gustavo's musings (8 of 10) - "questioning how we share our faith..."

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Gustavo’s Musings (#8 of 10)

(July 2005)

Talking religion

Questioning how we share the Christian faith

…But in your hearts, set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone whoasks you to give a reason for the hope that you have. (1 Peter 4:15)

I recently had an e-mail conversation with a friend of mine whose belief system is very different

than mine.I’m a product of that strand of evangelical Christianity, which stands firm in its convictions

regarding original sin, man’s depravity, his need for a savior, the gift of salvation and eternal life thatcomes only through faith in God’s son, Jesus Christ, as well as the reality of the hereafter. I also believe

the Bible to be the true and inspired word of God.My friend Peter (not his real name) engaged me in a series of discussions on God and the

Christian faith. By the end of an exhausting back and forth argument, we had covered the gamut of intellectual barriers that many people have with respect to God and with respect to the Christian religion.

Here are some of the questions I attempted to tackle during our e-mail discussion:

• Why does God allow good and decent people to die of incurable diseases?• Why doesn’t God answer my prayers for healing?

• Why does God allow so much evil in the world?

• What does a relationship with God give me that I don’t already have?

• Won’t God accept good-hearted and kind people into heaven?• Will God forgive someone for truly heinous crimes they have committed if they sincerely repent

and ask for forgiveness?

• Isn’t one sin (say murder) more serious than another?• Why must I go to church if I’m a Christian?

• What about those who have never heard of Jesus?

• Don’t all religions basically lead to the same God?

Before I continue, let me say that if you are a Christian reading this article, you should havereasonably, well thought out biblical responses to questions like these. They raise valid issues that are

part of our pluralistic, post-modern, popular culture. The source of these pointed inquiries goes right tothe heart of God’s character as well as to his plan for the redemption of mankind through Jesus Christ.

While we may turn to prepared resources to help formulate our answers, it is ultimately our responsibility to be adequately equipped to contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

Beyond good apologetics

But in that same breath, my purpose for writing goes far beyond a call to good apologetics.Rather, in the aftermath of my discussion with Peter, I couldn’t help but feel a vague dissatisfaction, not

because I wholly failed to convince my friend of key beliefs, but rather, because of my approach to theentire debate.

The first disheartening development was how I quickly and instinctually moved into evangelismattack mode once Peter gave me the green light to discuss spiritual matters. I fired off every salvo in my

arsenal including the four spiritual laws, how easily we break the 10 commandments, and all those



internally when he encountered the needy, the downtrodden, and the marginalized. All of this wasglaringly missing from my so-called gospel presentation. One might say I misrepresented God, which is

putting it kindly.Peter was a good sparring partner in our debates. Thankfully, he was a good sport too. I’m

certain that as I tried to enlighten him about God, faith and the Christian message, he never imagined

that he would be teaching me a few things as well. My hope is that he’ll notice a difference in me if weever take up the discussion again. God bless the Peters of the world.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gustavo Karakey was born in Durango, Mexico and grew up in Southern California. Currently,he lives in Boston with his wife and three children.

From 2004-2008, he served as a missionary to Paraguay, South America teaching at theMethodist Bible Institute just outside of Asunción.

In 2011, Gustavo and his family will be moving to Medellín, Colombia, where Gustavo willserve as a professor of New Testament at the Biblical Seminary of Colombia (www.fusbc.edu.co).

Gustavo’s passion is to help develop pastors and leaders for the church in Colombia and LatinAmerica as well as to prepare missionaries from Colombia for the unfinished task of global missions. * * * * *

To learn more about this exciting ministry in Colombia visit: http://www.karakey.com

To sample or purchase a copy of Gustavo’s book “Making Sense of the Bible” which provides a step- by-step method to better understand the Scriptures visit:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/22475

gustavo's musings (8 of 10) - "questioning how we share our faith..."

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