Do you ever worry about how to answer non-believers when they ask really tough questions like "How do you know Jesus ever existed" or "Why is there so much evil if God is good"?
In today's day and age, it can feel downright discouraging when we as believers are doing what we can to learn as much as possible about God and the Christian faith and yet still do not know how to answer the onslaught of questions, and sometimes attacks in the form of questions, from those outside the faith....or even in the faith.
Jesus often faced questions from religious leaders within His community. Many wondered why he was doing what he did and questioned his authority. In ancient times, it was custom to ask such questions and challenge one another as religious leaders and likely Jesus anticipated these questions.
But what about today? Like in ancient times, people have questions about nearly any topic. Unlike those times, we have little anticipation of these questions and people are growing less friendly to Christianity. So, how can we be prepared?
1) This is a bit more obvious: Study topics we do not know and learn about topics such as moral relativism, who is God, or evolution to name a few examples. Through study, we can learn more about alternative views as well as our own worldview as Christians. This will lead to us better knowing what we believe, why we believe it, and how to defend against a pushback on the issues above as well as others.
2) Sometimes the best thing to do is not answer the direct question but see if there is a deeper reason for their asking.
1 Peter 3:15 says: "...set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to every person who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."
Notice that the above verse says to answer every person not every argument. For example, if someone were to challenge me on the topic of evil and question how a good God could possibly exist when there is so much evil. I might instead ask how evil has impacted them.
Often, I'll find that a family member has passed away tragically or perhaps they knew someone who was unjustly treated. Any experience such as those would naturally leave someone wondering why things happened the way they did and may instead be asking for a listening ear rather than a cleverly thought-out answer about the problem of evil.
3) Finally and most importantly, pray for wisdom in knowing how or when to respond to a challenge. As Christians, we can be assured that the Holy Spirit will be with us and can help guide our conversations with gentleness. He can give us wisdom on when to speak or when to listen.
Do not be anxious about such challenges. Commit to prayer, scripture reading, and study, learning about unfamiliar topics, and be willing to simply listen to the story of others.
Sometimes you'll find that a gentle presence that speaks to them as a person will go further than a clever rebuttal to their argument.
~Kristen F.
Co-founder of Spark Youth USA
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