Hello
Mark A. Stelter earned his doctor of jurisprudence from the University of Michigan
Law School and his masters in theology at Liberty University. He was a professor of
law and criminal justice in Houston and prior to his teaching career he served as a
Houston Police Officer and Assistant District Attorney. He is a Bible teacher at the
Christian Church of Estes Park and a founding member of Men on Fire, a band of
brothers dedicated to preparing and inspiring men for a life of service to Jesus
Christ. He is the author of The Gospel According to Christ: The Message of Jesus
and How We Missed It. Mark is the father of four children and lives in the Rocky
Mountains in Colorado.
THE WHY
Hi! I’m Mark Stelter. In talking with people about Christianity, I realized that the major problem was not that people disliked Jesus, but that they disliked Christianity. And as I spoke with non-Christians it soon dawned on me that what they thought Christianity was, was something I didn’t like much, either! The problem was…they had a very mistaken understanding of Christianity. It occurred to me that our culture desperately needed to know what Jesus actually said…and what Christianity actually was…because there was so much misinformation and misunderstanding about the faith. Hence…this website!
​
I felt I was a pretty good person to address misunderstandings about Christianity, not only because I have a masters in theology and a doctorate in law, but much more importantly because I myself misunderstood Christianity for most of my life! So, I appreciate the confusion and even dislike of the faith…because at one time I shared those feelings.
​
I remember wondering how Christianity was any different than all the other ways to “find God;” what being “born again” even meant; and why a just God would punish people simply because they did not make a confession of faith to His Son. It just didn’t make sense!
But there was some nagging at my conscience, and at my intellectual curiosity, that could not just walk away from the faith without doing some serious research and soul-searching. And, as you might expect, after I engaged in a very serious study of the faith (and of my own heart) I came to know Jesus is a very personal way. I discovered that Christianity…real Christianity…is not a religion, but a relationship. But, being trained in the law and have a very critical and skeptical mind, it was not enough to just rely on my relationship with Jesus (although, spoiler alert: that actually IS enough), I had to continue to read and research and explore the hard questions about Jesus, the Bible, and Christianity to see if the faith withstood the rigors of reason, logic, and experience.
​
Guess what? Not only does a real understanding of the Christian faith provide enough evidence to convince even the hardest skeptic of its truth, but more importantly it opens one’s mind and heart so that one may be completely transformed by this truth. That our former ways of knowing reason and logic pale in comparison to knowing the Author of reason and logic…and being able to bask in the light of His glory. Not only spiritually, but intellectually!
​
And this is the reason for this website. To take on all the hard questions about the faith and to answer them with honesty (sometimes brutal honesty!) and to engage thoughtful readers in a journey that will lead them to the most incredible, most unlikely, most remarkable truth.
Welcome to that journey! It is my honor to have you here!
My Mission
Welcome to The Message of Jesus! Our mission is to serve as a resource to people who have
thoughtful questions about Christianity. Toward that end we want to provide clear answers
where clear answers exist, possible answers where clear answers do not exist, and an open and
thoughtful forum for discussion on all matters pertaining to the Christian faith.
We will engage in the discussion of such topics as:
-
the existence of God
-
the purpose of life
-
the nature of good and evil
-
the concepts of truth and justice
-
the reliability of the Bible
-
the historicity of Jesus
-
what it means to be a Christian
-
the Christian worldview compared to other worldviews
-
an examination of reason and faith
-
the possibility of the supernatural
-
creation, cosmology, and the supernatural
-
morality, ethics, and virtue
-
sin, redemption, and salvation
While we are evangelical Christians, we recognize that not everyone is! As defenders of the
faith, we strive to provide convincing arguments for those who are skeptical of the claims of
Christianity. To be effective evangelists, we know we cannot simply answer skeptics by saying,
“The Bible says so.” That is not to say that this answer is wrong—it is simply to admit that it
may not be particularly convincing to everyone! That is why we will defend the faith using
reason, logic, and evidence to support our claims. The same God who is the Creator of the
universe is also the Creator of reason and logic, and we welcome a reasoned and logical
discussion of the faith.
When we are not sure of the answers, we are not afraid to say, “We don’t know!” Many seekers
have been driven away from Christianity by Christians who pretend that they have all the
answers. We know only God has all the answers. We welcome hard questions—we know there
is no question too hard for God, and that He is not afraid of our questions. He already knows the
questions we harbor in our hearts, so our open and candid discussion of the toughest issues is no
affront to the God of the Universe.
“Come, let us reason together,” the psalmist writes. At messageofjesus.com we intend to do just
that. Welcome to our discussion!
Contact
I'm always looking for new and exciting opportunities. Let's connect.
123-456-7890