John 7:10-13

John 7:10-13 
 English Standard Version (ESV)

  What's something you've made an argument for in the last few weeks?  Maybe you've argued that robot umpires have no place in baseball.  Maybe you've debated whether fake meat can replace animal-based meat.  Maybe you've argued with someone over whether a hot dog is a sandwich or not.  Whatever it was, you likely formed an argument out of a combination of facts and opinion, and the more important the subject was to you, the harder you likely fought for it.  If you knew you were going to have the discussion ahead of time, I bet you prepared and came ready to persuade. 
  So when you're out and about, and someone, be it a friend or acquaintance, asks you if your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is leading you astray, how would you respond?  What facts would you rely upon to rebut the argument that the Christian faith is not well-thought out?  How would you explain that the faith  can be reasonably defended in vigorous intellectual debates?  What resources would you draw upon to explain the historical reliability of Scripture?
  Plenty of people look upon faith with skepticism.  They did when Jesus was alive, and they continue to now.  As a people of faith, we don't have to get defensive and argumentative when confronted with these questions.  Take comfort in knowing that there was skepticism when Jesus was alive and performing miracles and raising people from the dead, and that the skepticism will likely continue until Jesus returns.  Until then, research the Christian faith and know you would answer skeptics when you are in conversation with them.  Your answer should be your unique story, your understanding of faith, and it doesn't have to perfectly knit everything together -- we all have lingering questions and doubts, and that's ok -- we're human.  Just know why you believe what it is that you believe, and continue to dig into faith as though it's the most important thing for us to understand.