How do we believers answer the many, many questions presented by skeptics, agnostics and non-believers? For the sake of fellowship in our beliefs, I hope to share with fellow Christians our beliefs and reasons for them even when we’re challenged by the really tough questions that come from others.
An atheist once told me why he didn’t believe in a God was because he “never could see any rational reason why a God who could do anything would put humanity through this life we experience on earth when we know where it ends.” “What’s the plan and why?” “It all seems a useless waste of time and energy!”
How would you answer such questions and statements?
Use the methods of the apologists. My intuitive response to those questions is to nail down the historicity of Jesus' resurrection.
1: the NT is the most reliable book from the ancient world. The biggest hurdle in accepting its truth, is that it contains miracles.
2: If God exists, of course He could perform miracles. Need powerful arguments for God's existence? See Leibniz's cosmological argument, for one among many.
3: The disciples of Jesus (I think most of them) died as martyrs, never once changing their confession that they saw the raised Jesus? Would they willingly die for a lie? The only real motivations there are three: power; status; sex/relationships. None of them achieved this. So why lie?
4: Many successful murder trials see a person convicted WITHOUT direct evidence; the jury gives a verdict beyond a reasonable doubt, EVEN THOUGH there's no direct evidence that person actually committed the act. If we challenge ourselves to give a verdict of "risen" or "not risen", it's tough to reasonably and confidently arrive at "not risen". If we decide it's "inconclusive", then we're stuck explaining the resurrection event somehow.
If we conclude that we can trust Jesus, then we can trust God's overall plan. We can trust divine providence.
Again, the biggest hurdle is a bias against the supernatural.
Quick way to judge a situation: ask them, "If Christianity WERE true, would you be a Christian?" Surprisingly some say no. But the honest truth-seeker will say yes.
The world is the best way it can be in order for God's creatures to go to him, which is the ultimate goal.
See the YouTube channel ReasonableFaith for brilliant philosopher William Lane Craig's approaches.