Why I am a Christian

Cross_in_sunset

There are numerous reasons why I am a Christian, each of which could have its own page. So, here are the ones I think are the most important:

Science points to God

Simply put, God is the best explanation for the way things are. In 2004, one of the foremost and outspoken atheists of the 20th century, Sir Anthony Flew (the original Richard Dawkins), converted from atheism to deism because the scientific evidence demanded it.

Flew said he had to “go where the evidence leads”. In short, scientific discoveries of the last century provide strong evidence that the universe exploded into existence with the Big Bang. But a Big Bang requires a Big Banger. Nothing fits that description better than the Judeo-Christian God.

Because evil exists

The existence of evil is often given as evidence against the existence of God – AKA ‘the problem of evil’ – an argument I completely understand and empathise with.

However, the problem of evil is actually a problem for the atheist, not the theist. The entire objection hinges on the fact that evil actually exists – not as a turn of phrase or as a metaphor for something we strongly dislike – but as an objective feature of the world.

To say something is evil is to make a moral judgment, and moral judgments make no sense within an atheistic framework. Evil as a value judgment implies a departure from an objective moral standard. But if there is no objective moral standard, as most atheists will claim, then there is no departure.

OK, you believe in God. So which one?

In short, I believe the foundational principles of Christianity resonate with our deepest intuitions. Faith in Jesus means that all the big existential questions – meaning, morality, destiny, and origin – have answers. I am not merely a skin-sack of atoms fizzing about a purposeless and unintended universe; I was fearfully and wonderfully made.

Plus, all the other religions say nice things about Jesus, so why not go with the one that tells us most about Him?

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. – C.S Lewis