Always have an Answer

I was flipping through the movie channels yesterday while I waited for the Sox game to start (I never really watch the pregame show all that much), and came across the movie “Religulous”. I heard about it mainly that it was bad, and I found out that, that was entirely true, it was a bad move. The basic premise is that Bill Maher (a not so funny comedian) sets out to ridicule religion, but ends up mainly ridiculing Christians. At first I was angry, I was angry that someone would blatantly make fun of an entire group of people in an inappropriate (and foul mouthed) way. Then I had a second feeling, I felt bad for Maher, I felt sorry for him and everyone like him who don’t understand faith. I though why I believed, that last year at this time I didn’t have faith or hope, and as a result was lost. I was like Maher; I wanted hard facts, something tangible; something to wrap my mind around. God didn’t give me that, but He did give me hope through a series of unexplainable coincidences, and through the support of people around me. As people of faith we need to know why we believe, why we have such faith and must have that answer because there is always a time and place where we are put on the spotlight and asked why we believe. Maher shoots himself in the foot by seeking out poorly qualified people to ask his questions, he sets up multiple interviews with people who really don’t know a whole lot and he presents false information that they never discredit (the biggest lie Maher tells to a group of people is that there is no evidence that Jesus was real – tell that to the Roman census and any historian). Peter writes to his readers “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience…” 1 Peter 3:15-16. Peter is right on this, but the key thing is what he adds at the end about gentleness and respect, Bill Maher and those like him may not understand faith, but if we with faith continue to give a good and honest answer about why we believe and do it with kindness, it could change one person’s mind and in the long run that is what really matters.