The Message of the Cross - foolishness or power?

In today's scripture reading I came upon the verse I had committed to memory for quite some time and which has offered me lots of insight and strength in my faith journey.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)

My wife and I have recently been listening to "Unbelievable" - a British podcast with the apologetics theme:

Each Saturday, in the award-winning programme Unbelievable, Justin Brierley asks questions like: Can Christianity live up to the claims it makes? Can we trust the Bible? Why should I believe in Jesus over anything else? Justin tackles these and other issues, on a show that gets Christians and non-believers talking to each other.

It has been very helpful to hear thoughtful and intellectual debates between Christians and non-Christians, moderated by a very mild manner British moderator. Jane and I have learned a lot not only why non-Christians don't believe, but more importantly why we believe. It helps me not only to know what I believe, but also how to engage in a respectful dialog with my non-believing friends.

To get back to Paul's message to the Corinthians (here is a very good background information about Paul's trips to Corinth), here he was dealing with internal division within the Corinthians church. Paul was trying to point them to the central message of their faith, which was what Jesus did on the cross.

It is important to know that as much as our faith is grounded in historical facts and is based on intellectually sound propositions, ultimately whether one would commit his life to this faith journey will be the work of the Holy Spirit. If it is left to human being to design a salvation message, it would surely not to hang God on a cross! Yet this simple (and apparently foolish)  message has turned the lives of many around. This is definitely true for me:

Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

(1 Corinthians 1: 26-31)