HOW DO I BECOME
A CHRISTIAN

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Why Christianity?
By  Dr. John Ankerberg, Dr. John Weldon

Second, the kind of existence Christianity offers in life is one of deep and abundant satisfaction, regardless of the pain and disappointment we may have to experience. Jesus claimed He would give us what we really want in life–true meaning and purpose now, and everlasting life in a heavenly existence far beyond our current comprehension. The noted Oxford and Cambridge scholar, C. S. Lewis, correctly understood one of the most heartfelt yearnings of mankind when he wrote, "There have been times when I think we do not desire heaven but more often I find myself wondering whether, in our heart of hearts, we have ever desired anything else."² Jesus declared, "I came that they might have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10) and "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies" (John 11:25). He also said, "I am the truth" (John 14:6).

Third, Christianity is not just intellectually credible, whether considered philosophically, historically, scientifically, ethically, or culturally, but from an evidential perspective, it is actually superior to other worldviews, secular or religious. If Christianity were obviously false, as some skeptics charge, how could such esteemed intellectuals as those quoted below logically make their declarations? Mortimer Adler is one of the world’s leading philosophers. He is chairman of the board of editors for The Encyclopaedia Britannica, architect of The Great Books of the Western World series and its amazing Syntopicon, director of the prestigious Institute for Philosophical Research in Chicago, and author of Truth in Religion, Ten Philosophical Mistakes, How to Think About God, How to Read a Book, plus over twenty other challenging books. He simply asserts, "I believe Christianity is the only logical, consistent faith in the world."³ How could Adler make such a statement? Because he knows it can’t rationally be made of any other religion.

Philosopher, historian, theologian, and trial attorney John Warwick Montgomery, holding nine graduate degrees in various fields argues, "The evidence for the truth of Christianity overwhelmingly outweighs competing religious claims and secular world views."⁴ How could an individual of such intellectual caliber as Dr. Montgomery use a descriptive phrase as "overwhelmingly outweighs" if it were obviously false? His fifty-plus books and one hundred-plus scholarly articles indicate exposure to a wide variety of non-Christian religious and secular philosophies.

The individual widely considered to be the greatest Protestant philosopher of God in the world, Alvin Plantinga, recalls, "For nearly my entire life I have been convinced of the truth of Christianity."⁵ On what basis can one of the world’s greatest philosophers make such a declaration if the evidence for Christianity is unconvincing, as critics charge?

Dr. Drew Trotter is executive director of the Center for Christian Studies in Charlottesville, Virginia. He holds a doctorate from Cambridge University. He argues that "logic and the evidence both point to the reality of absolute truth, and that truth is revealed in Christ."⁶

If we are looking for obvious truths, then perhaps we should consider the words of noted economist and sociologist George F. Guilder, author of Wealth and Poverty, who asserts, "Christianity is true and its truth will be discovered anywhere you look very far."⁷

The noted Christian scholar Dr. Carl F. H. Henry wrote a three-thousand-page, six-volume work on the topic of God, Revelation and Authority. After his exhaustive analysis, Henry declared, "Truth is Christianity’s most enduring asset…."⁹

Fourth, as we will see, Christianity’s founder, Jesus Christ, is utterly original and totally unique when compared to every other religious leader who has ever lived. In the words of an article in Time magazine, His life was simply, "the most influential life that was ever lived,"¹¹ In addition, the Christian Bible itself is clearly the most influential book in human history. As we will see, the evidence in favor of its divine inspiration and the inerrancy of its autographs is formidable, even to many former skeptics. But if Jesus Christ and the Christian Scriptures continue to exert an unparalleled influence in the world, shouldn’t they be considered worthy of an impartial investigation? If objective evidence points to Christianity alone being fully true, then it seems that only personal bias can explain the person’s unwillingness to seriously consider the claims of Jesus Christ on his or her life.

A final reason secularist and those of other religious persuasions should be receptive to Christianity is because we live in an increasingly poisonous age. In our pluralistic and pagan culture, almost anyone is a viable target for conversion to a wide variety of false beliefs which are far more consequential individually than Christianity–from various cults and New Age occultism to solipsism and nihilism. Philosophies of despair and potent occult experiences can convert even those who think they are the least vulnerable: "There is a great deal of research that shows that all people, but especially highly intelligent people, are easily taken in by all kinds of illusions, hallucinations, self-deceptions, and outright bamboozles–all the more so when they have a high investment in the illusion being true."¹² In other words, even in this life it is the personal welfare of the non-Christian that may be at risk.