Being a Contender

I'm starting a re-read through Dinesh D'Souza's "What's So Great About Christianity?" this week. As I read each chapter, I'm going to be posting my thoughts on it here. D'Souza is a remarkable writer. He tackles the issues facing America today head-on, and he doesn't rely "merely" on faith to demonstrate the amazing power and evidence of God and Christianity. I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE everyone who reads this blog to read with me in this book. You can find a free online copy compliment of Google here.

Why should you read this book, you ask? Well, I'm about to tell you.

The Preface to the book is a challenge to both believers and unbelievers. Simply put, we as Christians are called to be contenders for our faith. To "contend" means to strive against another, to dispute earnestly; the call of the Bible to be a "contender" for the faith means every Christian a) should be able and ready to stand up for his or her beliefs, and b) will face opposition. The Christian is told in 1 Peter 3:15, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." We must know what we believe, and why we believe it, and be ready to stand up to the inevitable opposition, whether it is a curious unbeliever or a hostile atheist.

This isn't just a suggestion. Jesus said to take up our crosses and follow Him, to go out into the world and spread the gospel to every creature, not just those who won't argue back. Have you ever been in a situation where you wanted to express the love you feel from and for God, but couldn't find the right words or get your heart across? Have you ever faced someone who was violently opposed to Christianity due to a misconception or some hurt they've endured at the hands of the "church," and felt helpless to show them the light? That is what this book is about. It is about understanding why Christianity is so great, why anyone should care about it, why, above all, it is true and can be believed as such based on more than simple blind faith.

I said the book starts with a challenge to unbelievers alongside believers, and so I will put that challenge here, too. If you are reading this and you don't fully follow or agree, I challenge you to pick up this book with me and put Christianity to your most stern test. If Christianity is false, then you have a duty to point out where it falls short! This book doesn't look at issues just from a Christian point of view, but rather as a skeptic, testing the Word of God with the way things are in the world today, with the knowledge of science we have today and with logical processions of thought. All sides of the argument are presented.

If you earnestly desire truth, read with me. Christians, you'll come to know more about the Lover of your soul and how He makes Himself known in our world. Non-Christians, you'll know where we come from and why we believe what we believe.

So pick it up, and read through Chapter One, "The Twilight of Atheism: The Global Triumph of Christianity." That's what I'll be posting on next.