Almost everyone
has some questions about God and His involvement in the
world we live in. You might be asking some questions of
your own. To help you, I have compiled answers to six commonly
asked questions about Jesus Christ and Christianity.
Tough Questions, Honest Answers
by Michael Homer
If God exists, why is there evil and suffering?
No one has been able to show that there is a contradiction
between the existence of the all-loving, all-powerful Christian
God and the existence of evil. It is always possible that
God has a good, although unknown, reason for allowing evil.
As long as it is logically possible that God has a good
reason, there is no contradiction.
God created the best world He could,
given His main purpose -- that is to create beings who could
enjoy a personal relationship with Him. With real love,
however, there must be real freedom. With freedom came the
possibility that God's free creatures would choose not to
love Him. God cannot make someone freely choose to love
Him or to do good. That is a contradiction. A great deal,
if not most evil, is the result of human choices - either
directly or indirectly.
For further reading: No Fast Answers
by W.L Craig, (Woody Press, 1990).
Is Jesus God?
There are
only four options for the identity of Jesus Christ. He is
either a legend, a liar, a lunatic or He is Lord and God.
There is little likelihood that Jesus' claims are legend.
There just wasn't enough time for any legendary development
of the story to replace what really happened. Also, if the
claims Jesus made for Himself are legendary, the early Jewish
opponents of Christianity would surely have charged that
these claims never happened. Unlike modern skeptics, the
rabbis apparently never denied that Jesus made such claims
for Himself. Instead, they called Him a liar.
Jesus thought of Himself as divine. According
to the various gospel accounts, Jesus believed He had the
power to perform miracles and the power to forgive sins.
He even claimed, "I and the Father are one" (John
10:30).
Since Jesus claimed to be God, His claims
are either true or false. If false, He must have been a
liar, deliberately misleading the multitudes. Or, He was
a lunatic, sincerely believing Himself to be God, when in
reality He was just a man.
Jesus' moral character and His willingness
to die for His claim to be God have convinced most people
that Jesus was not lying. Jesus' humility and unselfish
love, His intelligent communication with the crowds, and
His amazing self control and composure amidst the tremendous
physical and emotional stress of His betrayal and crucifixion,
all point to His contact with reality. Jesus was no lunatic.
Since the evidence shows He is neither a liar nor a lunatic,
then the only other alternative left is that His claim is
true. Jesus is Lord and God. And that conclusion is further
supported by the remarkable evidence that Jesus rose physically
from the grave.
For further reading: Knowing the Truth about the
Resurrection by W.L Craig (Serfvan Books, 1988)
Do all religions lead to God?
All religions
are not the same. Basic beliefs such as the concept of God
and good and evil differ so dramatically among some religions
that they actually contradict one another. Therefore, religions
can't all he true and thus all lead to God.
Is it intolerant to say that one religion
is true? Truth by its very nature is exclusive and is intolerant
of error. Thinking or stating that another view is false
is not intolerant; tolerance implies disagreement. True
tolerance accepts the rights of others to have a different
belief without the threat of violence.
All religions cannot lead to God because
they contradict one another. And it is not intolerant of
Christians to say that Jesus is the only way to God.
Further Reading: The Gospel in a Pluralist society
by Leslie Newbegin (Eerdmans, 1989).
What will happen to those who never hear about Jesus?
Although
the Bible does not give us the complete answer to this question,
it does tell us that God "will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples with equity (or fairness)" (Psalm 98:9).
God will not condemn a person for rejecting a Christ they
never heard about. However, we already stand condemned for
something far more basic.
God has revealed Himself to everyone
through the creation around us and the sense of right and
wrong inside us. Each person knows enough about God that
He says we are "without excuse" (Romans 1:20).
It is for this suppression, distortion and rejection of
the true knowledge of God and for the accompanying violation
of God's laws that we stand condemned. Only by casting oneself
completely upon the mercy of God, and not counting on any
of one's deeds -- religious or otherwise -- for right standing
with God, can anyone possibly he saved.
What about all the wars and suffering that have been caused
in the name of Christianity?
You cannot judge the teachings and truth
of a religion by the conduct of people who do not live up
to them.. Some people try to discredit Christianity by pointing
out the misdeeds done by Christians who were not following
Christ's teaching or by people who weren't real Christians
at all. The standard by which to judge Christianity is the
teaching of Jesus Christ.
Christianity has had a tremendously positive
impact on the world. Many men who pioneered modern science
were Christians. Christian revivals in the mid-1800s sparked
a powerful impulse for social reform affecting slavery,
the status of women and the poor. And as a result, many
missionary and philanthropic organizations like the Salvation
Army, the Red Cross and the YMCA began.
Is there any real right or wrong?
It's quite fashionable today to say that what's right for
one person is not necessarily right for another. It's easy
to say there are no absolute moral principles, but it's
much more difficult to live as if there are none. The judgments
we make when people are mistreated reveals what we really
believe about morals, regardless of what we say we believe.
We believe it was morally wrong for the
Nazis to perform medical experiments on Jews. Not only do
we think it was wrong, we believe everyone should think
it was wrong. If these actions are not really evil, then
our sense of evil is an illusion. But which is more likely?
Is our sense of right and wrong an illusion? Or is there
an objective moral principle that condemns the killing of
Jews?
The Christian believes God is the source
and foundation of these objective moral principles.
Michael Horner is a Canadian philosopher who regularly debates
and lectures on university campuses around the world.
