Apologetics 101Sample

Five Questions

Maybe it will help to identify five landmarks on the “idea map” that form five questions every human must grapple with.

Origin. Where did we come from? Some say we were created by God to bear his image. Others say we evolved through random-chance processes. One American Indian creation story begins with “The woman and the man dreamed that God was dreaming them.” So were they already created and dreaming, or were they part of God’s dream? Is the story intended to be taken literally, or is it poetry? The various creation stories contradict one another. They can’t all be right, but which is wrong?

Identity. Who are we? What is a human being? Are we more than just animals? Does every human being have intrinsic worth and dignity, or are worth and dignity determined by external factors, skills, and attributes? Further, most people suspect that something is wrong with us. What exactly, if anything, is wrong, and how do we fix it?

Meaning. What is real and true, and how do we know? What is life all about? Is there purpose to our lives, or must we contrive it somehow? Is reality real or an illusion? Is there such a thing as “the good life,” and if so, what is it? What makes life worth living at all? Why do humans not only exist but also wonder about why they exist? Will the answers we embrace determine what we ultimately live for and the lengths to which we should go to achieve it?

Morality. How should we live? Are there rules for the good life? Who makes them? Are they true for all times and all cultures, or do they depend on our circumstances? A study by Barna Group states that 83 percent of young adults said moral truth depends on the circumstances, and only 6 percent said moral truth is absolute. Is morality based on feelings? Does morality change if our feelings change?

Destiny. What happens next? Where is history headed? Is there an afterlife? If so, what is it like? Clearly there is something wrong with the world: poverty, injustice, pain, and sickness exist. How do we explain this? And what do we do about it?

Some say that bad things are just an illusion, while others say that bad things result from evolution and have no larger meaning. Still others blame sin. Some say there is a possibility of redemption, but there are many different ideas about what that means. Should we try to fix things or merely look forward to a life beyond this one?

And just when we think we’ve got everything figured out, one question continues to haunt us all: How do we know that our answers to these questions are right?