Facebook Evangelism

Can someone tell me why Jesus was nailed to a cross?

A guy I went to school with had this as his Facebook status last week.  I paused when I read it.  Was he seriously wanting an answer?  Or was he just looking to stir?  You never know with some people.  I've never thought Facebook was a very good vehicle for evangelism anyway.  I've seen too many 'debates' turn nasty while a lot of lurkers were probably having a good laugh.  I would rather sit down in person, or have a private conversation via email.  Should I answer this guy's question?  After a few responses that seemed quite bizarre and way off track, I took the plunge.  But instead of going into a lengthy spiel, I just sent a link to Two Ways To Live as a response.  Two Ways To Live explains the Christian message really well and I'm grateful to have such resources available.

The next day, he wrote back:
So the man himself was tied to a stake not a cross and paid the ultimate price for other people's sins. (Silly little bugger wasn't he?) so where was his parents? Are they accountable for neglect?
If we accept Jesus is God incarnate then on the metaphorical cross God himself died, how does that work?
So the modern day JC would be crucified (murdered) by lethal injection, I suppose it would look a tad bit silly if a miniature needle replaced the 'cross' on all those necklaces.
So what makes a Christian different from Buddhist, Jewish, etc?
Then, what's the difference between English, Dutch, African, Chinese etc?
Isn't there only one JC? And one GOD? But they're the same so that's only one, but there's two present........
Oh this is all too much

I thought, well, he's serious, then.  He actually watched Two Ways To Live.  In previous comments he wrote about how he didn't understand anything from Scripture lessons in primary school, and was confused about all the different Bible translations there are.  I went to school with him for years.  Although I haven't seen him recently and he doesn't live nearby, he's a nice bloke with a bit of a dry sense of humour.  Therefore, I didn't take anything he said as a personal slur on my faith because I could see that he must be genuinely searching.  And he had so many questions!  Oh my!  How was I going to respond to them?  Should I respond to them?

But then I thought, I'd rather try and help him find Christ than not do anything.  Again I sent him a link saying it might help with some of the tough questions he was asking.  It was a link to the Christianity Explored Tough Questions page.  I didn't hear back from him after that.  But there are a lot of questions on that page so it would take some time if he was watching all of the clips.

I wasn't sure what to do after that.  It wouldn't be appropriate for me to meet up with him in person (it would be better for him to meet up with another bloke).  He lives in Albany so I was trying to think of someone I could ask if he wanted to go down that path.  I prayed.  I prayed he would not give up searching.  I prayed God would open his eyes to who Jesus is.  I prayed he would go to a good Bible-teaching church.  I prayed that he would accept Christ as his Lord and Saviour.

What started as fear gave way to excitement.  I saw that Facebook can be a great tool for evangelism if used wisely.  I'm still cautious about jumping straight into debates.  I want to be wise with my words.  Maybe God had used me to plant a seed and would send someone else to water it.  For it is God's work after all, for His glory.

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