Matthew 11:2-15
Charles grew up in Toronto. He started drawing cartoons at the age of 17. Through the 1930’s, he lived off his ability to draw. But in 1936 he met Christ. He converted to Christianity and became an evangelist. He started a church. In 1945, he and Torrey Johnston of Chicago met with a number of youth leaders from around the U.S. They wanted to reach young people for Christ. Out of these meetings came an organization known as Youth for Christ. Torrey Johnston was the first president and they hired a young man named Billy Graham as their first evangelist. Shortly afterward, Graham and Templeton made an evangelistic tour of Western Europe. They roomed together and held crusades in England, Scotland, Ireland, Sweden and other countries.
But in 1948, Templeton began attending Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey. Though he hosted a weekly religious television show he began to doubt the faith. Finally, in 1957, after a long struggle with doubt, he declared himself an agnostic, which means no knowledge of God. He completely rejected the Christian faith. In 1995, he wrote a book about his rejection of the faith entitled “Farewell to God.”
How can a person who was sold out to Christ at one point in their life doubt him to the point of denial later?
