Skeptic Wrap-up

Have I mentioned how much I'm enjoying this? I hope that you continue to visit in the months to come as we move away from questions and start working toward answers. The plan is to have a weekly topic, set up a poll, and write three or four related posts. I will try to generate discussions that anyone with an interest in spiritual things can join. If you think I'm wandering off the path of orthodoxy, let me know. But be ready to back it up. And please, try to avoid Christianese.

The poll for this past week shows that there is approximately a 2-to-1 ratio of people that feel nervous or terrified in evangelism versus those who are okay or confident. Why do we feel so nervous? If I discovered a cure for cancer, would I feel nervous divulging that information? If I was single and getting engaged to a world-famous celebrity, would I feel nervous about advertising that union? We should feel eager and excited.

So why are we so nervous? Here are a few possibilities:

We believe the gospel, but we don't understand it well enough to share, afraid that a skeptic will ask a question that we can't answer.

We are muzzled by our own sinfulness, and do not feel qualified to share.

We don't want to impose our beliefs on others, recognizing that everyone has the freedom to live by their own convictions.

We hate the anxiety associated with those awkward conversations.

We are so saturated by Christian culture, we don't even talk to non-believers.

It is important to widen our view of Christianity so that we can approach issues from all different angles, seeing the concepts so clearly that our explanations are completely comprehensive. I feel that the gospel message has been packaged into a neat little formula that gives humanity a limited view of the larger picture, like trying to look at the Grand Canyon through binoculars.

I feel that, with such limited understanding, we settle into our God marriages in a way that is anything but world changing. We attend church every Sunday, pan for devotional nuggets every morning, pray when something bad happens, and maybe attend a mid-week Bible study. It seems like Christians tend to tread water until they die, waiting for the afterlife where things are really going to get interesting. If that's true, this whole Earth Experiment seems dumb. Why not just create humans in heaven and hell and forget all the drama in between?

In Hebrews 6:1, Paul encourages his people to leave the elementary teachings about Christ and press on toward maturity. I feel like the elementary principles are all we know. If we knew what maturity looked like, we might try harder to get there. I think most Christians walk around with an attitude that says, "We'll never really understand anything until we get to heaven, so we might as well just focus on sin management until then."

Not only is this unbiblical, it mocks Christ's sacrifice. What if I had a baby that never grew up? It just drank milk and cried all the time. Sometimes it would spit up, but that's okay. Daddy loves to clean it up, right? Abba? Abba? Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Spiritual maturity brings confidence, power, and wisdom. The desire for sin fades naturally, just like the appetite of a child changes over time. We get to know God in ways that are more familiar, but also more challenging. If you're tired of feeling spiritually weak and ignorant, it's time to move forward. It's time to start growing up.