Beginning May 12th, the Hope Springs Youth are exploring the question “Does God Exist?” on Wednesday nights at 7pm. The Does God Exist? series is a 10-part program of lectures and discussions.
Does God Exist? is designed primarily to help students solidify their Christian faith with foundational apologetics training. This will equip young people to stand strong in the school environment, and also serve as a precursor to the in-depth study presented in The Truth Project of how to live out a Christian worldview in everyday life.
The primary target group for Does God Exist? is students ages 15-22 — i.e., high school students who are preparing to go to college and undergraduate students who have already begun to experience an onslaught of challenges both in and out of the classroom.
Surveys show that a disturbingly high percentage of students who enter college as professing Christians turn away from their faith before graduating. This is traceable to a lack of preparation to withstand and counter the false claims that bombard believers in the university environment. Our objective is to help turn this tide by giving participants confidence that the Christian faith, and the truth we find in the Bible, is based on solid evidence that stands up to hostile scrutiny.
Since much of the discussion is aimed at countering philosophical and scientific objections to the Christian faith that are often put forth in a university setting, the Does God Exist? lessons are “academic” and fairly challenging in nature (e.g., in-depth exploration of the structure of the DNA molecule, discussion of mathematical probabilities, etc.). The goal is to equip participants to confidently answer “scientific” arguments that are frequently leveled against biblical faith. Thus, the evidence presented is on par with what collegians can expect to encounter in a university biology or philosophy course.