This is fairly obvious, but have you noticed another three S’s that summarize the objections people generally raise against Christianity? Of course, these are Science, Suffering and Sex. If we are to help people find the truth of God in Jesus Christ we will have to clear the ground of these objections.
 
It is interesting that sex appears on both lists, and this means that it is a subject that we need to give particularly careful attention to (something I have tried to do in my book Sex Talks. In our society sex is assumed as a right, and a recreational activity. This means that any perceived limits upon its exercise is seen as an attack upon fundamental human freedoms and identity. So the typical objection is, “Why should God care about my sex life?” Or, “Does God hate gays?” We need to be able to answer these questions, and answer them well.
 
Suffering always comes up too. Often this is a red herring question, but it can also be deeply personal – “Why did my mum have to get cancer and die?” What do you say when that question comes?
 
And then there is science. Again, often a red herring (“Hasn’t evolution disproved God?”), but at times profoundly thought through and articulated belief, that deserves a reasonably articulate response.
 
Regular readers of this blog will know I have my hesitations about apologetics but I would suggest that all of us should have some answers to these S’s. If we don’t, sun, surf and sex look better options than a religion that seems to have no answer to science, suffering and sex.
 
(All of which is just another way of saying that if you haven’t got hold of If God, Then What? yet and started giving it out to your friends, you really should!)