A MODERN PARABLE

Jennifer Went to College.

(Preface: The young woman in this piece (Jennifer) is fictional. But her experiences are drawn from those of real people, including the author, who have actually had to deal with the very things that confronted this young woman.)

Jennifer was accepted at a major university. Which one is not important, because the same things would have happened to her at any big university, anywhere in the world. She began her studies in fine arts and literature, hoping one day to teach. Jennifer came from a rural mid-America town, raised in a loving small-town Christian conservative family. She had attended a small Baptist church and over the years had been active in Sunday School, choir, youth groups, and Bible study classes. She was always a bright-eyed little lady, outgoing, confident in her faith, ready to give her Christian testimony whenever the opportunity presented itself. Guess what? As the weeks and months passed during her college days she felt herself being broadsided. Broadsided? What does ‘broadsided’ mean? This: she met and interacted with a lot of people – fellow students, teachers, advisers, and work associates (Jennifer had a part-time job at the student union cafeteria). She also kept in contact with ‘friends’ on social media. Some of the people she met were fine individuals, intelligent and admirable - and she found herself liking many of them.

But - here’s what some of them did. They saw Jennifer carrying her Bible, going to church on Sundays and attending student-run Bible study groups. They noticed that she politely refused to take part in off-color jokes and gossipy chit-chat. Her impeccable grooming, her fine study habits, manner of speech, and confident attitudes were noticed – behavior that made some of her non-Christian associates uncomfortable. So, over the course of weeks and months (years too), some began to communicate to her, either directly, or by subtle innuendos and remarks, that her Christianity was childish, ‘cute’ perhaps, but narrow, old-fashioned, and most certainly: make-believe. Eventually she found herself in deep, and often contentious, discussions about her faith. She was confronted with an assortment of classical objections to her Christianity:

1) God does not exist. ‘God’ is an invention, a crutch, created to help deal with the imponderable and difficult questions of life. The religions of the world are ‘projections of our desire for security and meaning’, as per Sigmund Freud and his followers.
2) The Bible is a collection of myths, questionable ‘history’, and the writings and musings of dreamers and sages, perhaps well-intentioned, but assembled by people trying to set forth a specific theistic world-view.
3) There is no divine Creator. The universe, the planet Earth, and all the life on Earth are the result of natural and physical processes at work. The Earth is the product of the natural formation of planets and solar systems controlled by the laws of physics and chemistry. Life arose spontaneously, and life as we know it today is the end product of eons of slow evolution, as per Charles Darwin’s model.
4) There no such thing as sin, only ‘coming up short’ perhaps, but no inherent flaws in human nature, and certainly no accountability to any divinity.
5) Jesus, if he actually existed, was just a nice teacher and wise sage, who never made any real claims to be divine, and who certainly never worked any real miracles, and who certainly never saved anyone’s ‘soul’. Like Buddha, Jesus was made out to be more than he really was by his zealous followers.
6) There is much evil in the world, both natural and man-caused. Hurricanes, floods, 9/11, the holocaust and the Spanish inquisition are classical examples. If there was a good God, he would prevent such things. But evil exists – therefore either God doesn’t exist, or he is evil himself, or perhaps rather powerless or simply non-caring.
7) This business of having faith and trust in a ‘god’ you can’t see is nonsense. There’s simply no reason to have ‘faith’ in ‘faith.’

Enough already? This list could be much longer. Jennifer found herself on the defensive, forced to face up to some of these time-worn objections to her Christian faith. Sadly, she discovered that her sheltered home-spun friendly church background did not prepare her for such an onslaught. What to do? Smile and say nothing? Shrug her shoulders and give up? She realized that to say nothing was a form of concession and a confession of ignorance. Worse, she soon learned that quoting Bible verses and speaking in ‘church-talk’ only got a lot of raised eyebrows and dismissive remarks, and perplexed looks of ‘what on earth is she babbling about?’.

What did Jennifer finally do? She went to see a few Christian pastors. Sadly, most had no idea what to tell her, as they were usually consumed with ‘in-church’ issues, and the idea of communicating the basics of Christianity to “secular” (non-spiritual, materialistic, worldly) unbelievers left them more than a bit befuddled. But finally one insightful pastor gave her a viable way of both defending herself and presenting ideas that could actually override many of the common objections to the Christian faith.
 
First of all, the pastor told Jennifer to recognize her own limitations. “Jenny”, she said. “You simply won’t have answers for all the objections your ‘friends’ could dream up.” The pastor-lady pointed out that answers do exist, but seldom can a young Christian have ready answers to all of them. She told Jennifer that the makeup of secular society is extremely varied, ranging from those who have absolutely no idea of Christian concepts and vocabulary – they have heard of Jesus, and maybe Moses, but that’s about it. Many are indifferent and couldn't care less about religious things. On the other hand, there are those who are very knowledgeable about Christian things, but are in a state of skepticism or rebellion. Some have experienced or witnessed abuses or tragedy in their lives or the lives of others, and are now in state of disillusionment with God and religion, especially organized religion.
 
Jennifer was counseled not to waste time with a lot of long elaborate dialogues and arguments, and also she must not try for quickie ‘sound-byte’ answers to complex questions. “Here is where you must go, Jenny,” said the pastor. “Go to the two basic doctrines of the Christian faith. First, the ‘bottom line’ of the Christian faith is: redemption,- God seeking and finding those who are lost and redeeming them. Jesus died to accomplish our redemption and the forgiveness of our sins. He went through death on our behalf to get us back into a right relationship with our Creator. Second, the authentication of the Christian faith is based on the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, the event that Christians celebrate on Easter Sunday. If you read First Corinthians Chapter 15, Jenny, you will see that the apostle Paul stakes the truth of the Christian faith on these two teachings – with the resurrection of Jesus being the final validation of the Christian faith. Paul basically says, the resurrection establishes the authenticity of the Christian faith, but, on the contrary, if the resurrection isn’t true, then – to use a common phrase - ‘we ain’t got nothin’’. But the resurrection has been examined in every detail by both Christian and secular scholars, and has become regarded as ‘the best established truth of ancient history’. A good presentation is Lee Strobel’s The Case for the Resurrection, available on Amazon.com and many local Christian bookstores. I have an extra copy in our church library that you can have. Also, reading the first few chapters of the biblical book of Acts would convince anyone that the early church accepted the resurrection as absolute truth. Here’s the critically important implication of the resurrection, Jenny: this event establishes the credibility of the life and teachings of Jesus. He is, therefore, the ‘real deal’. It follows that to ignore his teachings on sin, salvation, heaven, hell, etc. is to place one’s very soul in peril.”

“And of course, Jenny, your detractors will HATE hearing you say this to them, because, first, they usually don’t understand basic Christian vocabulary. Examples would be like, ‘saved?’ – ‘saved’ from what?, ‘resurrection from the dead’ – that sounds like fantasy fiction. But worse, they sense that ‘Jesus-talk’ carries with it a suggestion of ultimate accountability to a ‘god’, something they are extremely uncomfortable with. And some of the more informed ones will certainly counterattack with augments against the reality of the resurrection – ‘it was made up by his overzealous followers, Jesus only ‘swooned’ - he never really died, he was part of a conspiracy, have you not read the Da Vinci Code?’, etc. ‘Isn’t it true that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and settled in what is now France?’ Others might say, ‘but why do I need to be saved? I’m a good person’. Others will say, ‘There are too many hypocrites in the churches. And isn’t Christianity discredited by those brutal crusades of antiquity?’ How about this one?- ‘Is my sweet little grandmother going to hell because she doesn’t go to church, while some serial killer in prison repents and gets ‘saved’?’ And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. But, Jenny, you have to stand your ground, and insist on the truth of Jesus’ death on their behalf, and the truth of the resurrection, and do it with gentleness and respect – and a lot of patience. You will often find yourself in the teaching mode, where you might need to repeat and repeat these basic concepts of the Christian faith. There will be times when you will have to admit that you do not have a ready answer to their many and varied objections - but insist that answers do exist, and you will try to do some research. Eventually, a few just might ‘come around’, so to speak, and realize their need to know and trust God, and actually reach out and grasp God’s offer of grace. You must plant these seeds in their minds and then allow the Spirit of God to take over - and, someday, there just might be a harvest.”

The pastor-lady went on to tell Jennifer. “Of course, for your own spiritual refreshment, you must attend a good Christ-loving Christian church, like this one you are visiting now, where you will be nurtured and where you can grow in your faith. Pray and ask the Spirit of God to give you the right words to say, and keep studying, so that you can become a ‘workman that does not to be ashamed’, as per the biblical phrase. You must find some Christian brothers and sisters to hang out with, and you must maintain a personal standard of academic excellence. Have a blessed time here at college.”

So what’s the golden nugget in this story? What can we take away? This: if you are a student like Jennifer (or soon to be one), at a secular university or academy, or if you are employed (or soon will be) at a secular company, then be prepared to be challenged with various arguments by folks who are disturbed or puzzled by your Christian ethics, demeanor, and manner of speech. You might have to endure the ‘cold shoulder’, or be thought of as a ‘weirdo’ or a ‘religious nutcase.’ That goes with the territory. But you have the wonderful opportunity and privilege to ‘stand up, stand up for Jesus’ and to ‘stand in the gap’ and show forth the love of Jesus Christ to a needy world. A high calling, and certainly not the easiest road to take – but it comes with wonderful reward, one day.