Sometimes, even if we've been Christians for many years, we still hold attitudes and opinions that are not true, not Biblical. Our way of thinking is deeply influenced by our family and our culture so it's easy for those beliefs to go unquestioned, and for us not even to realise that we hold viewpoints or values that not at all in line with how God sees things. This morning, with the PCYM students in the Ukraine, we began to examine some of the basic questions about life, and to consider whether our responses to those questions are truly rooted in the truth of Scripture.
Our young people today are being educated in school systems that often actively teach and promote philosophies that are not Christian. How can we prepare our kids not to feel out of their depth when a school teacher explains that the earth was formed by a "big bang," a cosmic accident, and is millions of years old? How can we reassure our children that the Christian faith is not irrational and that there is overwhelming evidence for belief in a God who created the universe? These were some of the questions we grappled with this morning, as we thought about how to help 10 - 12 year olds "examine the evidence" and discover that our faith is built on strong and reasonable foundations. Tomorrow, we'll move on to looking at other basic questions of life - such as: How do I know what is right and wrong, true or false? How do I make decisions about what is really important in life?
