APOLOGIST REPROVES THE GROSS IGNORANCE OF CHRISTIANS (Friday Church News Notes, June 18, 2010, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)
- The following is excerpted from “Most Christians Cannot Explain Their Faith,” Christian Post, June 3, 2010.
Josh McDowell is New Evangelical in his philosophy, but he is right about reproving evangelicals for their gross ignorance and inability to defend the faith scripturally, and what he says is widely applicable to fundamentalists, as well.
“The faith of most Christians, even that of many pastors, will not stand up to intellectual scrutiny, according to renowned apologist Josh McDowell. This is a concern because pastors’ inability to present biblical truth comprehensibly and relevantly has led to children from Christian families leaving the church, research has shown. In the United States, the age at which nearly all such children leave church has decreased to 18 years.
… During the past six years, he asked hundreds of Christians and leaders why they see themselves as Christians. Again no one gave him an ‘intelligent’ answer. In the past 17 years, he has asked over 4,000 pastors, leaders and parents why they believe the Bible is true. A mere six ‘came close to giving an intelligent answer,’ McDowell noted. … Ninety-five percent of Christians gave disappointing responses when asked why they believe Jesus is the Son of God. Asked why the Bible is true and historically reliable, Christians replied that it was what they had been taught by their church or parents.
A common response that most Christians gave to both questions was that it is ‘what I believe.’ McDowell responded: ‘That’s voodoo thinking. Where did we ever get that crazy idea that something is true just because we believe it? If that is true, then there will never be heresy. Everybody would be right.’ On one occasion, 13 youth pastors at a large convention were unable to reasonably answer the apologist’s question.
Finally one young person stood up, walked toward him and told him he knew the answer. The young man promptly held up his Bible and said, ‘Because I believe it.’ And to McDowell’s dismay, all the youth pastors applauded him. McDowell said, ‘Young man, do you know the difference between you, me, and the majority of Christians in the world? ‘To you, it is true because you believe it. For me, I believe it because it is true.’
http://wayoflife.org/files/f621e908c3a0de4041524baa5f227ea4-592.html