You Just have to Believe

You Just have to Believe

Some preachers and church leaders try to tell you, “Don’t question your faith. You just have to believe.” We never find that kind of attitude in the teaching of Jesus or any of the apostles. It is easy to assume that the people we are talking to believe in God, that the Bible is the true Word of God, and that Jesus is a real person who lived, died, and rose from the dead.

It’s a common misconception that everyone in the church has unwavering faith. In reality, a significant portion of people, including those sitting in church pews, have their own doubts and questions. Over the past decade, our ministry has seen a surge in responses, particularly from teenagers and young adults who are grappling with their faith.

Jesus had to deal with the doubts of people who rejected what He said. The Bible describes multiple cases in which people showed Jesus a lack of faith. In Mark 9:17-27, we read of a father with a son who had an epileptic-like issue. Jesus told the distraught father, “All things are possible for one who has faith.” The father cried out with tears, “Lord, I have faith, help me where faith runs short.” Have you ever had a struggle in which you want to believe but are paralyzed by doubt?

How did Jesus handle people’s doubts? The answer is “evidence.” When Thomas doubted that Jesus had risen from the dead, Jesus did not condemn or even chastise him but gave him evidence ( John 20:24-29). Verses 30 and 31 tell us that Jesus did many other things which gave his disciples evidence, “These things are written, that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that believing you might have life through His name.”

The purpose of miracles was not to attract a crowd, raise money, or campaign for some particular office. In Matthew 8:24 -27, we see Jesus controlling wind and waves, and His followers’ response was, “What kind of a man is this that even the winds and the sea obey Him.” Miracles served a purpose, and when men tried to duplicate the things Jesus did, the results were catastrophic. (See Acts 19:13-16.)

In our day, evidence is still a key to faith. The creation speaks of God’s existence, and archaeological evidence for the validity of the Bible is strong. All around us, we can see the catastrophe when people reject the teachings of Christ and devise their own plan for living. We present evidence in the courses we offer, our printed publications, and our websites. We have far more reason to believe than did people in biblical times when mass media was unavailable and scientific knowledge was minimal. Romans 1:19-20 says it well, and verses 28-32 tell us the consequences of rejecting the evidence.”

— John N. Clayton © 2024

Increase in Paranormal Beliefs

Increase in Paranormal Beliefs

Someone said that when people don’t believe in something, they will believe anything. As our culture has turned away from God, it has forsaken Christ’s teachings and turned to irrational ideas. New studies show an increase in paranormal beliefs.

Statistics from the Chapman University “Survey on American Fears” from 2015 to 2018 show that the percentage of people who believe in haunted houses has grown from 41.4% to 57.7%. The percentage of people who believe Bigfoot is real has increased from 11.4% to 20.7%. Those believing that aliens have been visiting Earth has grown from 18.1% to 35.1%. Faith in the ability of fortune tellers and psychics to foresee the future has increased by a small percentage as well.

There are many contributing causes for the increase in paranormal beliefs, but a part of it is biblical ignorance and rejection of the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus urged people to seek and to think. When Thomas had doubts, Jesus showed him the evidence. Biblical miracles always had a purpose in conveying truth. Through the prophets, God warned Israel not to trust magicians, soothsayers, witches, and sorcerers. The law gave lethal consequences for those who persisted in promoting the paranormal.

Chaos in all aspects of American life today results from people believing what they are told without demanding evidence and factual information. It has affected the pandemic, the election, and the racial struggles that are going on throughout this country. Let us urge people not to believe anything just because someone says it is true. We must demand evidence and think!

— John N. Clayton © 2021

Seeker of Truth or Thomas the Doubter

Seeker of Truth or Thomas the Doubter

People often refer to him as “Doubting Thomas.” That label is inaccurate and unfair. Identifying the apostle as Thomas the doubter fails to understand his real nature. When Jesus’ life was in danger, it was Thomas who said, “Let us go die with Him” (John 11: 16). At that time, Thomas was the one full of commitment who was willing to die for his convictions about Jesus. One has to wonder why it was not Peter who was labeled as “the doubter” due to his triple denial of Christ. What we can learn from Thomas is how doubt can help a person to become a seeker of truth.

Doubt has to be confronted. When the other disciples came to Thomas with the outrageous claim that they had seen Jesus alive after his crucifixion, what do you think his reaction should have been? What would your response be? Many false Christs had risen in the world even in that day. There was good reason to question the claims. As a matter of fact, the first witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection were the women in Luke 24, and no one even among the apostles believed them.

The kind of doubt that Thomas had was a healthy skepticism. He did not back off, soft soap, or withdraw from the situation, but he openly and honestly expressed his doubt. Most people in today’s world do not explore their doubts. When they have doubts about God, Christ, the Church, or some doctrinal issue, they tend to bury their concerns. The load of unaddressed doubt can create physical illness, and it can kill us spiritually. Thomas the doubter shared his doubt with his fellow disciples and did not withdraw but became a seeker of truth.

In today’ s world, people who have doubts usually leave the Church. Keeping quiet and walking away seems like the easy way out, but it leads to stress, ignorance, isolation, and a failure to grow and mature in the faith. Thomas could have walked away. Instead, the Bible tells us that a week later, when the disciples were together, “Thomas was with them” (John 20:26). He continued to study, grow, and learn and did not discard the lessons and learning of the past.

Thomas maintained his relationships with his fellow disciples and was willing to respond to the evidence presented to him. I have often wondered if Thomas actually put his finger into the nail prints and the wound in Jesus’ side. Or was the fact that his search for evidence had been responded to enough to motivate him to say, “My Lord and my God!” Those words are not just an acceptance of evidence. They are a realization that the evidence he was seeing was going to change his life. The Bible does not tell us what happened to Thomas, but secular history says he went to India and died there teaching people in that area of the world about Jesus.

We do not know all that took place between the time that Thomas shared his doubts with his fellow disciples, and when Jesus appeared to him. It is difficult not to believe that the others tried to convince him. I think God gave us the story of Thomas the doubter and seeker of truth to let us know that doubt is a normal part of maturing as a Christian.

Unlike Thomas, we have multiple ways of resolving our doubts. Today we have evidence from history, science, scripture, and thousands of years of testimony. The purpose of the DOES GOD EXIST? ministry is to assist any seeker of truth in resolving their doubts. This website, as well as DoesGodExist.org and DoesGodExist.tv, are sources of help if you are a seeker of truth. We do not have all the answers, but sharing with others and learning from them goes a long way toward building dynamic faith.

— John N. Clayton © 2019