| In his own words, comedian Ricky Gervais went “from Jesus-loving Christian to fun-loving infidel in one afternoon.” Ricky Gervais was 8 years old. He was drawing the Crucifixion as part of his Bible homework, when his 19-year old brother Bob came over and asked Ricky why he still believed in God. Ricky’s mom panicked. She said, “Bob!” in a you-be-quiet-right-this-instant tone.
Ricky goes on to reflect: “Why was that a bad thing to ask? If there was a God and my faith was strong, it didn't matter what people said. Oh…hang on. There is no God,” Ricky writes. “He knows it, and she knows it deep down. It was as simple as that. I started thinking about it and asking more questions, and within an hour, I was an atheist.”[1]
There are consequences when the Church panics at tough questions.
We would like to introduce you to some Renew partners who don’t panic at tough questions. Rather, they welcome those questions. In fact, they have built a website and app for the very purpose of inviting and answering those questions.
Richard Knopp (PhD, University of Illinois) is Professor of Philosophy & Christian Apologetics at Lincoln Christian University. Zach Breitenbach (PhD candidate, Liberty University) is experienced in the business world and in the classroom, where he has taught apologetics, ethics, and world religions at the high school and college level.
Richard and Zach lead “Room for Doubt.” R4D addresses the growing need among youth and adults, both inside and outside the church, who have sincere questions and doubts about the Christian faith. It seeks to encourage questions, address doubts, and strengthen faith. At R4D, with key contributors such as Mark Mittelberg, Gary Poole, and Lee Strobel, they take questions seriously, by taking time to answer write-in questions with well-developed, accessible articles.
CLICK HERE to read the latest post on Renew.org by Richard Knopp titled “Did Jesus Really Exist? Don’t We Have Just Untrustworthy Copies of Copies of Copies of the Gospels?”
For King Jesus,
Bobby Harrington
Daniel McCoy
| [1] Ricky Gervais, “A Holiday Message from Ricky Gervais: Why I’m an Atheist.” |
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