SKEPTICAL ABOUT GOD?
Seven Questions Skeptics Ask
By Rusty Wright
www.probe.org/Rusty
As the flight from Chicago to Dallas climbed in the sky, I became engrossed in
conversation with the passenger to my left. "Aimee," a French
businesswoman, asked me about my work. On learning I was a Christian
communicator, she related that a professing Christian had signed a contract with
her, attempted to lead her to Christ, then later deceitfully undercut her.
"How could a Christian do such a thing?" she asked.
I told her that Christians weren’t perfect, that some fail miserably, that
many are honest and caring, but that it is Jesus we ultimately trust. Aimee
asked question on question: "How can you believe the Bible?" "Why
do Christians say there is only one way to God?" "How does one become
a Christian?"
I tried to answer her concerns tactfully and explained the message of grace as
clearly as I could. Stories I told of personal pain seemed to open her up to
consider God’s love for her. She did not come to Christ in that en-counter,
but she seemed to leave it with a new understanding.
Hurting people everywhere need God. Many are open to considering Him, but they
often have questions they want answered before they are willing to accept
Christ. As we answer them, seeking to blend grace with truth, an increasing
number of skeptics may give an ear and become seekers or believers. That’s
what happened to me.
After trying as a teenager to live in a way that would be pleasing to people and
to God, I was nearly expelled from high school for some problems I helped
create. For some time after that, I put on hold any investigation into
Christianity. In pain and anger I wondered, "Why would God allow this to
happen to me after I had been trying my best to please Him?"
Later, students in the Campus Crusade for Christ group at Duke University my
freshman year helped me see God’s forgiveness as a free gift. They lovingly
accepted me in spite of my sometimes-relentless questions.
After trusting Christ as Savior, I still had questions. Bob Prall, the local
Campus Crusade director, took interest in me. At first his answers irritated me,
but as I thought them through, they began to make sense. I followed him around
campus for two years, watching him interact with non-Christians. Today, as I am
privileged to encounter inquisitive people, much of my ap-proach derives from my
mentor.
‘BUT WHAT ABOUT …’
So how do
you deal with questions and objections to faith that people may pose? Some
questions may be intellectual smokescreens. Once a Georgia Tech philosophy
professor peppered me with questions, which I answered as best I could.
Then I asked him, "If I could answer all your questions to your
satisfaction, would you put your life in Jesus’ hands?" His reply:
"[Expletive] no!"
I don’t have complete answers to every concern you will encounter, but here
are some short responses that might be useful.
1. Why is there evil and suffering?
Sigmund Freud called religion an illusion humans invent to satisfy their
security needs. To him, a benevolent, all-powerful God seemed incongruent with
natural disasters and human evil.
God, though sovereign, gave us freedom to follow Him or to disobey Him. This
response does not answer all concerns (because He sometimes does intervene to
thwart evil) but suggests that the problem of evil is not as great an
intellectual obstacle to belief as some imagine.
Pain’s emotional barrier to belief, however, remains formidable. Jesus
understands suffering. He was scorned, beaten, and cruelly executed, carrying
the guilt of our rebellion against God (Isa. 53:10).
When I see God, items on my long list of questions for Him will include a
painful and unwanted divorce, betrayal by trusted coworkers, and all sorts of
disappointing human behavior and natural disasters. Yet in Jesus’ life, death,
and resurrection I have seen enough to trust Him when He says He "causes
all things to work together for good to those who love God" (Rom. 8:28).
2. What about all the contradictions in the Bible?
Ask your questioner for specific examples. Often people have none, but rely on hearsay. If there is a specific example, consider these guidelines as you respond.
- Omission does not necessarily create contradiction. Luke, for example, writes of two angels at Jesus’ tomb after the Resurrection (24:1-9). Matthew mentions "an angel" (28:1-8). Is this a contradiction? If Matthew stated that only one angel was present, the ac-counts would be dissonant. As it stands, they can be harmonized.
- Differing accounts aren’t necessarily contradictory. Matthew and Luke, for example, differ in their accounts of Jesus’ birth. Luke records Joseph and Mary starting in Nazareth, traveling to Bethlehem (Jesus’ birthplace), and returning to Nazareth (Luke 1:26-2:40). Matthew starts with Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, relates the family’s journey to Egypt to escape King Herod’s rage, and recounts their travel to Nazareth after Herod’s death (Matt. 1:18-2:23). The Gospels never claim to be exhaustive records. Biographers must be selective. The accounts seem complementary, not contradictory!
Space
precludes more complex examples here (see the resource list). But time and
again, supposed biblical problems fade in light of logic, history, and
archaeology. The Bible’s track record under scrutiny argues for its
trustworthiness.
3. What about those who never hear of Jesus?
God’s perfect love and justice far exceed our own. Whatever He decides will be
loving and fair. A friend once told me that many asking this question seek a
personal loophole, a way so they won’t need to believe in Christ. C.S. Lewis
in Mere Christianity wrote, "If you are worried about the people outside
[of Christianity], the most unreasonable thing you can do is to remain outside
yourself." If Christianity is true, the most logical behavior for someone
concerned about those without Christ’s message would be to trust Christ and go
tell them about Him.
4. How can Jesus be the only way to God?
When I was in high school, a recent alumnus visited, saying he had found Christ
at Harvard. I respected his character and tact and listened intently. But I
could not stomach Jesus’ claim that "I am the way, and the truth, and the
life; no one comes to the Father but through Me" (John 14:6).
Two years later, my spiritual and intellectual journey had changed my view. The
logic that drew me (reluctantly) to his position involves three questions:
- If God exists, could there be only one way to reach Him? To be open-minded, I had to admit this possibility.
- Why consider Jesus as a candidate for that possible one way? He claimed it. His plan of rescuing humans ("by grace … through faith … not … works," Eph. 2:8-9) was distinct from those re-quiring works, as many other religions do. These two kinds of systems were mutually exclusive. Both could be false or either could be true, but both could not be true.
- Was Jesus’ plan true? Historical evidence for His resurrection, fulfilled prophecy and deity, and for the reliability of the New Testament, convinced me I could trust His words.
5. Isn’t Christianity just a psychological crutch?
Bob Prall has often said, "If Christianity is a psychological crutch, then
Jesus Christ came because there was an epidemic of broken legs."
Christianity claims to meet real human needs such as those for forgiveness,
love, identity, and self-acceptance. We might describe Jesus not as a crutch but
an iron lung, essential for life itself.
Christian faith and its benefits can be described in psychological terms, but
that does not negate its validity. Evidence supports Christianity’s
truthfulness, so we would expect it to work in individual lives, as millions
attest.
6. I could never take the blind leap of faith that believing in Christ
requires.
We exercise faith every day. Few of us understand everything about electricity
or aerodynamics, but we have evidence of their validity. Whenever we use
electric lights or airplanes, we exercise faith — not blind faith, but faith
based on evidence. Christians act similarly. The evidence for Jesus is
compelling, so one can trust Him on that basis.
7. It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere.
After discussing this, a respected psychologist told me, "I guess a person
could be sincere in what he believed, but be sincerely wrong." In the
1960s, many women took the drug thalidomide sincerely believing it would ease
their pregnancies — never suspecting it could cause severe birth defects.
Ultimately, faith is only as valid as its object. Jesus demonstrated by His
life, death, and resurrection that He is a worthy object for faith.
Your questioners may be turned off because many Christians haven’t acted like
Jesus. Maybe they’re angry at God because of personal illness, a broken
relationship, a loved one’s death, or personal pain. Ask God for patience and
love as you follow Peter’s admonition: "But in your hearts set apart
Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to
give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and
respect" (1 Peter 3:15).
Rusty Wright is a California-based author, journalist, and university
lecturer who has spoken on six continents. Check out his other articles at
www.probe.org/Rusty