You can't prove Christ

Girls,

I’ve had this discussion with a few people and I find it a compelling viewpoint in the argument for Christ. Ok, so you’re in a conversation with one of your girl friends who doesn’t believe that Jesus was the messiah (you’ll meet people in your lives that don’t believe in God at all, much less in Jesus, but that’s another topic). So, here’s how the conversation goes:

Your girl friend: “But how can you believe that Christ was the Messiah? There’s no proof, there’s no evidence. All you have is the bible which was written like a bajillion years ago, way back when your Dad was born, so how do you know that what they wrote in that book is true?”

You: “Interestingly enough, the fact that there’s no proof or evidence is an integral part of the definition of the word ‘faith.’ Remember, faith is believing in something without proof.”

Your friend: “Yeah, but how can you have so much faith in something you can’t see or prove?”

You: “Actually, you have as much faith in Christ as I do.”

Your friend: “No I don’t! What are you talking about? I don’t have as much faith in Jesus as you do. Did your old man put you up to this?”

You: “No, no. My old man didn’t put me up to this. Now sit down and listen, so as you don’t hurt yourself, see? You wouldn’t want me to have to smack you around, see? Ok, the reason I say you have as much faith in Christ as I do is that although I don’t have proof that he was the Messiah, likewise, you don’t have proof that he wasn’t the Messiah. You see, you have just as much faith as I do. It’s just that your faith tells you (without proof) that Jesus wasn’t the Messiah. So, I put the question back to you. How can you say that he wasn’t the Messiah when you have no proof? At least I’ve got a written text that documents his life, from which, I can see that he was the son of God. Are you simply choosing to disbelieve in Christ because so many other people do believe? Are you the contrarian who chooses to believe in the opposite of what everyone else believes?”

You: “Now let’s consider something else. Let’s say that you and I are sitting here today, and Christ returns. I mean he returns right here and now to earth. The bible foretells that Christ will return again. So, Jesus himself just walks right into this place where you and I are now. And the two of us talk to him, and we’re amazed. And we agree, there’s no doubting that he is the son of God. Miracles are performed right in front of our eyes. We believe. In our hearts we both believe. Jesus then travels the globe and millions of people become believers. All of this is reported by every news agency in the world. The real truth is revealed. And all see him as the son of God. Now, fastforward 2000 years from today. What do you think two people sitting around in a coffee shop are going to be saying about Jesus? Do you think they’ll all still be believers? No, there’s no way they’ll all be believers because they weren’t around to see it with their own two eyes. They’ll l be saying that there is no proof because all that happened 2000 years ago.”

Your friend: “Oh yes they would, they’d have proof, people would believe because there would be all kinds of video footage of him performing miracles….”

You: “And what do you think skeptics would say about the videos?”

Your friend: “Oh yeah, I see your point, people all over the world would have doubts and say that the videos were faked.”

You: “After all, 2000 years has passed right? No one is sure anymore that the videos weren’t faked. No one is still alive that saw him with their own eyes. Just look at how advanced special effects are today. In 2000 years, you’d be able to do anything you wanted in a video. You could certainly fake the coming of Christ.”

Your friend: “So what you’re saying is, that even if there was actual proof of Jesus being the Messiah, that that proof wouldn’t be enough for people like me anyway.”

You: “That’s right. There is no form of proof that would satisfy skeptics. Not written texts, not live footage, nothing.”

Your friend: “So what am I supposed to do with all this?”

You: “You’re supposed to understand that since there can be no definitive proof, outside of seeing with you own eyes, that you better get a grip on which faith you are going to have. The kind where you don’t believe in anything. Or the kind where you decide that God is real, that there is no logic in it, that there can’t be any logic in it, that there isn’t supposed to be any logic in it, that there can’t be any proof in it, and that’s ok, because God wasn’t meant to be proven.”

Your friend: “Your dad is really good looking.”

You: “And smart too.”

Love,

Your Dad