Pic of Isaiah 36:2 to Stop Doubt! Studies show 75% of Christian youth leave their faith. The reason is they don't believe the Bible is true.

[ronlion]

" Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, " - Benjamin Franklin


If I may tell you a quick little story about a 16 year-old church-going Christian youth who came crying home from her Bible-Belt Texas school several years ago. She was crying terribly because all her classmates told her the Bible was all myths. Her evangelical mom reached out to me for help. After briefly speaking to her(and later to many other evangelical church-going teenagers from different churches) I realized no one in her church was simply showing her how we can be sure that the Bible is true both historically and supernaturally. I spent just 15 minutes to prove to her and her Mom that the Bible is "really true" and they were super grateful. I felt humbled and happy at once. Their family will stay in Christ forever- which unfortunately is not the same case for a growing majority of evangelical church-going US youth. I will show you how I completely persuaded them that the Bible is true and how they could teach this to other Christian youth and combine this with 2 other important ideas to reach your amazing goal of bring your teens closer to Jesus in order to serve him deeply. But first I am going to show you my experience with the church-going evangelical youth isn't unique.
The American evangelist/apologist Josh Mcdowell came to a nearby town and told us that 8 out of 10 church-going evangelical youth are leaving the Christian faith. Then I I heard evangelist Kirk Cameron in July/2022 on his TBN Youtube podcast with apologist Ms. Natasha Crain, say between 60-90 percent of church-going youth are giving up on Jesus. Youth, I think means anyone under 29.


These statistics come Dr. Paul Elliot, the Barna Research Group, Bible Literacy Center, and Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion(from about 2011):

• 37% of adults in Evangelical churches do not believe the Bible is totally accurate
• 45% of Evangelicals do not believe Jesus Christ was sinless
• 52% of Evangelicals do not believe Satan is real
• 57% of Evangelicals do not believe that Jesus is the only way to eternal life
• 57% of Evangelicals believe that good works play a part in gaining eternal life
• Less than 10% of adults in Evangelical churches cite the Bible as the primary basis of their worldview and behavior.
• 19% of those who are living with a partner outside of marriage are members of Evangelical churches.
• Over 50% of adults in Evangelical churches think other religions are valid.
• Nearly 75% of Evangelical young people leave the church when they reach adulthood. Their main stated reason is that they no longer believe the Bible is true, and the church has done little or nothing to answer their doubts.
• The fastest growing "religious group" in America is the "no religion" category. Today it represents 16% of the adult population - a 300% increase since the 1980s. The major growth of the "no religion" segment is among young adults ages 18 to 29 - the ones who are leaving churches in droves.
• Despite the mega-church movement, overall Evangelical church attendance is down nearly 15% since the 1990s. Fewer than 17% of Evangelical churches are growing today, and only 2.2% are growing through conversions.

- In my own experience and the evidence shown by the above trusted evangelical scholars and evangelists, I am certain that we have to -and can - prove the Bible is true and yet also explain that some faith will be and must be always be required.

A pastor emphasized to me that too few Christians are truly following the first and great commandment. That pastor really opened my eyes and changed my life!
Matthew 22:37-NKJV
" Jesus said to him: you shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul and with all your mind.

Romans 10:17-NKJV
"So then faith comes by hearing and by hearing the Word of God."

Mark 4: 16-17-ESV-
"And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.

John 14:11-NKJV-
Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.


It is not rocket science I like to say. It is simply, as an evangelical pastor I spoke with on this topic said, following Jesus's first commandment to love God with all our strength, heart, soul and mind. And applying Romans 10:17 in a modern, yet biblical manner.

Below are the simple, proven yet effective faith-building tools.

In Luke 19:40 Jesus said: "I tell you that if these(disciples) keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."

1) Show the youth the proven, absolutely undisputed 2700 year-old stone pictorial of the battle of Isaiah 36:1-2.
(Be careful of false archaeology like that of SDA's Ron Wyatt. Always fact check. Wyatt's lies were taught to youth in the Southern Baptist church I attended: i.e. the Egyptian army of the Exodus' chariot wheels were found at the bottom of the Red Sea-which is a false, disproven claim.)
The Siege of Lachish - Window into the Bible -they allow their phots to be used for free if you mention the site. They also have better quality photos if you ask. I'm not sure how much longer they can keep their incredible website up.

2)Show the famous and undisputed Taylor Prism, which was found at the proven ruins of Nineveh in Iraq. The Taylor Prism proves Matthew 1:10 and Isaiah 36-37.

-And the actual Wall of Jerusalem, which the people sat on to hear the ultimatum of the enemy general of Assyria. Assyria was by far the mightiest nation on earth in the time of Christ's ancestor King Hezekiah.

Hezekiah and the Siege of Jerusalem - Window into the Bible

Applying John 14:11, I wrote a brief article partly based on the work of the renowned evangelical scholar, Professor Alan Millard.
The Isaiah 37:36 event is clearly a miraculous work of the pre-incarnate Jesus, God the Son.

Isaiah 37 Miracle Proven by Stone Artifacts in London Says Renowned Professor Alan Millard. Texas high schooler cries because she's told Bible is Myth | Christian Forums
Please print out my article in the above link because we can never tell when a website or forum will no longer exist.

3) There are true images of 3 New Testament characters on nearly 2000 year-old coins which are undisputedly proven authentic.
They are:
A) Salome, who was Herodias's daughter who danced for her step-father Herod Antipas in Mark 6.
Then she asked for the head of John the Baptist and he was killed by her step-father.(Salome is not named but rather referred to as the daughter of Herodias.)

The above image is Salome when she is much older than when she danced for Herod Antipas.(I do not own the copyright for the above coin so it cannot reproduced in commercial items. Please read upon on " Fair use Copyright.")

B) King Agrippa ll
He is the one who asks Paul in Act 26:28 (ESV) if he expects to convert him in such a short time.
Here is a proven image of him from a trustworthy biblical archeology site run by a pastor!(The coin's owner must be asked to use the image for any purpose other than a link.)

Agrippa II: An Archaeological Biography – Bible Archaeology Report

C) Agrippa l
He is the ruler who kills the Apostle James and jails Peter in Acts 12.(I do not have the copyright to this coin image so the image of Agrippa I may only be possibly used in a very limited way. Please read upon on" Fair Use Copyright."

4) Many of the greatest scientists in history were confessing Protestant Christians. In fact , 2 of Albert Einstein's(Einstein was not a Christian) greatest heroes were confessing Evangelical physicists Michael Faraday and James Clerk Maxwell.

Incredibly, Einstein said that James Clerk Maxwell initiated the modern era of physics! The largest photo in his study was of Maxwell. And Einstein gave him full credit for enabling him to discover the Theory of Special Relativity because Maxwell was the first to prove that light was a combination of electric and magnetic fields. Maxwell is thus most famously known as the founder of Electromagnetic Theory, on which all our modern world's technology is based on.(Please see the book "The Man Who Changed Everything.")
Maxwell also co-invented the color photograph. Here is a link from the top tech university MIT about his great faith.
James Clerk Maxwell and the Christian Proposition (mit.edu)

Thank you so much everyone for your children's/ youth ministry. You will be greatly glorifying Jesus Christ and our heavenly Father through the Holy Spirit. There is no more a rewarding ministry than young people's ministry. Christ Jesus has put you exactly where he needs.
We are called to bring Christian youth closer to Jesus and to serve him. You are edifying your kids/teens and young adults at a time when they most need Christ-centered, biblical guidance. I had a relative who was an outspoken Baptist pastor. He came to my home and told me that pastors need the help of the rest of the Body of Christ in this post-modern age of ours. The church-going Christian youth/children are where my greatest concern and cause are, due to a couple of influential pastors and most importantly the Lord Jesus.

Please feel free to ask me any questions at any time. Your youth ministry is of greatest import to Jesus. Thank you. May God Bless you all!
Please, after prayer, consider sharing this post with other Christians. There are eternal rewards in heaven in addition to salvation.

Everyone needs their faith strengthened. Remember Mark 16:14 states incredibly the apostles did not believe others' testimony that Jesus had risen and Jesus rebuked them. Jesus loves us, his beloved Church, so much he has given enough amazing faith-buliding evidence that all can remain believing in the most glorious Truth- Jesus Christ for life!

Your brother in Christ,

Ron

 

[ronlion]

The scientifically proven 2000 year-old images of NewTestament people on the Biblical Archaeology Report site I linked are also important to prove the Bible said the renowned Roman historian Michael Grant! But it is also significant that the website was created and run by a pastor. We truly can keep all the Christian children, youth and young adults in Christ forever.
May God Bless you all!

 

[SavedByGrace3]

I think churches have tried so hard to be relevant that they have become common. Common to the point of being just another pea in the pod. Christianity does not do "the world" very well. The world does it much better.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

I think churches have tried so hard to be relevant that they have become common. Common to the point of being just another pea in the pod. Christianity does not do "the world" very well. The world does it much better.

The problem is that our Sunday Schools don't teach apologetics. Young people are expected just to believe the Bible without having it explained to them why they should. For many young people, "taking it by faith" is not good enough. This type of faith is just humanist existential faith: "It is true because we believe it". They need and want to know why they should believe the Bible. I have a friend who was kicked out of his religious studies at a private Presbyterian school, because he kept on asking the difficult questions which the religious studies teacher couldn't answer. My friend was treated like a difficult student and finally ask to leave the school.

The problem is that in the Anglican, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches, priests and ministers are trained in Post-Modern Liberal theology that says that much of the Bible is myth and allegory and cannot be taken literally. Therefore these ministers are never trained in apologetics that might have enabled them to prove through Roman history, archaeology, and logical reason that the Bible is indeed accurate in its historical narrative.

I did a research project on the development of modernist theology from the time of St Thomas Aquinas through to the present day. It was very enlightening how the changes in philosophical thought came about. It showed that modernist theology came about through secular existential "leaps of faith" as a hook to hang it on.

So, because modernist theology is being served up to young people and priests and ministers are unable to answer the necessary questions because of their lack of knowledge in apologetics, many young people have decided that if these priest and ministers don't believe the Bible is true, why should they?

 

[ronlion]

I think churches have tried so hard to be relevant that they have become common. Common to the point of being just another pea in the pod. Christianity does not do "the world" very well. The world does it much better.

Thanks so much for your reply SavedbyGrace. I really appreciate it brother. I read you were in the Jesus Movement. That's amazing! It's cool to to actually be talking to someone from a movement I saw a clip on TV about the history of American Christianity. This is a tricky age for churches but I know we need to show that the Bible "really is true" to our kids,youth so they can know that Christ will always be relevant and all-important to the individual Christian and the nation. No one in Church showed me that the Bible was true so I left- but I came back to Christ because I found out that the Bible was provably true. May God bless you and renew your health!

Just linking this for non-members peeking in from the web.
Isaiah 37 Miracle Proven by Stone Artifacts in London Says Renowned Professor Alan Millard. Texas high schooler cries because she's told Bible is Myth

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Thanks so much for your reply SavedbyGrace. I really appreciate it brother. I read you were in the Jesus Movement. That's amazing! It's cool to to actually be talking to someone from a movement I saw a clip on TV about the history of American Christianity. This is a tricky age for churches but I know we need to show that the Bible "really is true" to our kids,youth so they can know that Christ will always be relevant and all-important to the individual Christian and the nation. No one in Church showed me that the Bible was true so I left- but I came back to Christ because I found out that the Bible was provably true. May God bless you and renew your health!

Just linking this for non-members peeking in from the web.
Isaiah 37 Miracle Proven by Stone Artifacts in London Says Renowned Professor Alan Millard. Texas high schooler cries because she's told Bible is Myth

Here is a good movie that our youth group watched in the early 1970s while the Jesus movement was still active.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

Thanks so much for your reply SavedbyGrace. I really appreciate it brother. I read you were in the Jesus Movement. That's amazing! It's cool to to actually be talking to someone from a movement I saw a clip on TV about the history of American Christianity. This is a tricky age for churches but I know we need to show that the Bible "really is true" to our kids,youth so they can know that Christ will always be relevant and all-important to the individual Christian and the nation. No one in Church showed me that the Bible was true so I left- but I came back to Christ because I found out that the Bible was provably true. May God bless you and renew your health!

Just linking this for non-members peeking in from the web.
Isaiah 37 Miracle Proven by Stone Artifacts in London Says Renowned Professor Alan Millard. Texas high schooler cries because she's told Bible is Myth

The final verses of the OT speak forth that the hearts of parents and children will be turn back toward each other. That implies that they will first be split apart.

Malachi 4:5-6 KJV
5. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
6. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

 

[ronlion]

The problem is that our Sunday Schools don't teach apologetics. Young people are expected just to believe the Bible without having it explained to them why they should. For many young people, "taking it by faith" is not good enough. This type of faith is just humanist existential faith: "It is true because we believe it". They need and want to know why they should believe the Bible. I have a friend who was kicked out of his religious studies at a private Presbyterian school, because he kept on asking the difficult questions which the religious studies teacher couldn't answer. My friend was treated like a difficult student and finally ask to leave the school.

The problem is that in the Anglican, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches, priests and ministers are trained in Post-Modern Liberal theology that says that much of the Bible is myth and allegory and cannot be taken literally. Therefore these ministers are never trained in apologetics that might have enabled them to prove through Roman history, archaeology, and logical reason that the Bible is indeed accurate in its historical narrative.

I did a research project on the development of modernist theology from the time of St Thomas Aquinas through to the present day. It was very enlightening how the changes in philosophical thought came about. It showed that modernist theology came about through secular existential "leaps of faith" as a hook to hang it on.

So, because modernist theology is being served up to young people and priests and ministers are unable to answer the necessary questions because of their lack of knowledge in apologetics, many young people have decided that if these priest and ministers don't believe the Bible is true, why should they?

Thanks for your reply brother; I super appreciate it! The The Siege of Lachish - Window into the Bible website which I have used to keep kids/youth/adults in Jesus, such as the 16 yr old Texan who was crying because her classmates told her the Bible was all myths, is run by a Christian family in your country. The pics are free which is very rare! Your advocacy for apologetics in Sunday School is great! Some are adverse to apologetics even though in I Peter 3:14 it uses "apologion" as "to give a reason for our hope" in Jesus. And so because a few choose not to listen to the Word of God, 75% of our dear Christian kids/young adults- and even Church-going older adults, a Missouri evangelical pastor told me recently- lose their faith in Jesus!

Watchman1, you are probably familiar with Bohr's a- Noble physics laureate- infamous take on Quantum Mechanics/physics: " Those who are not shocked by it , have not understood it."
Miraculously, the book of Isaiah has been scientifically/archaeologically proven. If someone is not truly shocked/amazed then they have not understood this world-shattering faith-building evidence that or sweetest God Jesus has given to us.

As the Bible says the Word of God is sharper than a double-edged sword- and we can prove it so the Word can take its full effect on the Body of Christ, the Christian Church. As you know , in Mark 16 the Apostles strongly refused to believe that Jesus had risen. So Jesus proved it to them.

Simply proving the Book of Isaiah and the Gospel of Matthew 1:10 (the Lachish relief and Taylor Prism does both) is not complex apologetics. It is doing Romans 10:17. And then we keep all the Christians in Christ lifelong-I've tried it - it really works.

Jesus has made it easy as pie -like. a walk in the park, to prove these biblical texts- yet Jesus won't force us to do it.

But we have to roll up our sleeves and actually do it!

My mom's 26 year old cable guy said he went to evangelical Christian schools and Church but became an unbeliever. So I showed him the proof of Hezekiah in Matthew 1:10 using the Taylor Prism and both the Lachish relief and Taylor Prism prove Isaiah 36:2 and Isaiah 36 and 37 - and he tell me i blew his mind and he will return to Christ.

To be honest, I did not follow up on the cable co. guy so I don't know if he is still in Christ. But we have to show them the proofs before they leave. I am totally in agreement with you that we have to teach them apologetics in Sunday School/youth ministries-or as I say simply applying Romans 10:17 pertaining to :

Hezekiah and the Siege of Jerusalem - Window into the Bible

I love all your replies and input Watchman1. They are desperately needed because you're an elder. wise brother in Christ and the Christian world is reading CF-wow you've been here since 2005. In 2014 the page format was so different-CF changed it in 2015 I think.

Isaac Newton, the discoverer of gravity and the laws of motion, and Robert Boyle, the founder of chemistry, gave proof of God's certain existence.

Thank you dear CF brothers/sisters for reading my 2 cents, Thanks for your replies

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Thanks for your reply brother; I super appreciate it! The The Siege of Lachish - Window into the Bible website which I have used to keep kids/youth/adults in Jesus, such as the 16 yr old Texan who was crying because her classmates told her the Bible was all myths, is run by a Christian family in your country. The pics are free which is very rare! Your advocacy for apologetics in Sunday School is great! Some are adverse to apologetics even though in I Peter 3:14 it uses "apologion" as "to give a reason for our hope" in Jesus. And so because a few choose not to listen to the Word of God, 75% of our dear Christian kids/young adults- and even Church-going older adults, a Missouri evangelical pastor told me recently- lose their faith in Jesus!

Watchman1, you are probably familiar with Bohr's a- Noble physics laureate- infamous take on Quantum Mechanics/physics: " Those who are not shocked by it , have not understood it."
Miraculously, the book of Isaiah has been scientifically/archaeologically proven. If someone is not truly shocked/amazed then they have not understood this world-shattering faith-building evidence that or sweetest God Jesus has given to us.

As the Bible says the Word of God is sharper than a double-edged sword- and we can prove it so the Word can take its full effect on the Body of Christ, the Christian Church. As you know , in Mark 16 the Apostles strongly refused to believe that Jesus had risen. So Jesus proved it to them.

Simply proving the Book of Isaiah and the Gospel of Matthew 1:10 (the Lachish relief and Taylor Prism does both) is not complex apologetics. It is doing Romans 10:17. And then we keep all the Christians in Christ lifelong-I've tried it - it really works.

Jesus has made it easy as pie -like. a walk in the park, to prove these biblical texts- yet Jesus won't force us to do it.

But we have to roll up our sleeves and actually do it!

My mom's 26 year old cable guy said he went to evangelical Christian schools and Church but became an unbeliever. So I showed him the proof of Hezekiah in Matthew 1:10 using the Taylor Prism and both the Lachish relief and Taylor Prism prove Isaiah 36:2 and Isaiah 36 and 37 - and he tell me i blew his mind and he will return to Christ.

To be honest, I did not follow up on the cable co. guy so I don't know if he is still in Christ. But we have to show them the proofs before they leave. I am totally in agreement with you that we have to teach them apologetics in Sunday School/youth ministries-or as I say simply applying Romans 10:17 pertaining to :

Hezekiah and the Siege of Jerusalem - Window into the Bible

I love all your replies and input Watchman1. They are desperately needed because you're an elder. wise brother in Christ and the Christian world is reading CF-wow you've been here since 2005. In 2014 the page format was so different-CF changed it in 2015 I think.

Isaac Newton, the discoverer of gravity and the laws of motion, and Robert Boyle, the founder of chemistry, gave proof of God's certain existence.

Thank you dear CF brothers/sisters for reading my 2 cents, Thanks for your replies

I am presently working through Chuck Missler's 24 part study of the Book of Genesis. This can be found on Youtube (Khouse.TV channel). He goes right into the science behind each verse of Genesis1 and 2. It took 8 sessions just for the first 2 chapters of Genesis. That's how thorough he is. You will greatly enjoy him. Here is the link to the first session:

 

[Rescued One]

Thanks for your reply brother; I super appreciate it! The The Siege of Lachish - Window into the Bible website which I have used to keep kids/youth/adults in Jesus, such as the 16 yr old Texan who was crying because her classmates told her the Bible was all myths, is run by a Christian family in your country. The pics are free which is very rare! Your advocacy for apologetics in Sunday School is great! Some are adverse to apologetics even though in I Peter 3:14 it uses "apologion" as "to give a reason for our hope" in Jesus. And so because a few choose not to listen to the Word of God, 75% of our dear Christian kids/young adults- and even Church-going older adults, a Missouri evangelical pastor told me recently- lose their faith in Jesus!

Watchman1, you are probably familiar with Bohr's a- Noble physics laureate- infamous take on Quantum Mechanics/physics: " Those who are not shocked by it , have not understood it."
Miraculously, the book of Isaiah has been scientifically/archaeologically proven. If someone is not truly shocked/amazed then they have not understood this world-shattering faith-building evidence that or sweetest God Jesus has given to us.

As the Bible says the Word of God is sharper than a double-edged sword- and we can prove it so the Word can take its full effect on the Body of Christ, the Christian Church. As you know , in Mark 16 the Apostles strongly refused to believe that Jesus had risen. So Jesus proved it to them.

Simply proving the Book of Isaiah and the Gospel of Matthew 1:10 (the Lachish relief and Taylor Prism does both) is not complex apologetics. It is doing Romans 10:17. And then we keep all the Christians in Christ lifelong-I've tried it - it really works.

Jesus has made it easy as pie -like. a walk in the park, to prove these biblical texts- yet Jesus won't force us to do it.

But we have to roll up our sleeves and actually do it!

My mom's 26 year old cable guy said he went to evangelical Christian schools and Church but became an unbeliever. So I showed him the proof of Hezekiah in Matthew 1:10 using the Taylor Prism and both the Lachish relief and Taylor Prism prove Isaiah 36:2 and Isaiah 36 and 37 - and he tell me i blew his mind and he will return to Christ.

To be honest, I did not follow up on the cable co. guy so I don't know if he is still in Christ. But we have to show them the proofs before they leave. I am totally in agreement with you that we have to teach them apologetics in Sunday School/youth ministries-or as I say simply applying Romans 10:17 pertaining to :

Hezekiah and the Siege of Jerusalem - Window into the Bible

I love all your replies and input Watchman1. They are desperately needed because you're an elder. wise brother in Christ and the Christian world is reading CF-wow you've been here since 2005. In 2014 the page format was so different-CF changed it in 2015 I think.

Isaac Newton, the discoverer of gravity and the laws of motion, and Robert Boyle, the founder of chemistry, gave proof of God's certain existence.

Thank you dear CF brothers/sisters for reading my 2 cents, Thanks for your replies

Do Sunday Schools teach ANYTHING?

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Do Sunday Schools teach ANYTHING?

In churches where apologetics is taught in Sunday School and to the youth group, there is a much higher percentage of young people who maintain their Christian faith in the face of the atheistic teaching they are given in school. They know that to get good grades they need to show understanding of Evolution and science, but they know they don't have to actually believe it. They also know that they don't have to push Creationism in school, because they know that their teachers won't believe them, except in a Christian school where Creationism is actually taught. If a student wants to share their faith, then the basic Gospel is the best way - not to try and convert anyone, but just to tell people about what Jesus did for them on the Cross. They don't have to 'sell" the Gospel. All they have to do is share it, and those who will believe it, will, and those who won't, won't. Just sharing the Gospel is all that is required to fulfill the Great Commission.