The Logical Believer: Explaining Why Christianity Makes Sense

By Jalen Taylor

For the person who is curious about God, Christianity, or faith in general, Jalen R. Taylor presents this work explaining the Christian faith. In Part 1, Jalen establishes that the general idea of faith in a god is logical through the use of financial theory. He then explains to the reader why Christianity is the true faith through the Bible’s proven historical accuracy, scientific reasoning that rationalizes God’s existence, and his personal life experiences, including his personal conversations with the God of Christianity. In Part 2, Jalen answers 60 questions about the Christian faith. Questions answered in this part include: “Why Does God Allow Suffering?”, “What Is Hell? Why Would God Send a Person There?”, “Can You Prove We Are Spirit Beings?”, among many more controversial questions. Through the use of logical analysis, historical findings, scientific reasoning, personal experiences, and answered questions, Jalen not only helps the reader to establish a rational view of Christianity, he helps the reader to develop a basic and holistic understanding of the faith itself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jalen Taylor
• Release date: Apr 22, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370036431

Jalen Taylor

Jalen R. Taylor used to question how involved God was with daily life in today’s world. However, his doubts disappeared after he heard the Lord speak to him, prophesying that he would be given a full-ride collegiate scholarship. After graduating from DeSoto High School as the valedictorian, the first Black male to do so at this institution, Jalen attended Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas on the full-ride opportunity that the Lord promised him. He has since graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance with Departmental Honors. He is now a valuation analyst at Value Management Group, LLC, which is a healthcare valuation and consulting firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas. In addition to his degree field studies, Jalen was led by the Lord to also study science and Christianity, and upon the Lord’s request, he wrote this book using the information that he learned. Jalen currently resides in DeSoto, Texas and spends his free time with family and friends and watching his favorite sports teams: the Dallas Cowboys and the Dallas Mavericks. Outside of working in business valuation, Jalen’s mission is simple: to preach to the world why Christianity makes logical sense.

Book preview

THE LOGICAL BELIEVER

EXPLAINING WHY CHRISTIANITY MAKES SENSE

JALEN R. TAYLOR

Copyright © 2017 by Jalen R. Taylor

All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible(r) (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

ISBN-13: 978-1542697668

ISBN-10: 1542697662

Edited by Dr. Joyce W. Teal

Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com

To my family and friends who support me,

To those who are curious about faith,

To everyone who is determined to find the truth,

This book is respectfully dedicated.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Pre-Word

Part 1: Logical

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Getting Your Mind Right

Chapter 3: Expected Return Theory

Chapter 4: Comparing the Faiths Isn’t Necessary

Chapter 5: The Bible’s Credibility

Chapter 6: Science and Creation

Chapter 7: My Faith

Part 2: Believer

Introduction

God Questions

Question 1: Three Gods or One God?

Question 2: How Do You Know That God Is Three Persons?

Question 3: How is Jesus Both God and Man?

Question 4: Why is Jesus the Only Way?

Question 5: In What Do Christians Have Faith?

Question 6: Why Did People Want to Kill Jesus?

Question 7: How Was Jesus Able to Be Killed?

Question 8: Are We Literally God’s Children?

Question 9: Why Won’t God Let Us See Him?

Question 10: Why Can’t We Completely Understand the Lord?

Question 11: How Did I Get the Holy Spirit to Talk to Me?

Question 12: Why Does God Allow Suffering?

Question 13: Does God Have Limits?

Question 14: Why Did God Create the Earth?

Question 15: Why Did God Make Us?

Question 16: How Did We Get in This Mess?

Question 17: Why Does God Allow Us to Have Weaknesses?

Satan and Hell Questions

Question 18: Who is Satan? What is He Trying to Do? And Why?

Question 19: Why Does Satan Still Exist?

Question 20: What Is Hell? Why Would God Send a Person There?

Question 21: What about Those Who Have Never Heard about Christ?

Question 22: What about the Old Testament Believers?

Question 23: How is God Okay with Sending Anyone to Hell?

Question 24: Is God Just Playing Around with Us?

Question 25: Has Anyone Ever Been to Heaven or Hell and Come Back?

Question 26: Why Can’t There Be a Third Option?

Question 27: Freewill or Predestination?

Question 28: Why Does God Create People He Knows Will Go to Hell?

Question 29: What If God Isn’t Real?

Science Questions

Question 30: Weren’t the Early Scientists Also Christians?

Question 31: Can You Prove We Are Spirit Beings?

Question 32: What about Quantum Physics?

Question 33: Is the Miracle of Parting the Sea Scientifically Possible?

Bible Questions

Question 34: Is the Way the Bible Was Composed a Cause for Concern?

Question 35: Is the Bible Outdated?

Question 36: Do We Really Have to Read the Bible?

Biblical Understanding Questions

Question 37: Is the Future Set in Stone?

Question 38: Do We Still Have to Follow the Law?

Question 39: What Matters More: Action or Motive?

Question 40: What Does God Want from Us?

Question 41: Can a Person Be Godly and Worldly at the Same Time?

Question 42: What Does it Mean to Repent of Sin?

Question 43: Why Does the Lord Give People Over into Their Desires?

Question 44: How is God Accepting of All People but Not All Practices?

Question 45: Does God Have a Problem with People Getting Rich?

Question 46: Do Miracles Happen Anymore?

Question 47: Why Must We Have Childlike Faith?

Question 48: What is the Foundation of the Church?

Question 49: What is the True Meaning of Church?

Question 50: Is Going to Church a Requirement?

Question 51: What Does the Bible Say about Slavery?

Question 52: Is There a Day of the Week That is Holier Than Others?

Question 53: How Long Was Jesus’ Body in the Grave?

Question 54: Should We Celebrate Christmas?

Question 55: What is Prayer? Do We Really Need to Pray?

Question 56: What is Revelations Really about?

Question 57: Can the End Times Be Predicted?

Concluding Questions

Question 58: What Does All of This Mean Concerning the Other Faiths?

Question 59: Why Can’t I Answer All of Your Questions?

Question 60: How Does a Person Get Saved?

Conclusion

About the Author

Faith certainly tells us what the senses do not, but not the contrary of what they see; it is above, not against them.

~ Blaise Pascal

It is impossible to reason without arriving at a Supreme Being. Religion is as necessary to reason, as reason is to religion.

~ George Washington

The more we know of God, the more unreservedly we will trust in Him; the greater our progress in theology, the simpler and more childlike will be our faith.

~ J. Gresham Machen

Faith is reason at rest in God.

~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Logic is like a flowing river. At the end of the river, we see math, physics, life, and biology. At the beginning of the river, we see God. If we take God out of the picture, then there won’t be a flowing river. If God isn’t real, then logic doesn’t exist.

~ Jalen R. Taylor

Logic [loj-ik][1]

noun

1. The science that investigates the principles governing correct or reliable inference;

2. A particular method of reasoning or argumentation;

3. The system or principles of reasoning applicable to any branch of knowledge or study;

4. Reason or sound judgment, as in utterances or actions;

5. Convincing forcefulness; inexorable truth or persuasiveness.

Believe [bih-leev][2]

verb

1. To have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so.

Logical Believer [loj-i-kuh l] [bih-leev-er]

noun

1. Someone who has confidence in the truth, existence, or reliability of something, while not having absolute proof, has investigated the truth, existence or reliability of something and used sound reasoning and judgment to produce an inexorable truth.

PRE-WORD

Why should I believe in God? What has God done for me? What good would having faith in God do for me? Is there even a god to believe in at all? Does faith in God make any sense? Of all the choices, which faith is the true faith? If He’s real, then why does He let me and others suffer? If He’s real, then why won’t He stop evil? If He’s real, then why isn’t He paying attention?

For thousands of years, mankind has battled with the idea of a god. We’ve lived through countless wars and countless tragedies. We’ve seen empires rise, and then those same empires fall to pieces. We’ve seen some people reach a level of prosperity that others could never hope to achieve. And we’ve seen people live at a level of poverty that just isn’t fair. We’ve seen people who live with a complete disregard for ethicality make it big in this world. And we’ve seen people who seem to be the purest of heart get trampled on over and over. We’ve seen so many people have good things happen to them, and so many others have bad things happen to them, that life just seems, to be honest, random. Is there any real reason why some people get born into severe poverty and have to spend the rest of their lives battling to stay alive? Is there any real reason why some people get born into a family of seemingly unlimited resources and seem to never struggle a single day of their lives? How are we supposed to believe in a good God when so much atrocity happens? How are we supposed to believe in a good God when He allows people do bad things to others? How could He be perfect since His creation is so utterly, and hopelessly, imperfect? Is there a reason for any of this, or are we simply living in the luck of the draw? Will anyone ever be able to definitively answer these questions?

Many people around the world are hurting. We are always in constant search for relief from our pain. And unfortunately, some of us are never able to find relief. It honestly hurts me when I see so much pain being passed around the world from one person to the other, and yet, I still have hope. I can see all the bad of this world. I can see that people are flawed and hurting others. I can see that some people are forced to live lives that just simply aren’t fair, and yet, I still have hope. I have hope because I have spoken to the One who has all the answers to the questions I mentioned previously. I have hope because He has shared His love for us with me. I have hope because He has assured me that He has a plan for everything and everyone, and this world, and all its wickedness, will end. He has assured me that He works in all things, good, bad, pretty, and ugly, for the good of those who trust Him. And He has assured me that there is a coming world where there is no pain, no sickness, no grief, no suffering, and no death, but only goodness, joy, peace, and life. He has told me that He wants you to be a part of this new world, but only if you are willing to believe in Him. And this is why I am writing this book: so that you may believe and be a part of His eternal reign.

Though it may not seem so, the Lord of All has not abandoned mankind to fend for itself. King David of ancient Israel says it best in Psalms 23:4 (New American Standard Bible): Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.[3] In this Psalm, David is expressing that he will always rely on the Lord no matter what his outside circumstances look like. As the Psalm says, he’s walking through shadows. And though they seemingly threaten his life, he has no reason to worry because the Lord will keep him through it all. And this is exactly what we are facing. For thousands of years, our eyes have been blinded by shadows of hopelessness and despair. But, the truth is that though it seems the Lord isn’t paying attention, He has already made provision to relieve our weariness if we have faith in the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ.

However, despite the Lord’s showing of grace, in 2010, the percentage of the world that claimed the Christian faith was about 31.5%[4]. This means roughly two-thirds of the world does not have faith in the pathway to relief. And, if I’m honest, it doesn’t surprise me. Jesus noted in Matthew 7:13-14 that many will go down the path of destruction, as its gate is wide, and only a few would choose the path of life, as its gate is narrow. But still, many of us will wonder why people don’t choose Jesus. For some, it is because they think faith, in general, does not make sense. So why would they believe in something that they don’t understand? For some, it is because they don’t think God is real. So why would they believe in something that they think is a fairy tale? For others, it is because they have been raised or have chosen to follow a different faith that they believe to be true. And what gives any one faith the right to claim truth over another?

Therefore, taking all of this into consideration, I must answer several questions. One, is faith logical? Two, is there anything at all that would provide the evidence that God is real? Three, what makes Christianity truer than the other faiths? Four, how did the current state of the world arise in the first place? And five, how does one go about understanding the Christian faith?

PART 1

LOGICAL

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Is faith logical?

This is a question that people have been stumbling over for many, many years. If you ask the atheists and agnostics of our world, they will tell you no. Why? Because we can’t see God. No one can show you a picture of what God looks like. No one can take you into the presence of the Holy Spirit. In other words, there isn’t any absolute, tangible proof that the God of Christianity, or any other god, exists. Therefore, they claim the only logical conclusion is that either there is no god or it’s impossible to find out who or what it is, so it makes no sense to even try.

And yet, there are several billion people around the world who believe in some sort of god or deity, including myself. Why? Some will tell you it is because of how