Jesus

Why Christianity Might be Worth a Second Look

Tom Price

Introductory

Have you decided not to go for a swim?

Did you know you can read all the books on swimming, understand exactly how water holds a body up, and still be standing, dry, on the edge of the pool? The thing is that getting into the pool isn’t about belief or understanding. It’s an act made with the body, not the head. At some point, the question moves from ‘Is this going to hold me?’ to ‘will I get in?’

In John Lennox’s DOAC interview with Steven Bartlett (LINK with timestamp), John makes a similar argument when Steven invites him to ‘convince me’ about the Christian faith. John’s analogy is that there’s a red Ferrari waiting for Steve if he’d only go outside and see for himself. At some point, pursuing knowledge about a truth must give way to experiencing the truth for yourself.

But why Christianity – out of all the options?

This isn’t to say that there aren’t solid reasons to think that Christian faith is the truth from God. The gospel is convincing for many reasons.

Firstly, because it is intellectually coherent – it gives logical and persuasive reasons for God. This also works cumulatively, so the reasoning stacks up together. Here are two (of many), cosmic fine tuning and ethical values.

The cosmic fine-tuning of the universe tells us that the laws and forces of physics are finely tuned for life. The chance of a life-permitting universe is like watching somebody play a royal flush in a poker game 30 times in a row. Rather than looking to chance, it is much more logical to look to God as the cause.

Then there are ethical values, and the fact that some things are really, clearly right and others really, clearly wrong. Sometimes there is moral progress – things get better – but compared to what? The best solution to these questions about the nature of right and wrong is that they come from God.

Your longings are telling you something

Secondly, Christian faith maps onto our experiences, our longings and lives. Patterns in human imagination repeat through film, literature, stories and music and indicate a search for a deeper narrative. The search for a hero. The search for a redemptive rescue. The hope that stories will end in peace and unity. There is a God-shaped hole in human imagination. With the world now feeling closer to the edge, the question won’t go away: will everything be ok?

Human beings carry unmet desires. C.S. Lewis called it a longing that nothing in this world can satisfy. We get the car, the phone, the achievement, the career, the partner, the situation — and we still find ourselves asking, “Is there not more to this? Should this not satisfy me for longer?” The deep human longings for love, security, intimacy, knowledge and identity, find their answer, Christianity claims, in a God who promises to meet those fundamental needs.

Thirdly, the best reason for the truth of Christianity is Jesus and his claim to be God. Jesus was a real person. Jewish, Roman, and Greek historical sources outside of the Bible, none of whom were Christians, independently recorded the life of Jesus. They confirm that he lived, taught and that he was killed on a cross. And then that extraordinary claim that something had happened after his death that turned almost everybody around him into incredible missionary evangelists, and converted some of his most violent opponents into missionaries themselves.

Christianity isn’t a self-help programme

Fourthly, because of grace and relationship. The biggest misunderstanding about Christian faith is that it is all about sorting yourself out, getting yourself together, and bettering yourself. But that is just not right. Jesus died on the cross to deal with what separates us from God – our instinct to go it alone, to strive and self-improve our way through life without him. Because going it alone, backing only yourself, and no matter how hard you try isn’t going to cut it before a holy and pure God.

Jesus offers a loving and real friendship based on you receiving the forgiveness that his cross has made possible. This means that your connection with God is different, you become friends with God, he comes closer than a brother or sister, if you allow him to.

Getting in is easier than you think

So there you are, standing at the side of the pool and you are convinced that the water will hold you. You’re ready, no more holding back, no more sidelines. You know it deep down that you want to come home to God, and that Jesus is the one to make that possible.

So what do you do now?

Here is the thing that’s rarely spoken about: getting in is actually really easy, you don’t need the right words, place or a weird voice. It is as simple as three things: Sorry, Thank you, Yes.

“Sorry, I’ve been doing life without you God, I want to turn back to you. I’m sorry for all my mistakes.”

“Thank you, I’m not able to earn this forgiveness but I want to receive it. I accept what Jesus did on the cross with open hands.”

“Yes, I’m stepping off the side, I’m saying amen and yes to a friendship with you. Yes to following you. Yes to growing in my faith. Yes, I’m 100% in.”

You can just pray these three words right now, in your own way. Jesus is not waiting for your eloquence. He is waiting for you to get in the water.

Things to do next:

Join and start attending a lively, bible teaching local Christian church near you (https://www.eauk.org/churches)