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Are you prepared to answer challenges and the common questions that unbelievers ask Christians?

     Charlie Campbell, a pastor at Calvary Chapel Vista in southern California, believes that we should be able to provide one-minute answers to the most common questions posed by skeptics.  He has created a wonderful resource book called “One Minute Answers to Skeptics' Top Forty Questions”.  Here on this page are some of the questions that unbelievers ask Christians about God, the Bible, hell, salvation, etc. When somebody asks me “What evidence do you have that the Bible is actually true?” Charlie doesn’t attempt to walk them through a whole pile of evidence (“And the fifteenth reason is…”). He tries to answer their question in under a minute. What follows here are examples of ways that you might answer a variety of questions in under a minute.

“What evidence do you have that there is a God?”
There are only three options for the existence of the universe. One, that it has always been. Two, that it came into being by itself. Three, that it was created. The first option (known as the steady state theory –that the universe is eternal) has been thrown out. Scientific evidence has ruled that out. Evidence like the motion of the galaxies, and the background radiation echo all point to the fact that the universe sprung into existence at a particular point in time, something scientists call the Big Bang. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. Option two is impossible. It would be impossible for the  universe to create itself, because before it existed there would have been nothing to do anything. And we all know that nothing cannot do anything. Nothing is literally no thing. It can’t see, smell, act, think. It is nothing. So option one and two are thrown out based on scientific and philosophical grounds. Option three, that something outside of the universe actually created the universe, is the only reasonable option. Let’s imagine I am holding up a painting. When you see a painting on a wall, what proof do you need to establish the fact that a painter exists? Nothing else besides the painting itself. The painting is absolute proof that there was a painter. You don’t need to see the painter to believe that he exists. The painting is all the evidence you need. The painting would not be there if the painter didn’t exist. And so it is with God. The existence of the universe itself proves absolutely that there is a creator.

See our study on the existence of God on our homepage: www.AlwaysBeReady.com for more help on this topic.

“What about those who’ve never heard of Jesus? Will they be condemned to hell?”

The Bible says that God is loving, that He’s just (fair), and that He’s sovereign. It also says that He’s not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). If they have never heard of Jesus, the Bible says that God is going to be absolutely fair with them, and that He will judge them based on what they do know through the testimony of creation, and their conscience (Romans 1:20, 2:12-15). If there’s a person who would receive Jesus, if only he heard about Him, I personally believe that God, in His love, will send them a missionary, an angel, a Bible, give them a dream, direct them to a website, etc. so that they can know the truth. You have heard the truth. You have heard of Jesus’ death on the cross for your sins and God will hold you accountable for what you do with that information.

“If God is so loving why does He allow evil and suffering?”
That is most common question that people have regarding God. Here’s an interesting question for you to consider:  What do you propose God should do about it?  To stop evil, God would have to stop those who cause the suffering: Adulterers, liars, murderers, criminals, fornicators, etc. Wouldn’t that mean you too? Haven’t you by your own actions caused some of the suffering that exists in the world? Haven’t you hurt somebody’s feelings? My friend, God has not destroyed evil because He would have to destroy us. By permitting evil and suffering to continue, God is actually showing the world mercy. The Bible says that there is coming a day when He will stop evil. In the mean time, He is using the suffering that exists for good. It’s often times when a person is suffering that they will see their need for God.

See our study on evil and suffering on our homepage: www.AlwaysBeReady.com for more help on this topic.

 
“How can you say that Jesus is the only way to heaven?”

That is what the Bible teaches. Let’s imagine for a moment that you have just hurt my feelings in a terrible way. You said and did some really mean things against me. Would you be able to go to just any person and apologize to them in order to make right our relationship?”  The answer is “No.” The same is true with God. He is a personal being. We have grieved Him by the mean things we have said and done. We have sinned against Him. Therefore we must go back to Him in order to have the relationship restored. We must go through Jesus, because He is God. (Here are some verses that speak of only one way to heaven: John 14:6, 1 Timothy 2:5, Acts 4:12, Matthew 7:13, Isaiah 43:11, etc.)

“Doesn’t that seem narrow, that God would only save people through Jesus?”

I don’t see it that way. The Bible portrays God’s offer of salvation as very broad. The Bible says that God loves the  whole world (John 3:16, Rom. 5:8) and that He died for the sins of all mankind (1 John. 2:2). God is making His   salvation available to people on every continent and the Book of Revelation tells us that in heaven there will be people  of every nation, tribe, and tongue (Rev. 17:9)

“What evidence do you have that that the Bible is actually true?”
If I had to narrow down it down to two evidences, I’d probably say fulfilled prophecy, and archaeology. The Bible, unlike any other religious book has demonstrated itself to be the Word of God through it’s ability to rightly predict the future. There are literally hundreds of very specific prophecies that were given hundreds of years before their fulfillment that have already been fulfilled. No other religious book can verify itself in this way. The Bible has also been proven to be a reliable historical document through archaeological discoveries. In fact there have been more than 25,000  archaeological discoveries that have verified the names of persons, places, events, and customs mentioned the Bible.

See our series of studies on the trustworthiness of the Bible on our homepage: www.AlwaysBeReady.com

for more help on this topic.
 

“How can a loving God send somebody to hell?”
The last thing that God wants is for a person to end up there. The Bible says that God is not willing that any should perish (1 Timothy 2:4). So much so, that He left the glories of heaven in the person of Jesus, and came to the earth to pay the price for our sins through an agonizing death on the cross (John 3:16). If a person ends up in hell it will only be because they have rejected God, who has not only revealed Himself to the world in and through His written Word and His Son, but also through man’s conscience (Romans 2:15), and through testimony of creation (Psalm 19:1-6).

“How do you know that Christianity is true? Maybe Buddhism is true, or Islam, what makes you so sure?”
Well, simply put, Jesus said it was. And He proved that what He taught about God, life, death, sin, heaven and hell was true through (1) His miracles (2) His fulfillment of hundreds of Old Testament prophecies, (3) His sinless life, and (4) His resurrection from the dead. Buddha and Muhammad both admitted their sinfulness, performed no miracles, and both of their bodies are in their tombs to this day. Jesus’ grave is empty. He is the only reliable authority on life after death. He conquered death.

“How do you know that Jesus rose from the dead?”
Here are a few quick reasons. First, there was the amazing rise of Christianity into being 2,000 years ago, right in the very city where the people demanded Jesus’ crucifixion, and where Jesus was publicly crucified and buried. The best explanation for the sudden birth of Christianity and it’s phenomenal growth is that Jesus really did rise from the dead. Secondly, there were the agonizing deaths that the early Christians were willing to die for testifying that Jesus was   alive. Nobody willingly and knowingly dies for a lie. Thirdly, the New Testament says that Jesus rose from the dead, and archaeology and other external sources (Flavius Josephus) have proven it over and over again to be a historically  reliable writing. Fourthly, I believe that Jesus is alive because I cried out to him years ago, to forgive me of my sins and be the Lord of my life, and He has radically changed my life.

“What about evolution, hasn’t it disproved God’s existence?”
Not at all. In fact, more and more scientists are acknowledging that life is far too complex to have come about by mere time plus chance. In fact, many are beginning to acknowledge that not even a single cell could have come into being apart from an intelligent maker. It is that complex. Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling, acknowledged that “one living cell in the human body is, more complex than New York City.” There is a new book out called Icons of Evolution—Science  or Myth? by Dr. Jonathan Wells, a scientist who earned his Ph.D in Molecular and Cell Biology from U.C. Berkeley and a second Ph.D from Yale University. In this book he examines the evidence that scientists have held up as evidence for evolution, and exposes how their claims have been exaggerated and even lied about. I’d recommend you give it a read.It is fascinating. But let’s suppose the theory of evolution were true, does that mean there is no God? Not at all. It only explains what happened to life once it arose. It doesn’t explain how the universe came into existence. Certainly a creator was necessary, unless you are willing to believe that the universe came into being by nothing and from nothing…which seems, I must confess, absurd. 

“I don’t think God really exists. I asked Him to do _____________ if He really existed and He never did.
What if I said that I can’t believe in the President of the United States because I invited him to dinner and he didn’t come? Would I be justified in rejecting his existence just because he did not do what I ask him to do? Not at all. The same is true with God. There may have been a hundred good reasons why God did not do what you asked him to.

“If God made everything, as you Christians seem to suggest, then who made God?”
Nobody. The Bible says that He is eternal, and without beginning [Psalm 90:2]. So He didn’t need a maker, or a cause.

See our study on the existence of God on our homepage: www.AlwaysBeReady.com for more help on this topic.
 

“How can God and Jesus be one?”
Jesus did definitely did say that He and His Father were one in John 10:30. What did He mean? Well, in the passage immediately following Jesus’ words, it says that the Jews took up stones to stone Him (v.31). And verse 33 tells us why, “The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself out to be God.” The Jews were seeking to kill Him for blasphemy, for making Himself out to be  God. The Jews understood what Jesus was saying. The Bible teaches that there is one God that eternally exists in three separate, coequal persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When Jesus was saying that He was one with His Father, He wasn’t saying that He was the Father. He was saying that He was one with His Father in the sense that He was equal with His Father in nature [something John 5:18 and Hebrews 1:3 affirm], and in power [particularly in His ability to  protect His sheep, if you examine the context]. Jesus said elsewhere, “He who as seen Me has seen the Father” [John 14:9]. Jesus was saying that the person who had seen His works, heard His teachings and understood His character  had seen a perfectly clear representation of God the Father.
          

See our study on the deity of Christ on our homepage: www.AlwaysBeReady.com for more help on this topic.

“If Christianity is the way, why don’t more people see it?”
First I would remind you that millions upon millions of people down through the ages have come to the conclusion that Christianity is true. But regarding the many who have not, there are at least two reasons. First the love of sin. Secondly the deceiving influence of Satan. First, many people who are told the truth about Christianity and God’s offer of  salvation purposely close their eyes and ears to what they hear. Jesus said in John 3:20 that “…everyone who does evil [we all do evil, He is speaking of those who live an evil life] hates the light [or the truth] and does not come to the light, [Why?] lest his deeds should be exposed.” For many, the thought of giving up their sinful deeds to follow the Lord is   too big of a sacrifice. Secondly, 2 Corinthians 4:4 says that Satan “has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel.” Satan, through a variety of means (1 Jn. 5:19) has effectively blinded unbelievers even more so to the truth.