The Reason For God

  Today I had the opportunity to teach Religion and Phys. Ed at the local Catholic school. It was great! My B.A. was in Religion and Phys. Ed. and so I always thought it would be cool to teach those two subjects. My dreams were confirmed today.
  Most often my role as a classroom teacher in the highschool setting is much more as a supervisor than as a teacher. It is just easier (on the teacher and on me) to give project time or an assignment as a sub plan than an actual lecture topic or instructional period. However, as students become more familiar with me and I with them, I have been able to have some meaningful discussions.
   Many of the students who attend this Catholic school will tell me that they are Islamic or Buddhist or Atheist. Often times I think this is just an excuse to try and get out of their work. It does open a door for discussion. These teenagers are at a stage in their life when they are questioning the beliefs of the people around them and the authorities figures that in some ways dictate their life. Today I had the opportunity to guide some students through some of their own beliefs and provide some meager responses for a few of their doubts about Christianity.
  Here is sample of some of the brief discussions I was happy to have today:

Q. How do we know Jesus was a real person? Isn't the Bible just a book of moral stories and myths? (like all the other religious books)
Me: The Bible was written within a generation of Jesus' death. Why does this matter? Well, for example, say Kyle (student) died and then you wrote a book about his life... maybe you wrote that he was the captain of the volleyball team and then was tragically killed by the Hell's Angels. Well, if Kyle's kids and grandkids were still around and this was not true, and really Kyle played basketball and died of natural causes, don't you think they would deny the stories in your book? Then your book would not sell and it would disappear from history.
Well, when the disciples wrote the gospels there were still people alive that knew Jesus and had walked around with him and definitely people that had heard stories from their parents about him. If the gospels were false realities, they would be denied during that time period. There are also other sources that confirm the historicity of certain events written about in the Bible.
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Q. Christians have a history of doing terrible things (ie. residential schools, crusades, causing division), why would I want to be a part of that?
That is certainly true and although some of their intentions were noble, these acts are to be regarded as cruel and unlawful behaviour. However, don't forget that Christians have also acted as the catalyst for many very good things about our society. It was the Christians that during the Bubonic Plague, instead of running away and trying to care for themselves, stayed and cared for the sick and in the end developed the first hospital. The basis of our justice system and many of our western laws are founded on principals from the Bible and initiated by Christian men. The Education system was also started by Christians. So Christians have had a large role in the progress of our world as well.
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Me: If you don't believe in Christ, then why do you attend ______ catholic school?
Students:  Because it is a good quality school. Because walking through the other public school makes me uncomfortable- people aren't nice there. The teachers here are better- nicer and more fair.
Me- Why do think that difference is there?
Students: Because people here have to follow all that respect stuff and teachers believe in the Bible and so they live that way.

 It is interesting that they would choose to live among the Christian community, but don't want to commit to Christ themselves. I'm studying the book The Reason for God by Timothy Keller with a group of people right now and it has helped me tremendously in being able to respond to a secular mindset and doubts about the Christian faith. I highly recommend it and am looking forward to being able to refine my own defense of the faith in the public sphere (as I'm sure even above there are many holes and much work to be done).

  After some thought-provoking discussions, I got to spend the rest of my day playing badminton! It was really fun and also a great way to interact with many of the students I've encountered in other classes, let loose, and get a little competitive! What a great combination!


* Virtually all historians agree that the gospels were written at most 40-60 years after Christ's death. Most would say Mark was written in the 70s, Matthew and Luke in the 80's, and John in the 90's. (The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? - F.F. Bruce or The New Testament by Paul Barnett)
**Keller would add that when people have done injustice in the name of Christ they are not being true to His spirit-- who Himself died as a victim of injustice and called for forgiveness. Only when people give of their lives to free others as Christ did do they realize the true gospel.