Over my many years of ministry, I've been asked hundreds of questions about the Christian faith. Is religion still relevant? Is there a God? How did evil originate and why does God allow it to continue? How is Christianity different from other religions? What is so special about the Bible? Do science and Christianity conflict? Are miracles the figment of people's imagination? Why can't Christians agree? Is it hard to become a Christian? Is abortion okay? Can one be Gay and still be a Christian? How do Christians deal with social issues and world problems? Many of these questions have been asked by Christian young people who wanted to have a clearer idea about their faith, its relationship to other faiths and its relevance to their daily lives. Most of them, however, have been asked by non-Christians - to challenge, to probe, to sincerely attempt to find the truth, or perhaps, to take the first faltering steps towards a personal faith. I quickly found out that the old textbook answers expressed in traditional theological jargon didn't seem to communicate with most people, and particularly with young people. They wanted 'new wine' for the new skins of the 21st century. I also found out in a hurry that it doesn't pay to avoid the tough questions by talking around them, or to paper over the very real sins and weaknesses of Christians and churches by offering lame excuses for them. If Christians have anything to say to today's honest inquirers, we must try our best to grapple with their tough questions, all the while acknowledging that we ourselves are still disciples 'on the way' who also have our human struggles with doubt, temptation and all the rest. We must 'talk their language' in such a way that Biblical teaching is 'translated' into language and symbols that avoid the kind of communication blocks that turn people in the postmodern era off. We must also be honest enough to acknowledge truth wherever we find it and be open enough to learn a few things about our faith and life from those who may not share our perceptions and convictions. If people, and particularly young people, know that we are committed to making a sincere effort to listen to them, they will be more disposed to listen to us as well. This book is an attempt to put these ideas into practice. It will have its shortcomings and contain ideas that some sector or other of the Christian community might find it difficult to agree with. How could it be otherwise when it deals with questions to which there are no easy black and white 'answers'? At these points, I trust that readers will see my attempt as being merely one among other possible interpretations or positions, and that they will use it as a means of fostering dialogue and further exploration. It is obviously impossible and undesirable in a book of this nature to explain all possible positions on any given question. This is an interactive study book. Readers are drawn into the discussion throughout the book, which makes it ideal not only for personal study, but for group study as well. My deepest hope is that through this book non-Christian readers will be helped to better understand the case for the Christian faith and perhaps want to take the first step towards making that faith their own. It is also my hope that Christian readers will interact with it in a way that will shed some light on their doubts, help them come to a fuller understanding of what the Christian faith is all about and enable them to develop deeper convictions about their faith as it applies to life today.
About the Author: Wendell Karsen was ordained as a Christian pastor by the Reformed church in America in 1963. He served two parishes in Michigan for seven years and then as a Christian missionary in Taiwan (1969-1973), Hong Kong (1974-1984, 1990-1998) and Indonesia (1998-2000). He also taught at Western Theological Seminary for six years (1984, 2001-2006) and served as a member of the denominational staff for five years (1985-1990). He is the author of thirteen books and numerous articles.