Mark
What was the question that Mark could never escape?
‘I was at a youth group party one afternoon and saw a leader with a cassette recorder working his way around the group asking a question.
‘Shy as I was about being recorded and having to reveal something significant about myself, I secretly listened in to prepare my answer. “Why do you believe in God?” was the question, terrifying me even more than doing a recording.
‘I managed to avoid that particular interview, but could never escape the question itself. Did I believe in him because the evidence for his existence was undeniable? Or did I just believe because I’d learned from my parents that it was the right thing to do?
‘Only after I arrived at university did I find satisfying answers. Disturbingly at first, the answer came with an even greater sharpening of the question. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul says that if Christ’s resurrection was fake, we are fools. So the question became not simply, “why do I believe in God?”, but “why do I believe in Christ’s resurrection?” On the positive side, if Christ did rise, then the rest of the Bible seems to be validated.
‘Since then, I have taken particular interest in the evidence for the resurrection, becoming convinced that faith in God is no wishful hopefulness, but that Jesus really did die and was secured in a tomb, and that he rose from the dead and will return to inherit his kingdom in full. Jesus’ resurrection is now the reason I believe in God.’
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