Understand the Evidential approach. This approach says, “I’ve got to see it to believe it.” It claims that truth can only come from information you gain through your five senses (seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting). It stresses the importance of logic and experience, which can prove very valuable in discovering truth. However, it ignores the fact that you can gain knowledge about truth through supernatural means as well as natural ones. By limiting the ways in which this approach seeks truth, it severely limits the amount of truth toward which it leads. Instead of viewing science as an end in itself, see it as a means to help you discover more about truth – wherever that quest may lead you. Realize that there is much more truth to be discovered than what science alone can show you. Be open to all the possible answers to your questions.

Pray for wisdom. If you believe in God already, ask Him to guide you to spiritual truth. If you don’t believe in God, but are open to the possibility that He exists, try praying a skeptic’s prayer: “God, if You’re there and You can hear me, show me the way to truth.”

Consider the reasons for faith in Christ. There are many reasons that point you toward biblical truth and away from opposing viewpoints. Among them are: Design in the universe points toward an Intelligent Designer; Fine tuning in the universe points to an intentional Fine Tuner; Information encoded into DNA points to a Divine Encoder; The Beginning of the universe points to a Divine Originator; the sense of morality throughout the human race points to a Moral Lawgiver; The Bible shows itself to be a uniquely consistent religious book; The Bible is a uniquely historical religious book; The Bible is a uniquely preserved work of antiquity; Archaeology shows the Bible to be a powerfully verified book; The Bible shows itself to be a uniquely honest religious book; Miracles, performed in the presence of believers and critics alike, point to the prophets, apostles, and Jesus as messengers of God; Fulfilled prophecies point to the Bible as a divinely inspired book and to Jesus as the unique Messiah of God; Jesus’ sinless life backed up in His claim to be the Son of God; Jesus’ resurrection powerfully established His credentials as the Son of God; The emergence of the church points to the authenticity of its message; The changed lives of early skeptics affirmed the truth of Jesus’ resurrection and the teachings of the church; The willingness of the disciples to die for claims they knew to be true affirms the trustworthiness of their claims; The changed minds of many modern skeptics further support the Christian truth claims; The testimonies of countless believers throughout history attest to the reality of God and the value of following Jesus; and It’s true because Jesus said so, and He has the credentials to speak with authority.

Embrace both belief and action. Once you’ve decided what you believe, act on it. Move in the direction in which the evidence points. If you’ve decided to follow Christ, who declared that He is the truth, begin a relationship with Him. Trust Him with your life both now and for eternity, and make Him your highest priority.

Adapted from Choosing Your Faith... In a World of Spiritual Options, copyright 2008 by Mark Mittelberg. Published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Ill., www.tyndale.com. 
Mark Mittelberg is the author of Becoming a Contagious Church; coauthor with Bill Hybels of the best-selling Becoming a Contagious Christian; contributing editor for The Journey: A Bible for the Spiritually Curious; and the primary author of the newly updated Becoming a Contagious Christian training course, which has been translated into 20 languages and taught to more than a million people around the world. Mark has a master’s degree in philosophy of religion from Trinity Evangelical School. He lives in Southern California with his wife, Heidi, and their two children.