PROOF OF THE GOSPEL

Our evangelistic conversations with the educated generally accompanied by: “Prove that your God exists and that your bible is from God.”

While I am convinced that there are many sound evidences underpinning these beliefs, an attempt to prove them is seldom productive. Instead, here’s how I answered one skeptic who demanded proof:

“One proof is that you already know the Gospel to be true! Here’s how - We struggle with guilt, shame, pride, self-justifications, denials, jealousies, resentments towards others who have disrespected us - always trying to prove ourselves. Why? We are defensive and know that something is terribly wrong with us, and that we deserve judgment. This is why you hate a righteous God.

We can get into an abstract discussion about the evidence that the Bible is the Words of God, but this is quite extensive, and you will never bear with it.

Therefore, I think it imperative to begin where you are already, with what you already know to be true, with the very evident and unshakable human condition - the internal awareness that we are sinners who need the Savior.

All of our attempts at self-help and self-betterment have failed. They are little more than self-talk and positive affirmations that deny who we really are in order to feel OK about ourselves.

They cannot penetrate to the core of our problem – our relationship with Truth and with God. We cannot obliterate what we already know about ourselves. Psychopaths and sociopaths come closest, but what they have found is clearly pathological.

Atheists try to deny their culpability and feelings of guilt by believing that they are not really responsible for their sins. How? By denying freewill or by believing that we are just a product of our genes and environment. However, all of these solutions are a denial and degradation of who we are - moral people created to be like our Creator. These denials also reflect the reality of what we humans continue to struggle against, if we refuse to receive the Good News.”

The skeptic responded that I had been very rude and had no right to tell him how he feels or to preach to him. I responded:

“I perfectly appreciate what you've written. What I had written is rude and offensive, but more importantly, is it true? And if it is true, you need to explore it further rather than to become defensive.

This is why Jesus had taught, ‘No one can come to me unless they are drawn.’ Why is this so? Because we have a lot invested in our identity and we hate to be exposed for what we are. No one wants to believe what their heart is telling them - that they are a sinner whose only hope is in the mercy of God.

The alternative is to be at constant war with oneself, suppressing what is in their conscience and desperately trying to believe that they are really good and deserving people.”

The skeptic responded that he was aware of his dark-side and quoted Carl Yung: "I myself am the enemy who must be loved," acknowledging that this problem required the love of others. I therefore responded:

“I am glad that you can acknowledge these things about yourself. However, allow me to be a bit rude once again. Our moral and righteous nature will not allow us to comfortably coexist with the knowledge that we have "bad and malevolent aspects." This knowledge has its side effects. For one thing, we will continue to struggle against this knowledge. It’s just too painful to continue to see. We will therefore try to compensate for it by being popular or successful. For another thing, you correctly wrote, ‘I myself am the enemy who must be loved.’ This reflects the fact this problem prompts us to compulsively seek approval - a life-controlling preoccupation.

Please understand that I am not placing myself above you in any way. I have these same impulses. However, I have a place to hide and to seek the ultimate comfort and reassurance in the love of Jesus. For this, Christ died for us.”

The skeptic then dropped out of the conversation. I pray that a seed had been planted and will germinate.