What matters the most to you? Many of us would say our family. Depending on what phase of life you are in, it could be friends, spouse, career, or possessions. All of these exist for only a finite amount of time on this earth. What about the eternity we will spend in Heaven with Jesus? That is what matters the most to me. Doesn’t the eternal matter more than the finite?
I want everyone to have that eternal gift, but only those that believe Jesus died for our sins will have that glorious reward. Many people think this is a blind leaf of faith, but it is a rational belief. Blaise Pascal was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic theologian who lived in the 17th century. He described the rationality of Christian belief as follows:
If we are to decide to believe whether God exists or not, it is wiser to believe that God does exist. If we believe that God exists and He does exist, we gain eternal bliss; if God does not exist, we lose nothing, because there is no final judgment to account for our error. On the other hand, if we believe God does not exist and He does not, we gain nothing, because there is no final judgment to punish our belief. But, if we wrongly believe that God does not exist, we lose eternal bliss and are therefore condemned to everlasting Hell. By a calculation of risks and benefits, we should conclude that it is better to believe in God’s existence.
It saddens me when people, particularly young people, have faith in God but lose it later in life. Studies have shown that 60% - 90% of Christian college students leave the church while attending secular schools. These students are thrust into an environment where the authority of scientists, teachers, and textbooks speaks louder than the authority of God’s word. They are not prepared with answers to questions they encounter and have not been exposed to the scientific evidence that confirms the biblical account of history.
This is my “it”, and it matters. I like to teach the science of biblical creation. Having a young earth worldview is not a salvation issue. You will not be turned away from the pearly gates because you believe the earth is billions of years old. However, it is a salvation issue for the 60% - 90% of Christian college students that leave the church while attending secular schools. Some may say that they never had a true salvation faith to begin with. I say that they never had a chance for their faith to take root. The attacks on Christian faith in our secular colleges are relentless. Their faith is like the seed that fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.
Why do I care so much about these young college students? Because I was one. I loved science, and still do. After high school, I decided to attend a local university to study physics. I wanted to find out how everything worked, and physics seemed to be the answer. But I turned away from God during my high school and college years because I believed in science, and what the culture was telling me—that the Bible was a book of stories and science had disproved it.
In graduate school, as I advanced through the ranks of physics, I thought carefully about all the assumptions that science ultimately rests on. Many of these assumptions are perfectly reasonable, and they allow scientists to make progress when key information is not known. These assumptions display our lack of knowledge, particularly about the past. Subsequently, assumptions are built on top of assumptions and confidently reported by scientists and taught in schools as truth. I learned that science doesn’t say anything, but scientists do. Science doesn’t prove anything, but it is a tool that can help us understand the natural world. My faith in science as the ultimate truth was shaken. God was also working in my heart. I dropped my atheistic worldview and returned to a belief in God.
In addition to the rationality of Christianity, there are also, what might be called, intangible benefits during this lifetime. These spring from an eternal outlook. The Christian knows that their life on Earth is not all there is. We are less affected by things in this world. Christians tend to experience more joy and less pain, frustration, stress, and anxiety. We also have a relationship with the creator of the universe and can bring our troubles to Him in prayer.
It is my hope that all of you reading this blog will experience the joy of the Christian faith. I will continue to write about science, creation, the Bible, and God in order to encourage, equip, educate and entertain both believers and non-believers because it matters.
The joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10
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