Prepared to Give an Answer

11/12/14        Rick

A man named Rick was out walking his dog when I initiated a Gospel conversation, asking about his beliefs.  “Where are you at spiritually?”  “I grew up attending church, but lately I’ve been moving in the opposite direction.  I’ve been doing a lot of reading, people like Hitchens and Harris and Dawkins, and I don’t think I believe in God anymore.”   “They do have some convincing arguments, don’t they?” I responded.  We went on to talk about some of these arguments – and the Christian and Bible based counterarguments.  I don’t spend a lot of time reading or talking with people about the works of these critics of Christianity, but it is important to at least have a working knowledge of what they are saying in order to present a reasonable defense of the faith.  The best arguments present the counterclaims, if only to demonstrate their flaws.  Many Christians would rather avoid anything that could possibly cause us to doubt or to weaken our faith, but if we truly believe we won’t fear questions that others use to defend their unbelief, and we will do our homework in able to “be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”  (1 Peter 3:15)