MY CASE FOR CHRIST
By: Rice
Date: 6/10/01

    I don't talk much about this subject very much, but it's pretty late right now and I'm sort of delirious so here goes: This year, I've built what looks to be the beginning of a solid spiritual foundation with God. Let me explain. If you, at anytime, feel uncomfortable about reading any of this, I don't blame you, and encourage you to surf elsewhere. Okay, on with it:

    My mom didn't have much to do with religion until about a decade or so ago. She was considered to be Buddhist, because the vast majority of people in Taiwan were. I remember going upstairs in my grandparents house to burn incense and annually visit our ancestors with golden sheets of paper money that was to be incinerated. It was tradition more than anything else. However, when we moved to America, she heard of Christianity. Her older sister had already paved the way for our immigration, and consequently introduced her to Jesus Christ.

    Now, she didn't become a believer over night. However, it was jump started by this one time when our car was stranded in the middle of the freeway in Missouri. We were coming home from a road trip to Philadelphia, and when all of a sudden our old Buick Skyhawk just sputtered and died. Fortunately, Missouri traffic is merely a fraction of Los Angeles traffic, so my dad was able to slowly pull over to the shoulder of the road. I was but 7 years of age at the time, and didn't really understand the severity of our situation. The sun was setting fast, cell phones have yet to proliferate, and there was no call box in sight. Dad was forced to walk to the nearest exit and find a gas station to call for help. Some time passed when my dad returned from his hike, reporting failure. He flopped into the driver's seat, and sat there grimly quiet.

    Mom was nearing a state of panic, all the while my brother and I goofed around in the back seat. She felt so utterly helpless, and could think of nothing to do but to pray to some greater force or being for help. According to her, she prayed to both Buddhist gods and the Christian God as well, because at that time, she was still undecided about religion. Just as darkness decended, a clunky brown station wagon pulled up in front of our dead car. Mom's prayers have been answered! But... by whom? A man came over to us and offered assistance. He smiled warmly and introduced himself as a pastor of one of St. Louis's church communities. We all piled up into his station wagon with the pastor's family and drove to his home where my dad called for help. We all watched Sound of Music to pass time until assistence came.

    My mom identified that point in time as a large step forward for her belief in Christianity. In a time of peril, God answered Mom's prayers... with a pastor, no less! Who says God doesn't have a sense of humor?

    What was the point of that story? Well, I became a Christian mainly because of mom's strong beliefs after that. I followed after her, but I never delved into it deeply. And then, somewhere along the way, it just vanished. I had grown cynical and proud. How can there be a God if there is suffering in the world? How can he be benevolent if he casts all sinners and non-believers into a burning, eternal Hell? I didn't understand. More importantly, I didn't bother to seek out answers. Sometime last year, in my freshman year of college, I stopped praying. I took off my necklace that held a cross. I lost the spiritual fire within.

    As I progressed through this school year, I began to think more and more about Christianity. I even attended several Christian group gatherings where we sang songs, listened to testimonies, and jointly prayed in the end. You see, all throughout my short life, I've felt a sense of emptiness inside. Sure, I'm happy. I'm blessed to have two parents that love me, blessed to be well off financially, and blessed to be able to attend school at a high level. But inside I was lonely. Even before I had lost the faith, there was the vacuum.

    One night, between January and April, I knelt down next to my bed and asked to receive the Holy Spirit through Jesus. I decided I was going to give it another shot, except this time, I'm not going to just jump through hoops and go through the paces like before, but really explore my spiritual faith with Christ. I asked God to take control of my destiny. I told Him I had been too arrogant in believing I can steer my own life and be completely satisfied at the same time. And just like that, I was reinstated into the ranks of God's kingdom. Sounds too easy? But it is really that simple...

    It hasn't been very long since then, but I can feel the hole within my spiritual self close slowly. Sure, there are still plenty of disappointments in my life, but I'm not feeling pressure about them anymore and not letting it depress me. I feel as if I'm stronger, more capable of dealing with life now, because I know God's on my side. I may lose battles along the way, but I sure as hell ain't going to lose the war with the Almighty fighting for me. =)

    I know most of you are not religious. I'm not here to try to convert you. I just want to share my experiences, and if you're curious about finding the true faith, hopefully my words would be of some use, or at least some food for thought. There are a lot of inherent misconceptions about Christianity, such as being a believer makes you stuffy and out of sync with pop culture. Many of you know me personally and have seen me consistently for the past few weeks. Yet, does it seem as if I'm any different than, say, back when I was in High School? I still hang out, I crack jokes (occasional lewd ones, because those are the funniest), and I sparingly use foul language. More importantly, I'm sound minded, I'm in tune with modern science, and I'm logical. Being a Christian doesn't imply you lose your common sense and become a stiff, preachy individual.

    I'll briefly address some other beef agnostics or atheists typically have with Christianity. I've had these questions myself, and getting them answered was a big part in fulfilling my spiritual journey with Christ. Hopefully these can answer yours as well.

• How can you believe in God when you have no proof of his existence?
  But we DO have proof of his existence, and it's all around us. First of all, we have the Bible. The New Testament has been verified over and over again by esteemed scholars, both religious and non-religious ones, for it's historical reliability. The New Testament tells us Jesus was crucified, and then resurrected. He was seen by hundreds of people after his death, not to just his disciples, but to also his enemies and non-believers as well! Secondly, miracles happen daily. Go to any major hospital, and they'll have on file tons of unexplained cases of miraculous recoveries where the doctors gave the patients no hope of survival. Thirdly, experience Him for yourself! Pray (you don't have to be committed as a Christian to pray) and ask for God's guidance. Of course, if you say something like, "If you exist, strike my neighbor's dog with lighting right now," you're not going to get it. It has to be something that you're really struggling with, and your prayer must be sincere. Remember, "Seek, and ye shall find."
• How can a loving God condemn sinners to Hell? And if we're ALL sinners, isn't Heaven just one big empty playground?
  It's true, we're all sinners. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). The thing is, we're still cool with God because Jesus came to Earth and died on the cross... for ALL of us, including non-believers! His blood, in essence, bridges the gap (sin) between us and God. The best example would be the criminal on the cross next to Jesus's. As they were both being crucified, the the thief repented his lifestyle and asked Jesus to remember him. He got even better news; because he had acknowledged his sins and believed the man next to him was God embodied in Christ, Jesus told him, "Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in Paradise!" (Luke 23:43). Now, how awesome is that? You've lived your life poorly, and you're about to die a grisly death. Yet, God can forgive you, and allow you entrance into Heaven! However, that opens a whole new can of worms. People like to say, "Oh, when the time comes, I'll just do what that thief did." The problem with that is you don't know when you're going to die. The reaper waits for no one. What if tomorrow, you're driving and you get side swiped by a semi? Poof... you're dead... no chance for redemption.
• How can a fair and just God condemn non-believers, but people that have led ethical lives, to Hell?
  This is a popular question for people that are not quite convinced, but not quite giving up yet. The truth is, there is no satisfactory answer for this question. I'll try to answer with a two pronged approach. First of all, Hell is not all that it's hyped up to be. Literature such as Dante's Inferno romanticizes Hell as this burning pit of suffering ruled by a Devil with three faces and massive wings that causes torrents of blizzards. Sorry to say, Hell is simply a place where you'll never enjoy the presence of God. Moreover, it's populated by people that has turned, and will forever turn from God. Meaning, those that are in Hell are there because they don't acknowledge the existence of God, and never will, either. Think of it as a son who has left his father, and no longer wants anything to do with him. In return, the father doesn't want anything to do with the rebellious son. THAT's the true Hell of Christianity. God doesn't want anything to do with people that don't want anything to do with Him. Where Hell is, and what it looks like, I can't tell you. The only thing we know for sure is you ain't never going to find God there. Secondly, there is evidence in the Book of Romans that God doesn't believe ignorance of Him is a crime. Blatent rebellion, yes, but not ignorance. Remember I said earlier that Jesus died for ALL of us, including non-believers. As long as you live an ethical life, and believe a universal creator exists in one way or another, you've got a shot at eternal life. It's really that easy, thanks to Christ's ultimate sacrifice!
• So what about the Bible claiming the Earth was created in 7 days, and all that nonsense we know to be false?
  The Bible is definitely not to be taken literally, especially the Old Testament. Christians share that with the Jewish faith. It's the New Testament that defines us as Christians, hence the name including "Christ". The Old Testament doesn't say anything about Jesus at all. The overall integrity of the Bible and the Christian faith is not threatened by people who seek to discredit it by pointing out, "How can the Earth be created in 7 days?" and "How can the Adam and Eve concept hold any truth if we all know evolution is the true reason for our existance?" If you're still not satisfied with that explaination, think of it this way, then: "The Earth was created in 7 days" actually means God created our Universe in 7 steps. Back then, people thought of Earth as all we've got, so we can figuratively translate it to it meaning the universe. God transcends time, and we cannot possibly understand that. To quantify it, Genesis uses days.
• How do you explain the theory of evolution?
  Evolution may not be as hyped out as we all think it is. Modern biologists of all beliefs concur that it was a flat out miracle of miracles that the gene pool mixed and matched somehow to evolve human beings. They say if you calculate the probabilities, at least 99.999% point to our solar system being born around the Sun, then die as the Sun engulfs all surrounding planets before humans even evolve out of single cell organisms. God is the most plausible explaination. Oh, and about Adam and Eve, we know they were part of Heaven until they sinned and were banished to Earth. How can you say for sure that isn't true? Perhaps the final puzzle to Homo Sapiens clicked when two Homo Erectuses gave birth to Adam and two others gave birth to Eve, the first two true humans on Earth.

    If you've got more questions, check out Radio Bible Class Ministries online. They have a section on Tough Questions that deal with things I didn't mention here, such as, how can a benevolent God allow evil and sadness to exist in the world? If you're really getting there, but still don't buy the fact that the New Testament is a true and reliable indicator of the existence of Jesus, check out The Case For Christ, by Lee Strobel. Here's the link to the publisher: Click! I personally have a copy, so if you want to just borrow it from me, I'd be more than happy.

    I'll be the first to tell you, so many doubts fermented in my mind as I grew older, which eventually led to my haitus of the faith last year. The wonderful thing is that the answers to them are everywhere! Online, books, friends that are Christians (me! Ask me!), you're local church, etc. all provide them in some form or another. To quote a lame commercial, "you've got questions, we've got answers." And it's not hard at all. Like I said before, you don't have to be a Christian to pray. This is the ultimate 'try before you buy' deal here. There's nothing to lose, and you'd gain happiness, fulfillment, eternal life... hell, everything!

    Here's an interesting fact. As of right now, I don't belong to a church. I don't go on Sundays, I don't give donations to them, and I'm not part of any Christian group on campus. Yet, I consider myself as much of a Christian as the bloody Pope is. There is no obligation to do anything except believe in God, and even that won't be a chore because when you do, you'll want to. It'll become as natural as taking a shower. Far too many people are like who I was before college: attending church, saying generic prayers, but not really feeling and connecting with God. Some are even mean, bitter, and just downright antagonistic. Those are the people that give Christians a bad name, because they're not true believers. Me, I'm still rather green at being a faithful Christian, but I hope one day my belief will extend me to go to a church regularly. And it won't be because I feel obligated to do so, but rather, because I want to. For all the things He's done for us, for sending down his own Son just to die for us, I'd think He deserves a little appreciation for that.

    Moral of the story: God is good. And He's real. Give Him a shot. I'm glad I did. =)