Here’s your sneak peek at some of the great content coming up in the March/April Faith Today. We all have probably had difficult conversations when people ask us good and important faith questions…and we are stumped. Faith Today’s upcoming cover story features great answers to good questions. Here’s a taste.
Here’s your sneak peek at some of the great content coming up in the March/April Faith Today. We all have probably had difficult conversations when people ask us good and important faith questions…and we are stumped. Faith Today’s upcoming cover story features great answers to good questions. Here’s a taste.
From: Apologetics Without Apology by Andy Bannister
They say: “Science has disproven God.”
Andy Bannister equips us to talk about our faith without fear in a changing Canada.
You ask: “What would you say are some of the things that science can’t tell us?”
Things to think about: Science has limits. There are a whole range of questions it can’t answer, from philosophy to math, politics to literature to, most profoundly, what it means to be human. Science is simply one tool for investigating reality. The problem is that to a man with a hammer, everything often looks like a nail.
Further reading: John Lennox, God’s Undertaker: Has Science Buried God? (Lion UK, 2009)
They say: “Religion poisons everything.”
You ask: “What about the chaos you can’t pin on religion?”
Things to think about: Human beings have an uncanny ability to take a whole range of things – science, politics, economics, sexuality, technology (and, yes, religion) – and use them for great evil. Rather than blame the things themselves, perhaps the problem lies within us.
Further reading: Douglas Wilson, God Is. How Christianity Explains Everything (American Vision, 2008)
They say: “If there is a God, why is there evil?”
You ask: “What do you mean by words like ‘good’ and ‘evil’?”
Things to think about: If there is no God, terms like ‘good’ and ‘evil’ really just collapse to personal preference. The atheist can say, “I don’t like murder,” but not “Murder is wrong.” Instinctively, most of us recognize evil when we see it. And when we experience evil, what we want is not something said about evil, but something done. And that’s what the cross is all about.
Further reading: Ravi Zacharias and Vince Vitale, Why Suffering? Finding Meaning and Comfort When Life Doesn’t Make Sense(FaithWords, 2014)
They say: “Christians are narrow-minded and judgmental!”
You ask: “Tell me your story. What happened?”
Things to think about: Behind many people’s rejection of the gospel is often not an intellectual objection, but bad experiences with the Church or Christians. We need to take the time to listen, understand and then show a different side to Christianity. Behind every question is a questioner, and unless we remember that, we’ll end up obsessed with winning arguments and in the process, lose the person.
Further reading: Ravi Zacharias, Has Christianity Failed You?(Zondervan, 2010)
They say: “You’re only a Christian because your parents were!”
You ask: “So what about an atheist whose parents were atheists?”
Things to think about: Many objections to Christianity self-destruct when you turn them around and shoot them back at the questioner. If what we believe is determined purely by our culture or upbringing, then everybody (not just Christians) is in the same boat. Nobody can claim to believe for rational reasons. And, of course, it wouldn’t explain conversion.
Further reading: Abdu Murray, Grand Central Question: Answering the Critical Concerns of the Major Worldviews (IVP Books, 2014)
–Andy Bannister is director and lead apologist for RZIM Ministries Canada. Check out these RZIM sponsored events for more equipping and empowering. And subscribe to Faith Today now to access our best price ever.