Recently I wrote a post regarding the marks of a Christian life entitled
Definitive Proof. In it I simply asked folks to play a kind of
Gedanken thought experiment, where I asked them to consider how their lives would be different if definitive proof was uncovered that God did not exist. The point was to try to understand how their belief in God affects how they live. I got a number of responses, both online and offline. Yet none of the folks who responded could answer the question from the point of view that I had asked. They were either too stubborn, too rigid, or too scared to (in the words of Rob Bell from
Velvet Elvis) jump. His point was that if we consider Christianity as a trampoline, we should not be afraid to jump on it, to test it out and put its claims to the test. Only by jumping can we make our faith our own. Only by jumping can we hope to answer the tough questions put to us. Only by jumping will we be armed to become Christian soldiers. Only by jumping will we be able to lead new folks to know Jesus.
If folks are unwilling to consider even in a thought experiment how their lives would be different if God were unequivocally shown not to exist, I would maintain that they are afraid to jump. I would further add that if their faith cannot stand up to humble and honest questions, then they cannot claim full ownership of their beliefs and they are quite likely blind to the tricks of the enemy, and even the reasonable questions of folks who do not know God and are curious. What do you think? Are you afraid to jump?
