Focus on Faith: What is Faith?

According to a study done in 2007, over 75 percent of American adults consider themselves Christians.

So, for the other 25 percent, and for those still soul searching in the Big Country, Jack Hardcastle, of Hillcrest Church of Christ tries to shed some light on faith.

"I think that one of the biggest misconceptions people have is that we cant have fun," states Hardcastle. "You know that we can't have a good time. If you look at the way the world portrays fun they don't show you the after effects of the fun. For instance, drinking and alcohol is portrayed as something that is a lot of fun, but they don't show you the next morning; they don't show you the cars wrapped around the telephone pole. They don't show those things."

"I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that Christians can't have fun in life. I disagree with that. I think that we should be able to."

Nobility, discipline, commitment: all traits that Christians strive to have.

When you put yourself in a non-believers shoes, those traits may seem not only unattainable, but downright lofty, but Hardcastle argues that Christianity welcomes all: the strong and the meek.

"I think that most people that feel that way think that they aren't good enough or that their not strong enough. Becoming a Christian, in all reality of it, is a very simple process. The thought that goes into it. It is a commitment as well. It is a commitment to God and his word, and following the Bible and everything that he says. And I think that it scares some people, the idea of commitment. but what you find out in becoming a Christian is what I would encourage anyone that is interested, is if you follow God's word you are happier, you are more content. you don't have a lot of the problems that are caused by things in the world. It doesn't mean that you have a perfect life. It doesn't mean that you won't have problems, but what it does mean is that you will have the strength to deal with those problems."

"For anybody that is looking into it, I would highly recommend it just from the stand point of that it gives you roots and that it gives you a sense of being able to deal with life in whatever it throws at you."

What of denominations? Catholic, Baptist, Church of Christ, Lutheran, Methodist; where does a non-believer turn?

Hardcastle, says that before turning to a church, you must first turn to the word.

"We do have the freedom to read the Bible and make our own decisions. The problem with that is that we have developed a lot of different denominations from the same book. So, my advice has always been to take the book as a whole. read the whole bible especially in things like salvation. To not just take one part of it and kind of just build a theology around it, but just look at the bible as a whole and then make a choice as to what church you believe follows the word exactly as it is written. So, when you begin to look at churches what I try to do is to look at what the Bible says and then see if that is what that church is following."

All words jack follows everyday.