If you’re not a believer, this is the progression I would ask you to consider:
Logic
Evil
Freedom
Team
The argument to at least consider Christianity from a logical stand point is a strong one. I’ll try to make that case here. Next is the necessity to deal with evil. Everyone knows that it exists, but I’ll argue that it only makes sense within Biblical Christianity. Third is the consideration of true freedom and what that means. Most easily summarized in the term “Rat Race,” this life we so often live is one that ensnares with false hope and empty successes. You have been called to freedom and yet we live enslaved. And lastly, you were not meant to go about this life alone. Whatever it is, there is a team of people going through it also. You may very well have a group that you would call your ride or dies, or your family, or your like-minded business partners. But do they know the real you? Maybe they know what you’ve gone through, but do they know what you’re going through?
Like any good logical argument, I’ve prepared a flow chart to walk through to determine where you may be in this whole belief thing. I’ve heard it said, “I’m too smart to believe in that nonsense.” Well, let’s spend some time there. The goal of this is not to be ugly or prove you wrong, but to get you to honestly think, and simply reduce the argument down to 1 of 3 things: Either you are ok with an essentially meaningless life, or you are the greatest character in the story, or you actually desire what Biblical Christianity offers (and may not even know it). I hope you find this enjoyable.
You can believe in the virgin birth or the virgin universe. Choose your miracle.
Or even simpler:
Those two questions are the most popular questions when it comes to disbelief. The first one is usually asked after the death of a child, or a young parent gets cancer. But if that logic were to stand, wouldn’t the opposite be an unfair result- good things happening to bad people? The greedy man gets rich, the jerk gets the girl, the abuser is blessed with children. These things happen every day and we don’t question it. Why? Because we understand free will and even more so, we respect it. We idolize it. Autonomy is king. But then, we question the logic of the consequences. The greedy suppress the poor, the jerk cheats on the girl, the abuser sadly begins abusing. By asking the question, how could God allow bad things to happen to good people, but refusing to infringe on the freedom of bad people, is an oxymoron.
Furthermore, to loop in the second question, I’d similarly ask the opposite question in what if God didn’t allow free will? What if we were all pre programmed robots in total submission? Without the ability to choose for ourselves, is there an ever an authentic opportunity for love?
We live in a broken world filled with pain and suffering. And many times, we long for answers that simply cannot be found. But to suggest that the world would be better without free will seems like an emotional assessment rather than a intellectually honest one.
Here is the Christian answer: Take heart! Because Jesus has overcome the world.
Either you’re forced to believe that a “good person” was taken from us for absolutely no reason, or that Jesus was who He said He was and that person is indeed with Jesus. Either mortal life is the climax and can be too easily cut short, or eternity is the climax and we mourn in temporary separation.
The Bible teaches that none of us are good, and we all fall short of the glory of God on our own merit. But for those who put their faith in Jesus, they will be saved. So to frame the question as bad things happening to “good people” at all- we believe that is a fundamentally flawed perspective. An honest look at ourselves recognizes that this evil we speak of is nestled in all of us. No matter how hard we try, we consistently come up short.
The evil is real, we desperately need a savior.
Freedom
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Team
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