Answering Hard Questions

Hard Questions People Ask About the Christian Faith by Case Van Kempen, CRC Publications, Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2002, 109 pages

I doubt that there is a Christian anywhere who hasn’t asked some or all of the questions Case Van Kempen poses in Hard Questions People Ask About the Christian Faith. Mr. Van Kempen, pastor of Maplewood Reformed Church in Holland, Michigan, has written a thin but valuable volume dedicated to "answer[ing] enough questions so that you too will have faith in Jesus Christ."

Reminiscent of Harold Kushner’s famous When Bad Things Happen to Good People, Van Kempen’s book quite naturally approaches its subject from a different perspective. Still, the reader can’t help being struck by how much people of faith share when it comes to fundamental questions about suffering, pain, loss, and the rest. But make no mistake. The author is uncompromising in his central thesis: "every other religion is a fake . . . there is only one way to salvation, and that is through Jesus Christ." You have to admire someone who has so little regard for political correctness. Be assured that he provides a convincing argument for this bold statement. I can’t recall reading any eminent theologian who marshals his evidence with more clarity than Van Kempen does here. Christianity, he says, is like a Ferrari; all other religions are merely Chevys. Since God is giving away cars for free, wouldn’t you take the Ferrari? The author tells us that "other religions place ownership demands on their adherents. Faith in Jesus Christ is free."

But this book is more than simply a paean to Christianity. All of the burning issues are here: Don’t people of all faiths actually worship the same God? Why is there a church on every corner? (There’s even room for Congregationalists!) Does science disprove religion? What about all the pain that has been caused in the name of Christianity? Then there’s the big one: Why does a loving God allow so much evil in the world? Hard Questions is an intellectual challenge disguised as light reading, a complex argument couched in everyday language, a plea for faith wrapped in talk of Ferraris and Chevys. It helps that the author ends each short chapter with a list of questions to ponder. He is confident that we can figure out a lot for ourselves if he just gives us a nudge. His book doesn’t give us those satisfying answers we usually look for, but it points us in the direction we must go in order to find them. 

Nancy and Randy Asendorf attend First Congregational Church, Toledo, Ohio. He formerly chaired the Communication Services Committee.