Why I Believe What I Believe

Since we’re relaunching the site, we’re going to spend a few weeks discussing each viewpoint.  Today, Aaron chimes in with three reasons he believes in the Christian God:

I’ve been immersed in Christianity all my life.  My faith is my own.  I don’t believe because my parents told me to.  I have researched the core beliefs of Christianity, and have found them to be true.  Here are the three main reasons I believe what I believe, the reasons that make Christianity reasonable:

THE COMPLEXITY OF THE UNIVERSE

From the complexity of subatomic particles to the almost daily discoveries from the edges of the universe that we can currently observe, to say our universe is complex is an understatement.  Take our planet.  Earth just happens to be in the “butter zone” of our solar system where life not only survives, but thrives.  Earth’s atmosphere and biosphere are unmatched (as far as we know) for thriving life.  The complexity of all living things, from their life processes to the makeup of DNA, continues to amaze and astound us.  Knowing that we’ve only begun to unlock the complexities of the human genome and how it works boggles the mind.  Does this prove that the Christian God exists?  No.  But science cannot explain how life supposedly arose from non-living substances.  Science also has yet to explain how something came from nothing.  To me, it requires more “faith” to believe that matter is eternal or that our version of the universe is just one of innumerable cycles of the universe than it does to believe in the existence of God.

MANKIND’S LONGING FOR SOMETHING GREATER

Every civilization in history has had some belief in deity.  The point of this post isn’t to argue which beliefs are right or wrong.  It is simply to affirm that mankind in general has always believed in the divine.  Those who have chosen not to believe have always been in the minority.  Does this prove that the Christian God exists?  No.  But it may be a clue that we were designed to connect with that which created us.

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST

This is the reason I believe in the Christian God and no other.  We’ve dealt with the resurrection in multiple posts (Part 1, Part 2, the Conversation).  To summarize, the resurrection of Jesus is attested to by the gospel accounts in the Bible, extra-biblical accounts from ancient secular historians, eyewitness testimony, the willingness of the original apostles of Jesus to die for proclaiming his resurrection, the explosive growth and cultural impact of the early church–all of these point to the plausibility of the resurrection of Jesus.  If it is true, then it deserves our consideration.  And if it is true, then no other belief system can match it because no other belief system has a God who has died and come back from death in real time and space history.

Why do you hold your theological views?  Let’s start the conversation in the comments.

Join the Conversation: The Existence of Evil

You’ve heard from two sides.  Now it’s your turn.  What do you think?  Is the existence of evil a valid reason for not believing in God?  Are our preconceived notions about evil an illusion we need to detach ourselves from, or are they really valid?  Go at it in the comments.

Join the Conversation: The Last Days are Here Again

You’ve heard our sides of the story.  Now it’s your turn.  What do you think about all this end-times apocalyptic brouhaha that happened over the weekend?  How did it affect your faith or lack thereof?

Sound off in the comments.

Oops…

Harold Camping is at it again.  Realizing he missed the “spiritual” meaning of May 21, he has conveniently changed his story and that the apocalypse will come October 21.  Rather convenient for him…

The Christian Speaks: The Last Days are Here Again

I guess the Four Horsemen forgot to synchronize their watches.

Here we go again.  Yet another well-known religious figure made another attention-grabbing “prediction” about the so-called rapture and the end of the world.  And once again, he was wrong.  The amazing thing about Harold Camping is that this is the second time he was wrong.  In 1992, he predicted the world would end in 1994 (although he did make room for error and suggested 2011 could be the year).

CNN posted an article about the financial status of Camping’s Family Radio.  The donations have poured in to the tune of $80 million between 2005 and 2009.  Not bad for an old retired civil engineer who has struck out twice on predicting the apocalypse.

Nothing New

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time someone has grabbed at fifteen minutes of fame with a bold (but wrong) prediction about the end of times.  History is filled with movements large and small who thought they had the inside track to Jesus’ return.  Untold thousands have sold all their possessions and quit their jobs because of the phony predictions.

Here in America alone, we experience the Great Disappointment of 1844 (from which the Seventh Day Adventists emerged).  The Jehovah’s Witnesses predicted Jesus would return in 1914.  When he didn’t, they simply changed their stance and said he really did return… but invisibly.  Apparently, he’s hanging out in Pittsburgh.

Saturday’s colossal eschatological goof isn’t the first.  It won’t be the last.

A Black Eye

As a Christian, I honestly get a little angry when someone makes one of these thick-skulled predictions.  Why?

• They make Christianity look stupid.  When guys with a pulpit use that pulpit to make stupid predictions, it gives people who don’t follow Jesus yet another reason to keep Him at arm’s length.
• They ignore Jesus’ own words.  Jesus himself said that no one knows when He’ll return.  And yet, a nut case with an audience will pop up every now and again saying he’s figured it out when Jesus himself said no one would.
• They cost naive believers everything.  Every time some religious prognosticator comes out with a new chart predicting Jesus’ return, he gathers a following of people who ignorantly give up everything because they believe so blindly in the prediction.  And who gets it?  The religious prognosticator.  And do you think they give refunds?

If a guy states he knows when Jesus is coming back and has a chart to prove it, run away.  Run far away.

Too Heavenly Minded as to be No Earthly Good

As a Christian, I do believe in the return of Jesus.  I also, however, believe that people who get so focused on the hereafter often make themselves irrelevant here and now.  The Bible reminds Christians to live out our faith in practical, tangible ways now.  Why?  Because the kingdom of God is not just coming, it’s also here.  And Christians are to be change agents for the kingdom.

So instead of making charts and quoting Revelation, Christians should be looking forward to Christ’s return by living out their faith now by serving others in His name.  I happen to have the greatest job in the world – as a hospice chaplain, I get to be Jesus to people who are staring eternity in the face.  My family is looking at how we can do more in our city and world.  Simple acts of kindness in Jesus’ name do more to help people experience the love of God more than any end-time chart or Kirk Cameron movie.  By living out my faith in Jesus now, I’ll be ready for his return, no matter when it is.

If all this end-times brouhaha interests you…

Richard Kyle’s book The Last Days are Here Again is an excellent overview of apocalyptic thinking over the last two thousand years.  It’s a little dated, but gives a great survey of end-times movements since the time of Jesus.  Unfortunately, it’s out of print, but Amazon has sellers who are peddling used copies.

The comments have been turned off for this post.  Don’t worry.  You’ll get to join the conversation tomorrow.