Source: News Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C.—“Christianity cannot be true because of the evil and suffering in our world.” That sentiment seems to be echoed today on the controversial front page of the New York Daily News, which declared about yesterday’s deadly shootings in San Bernardino: “God Isn’t Fixing This.”
Author and worldview and culture expert Dr. Alex McFarland (www.alexmcfarland.com) asks this question in response to that headline: “Well, what do we expect?” McFarland says that God is just and his justice prevails, along with His love and mercy. But God is not weak or soft, and in a nation that has turned its back on Him, suffering will occur as a consequence.
“First, prayer to Almighty God is a serious act,” McFarland says. “And just because we don’t live in a peaceful world doesn’t mean that God isn’t hearing and answering our prayers, and it doesn’t mean that He is not at work. But the truth is that we live in a fallen world, and many want to reap God’s blessings without ever having to deal with His judgment. One myth about Christianity is that if God was real, He wouldn’t allow bad things—like mass shootings, sickness and death—to happen. But the truth that counters that myth is that Christianity offers the best hope and power to deal with suffering.”
That myth is just one explored in McFarland’s newest book, “The God You Thought You Knew: Exposing the 10 Biggest Myths About Christianity.” In it, McFarland dispels the myths and untruths about Christianity and replaces that with the truth of who God really is.
“Secondly, we also need God’s protection,” McFarland added. “This bloodshed on American soil will continue until we genuinely turn back to God. Our leaders must promote morality, natural law and the Ten Commandments. There is the easy way, to follow God’s precepts in our leadership, or the hard way, which is to continue to fight truth and refuse to acknowledge the reality that our world is lost without God. Will we humble our hearts or harden our hearts? The American people and her leadership have accountability in the events that take place on our homeland.”
McFarland and his ministry partner, apologist and founder of Reshift Ministries Jason Jimenez, together address America’s youth on the “Stand Strong” Tour—a series of events around the country that seeks to embolden Christians to stand strong in knowing, believing and proclaiming the truth of Christianity, and to assist churches in the much-needed effort to strengthen the faith of young people and their families.
“That arrogant New York Daily News headline isn’t just an attack on Republican presidential hopefuls, but on all Christians and God Himself,” Jimenez said. “The more our culture becomes anti-God and anti-Christian, the more our culture will succumb to violence. The truth is that we need to return to God, now more than ever, not away from Him. We don’t have a gun problem. We have a God problem.
“Rather than sweeping God under the rug and blaming Him for not ‘fixing’ all of our problems, we need to reinforce biblical truth,” Jimenez continued. “People who are claiming that ‘God isn’t fixing this’ are attacking the God we worship. So as Christians, we need to defend Him. After all, the liberal left is quick to defend radicals, shift the blame and reclassify terrorism as something else or ignore it altogether. This is a hostile way of addressing the issue; it’s hatred.”
McFarland added that, as a Christian leader, he is quick to call out lone gunmen like Robert Lewis Dear, who perpetrated the attack on a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood facility last week, and state that violence is not the answer in the name of any belief. Therefore, he said, Muslim leaders must do the same and denounce violence as well.
“If Islam is really a religion of peace,” he said, “we need Muslims and all clergy to condemn acts of terrorism. Yet, they won’t call out their own.”
McFarland speaks to and works with thousands of young people every year, and communicates to them the hope of Jesus Christ. In “The God You Thought You Knew,” he uncovers 10 myths about Christianity:
McFarland is the author of
numerous other books, including “The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask
about Christianity,” “10 Issues that Divide Christians,” and the “Stand” series
of devotions for teens. McFarland is also an expert in the field of
apologetics—the practice of defending the Christian faith in a world where faith
in Christ is plummeting at alarming rates.
McFarland has spent years working with young people, interacting with nearly 20,000 per year, and takes the questions of the young to heart. He has preached in more than 1,300 churches and has been featured at conferences such as the Billy Graham School of Evangelism, Focus on the Family’s “Big Dig” and California’s “Spirit West Coast,” sharing the platform with Chuck Colson, Eric Metaxas, Josh McDowell and many others.
Part evangelist, part apologist, part educator and part broadcaster, McFarland focuses on communicating the message of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. He co-hosts the daily, live radio program “Exploring the Word” on American Family Radio’s Talk Network, heard on approximately 140 stations across the country, and the weekly television show “Viral Truth,” airing on the National Religious Broadcasters Network.
For more information, visit www.alexmcfarland.com or www.truthforanewgeneration.com, or follow McFarland on Facebook or on Twitter @AlexMcFarland.
‘God Is Not Fixing
This’
Dr. Alex McFarland
Asks: What Do We Expect?
People Expect God’s
Blessings, Not His Judgment – But When God Isn’t Followed, Innocent People
Suffer
CHARLOTTE, N.C.—“Christianity cannot be true because of the evil and suffering in our world.” That sentiment seems to be echoed today on the controversial front page of the New York Daily News, which declared about yesterday’s deadly shootings in San Bernardino: “God Isn’t Fixing This.”
Author and worldview and culture expert Dr. Alex McFarland (www.alexmcfarland.com) asks this question in response to that headline: “Well, what do we expect?” McFarland says that God is just and his justice prevails, along with His love and mercy. But God is not weak or soft, and in a nation that has turned its back on Him, suffering will occur as a consequence.
“First, prayer to Almighty God is a serious act,” McFarland says. “And just because we don’t live in a peaceful world doesn’t mean that God isn’t hearing and answering our prayers, and it doesn’t mean that He is not at work. But the truth is that we live in a fallen world, and many want to reap God’s blessings without ever having to deal with His judgment. One myth about Christianity is that if God was real, He wouldn’t allow bad things—like mass shootings, sickness and death—to happen. But the truth that counters that myth is that Christianity offers the best hope and power to deal with suffering.”
That myth is just one explored in McFarland’s newest book, “The God You Thought You Knew: Exposing the 10 Biggest Myths About Christianity.” In it, McFarland dispels the myths and untruths about Christianity and replaces that with the truth of who God really is.
“Secondly, we also need God’s protection,” McFarland added. “This bloodshed on American soil will continue until we genuinely turn back to God. Our leaders must promote morality, natural law and the Ten Commandments. There is the easy way, to follow God’s precepts in our leadership, or the hard way, which is to continue to fight truth and refuse to acknowledge the reality that our world is lost without God. Will we humble our hearts or harden our hearts? The American people and her leadership have accountability in the events that take place on our homeland.”
McFarland and his ministry partner, apologist and founder of Reshift Ministries Jason Jimenez, together address America’s youth on the “Stand Strong” Tour—a series of events around the country that seeks to embolden Christians to stand strong in knowing, believing and proclaiming the truth of Christianity, and to assist churches in the much-needed effort to strengthen the faith of young people and their families.
“That arrogant New York Daily News headline isn’t just an attack on Republican presidential hopefuls, but on all Christians and God Himself,” Jimenez said. “The more our culture becomes anti-God and anti-Christian, the more our culture will succumb to violence. The truth is that we need to return to God, now more than ever, not away from Him. We don’t have a gun problem. We have a God problem.
“Rather than sweeping God under the rug and blaming Him for not ‘fixing’ all of our problems, we need to reinforce biblical truth,” Jimenez continued. “People who are claiming that ‘God isn’t fixing this’ are attacking the God we worship. So as Christians, we need to defend Him. After all, the liberal left is quick to defend radicals, shift the blame and reclassify terrorism as something else or ignore it altogether. This is a hostile way of addressing the issue; it’s hatred.”
McFarland added that, as a Christian leader, he is quick to call out lone gunmen like Robert Lewis Dear, who perpetrated the attack on a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood facility last week, and state that violence is not the answer in the name of any belief. Therefore, he said, Muslim leaders must do the same and denounce violence as well.
“If Islam is really a religion of peace,” he said, “we need Muslims and all clergy to condemn acts of terrorism. Yet, they won’t call out their own.”
McFarland speaks to and works with thousands of young people every year, and communicates to them the hope of Jesus Christ. In “The God You Thought You Knew,” he uncovers 10 myths about Christianity:
- Myth #1: Christianity is intolerant and judgmental toward others.
Truth: Christianity
teaches to love neighbor as self and to share the love of Jesus with
others.
- Myth #2: Christianity cannot be true because of the evil and suffering in our world.
Truth: Christianity
offers the best hope and power to deal with
suffering.
- Myth #3: Christianity is untrue because it is based on faith instead of facts.
Truth: The claims
of Christianity are based on historical facts that can be
tested.
- Myth #4: Christianity has been disproven by modern science.
Truth: The latest
scientific evidence points to an intelligent designer behind all
creation.
- Myth #5: Christianity is not a religion for the educated.
Truth: Many of the
world’s top past and present scholars are
Christians.
- Myth #6: Christianity is boring and would be a waste of my time.
Truth: Christianity
is the most adventurous life a person can
experience.
- Myth #7: Christianity isn’t real because it didn’t work for me.
Truth: The
Christian faith is difficult, yet also the most rewarding way of
life.
- Myth #8: Christianity is false because it is based on the Bible, which is filled with errors and contradictions.
Truth: The Bible is
the most accurately preserved book in history.
- Myth #9: Christianity can’t be true because it is based on a dead man coming back to life.
Truth: If the best
explanation for the empty tomb of Jesus is the resurrection, then Christianity
can be true.
- Myth #10: Christianity isn’t real because a loving God wouldn’t send anyone to hell.
Truth: God has made
great efforts to make sure many will spend eternity with
him.
McFarland has spent years working with young people, interacting with nearly 20,000 per year, and takes the questions of the young to heart. He has preached in more than 1,300 churches and has been featured at conferences such as the Billy Graham School of Evangelism, Focus on the Family’s “Big Dig” and California’s “Spirit West Coast,” sharing the platform with Chuck Colson, Eric Metaxas, Josh McDowell and many others.
Part evangelist, part apologist, part educator and part broadcaster, McFarland focuses on communicating the message of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. He co-hosts the daily, live radio program “Exploring the Word” on American Family Radio’s Talk Network, heard on approximately 140 stations across the country, and the weekly television show “Viral Truth,” airing on the National Religious Broadcasters Network.
For more information, visit www.alexmcfarland.com or www.truthforanewgeneration.com, or follow McFarland on Facebook or on Twitter @AlexMcFarland.
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