February 23, 2025
In one episode of the Simpsons, Homer calls the police to report that he has seen an alien. Chief Wiggum replies “your story is very compelling, let me just type that up on my invisible typewriter.” It sounds as if the police chief is mocking Homer until he receives another call this time for a real. A man says he has been starting house fires and is about to start another one. Chief Wiggum again replies “let me just type this up on my invisible typewriter”. The chief clearly does not take anything seriously.
This humorous scene reveals something about how we think about reality. If we feel something is reasonable then we take it seriously. If we don’t feel something is reasonable then we laugh it off. Like Chief Wiggum you would probably doubt me if I said I had witnessed an alien landing in my back yard. If however, I told you I had a problem with a skunk you would believe me and begin suggesting solutions.
It is both wise and normal to filter what we hear through our own reason and assess the credibility of information we are exposed to. After all we want to respond in the most appropriate way to the world around us.
One of the primary criticisms levelled at Christians is that we fail to do this in regard to our faith in both God and Jesus. It is said that belief in some supernatural being makes no sense. Nor does it make sense to think that a man was born without the help of a father, that he grew up and was able to perform miracles and was eventually put to death by the political leaders of the time only to raise again.
Yet this, among other things, is exactly what we believe. And we believe it because it is true. It’s not a fable that we have adopted because we like the moral of the story. It’s not a tool we have made up to make us feel better. What we believe is historical fact. What’s more, it must be historical fact or we are foolish to take it seriously. Paul makes this point very powerfully in 1 Cor. 15:12-19.
There is not time here to elaborate on the various evidences that exist which demonstrate that Christian faith is not misplaced. However I would encourage each Christian to look into that evidence. Some good sources are www.apologeticspress.org or a new book called Convicted by Dr. Brad Harrub which can be ordered from Focus Press. The “Case For…” books by Lee Strobel, or New Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowel are good as well. The point is, we need to be ready to give an answer that will prompt a greater response than “your story is very compelling just let me type that up on my invisible typewriter”.
~ Kevin Cleary