Professor Theophilus,
Okay. I've gone to church, I've heard the gospels, and I think I believe that Christ died to save us from sin and all that, but I am a science-oriented person and unfortunately I usually need proof to believe in something. So how can I prove to myself that that stuff is true?

It depends on what you mean by "proof." If you are asking for an argument so compelling that it makes doubt impossible and eliminates the need for faith, there's no such thing. Logical reasoning doesn't eliminate the need to take anything on trust; in fact it presupposes taking certain things on trust. This is true in science too. You see, anything whatsoever can be doubted. You can doubt that there is any connection between your reasoning and the world. You can doubt that there is a world at all. You can doubt that two and two will always equal four.

But if you are asking for good reasons to believe that Christ died to save us from sin and all that, yes, there are good reasons. For a good example, take a look at C.S. Lewis's short book The Case for Christianity, which is the first part of his longer work Mere Christianity. Lewis begins with two basic pieces of data — the existence of a moral law which we did not make ourselves, and our inability to live up to it. First he considers the various ways to explain away the data, then he considers all of the ways to explain it. In the end, the Christian explanation is the only one that accounts for all the facts. Write me later and tell me what you think of the book.

DEBUNKERS

Professor Theophilus,
I have a thirst for knowledge about Christ and want not just to know about Him, but to know Him. In this thirst, though, I've stumbled across some websites by people who have studied the topic of religious history and biblical history quite thoroughly, and which seem to show that the Bible must contain errors. If I had run across this information a year ago, I would have not even considered turning back to the Lord. How do I respond to these learned people?

Debunkers offer all sorts of arguments against the truth and trustworthiness of the Bible. Because you don't mention which one troubles you the most, I can't reply to it, but I have the impression that you are overwhelmed by their sheer number and apparent sophistication. Their number and sophistication aren't really surprising. For several thousand years, the debunkers have made anti-biblical arguments, the defenders have figured out what's wrong with them, the debunkers have sought new ways around the defenses, and the defenders have figured out what's wrong with the new ones. Over a couple of thousand years, the arguments pile up, and if you read only the debunkers' arguments, then of course they will seem overwhelming. The best single work I can suggest to you is a new book by Norman L. Geisler called the Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, which is really without parallel; if it's too expensive, perhaps you can get your church, your student fellowship or your library to purchase it. Also valuable is the Handbook of Christian Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli, which is less expensive. Some helpful apologetical resources have been listed by the Faculty-Staff Christian Fellowship of the University of California at Santa Barbara.

STRANDED IN SUMMERTIME

Professor Theophilus,
Here's the deal. I will be a junior at a large, state university next fall. I'm on the leadership team in a campus ministry and go to a church with some of my friends from college there. Anyway, I came home for the summer because I got an internship in my hometown, and I'm not getting much Christian fellowship here. The people in my small, traditional hometown church are nice, but they are mostly older people or people with little kids. I don't really feel comfortable there, and I really miss having friends my age to go to church with.

I miss my college church so much, and I miss my campus ministry. I try to stay strong on my own, but it is hard to do it you don't have anyone else to keep you accountable. I moved here trusting God that He would work things out, and I know for some weird reason He has a purpose for this summer, but right now I just can't wait for this summer to be over. Any suggestions?

To most people in your situation I'd suggest simply trying another church! Small towns aren't so small any more, and almost every town includes at least one solidly biblical church with college-age people. Your circumstances are more difficult. As you explained in the rest of your letter, some of your friends do go to a church with a college group, but your internship requires you to work when the college group meets. Not only that, but your dad is the pastor of your present church, and you think it would be wounding for you to shop around for another. I commend your desire to honor him.

Is it possible that God's purpose in bringing you home for the summer is to teach you communion with people who are not like yourself? Division of churches into "interest groups" like Singles, Young Marrieds and Seniors is a recent development. Though it has certain advantages, it also tends to make us forget that the Church is the Body of Christ and that all of us depend on each other. Our sympathies become contracted, and our opportunities to get outside ourselves, to join with those to whom the Holy Spirit has given different gifts, and to learn from those more experienced than ourselves, are all diminished. The very fact you find three short months with older people so difficult suggests that you may have something very important to gain from it. Consider this possibility with humility — and when you return to college, remember to participate not only in your student fellowship but also in a real church.

HONORING NONBELIEVING PARENTS

Professor Theophilus,
I am an Indian-American and former Hindu who became a Christian last fall. I would love to talk to some of my Indian friends about my Christianity, but the problem is my parents. They are having a hard time accepting this as it is (I was going to have to move out this spring when they withdrew financial support, but they relented), and I don't want to make it harder for them. I know they're ashamed and would be even more so if any of their friends found out. What should I do? I'm having a hard time committing myself to all aspects of the Christian life while still honoring them.

Jesus has great compassion for you. The same Savior who reaffirmed the command, "Honor your father and your mother" (Matthew 15:4, 19:19) also knew what the Gospel would mean for those whose dear ones refused it, for He said, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn 'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law — a man's enemies will be the members of his own household'. Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10:34-38).

Until your parents themselves become followers of Christ, the Cross will inevitably be a scandal to them. Nothing you can do will change that. What you can do is offer yourself to Christ as His instrument to draw them to Himself. Your parents probably see your faith largely as a rejection of themselves. Explain to them that God the Father commands you to honor your earthly mother and father in all ways that are consistent with His perfect will. Be such a loving daughter that by His grace, they may see the difference which His grace in you has made. Stand your ground firmly but respectfully, pray without ceasing for their conversion, and ask your Christian friends to pray with you.

I invite other converts to share the insights they have gained about their relationships with their own non-believing parents. You can write in HERE.

MY BOYFRIEND WANTS TO MODEL

Professor Theophilus,
What do you think about modeling? Is it spiritually dangerous? My serious boyfriend and I are both Christians. He's quite good looking and has been to a conference for New York model contracts. I believe that in order to make the big bucks, he'll have to "sell the temple" for sex appeal. He assures me that I just need to keep an open mind. Am I overreacting?

One the one hand, this is a fallen world, so it would be hard to name any line of work which posed no spiritual dangers. A teacher's line of work poses the temptation to intellectual pride; a statesman's, the temptation to do wrong for political gain; a laborer's, the temptation to cheat his employer by lazy or shoddy work. Moreover, modeling is not intrinsically wrong, like prostitution; it is at least possible to model without sin, for there is nothing wrong with showing potential customers how clothes look on real people.

On the other hand, I am inclined to agree with you that the spiritual dangers of modeling are greater than in most lines of work. Besides the temptation to "sell the temple," they include the temptation to sexual vanity and the strong influence of bad associates. Nor could it be argued that the good of human life requires that some people be models, as it requires that some people be farmers and bricklayers. I am giving you only my personal judgment, and cannot pretend that there is a biblical commandment "Thou shalt not model." But if I were counseling my own son, I would urge him to find another way to make a living.

IS REACHING GOD LIKE REACHING CHICAGO?

In "Back from the Shadowlands," I wrote as follows:

Why couldn't many religions be true? Imagine that while travelling to Chicago, you come to a crossroads from which you could travel along a straight road in any of four directions: North, South, East, or West. All four roads are labelled "This Way to Chicago," but it stands to reason that at least three of the signs must be wrong. Of course it's possible that none of the roads lead to Chicago (for example, Chicago might be to the Northwest), but at most, only one of them leads there. With religions, it's just the same. Each one says "This way to the Most Important Thing," but they give logically inconsistent instructions, so at most one of them really leads there. Of course, to say that a road doesn't go to Chicago doesn't mean that there's nothing good about it. Maybe it's scenic or historic,; maybe there are Chicago tourism booths along the way; maybe, while travelling on it, you can even catch glimpses of Chicago at a distance. Just remember that none of these things will get you to Chicago.

A number of readers wrote in to criticize my explanation. I agree that I could have made my point more clearly. Let's see if I can clarify it here! There were three main criticisms.

Objection #1: But there IS more than one way to get to Chicago.

Of course there is, but my point was not that spiritual roads are just like physical ones — it was that they aren't like physical ones. My argument was not "Just as there is only one way to get to Chicago, so there is only one way to get to God." Rather it was "Because there are many ways to get to Chicago, we easily assume that there are many ways to get to God. But you could imagine a world in which there were only one way to get to Chicago — and that's what the spiritual world is like."

Objection #2: Your roads were straight. Real roads curve.

Okay, let's speak of directions instead of roads. The spiritual course of an individual's life is often full of curves, but that's because he is changing directions, not because he is consistently following a direction. For example I may begin by following the direction "Wealth," which leads away from God, but later I may curve around to follow the direction "Christ," which leads toward Him.

Objection #3: All of the major world religions acknowledge some form of the Golden Rule, so shouldn't you have said that all of the roads point in roughly the same direction?

Although it's true that many of the same moral rules are recognized in all major world religions, that doesn't mean that they all lead to God in the end. We may know God's moral requirements, but by our own unaided efforts we fall infinitely short of them. As I see the matter, then, it's like this:

One of the greatest roads on the spiritual map is called "Be Holy, As I, the Lord, Am Holy." It really does point toward God, and there really are people of more than one religion walking on it. The problem is that the further you walk, the steeper the Road of Holiness becomes, until it ends in the Cliff of Purity — a flat, vertical rise of polished glass which no human being can scale. From here, people wander off in different directions. Some turn off onto a different path which is also marked "The Road of Holiness," but the roadsign is wrong; the real name of this road is "Trust Your Own Righteousness," and it ends in an arctic wilderness where everyone freezes to death.

Yet those who wait humbly at the foot of the cliff may hear a voice from way up on top. It is the voice of God Himself, calling "I'm throwing down a rope. If only you'll trust it enough to grab and hang on no matter what, I'll pull you up." Sure enough, there it is — right in front of you — just within your reach. The rope is Jesus. There is no other. He said so Himself. Will you take hold?

If you have questions you’d like to Ask Theo, send us an email and we'll pass it along to him.