Unpacking the problem of Jesus with Mark Clark

In this episode Skyler interviews Mark Clark on the problem of Jesus. Mark is the lead pastor at the Village Church in Vancouver Canada and author of the book The Problem of God. Mark is passionate about reaching people for Jesus and helping skeptics find answer to their questions. In this interview we talk about what makes Jesus unique, what hangs people up, and how to help skeptics on their journey toward faith.

What makes Jesus Unique

• He claimed to be God in a way a first century Jew would understand.
• He claimed to be the only way to the Father
• He claimed to accomplish what humans could never do for themselves (ie. Pay for their own sins).

What are the common hangups for post-Christian people

• Reliability of Jesus
• Sexuality
• Exclusivity 
• Errors and contradictions
• Not wanting to be narrowed into one belief system
• Hypocritical 

How can people encourage skeptics toward belief 

• Bridge the gap between faith and science
• Encourage people to read through the Gospels.
• Start with Jesus identity statement, then look at the evidence for the resurrection. 
• Belief probably won’t happen over night, it’s a process.

Links:
The Village Church
Mark Clark
The Problem of God
The Problem of Jesus

Most influential books for Mark on Jesus (outside of the Bible)
N.T Wright, Jesus and the victory of God; John P Meier; The Marginal Jew Vol. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,