University of Central Florida Christianity Faith and The Bible Discussion

Post your answers to the following questions in a 200-300 word response. Then respond to at least 3 of your classmates’ posts with responses of 50 words or more:

So the idea is to answer each of these posts and make a question at the end of every comment we make our H post. Thank you so much let’s keep working together

Clifford Clayman Student 1

There are any number of arguments against the Christian faith. I know because I used many of them before I accepted Christ. I believe two of the most used arguments against Christianity and the Christian worldview are that the Bible was written thousands of years ago by unsophisticated people and it is has no relevancy to modern times and that Christians are hypocrites who do not practice what they profess to believe.

Yes, the Bible was written by people that were alive thousands of years ago. Most of the evidence points to Moses penning the Pentateuch around 1450 – 1400 BC. The New Testament was written much earlier but is still over 2,000 years old. The books of the Bible were written in three different languages many of us do not understand by men who lived in a culture that is totally foreign to us today. The authors may have lived in ancient times and did not have the technology we have today, but that does not make them primitive. That does not mean what they have to tell us is not meaningful or useful for our lives. The authors were sinners, just like you and me, but God used them to reveal His plan of redemption to us. The chief method of communication that God used with His people was through prophets. Again, they were just humans and used human language. However, they received divine revelation from God and that is why we read over and over the phrase, “Thus says the Lord.” So, the Old and New Testaments were written by ordinary, simple men, but they were specifically called out and used by God to be His spokesmen to His people. As the prophet Isaiah stated, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (English Standard Version, 2016, Isaiah 40:8).

It comes to me as no surprise that some professing Christians do not always live out their faith as they should. We have all inherited a sin nature from our father Adam and we are in a constant spiritual battle with the desires of our flesh. Many unbelievers have this misconception that a Christian must be perfect. A quick read through Paul’s letter to the Romans would tell them that, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (English Standard Version, 2016, Romans 3:23).The truth of the matter is that until believers are glorified, there will be hypocrites within the visible church. However, this does not make the claims of Christianity and the finished work of Christ null and void. No one, including Christians, is perfect in every way. The Christian is fully dependent on Christ for their salvation and sanctification. We depend on Christ to help us grow in our spiritual maturity and there will be times when we fail or backslide. Now, that does not give us reason to sin or act hypocritically, instead we should strive to follow Christ with all our heart, soul, and mind. Any attempt by someone to dismiss Christianity because of one person’s transgression is a standard that no one can attain to. It is not for us to judge the condition of one’s heart. There will be some who will hear, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (English Standard Version, 2016, Matthew 7:23). That is not for me to decide nor anyone else other than God. Surely Christians should desire to please God in all they do knowing there will be times when they fail and need to repent and put themselves back on the straight path.

Kayla Preston Student 2

I think for anyone it is hard for us to believe in what we can’t physically see. For me, I can’t imagine my life without God. He is my rock and my savior. I can feel Him speak to me and the blessings He pours out to me and my family. We have to have air/oxygen to even survive and breathe. It’s something we cannot see, yet we believe in it! Plants consume carbon dioxide that we exhale, and converts to breathable oxygen for humans. What about gravity? It is something we can’t observe. God is amazing, and I don’t understand why others can’t believe in Him. This is just a couple of small examples of how amazing He really is!!

Another would be why a God allows bad things to happen. I’ve always been one to believe that with sin in the world, bad things will happen. Humans make bad choices and in return we have consequences. Most everyone who experience loss with a family member, or close friend, cannot grasp the fact that a Holy God would allow suffering on our loved ones. The physical death that everyone will face one day, is just something that gets us to our eternal life in Heaven or Hell. Man’s rebellion to God has caused pain and suffering to Him & that is why we face the troubles of the world. Our spirit outside of this physical world is something we as Christians should long for. This is our temporary home, and while we live on this earth, our every breath should be in glorifying Jesus.

Jennifer Nave Student 3

I have heard many arguments against Christianity in my lifetime. I grew up with an atheist stepfather, and have had many other atheist acquaintances throughout the years. The most used argument is that of God allowing evil or suffering to happen, especially to the innocent, such as children. My response to this argument is I don’t think God necessarily allows the suffering. We all have free will to make decisions. I also think we don’t have all the answers, and we are not supposed to. One day we will all know why certain evil or suffering occurred in our lives. The entire basis of Faith is that we believe what we cannot see, so we just have to have faith and trust in the Lord until that time comes that we know. sometimes what we think is suffering could have been saving us from even more suffering.

The second argument that I often hear is the Bible could very well just be a made-up fictional book that someone wrote. The defense of that is that the Bible was written by many different people at different times and the same stories appear throughout by people that did not know each other and had no way of comparing stories. The only way that this would be possible is if the writings were inspired by God.

So the idea is to answer each of these posts and make a question at the end of every comment we make our H post. Thank you so much let’s keep working together