Asking The Most Important Questions: A New Series - "What IF.."

Over the next several weeks, I want to walk on a journey of thought together.  Let me share how this idea came to mind.

I spend a good deal of time in the woods, often alone.  In these moments of silence and solitude, I get to thinking about various topics but one that comes to mind a great deal is those who don't believe in or who have rejected the idea of God and - ultimately - those who have rejected the reality of Jesus Christ.  

As I've been thinking about this eternally-important topic, I began to look back at my own journey of faith and I had came to some conclusions.  I saw that while I might love apologetics (the rational defense of Christianity), I do think that the mix of reason and faith is what led me to my conclusions and putting my trust in Christ.  I think the Christian faith is reason-filled and rational, but it is not just that.  It is an act of faith to trust in the unseen God and to have a relationship that is different than any other relationship I will ever have.  To be a human or to be a Christian, we are always making the best choices we can based on what information we have in the moment of decision.

A phrase came to mind as I have been pondering this concept of faith-and-reason.  The phrase was (as you'd probably guess from the title of this post), "What if...".  I imagined sitting in a coffee shop (probably at the Starbucks inside Target on Rte. 33 in Greenland) across the table from a skeptic friend and instead of making the case for some biblical doctrine, I saw myself asking, "What if..." - and then fill in the blank.  What if there is more than just this life?  What if the physical world is not the end of all things?  What if the Bible is actually God's Word communicated to humanity?  And the list goes on.  

The beauty of questions is they place the emphasis on discussion and ask the person with doubts to engage.  It isn't a 'take it or leave it' kind of approach.  Instead it says (in my mind at least), "I get the doubts, I get the uncertainty - but let's just ask together 'What if...' and in turn, what might the implications be.   

This approach also allows us to consider the skeptic's perspective.  For example, if I ask, "What if there is more to life than just the physical or natural world", then we might also reasonably ask, "What if there is ONLY the natural and physical world?  What are the implications to your worldview and life?"

And so over the next few weeks I want to ask us a variety of 'what if' questions and we will ponder the implications together.  Thanks for walking with me on this road.

- tC