If you’re a Christian, you may have friends or family who see your faith as a crutch, as a form of wishful thinking because we want God to be real. However, what most people fail to realise is that it can often be the other way around - that those not following Christ can be resistant to it because the price they have to pay seems too high.
Let’s look at atheism as an example. For the atheist, they have no one to answer to - from their perspective they are totally in control of their own lives, and deep down many would rather keep it that way. When former atheist CS Lewis became convinced that Christianity was true, he was initially very disappointed about it. He said…
“I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.”
C.S Lewis recognised that following Christ would have consequences and it’s not always easy. In today’s culture of instant gratification, Christianity isn’t a crutch, instead it demands a price that many people are unwilling to pay. Jesus said…
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
While this may not sound appealing, C.S Lewis and countless others realised that the cost was worth it. Of course, Jesus himself knows what it is to pay a high price for something, giving his very life for us. He is the one who enables us to believe and follow Him and ultimately that leads to true life. That is why Jesus said,
“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”
I’m Becky Gillespie from Thinking Matters and this has been your Thought for Today. For more reasons to believe visit thinkingmatters.org.nz
There is a lot of diversity within humanity but one thing which we all have in common is death - whether we like it or not we will all die. But why is this the case? Throughout human history, humans have constantly poured time, money and effort in attempts to lengthen life but it seems that regardless of how much scientific advancement we achieve, we will never avoid death.
The Bible gives a clear and simple answer as to why we all die. It tells us that sin leads to death - and as humans we have all sinned.
But doesn’t this seem extreme? Why does the punishment for sin have to be death?
First we need to remember where our life even comes from. We did not create ourselves, our lives are a gift from God. The Bible tells us that every breath we breathe is given by God whether we recognise it or not. So if God is the source and sustainer of all life, death entered the world when Adam and Eve rejected that source of life. When they disobeyed God, they turned away from the creator of life itself so the natural consequence of this was death.
This is the tragic history of humanity, but God does not want death to be our final destiny. He didn’t create us just to die but he wants us to live with him forever. That is why he sent his son Jesus to the earth, to take our sins upon himself and die on the cross - he paid the price of death so that we don’t have to. By rising from the grave, he defeated the power of sin and death over our lives. Jesus says “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live.”
I’m Becky Gillespie from Thinking Matters and this has been your Thought for Today. For more reasons to believe visit thinkingmatters.org.nz
If you went out onto the street to survey random people about who Jesus was, you’re bound to get a variety of answers. Some might say God, some might say a religious leader, but chances are many would just call him a great moral teacher and a good man.
But if we take the New Testament records of Jesus, which are historically reliable documents, they seem to leave us with only 3 options for who Jesus was.
As someone who claimed to be God, Jesus was either right or he was wrong. If he was wrong, either he knew he was wrong, in which case he was a liar, or he didn’t know, in which case he was a lunatic. But if he wasn’t a liar or lunatic, the only option left is that he actually was who he said he was.
CS Lewis puts it this way…
“Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. . . .”
So the next time you come across someone who sees Jesus as merely a great teacher or a good man, you can challenge them on whether that is really an option. If they’re not willing to call him a liar or lunatic, it seems the only option left is that Jesus was in fact who he claimed to be. That he really was God.
I’m Becky Gillespie from Thinking Matters and this has been your Thought for Today. For more reasons to believe visit thinkingmatters.org.nz
Most of us are quick to complain when something is unfair - maybe we’ve been cut off in traffic or someone hasn’t carried out their end of a bargain. Or maybe we’re standing up for someone else who has been discriminated against based on their race or gender.
But where does this sense of justice come from? Why is it that as humans we all have this natural intuition that things should be fair - that equals should be treated equally and if they aren’t there’s something wrong.
What most people don’t realise is that the concept of justice doesn’t make any sense if there is no objective standard of right and wrong. Today it’s common to think that the individual chooses what is right and wrong for them and them alone. What’s right for me might not be right for you. However, if this is the case, then we actually have no grounds to fight for justice on - if someone treats you unfairly then that is their own decision and you can’t impose your standards of right and wrong onto them. Or if a teacher gives two students with identical answers on their tests different marks then we also can’t complain because that’s the choice the teacher wants to make.
Of course we all know that there is something clearly wrong in these examples - there is a sense of justice deeply embedded into our human nature. This is just one of the many reasons why there must be objective morality, a standard of right and wrong which applies to everyone. And once we realise this reality, we have to ask ourselves - where does that standard come from? Without God, there is no foundation for right and wrong, for justice and injustice. God is the only one who can give us this moral law which he has written into our hearts.
I’m Becky Gillespie from Thinking Matters and this has been your Thought for Today. For more reasons to believe visit thinkingmatters.org.nz
In every monotheistic religion, God is described as being loving. However Christianity is the only one to take this a step further in its claim that God is love. This is different to saying God is loving - instead the Bible tells us in the book of John that God is love as the essence of his very being. So what is the difference?
To express or feel love, there must be an object to which that love is directed. I might love my mum or love ice cream, but I can’t just love nothing. The same principle applies with God. In Islam, before Allah created the world, there was nothing for him to love. So Allah can be loving, but his love is actually dependent on the existence of his creation - love cannot be an inherent part of his being.
But why isn't this the same in Christianity? Well the difference here is that we believe in a Trinitarian God. This means that God is one in being but three in person. It is only this Trinitirian nature which makes it possible for God to be love as his very being. Even before He created the world, God existed as an eternal community of love, with each person of the Godhead loving the other two. Because Christianity is the only religion with a trinitarian God, it is the only religion where love can be inherent to the being of God. He does not depend on his creation or anything else to be love.
I’m Becky Gillespie from Thinking Matters and this has been your Thought for Today. For more reasons to believe visit thinkingmatters.org.nz
There are over 4000 recognised religions in the world today. So what makes Christianity different? Why would it make sense for someone seeking truth to investigate Christianity first?
Well to start, unlike other religions, Christianity is testable meaning it can be proven or disproven in a finite period of time. This is because the whole religion hinges on one historical event - the resurrection of Jesus. Either this did happen, in which case proving Jesus’ claim to be God, or it did not, in which case the Bible itself says that the Christian faith would be useless.
Another reason it makes sense to investigate Christianity is because Jesus is the universal religious figure. In Hinduism, Jesus is thought by some to be the one of the incarnations of their deity. Similarly in Buddhism, some believe he is the incarnation of Buddha himself. In Islam, Jesus is seen as a powerful prophet who will one day return to judge humanity. There is no other religious figure which has found its way into every other major world religion. So it makes sense to investigate the religion where Jesus is the centre.
Finally, in Christianity, salvation is a free gift from God. The Bible says, “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” While there may be aspects of grace in other religions, they still require you to work for your salvation.
So despite all the ideas out there, there are many reasonable reasons to investigate Christianity and see if its claims are true. While it may take time and effort, the consequences for your life if Christianity is true are not something you want to miss out on.
I’m Becky Gillespie from Thinking Matters and this has been your Thought for Today. For more reasons to believe visit thinkingmatters.org.nz
The Bible clearly tells us that all humans are made in the image of God. This has led to an ongoing discussion to figure out what that means - what exactly is it about humanity that makes us image bearers of our creator? While there is definitely value in exploring this, perhaps an even more relevant and practical question to ask ourselves is why did God make us in his image?
The Hebrew word for image is found over 30 times in the Old Testament - the first 5 refer to humanity being made in God’s image, and the majority of the others translate as the word idol. In the time Genesis was written, the Jews understood idols to be a physical representation of an invisible deity. They were there as a sort of shadow or copy of the greater reality they represented. And this is similar with images we make today - every picture, statue or carving we create, serve the purpose of drawing attention to and bringing glory to whatever they represent.
So if we apply this same understanding to us being made in God’s image, he has created us with the special purpose of drawing attention to Himself and representing who He is to all of creation. And because God is love, if we want to live as the image bearers we were created to be, the best way and only way to do this is to walk in love. The Bible says, “Whoever lives in love, lives in God and God in them.”
I’m Becky Gillespie from Thinking Matters and this has been your Thought for Today. For more reasons to believe visit thinkingmatters.org.nz
When we think of the word faith, what comes to mind? For most people there’s this idea that faith means to blindly believe in something without any evidence. That it doesn’t really matter if what you believe is true, instead it’s whether it makes you feel good that’s important. Prominent atheist Richard Dawkins wrote on Twitter "Faith means belief in the absence of evidence." But is this the type of faith Christianity asks of us?
Despite what many people think, Christianity does not demand blind faith. Unlike other religions, the whole of the Christianity rests on an historical event - the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Either this event truly happened in history, in a real time and at a real place, or it did not. If it did then Christianity is true - Jesus is who he claimed to be; God in the flesh who died and rose again for our sins. But if this event did not happen, then the whole religion crumbles and our faith means nothing.
In 1st Corinthians 15 v 14, Paul writes, “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”
Here it says in the Bible itself, that if Christ was not raised from the dead then the Christian faith is useless. It does not matter if it makes you feel good, or if it gives you hope, Paul says if Jesus is not raised, if he is not alive and real, then having faith isn’t going to achieve anything.
So despite the popular opinion that faith is purely subjective, based only on feelings, experience and in the absence of evidence, Christianity demands that we investigate whether or not the resurrection really happened. Our faith and our trust in God should come from reasonable and solid evidence that what we believe is really true.
I’m Becky Gillespie from Thinking Matters and this has been your Thought for Today. For more reasons to believe visit thinkingmatters.org.nz
As Christians we should always be seeking truth. We want to grow in our understanding and ability to explain what we believe is true because we know that the truth sets us free. However, the bible doesn’t just tell us to speak the truth, rather it says we must speak the truth in love.
So what could this look like?
When we are having a conversation with someone, it is important that we seek to understand them first. To show love to someone means you treat them as you would like to be treated and all of us want the chance to be listened to and understood. In the book of James, we are told that we should be slow to speak but quick to listen. This is a huge part of showing we value the person we are talking to and that their perspective matters.
Francis Shchaeffer once said, “If I have only an hour with someone, I will spend the first fifty-five minutes asking questions and finding out what is troubling their heart and their mind, and then the last five minutes I will share something of the truth.”
That may sound extreme, but if we follow that principle, those 5 mins of words will say much more than what even an hour of words could say if they’re not what the person needs to hear at the time. Every human being is unique and complex and for our words to have any meaningful impact on their life, we must seek to understand them in humility first. We must speak the truth in love.
I’m Becky Gillespie from Thinking Matters and this has been your Thought for Today. For more reasons to believe visit thinkingmatters.org.nz
Logic tells us that there is a cause behind everything which begins to exist. This is true of everything in our universe - there is no example of anything that has ever come into existence out of nothing; there is always a cause. This must also be true of the universe itself as it has been proven by science and philosophy to have had a beginning.
This cause behind the universe is what we would call God. But this is where a common question can arise - what caused God?
The problem with this question is that it goes against the very definition of God. It doesn’t even matter whether you believe God exists or not, it is widely understood that God is the uncaused cause of everything.
I’ll give an example. Someone could ask me, “If giants were real, would they be taller than the average human?” I would say yes because regardless of whether I believe giants exist or not, the common understanding is that if they did exist, they would be significantly taller than the average man.
In the same way, whether you believe in God or not, God is by definition the uncaused cause of everything - the transcendent, eternal, timeless, immaterial being who began the chain of cause and effect we have seen in our world ever since. So the next time someone asks you who caused God, you can explain who God is as the first cause of all things because there is no other explanation which can make sense of our universe’s existence.
I’m Becky Gillespie from Thinking Matters and this has been your Thought for Today. For more reasons to believe visit thinkingmatters.org.nz
The Trinity can be one of those subjects which Christians like to avoid. But if we claim to believe in a Trinitian God shouldn’t we be able to explain what that means?
Most people have heard the basic concept - God is 1 being but 3 persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each person is fully God, but there is only one God. Atheists, agnostics and other religions like to say this is a contradiction, but is it?
A contradiction occurs when two statements cannot both be true at the same time. If I was to say God was 1 being and 3 beings that is a contradiction. If I was to say God is 1 person and 3 persons, that also is a contradiction. But neither of these describe the Trinity which is 1 being, but 3 persons. So the key here is understanding that person and being are not the same thing. Being is the what, and person is the ‘who’.
Let’s use humanity as an example. ‘What’ I am is a human. That is my being. But who I am is different - who I am is Becky. That is my person. So humans are one being and one person.
The nature of God however is different and that doesn’t make it wrong - One being - God. but three persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There is no reason for this belief to make Christianity less credible - if anything it makes sense that God is unlike anything in creation for the creator will always be far more complex than its creation.
I’m Becky Gillespie from Thinking Matters and this has been your Thought for Today. For more reasons to believe visit www.thinkingmatters.org.nz
Science has often been put at odds with Christianity, but the more we look into science the more we can see the work of the creator. In the field of microbiology, the intricacy and complexity of microorganisms, such as bacteria and viruses, demonstrate the existence of a creator. The highly specialized structures and functions within these tiny organisms cannot be explained by evolution alone and must have been designed by a higher power.
The evidence for this is the interdependence and cooperation between different microorganisms in an ecosystem. My wife often reminds me to take care of my gut bacteria, but feeding it with fermenting foods like sauerkraut and yoghurt, because it adds to my body’s overall health. But these gut bacteria are not part me, but we can’t live without it, and it can’t live without us. This symbiotic relationship and dependence between bacteria in our gut and such complex relationships and systems could not have arisen by chance and must have been deliberately planned and put into motion.
The continuing discovery of new microscopic organisms and the expansion of our understanding of their functions are further evidence for God: far from being at odds with Christian belief, this scientific exploration testifies to the Creator God – it seems creation itself ‘waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God.’
I’m Rowan Locke from Thinking Matters, and this has been your Thought for Today for more reasons to believe visit www.thinkingmatters.org.nz
The Bible we have has a long history and has been passed down through many different manuscripts. Some skeptics of Christianity, in an attempt to discredit the reliability of the Bible, like to point out that there are more than 400,000 textual variants between the manuscript used to compile the New Testament, and therefore it cannot be trusted. But here's what the skeptics won't tell you: more than 99% of the textual variants are not meaningful. How do we define meaningful? Spelling differences – different place names, because places had name changes or were known differently to people of different languages. Different word orders. Or the use of a different article – things that have grammatic implication, but no meaning implication. Less than 1% of the textual variants are considered meaningful and only half of those occur enough to be considered viable. The variants that we are left with are about a dozen or so phrases; about a dozen or so verses; and then two passages some manuscripts include and others do not. Most modern bibles are transparent with these too, and mention “some manuscripts do not have this.” However, if we were to remove all these variants, we do not lose the gospel or any of the core doctrines of Christianity: nothing that we believe is challenged or changed in anyway. There is not a document in human history of this age that we could be MORE certain that it says now what it has always said.
I’m Rowan Locke from Thinking Matters, and this has been your Thought for Today for more reasons to believe visit www.thinkingmatters.org.nz
Growing up Māori and Christian can be complicated: Māori Christians often do not feel welcomed by either group. The reality is, too few Māori are engaged with the Church in New Zealand. We know Christ has called ALL to be part of his church, so what can be done?
This issue is not unique to Māori though - the very beginning of the church encountered racial and cultural divisions which needed resolution. In Acts, the Council of Jerusalem was formed to discuss incorporating Gentiles into the early church.
Pre-Colonisation, Māori embraced the Gospel, but after experiencing betrayals, having land confiscated, and suddenly becoming a minority, Māori did not feel welcome in the European expressions of traditional church denominations. In a similar way, the early church was built on Jewish tradition, but the disciples quickly understood that the non-Jews were different and had different values and customs; values and customs which did not necessarily affect their ability to receive the Gospel.
They also realized that God Himself had called these Gentiles and that it was by His grace they, including themselves, were saved. Their final conclusion was that the Gentiles had received the Holy Spirit and so, should be received into the faith with only a set of core beliefs to follow.
Therefore, just as there was room for the Gentiles to enter the faith, there is also room for Māori and other cultures of Aotearoa to enter the faith. And just as the Jews did not need to become like the Gentiles, or the Gentiles needed to become like the Jews, we also do not need to become like one another, but simply, despite our differences, make room to worship alongside others in unity with Christ.
I’m Īhaka Nāmana from Thinking Matters, for more resources like this one, visit https://www.thinkingmatters.org.nz Ngā mihi.
When I was 12, I began to be introduced to worldviews outside of my Christian upbringing and it became apparent to me that I didn’t really know what I believed or why I believed it. As I was exposed to more challenges to my faith, I became less confident in what I thought I knew.
It can be tough navigating our faith sometimes. Questions arise like, “Is Christianity true? Or am I just delusional?” But, is this supposed to happen? Are Christians allowed to have doubts or question their faith?
In John, we find one of Jesus’ own 12 disciples having doubts of his own. Thomas doubted the resurrection, but after Jesus appeared to him, he immediately renounced his doubt. Jesus’ response? “...Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (NIV).
Jesus did not scold Thomas for doubting, instead, He praised those who still have faith despite not seeing first-hand evidence for their belief. It is not wrong to have doubt, and doubt itself does not disqualify us from salvation, it is what we do with those doubts that determine whether our faith becomes stronger or weaker.
We can allow these doubts to fester or we can search out the truth. At 12, I decided not to let my doubts destroy my faith and I immersed myself in Christian apologetics, learning what I believed, and exploring the evidence for it. This helped me address my own doubts and grow my faith.
So, It’s not wrong to have doubts, it’s what we do with these doubts that can make them unhealthy or not. Don’t let your doubts stop you from having a strong relationship with God. To learn more, and to find answers to doubts you may have, visit https://thinkingmatters.org.nz
I’m Īhaka Nāmana from Thinking Matters, ngā manaakitanga.
The word ‘apologetics’ stems from the Greek apologia, meaning “a defense” which is most famously exhibited in 1 Peter 3:15 which says, “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you" (NIV).
Many Christians do not know what the word apologetics means: either they think it means that we apologize for being Christian, OR they think apologetics is about arguing and "Destroying" your opponent - but what is Christian Apologetics really about?
Simply put, apologetics is learning what you believe well and why you believe it. It’s about researching and finding evidence or reasoning for our beliefs, so we then can, as Paul says, “make a defense” for what we believe.
Okay, but why is apologetics important? It’s not only important to answer the doubts of unbelievers, it also helps to answer our own doubts about the faith. It builds our confidence in what we believe and helps us to navigate objections or questions that others or we ourselves may have. Apologetics is also a great way of finding places in which our beliefs or doctrines may be incorrect or aren’t fully in line with the truth.
However, Christian apologetics isn’t merely about learning information and arguments. Effective Christian apologetics is transformational to the way we think and behave. It builds our faith, increases our confidence in God, and influences our actions.
Apologetics is about discovery and seeking out truth. It is a tool in which we can use to help others understand our faith and why we believe in Christianity while helping us navigate our own faith and relationship with God.
I’m Īhaka Nāmana from Thinking Matters, for more information on apologetics and more, visit https://www.thinkingmatters.org.nz Ngā mihi.
In this Easter Special, Associate Pastor of Massey Presbyterian Church, Auckland and New Zealand Christian Network writer and contributor Rev. Mark Maney discusses with host Michelle Englehardt the case for the resurrection of Jesus. The Resurrection is a key tenant of Christianity, without which, our "faith is useless" (1 Corinthians 15:14). No wonder Christ's resurrection is attacked by skeptics and atheists so strongly. Mark explores some of the most common objections to the 'impossibility' of the resurrection, and demonstrates the evidences in scripture and extra-biblical texts for His resurrection, and why we can have more certainty that this historic event actually took place.
About Mark Maney Mark has had a passion for apologetics since he became a Christian 22 years ago. This is due to his belief that being like Jesus means knowing, loving, and living the truth. Engaging in the marketplace of ideas is a key part of discerning truth in our world, and apologetics is a beautiful pathway through that marketplace. Mark is also an engaging speaker, having won the 2016 Toastmasters NZ Humorous Speech Contest and 2018 Toastmasters NZ Most Entertaining Speaker. Mark did his undergrad (Religion & Theology) at Taylor University College in Edmonton, Canada and his graduate studies (Cross Cultural Studies & Apologetics) at Trinity Western University in Vancouver (Langley), Canada. He served as the minister at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Mt Maunganui, and now serves as Associate Pastor of Massey Presbyterian Church and Writer, researcher and contributor with the New Zealand Christian Network.
Please Support Thinking MattersIf you found this podcast useful, please like and subscribe to our YouTube Channel and consider supporting Thinking Matters so that we can continue to bring you more podcasts like this. Go to https://support.thinkingmatters.org.nz to make a tax deductible donation.
Show notes will eventually go in here.
In this episode we hold a discussion with Lyn Packer. Our topic is an important one: Mental Health and the Church. See below for Lyn’s bio.
First, Lyn shares about who she is and what the Lord has called her to with her husband Rob. Then Lyn honestly shares her testimony which includes her very painful childhood which led to years of mental health issues which stayed with her after becoming a Christian.
During the discussion Lyn shares some sobering statistics on mental health including in the Church and how difficult it can be to ‘fess up’ about our ongoing mental health issues within the Church. This discussion was full of grace and wisdom.
Lyn’s blog posts on mental health can be found here:
Mental Health and the Church — Rob and Lyn Packer
Recommended books:
Any books by Dr Caroline Leaf.
Mental health and the Church by Stephen Grcevich
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
The High Five Habit and The 5-second rule by Mel Robinson have good insights into how the brain works.
Helpful websites:
Church and Mental Health: www.churchandmentalhealth.com/books/
Mental health Ministries: – http://www.mentalhealthministries.net/resources/books.html
Focus on the Family’s website: – https://www.focusonthefamily.com/get-help/mental-health-resources/
Mental Health Foundation NZ - https://mentalhealth.org.nz/
Mike Kings websites – I am Hope – https://www.iamhope.org.nz
Key to Life Charitable trust - https://keytolife.org.nz/
Christian Counsellors Association NZ – https://www.nzcca.org.nz/
Mental Wellbeing, Anglican Movement – https://anglicanmovement.nz/mentalwellbeing
Emergency Help:
If this conversation has triggered you please reach for help. If an emergency phone 111. Or contact one of these free 24/7 helplines:
LYN PACKER BIO:
Lyn’s ministry carries a very strong prophetic mantle. She ministers primarily in the prophetic and teaching, calling and enabling people to step into their destiny. Her prophetic gifting is also expressed through her art, and writing. She has written several books covering a variety of subject matter – prophecy and revelation, creativity, dance, prayer and prophetic allegories.
Show notes
