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Can Christianity hold its own as a logical worldview in the modern landscape of ideas?
Hello and Welcome to the first post at RationalFaithOnline.com. I’m glad you took the time to stop by and hope to see more of you in the future!
So the question today is whether Christianity is a reasonable and logical faith through which to view the world…or are Christians fooling themselves when they believe in Christ and other Christian teachings?
There are a lot of things Christians believe that seem pretty crazy…
When I say that I base my life on a book thousands of years old, believe a virgin had a child, dead people came back to life, sick people where miraculously healed, God became a man, and I pray to someone I can’t see…just to name a few…some people think I’m a few bricks short of a load.
Then there are questions like:
Why is there so much evil and suffering in the world?
Why not chose another religion competing with Christianity?
Can’t modern science explain everything? Why the need for God?
Jesus seems like he was a good guy, but how can you say he was really God?
All inquiries that lead to the question at hand…can I maintain my intellectual integrity and still believe in Christianity or should I pack my bags and move in next to Peter Pan in Never Never Land?
It’s a legitimate question.
I’ve spent hundreds of hours reading and thinking about this question over the last 20 years and I truly believe the teachings of Christianity offer the best explanation for the world we observe around us…and not just based on blind faith, but logic and evidence as well.
Many people these days seem to think they are ‘intellectually superior’ to belief in anything resembling religion, especially when that religion makes exclusive claims like Christianity does. I think it can be shown that Christianity is a perfectly plausible worldview based on the evidence we have available to us.
What I’d like to do in the coming weeks is discuss some reasons why I believe in God and his revelation to us through Christ, the Bible, and the world around us…and I hope to get you involved in the discussion as well.
You may find that what I have to say isn’t very compelling to you. That’s fine. My purpose is not to compel, but to offer a logical explanation for some of the beliefs I hold as a Christian. Whether you agree with my Christian views or not, I hope to show some reasons why it is intellectually respectable for me to hold them.
I need some help from you… Please comment on anything you see that interests you, makes you think, or you just don’t ‘get’ what I or any other participant is trying to say.
You can start right now by giving me some suggestions of a few things about Christianity that just don’t make sense to you. More than likely they don’t make sense to a lot of the rest of us either, and would make great fodder for future posts, so please click on the ‘comments’ link at the top of this message and leave a comment with your suggestions!
So back to the Never-Never Land question…that’s what the rest of this site and blog is dedicated to: providing reasons the Christian can stay right here in the real world. Come back often as we start delving into some interesting discussion.
One last thing before you go…look to the top right of this page. You’ll see a form offering a report on the resurrection of Christ, and notification each time a new post is available. Sign up now so you don’t miss anything!
Here’s to the Journey!
Rod MacKenzie
CLICK HERE For The Most Recent Post
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
hi ii have always believed in god and that jesus is the son of god. but as i get older i am having trouble justifying these beliefs. i sometimes think that the reason people have hung on to christ and the idea of god and heaven is because if they don’t what is the alternative. to not believe is to accept the fact that when you die you die. and when your loved ones die you will not see them again and they are not with you in spirit. i wonder if these ideals are what has kept the faith alive for so long. science has proven already that man did not just appear in a beautiful garden but evolved. it is fact. so why does the church just disregard that. i sometimes think that the old testament is more like a fable created to teach life lessons. but i cannot deny that jesus christ for me is something more. i have based my entire life and the way i treat others on the teachings of this great man. i do believe he existed and i so want to believe that he is the son of god. i have loved him my whole life and i am here because i want someone to restore my faith and explain to me how and why i should believe because i want to so badly but there is so much information out there that conflicts w/ what the bible says. i am not very educated but consider myself to be smart and have good common sense. please help me in my journey i do not want to lose my faith but i don’t want to believe in a fairytale. thank you.
Hi Donna,
You’re certainly not alone with your dilemma when it comes to Jesus and God in our modern society. There often seems to be conflicts when it comes to reconciling what the Bible teaches us about God and what contemporary wisdom says. Though I think there are real problems with the theory of evolution as it is currently understood, I don’t believe it is a game changer one way or the other as to whether one can still believe in Christ and what He’s done for humankind. How God chose to create and develop His creation is something we continue to study through science and through what He reveals to us.
I’m not sure I’m the one to help restore confidence in your faith, but I am confident in my own…though it sometimes seems I forget when I do and say things that are contrary to what God would have me do! The reason for this site is to offer support for the rational belief in God and Christ and the teachings of Christianity. I hope you find something here now and in the future that supports that for you. Take a look at the resources page as well. There are tons of excellent resources available from people more well versed and eloquent than I am that can address many issues in greater depth.
As far as belief in the truth of the existence of God and Jesus, I look at it like this:
I believe God exists for a variety of reasons. You can read about some of them here: Existence of God.
I believe God revealed Himself to us in three ways: Through His creation, the Bible, and His son, Jesus Christ. I’ve really only gotten started discussing why I truly think it’s rational to believe this through Rational Faith Online… I’m still discussing the existence of God…and a bit about His creation, which is related to His existence. But that’s the first step. If He exists and created us for some reason, it would make sense that He wanted to reveal Himself to us…and it would make sense for us to seek out that revelation.
I will be continuing to discuss the existence of God, the existence of evil, biblical reliability, and the life of Christ through this site. Hopefully there will be something that interests you. Don’t hesitate to check out the resources in the mean time!
Feel free to contact me and I’ll help out any way I can.
Rod
Hi Lynda,
Islam is certainly an interesting topic, especially with everything that’s happening in the Middle East…
Here are a couple links re: Islam that can be found through the RationalFaithOnline resources page:
http://www.bethinking.org/islam/
http://www.leaderu.com/focus/islam.html
If you’re looking for more info, take a look at the resources page and you can search out lots more from the links provided.
Hope that helps!
Rod
I think the very fact that people are still reading about the birth of a child over two thousand years ago speaks volumes. It’s not a “trend”, or the new, cool thing, it is the real deal. Christ lives, and Our Heavenly Father lives.
Maybe this could be for another post, but my understanding is that Muslims believe that Christ was a prophet, but not the Son of God. How do the Muslims explain that? Since they think He was a prophet, how do they explain the virgin birth, and everything else? Or do they believe an entirely different version of events? And if that is the case, then how could they think Christ was a prophet? I have always wondered …
Looking forward to the discussions.
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