Answers For Honest Questions by Common Ground Publications
There are two major categories of reasons why people reject Christ. The first is their emotional objections and the second is their in objections of those who don’t know Christ through our relationships do not in themselves dismiss their us. We can overcome the emotional caring relationships with them. But these objections to Christianity. John Stott has expressed well what our attitude should be. “We cannot pander to intellectual arrogance, but we must cater to intellectual integrity.”` When our friends are genuinely searching for answers, we are obliged to respond to their queries. As Josh McDowell says, “The heart cannot rejoice in what the mind rejects.”
Why are so few Christians able to effectively communicate the reasons for their faith? The problem is not that we want to be disobedient to our calling, but rather it’s our fear of being overwhelmed by objections we cannot handle. Once again, Satan has used so little to confuse so many. People who are actively involved in relational evangelism know that the number of real objections is surprisingly small. Many Christians assume there must be 3,000 hurdles to overcome when, in reality, the objections non-Christians raise are variations of only a small number of issues.
Here are three practical suggestions to help you increase your effectiveness in working with intellectual objections. 1) Listen carefully. Be sure you know where your friend is having trouble. Don’t answer questions that aren’t being asked. 2) Study to learn the answers. if you don’t know how to deal with the objection, honestly admit I Tell him or her that you’ll get back to them with some response to the issue as soon as you can. Remember, the first time you don’t have an answer to a question is understandable, but the second time you don’t have an answer to the same question is inexcusable. 3) Watch your words. Harsh words are harmful words. Don’t let an announcement become an argument, an invitation become an indictment, or friendly persuasion become fanatical pressure.
PREPARING TO ANSWER
Other than social and felt-need issues, your friends generally ask variations of only about a dozen questions concerning Christianity. In order to help you to be as prepared as you can to deal with these
questions, a list of some helpful books on several of the major questions. Make room for some of them on your bookshelf, make room in your schedule to study them: and make room in your life for the people
who ask these questions. Here is a list of some helpful books on several of major questions. Make room for some of them on your bookshelf; make room in your schedule to study them; and make room in your life for the people who ask these questions.
Overview of Most Common Questions
Christianity: The Faith That Makes Sense, Dennis McCallum, Living Books-Tyndale, 1992. A helpful overview in a convenient size by a pastor and apologetics speaker from Columbus, Ohio. De Your Faith, Dan Story, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1992. A well-organized book that covers 16 basic questions with many helpful charts. I’m Glad You Asked, Ken Boa and Larry Moody, Victor Books-SP Publications, 1982, 1994. Something of a classic in popular apologetics, with 60,000 copies in print, by one former and present Search staff member. It covers 12 basic questions with a flow chart for each question.
The Existence of God
Can Man Live Without God? Ravi Zacharias, Word Publishing, 1994. This excellent book comes from lectures delivered at Harvard by this former Hindu priest turned Christian apologist. Show Me God, Fred Heeren, Searchlight Publications, 1995. A fascinating work by a Christian writer, producer and publicist, presenting scientific evidence for design in a very readable style with many helpful illustrations, pictures, charts, interviews and other highlights.
Miracles and the Resurrection
Miracles: A Preliminary Study, C. S. Lewis, Macmillan, 1947. The classic study of this century Knowing the Truth about the Resurrection, William L. Craig, Servant Books, Rev. ed., 1988. A very helpful book
by one of the leading evangelical philosophers of our time. no Moved the Stone? Frank Morison, Zondervan Publishing Co., 1979. Another classic study by an English journalist who set out to try to disprove the resurrection.
Biblical Reliability
Can I Really Believe? Howard Vos, World, 1995. While it covers other issues, this book by this well-known author is especially helpful on the reliability of the Bible.
You Can Trust the Bible, John R. W. Stott, Discovery House, 1991. A very helpful book by this respected British pastor and scholar.
Evil and Suffering
Making Sense Out of Suffering, Peter Kreeft, Servant Books, 1986. Perhaps the finest contemporary book on the subject by the head of the philosophy department at Boston College. The Problem of Pain, C. S.
Lewis, Macmillan, 1943. The classic 20th century treatise from the famous Oxford and Cambridge man of letters and Christian apologist.
History and Deity of Jesus
Jesus Christ: The Witness of History, Norman Anderson, Inter-Varsity Press, 1985. A very complete study by this former director of Advanced Legal Studies at the Univ. of London.
More Than A Carpenter, josh McDowell, Living Books-Tyndale, 1977. An evangelistic classic with over 8,000,000 copies in print.
Christ the Only Way – Those Who’ve Never Heard
Is Jesus the Only Savior? Ronald H. Nash, Zondervan, 1994. This Christian philosopher makes the philosophical and theological issues in the debate more accessible to the average reader. What About Those Who Have Never Heard? John Sanders, ed. Inter-Varsity Press, 1995. Gives three views on the destiny of the unevangelized within the spectrum of evangelical opinion.
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