Hello Everyone,
Welcome to the first edition of The Friday Post! I am really excited to be posting each week on topics that deal with life and God. My prayer for you all will be that you take some time and read each post, think about them, and then respond using the comment link underneath this post. I have unlocked the comment feature so that all who read this post can respond. The only way you can post a comment is if you click on the title of the post which is found at the top of the post (For example: this one is "The Friday Post Vol.1 No.1 8.29.08"). You will then be redirected to the posts own page where you will go to the bottom of the post and click add comment. Please be courteous and respectful with your responses. I review all comments before they are given permission for posting. I desire for you to respond with questions about the post, maybe ideas you have about this topic, or if you don't agree tell me why. I WILL RESPOND to all comments, questions, etc. via the comment tab or email if you so desire. So if you are seeking to go deeper in your faith in God or if you are curious about faith in God then read these posts, think, and respond so that your brain can connect the dots to faith and you can begin living your life to its fullest potential in Christ your creator!
With that being said welcome to the first Friday Post:
We will be discussing the book The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel over the next couple of months. Each Friday I will post a summary from this book for you to read, think and respond to beginning today. If you are unfamiliar with this book, it is a book about making a case for faith in God. Lee Strobel is a journalist who seeks to investigate the toughest objections to Christianity. The first part of this book from the introduction through the first chapter lays out the foundation for this book. Strobel uses the examples of two very predominant men whose profession was writing and speaking. The first being that of Rev. Billy Graham who we all know so well as the faithful evangelist preaching God's Word to the world through the power of the Holy Spirit. The second person being Charles Templeton who followed God's calling on his life into evangelism alongside Billy Graham.
Strobel shares with us the different paths these two men took shortly after their coming together to spread the gospel. Templeton began to have doubts about faith and whether a loving God actually existed in a world with so much pain and suffering. Billy Graham, after discussing these matters with Templeton, sought after God through prayer, studying God's Word, and waiting on God for His direction in these matters in the stillness of the San Bernadino Mountains in Southern California. The two men came to two very different conclusions. Templeton's conclusion being the end of his evangelistic career and in fact the end of his ministry and faith in God. Graham's conclusion being the beginning of an amazing and influential journey of trusting God with everything. You see the two conclusions of these men differ so much because Templeton just could not get away from the doubts that were so pressing in his eyes, whereas Graham after seeking God in the mountains came down with the conclusion that though some of these tough philosophical and psychological questions couldn't be answered in human terms that God's Word must be accepted through faith.
In short, Strobel went and interviewed Templeton to ask him why he turned from Christianity to Agnosticism. Templeton explained to Strobel that an Agnostic believes that you cannot know if there is a God and therefore since you cannot know you cannot believe in God. In their interview Strobel asked Templeton about Jesus. Templeton immediately broke down and declared that Jesus was the most moral genius. Templeton began to weep saying he adored Jesus and missed him greatly. Because of Templeton's doubt he could not believe in Jesus when that was in fact what he was longing for the most. Strobel began to search deeply after the interview for the evidence for Christ's divine nature. He then published the book The Case for Christ. After that he began his next endeavor and that being this book The Case for Faith. He explains that this book was written to examine eight (he calls them "The Big Eight") objections that stand between a person and their faith in God. Stobel is a journalist so he is very thorough in his investigation of faith.
This week is more of an introduction to our study. Next week I will post "The Big Eight" to get you thinking and then we will discuss the first one next Friday. This book is a great book to get our brains thinking about faith but specifically your personal faith in God. It is important that we examine the tough questions of our faith. If we do not overcome these obstacles of faith ourselves then we will never be able to fully defend our faith in God. If you don't have faith in God then my prayer is you will check back and read these posts over the next two months and be open to the reality that God exists and we need an abiding relationship with Him. In fact, we were designed for it! More on that later!
Thanks for reading this weeks edition of The Friday Post! Check back next week for more. Don't forget you can respond using the comment link just below this post. God bless each of you.
For the cause of Christ,
Brad
