Sunday, July 14, 2013
The Case For Christ
I've decided to take a short break here from my series of posts on answering common objections to the Christian faith, to share this incredible short video by Lee Strobel. Those of you who are regular readers of my blog know that this is not the first time I've shared the insight and wisdom of Lee Strobel with you.
I also shared a series of video tapes by Lee called "The Case for a Creator". If you have not watched those videos I highly recommend them if you are currently of the belief that evolution is the truth. Lee does an excellent job of dispelling this non truth as he shows his proof that the world and humanity is a creation of God.
For those who do not know who Lee Strobel is, here is a quick bio. Lee was an investigative legal reporter for the Chicago Tribune. A former atheist, in 1980 he took a journalistic approach to "dis proving" the Christian faith. 100% confident that he could attack and destroy the fallacy of the bible and the Christian faith, he took a 1 year and 9 month journey into researching and preparing to write the article of his career. What happened instead is that he found undeniable proof not only for the bible, but for the proof that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is known for saying that the resurrection of Christ is the "lynch pin" of Christianity and his pain staking research uncovered and convinced him without a doubt that the resurrection was an actual historical event.
He wrote the book "The Case for Christ" which is the 2nd book I read back in 2002 when I began my own research on spirituality. As I've explained in earlier posts, I too have a journalism background and spent my first 2 years in college studying journalism. I was a reporter for my college newspaper and was trained to uncover evidence before reporting facts. This early college training taught me to be very skeptical about things is general. I was NOT one to leap into Christianity based on the fact that it "felt right" or to "try it out and see". Which is why I studied all of the religions I could find information on before coming to the same conclusion that Lee Strobel did. Like Lee, I then gave my life to Christ and over the past 11 years I've continued on my spiritual journey...however with one big difference....the seeking ended when I found that the truth was in Jesus and the bible.
I am completely confident in saying that watching this video could very well be the most important video you ever watch. It is THAT powerful. I challenge you to watch it without pre-conceived thoughts or ideas and to put everything you have ever learned about spirituality and religion aside and open your mind to just hearing the evidence that Lee presents. Forget about all of your pre-conceived feelings about Christianity and your long list of objections. Feel free to take notes, to pause, rewind and listen again and again if you need to. Then, take that evidence and consider it...really give it some thought. If you are intrigued I then challenge you to purchase and read Lee's book "The Case for Christ". This book is also available at your local library.
You may be asking yourself...why is Debi putting so much time into this blog? Why is she trying to convince people that Christianity is true? Trust me it isn't to win any popularity contests! It isn't exactly popular or politically correct to be a Christian in 2013! Coming from a girl who would have done just about anything to be popular and liked back in High School, this goes against that totally! In fact, since starting this blog I've lost Face Book friends. Friends that knew me before I was a believer don't call me anymore....and not because I've said a word to them about my faith...just because they know I'm a Christian! Why would I chose to outcast myself from many for a lie?
Why am I sharing Christ through this blog? To share what I found over a 2 year period of over 4-6 hours a day of research (1 year before my back surgery in 2002 and 1 year after) when I was practically bed ridden due to an injured back & failed back surgery; to be the truth for all of man kind. This truth is so critically important to what we need to know in light of our future destinies that I can not not share it. Additionally, when it became clear that due to my back injury and subsequent journey with chronic pain that I could not return to my pharmaceutical sales career, I cried out in prayer one day to God. I asked Him, "WHY GOD, why oh why would you take my sales career away from me? I love it, I'm good at it! People listen to me and believe me because what I present and share is true. (referring to the products I sold at the time) I was simply devastated that the career I loved and succeeded in was over due to a fall down the stairs. Prior to my injury every day when my alarm went off for work I would bounce out of bed and eagerly drive out into the sales field to visit doctors and pharmacists to talk to them about the medications I sold. I was one of the lucky few that actually LOVED my job. I will never forget God's answer then and again recently when he re-confirmed to me when he said to me very clearly:
"My child, your gift of persuasion is no longer to be used in the pharmaceutical sales field....I need you in the mission field. Share the good news about my Son. Be a light to others"
If you are not 100% sure you have the truth regarding God and if you have not done the same amount of research that I have done and that Lee Strobel has done; and if you are not 100% sure what would happen to you if you died today...then I challenge you to realize that you can not afford to sweep this issue under the carpet any longer. From a journalistic standpoint consider this equation.
RESEARCH+ FACTS=EVIDENCE
You need EVIDENCE to be sure that what your current belief system or religious beliefs are equal truth. Just because you were raised in one religion and it is what your parents taught you does not make it true. It is up to you to be sure that you have the truth.
Enjoy this short video by Lee Strobel. As always I thank you for reading Living a Spirit Filled Life and I welcome your comments.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Objection! Christianity is a crutch.
Christianity is a crutch. Actually, it is much more embarrassing than that. If we want to stick with a medical analogy, I would say that Christianity is more like life support.
During the year after my back surgery, I got hooked on apologetics (Defending the Christian faith). As I mentioned in my testimony of faith I took a journalist's approach when I was seeking spiritual truth. I researched every religion I could find anything written about and I was NOT going to be one of those religious persons who found a blind faith all because of a "feeling it was right". No, I wanted facts. I wanted the truth. After weeks upon weeks of reading and researching I finally found truth in Christianity. Any book I could find that promised to answer questions I had about Christianity, I bought and read without hesitating. Most of these books proved to be very helpful as I met non-Christians and was able to give them reasons why Christianity was true. However as I sought out to evangelize the good news of Christ there has always been one "argument" that I hated, simply because I didn't have a good answer for it:
"Christianity is a crutch!"
It isn't much of an argument, but it is definitely an accusation that needs to be answered. What people mean by saying this is, "You are weak and have a hard time accepting reality. Reality is that you will die and then cease to exist, but you can't handle that, so you make up God, heaven, and the Bible." Recently I also was told, "That's great (Christianity) if YOU need that....but I don't" Again, referring to the fact that as a "weak person in need", I have a NEED for Christianity. This person is in sense saying "I've got life under control, I'm good...I don't NEED God" These are both pretty good accusations, but the reason why they are good is because they have a lot of truth to them.
What people don't understand when they make this accusation is that they have a misconceived idea of what state the world is actually in. If the world were a perfect place, crutches would not be needed, but because the world is incredibly messed up with tons of pain, hurt, and sin, crutches are a necessity. Whoever invented the first pair of crutches didn't do it to make a fashion statement or because it would make for a fun way to walk! They invented crutches because someone hurt their foot, knee or leg and needed help getting around. No one in their right mind would go up to a person with a broken leg and make fun of them for using crutches because crutches are not a bad thing when are broken.
So now when people fire off the accusation that Christianity is a crutch, I wholeheartedly agree with them! It is a crutch, and crutches are incredibly helpful when you have a broken leg. In this world, we not only have an occasional broken leg, but also broken hearts and lives because of sin. Sin has messed up this world drastically, and both you and I play a starring role in that drama. Because of our sin, we are in deep need, we are hurting, and we need help. Jesus is the best crutch that we could ever imagine. He not only helps us get around in this world, but also saves us from this world and ourselves.
In Luke 2, Jesus said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." The problem is that we are all sinners. The bigger problem is that most don't think so. The only thing more embarrassing than walking on crutches is limping around without them in pain pretending everything is okay. We need Jesus and He alone can heal us.
Everyone needs a crutch. It's not so much a question of whether you have one, but it is more of a question of what your particular crutch is. Unfortunately we often make other things our crutch: sex, money, our career, popularity, power, etc. In fact rather than being viewed as signs of weakness, many of these crutches are even considered to be relatively normal in society, provided they don't turn into the more destructive behavior associated with strong addiction. Nevertheless, many of these only offer a short-term release from the struggles of life and they sometimes only cover up deeper problems that a person might be suffering from. To suggest, therefore, that atheists are somehow stronger than believers is to deny the darker side of humanity, which is only too apparent if we look at the world around us.
The God of the Bible is awesome and appears to many to be a threat to mankind. A God who is all-powerful, all-knowing, righteous, holy, and just, and who is going to judge the world for it's sin, is an extremely imposing figure to ponder. Thus it is only fair to point out that some need the crutch of denying God's existence in order to live their lives as they please without fear of judgment. None of these crutches will last. They are like crutches made of soggy cardboard. We need a solid crutch that can actually support us. So if you are a believer and someone accuses you that you are weak and need a crutch, nod your head and agree with them. That is exactly who Jesus came to save.
Once again it comes back to the real issue which is the person of Jesus Christ. Does mankind need to lean on Him, or can we lean on something else? Jesus made the issue very clear,
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash" (Matthew 7:24-27, NIV)
It is important to mention however that the crutch of Christianity is NOT based on the objection that believers created or invented a Father like God to comfort themselves. If Christians were just looking for a God who would simply function as a crutch to make life easier to bear, why come up with a God who is holy and just, a God who finds many of our desires and thoughts to be immoral? Shouldn't that be the last sort of God we would want to make up if we just wanted a crutch to get through life? Wouldn't we want a God who just nods at all our behavior and desires? I certainly would have. If I was making up a God before I was a Christian he would have been the very opposite of the God I've just described. Why come up with a God who is impossible to please by our good works and effort? The truth of the matter is that Jesus never offered a crutch, only a cross; it wasn't a call to be a better person with high self esteem or a plan to help us scrape through our existence. It was a call to acknowledge that the forgiveness we all seek is to be found in him by following Him onto the cross. The Bible says that all sin and fall short of the glory of God. Because the wages of sin is death, Jesus died in our place so we could have a relationship with God....and what a relationship it is! My relationship with God is the most important relationship in my life. I look to Him daily to help me. I worship Him in thanksgiving and praise, I petition Him for help in prayer and I give Him my troubles and earthly concerns.
In conclusion, as I have discussed....Christianity in one sense is a crutch. But it is more than a crutch; it is the sure foundation, the truth of life. If Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins and creates us to be in a fellowship through Him, then to call Him a crutch would be like a light bulb saying to an electrical socket, "You are my crutch". As a light bulb was created to function properly when inserted into the socket, so we have been created to function properly in a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
During the year after my back surgery, I got hooked on apologetics (Defending the Christian faith). As I mentioned in my testimony of faith I took a journalist's approach when I was seeking spiritual truth. I researched every religion I could find anything written about and I was NOT going to be one of those religious persons who found a blind faith all because of a "feeling it was right". No, I wanted facts. I wanted the truth. After weeks upon weeks of reading and researching I finally found truth in Christianity. Any book I could find that promised to answer questions I had about Christianity, I bought and read without hesitating. Most of these books proved to be very helpful as I met non-Christians and was able to give them reasons why Christianity was true. However as I sought out to evangelize the good news of Christ there has always been one "argument" that I hated, simply because I didn't have a good answer for it:
"Christianity is a crutch!"
It isn't much of an argument, but it is definitely an accusation that needs to be answered. What people mean by saying this is, "You are weak and have a hard time accepting reality. Reality is that you will die and then cease to exist, but you can't handle that, so you make up God, heaven, and the Bible." Recently I also was told, "That's great (Christianity) if YOU need that....but I don't" Again, referring to the fact that as a "weak person in need", I have a NEED for Christianity. This person is in sense saying "I've got life under control, I'm good...I don't NEED God" These are both pretty good accusations, but the reason why they are good is because they have a lot of truth to them.
What people don't understand when they make this accusation is that they have a misconceived idea of what state the world is actually in. If the world were a perfect place, crutches would not be needed, but because the world is incredibly messed up with tons of pain, hurt, and sin, crutches are a necessity. Whoever invented the first pair of crutches didn't do it to make a fashion statement or because it would make for a fun way to walk! They invented crutches because someone hurt their foot, knee or leg and needed help getting around. No one in their right mind would go up to a person with a broken leg and make fun of them for using crutches because crutches are not a bad thing when are broken.
So now when people fire off the accusation that Christianity is a crutch, I wholeheartedly agree with them! It is a crutch, and crutches are incredibly helpful when you have a broken leg. In this world, we not only have an occasional broken leg, but also broken hearts and lives because of sin. Sin has messed up this world drastically, and both you and I play a starring role in that drama. Because of our sin, we are in deep need, we are hurting, and we need help. Jesus is the best crutch that we could ever imagine. He not only helps us get around in this world, but also saves us from this world and ourselves.
In Luke 2, Jesus said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." The problem is that we are all sinners. The bigger problem is that most don't think so. The only thing more embarrassing than walking on crutches is limping around without them in pain pretending everything is okay. We need Jesus and He alone can heal us.
Everyone needs a crutch. It's not so much a question of whether you have one, but it is more of a question of what your particular crutch is. Unfortunately we often make other things our crutch: sex, money, our career, popularity, power, etc. In fact rather than being viewed as signs of weakness, many of these crutches are even considered to be relatively normal in society, provided they don't turn into the more destructive behavior associated with strong addiction. Nevertheless, many of these only offer a short-term release from the struggles of life and they sometimes only cover up deeper problems that a person might be suffering from. To suggest, therefore, that atheists are somehow stronger than believers is to deny the darker side of humanity, which is only too apparent if we look at the world around us.
The God of the Bible is awesome and appears to many to be a threat to mankind. A God who is all-powerful, all-knowing, righteous, holy, and just, and who is going to judge the world for it's sin, is an extremely imposing figure to ponder. Thus it is only fair to point out that some need the crutch of denying God's existence in order to live their lives as they please without fear of judgment. None of these crutches will last. They are like crutches made of soggy cardboard. We need a solid crutch that can actually support us. So if you are a believer and someone accuses you that you are weak and need a crutch, nod your head and agree with them. That is exactly who Jesus came to save.
Once again it comes back to the real issue which is the person of Jesus Christ. Does mankind need to lean on Him, or can we lean on something else? Jesus made the issue very clear,
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash" (Matthew 7:24-27, NIV)
It is important to mention however that the crutch of Christianity is NOT based on the objection that believers created or invented a Father like God to comfort themselves. If Christians were just looking for a God who would simply function as a crutch to make life easier to bear, why come up with a God who is holy and just, a God who finds many of our desires and thoughts to be immoral? Shouldn't that be the last sort of God we would want to make up if we just wanted a crutch to get through life? Wouldn't we want a God who just nods at all our behavior and desires? I certainly would have. If I was making up a God before I was a Christian he would have been the very opposite of the God I've just described. Why come up with a God who is impossible to please by our good works and effort? The truth of the matter is that Jesus never offered a crutch, only a cross; it wasn't a call to be a better person with high self esteem or a plan to help us scrape through our existence. It was a call to acknowledge that the forgiveness we all seek is to be found in him by following Him onto the cross. The Bible says that all sin and fall short of the glory of God. Because the wages of sin is death, Jesus died in our place so we could have a relationship with God....and what a relationship it is! My relationship with God is the most important relationship in my life. I look to Him daily to help me. I worship Him in thanksgiving and praise, I petition Him for help in prayer and I give Him my troubles and earthly concerns.
In conclusion, as I have discussed....Christianity in one sense is a crutch. But it is more than a crutch; it is the sure foundation, the truth of life. If Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins and creates us to be in a fellowship through Him, then to call Him a crutch would be like a light bulb saying to an electrical socket, "You are my crutch". As a light bulb was created to function properly when inserted into the socket, so we have been created to function properly in a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Big Daddy Weave - "Redeemed" (Official Music Video)
kk
My current favorite worship song.
"I am redeemed, You set me free. So I'll shake off these heavy chains, wipe away every stain, I'm not used to be. I am redeemed."
"Thank God Redeemed"....amen :-)
My current favorite worship song.
"I am redeemed, You set me free. So I'll shake off these heavy chains, wipe away every stain, I'm not used to be. I am redeemed."
"Thank God Redeemed"....amen :-)
Objection!
Over the years I've heard many objections from people about why they do not believe in Christianity. If you are already a believer, I'm sure you too run into this from time to time with the people you encounter. If you are not a believer, than undoubtedly you have objections to Christianity.
The goal of the next several posts is to hopefully address some of the most common objections. My prayer is that if you are NOT currently a believer in Christianity that this blog will help you to overcome some of your questions and objections as to why you are not a believer. If you are currently a Christian than hopefully this post will help you to be able to answer these objections more effectively should they come up while in a conversation with a non believer.
At this point in my venture with this blog I've covered my testimony about how and why I came to faith in Christ, I've explored why I believe the Bible is the true, infallible word of God, why Jesus had to die and what that means for you and I've discussed why I believe the earth and everything in it is a creation of God, not the result of evolution. If you are new to my blog I recommend you read my past posts which hopefully will help to answer many of your possible questions and/or objections. If you look in the right hand column of this blog you will see past posts. Start at the beginning with my first post posted in January and work your way forward to now.
In today's post I will cover the following objection:
IF CHRISTIANITY IS TRUE, WHY ARE THERE SO MANY HYPOCRITES?
What is a hypocrite?
The Oxford English Dictionary defines hypocrisy as follows: "The assuming of a false appearance of virtue or goodness, with dissimulation of real character or inclinations, especially in respect of religious life or beliefs; hence in general sense, dissimulation, pretense, sham."
To put it in simpler terms, a hypocrite is someone who not only does not practice what one preaches, but a person who does the opposite of what one preaches. Some critics of Christianity who raise the hypocrisy objection usually point to some moral failure in the lives of Christians they know as examples of Christianity as being false or at least highly suspect. "See!" they exclaim. : There goes another hypocrite in the church! How can I believe Christianity if the church is full of hypocrites?" Before I attempt to answer this question I want to take a brief look a biblical examples of hypocrisy.
"Hypocrisy" or variations of it appear 17 times in the NIV translation of the Bible. Often it is Christ calling people hypocrites. For example in Matthew 7:3-5 He says, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, "Let me take the speck out of your eye," when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."
"You hypocrites!" in fact is a recurring phrase spoke by Jesus. (see also, for instance Matthew 6:2, 16, 7:2, 15:7 22:18, 23:13, 15, 23:23, 25, 27, 29, 24:51; Mark 7:6, Luke 6:42; 12:56, and 13:15)
Was Jesus guilty of pointing out the speck in someone else's eye when in fact he had a plank in his own? Not at all. When examining this topic Josh McDowell and Don Stewart write:
"Christianity does not stand or fall on the way Christians have acted throughout history or are acting today. Christianity stands or falls on the person of Jesus, and Jesus was not a hypocrite. He lived consistently with what He taught, and at the end of His life He challenged those who had lived with Him night and day, for over three years, to point out any hypocrisy in Him. His disciples were silent, because there was none. Since Christianity depends on Jesus, it is incorrect to try to invalidate the Christian faith by pointing to horrible things done in the name of Christianity." 1
McDowell and Stewart bring up two important points. First, whether or not Christianity is true does not depend on how it's followers behave. This, of course, does not excuse hypocrisy in the church, but neither does it mean that hypocrisy is sufficient reason to dismiss Christianity. Second, Christ was not a hypocrite in any sense of the word. Often even critics agree with this point, exalting the high moral standards of Christ without understanding His larger claims.
Are all Christians hypocrites? Not at all! In fact, the history of the Christian church is filled with examples of selflessness, courage, moral action and reform and many other positive influences on the world. These are not the acts of hypocrites, but of sincere believers transformed by the resurrected Christ and moved by the Holy Spirit to live according to God's law.
The church is a work in progress (and so are it's members). The process from a new believer to a mature Christian can be long and arduous, but someday it will be complete and stand as a beautiful testimony to the power of Christ to transform lives for the better. Remember, too, that only some professing Christians act hypocritically. What about all those who do not?
We must also remember that, biblically speaking, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:23-24) In other words, no one is perfect and all are dependent on Christ for redemption, salvation and growth in spiritual maturity.
On one hand, Christians should not act hypocritically lest we give critics the flimsy objection to reject the gospel message. On the other hand, critics should no better attempt to throw out Christianity and all of Christ's claims on the objection of hypocrisy.
As I pointed out in my testimony of faith, don't let the failures or actions of people keep you from God. People can and will fail you, but God never fails. Both my parents and my husband's parents left the church due to the hypocritical actions of a person or people in the church. They allowed the actions of a few misguided people to turn them against the church. My husband and myself were also terribly hurt and disappointed in the past by someone in the church as well. However these actions of this person did NOT shake our faith in the Lord or erase what Christ did for us on the cross. In fact it encouraged us to pray for that person and his/her actions and shortcomings in how they treated our family. Lastly, just because someone claims to be a Christian does not mean they are. Sadly, often these are the people who fall into the trap of hypocrisy thus lending people to point the finger at ALL Christians and Christianity as a whole.
__________________________________________________
1 Josh McDowell and Don Stewart, Answers to Tough Questions Skeptics Ask About the Christian Faith (Here's Life Publishers, 1980), 128
The goal of the next several posts is to hopefully address some of the most common objections. My prayer is that if you are NOT currently a believer in Christianity that this blog will help you to overcome some of your questions and objections as to why you are not a believer. If you are currently a Christian than hopefully this post will help you to be able to answer these objections more effectively should they come up while in a conversation with a non believer.
At this point in my venture with this blog I've covered my testimony about how and why I came to faith in Christ, I've explored why I believe the Bible is the true, infallible word of God, why Jesus had to die and what that means for you and I've discussed why I believe the earth and everything in it is a creation of God, not the result of evolution. If you are new to my blog I recommend you read my past posts which hopefully will help to answer many of your possible questions and/or objections. If you look in the right hand column of this blog you will see past posts. Start at the beginning with my first post posted in January and work your way forward to now.
In today's post I will cover the following objection:
IF CHRISTIANITY IS TRUE, WHY ARE THERE SO MANY HYPOCRITES?
What is a hypocrite?
The Oxford English Dictionary defines hypocrisy as follows: "The assuming of a false appearance of virtue or goodness, with dissimulation of real character or inclinations, especially in respect of religious life or beliefs; hence in general sense, dissimulation, pretense, sham."
To put it in simpler terms, a hypocrite is someone who not only does not practice what one preaches, but a person who does the opposite of what one preaches. Some critics of Christianity who raise the hypocrisy objection usually point to some moral failure in the lives of Christians they know as examples of Christianity as being false or at least highly suspect. "See!" they exclaim. : There goes another hypocrite in the church! How can I believe Christianity if the church is full of hypocrites?" Before I attempt to answer this question I want to take a brief look a biblical examples of hypocrisy.
"Hypocrisy" or variations of it appear 17 times in the NIV translation of the Bible. Often it is Christ calling people hypocrites. For example in Matthew 7:3-5 He says, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, "Let me take the speck out of your eye," when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."
"You hypocrites!" in fact is a recurring phrase spoke by Jesus. (see also, for instance Matthew 6:2, 16, 7:2, 15:7 22:18, 23:13, 15, 23:23, 25, 27, 29, 24:51; Mark 7:6, Luke 6:42; 12:56, and 13:15)
Was Jesus guilty of pointing out the speck in someone else's eye when in fact he had a plank in his own? Not at all. When examining this topic Josh McDowell and Don Stewart write:
"Christianity does not stand or fall on the way Christians have acted throughout history or are acting today. Christianity stands or falls on the person of Jesus, and Jesus was not a hypocrite. He lived consistently with what He taught, and at the end of His life He challenged those who had lived with Him night and day, for over three years, to point out any hypocrisy in Him. His disciples were silent, because there was none. Since Christianity depends on Jesus, it is incorrect to try to invalidate the Christian faith by pointing to horrible things done in the name of Christianity." 1
McDowell and Stewart bring up two important points. First, whether or not Christianity is true does not depend on how it's followers behave. This, of course, does not excuse hypocrisy in the church, but neither does it mean that hypocrisy is sufficient reason to dismiss Christianity. Second, Christ was not a hypocrite in any sense of the word. Often even critics agree with this point, exalting the high moral standards of Christ without understanding His larger claims.
Are all Christians hypocrites? Not at all! In fact, the history of the Christian church is filled with examples of selflessness, courage, moral action and reform and many other positive influences on the world. These are not the acts of hypocrites, but of sincere believers transformed by the resurrected Christ and moved by the Holy Spirit to live according to God's law.
The church is a work in progress (and so are it's members). The process from a new believer to a mature Christian can be long and arduous, but someday it will be complete and stand as a beautiful testimony to the power of Christ to transform lives for the better. Remember, too, that only some professing Christians act hypocritically. What about all those who do not?
We must also remember that, biblically speaking, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:23-24) In other words, no one is perfect and all are dependent on Christ for redemption, salvation and growth in spiritual maturity.
On one hand, Christians should not act hypocritically lest we give critics the flimsy objection to reject the gospel message. On the other hand, critics should no better attempt to throw out Christianity and all of Christ's claims on the objection of hypocrisy.
As I pointed out in my testimony of faith, don't let the failures or actions of people keep you from God. People can and will fail you, but God never fails. Both my parents and my husband's parents left the church due to the hypocritical actions of a person or people in the church. They allowed the actions of a few misguided people to turn them against the church. My husband and myself were also terribly hurt and disappointed in the past by someone in the church as well. However these actions of this person did NOT shake our faith in the Lord or erase what Christ did for us on the cross. In fact it encouraged us to pray for that person and his/her actions and shortcomings in how they treated our family. Lastly, just because someone claims to be a Christian does not mean they are. Sadly, often these are the people who fall into the trap of hypocrisy thus lending people to point the finger at ALL Christians and Christianity as a whole.
__________________________________________________
1 Josh McDowell and Don Stewart, Answers to Tough Questions Skeptics Ask About the Christian Faith (Here's Life Publishers, 1980), 128
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