The Churches are Failing You & Your Children

One of the reasons so many Christian youths walk away from the Faith is because the churches only teach WHAT to believe instead of objectively demonstrating WHY what they are teaching must be true. They do not teach the “WHY” because asking the hard questions exposes some of their own doctrines to critical review. They cannot defend some of these objectively using sound logic and sound biblical interpretive principles. They often give the illusion of apologetics by cherry-picking “proof texts” while ignoring Scriptures that contradict their interpretations. They do not harmonize all of the biblical data on a particular topic. This is because some of their ‘sacred cow’ doctrines are illogical, self-contradictory, and/or portray God’s character in ways that oppose what Scripture explicitly states about His character. Pastors often fudge on their interpretive principles. Some churches actually have indoctrination classes mislabeled as “apologetics classes” where they teach you how to selectively “proof-text” in order to support their doctrinal statement against other denominations and “cults” (anyone who does not agree with them).

If Christian parents don’t want to see their high school and college students reject Christianity, they MUST teach their children how to think critically and objectively while they are pre-teens and teens. They must teach them WHY Christianity and its fundamental claims must be true logically. First, they need to ask and resolve their own unanswered “why” questions from the Bible. Then they should encourage and answer their children’s “why” questions, then ask them “why” questions to see if they are tracking and are thinking critically. If parents themselves are satisfied with doctrines that do not make sense, are self-contradictory, depend on circular reasoning, and/or are based on cherry-picking “proof-texts” while ignoring conflicting statements of Scripture, they could easily be in for a rude awakening. When that child gets older and begins to think for themselves, their Bible stories and “indoctrination” training will not equip them to be able to defend and sustain their own faith against challenges in our modern culture. Ask your teens and pre-teens how they know there really is a God, and that the Bible is indeed truly God’s perfect revelation to man. If they answer with circular reasoning, such as ‘because the Bible says so,’ you have a problem.

Here is a good test question: How do you settle and defend the main “essential” doctrine of modern Christianity, the Trinity (3 co-equal & co-eternal Persons)? Can you defend it from Scripture without imposing it upon the Scripture? Can you harmonize all of the Scriptures concerning God, Jesus, and the Spirit of God without contradictions? Can you answer the biblical objections to modern Trinitarianism raised by non-Trinitarian Christians? Can you answer the logical contradictions raised against doctrine of the Trinity by non-Christians, including Jews, Muslims, and Atheists?

The Roman Catholic Trinity is THE primary objection to Christianity from virtually all non-Christians, which Protestants and Evangelical Christians accept without critique, and (following the Catholic Church’s example) insist that you must believe it to be saved. So, this is a good place to start to evaluate if your own foundational understanding is adequate. Other critical issues concern the Bible’s claim that God is absolutely just, and that with Him there is no favoritism. Some Christian doctrines in practice contradict what the Bible emphatically declares about God’s character.

You might think your understanding of theology is adequate for you to endure in your faith. Great! But it very well may not be adequate for your children once they are out from under your roof and engage in society, especially on social media and must deal with peer pressure. If you ignore the seeming inconsistencies and contradictions, and if you just pass the job of educating your children off to the local church or Christian school, isolating them from outside influence in Christian bubble-wrap, well … good luck with that. That might have worked pretty well before the internet. No so much anymore.

4Winds Fellowships’ Bereans Bible Institute is a resource designed to objectively deal with the WHY questions, so you can learn how to truly understand the pristine Christian Faith from the Bible (as it was understood by those under the training of the Apostles) and to be able to adequately and objectively defend it. It is a great place to begin.

The Last Generation Version (LGV) of the New Testament is also available with extensive commentary and cross-referencing. This is intended for in-depth and advanced study of the New Testament.