America faces a deep spiritual crisis. Despite technological and economic advancements, a pervasive sense of emptiness and disillusionment has taken hold. The erosion of traditional values and moral foundations leaves many grappling for meaning and purpose.

This crisis manifests in several ways: a significant rise in depression and anxiety, particularly among young people, indicating profound disconnection and lack of inner peace; increasing polarization and division, with widening political and social divides due to animosity and intolerance, hindering our ability to address critical national issues; a decline in trust in institutions such as government, media, and religious organizations, fostering cynicism and hopelessness; and the dominance of materialism and consumerism, which prioritizes material possessions and instant gratification over genuine connection and lasting fulfillment, leaving many feeling empty despite outward success.

Coinciding with these ailments, there's a rise in people claiming spirituality while experiencing a decrease in religious affiliation. This postmodern spirituality, however, is often not rooted in anything concrete, tending to be based on a hodgepodge selection of New Age thinking and "sounds-true-isms." The desire for spiritual health is genuine, but its practice, I would argue, is often misguided.

Intriguingly, the human brain is designed to experience God and benefit from that connection. Neuroscientists Andrew Newberg, MD, and Mark Waldman, in "How God Changes the Brain," state that "religious and spiritual contemplation changes your brain in a profoundly different way because it strengthens a unique neural circuit that specifically enhances social awareness and empathy while subduing destructive feelings and emotions." They also write, "the evidence is clear that religious involvement has little downside and very often has a beneficial effect, especially when one feels positive about his or her religious beliefs. And sometimes the benefits are spectacular.” Their book further explores how one's conception of God matters: meditating on a loving God yields benefits, while an angry, vengeful God causes psychological harm.
 

Traditional Christianity and its Church provide structure and community for one's spiritual journey. It is a spiritual fullness rooted in something concrete, tracing back thousands of years. This concrete foundation provides Christianity as a unique source of truth and spiritual guidance. Christianity sprang from historical facts not disputed among today’s scholars: Jesus of Nazareth existed, preached a message of God’s kingdom, and was crucified. Disputes arise only concerning his resurrection and divine sonship. The compelling evidence is that early Christians believed he rose from the dead, radically changing their lives. The disciples, initially terrified, became bold preachers, setting the course for global change. This message led to their martyrdom, with no recantations.

No serious theory has disproved Jesus’ resurrection. Theories like mass hallucination and stolen body have been debunked. It’s understandable to find the resurrection hard to believe, but it’s not fair to treat believers as delusional. It is, remarkably, the most compelling conclusion to the historical evidence.

For some, Jesus’ resurrection is unfathomable, but so is the universe's origin. If quantum fluctuations can randomly spark life from nothing—leading to galaxies, black holes, and planets—then surely God can raise Christ from the dead. The Christian hope is that God will resurrect all in the new creation. If God created the universe from nothing once, why not again?