If you are a regular reader, you know I like telling you stories, especially of people who have embraced faith in Christ Jesus. Sometimes the story is about someone who wrestles with God, however unaware or improbable, and has yet to believe.
A few months ago, I mentioned podcaster Joe Rogan. After a lengthy conversation, Wesley Huff asked Rogan, “What do you think of Jesus?” Rogan did not express faith, but he recently indicated he is still thinking about it. About Christians he said, “I’m really interested in what these people were trying to say because I don’t think it’s nothing.” He called Jesus a “historically documented human being” who “died on the cross supposedly for our sins. It’s a fascinating story.” A story, perhaps, that he suspects (or fears) may be true.
Sometimes we believers struggle to understand unbelief. Do our non-believing friends simply not consider the good news revealed in the Bible and in the person of Jesus? Is unbelief due to lack of evidence? (We see evidence everywhere!) Is it some kind of deception or worse, self-deception? The human tendency is to believe a lie because we prefer to shape reality rather than let reality shape us. St. Augustine wrote, “Man’s love of truth is such that when he loves something which is not the truth, he pretends to himself that what he loves is the truth, and because he hates to be proved wrong, he will not allow himself to be convinced that he is deceiving himself.”
So, what is true? The Bible claims that Jesus is God in the flesh, “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Your choice is to believe it or dismiss it as a deception. If the latter, who is deceiving who? Paul wrote of those who “suppress the truth in unrighteousness,” i.e., they will not allow themselves to be convinced. Don’t be captive to such confirmation bias. I challenge you to investigate it for yourself. Pray the skeptic’s prayer, “Help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). I know it can be a struggle to discover and accept the truth about Jesus and yourself. You may be on the same path as the likes of Lee Strobel and C.S. Lewis, former skeptics overwhelmed and convinced by the evidence.
Rogan is in the company of other skeptics considering the implications of the Bible’s truth claims. Biologist and “new atheist” Richard Dawkins recently called himself a “cultural Christian” and praised the Christian values that influence Western culture. Psychologist Jordan Peterson says, “I act as if God exists.” While discussing his book “We Who Wrestle With God” with Piers Morgan, he said he is terrified that God might exist!
The Bible says Jacob wrestled with God, and he was blessed by belief. If your struggle leads to grace and truth, it will change your world!