There are at least a hundred reasons that I believe in a personal God who came to us in the form of a man, died on the cross, rose again, and lives in his followers as the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, though, my faith doesn't seem to make any sense when I start hearing constant messages about how faith is at the root of wars, faith makes no sense, faith is blind, everything can be explained by natural means, etc.
I've just finished reading an excellent book, What's So Great About Christianity, by Dinesh D'souza. I am continuously feeling very encouraged by it. He tackles issues that many Christians have begun to believe are weak points in our faith because of what we hear all around us. He first explains how Christianity and Christian ideals formed the base of many of our treasured values in western culture, including a separation between the functions and power of the church and of the state, the importance of every individual instead of just the intellects or the wealthy, and the importance of using our minds to understand the universe and even our faith. Now, he's got whole chapters on some of these issues, but if you think back to ancient Greece, where the history books tell you we got the foundations of our democratic society, being a good citizen was synonymous with worshipping the local deity and even the great thinkers and moralists generally ignored the poor.
He also addresses some prevailing thoughts among atheists & agnostics using statements from some of their leading thinkers and a little logic. For instance, he shows that humans must consist of something more than pure genetics that are selected for through the process of natural selection, demonstrating that either we have a "soul," something more than just our bodies that allows us to make decisions on what is right or wrong, or we couldn't have gotten here thorugh evolution. Of course, now I need to sit down and read The Selfish Gene and perhaps another Dawkins book, since I certainly don't want to go discussing this with atheists if I don't actually know what their side of the conversation really thinks, so that's one unexpected result of this journey.
Oh, but one of the biggest reasons I loved this book? The author believes that the variety and systems of life that we see could very well have come about through evolution, simply with a creator initiating that process and guiding it as he saw fit. He also points out several of my favorite theologians throughout modern history like C.S. Lewis who felt the same way.
But mainly, after reading through this book, I have had my eyes opened to see that I have no reason to apologize for my faith. I don't need to go around believing the prevailing opinion that Christianity is responsible for all these problems in our country and our world, or apologizing because the Christian worldview can't hold up to intellectual rigor. I'm in a scientific field, love mathematics, and have an interest in physics (as long as I don't have to do too much with it. Me and physics have a rather troubled relationship), so I come into contact with these issues quite a bit. Now I know that I belong in those groups, though they may not want me hanging around too much if I speak up.
I did find a couple of arguments rather silly in the book, but seriously only one or two, and the rest were quite helpful. So, anyone who has an interest in getting a better understanding of how Christianity makes sense in a modern world, check this guy out. He's phenomenal.
Comments (10)
I strongly recommend reading some literature which does not support confirmation bias. In other words, read the opposing viewpoint about Christianity. Look up books by Bart Ehrman, Richard Carrier and the like. Bart holds the chair of religious studies at Chapel Hill NC. He is an historian scholar well versed in the history of the new testament. Richard Carrier is also an historian, but he's also a philosopher.
I came out of Christianity some years ago, but for 30 years I considered myself one. I studied all that I could, depite the feeling that it made no sense at all.
Don't worry, I am with you.
"For instance, he shows that humans must consist of something more than
pure genetics that are selected for through the process of natural
selection, demonstrating that either we have a "soul," something more
than just our bodies that allows us to make decisions on what is right
or wrong, or we couldn't have gotten here thorugh evolution"
I'm dying to know how he demonstrated the existence of souls.
If God guided evolution, then the bible's not true in saying that God created Adam from the dust of the ground and created the animals separately. Another good book is "I Don't Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist" by Norman Geisler.
@musterion99 - Oh, I have read that book~
@nowayout001 - What did you think of the book and what is your reply to - "If God guided evolution, then the bible's
not true in saying that God created Adam from the dust of the ground
and created the animals separately"?
@musterion99 - Even after reading that book, I admit that I know too little about evolutionary biology itself and I am actually uncertain about the whole thing.
@nowayout001 - ok
Hello Ms. Ruth,
You made your site simple yet elegant. I see that Jesus is foremost in your mind as you go about your daily activities. Now is a good time to become acquainted with his Father, the one true God, Jehovah.
I want to help people to really get to know God, especially in these troubled times. Here is an important message from Him for all of us from the Bible: 7 For sure the Lord does not do anything without making His plan known to His servants who speak for Him. (Amos 3:7) (NLV)
Enjoyed your thoughts! I recently watched 'What the [bleep] do we know' and thought it was great! Having background in physics (from undergrad days)...and now interested in meta-physics and theology...I thought it was awesome.
My conclusion from the movie is that 'truth' is relational (truth - of location - is dependent on relationship between objects - an object and the observer)...not objective [truth]...based on the latest developments in sub-atomic physics (and theology). The implications of that are pretty huge...seems you'd enjoy it.