Foreword
Foreword
Rick Warren
As a pastor for over 30 years, I've noticed that the questions people ask me usually fall into two general categories. About half of the questions I'm asked could be categorized as "What does God want me to do?" questions. These deal with life, work, relationships, problems, and other personal needs. The other half I categorize as "What's the truth?" questions. How do I know what to believe and trust?
People want, and need, to know the answers to both types of questions. We need to know how to behave, and we need to know what to believe. Unfortunately, there are far more helpful resources for growing fruit in our lives (category #1) than developing the root of our lives (category #2). Beliefs determine behavior. That's why I am so excited, even overjoyed, that two of my friends, Paul Copan and Bill Craig, have created this new apologetic resource. It fills a deep hole in contemporary disciple making.
Both of these authors are intellectually brilliant (just read their other books!), but more than that, they know how to communicate profound truths in simple ways, as Jesus did. Einstein famously noted that you can be brilliant, but if you can't explain it in a simple way, your brilliance isn't worth much, and you don't really understand a subject until you can explain it in a simple way. Simple doesn't mean shallow or superficial. Simple means clear. That's the genius of this important book.
Bill and Paul have edited a powerful tool that addresses 16 contemporary challenges to the Christian faith in a way that presents the arguments in accessible, crystal-clear language. They present timeless truth in timely ways.
When Jesus stood before Pilate in judgment, Pilate asked Him the fundamental question of life: What is truth? Two thousand years later, we still ask that question, and with postmodernism infecting schools, many even ask, "Does such a thing as truth exist?" That's why this book is desperately needed.
In many ways, our culture parallels the days of Isaiah when he confessed, ". . . truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter, and truth is nowhere to be found" (Isa 59:14–15 NIV). What makes this problem worse today is that the Internet allows the spread of erroneous ideas, foolish arguments, illogical conclusions, and false doctrine to be global, searchable, and permanent. People today are bombarded by nonsense. Bill Craig's essay on the world's 10 worst objections about God deftly deals with this reality.
God has called us to take His message of truth to the world. But we will hesitate to do this if we lack confidence in the reliability of the message, or feel unprepared to "give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Pet 3:15 NIV). This book answers both of these concerns. It shows that truth is knowable. You can test it; you can experiment with it; you can prove it.
At Saddleback Church, we've always emphasized the importance of knowing not just what you believe but why you believe it. We train our members to be experts in apologetics and Bible doctrine. Without a doubt, Come Let Us Reason will become a key part of our training program. My prayer is that you will not just read this book, but that you will pass it on, and even teach it to others, so the world may know that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life!
Dr. Rick Warren