Why I Became A Christian Part II -- Crisis of Faith

It is said that faith and reason are incompatible, and that reason has made faith irrelevant.  As a first year college student I was intent on becoming a marine biologist. The science department was hostile to my new found faith and as one professor said, “to make it in this department you must accept the fact of evolution, even if it can’t be proved.”  You got the feeling he wasn’t totally convinced himself. In the end the rigors of science wasn’t for me and I changed my major to theater.  I went from the proverbial frying pan into the fire.

If the science department was scientifically hostile to my faith the theatre department was so morally.    I loved the stage, the drama, the art but it was difficult to stand firm in my faith.  I remember taking my bible to class as a statement of my faith only to be scoffed and isolated from the others. It was during my stent at the University that I attended a conference in Atlanta, Georgia with some of my theatre colleagues.  Out of the four three of us roomed together.  I was determined not hide my faith but to display it in front of them.  Each morning I would rise and read my bible. 

One morning my roommates approached me and asked what I was reading.  I told them, which initiated a conversation on the validity of certain biblical facts that conflicted with conventional scientific thought. What struck me was that they seemed to have a better handle on the nuances of the Bible than I did, and their contrary faith in science more reasonable. They questioned the account of creation, the historicity of Adam and Eve, the Flood, and the veracity of miracles. I sat dumb founded as their questions brought only a feeble attempt to express any understanding of my faith.

Upon returning to my church the voices of my colleagues echoed in my head and became bitter expressions before my friends.  I recall sitting with my friends mocking the pastor’s sermons.  The change in behavior was so pronounced that my friends confronted me with my attitude.  I explained to them my doubts and what I believed the fault of the church to ill-equip me for facing those who apposed the faith.

My friends were patient and encouraging.  One suggested that I go somewhere to have my questions answered.  It was that simple suggestion that once again changed the direction of my life. It seemed obvious, there was no hesitation, and I left my friends and my family and sought the answers at a Bible College in Columbia, South Carolina.

There are many who question truth, but few who truly seek it. A seeker searches and would scour the earth to plumb its’ depths. I didn’t know what the future held but I knew that if I were to continue faithfully on the path my faith had set I needed answers that were reasonable and sustainable. I no longer would be satisfied with simplistic answers of “just believe.” I didn’t know where my quest would lead but it had now begun.  I’m just saying…..