Why Believe? Joel Osteen with Special Guests Cliffe and Stuart Knechtle

About this sermon

Does God exist? Why does God allow suffering? Did Jesus really rise from the dead? Joel Osteen sits down with campus apologists Cliffe Knechtle and his son Stuart Knechtle to answer the hardest questions college students ask about Christianity, from their new book Demolishing Doubt. Cliffe has spent over 45 years doing open air Q&A on college campuses, from UT Austin to Harvard. Here he and Stuart cover suffering, evidence for God and the resurrection, faith and science, aliens, other religions, Gen Z revival, and how parents can respond when a child starts doubting their faith. "Life is unfair. God is fair. Don't get those mixed up." Cliffe Knechtle 00:00 Joel Osteen with Cliffe and Stuart Knechtle 00:55 How Cliffe Knechtle started open air campus ministry 02:20 Why does God allow suffering? 04:12 Stuart Knechtle on ministry with his dad and finding your calling 06:09 How to handle criticism and difficult people 07:36 Can you prove God exists 100%? 09:06 What the book Demolishing Doubt covers 11:06 Evidence that Jesus rose from the dead 13:36 Is Gen Z experiencing revival? 16:31 What does the Bible say about aliens and UFOs? 17:27 Are all religions the same? 22:05 Are faith and science enemies? 24:38 Do miracles contradict science? 27:22 Gen Z, anxiety and expressive individualism 29:15 "I love Jesus but I struggle with church" 32:09 Cliffe's wildest campus story at UT Austin 33:38 What to do when your teen questions their faith 38:16 How to share your faith when you're nervous 40:06 God's will or my ambition: how do I know? 43:20 Balancing ministry and majoring on the majors 47:17 What is the goal of apologetics? 49:36 Helping students who are afraid to ask questions 52:50 Final word and prayer QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN THIS CONVERSATION Why does God allow suffering? Cliffe Knechtle starts with "I do not know," then points to Genesis 1: God created a good world. Evil comes from free people rebelling against God. Life is unfair, but God is fair, and Jesus came to restore the world. Can you prove God exists? Stuart Knechtle compares it to taking Tylenol: you don't need 100% proof, but there is strong evidence. Healthy doubt, he says, works like antibodies for faith. What is the evidence for the resurrection? Cliffe cites John's account of blood and water confirming Jesus' death, the guarded tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, the first witnesses being women, and Paul's record of over 500 eyewitnesses in 1 Corinthians 15. What does the Bible say about aliens? Cliffe says the Bible doesn't answer it, so he's open to God creating other life, but won't add to scripture. Are all religions the same? No. Cliffe explains how Christianity differs from Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and Islam, especially on who Jesus is and on His death and resurrection. Do faith and science contradict? Cliffe argues science studies repeatable natural processes, the Bible contains no biology or physics, and most founders of modern science followed Christ. Why are young people leaving the church? Stuart cites research that 76.2% leave because they don't believe what they were taught, which is why he focuses on evidence. How should parents respond when a teen doubts? Cliffe says admit "I do not know," commit to finding an answer together, and ask what alternative to Christ has better evidence. SCRIPTURES REFERENCED Genesis 1 John 19, verse 34 1 Corinthians 15, verses 3 to 8 Nehemiah 8, verse 10 Luke 19, verses 1 to 10 (Zacchaeus) Mark 12, verses 30 to 31 Get Demolishing Doubt by Cliffe and Stuart Knechtle on Amazon or wherever books are sold. If you need prayer today, our ministry team would love to stand in faith with you: https://joelosteen.com/prayer Subscribe for weekly messages of hope and encouragement: https://www.youtube.com/@joelosteen X: https://twitter.com/joelosteen Instagram: https://instagram.com/joelosteen Facebook: https://facebook.com/joelosteen TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joelosteen Thank you for your generosity! To give, visit https://joelosteen.com/give #JoelOsteen #CliffeKnechtle #DemolishingDoubt #Apologetics #LakewoodChurch

Topics

• Faith