After a bit, I attempted to share with him the idea that Truth is more than our opinions about things. Claims about Christianity are either true or they are not. It's not just a battle of experiences. Yet the cultural air we breathe says the following: You have this experience, I have mine. No one is right, we just live according to the beliefs we hold dear. "Truth" doesn't exist or really matter.
Here is the huge difference though: Christianity's claims are rooted in history. Either the resurrection happened or it didn't. If it didn't, Christianity is a joke and I am insane to move my family to Madison, WI to plant a church in 11 months (WAY too cold). I attempted to explain this to my friend.
When I have these conversations with people, what strikes me as odd is that I consistently get the "deer in the headlights" look. To me, the fact that Truth exists whether I do or not, seems quite plain and reasonable. Unfortunately, it's not according to most of our friends who don't reflect on these matters or believe in Jesus. I was reminded that as Christians we live in a bit of a parallel universe. Maybe not "a bit" but "quite a bit". Perhaps those parallel lines need to intersect little more, especially in my life.
My sense is that when sharing our faith, it might be vital to address the issue of Truth right off the bat. If we don't attack the idol of relativism (thanks Oprah) we my simply talk past each other and Christianity as a religion of exclusive claims will be dismissed outright with language of, "that's cool for you".
1 comment:
Great post. I have experienced the same thing. The question "Jesus said He was God. Do you believe Him?" seems to rock unbelievers. Either it is true or it is not. I find that their response to that question sets the tone for the rest of the conversation.
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