Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask ...


According to Mark Mittelberg, a recent Barna survey indicates that these are the questions Christians are most afraid to be asked. Are you afraid to be asked these questions? If not, do you know someone who is? Let's work together to equip the saints.



Q: Why are Christians against same-sex people getting married?

The easy answer is: same-sex couples want to redefine what God has already defined. The word marriage has been around for a long time, and it has a definition. It is the union of a man and a woman before God. If you don't like that definition, get your own word. You don't get to redefine what marriage and family are, because you don't believe in God.

But that's not the real question. The real question is: why are Christians so hateful that they would deny the monogamous union of two people who love each other?

Well. Because it's a sin. I know that is hateful to say, but we're not the ones saying it, God is. He talks about it in the Old Testament (Lev 20:13) and the New Testament (Romans 1:26). But to be fair, same-sex coupling is not the only sin on the list in Romans 1, there is also fornication (that's sex out of marriage), covetousness (wanting people's stuff), deceit, whispering, backbiting, pride, lack of mercy, envy, debate, etc, etc... Do you recognize any of these as commonly accepted behavior in America today? As a culture, we seem to have embraced fornication and covetousness. Does that make them right? The beginnings of sin are sometimes innocent in appearance, but prolonged disobedience to God blossoms into something altogether more hideous.

Critics argue that same-sex coupling is not behavioral, but people are born with a desire for the same sex. And that, if they were born that way, and they're not hurting anyone, what's the big deal? Okay, let's say it is true. Let's entertain the thought that the corruption of our parents is passed down to us genetically. I can tell you with all honesty, I was born to be a lot of things I can't be like a liar, drunkard, backstabber, fornicator, and coveter. God says don't do those things, and when I obey what God says, the world is a better place. If my father was a drunk, and he passed the drinking gene down to me, does that make it okay for me to get plastered and neglect my responsibilities as a husband and father? I may not be out in the bar getting wrecked and starting brawls, but am I really a benefit to society? Am I really, not hurting anyone?

So there is the answer. Christians are against same-sex marriage because it is an attack on the institution of marriage, as it is defined by God. And we are bound by God to fight against sin, in all its forms.

Q: Why do you believe God exists at all?

First, DNA is language. You can't have language without a creator. The Earth, and everything in it, is the result of a creator. We are not evolving, but instead, de-evolving. Everything is wearing out. There are no positive mutations. Any evolution you see is microevolution or adaptation. Every creature on this Earth is complete and irreducibly complex. You don't become a bombardier beetle—with the ability to set fire to your backside—by experimentation. You either blow fire out your hiney, or you don't. Simple. There are no intermediate species. Have you ever seen a pigfish? I rest my case. You were created. Moving on.

Q: Why would God allow evil and suffering?

Evil is the product of choice. If God were to not allow evil, he would also have to not allow choice.

As for suffering, suffering is an amazing thing. Looking back on your life, when did you grow the most? During the easy times? During the fat times? No, it was during the hard lean times. Suffering makes us stronger. All the disciples suffered. Even God's own son suffered. But there is more to the question, isn't there? Does God enjoy watching us suffer? That's what the author really wants to know. How could a good God watch evil, and not do something about it?

We are in the fire of our own choice. We made a choice in the Garden. Each and every one of us was genetically inside Adam. We all eat the fruit. We all chose to explore knowledge that God said was forbidden to us. And now, we are seeing the penalty for not trusting God. God didn't force us to eat the fruit, yet we shake our tiny fists at him and say, how can you allow all of this pain?

If there were no Hitlers, or Jeffery Dahmers, how would we understand the devastating error of choosing not to trust God? History is filled with man's sin and failure, and it is all a testament to the truth of God. We say same-sex is okay, we say fornication is okay, we say drinking and partying is okay, and then scream at God for allowing all of this destruction to happen in our lives.

While we suffer for the decision we made in the Garden, God came and suffered for a decision he did not make. Whose suffering is more unjust?

Q: Why trust the Bible when it's full of mistakes?

Mistakes? Really? There is no other book on Earth as well preserved as the Bible. Coincidentally, there is no other book in history as hated and hunted. Men have tried to destroy the Bible since its inception. Yet, because of the dead sea scrolls, and other such archeological discoveries, we can see that the Bible is a miraculously preserved book. Are there errors? Yes. There are minor typos, that do not change the message of the scriptures. After thousands of years of being transcribed and transported throughout the Earth, you would expect the Bible to be an absolute mess; but it isn't. We don't want to look at that though. We want to focus on the fact that one word is missing out of the entire book of Isaiah.

The reality is Christians don't stand on every written word of the Bible, but on the message of Jesus Christ. Jesus said “I am the Truth”. If you read his words and don't believe, the truth is not in you. Simple as that.

Q: How could a loving God send people to hell?

I'll let C.S. Lewis answer this one.

"There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done." All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice, there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek will find. Those who knock it is opened. " ~ C.S. Lewis

Q: What makes you think Jesus was more than just a good teacher?

He fulfilled hundreds of prophecies regarding his coming, healed the sick, raised the dead, walked on water, and other amazing miracles. He was a humble builder who never wrote a word about himself, yet his words remain to this day. And the birth of Jesus Christ marked a new beginning for time itself. Can a good teacher do all that? Do we live 2,011 years after Budda?

Q: Why are Christians so judgmental?

If a Christian is being judgmental, they are going against what the Bible says. The Bible says Judge not (Mat 7:1). Jesus speaks of us as trees, bearing fruit. A good tree bears good fruit, and a bad tree bears bad fruit. We shouldn't be judging each other, but we should be watching for trees that bear bad fruit because that is evidence that someone is not what they claim to be. There are wolves in the sheep pen and God wants us to be watching for them because they intend harm.

So, if a person is being judgmental, they fall into the backbiter category, and God hates that (as we discussed in the first section). We are, however, called to be fruit inspectors, because the world is a dangerous place with sin in it.



I hope you found this helpful. If you agree with this article, then we are like-minded. Consider being friends with me on Twitter or Facebook. Besides being vital information for the defense of the faith, sharing these blogs is my way of getting to know you. Drop me an e-mail, and say hi, or leave a comment.

Grace and Peace.

~JMH 



12 comments:

  1. This was a great post! I recommend it highly to anyone who's even a little tense about one of those questions!

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  2. This really was a great post. I've heard that while poor and starving Indians (in India), will accept a missionary with open arms, Europeans on the other hand, will typically always ask these types of skeptical questions. It's good to be prepared to give an answer for our faith. Great post.

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  3. Thanks, Gary. The problem with us Europeans is we have far to many "educated" heathens. All the Indians have ever known is darkness. The light seems much brighter. Our heathens are surrounded by light. To them the Gospel is much dimmer, because they have a "form of Godliness, but deny its divinity".

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  4. If your fiction is as tasty as your apologetics, I am looking forward to checking out your books on my Kindle! Loved this post - #coworking :-)

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  5. Great post John! Great reminder not to judge others, especially our fellow Christians! I struggle with that from time to time. Blessed to serve a loving and forgiving God!

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  6. Great article John. And may I say I'm glad I'm not a bombardier beetle =-/

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  7. Absolutely great post -- thanks for sharing!

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  8. just found your blog - and books. I liked your answer on the same-sex marriage issue. Well thought out and makes a lot of sense

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  9. So glad you found me, Mark. I hope this information empowers Christians to give an answer for the hope that is in them. There is too much apathy in the Christian community. We don't have long on this Earth. There is no time for apathy.

    I hope the Lord blesses your week Mark. Thanks for stopping by.

    John

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  10. Excellent and simple answers to hard questions. Thank you for being biblical and open. I recently finished your book, MESSAGES, and loved it. My review is on my blog at intheway-lk.blogspot.com. Thank you for showing balance and your love for the greatest Message of all, the Bible.

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