In my last post I discussed how sometimes Christians can be judgemental, but Christians are judged a lot too. One judgement that is often made is that we must be mindless to believe in a God we cannot see. Yet there are people who have suffered persecution, even given their lives rather than deny their belief in God. Why would the disciples have kept the faith when their lives were at risk? Why would people today? They would have to be pretty certain that what they believe is true to be willing to give up their lives for it.
One of the verses that I mentioned in my last post was I Peter 3:15-16. Always be ready to give an answer for the hope that you have. Be ready to explain why you believe as you do. In order to do that you have to know for yourself, and the fact that your parents or your friends believe that way won’t hold up as a reason for long.
In Acts 17:10, Luke is in the process of recounting the travels and activities of Paul and Silas among others. They had been in Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-9) but had to leave because the Jews there didn’t want to consider anything different than what they already believed, so they were not willing to hear that Jesus was the Messiah that they had been waiting for. They opposed Paul and Silas and accused them of stirring up trouble and opposing Caesar. These were pretty serious charges, so after paying their fine, the believers sent Paul and Silas to the town of Berea. As usual Paul went to the synagogue to share the good news that Jesus was the Messiah. The Bereans heard the message, but instead of opposing it, they listened with open minds to hear what Paul had to say. They also took the next step. They didn’t just take what Paul said at face value; they searched the Scriptures and studied them every day to see if what Paul was saying was true. (Acts 17:11) Many translations describe the Bereans as being noble or fair-minded. Essentially, they were more willing to learn, by listening to Paul and then checking the facts for themselves.
Are you unsure what to believe? Don’t believe anything just because someone else tells you to. Think for yourselves. Do your research. The Bible can withstand your scrutiny. Do a little bit of studying. One example of a person who did this is Josh McDowell. He was a skeptic that set out to prove Christianity was a joke. He couldn’t do it because there was far too much evidence to prove that Jesus is who He says He is. You can read Josh’s account of his own journey in the third section of Skeptics Who Demanded a Verdict, available as a PDF here. Other resources he has available may help you in your own search for the truth.