The more bizarre the better! Someone I know and love, by their own profession, is an avowed unbeliever. No time for God and Scripture, let alone the lifestyle of the straight and narrow. Instead, preferring the fashionable broad and winding path, to use Jesus’ terms, this person has stubbed their toe and run smack into more than one wall. You have to admire their tenacity. They stick with their self-willed course no matter the consequences.
A recent conversation proved enlightening for me. My esteemed person (Notice the lengths I go to respectfully preserve their anonymity.) passionately shared their latest insight on life. Seems this particular theory revolved around a foreign government’s program to silence dissent regarding use of nuclear energy. I was told that even though people’s health are presently suffering and lives are endangered, no one is allowed to blow the whistle. Ominous, indeed!
Politely inquiring as to the source of this scandalous information, I was informed it was the late night Radio Show “Coast to Coast AM with George Noory”. This is the same popular program that regularly features guests propounding the paranormal, as well as callers in the wee hours describing out of body experiences with space aliens, and various government conspiracies du jour.
I find it fascinating the things people choose to believe. (At the end of the day, belief or unbelief is a matter of choice.) In my friend’s case, it seems the exotic captures their interest…for a while. Intriguing that one finds credibility in the offbeat while dismissing out of hand faith claims that have endured thousands of years.
Another life-long friend, likewise is an overt skeptic of faith. Some years ago he boldly announced over lunch that having read The Divinci Code his suspicion of religion had been confirmed. When I responded that ample scholarly rejoinder exists; he replied firmly, “I don’t want to read a bunch of stuff!” I laughed, highlighting my old buddy’s intellectual inconsistency: raising objections yet refusing to consider corresponding answers! How convenient. A classic case of, “My mind is made up. Don’t confuse me with the facts!”
Christianity has been dissected more ways than your biology classroom frog. Skeptics relentlessly seek to disprove, discredit, and dismiss religion. Still, it endures. Archeology consistently corroborates biblical accounts. Literary criticism substantiates the reliability of Scriptural transmission yielding 5,366 manuscripts of evidence. Contemporary foes had every reason and means to squelch resurrection claims, yet could not. Philosophical and logical arguments verify the reasonable sensibility of faith claims. Millions of adherents offer first-hand testimony (sometimes at the cost of their own lives) to personal salvation. Jesus Christ has been the subject of more scrutiny than any figure in human history. Yet, He abides.
In conclusion, we all have a right to believe or not. I just hope what we believe is right.
