Right after the three closest disciples of Jesus witness His transfiguration, in Mark 9:14-29, we read the story of a man that had brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus to see if He could help him. āIf you can?ā repeats Jesus, āEverything is possible for one who believes.ā
Immediately the boyās father exclaimed, āI do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!ā
What a great story, weāve all been there, Christian. We believe and at the same time pray that He will help us with our unbelief. Spoiler alert: Jesus heals the boy. š
I have been drawn to stepping back and examining my faith. This happens periodically and doesnāt cause me any undue concern. It is more a call to āWork out my own salvationā as commanded in Philippians 2:12. I am not in heaven yet, so there is still work to be done. I donāt think I am meant to feel either comfort or complacency in this world. That feels like maybe Iām comfortable with the faith I have, but also, maybe a little fearful in stepping out further in faith. (I know we’re called to spiritual growth.) When the comfort sets in and laziness calls sweetly, I have to step back again and review what I know about God and whether my actions are demonstrating that faith.
When the movie, The Case for Christ, came out in 2017, I went to see it with my sister. This coincided with the timeframe that I had declared that I was going āAll Inā. I remember feeling strengthened by Lee Strobelās story that was portrayed in the movie. Last year, my son asked me if I had ever heard of this guy as he had run across something on YouTube. I realized I had never read the book yet. (Even though we know the books are always better than the movies!)
I bought the bookā¦ read itā¦ and was not disappointed. I donāt think I will spoil anything to list the highlights of what this investigative journalist includes in this book. I include it here as a reminder for when I ask Himā¦ āHelp me with my unbelief!ā
- Can the biographies of Jesus be trusted? Do they stand up to scrutiny? Were they reliably persevered for us? Is there credible evidence for Jesus outside his biographies? Does archaeology confirm or contradict them?
- Is the Jesus of history the same as the Jesus of faith?
- Was Jesus really convinced that he was the Son of God? Was Jesus crazy?
- Did Jesus fulfill the attributes of God?
- Did Jesus, and Jesus alone, match the identity of the Messiah?
- Was Jesusā death a sham and His resurrection a hoax? Was Jesusā body really absent from the tomb? Was Jesus seen alive after His death on the cross? Are there any supporting facts that point to the resurrection?
We are a generation raised on science, DNA evidence, and the expectation of answers. We watch multiple versions of CSI showsā¦ Law and Orderā¦ NCISā¦ Criminal Mindsā¦ we are entertained by fictional investigations, yet in real stories today we are seeing fabrications, outright lies and slander, and injustice ā the guilty go free and the innocent are condemned. We think we have the right to just ācancelā someone as if they were not made in His image. There is no margin and no forgiveness in large parts of our culture and society right nowā¦ someone elseās problem, someone else will do it, or worse, Iāll get to it later.
For the skeptics out there, a note on the evidence presented in The Case for Christ.Ā Strobel reviews the evidence against these two criteria:
- Has the collection of evidence really been thorough?
- Which explanation best fits the totality of the evidence?
If youāve ever been on jury duty, you know you are supposed to be attentive to all the evidence presented to you.Ā You are to evaluate the reliability of that evidence.Ā Then, you are called to provide your response.Ā
The Gospel message is the same.Ā The book uses John 1:12 to conclude: BELIEVE + RECEIVE = BECOME
āYet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.ā
There is one line in this book that highlights why I take the Gospel very seriously. People, of all faiths, will die for what they believe is true. No one would die for what the KNOW is false. Christianity is different than other religions. Christianity has eyewitnesses of the risen Jesus. All but John suffered horrific deaths, rather than deny what they knew to be true.
Faith is not ‘blind’; it is not necessarily an emotional feeling. The Christian faith can be carefully investigated and for those who need to, they should. I found this book to be useful… in less than 300 pages there’s a wealth of expert testimony paraded before you for your consideration.