One of the most important questions ever uttered can be found in an ancient biography. It was written by a man named John who had an amusing nickname: Son of Thunder. He was an eyewitness to the events recorded in this biography, and wrote about them no more than 40 years after the fact. As he says in his own words "[That] which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim."

In that document is the account of a man who has been wrongfully accused of a crime by the religious authorities of his day. He was arrested and tried in secret. His accusers fabricated witnesses. For his alleged crimes they sought the death penalty. Since they did not have the legal right to execute this judgment, they sent him to the only governing body that did. As this man is being questioned by the legal magistrate, we come across a very interesting part of the conversation:


I hope you fully comprehend the importance of that question. "What is truth?" Without an adequate answer to this question, we cannot genuinely know anything. In fact, if truth did not exist, we couldn't even ask it.

I recently finished reading the new book by Greg Koukl, "Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing your Christian Convictions." This book is incredible. It has motivated me to find opportunities for dialogue with those who do not already share my convictions. I have a great love of the Truth that Pilate asked about, and I love to share it with others when I can. However, I rarely encounter any chances to have a conversation with anyone outside my own little "Christian" circle. This is a sad reality, and I doubt I am the only one who has this problem.

There were several ideas in the book that got me thinking, but only two that I'll briefly mention. The first was that an Ambassador for Christ needs to have "an accurately informed mind." In other words, we need knowledge. The second was the idea of "practicing." It probably sounds strange to practice for a conversation, but I was intrigued. The point was to do your research ahead of time...try to anticipate any objections or arguments you might encounter. Then you will be prepared with an answer and won't be caught off guard. Makes sense. The only problem is that I have no idea where to begin. Now, I know what scholars say are the most common objections to Christianity, but I want to know what the average person really thinks. I want to hear it from the lips of people who haven't written books or built their careers around being a skeptic. I want to find real people with real questions.

This has prompted me to try a little experiment. I am asking anyone who reads this to give me their best objection to the teachings of Christianity. What concern is preventing you from following the historical Jesus of Nazareth? What bothers you? Why are you a skeptic? What kind of evidence would be necessary to convince you of the truthfulness of classical Christianity? If you aren't a skeptic, what objections have you heard from others? Hit me with your best shot, as they say, and I will do my best to hit you with mine.

Or maybe you are just curious, and wonder what, exactly, Christianity does teach. No question is too stupid. All honest comments are welcome. I would love an opportunity to dialogue with someone about Truth, because that sounds like great fun to me!

After I research the questions, I will post the answers here. Since I admit there are subjects that are beyond my intellectual capacity, my responses may include links to other sites, or recommended reading materials written by people much smarter than I am. If you are honestly looking for answers, I hope you will not shy away from the effort it takes to find them.

If you have a question you would like answered, simply put it in the comments section below. You don't have to be a member of Xanga to comment, you can post anonymously. If you aren't comfortable doing that, or would like to speak with me directly for any reason, you can reach me at blog.schwanica@yahoo.com.

Whatever you do, please do not let this opportunity to find real answers pass you by. Don't just read this and move on to something else. Seriously think about it. Ask yourself, "What is truth?" and don't stop asking until you know the answer.

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. - Isaiah 1:18

I found this clip of a scene from an episode of E.R. All I can say is WOW!! I was quite surprised to see something so profound be produced by the entertainment industry. I have not seen the entire episode, but this is what you can infer from the scene: the man in the bed has done bad things. Presumably he has been responsible for "taking the law into his own hands" as it were...for killing someone he believed to be guilty of a crime, but wasn't. He is now on his death bed, and wondering if there is any possibility of finding forgiveness. Now enters the "Chaplain" a la Oprah Winfrey.



Whoever wrote the script for this scene really "gets it." I fail to understand how anyone could be satisfied, intellectually or spiritually, by this pluralistic/relativistic "all-roads-lead-to-God-it's-up-to-us-to-interpret-what's-right" mantra? I suppose you can live with that mentality for a while, albeit not consistently. It is possible to spend a great deal of your life doing whatever "feels right" (aka: feels good) and find ways to justify it to your conscience. But what happens when your life is almost through and the overwhelming feelings of guilt begin to settle in? Were I in this man's shoes, I personally would be screaming along with him "Find me someone 'who believes in a REAL God and a REAL hell.'" The sad part is most people don't have the benefit of knowing that their lives are about to end. As a result, they buy into the self-refuting claim that "there is no absolute truth" right up to the moment that they encounter The Truth face to face and realize how wrong they were. Only then it will be too late.

If you would like to know what the so-called Chaplain should have told that man, I would be happy to discuss it with you. Feel free to e-mail me at blog.schwanica@yahoo.com.