Help Me Believe: Direct Answers to Real Questions
It's natural for you to have questions about Christianity. What does Jesus really have to offer in a world that is so complicated, where there's so much pain? What difference could he possibly make in your life? For years Cliffe Knechtle has been fielding questions about and objections to Christianity from thousands of people. They want to know what you want to know—what does Jesus have to do with the real world, with real life? In this book Knechtle provides the answers to some of the toughest questions you have, including

  • Don't all religions teach the same thing?
  • Why do Christians try to impose their morality on others?
  • What is so valuable about life?
  • What is God's answer to evil in the world?
  • Why can't people seem to get along with each other?
  • Why is forgiving others so difficult?
  • Isn't God kind of old and boring?
  • How do I know I can trust Jesus?
  • I still have some doubts. Can you help me believe?

Life isn't easy. And what Knechtle offers you in this book are not pat answers. Rather, they are direct responses to real people with real questions. If you have questions about Christianity, Help Me Believe will grapple with them squarely, honestly and helpfully.

"1144035403"
Help Me Believe: Direct Answers to Real Questions
It's natural for you to have questions about Christianity. What does Jesus really have to offer in a world that is so complicated, where there's so much pain? What difference could he possibly make in your life? For years Cliffe Knechtle has been fielding questions about and objections to Christianity from thousands of people. They want to know what you want to know—what does Jesus have to do with the real world, with real life? In this book Knechtle provides the answers to some of the toughest questions you have, including

  • Don't all religions teach the same thing?
  • Why do Christians try to impose their morality on others?
  • What is so valuable about life?
  • What is God's answer to evil in the world?
  • Why can't people seem to get along with each other?
  • Why is forgiving others so difficult?
  • Isn't God kind of old and boring?
  • How do I know I can trust Jesus?
  • I still have some doubts. Can you help me believe?

Life isn't easy. And what Knechtle offers you in this book are not pat answers. Rather, they are direct responses to real people with real questions. If you have questions about Christianity, Help Me Believe will grapple with them squarely, honestly and helpfully.

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Help Me Believe: Direct Answers to Real Questions

Help Me Believe: Direct Answers to Real Questions

by Cliffe Knechtle
Help Me Believe: Direct Answers to Real Questions

Help Me Believe: Direct Answers to Real Questions

by Cliffe Knechtle

Paperback(Updated Anniversary Edition)

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Overview

It's natural for you to have questions about Christianity. What does Jesus really have to offer in a world that is so complicated, where there's so much pain? What difference could he possibly make in your life? For years Cliffe Knechtle has been fielding questions about and objections to Christianity from thousands of people. They want to know what you want to know—what does Jesus have to do with the real world, with real life? In this book Knechtle provides the answers to some of the toughest questions you have, including

  • Don't all religions teach the same thing?
  • Why do Christians try to impose their morality on others?
  • What is so valuable about life?
  • What is God's answer to evil in the world?
  • Why can't people seem to get along with each other?
  • Why is forgiving others so difficult?
  • Isn't God kind of old and boring?
  • How do I know I can trust Jesus?
  • I still have some doubts. Can you help me believe?

Life isn't easy. And what Knechtle offers you in this book are not pat answers. Rather, they are direct responses to real people with real questions. If you have questions about Christianity, Help Me Believe will grapple with them squarely, honestly and helpfully.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780830822683
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Publication date: 07/05/2000
Series: Direct Answers to Real Questions
Edition description: Updated Anniversary Edition
Pages: 131
Sales rank: 497,443
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.31(d)

About the Author

Knechtle travels around the United States talking to people with questions about Jesus. His home base is in Connecticut, where he pastors Hope Church in Wilton.

Read an Excerpt


Chapter One


What is truth?


Truth is relative. You create your own reality. I create my own reality.Don't arrogantly impose your reality on me!"

    I often get challenged with words like those as I speak on collegeand university campuses and talk with students about Christianbeliefs. The idea that you and I create our own reality is a popularone, not only on campus but throughout contemporary culture. Butdoes this view work in everyday life?

    Suppose you take an exam and allow the "real you" to flow out allover the paper without regard to anything that was taught in thecourse. The professor might flunk you. If you object, "But I was sincere.This is my view of reality," the professor will respond, "The 'sincereyou' was wrong. Your view of reality is incorrect. You flunked."

    If a doctor says to you, "We're going to try something brand-new.Take this medicine every day. Come back in two weeks, and we'll seewhat it has done to you," I think you would begin to feel very nervous.

    If as your plane was about to land, the pilot were to announce overthe intercom, "We're going to try something different as we landtonight," I think you would get upset very quickly.

    You don't want to be a guinea pig for a doctor trying out a new drug.You don't want to be a guinea pig for a pilot trying out a new way oflanding a jet. You want both the doctor and the pilot to do that whichis reliable, that which has been proven to work. You want both thedoctor and the pilot to be in touch withreality.

    In order to practice medicine effectively, in order to land a planesafely and in order to pass your exam, you must be in touch with reality.You must not think that you can simply create reality in your ownmind. You must be committed instead to using your mind to understandthat which is real and true.

    The same principle of being in touch with reality holds true for thehuman quest to know God. God's existence does not depend upon youor me creating God in our minds. God exists separate from our minds.

    The Hebrew prophet Jeremiah wrote, "The Lord is the true God;he is the living God, the eternal King" (Jeremiah 10:10). Jeremiah continued,"Every goldsmith is shamed by his idols. His images are afraud" (v. 14).

    A Harvard valedictorian stood before his classmates on graduationday and said, "We've been taught for four years we can believe anythingwe want as long as we don't believe it's true." If this view is correct—thatnothing is correct—then why should I commit myself toanyone or anything? If this view is correct, then all of our dreams andheroes must die, for they are only arbitrary illusions.

    But the Bible has a radically different worldview. The Bible insiststhat reality exists separate from my beliefs. Just because I believe thatthe world is flat, that does not make it flat. The world is round regardlessof what I believe.


Question 1. How can you claim to have the truth?

Some people have insisted that my thinking is too narrow. They tellme, "Cliffe, you are blinded by your Western mindset. You think in'either-or' categories. Open your mind. Learn to think in 'both-and'categories."

    That often leads to sloppy thinking. Two contradictory ideas cannotboth be equally true. Either both are wrong, or only one of them iscorrect. In India pedestrians look both ways before they cross thestreet. That's because in India, as in the United States, both a bus anda person cannot occupy the same spot at the same time without causingserious bodily damage.

    Life does not treat kindly people who believe that reality is only anillusion. If you play in traffic, you will end up on the bumper of a carregardless of what your mind tells you. If you do not study for yourexams but simply allow the "real, sincere you" to flow out all over thatexam paper, you will flunk regardless of how sincerely you communicatethe reality that is in your mind.

    You can sit at home refusing to work and insist that you will win thelottery. But unless you get very lucky, you will get very hungry. Lifedoes not treat very kindly those who insist that reality is simply somethingone creates in one's own mind.

    My heroes are those individuals who woke up, smelled the coffeeand realized that the greatest reality is the supernatural God. You canread about some of my "reality heroes" in Hebrews 11, which celebratesfaithful people of the Old Testament:


By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.... By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.... For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.... By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger;, he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.... By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.


    And a New Testament person, the apostle Paul, wrote toward theend of his life: "For I am already being poured out like a drink offering,and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the goodfight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is instore for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteousjudge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to allwho have longed for his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

    These people and many others in the Bible lived the most exciting,fulfilling lives possible. Why? Because they lived their lives in light ofthe reality of God.

    We don't create reality in our heads. God has given us minds inorder to think clearly, in order to understand what is true and real.Many people search for truth in science, math, medicine and history.But when it comes to God, they give up the search for truth and settlefor any fantasy.

    In Pittsburgh someone told me, "If you believe the marshmallowman on your right hand gives you happiness and purpose in life, thatis great. I would never tell you that what you believe is wrong. It's truefor you!" That is a very sad statement. Truth is not created in the mindof the individual.

    Jim Jones created an illusion of God that people believed. That illusionwas false. It led to the suicidal deaths of over eight hundred peoplein Guyana. That is a tragedy. That is evil.

    David Koresh had an illusion of God in his mind. He created hisown god. Too many people believed him. He led his believers to afiery death in Waco, Texas. That is a tragedy. That is evil.

    Because good and evil are so intricately intertwined in this world,you and I must be healthy skeptics. We must not gullibly or blindlybelieve anyone or anything. We must demand evidence of reliabilitybefore we trust.

    The evidence is that Jesus Christ is no first-century Jim Jones orDavid Koresh. The historical evidence is that Jesus was a consummategentleman. He treated people with a dignity and a compassion thatwere outstanding. He brilliantly analyzed the human dilemma asbeing a problem with perversity rather than simply a problem of perception.His sacrificial death as the only solution for our radical problemwith evil demands a response of loyalty and trust.

    Because God is real and living, he revealed himself most clearly tous human beings in the form of this man, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesusinsisted that when we look at him, we see God. Because God is realand living, he calls us to put our faith in him. The only way to developa relationship with a living being is to put your faith in that being. Ifyou do not trust a person, you will never get to know the person. Godhas revealed himself most dearly by becoming a person in Jesus ofNazareth. That is why it is so important that you and I put our faithand trust in Jesus.

    Because this point is so important, Jesus repeated it over and overagain. Jesus said in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that hegave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perishbut have eternal life." Jesus made a remarkable claim: "I am thebread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he whobelieves in me will never be thirsty.... For my Father's will is thateveryone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternallife, and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:35, 40). He alsosaid, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walkin darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). Most amazingof all, Jesus claimed this about himself: "I am the resurrection and thelife. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies" (John11:25).


Question 2. Don't all religions teach the same thing?

I am often told that it doesn't matter what religion a person followsbecause all religions teach the same thing. There are many roads upthe mountain, the story goes, but there is only one mountain. Thereare many beliefs, but they all wind up taking a person to the sameplace.

    Right away we can find some problems with this view. For example,in Islam a man may have four wives. If a man follows Jesus Christ seriously,Jesus allows him to have only one wife. The two religions holdvery different views of the marriage bond, the exclusivity of marriageand the status of men and women.

    Although there are some similarities among the major world religions,there are clear contradictions. If I say, "All Chinese people lookthe same," that shows I have not taken the time to get to know Chinesepeople. In the same way that getting to know people of a particularrace or nationality shows us they are not all the same, so a carefulreading of the holy books of the major world religions makes it veryclear that they contradict each other on some fundamental issues.

    In Hinduism and Buddhism the ultimate goal is to becomeabsorbed in the upper ground in an existence called Nirvana. This is aclear denial of the value of the unique individuality of a personbecause we are all absorbed into the upper ground. But Jesus Christand authors in the New Testament insist that in heaven you and I willretain our unique individuality. We will have new bodies like the resurrectionbody of Christ that will live for eternity.

    In Hinduism the way to the afterlife is through a cycle of reincarnations,during which time we work off our bad karma. But Jesus Christrevealed that heaven is a free gift that God gives to those who humblethemselves and put their faith and trust in Christ.

    Muhammad repeatedly stated in the Koran that Jesus is not Godbut a good prophet. But in the Gospels Jesus by both his words and hisactions clearly claims to be God. Either the Koran is correct, or Jesus iscorrect. 'They cannot both be correct for they contradict each other.

    According to Islam, God would never allow a good prophet likeJesus to die on a cross. But in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke andJohn it is crystal clear that Jesus claimed that the key to his life was hisdeath. Jesus insisted that he was born in order to bleed and die on across to absorb in his body the just penalty for our sin. In Islam thereis no resurrection of Jesus, because Muslims do not believe he died.But one of the central themes of the New Testament is that three daysafter he died, Jesus physically, bodily rose from the dead.

    I want to be open-minded and understand all religious viewpoints.Open-mindedness, however, does not mean that I am so open-mindedthat my brains fall out. Rather, to be open-minded means thatI seriously consider contradictory ideas, examine the evidence andthen make my decision based on what the evidence points to as beingmost reliable.

    The bottom-line question is "Who will you and I trust to reveal Godaccurately?"

    Once I was discussing atheism and Christianity in Texas. Someonestepped out of the crowd and announced, "I am an atheist. And Cliffe,you are correct when you say that in atheism life is meaningless,morality is relative and death is the end. You are also correct when youpoint out that despair and a serious contemplation of suicide are logicalconsequences of atheism. But I choose to protect myself fromthose consequences. I choose to play some games. I choose to give mylife meaning and to give my life a moral code to live by, and I evenchoose to view death as not being too horrible. You, Cliffe, play a differentgame. You create a different illusion. You create God to helpmake sense of your life."

    I responded, "I appreciate your honesty and openness. You havefrankly admitted that you are playing games with your life. You cannotface a world where there is no God. So you have grabbed for the'goodie-goodies' from God in order to make your life more enjoyable.You have openly admitted that you are creating illusions in order todeal with reality. I find your honesty and openness refreshing. Thankyou.

    "Now I have a wager for you to consider, my game-playing friend. Ifyou are right that there is no God, then when we die, we both go to thesame place. We both become dirt. But if I am right, if Jesus Christrevealed God accurately, if Jesus really is the way through death outthe other side to eternal life, then when you die, you lose everything,but when I die, I step into the presence of the eternal God. WhenJesus Christ returns, you will be judged for your wrongdoing and willspend eternity separate from God. When Jesus Christ returns, I willhave to answer to God for the wrong that I have done. I will be equallyguilty of doing wrong. But because Jesus bled and died on a cross formy sin, and because I put my faith in him, I will receive eternal life.

    "If you are right and Jesus is wrong, you lose nothing, but if you arewrong and Jesus is right, you lose everything. You're a good gameplayer. Put your faith in Christ. You've been dealt a hand of cards inthis life. Play the best game you can. It's obvious that the best game intown is being played by those who follow Jesus Christ" This is the lineof thinking that Blaise Pascal used.

    Someone else in the crowd called out, "That's a lousy reason forbelieving in Jesus." I responded, "I am not just talking to anybody. Iam not talking to every man and every woman. I am talking to aunique individual who has been brutally honest about how hetreats life like a big game. If he rejects Christ and atheism is true, heloses nothing. But if he rejects Christ and in reality Jesus is true,then he will lose everything. It is far smarter for my game-playingatheist friend to put his faith in Christ than to hitch his wagon toatheism."

    When you read the Gospels and examine how Jesus treated people,how he taught them and the content of his ethical teaching, the wayhe died on a cross loving and forgiving his enemies, and how he physicallyrose from the dead, the evidence is very clear that Jesus Christ isa reliable source of information about God in a way that the otheroptions are not. That is why when someone contradicts Jesus, I willfollow Jesus every time.


Question 3. Doesn't the Bible mean different things to different people?

A student at the University of Texas in Austin challenged me: "Truth isrelative. You create your own reality. You interpret the Bible any wayyou choose to. I interpret the Bible any way I choose to. You createyour own Jesus. I create my own Jesus. It is all relative."

    I responded, "I hope that the faculty at the University of Texasteaches you to interpret correctly. I hope they teach you to respect literarystyle and to read in context. I hope you do not read your biologytextbook the same way you read the poetry of Robert Blake. I hopeyou allow different authors to use different literary styles. I hope yourespect their right to communicate differently through different literarystyles. I hope that you do not rip one line out of Othello and say,'This is Shakespeare's worldview.' No.

    "You must read in context You must read the whole work in orderto get a proper appreciation of the author's perspective. The same istrue as you interpret the Bible. Respect the literary style of poetry usedby the psalmist. Respect the right of Jesus to use parable, simile andmetaphor. For example, when Jesus says 'Be as wise as serpents and asinnocent as doves,' he is not recommending that we slither on our bellieslike snakes or that we sprout wings like doves. Instead, Jesus ismaking a statement about shrewdness and purity."

    If I stand on a college campus and call students to commit theirlives to Jesus Christ, and then upon finishing my speech I go out andwomanize, people have a right to point their fingers at me and say,"Cliffe, you are a hypocrite!" They would be correct. Now suppose Ihear their accusations and respond, "It is simply a matter of interpretation.Don't lay your interpretation of Jesus on me." In that case Iwould simply be playing a game with my accusers. You do not need aPh.D. in the Gospels to know that Jesus commanded his followers tolive sexually pure lives.

    Dusko Nikolic, a Croatian policeman otherwise known as "NastyNik," said regarding the Serbian residents of his town, "Jesus said,'Love your neighbors.' Well, I do love them. I love to kill them." Youand I do not need to be experts in biblical studies to know that Nikolicis misinterpreting Jesus' command to love our neighbor. He is clearlyviolating Jesus' moral absolutes.

    Truth is not totally relative. You do not create Jesus' teachings inyour mind. Jesus spoke very clearly regarding how we are to treat eachother. The "interpret Jesus any way you want" game is a dangerousone, for the Bible promises that one day we will stand before God togive an account of the decisions we have made.

    Paul said to the Greek philosophers on the Areopagus, "For he[God] has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by theman he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raisinghim from the dead" (Acts 17:31). God has given us the Ten Commandments,not the Ten Suggestions. We all need Christ's forgiveness, forwe have all sinned.


Question 4. How can a loving God judge people?

Some people have the idea that the only people who need God's forgivenessare those infamous people who are headlined on the sixo'clock news—financial frauds, war criminals, mass murderers. Theidea that we are all going to heaven (except perhaps Hitler, Stalin andGenghis Khan) is a common but mistaken notion.

    I have never made the six o'clock news for major crimes or for anythingelse, but I have done that which is wrong. I am in desperateneed of Christ's death on the cross as the payment of the just penaltyfor my wrongdoing. Whether or not you are famous or infamous, youneed Jesus as desperately as I do.

    But wait. Isn't God good and loving? If he is, how can he also bewrathful and vengeful toward evil? Is he really going to judge peoplefor their sins?

    God's anger over evil is not like a temper tantrum thrown by aspoiled child. God's anger over evil is a result of his inherent goodnessand his settled opposition to all evil. Because God is a good God, hemust judge evil and destroy it.

(Continues...)


Excerpted from Help Me Believe by Cliffe Knechtle. Copyright © 2000 by Cliffe Knechtle. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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Table of Contents

Preface

1. What is truth?
Question 1: How can you claim to have the truth?
Question 2: Don't all religions teach the same thing?
Question 3: Doesn't the Bible mean different things to different people?
Question 4: How can a loving God judge people?
Question 5: Why are you trying so hard to convince me?

2. How can you tell me what's right wrong?
Question 6: What gives you the right to impose your morality on others?
Question 7: Why do Christians get so upset about homosexuality?
Question 8: Where do moral values come from?

3. Why is life so valuable?
Question 9: What difference does it make if life is valuable or not?
Question 10: What do you think about abortion?
Question 11: Why is life important?

4. Why is there evil in the world?
Question 12: Where does evil come from?
Question 13: Why do we overlook our own responsibility for evil?
Question 14: Why does life without God produce evil?
Question 15: What is God's answer to evil in the world?

5. Why is there disharmony in relationships?
Question 16: What causes strife between people?
Question 17: Shouldn't we all be fighting for our personal rights rather than submitting?
Question 18: Shouldn't I be in control of my life?
Question 19: What is Christ's solution for disharmony in relationships?

6. Who needs forgiveness?
Question 20: What is real forgiveness?
Question 21: If God is forgiving, why do we try to cover up our sins?
Question 22: Why is it so hard to forgive?
Question 23: Since forgiving is so difficult, how can we do it?
Question 24: What is the difference between real and false guilt?

7. Who is God and who is Jesus?
Question 25: I attend a worship service every week. What more does God want?
Question 26: Isn't God kind of old and boring?
Question 27: How do I know I can trust God?
Question 28: Can't I worship God without worshiping Jesus?

8. Can you help me believe?
Question 29: What does it mean to accept Jesus as Savior?
Question 30: As long as I believe in Christ in my heart, why is it anybody else's business how I live?
Question 31: Isn't fear of death a poor motive for believing in Jesus?
Question 32: Is it a sin to have doubts?
Question 33: How can anyone interpret the Bible accurately?
Question 34: Aren't there a lot of unanswered questions in the Bible?

9. Can you help my faith grow?
Question 35: Does faith grow naturally, or are there things I can do to help it along?
Question 36: What's the connection between prayer and faith?
Question 37: I want a faith that's down-to-earth, for here and now. Is heaven really important?
Question 38: I've accepted Christ, but I still have some of the same old problems—and even some new ones! Is there something wrong with my faith?
Question 39: Why is the Bible so important for growing in faith?

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