I had a very interesting talk with a single mother. Four kids, eleven and under!
She believed she would be reincarnated when she died. I kept probing. Her grandfather was a preacher! How do you go from being raised in a Christian home to having a false belief about the afterlife?
One thing I am doing more and more in conversations is asking, “Who do you think Jesus is?” It kind of cuts right to the chase.
She said, “I believe like the Muslims do—that Jesus is just a prophet.” That was an interesting answer. She then let me know that the father of her kids was a Muslim. He is no longer around because he walked out the front door one day, was hit by a stray bullet, and died.
“Do you think Jesus walked on earth?” She said, “Yes.”
“Do you believe Jesus died on a cross?” She said, “Yes.”
“Do you believe Jesus rose from the dead?” Major, major hesitation on that one.
I reminded Jessica that if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then this is no more than Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and one big fairy tale.
1 Corinthians 15:12-14
Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
In our book Paradise, we cover some of the basic facts about the resurrection of Jesus, which you can check out if you want to hone in on some of that information. You will find it useful when you are witnessing.
Jessica might believe like the Muslims believe, but I believe like the Apostle Paul believed. Christ’s tomb is very, very empty.
Until the nets are full,
P.S. Have you ever thought about how many similarities there are between Islam and Mormonism? Both founders claimed they had a visitation from a spiritual entity, that Jesus was less than eternal God, and that they were called to become prophets of a new religion. Both claimed the Bible was in error and fallible and believed in new revelation. Both promoted polygamy and promises of illegitimate heavenly rewards. They instituted strict dress codes with unusual garments. And both held to radical beliefs that led to militancy or violence at times.
