Oxford universities, respectively. www.RustyWright.com
Adapted from Rusty Wright, “7 Questions Skeptics Ask,” Moody Magazine, March/April 2002. Copyright© 2002 Rusty Wright. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
OTHER POSTS IN THIS SERIES
Sceptics or Skeptics?– How do you deal with questions and objections to faith that your friends may pose?
Why is there evil and suffering?
What about all the contradictions in the Bible?
What will happen to those who never hear of Christ?
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Isn’t Christianity just a psychological crutch?
Today we continue our special daily series based on the article Questions Sceptics Ask by Rusty Wright.
In this post, Rusty shows how we might respond to the question:
Isn’t Christianity just a psychological crutch?
My mentor Bob Prall has often said,
“If Christianity is a psychological crutch, then Jesus Christ came because there was an epidemic of broken legs.”
Christianity claims to meet real human needs such as those for forgiveness, love, identity and self-acceptance. We might describe Jesus not as a crutch but an iron lung, essential for life itself.
Christian faith and its benefits can be described in psychological terms but that does not negate its validity. “Does it work?” is not the same question as, “Is it true?” Evidence supports Christianity’s truthfulness, so we would expect it to work in individual lives, as millions attest.
A caution as you answer questions:
Don’t offer “proof” but rather evidences for faith. “Proof” can imply an airtight case, which you don’t have. Aim for certainty “beyond a reasonable doubt,” just as an attorney might in court. Don’t quarrel. Lovingly and intelligently present evidence to willing listeners, not to win arguments but to share good news. Be kind and gentle (2 Timothy 2:24-26). Your life and friendship can communicate powerfully.
Tomorrow Rusty will give suggestions on how to answer another question that sceptics ask.
Rusty Wright is an author and lecturer who has spoken on six continents. He holds Bachelor of Science (psychology) and Master of Theology degrees from Duke and Oxford universities, respectively. www.RustyWright.com
OTHER POSTS IN THIS SERIES
Sceptics or Skeptics?– How do you deal with questions and objections to faith that your friends may pose?
Why is there evil and suffering?
What about all the contradictions in the Bible?
What will happen to those who never hear of Christ?
How can Jesus be the only way to God?
How can Jesus be the only way to God?
Today we continue our special daily series based on the article Questions Sceptics Ask by Rusty Wright.
In this post, Rusty shows how we might respond to the question:
How can Jesus be the only way to God?
When I was in secondary school, a recent alumnus visited, saying he had found Christ at Harvard. I respected his character and tact and listened intently. But I could not stomach Jesus’ claim that “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). That seemed way too narrow.
Two years later, my spiritual and intellectual journey had changed my view. The logic that drew me (reluctantly) to his position involves three questions:
• If God exists, could there be only one way to reach Him? To be open-minded, I had to admit this possibility.
• Why consider Jesus as a candidate for that possible one way? He claimed it. His plan of rescuing humans – “by grace…through faith…not…works” (Eph. 2:8-9) was distinct from those requiring works, as many other religions do. These two kinds of systems were mutually exclusive. Both could be false or either could be true, but both could not be true.
• Was Jesus’ plan true? Historical evidence for His resurrection, fulfilled prophecy [1] and deity, and for the reliability of the New Testament [2] convinced me I could trust His words.
NOTES
1. A summary of some of the prophesies Jesus fulfilled is at Rusty Wright, “Are You Listening? Do You Hear What I Hear?” 2004,
2. A summary of evidences for New Testament reliability is at Rusty Wright and Linda Raney Wright, “The New Testament: Can I Trust It?” 1976.
Tomorrow Rusty will give suggestions on how to answer another question that sceptics ask.
Rusty Wright is an author and lecturer who has spoken on six continents. He holds Bachelor of Science (psychology) and Master of Theology degrees from Duke and Oxford universities, respectively. www.RustyWright.com
OTHER POSTS IN THIS SERIES
Sceptics or Skeptics?– How do you deal with questions and objections to faith that your friends may pose?
Why is there evil and suffering?
Why is there evil and suffering?
We continue with the apologetics series QUESTIONS SCEPTICS ASK by Rusty Wright. You may have noticed from a previous post that there are differing spellings – sceptic (British English) and skeptic (US English). I asked forgiveness from our friends “across the pond” if, in the interests of consistency, I stuck to the British spelling!
You will be interested to know that I have been in touch with Rusty to let him know we are repurposing his article for this blog, and he has given me the go-ahead to “British-ize” his spelling!
Here is something challenging that Randy said in the full version of his article:
As you interact with skeptics, compliment them where you can. Jesus complimented the skeptical Nathanael for his pursuit of truth.[1] Listen to their concerns. Your listening ear speaks volumes. It may surprise you to learn that your attitude can be just as important as what you know.
Now here is Part 2 of Questions Sceptics Ask.
Rusty responds to the question:
Why is there evil and suffering?
Sigmund Freud called religion an illusion humans invent to satisfy their security needs. To him, a benevolent, all-powerful God seemed incongruent with natural disasters and human evil.
God, though sovereign, gave us freedom to follow him or to disobey him.
Oxford scholar C.S. Lewis estimated that eighty percent of human suffering stems from human choice.[2] Lewis called pain “God’s megaphone” that alerts us to our need for Him.This response does not answer all concerns (because he sometimes does intervene to thwart evil) but suggests that the problem of evil is not as great an intellectual obstacle to belief as some imagine.
Pain’s emotional barrier to belief, however, remains formidable. Jesus understands suffering. He was scorned, beaten, and cruelly executed, carrying the guilt of our rebellion against God (Isa. 53:10).
When I see God, items on my long list of questions for him will include betrayal by trusted co-workers, and all sorts of disappointing human behaviour and natural disasters. Yet in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection[3] I have seen enough to trust him when he says he “causes all things to work together for good to those who love God” (Rom. 8:28) [4].
NOTES
[1] John 1:45-47.
[2] C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain (New York: Macmillan, 1974), 89-103 ff. The Problem of Pain was first published in 1940.
[3] A short summary of Resurrection evidences is at Rusty Wright and Linda Raney Wright, “Who’s Got the Body?” 1976, www.probe.org/rusty-wright-articles/rusty-wright-articles/whos-got-the-body.html.
[4] Romans 8:28 NASB.
For more complete treatment of this subject, see Rick Rood, “The Problem of Evil,” 1996, www.probe.org/worldview–philosophy/the-problem-of-evil.html; Dr. Ray Bohlin, “Where Was God on September 11?” 2002, www.probe.org/current-issues/current-issues/where-was-god-on-sept.-11.html .
Tomorrow we’ll continue this series with Rusty’s answer to another question sceptics often ask.
Rusty Wright is an author and lecturer who has spoken on six continents. He holds Bachelor of Science (psychology) and Master of Theology degrees from Duke and Oxford universities, respectively. www.RustyWright.com
OTHER POSTS IN THIS SERIES
Sceptics or Skeptics?– How do you deal with questions and objections to faith that your friends may pose?
Sceptics or Skeptics?
Sceptics is a word which is spelt differently on opposite sides of the Atlantic. But skeptic or sceptic – the meaning is the same, and not to be confused with septic which is to do with germs!
This week we are going to do something a little different from our usual practice of blogging two or three times a week. We will have daily posts, each covering a short extract from Rusty Wright’s apologetic article Questions Skeptics Ask. This was published in Life Indeed in 2005/2005. Some posts will be longer than others, and I am sure that you will find Rusty’s perspective very helpful as you speak to people who are sceptical about the Christian faith. Throughout, you will notice the British spelling, since most of our readers are on the European side of the Atlantic. I hope Rusty and our US readers will forgive us!
First, we begin with a general introduction to
QUESTIONS SCEPTICS ASK by Rusty Wright
Hurting people everywhere need God. Many are open to considering Him, but they often have questions they want answered before they are willing to accept Christ. As we answer them, seeking to blend grace with truth, an increasing number of sceptics may give an ear and become seekers or believers. That’s what happened to me.
After trying as a teenager to live in a way that would be pleasing to people and to God, I was nearly expelled from high school for some problems I helped create. For some time after that, I put on hold any investigation into Christianity. In pain and anger I wondered, “Why would God allow this to happen to me after I had been trying my best to please Him?”
Later, students in the Campus Crusade for Christ group at Duke University during my freshman year helped me see God’s forgiveness as a free gift. They lovingly accepted me in spite of my sometimes-relentless questions.
After trusting Christ as Saviour, I still had questions. The local Campus Crusade director, took interest in me. At first his answers irritated me, but as I thought them through, they began to make sense. I followed him around campus for two years, watching him interact with non-Christians. Today, as I am privileged to encounter inquisitive people, much of my approach derives from my mentor. [To be continued]
Tomorrow we’ll begin with Rusty’s answer to the first question sceptics often ask.
Rusty Wright is an author and lecturer who has spoken on six continents. He holds Bachelor of Science (psychology) and Master of Theology degrees from Duke and Oxford universities, respectively. www.RustyWright.com
