Investigating Faith with Lee Strobel - www.biblegateway.com
Q. There are so many religions out there. How can we be sure that Christianity is the right one?
A. No doubt about it - people believe all kinds of religious ideas, and most people are sincere in their beliefs. We should treat them with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15), and do all we can to protect their rights - as well as our own - to practice religion freely.
I also know that people can be sincere, but sincerely wrong. In fact, it's impossible that all religions could be right, since they contradict each other on so many fundamental points. For example, look at what these religions teach about God:
* Buddhism historically denies that God exists (atheism).
* Hinduism teaches that everything is part of an all-pervasive, impersonal god (pantheism).
* Christianity teaches that there is one God who is personal and who created everything (theism).
As one person put it to me, if all these religions are true, then God must be schizophrenic - because he doesn't even know who he is, but tells one group one thing about himself while telling others something completely different.
Well, God is not schizophrenic - so we're forced to choose between belief systems. How should we do this? Should we base our decision on our traditions, or on what some authority figure tells us to believe, or perhaps on what we feel in our hearts? Those are dangerous ways to decide.
My contention, and the approach I've used throughout my writings, is that we should choose our beliefs based on where logic and the evidence point (while asking God for guidance). And it's with that approach that I've concluded Christianity - over any other worldview - squares with the facts of science philosophy, and history.
My own experience has borne this out. Psalm 34:8 invites us, "Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him." Well, as one who has been tasting and seeing for more than three decades - and experiencing those blessings - I can testify that the psalmist was right: the Lord is real, and he is good.
"I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go." - Isaiah 48:17
Q. Isn't it elitist to say that people must be followers of Jesus in order to get into heaven?
A. It can certainly sound that way - and unfortunately some Christians project an air of arrogance and exclusivity in how they live out their faith and then communicate it to others. But authentic Christianity is anything but arrogant or exclusive. Let me illustrate.
Imagine two country clubs. The first has a strict set of rules and only allows people in who have earned their membership. They have to accomplish something, obtain superior wisdom, or fulfill a long list of demands and requirements in order to qualify for acceptance. And despite their best efforts, lots of people just won't make the grade and will therefore be excluded. In effect, this is what other religious systems are like.
The second country club throws its doors wide open and says, "Anybody who wants membership is invited inside. Rich or poor, black or white, regardless of your ethnic heritage or where you live, we would love to include you. Entry will be based not on your qualifications or efforts but only on accepting this invitation. Jesus already paid for your membership. So we'll leave the matter up to you. You decide. But we will never turn you away if you sincerely and humbly seek admittance." That's what Christianity is like.
Which country club is being snobbish? Christians aren't being exclusive; they're being inclusive. They're not being haughty; they're being hospitable. They're not pretending to be better or more accomplished than anyone else. Instead, they admit their own weakness and invite others who feel weak or needy to join them in order to find the help that they've found through Christ.
Preacher D. T. Niles summed up genuine Christianity well when he explained that we are simply "one beggar telling another beggar where to find food."
Says Revelation 22:17: "The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let the one who hears say, 'Come!' Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life."
Q. The New Testament says Jesus sweat drops of blood when he was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Is that just a figure of speech?
A. That's what I thought when I was a skeptic. Then I started my research for The Case for Christ. I went to California to interview Dr. Alexander Metherell, a physician, research scientist, and expert on the crucifixion of Jesus.
"This is a known medical condition called hematidrosis. It's not very common, but it is associated with a high degree of psychological stress," he told me.
"What happens is that severe anxiety causes the release of chemicals that break down the capillaries in the sweat glands. As a result, there's a small amount of bleeding into these glands, and the sweat comes out tinged with blood. We're not talking about a lot of blood; it's just a very, very small amount."
Interestingly, it was Luke, a physician, who noted this phenomenon. He said of Jesus in Luke 22:44: "And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground."
Jesus' anguish and passionate prayers over his impending torture and death could certainly have been enough to trigger this medical phenomenon. The Journal of Medicine analyzed seventy-six cases of hematidrosis and concluded that the most common causes were acute fear and intense mental contemplation.
I asked Dr. Metherell what affect this bloody sweat would have had on Jesus. "What this did," he replied, "was to set up the skin to be extremely fragile so that when Jesus was flogged by the Roman soldier the next day, his skin would have been very, very sensitive."
What could have prompted Jesus to willingly endure the misery of Gethsemane, the brutality of the flogging, and the unspeakable torment of the cross?
"Well," said Dr. Metherell, "I suppose the answer can be summed up in one word - and that would be love."
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8
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