Three Objections to Christianity

Ever since its inception, the Christian faith has always had its critics. Jesus warned about wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matt. 7:15) and the Apostles wrote frequently about persecutors and Judaizers (Acts 11:2; Phil. 3:2). The barrage of criticism has not lessened over time. As modern society turns more secular and post-Christian, the chorus of voices dissenting against the Christian faith will only grow stronger.

While the particular objections to Christianity are numerous and varied, they all fall into one of only three categories: the irrelevance of Christianity, the implausibility of Christianity, and the insidiousness of Christianity.

Christianity is Irrelevant

The argument that Christianity is irrelevant stems from the postmodern mindset of relative truth and narrative over objective reality. Looking through this lens, there’s no such thing as a single, ultimate reality, only impressions and interpretations that form personal stories or narratives of “perceived reality.” This viewpoint is what gave birth to the now-ubituitous phrase “my truth / your truth.” Since there’s no objective reality—including a reality called Christianity—what matters are the narratives we weave together into a tapestry of what can only apporiximate real life.

If Christianity is just one thread in this cosmic tapestry, then it’s no more or less important than the other threads. It has no uniqueness. But if Christianity has no uniqueness, then it’s truly irrelevant, for like Samson’s hair, it’s the uniqueness of the message of the cross that gives Christianity its power.

Christianity is Implausible

The argument that Christianity is implausible flows from the well of skepticism. A healthy dose of skepticism can be good for the world and the soul, as disciplined skepticism is what gave us the scientific method and critical thinking. But skepticism, like all good things, can be taken too far. This over-glorified form of skepticism is seen most prevalently today in materialism or scientific naturalism, the belief that nothing exists outside of what can be seen in the natural, observable world. These views do not sufficiently address whether immaterial, spiritual realities could exist; they simply take the nonexistence of invisible, spiritual realities as an assumed starting point and move on from there. In their refusal to consider the existence of spiritual realities, materialism and naturalism move beyond skepticism into the territory of denial.

“In their refusal to consider the existence of spiritual realities, materialism and naturalism move beyond skepticism into the territory of denial.”

Because so much of Christianity is founded upon the belief in the supernatural, materialists and scientific naturalists reject Christianity outright. The core message of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and the resurrection of the saints to eternal life is incompatible with the axioms of their faith. The gospel is anathema to them.

From this position, a host of arguments against the truthfulness of Christianity are formed: arguments against the existence of God, of spirits, of morality, arguments against the realiability of the Bible, or the divinity of Christ. Each argument is intended to take Christianity down a notch and make it seem less likely that it’s true and more likely that it’s untrue.

Christianity is Insidious

This category is the most antagonistic and emotionally-charged of the three. These objections claim that the Christian faith is not only irrelevant or untrue, but that it’s actually dangerous. It’s a harm to people and to society. As society moves deeper into post-Christian secularism, this third category—once quite rare—is growing rapidly and gaining more support than ever.

The common person today no longer thinks, “Your Christianity is fine as long as you keep it to yourself and off of me,” but is steadily moving toward thinking, “Your Christianity is a threat to me, to the ones I love, and to our way of life.” Those who have been hurt by the church (and there are many, to be sure, and to our shame) are now the loudest voices, emboldened by the recent turning of the tide. They see the elimination of Christianity as a net positive for the world, and so they pursue it as a noble goal.

“Those who have been hurt by the church (and there are many, to be sure, and to our shame) are now the loudest voices, emboldened by the recent turning of the tide.”

This is why Christianity is portrayed so badly in popular media. This is why Christianity enjoys far less tolerance in our culture than other worldviews and belief systems.

Responses to the Objections

The answer to the three I’s (irrelevance, implausibility, insidiousness) comes in the form of three P’s.

To the notion that Christianity is irrelevant, the response must be power. In the open marketplace of ideas, the good news of Jesus Christ stands on its own, but non-Christians don’t see it that way, nor should they expected to (2 Cor. 4:4). The reason Jesus and the Apostles performed miracles was to authenticate their message (Heb. 2:3-4). It’s much harder to deny Jesus’s claims after seeing Him cause the blind to see, the lame to walk, and the dead to rise.

There’s something of the power of Christ that the modern church needs to recover. Believers are called to walk not only in the truth of Christ but also in His power (Eph. 3:20; Phil. 4:13). We’re once again entering an era in which argumentation alone won’t convince people anymore. They need to see a demonstration of God’s power to be pursuaded. This means we must pursue prayer and holiness like never before (James 5:16).

“We’re once again entering an era in which argumentation alone won’t convince people anymore. They need to see a demonstration of God’s power to be pursuaded.”

However, there are still those who may be convinced by a strong argument. There are still some C.S. Lewises and Lee Strobels out there who can be reached through reason. For this type, the implausibility of Christianity must be met with persuasion. Excellent work has been done in the field of apologetics over the past few decades that has armed the church with more effective arguments than ever before. Not everyone is called to this, but for those who are, learning from the likes of Lewis, Strobel, William Lane Craig, and Alvin Plantinga about ontological, cosmological, epistemological, and historical arguments for Christianity can be a game-changer.

And to the charge that Christianity is insidious, the best response is peace. When the world attacks the church, they’re expecting the church to retaliate because that’s what the world or an insidious entity would do. But when the church responds, rather, with peace, the world takes note and sees a little more of what Jesus says in Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” This peaceful response must be genuine and consistent, and over time, it will win over even the most jaded hearts.