The Genesis Nemesis.

If I want to reach out to young teenagers and millennials today about Christianity and the God of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures, I would NOT start with the cliché John 3:16. That scripture that says 'For God so loved the world that he gave his only

begotten son...bla bla bla.' Most youngsters probably grew up in churches where that passage of scripture is rammed into their brains. Unfortunately, the Gospel according to John, although under constant infidel attacks, is not the most vilified book in the Bible. At least not anymore.

You see, we now live in a highly and closely-knit world. A world fully saturated with new and redefining discoveries. A world where new and radical pieces of information travel and are disseminated at light speed. The implication is that old paradigms and beliefs are constantly and justifiably being challenged. With new discoveries come new data. And with new data come new paradigms. New paradigms then challenge old beliefs.

So, John 3:16 is not the target for the the 21st Century secular thinker. Genesis is. Youngsters and future teenagers who are Christians are going to face more oppositions against the First Book in the Bible than they would against John 3:16. Failure to counter these oppositions would be the nemesis of many young future Christians. Already, many have lost and are losing their faith because they no longer trust the narratives in the Book of Genesis. According to them, 'science' has made further belief in the historical narratives of Genesis demonstrably idiotic.

The real tragedy here is that many will lose their faith because the Church has failed to realize that the conversation has changed. People now want real answers and not some "go and pray about it" or "don't question the Word of God" retort. The current crop of teenagers are smarter and would not accept anything short of a good and believable explanation for an answer.

For instance, they may not outrightly deny God's love as stated in John 3:16. But they may take you up on common logic and empirical science. For instance, they'd argue:-

* How could God create the Universe by merely speaking words? Words may create intangibles such as moods and emotions but not matter. Matter only comes from matter.

* It is utterly impossible, given what we know about cosmology and the geological timescale, for the Universe to be created in 6 literal days, which is what the context of Genesis 1 suggests.

* If the narratives in Genesis are true, what then becomes of years of study and research in cosmology, geology, biology and anthropology?

* But snakes don't talk in the real world! Isn't this proof that Genesis is a shoddy piece of literature?

* How can a woman come from a rib? Good biology demonstrates that this is ludicrous!

* If God created Man perfect, how come he fell?

Etc.

Just by opening the first pages of Genesis, the attacks begin. They are still a long read away from the Gospel of John. And if you cannot give credible answers to these legitimate questions, they'd never get to John 3:16 before they throw their Bibles into the bin. This is why it is important for 21st Century Christians to bury their heads in research. If they don't, it would be a tragedy because all those legitimate questions have legitimate and credible biblical responses. It only requires a few debating skills.

The asker usually lumps a whole lot of issues together because he too doesn't know any better. It requires skill and in depth knowledge to help his derailment.

My point is: If we don't start with Genesis, we should expect the nemesis. Many will abandon the faith. Not because Genesis is not true, but because we fail to demonstrate its truth.

#truthissacred.
Selah.