August 12, 2026
Dear Friends,
This week 4 men prayed with me according to the pattern of Luke 18:13 & Romans 10:9.
The first is an Italian researcher working in the areas of biotechnology and bioethics. He wrote, in part:
“Dear Professor Tour,
I was raised Catholic, yet I have spent my whole life swinging back and forth between being religious, agnostic, or even anti-religious. I’m currently struggling to reconcile my Christian upbringing with my scientific background. I find it hard to believe in Christ, but at the same time I feel drawn to the value and goodness of his teachings. I recently came across your challenge about the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ, and I would really like to hear your thoughts on it and the kind of evidence or arguments you base your position on. My view is that it is impossible to know with certainty. Consequently, I do not believe that anyone can justifiably claim to know it with a reasonable degree of certainty. It is in fact just a matter of pure and blind faith (which is insufficient for me to accept it). If you’re open to it, I would also be interested in your personal testimony about why you chose to embrace the Christian faith, as well as any key books or papers you would recommend to help me better understand the dialogue between the scientific worldview and Christian theology. Thank you very much for your time and for your work at the intersection of science and faith. Best regards, ___________”
He wrote a gracious follow-up message immediately after the meeting saying that he “will surely go through the material.”
The second, a man from Florida in his late 50s, wrote:
“Hi Dr. Tour, I saw your challenge on IG and am exceedingly interested in hearing your thoughts on the matter. I was raised in the church and in a devout Christian household. Church 3 times/wk and hosted events at my home. I went through a phase in my 20’s-30’s where I was unpersuaded by the say-these-words-and-you-are-saved recipe and researched other ideologies. I got very interested in the nature of consciousness, reality and benefited from Biblical analyses like Jordan Peterson’s. Despite having “accepted Jesus” 45 years ago, I’ve never had the quantum shift in consciousness to be in harmony with God […] which is what I expect “real” salvation feels like. There is a wisdom; a perspective that would allow me to see God’s truth and live within it, but I still answer primarily to my biological and sociological urges and not God’s. I want to clear – or at least understand – that hurdle.”
The third, a young Indian man living in the Netherlands, wrote:
“Dear Dr. James, I saw a reel which said you are helping those who don’t understand / believe the resurrection of Jesus. May I please connect with you ? If you do help out or talk I would like to listen. I am a Christian, and I’ve held Jesus to my heart in prayers and everything. But I travel and so many times I get asked the question how do you know Jesus really came back (especially from Muslims ); and I can only tell them that I believe so because he hears prayers. A part of me is caving in and I would like to learn more beyond faith.”
When asked directly if he believed in the physical resurrection of Jesus, he responded that he was “unsure whether Jesus was physically raised from the dead.” So we met, and he received and prayed.
The fourth, a kind man who had rescheduled his meeting twice before due to his work schedule, arrived early and eager to learn. He wrote:
“Dear Dr. Tour, I recently heard your challenge regarding the physical resurrection of Jesus. I was an atheist for most of my adult life, but gradually returned to faith through Alcoholics Anonymous and recovery from what AA calls ‘a hopeless state of mind and body.’ Today, I believe in God and find the Gospels compelling and trustworthy. I am convinced that something extraordinary happened after Jesus’ death. The one thing I still struggle with is the bodily resurrection itself. Certainly the evidence in the gospels reveals that SOMETHING happened that day. I just want to know what made a scientist like you be so sure of it. Thank you for your time. Respectfully, __________”
He had no questions at the end, but he expressed his gratitude, saying that “that was exactly what I needed to hear.”
All were exhorted to be meditatively reading the Bible every morning for 15 minutes, starting in John. And all are committed to discipleship with a mentor.
John 7
37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive…
It is heartwarming to see lives change upon receipt of the gospel message. I know of no greater joy. They have come to the fountain of life.
God bless,
Dr. James Tour
