Did Jesus Really Exist?
This is a great place to start! If Christianity bases all authority and claims to relevance on somebody named Jesus … then it’s pretty critical to identify and verify the existence of that man! Identifying and verifying the existence of someone who is purported to have lived two millennia ago can be a tricky task. But where Jesus is concerned, we have plenty of documentary evidence to consider ….
If Jesus really did exist, then wasn't he just a great moral teacher, like Gandhi or Buddha?
Lots of people who have done the research on Jesus and found that they cannot dispute his historicity solve the “problem” Jesus creates by explaining that he was a uniquely gifted human being, and only a uniquely gifted human being. American Founding Father and third U.S. President Thomas Jefferson fell into this category. He famously “edited” the gospels to construct a customized version of Jesus as moral philosopher. Using a razor, Jefferson cut out of his New Testament all references to …
Don't we know too much to believe in myths like the Bible? Doesn't science disprove all those fairy tales?
That’s certainly what lot’s of people – smart, educated people – claim, isn’t it? In my opinion, we have to address a problem with the question before we can actually answer the question. The problem I see is this: our culture tends to give us options in terms of binary choices. “Either you believe this, OR you believe that. This is true, OR that is true.” But binary choices don’t always work. Science itself demonstrates that there are often multiple explanations for observable phenomena: the infamous ….
Isn't Christianity just one option among an infinite number of valid options? I've heard that there are multiple roads to the top of the same "faith mountain?"
This question is a natural one to ask in our time and culture, when statements like “you believe whatever works for you” sound reasonable and compassionate. We are very attentive to to being inoffensive, aren’t we? The idea that all faiths are just optional routes to the top of the same metaphorical mountain is really appealing to us – because it validates so many of the principles that our culture values! But there’s a problem with that question and that follow up statement: both come from the perspective of ….
Since humanity is progressing - part of the ongoing evolutionary process - toward ever greater standards of health, freedom and happiness ... who needs God?
Once again, we need to parse the problem with our question before we can answer it. Do you see the premise that’s implied? Because humanity is progressing … the need for God is diminishing. Can we see progress in human history? Certainly! No question that people alive today enjoy more comfort, security, and entertainment than at any other point in history. Progress in scientific understanding and innovation – progress in medicine, in technology, in transportation, in agriculture – progress even in ….
Should people be able to force their Christian views onto other people?
Super great question! The short answer: Jesus NEVER forced faith on anyone, so followers of Jesus have no basis for forcing faith on anyone either. The longer answer: Since Western Democracies are all based on specifically Judeo-Christian principles and defending them against competing ideas is not just Christian opportunism – its moral obligation. Here’s an example of what I mean: one of the principles of Western Democracy is …
If the claims of Christians are true - if there really is a loving Creator who works for the good of all people - then why is there so much suffering?
This is a question that people have been asking for centuries. And it’s a question that gets to the root of the Christian understanding about the goodness of God, the love of God, and the power of God. I know that I have asked this question at multiple points in my own faith journey – I think it’s a question that can be helpful (even as it hurts – a lot – to ask it) over and over again. Here’s where I have landed on this: The good God of Christianity loves people …
If God will not coerce and lets humanity experience free will and its consequences, then is God even involved in human activity? Does God's self-limiting mean that God stays removed from human suffering?
If God will not coerce, then does God stay removed from human suffering? Does God not intervene as God is described doing in the Old Testament – destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, bringing plagues to Egypt, devouring Elijah’s drenched offering with fire from heaven? Such questions are so logical! Scripture provides our best answer: God is …