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Have You Ever Wondered Why We Are So Afraid of Thinking About Death?
In Victorian times, sex was taboo but death was an everyday fact of life. Today, we’re the opposite – death is the subject we don’t like to talk or think about. But what if all our fears, all our protests when loved ones die, give us a clue that death isn’t the end of the story? Andy Bannister shows how the grim reality of death can point us not towards the hopeless inevitability of biology, but towards the hope of real life found in the Christian story.
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Short Answers is a viewer-supported video series: if you enjoy them, please help us continue to make them by donating to Solas. Visit our Donate page and choose a free book as a thank-you gift!
Motivation for Mission #7: The Gospel is Good News
Sometimes I wonder if our enthusiasm for evangelism is at a low ebb because we’ve lost a sense of just how much good news the gospel is. We know the word “gospel” literally means good news, but sometimes appear to have forgotten just how good it is! This can especially be the case when we are engaged in apologetic discussions with people who dislike the message because it challenges the supremacy of their dearly loved idols – and they angrily resist it. Much of the cultural seas in which we have swum for the last few dacades have asserted that the Bible is actually harmful. We are so accustomed to our faith being given ‘trigger warnings’ or of people trying to ban it that we have absorbed something of that messaging. We might not have embraced their scepticism – but it certainly seems to have dampened our enthusiasm.
There was a young man from India who became a Christian at a Western university as part of a CU mission. He was persuaded that Jesus rose from the dead, and he asked if he could become a Christian. He assumed that there would be any number of classes and courses and exams and difficult steps to overcome before he could become a Christian, but was astonished to hear that Christ had done it all for him, that he could actually come to Christ and become a Christian right then and there – immediately folded in the grace of God – because the gospel is that good. Christ has done it all for us. Have we ever lost a sense of just how good that is, how extraordinary that is, and what a unique message it is – that we don’t have to prove ourselves to God, but that at the cross, Christ has done everything for us to reconcile us to God, to share with us his unsearchable riches, and to reconcile us to God forever? That young man, seeing the goodness of the gospel for the first time and embracing it with joyful abandon, saw what some of us have lost. The gospel is good, good news!
God is love, and the gospel is the overflow of the internal love of the Trinity. It’s extraordinary. It’s good. Maybe recapturing something of just what good news the gospel is will fire us up to share it more widely and enthusiastically too.
Prayer: Lord, renew my mind and move my heart so that I rejoice in the gospel of Christ with an infectious enthusiasm which proclaims that your gospel is good news for all who will receive it. Amen.
At the UCCF staff conference
Andy and Gavin report from The Quinta centre near Oswestry where they found the UCCF family in good heart!
The Good, The True, The Beautiful: Apologetics for Evangelism (with Peter S Williams)
Research indicates that many people will first consider whether Christianity is something good, before they consider whether or not it is true. But for both these questions, the discipline of philosophy informs how we think about them. Can a stuffy old academic discipline really help much with modern spiritual questions? Steve Osmond and Simon Wenham learn more about what philosophy and apologetics brings to evangelism.
The Good, The True, The Beautiful: Apologetics for Evangelism (with Peter S Williams) – PEP Talk
Our Guest
Peter S Williams is a Christian philosopher and apologist based in Southampton, England, He is an “Adjunct Professor in Communication and Worldviews” at NLA University College, in Kristiansand, Norway. Peter’s books include: Stepping Stones to Christianity: Reflections on Intelligent Design, Natural Theology, and the Historical Jesus (Wipf and Stock, 2025), A Faithful Guide to Philosophy: A Christian Introduction to the Love of Wisdom (Wipf & Stock, 2019), and A Sceptic’s Guide to Atheism (Paternoster, 2009).
About PEP Talk
The Persuasive Evangelism Podcast aims to equip listeners to share their faith more effectively in a sceptical world. Each episode, our hosts chat to a guest who has a great story, a useful resource, or some other expertise that helps equip you to talk persuasively, winsomely, and engagingly with your friends, colleagues and neighbours about Jesus.
Exciting Opportunities in Exeter
I drove down to Exeter to speak at the university Christian Union in what was a very busy week for them! On the Monday evening they held their carol service, which drew over a thousand people and featured a local pastor preaching. It was fantastic. Then, the very next night, they hosted an outreach event on campus with me. I think there was some concern about whether people would come out two nights in a row—but they did. More than 200 people attended on the Tuesday.
I spoke on the topic of suffering, asking the question, “If God is good, why is the world such a mess?” Given that it was Christmas, I tied the talk into the Christmas theme, because Christmas is really about God stepping into the problem of suffering—not just saying something about it, but doing something about it. So the talk was slightly Christmassy, while still covering the usual ground I explore on this subject.
What particularly encouraged me was the Q&A session, which they ran digitally using Slido. You could see the questions coming in live, and there were no genuinely hostile ones. People clearly wanted to push back or probe things I had said, but no one stood up to declare that Christianity was all rubbish. Many of the questions focused on why Christianity should be the answer to suffering rather than one of the other religions. Others were more existential—questions about where God is in the midst of personal suffering or the suffering people see around them.
Afterwards, I stayed for about an hour talking with people, and I quickly lost track of how many conversations I had. There were several atheists, some atheists with agnostic leanings, some agnostics with atheist leanings, and quite a few people who described themselves as spiritual but not religious. At least one Muslim had come along with a friend, which was particularly interesting because I had touched on the differences between Islam and Christianity when it comes to the problem of suffering.
What struck me most was the openness. The conversations were genuinely good, and I was really encouraged by them. It was also heartening to see how well the CU is engaging with their classmates and reaching out on campus. They’re a very missional, very lively CU—and that was deeply encouraging to see.
Sharing the Gospel on the South Coast
One of my absolute favourite ways to spend an evening is sharing the message of Jesus with people who aren’t Christians – and doing so in partnership with a local church! A month or two back, Lansdowne Church in Bournemouth invited me to speak at their Christmas outreach event designed to encourage Christians to invite friends, family and colleagues along to engage with the message of the gospel.
The evening featured carols, festive refreshments and I brought a short talk, inviting everyone there to reflect on the deeper meaning of Christmas. I explored whether there is “something more” to the season than food, music and social gatherings, centring on the Christian belief of Emmanuel — God with us — and pointing everyone to the life of Jesus as the clearest picture of what God is like.
The message was particularly designed to be helpful for guests who may not regularly attend church. The event also served as a launchpad for Lansdowne’s upcoming Alpha course in February, with visitors receiving gift bags containing a book, an Alpha invitation card and seasonal treats. They’d put a lot of thought, time and effort to make the gift bag really generous and inviting.
Lansdowne were able to draw a really good crowd from beyond their regular congregation. Rather than relying solely on leaflet drops, they worked really hard on personal invitations at Christmas following sustained community connection all year. Churches that invest in relationships throughout the year seem to get a far greater response when they hold a guest service because they have built trust locally. When the invite comes people recognise the church’s name, they are aware of it’s presence and contribution to the community and coming along seems natural. Conversley church’s who hide in the buildings all year, get little response to their leaflet drops and invitations to services,
Christmas remains an easy entry point for guests. Lansdowne’s leadership hopes the momentum will extend beyond the festive season, encouraging newcomers to explore faith further through Alpha and other church activities in the months ahead.
It was great to work again with such an outward-looking church as Lansdowne, who seem to really practice what they preach in terms of sharing the gospel with those around them.
If I Became a Christian, Won’t I Just Feel Guilty All The Time?
Isn’t Christianity just about keeping a whole list of rules that are in the Bible so that we can make God happy? But we all know we’re going to mess up at some point – so doesn’t being a Christian mean you are just going to feel guilty the whole time? In this Short Answers video, Steve Osmond explains how becoming a Christian is actually the antidote to guilt.
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Please share this video widely with friends or family and for more Short Answers videos, visit solas-cpc.org/shortanswers/, subscribe to our YouTube channel or visit us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
Support
Short Answers is a viewer-supported video series: if you enjoy them, please help us continue to make them by donating to Solas. Visit our Donate page and choose a free book as a thank-you gift!
Motivation for Mission #6: Treasure in Jars of Clay
Today’s ‘Motivation for Mission’ comes from scripture, and it’s this: remember that God has placed his treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us . (2Cor4:7) What does Paul mean when he writes those words? What he means is this: he’s given us the gospel, the great treasure of the message of Christ, which reconciles us to God.
Where has he put it? He’s put it in jars of clay. In other words, in gnarly old vessels, people with weaknesses and flaws and sins like you and me. Why? So that when great things happen, when people are reconciled to God, the glory goes to God and not to us.
The encouragement for us is this: we often don’t feel good enough to share the gospel, but that’s because we are not. That’s the point. We often don’t feel strong enough to share the gospel. We’re not. Again, that’s the point. We don’t feel gifted enough or worthy enough, and we’re not. But God delights to use us anyway. And why? So the glory goes to him when people sense his power at work in our weakness.
So today, if you’re feeling unworthy or ungifted or not good enough to share the gospel, share it anyway. Because if someone believes it and is reconciled to God, God will be honoured more that way, than if you were the greatest living Christian since the apostles. The attention will be on his power – and not your giftedness!
The goal of our evangelism – our sharing Jesus with people – is that they would believe and be transformed, and added to the church. Observing someone’s life being changed as they come to Christ is a wonderful thing. Observing a growing church is a glorious thing too. When it happens, we want people to see that God himself has been at work – not that we have a great programme, a special spiritual secret, or are exceptional people with incredible talents.
The fact that he wants to use you is because his power will be seen that way. Isn’t it wonderful that God has stooped to put his treasure in jars of clay like you and me?
Prayer: Thank you Lord for both the strengths and weaknesses you have given me – and please glorify yourself through both. I know I am but a ‘jar of clay’. Thank you for entrusting your treasure to me. Amen.
Confident Christianity Goes to Helensburgh
A new town, a new church, new opportunities and new friends to be made! Solas had the joy of taking the Confident Christianity conference to Helensburgh on the west coast of Scotland recently. It was an early start for me, heading westwards from Perth, and it was good to be joined for the day by our old friend and gospel-collaborator Michael Ots!
Helensburgh Baptist Church were our enthusiastic and generous hosts who welcomed us with coffee and baking as we set up the logistics for the conference. They had advertised the event widely and people from a range of churches on the north Clyde coast came to join us. Pastor Neil Allison explained to us that his aim in inviting us was to make sure that evangelism remained top of the church’s priority list, when there are so many other important things vying for our time and attention.
After Neil’s welcome and explanation of the event, Michael Ots kicked off with the first session of the day: How to talk about Jesus without being weird. Michael has had countless conversations with non-believers about Jesus and in this talk he shared with us his wisdom for having fruitful conversations. I took the next section of the programme in which we looked at “The Great Objection” to our faith: “If God, Why Suffering?” We looked at what the Bible says – (and doesn’t tell us) about the problem of pain, the problems with different worldviews and the comfort Christ offers sufferers.
“The Gospel is good news for our cultural moment” was Michael’s next talk. He investigated the so-called Quiet-revival and encouraged Christians to step boldly into the current context in which people are bewildered, but open to considering Jesus. I closed the main sessions with a talk entitled, “5 Steps to Answering Tough Questions” – which is designed to help Christians feel less intimidated by hard questions.
The Q&A had some really great engagement from the folks in Helenburgh, who asked us to work through issues of human sexuality and gospel, the differences between grace and Karma, as well as a range of insightful questions about practial evangelism.
Michael and I thoroughly enjoyed our time in Helensburgh and are looking forward to heading back there in 2026! We say this a lot, but one of Solas’s aims is to take our training and resources and evangelistic speakers to all parts of the country. Jesus famously called the Apostles to take the gospel out in concentric circles: Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Helensburgh isn’t the ends of the earth exaclty – but the point is that we are delighted to go out to wherever the churches want to partner with us.
Student Mission in 3-D (with Matt Lillicrap)
In the first few weeks every year, Christian Unions across the country put in a concerted effort to reach their campuses – with around 85 ‘events weeks’ happening recently. For many young people, their time at university is a formative and energetic experience, and it is a great opportunity for students to reach their friends for Christ. UCCF is helping them do this through 3″D” ministry: Delighting in Jesus more deeply, Displaying Him more fully and Declaring Him more boldy. UCCF leader Matt Lillicrap explains more to Gavin and Simon on this week’s PEP Talk.
Student Mission in 3-D (with Matt Lillicrap) – PEP Talk
Our Guest
Matt Lillicrap studied Medicine in Newcastle and qualified in 2006. Until 2013 he worked as a junior doctor, alongside a stint as a staff worker for Christian Medical Fellowship. From 2013-2017 he studied theology for pastoral ministry at Oak Hill College in London, then served local churches in Cambridge for seven years. He is now CEO of Universities & Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF), guiding Christian Unions across England, Scotland and Wales. Matt is married to Anika who is a pastoral counsellor.
About PEP Talk
The Persuasive Evangelism Podcast aims to equip listeners to share their faith more effectively in a sceptical world. Each episode, our hosts chat to a guest who has a great story, a useful resource, or some other expertise that helps equip you to talk persuasively, winsomely, and engagingly with your friends, colleagues and neighbours about Jesus.
Spotlight on Difficult Bible Questions
Many people struggle with the Bible’s miracles, morality, and history. This month’s Spotlight gathers our best resources to help you answer questions about them with confidence and compassion.
BIBLE HISTORY
Can I Trust The Bible?
“Whenever the issue of the Bible’s reliability is raised, it is helpful to ask your questioner to be specific. If someone says the Bible is full of myths and contradictions, ask them to show you one.” Andy Bannister shares three arguments you can use if someone questions the Bible.
Page Menu
- Can I Trust The Bible?
- Is It Real History?
- What About All The Violence?
- Aren’t There Too Many Strange Laws
- Hasn’t The Bible Caused Oppression?
- Can We Believe In Miracles?
- Isn’t The Bible Anti-Scientific?
- Can We Believe A Resurrection?
- What Do We Know About Jesus?
- Hasn’t The Meaning Been Lost In All The Translation?
- Hasn’t The Bible Been Corrupted (As Muslims Claim)?
- Recommended Reading
- Spotlight on Science
- Spotlight on Jesus
Is It Real History?
“Jerome called it the fifth gospel… It brings alive our reading of the Bible. I’ve spent most of my life interested in the land of the Bible…” Gain greater confidence in scripture by joining Solas board member, Chris Sinkinson, on his historical tour of the Holy Land.
MORAL QUESTIONS
What About All The Violence?
“The atheist Richard Dawkins once famous trolled the God of the Old Testament by calling him arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction.” Gareth Black helps us to think wisely about Old Testament violence and God’s character.
Aren’t There Too Many Strange Laws?
Why is the Bible so full of laws, rules and moral codes? Isn’t that what religion is all about? Gareth responds to this common complaint.
Hasn’t The Bible Caused Oppression?
Clare Williams-Sarpong shows how scripture has inspired reform, justice and human rights, and how to respond when this comes up.
MIRACLES
Can We Believe In Miracles?
Aren’t miracles against the laws of nature? Andy looks at why Christians believe the miraculous parts of the Bible.
Isn’t The Bible Anti-Scientific?
Hasn’t science replaced religion? Andy explores the question of whether theology and philosophy are now dead.
Can We Believe A Resurrection?
Isn’t it a step too far to believe Jesus actually rose from the grave? Steve Osmond looks at the evidence for this claim.
MANUSCRIPTS AND MORE
What Do We Know About Jesus?
Some people see Jesus as a distant, shadowy figure who we can’t quite access through the mists of history. Can we get an accurate handle on who he really was? David Wenham explains what scholars believe about the historical Jesus.
Hasn’t The Meaning Been Lost In All The Translation?
If the Bible is a translation of a translation, can we trust what it says? Andy looks at how we weigh up the changes in language.
Hasn’t The Bible Been Corrupted (As Muslims Claim)?
Muslims believe that the Qur’an is perfectly preserved, but the Bible has been corrupted. Andy explores whether or not that is true.
GET INVOLVED
Recommended Reading
- The Big Book of Bible Difficulties by Norman Geisler
- Why Trust The Bible? by Amy Orr-Ewing
- Exploring the Old/New Testament by Gordon Wenham (and other authors)
- Is God A Moral Monster? by Paul Copan
- On the Reliability of the Old Testament by K. A. Kitchen
- Can Science Explain Everything? by John Lennox
- Jesus In Context by David Wenham
- The Case For the Resurrection by Gary Habermas and Mike Licona
- Do Muslims and Christians Worship The Same God? by Andy Bannister
- The Canon of the New Testament by Bruce Metzger
Spotlight on Jesus
Explore the life, death and resurrection of Jesus to help others see why he matters.
Spotlight on Science
Go deeper into why science and religion are not against each other.
Steve on the road – Serving the Churches
Alhough we do a lot of ministry out in the community, and in offices and on campuses, some of the work we do at Solas takes place within the church too! I’ve had the privilege of speaking at several church services recently – here are reports from two of them.
On Sunday morning I preached at Pitlochry Baptist Church, focusing on Acts 17 and the challenge of engaging secular culture with the gospel. The sermon explored several of the key cultural shifts that have contributed to the secularisation of the West, helping to situate our present moment within a broader historical and philosophical context. I also gave an update on the work of Solas, explaining the nature and aims of the ministry for those who were unfamiliar with it. While there was no formal Q&A, I had a particularly encouraging conversation afterwards with an American couple who were visiting Pitlochry on holiday and had decided that morning to attend the church. They were very positive about the ministry, keen to explore Solas further, and interested in using some of the resources in their home church. I was also able to give them a copy of the Have You Ever Wondered book.
In the evening, I was with Cupar Baptist Church for their Confident Christianity Conference gathering, where the focus was on “conversational evangelism.” Rather than a traditional sermon, the church had asked for a more interactive equipping session. Although the group was small, they were highly engaged and asked numerous thoughtful and practical questions, particularly around evangelism in the workplace and within families where relatives are not Christians. The minister Pastor Yeshwanath, was warm and encouraging, and expressed a strong desire to have Solas return in the future to do further work with the congregation.
If you’d like us to come and speak at your church, please get in contact!
If I Became a Christian, How Could I Explain it to My LGBT+ Friend?
Christians are often written off as being bigots for their views on a range of issues, especially around sexuality – surely Christians are necessarily homophobic and transphobic! But, this thinking is fraught with assumptions. In this Short Answers video, Steve Osmond respond to this question looking at truth, true identity, and Jesus as our example.
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Please share this video widely with friends or family and for more Short Answers videos, visit solas-cpc.org/shortanswers/, subscribe to our YouTube channel or visit us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
Support
Short Answers is a viewer-supported video series: if you enjoy them, please help us continue to make them by donating to Solas. Visit our Donate page and choose a free book as a thank-you gift!
Motivation for Mission #5: Participation in the Suffering of Christ
Our participation in the sufferings of Christ is a curious phrase that pops up in the New Testament in various places (Philemon 3:10, 1 Peter 4:13, Romans 8:17 and Colossians 1:24). What does it mean? Well, obviously, something in it is about voluntarily giving up our own time and wealth for people who need it, because our lives are about imitating Jesus, who gave up everything to meet us in our need.
But have you ever considered that there’s also something about evangelism in it? When we go out in the name of Jesus into a culture that is often hostile – or misunderstands us or maligns us – we’re suffering with Jesus, as we suffer for him. The Bible insists that that is always a blessed thing. At the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) in the last of the Beatitudes, Jesus says, “Blessed are you when men curse you for my sake”. It’s considered a blessing. When the first Christians were persecuted in Acts, they said that they counted it as a privilege to be counted worthy of suffering for the name. Equally when Saul was persecuting the church and had that definitive encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus the words he heard were “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”. He didn’t hear, “why do persecute them?”, because the persecuted church were sharing in his sufferings in a mysterious, but wonderful way. Our afflictions in the West are minor and trivial, but think for a moment of those in parts of the world where believers suffer extreme hardships for Christ – and with Christ.
It’s a strange one, but isn’t that a wonderful motivation for us to go forward in evangelism in a hostile culture that pushes back against us?
When people object to the gospel, or ostracise or marginalise us, Christ tells us that we are blessed for standing with him. When we go forward in evangelism – particularly when it doesn’t go well – we are blessed because we are counted worthy of suffering for the name. We might take reputational damage or lose friends. We might be shunned. We might be pushed away, but Jesus says, count it all as a blessing, because we are following in his footsteps, the suffering Christ. We get to participate in his sufferings. A privatised, self-focused faith simply does not bring this kind of blessing.
Prayer: Forgive me, Lord, for caring more about my reputation than yours. Help me to speak out for you, even when it is unpopular to do so. Help me endure the cost of evangelism, as an experience of partnership in your suffering. Amen
Suffering and Students, at Robert Gordon University
The topic of suffering is one of those that is always not far from our minds. Whether it is our own suffering and struggles, or the suffering of those around us – even further away in other parts of the world – it’s something that raises the question of how we navigate that, and where do we find hope in the midst of that suffering.
This is something that every worldview or religion needs to try and explain, and Christianity has a lot to say here – but also makes sense of our deep longing to be free from suffering and the injustices we see in the world.
That was the topic of a recent outreach event that Steve spoke at in partnership with the Robert Gordon University Chrisitan Union. Steve spoke at 2 ‘lunch bar’ style events where students get to come for a free lunch and a Bible based talk, followed by a time of discussion together with other students from the Christian Union. We love being able to be able to support these events to get the hope of the Gospel onto campuses around the UK. Steve said that he had several great conversations about the Bible, suffering, and Christianity in general, and that they were keen to learn more, and were really happy to get a copy of the ‘Have You Ever Wondered’ book as a starting point.
Ollie, from RGUCU added: “This event was an outreach event aimed at non-christian students at RGU. Steve’s talk gave a very clear gospel message and as there were fewer people than expected Steve was able to chat to people individually which was a very nice touch! He also spoke at our carol service which was joint with Aberdeen CU and his talk there was really good for the student audience as the points were concise, clear and engaging to students. We were giving away free copies of Uncover Luke and several of these were given out to non-believers, there were also many good conversations about the evidence behind the bible and what Christmas is about off the back of his talk. Many thanks for Steve’s time, we hope to have him again soon!”!
Please do keep praying for the Solas team, but especially for students they interact with who are hearing about Jesus for the first time. Pray too for all our partners in the Christian Unions around the UK. Many Christian students find sharing their faith, and inviting friends to gospel events really difficult – but yet the CU’s are reporting that non-Christian students are more willing than ever to come and find out. Solas speakers are found on campuses all over the UK week-in-week-out, and we’d love your prayer support as we go. The easiest way to do that is to sign up for our monthly bulletin, Insight which always contains a prayer calendar highlighting the places we are working. Join us in praying if you can! Your prayers make a huge difference.
