In my last post, I wrote about the cognitive dissonance I experienced that involved a controversy in the Christian church regarding the gospel message (what does it mean to “be saved”?). The controversy tried to answer, “what is the nature of real faith?”
I am grateful for that difficult experience with cognitive dissonance because I grew as a person. I also realized that it was good to read conflicting views / beliefs on a topic. In fact, I came to realize it was the best way to grow in my maturity and intellect. If you wondered what conclusion I came to in the debate, I ultimately did see the points that John MacArthur was trying to make and I felt he made the most compelling arguments, even after reading the opposing points of view.
But was MacArthur’s motivation to tackle this topic only theological? A few years later, I remember listening to a recording from MacArthur that was quite personal and telling, where he described the painful experiences of discovering that many of his really close friends had abandoned the faith over the years. He mentioned several college-aged guys that he was really close to who no longer believed the Bible. It shook him. And it was a major reason that he did his study that led him to write his book called the Gospel According to Jesus.
Those close friends went through their own cognitive dissonance, I’m sure. And so did I.
I started this blog to share my story which I call ‘My son told me he’s an atheist‘.