I Don't Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist
March 9, I concluded a series: "I Don't Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist." The title was taken from the book by that title, written by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek, published by Crossway books. Their material was a primary resource in developing this series and, appropriately, they were cited numerous times. You can listen to the series at www.fbc-cs.org; click on sermons.
The preparation/study for this series was a faith-renewing experience for me too. One parishioner said to me: "It really does take more faith not to believe than to believe." Yes, it does. Evidence is abundant. The Easter message is credible. As Geisler and Turek challenge their readers: Those who choose to deny the resurrection must come up with first-century sources that support their theories to explain away the resurrection (Geisler-Turek, pp 313-314). That would be a difficult assignment.
As I shared this series I was struck in a greater and greater way, by how important it is for us to visit the credibility issue. Christian faith is under attack. One would think listening to some popular media that you would have to turn your brain completely off to even consider Christian faith. We've had the attacks of the Davinci Code, Dan Brown's book published by Anchor; The Gospel of Judas by Bart D. Ehrman, Rodolphe Kasser, Marvin Meyer, Gregor Wurst, and published by National Geographic; and the supposed discovery of the lost tomb of Jesus in a book written by by Simcha Jacobovici and Charles Pellegrino and published by HarperOne, just to name recent attacks. I recall the cover of a major news magazine that announced I believe it was the Gospel of Judas, like it was a major new find - a front page story. It was laughable. Did they really think these "discoveries" were new? I wondered about the credibility of the magazine itself. When the news of the so-called "lost tomb of Jesus" broke it was as if someone had found something that would unravel Christianity. The secular press deleted it from relevant news almost instantly.
We need never fear careful investigation of our faith. It has solid, intellectual believability. If you would like to investigate further, I recommend the following resources . . .
1. I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be An Atheist, by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek, published by Crossway Books.
2. Is the Bible TRUE?: How Modern Debates and Discoveries Affirm the Essence of the Scriptures, by Jeffery L. Sheler, published by HarperSanFrancisco/Zondervan.
3. The New Testament Documents: are they reliable?, by F. F. Bruce, published by Inter-Varsity Press.
4. Record of Revelation : The Bible, by Wilford J. Harrington, O. P. published by The Priority press.
I often think about our brothers and sisters in the early church. They were under constant attack. The church was born with challenges to their message on every side. In case you haven't noticed, the church survived. Attacks on Christian faith are not new. After all, we follow Jesus Christ who was put on a cross because of who he claimed to be. But you know the rest of that story.
The preparation/study for this series was a faith-renewing experience for me too. One parishioner said to me: "It really does take more faith not to believe than to believe." Yes, it does. Evidence is abundant. The Easter message is credible. As Geisler and Turek challenge their readers: Those who choose to deny the resurrection must come up with first-century sources that support their theories to explain away the resurrection (Geisler-Turek, pp 313-314). That would be a difficult assignment.
As I shared this series I was struck in a greater and greater way, by how important it is for us to visit the credibility issue. Christian faith is under attack. One would think listening to some popular media that you would have to turn your brain completely off to even consider Christian faith. We've had the attacks of the Davinci Code, Dan Brown's book published by Anchor; The Gospel of Judas by Bart D. Ehrman, Rodolphe Kasser, Marvin Meyer, Gregor Wurst, and published by National Geographic; and the supposed discovery of the lost tomb of Jesus in a book written by by Simcha Jacobovici and Charles Pellegrino and published by HarperOne, just to name recent attacks. I recall the cover of a major news magazine that announced I believe it was the Gospel of Judas, like it was a major new find - a front page story. It was laughable. Did they really think these "discoveries" were new? I wondered about the credibility of the magazine itself. When the news of the so-called "lost tomb of Jesus" broke it was as if someone had found something that would unravel Christianity. The secular press deleted it from relevant news almost instantly.
We need never fear careful investigation of our faith. It has solid, intellectual believability. If you would like to investigate further, I recommend the following resources . . .
1. I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be An Atheist, by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek, published by Crossway Books.
2. Is the Bible TRUE?: How Modern Debates and Discoveries Affirm the Essence of the Scriptures, by Jeffery L. Sheler, published by HarperSanFrancisco/Zondervan.
3. The New Testament Documents: are they reliable?, by F. F. Bruce, published by Inter-Varsity Press.
4. Record of Revelation : The Bible, by Wilford J. Harrington, O. P. published by The Priority press.
I often think about our brothers and sisters in the early church. They were under constant attack. The church was born with challenges to their message on every side. In case you haven't noticed, the church survived. Attacks on Christian faith are not new. After all, we follow Jesus Christ who was put on a cross because of who he claimed to be. But you know the rest of that story.
posted by Pastor Randy Gauger at
3:51 PM
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