God's Not Dead: Evidence for God in an Age of Uncertainty Read Online Free PDF Page A

possible on a consistent basis. Within a month we were flying every Sunday night from Nashville to New York and holding Sunday night services. Today that church, Morning Star New York , consists of three congregations.
    After we had been flying in for a few weeks for the Sunday night meetings, the owner of one of my favorite restaurants was thanking us for our commitment to help his city. I recounted anincident that occurred in his restaurant in my book Finding Faith at Ground Zero . Sandy, the owner of Carnegie Deli, called me over to a table of TV-network executives for an introduction. He said, “Reverend [I really don’t like it when people call me that!], these men are having to burn their furniture because of anthrax-poisoned letters they have been receiving. They need answers about what’s going on.”
    I sat down at the table with these very important media leaders and paused to consider what I could say that might make an impact for Christ in a wise and believable way. I said, “Well, if there’s anything 9/11 taught us, it’s that all religions are not the same. The god that told those men to get in airplanes and come to this city and hurt people is not the same God that inspired us to get into airplanes each week and come here and help people.” 20
    There is no way you can group every religious belief and practice together and then smugly denounce religion as a whole. All beliefs are not equal. Some are true, and others are false. History has proven that ideas—religious, philosophical, or scientific—have consequences.
    B REAKING N EWS
    The greatest idea in history, the one that has produced the most significant and enduring benefit to humanity, is Jesus Christ. God’s idea to come to earth as a human, undeniably demonstrating the power of truth, has given us the ultimate message of hope, called the gospel or good news . God’s good news is as current as any breaking news you’ll see or hear today on any news channel.It is so encouraging I will refer to it as often as I can so its message is not missed or misunderstood. The good news announces that God became man in Jesus Christ, He lived the life we should have lived, and in our place He died the death we should have died. Three days later He came back to life to verify His identity as the Son of God, and now He offers full pardon and forgiveness to all who will believe and turn from the darkness of sin and the futility of trying to save themselves. Those who turn and put their trust in Him will never be ashamed.
    This message of hope, this good news, is true no matter what country or culture you’re from. Christ came to deal with the legal consequences of humanity breaking God’s law once and for all. Far from wanting us to be religious, He calls us simply to love Him and love others. The gospel changes us from the inside out. That is why many are quick to say that Christ didn’t call us into religion but into relationship, relationship with Him and with one another.
    W HY G OD ’ S E XISTENCE M ATTERS
    Once in Argentina at the University of Buenos Aires , I spent time talking to five young students who identified themselves as atheists. I spent a lot of time asking questions about the reasons for their atheism. Thanks to a good translator, Phillip Steele, I was able to understand the details of their disbelief. As I listened intently, a young man carrying a guitar with him asked me, “Why should we even be concerned with the question, ‘Does God exist?’ Does it really matter?”
    I asked him, “Have you ever written a song?”
    His facial expression changed instantly as it seemed I was changing the subject from God and to something he really wanted to talk about. He said yes, then I asked, “Why did you want to write a song?”
    He raised his hand to emphasize his passion. “I wanted to share my feelings with others, to create something they could enjoy as well as express my heart and my thoughts.”
    “What would you do if you wrote a