I got this note last week from a reader and publish it with permission. Today I ask you to respond and provide your wisdom, and tomorrow I will offer my response. 

Dear Scot McKnight,

I am Jacob.

I have been struggling in my faith recently, it has been a hard time. I suddenly remembered that when I used to read your Jesus Creed blog, some people write email to you which you posted up your blog. Other people and yourself gave really helpful responses. From that I figured you care about people pastorally. Please help me.

I am a young man, aged 23, I have turned to Christ for 8 years now and have done my best to love the Lord and to follow him. To this end I have committed a lot of time to studying the bible, particularly New Testament scholarship. 

Recently, I suddenly, for no apparent reason, felt “jolted out of my Christian worldview”, and I suddenly find it really hard to believe in existence of God anymore. It has been 3 months since I have felt this way now and I have done my best to trace through my intellectual struggles. I don’t really know why… 

Some problems that really bother me is 1) i find it really hard to reconcile my scientific worldview with the seemingly fantastic stories of much of the bible such as the exodus and stuff, 2) it would have been fine if there’s evidence for those events archeologically or whatever, but so many things seems to go against the historicity of the bible in general, am I supposed to believe that, except for the resurrection, I can’t take anything else historically (and taking the resurrection literally only because it is theologically necessary?) and 3) If God is a present reality, how come I can’t experience him actively in my life as a real and dynamic person, can’t be hard for God to intervene in our world right? I know he doesn’t have to, but am I supposed to believe that God is a god who just acted once or twice in history and now just watch us until suddenly Jesus returns?

Sometimes now I wonder if it’s easier to believe that Jesus was a mistaken Jew and that we got it wrong about the resurrection.

Please help me. I appreciate your time.

Brother in Christ,