As I sat in my room I remember thinking, “I have believed
there was a God for as long as I can remember, but why do I believe it?” I had
grown up in the church, going every Sunday and being highly involved in our
youth group. I had known God existed and had read and studied the Bible for
years. I committed my life to Christ at a young age and He had transformed my
life and given me a purpose. But as I sat there, I knew that if someone asked
me to give them a reason for why I believed God existed I would, besides giving
the typical Sunday school answer, have nothing to say.
Don’t get me wrong, when I say I would have nothing to say, I
do not mean I would not be able to present the gospel or how God had changed my
life, but when confronted with the arguments that are presented by atheists
today I would be completely unprepared. Today’s atheistic arguments are
complicated theological, social, and scientific questions which require deep
and specific answers. The Bible says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone
who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have.” (I Peter 3:15) I had
hope, but no answer for why I had it. I knew what I believed, but did not fully
know why I believed it. This is where my study began...
As
I researched, I stumbled across this statistic released by the Barna Group a
few years ago, which says, “65% of high school students stop attending church after they graduate.”
And that is only a conservative figure! So many Christians do not know why they
believe what they believe. This just goes to show, if we do not know why we
believe, and if our foundation of faith is not solid now, it will be shaken
later.
As we step onto our high school and college campuses, we
should be the most prepared and be the firmest in our beliefs out of anyone
there. Obviously, as the statistics show, this is not the case today.
Christians abandon their faith because they are not prepared to answer some of
the simplest arguments against God that are presented by atheists today. If you
were faced with any of the following statements and questions, would you be
able to answer them?
·
If
God really existed, why would he allow all of the evil and suffering that
exists in the world? (For example: 9/11)
· There is no proof for creationism. Evolution has been proven and any attempt to hold on to that myth is foolishness and blind faith.
· The Bible is historically inaccurate and is full of fairy tales.
· The life of Jesus Christ is undocumented and it is very likely that he was not even a real person, not to mention there is absolutely no proof for his resurrection from the dead.
· You really believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to God? How do you know that Christianity is the only religion that is right? You really think that the billions of Muslims and Buddhists in world are going to Hell just because they believe differently than you? How arrogant!
· Good and evil are illusions. Right and wrong are determined simply according to what is best for the survival of humanity and by avoiding the most possible suffering for the majority.
The arguments are endless, but the evidences for God’s existence are overwhelming. Jesus told us to, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”(Matthew 22:36-40) So many times we ignore the command to love God with our mind. We need to know what we believe and we need to know why we believe it. We must actively seek out the evidences for God. Since that moment when I realized the gaping hole in my knowledge of God, as I searched out how God has revealed himself to his creation, my faith has been strengthened. We have no better opportunities in our lifetime to share the gospel than on our high school and college campuses, but we have got to be prepared. God has called us do hard things, and the search for evidence is not easy, but it is definitely worth it. Know what, but just as importantly, know why.
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