What On Earth Are We Here For?
Sorry so late this week. It’s been a week of reflection and trepidation for me, so I am on tenuous ground. It’s a topsy-turvy world out there and trying to navigate these waters is both confusing and disheartening. I have additional fears with regards to this coronavirus situation, because all my kids are in the medical field, being exposed everyday to this situation. They could see this unfold months ago, as they had the inside scoop that many of us couldn’t see. So, their fears were real and proven in the end. I, on the other hand, look at the world through ‘rose colored glasses’ (as my kids would say) and believed that ‘this, too, shall pass’ and that it was just another hyped-up situation that would slide by all of us without consequence. Now, I am truly frightened. Besides having kids on the ‘front lines’ of health care, I have tiny little grandmunchkins with weakened immune systems who are compromised due to premature birth. And, I too, am at that age where the ‘iron strikes hot’ (in this whole coronavirus situation), so I have to be careful with my contacts and involvements, which is a little difficult in the Hospice world of sickness and turmoil.
So, what does all of this have to do with our book this week? Heck, I don’t know. But I do know that my senses are heightened to what may come down the pike. And because of that, my heart is heavy, and my rose-colored glasses are a little more foggy than usual. So, writing this blog seemed like an extra burden on an already-full plate, but I know it’s necessary – and I am up to the task on this early Monday morning before I head off to deal with my beautiful ‘end of life’ patients.
Confronting Christianity offers twelve reasons why Christianity is a viable worldview that can coexist alongside science, atheism, and other world religions. McLaughlin’s topics are timely, as she looks at how a loving God can allow suffering as well as exploring abortion and morality.[1] While Christians can see that many followers are questioning the church (especially our youth), the author’s reflection on the changing times was powerful:
While many American are becoming nonreligious, the traffic flows both ways. A recent study found that nearly 40% raised nonreligious become religious as adults, while only 20% of those raised protestant switch to nonreligious. If the trend continues, my secular friends are twice as likely to raise children who become Christians as I am to raise children who become nonreligious. And the kind of religious beliefs people hold today are not the kind that fit comfortably into the “coexist” bumper sticker. Full blooded Christianity is out-competing theologically liberal faith. In the end, religious participation is good for both your health and your happiness.[2]
McLaughlin delivered the fruit of her years involved in the frontline Christian apologetics world. Her overall synopsis is that at the cross, the most powerful man who ever lived submitted to the most brutal death ever died to save the powerless. Christianity does not glorify violence; it humiliates it. I truly enjoyed Confronting Christianity and found the author’s writing to be both intriguing and inspiring.
And a final timely message for today…a quote from Rick Warren: God has a purpose behind every problem. He uses circumstances to develop our character. In fact, he depends more on circumstances to make us like Jesus than he depends on our reading the Bible to do so.[3] Let life’s circumstances build our faith and truth in a loving Savior who is there for us during times of concern and walks beside us through every fire.
[1] Rebecca McLaughlin, Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2019), Kindle.
[2] Ibid, intro.
[3] Rick Warren, What On Earth Am I Here For? (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002).
About the Author
Nancy VanderRoest
Nancy is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and fulfills God's calling on her life by serving as a Chaplain & Counselor with Hospice. In her spare time, Nancy works with the anti-human trafficking coalition in her local community.One response to “What On Earth Are We Here For?”
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Thank you, Nancy, for sharing your vulnerability in the situation of the pandemic Covid19. We are all vulnerable to this scourge threatening the whole world. I like your statement that “Christianity does not glorify violence, it humiliates violence.” That is why ISIS went on rampage wiping the Christians in northern Iraq the Kurds. The Christian community did not retaliate violently but they pleaded with the international community to protect them.
Thank you, Nancy, for sharing.