Over 60% of Protestants between the ages of 15-30 leave the church. Why? Three of the six main reasons found by the Barna Group deal with intellectual problems (Items 3, 5 and 6 in the first link below). Frank Turek discusses this problem extensively at his site (the second link) This is a tragedy, especially since Christianity has a powerful intellectual tradition! In John 14:6 Jesus says “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”. When digging into the evidence for and against Christianity, the fact that Jesus is the truth becomes quite apparent.

http://biologos.org/blogs/archive/six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church

http://crossexamined.org/youth-exodus-problem/

Many people think the Bible calls us to have blind faith, and that we are weak if we require evidence to believe. Reading the Bible however, it does not seem that Jesus thought this way. In Matt 9:1-7, Jesus forgives the sins of the paralytic, and then, “so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”, Jesus healed the man. When Thomas doubted that Jesus had been raised, Jesus invited him to put his fingers in the wounds. When John the Baptist doubted, Jesus gave evidence of his identity (Luke 7:20-22). In Acts 1:3, Paul tells us, after his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. Jesus was willing to give proof of who he was. In Mark 12:30, Jesus says the greatest commandment is to love the lord with our heart, soul, strength and MIND.

Paul also uses reason to support believers and convince skeptics. Acts 17:2-3, 19:8 and 28:23-24 discuss how Paul reasoned with the Jews using the scriptures. In Acts 2:22-32 Paul argues again from the scriptures, and gives reasons to accept the resurrection. Acts 17:30-31 discusses the proof of the resurrection, and in 1 Cor 15:3-8 Paul gives the creed that had been in use from the earliest days of the Church. Other verses include 1 Peter 3:15, in which Peter tells us to, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” Since I came to faith through apologetics, it can be called the reason for my hope, and it is my duty to proclaim it.

But does the Bible tell us to look outside of the scriptures for knowledge, or are we to get the truth strictly from the Bible? In Romans 1:19-20, Paul says “since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” This seems to indicate that a good bit of truth can be found outside of the Bible, so we should not limit our search for truth to the pages of the Bible. Lastly, In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” If Jesus is the truth, why on Earth should we be afraid of looking at evidence to find truth?

If Christianity is true, the evidence should be clear. We should not be afraid to openly discuss issues with people of other faiths, since Christ is the truth. We as Christians need to stop hiding from the culture, and directly engage with the ideas and worldviews in the culture. I hope this page will be a place people can come to find answers to questions, and to become bolder in their faith.