If
there's so much good evidence for Christianity, and if it's so good, then why
are there so few Christians?
Why do you ask?
It seems to me that if Christianity Is true, lots of people ought to
believe in it.
Would the number of people who believe in it make a difference for you? Would it
determine whether you would believe in It or not?
It would influence my
decision a lot.
It shouldn't.
Why not?
Because truth isn't determined by popular vote. We determine what Is true by
examining evidence and logic, not by counting how many people believe it.
Remember, once the vast majority of mankind believed the world was flat not
round. That didn't make the world flat, did it?
No.
Then the number of people who believe or don't believe something doesn't
determine the truth of the thing.
Okay, but I'm still interested. How come there are so few Christians?
First, let's get some idea of the figures we're talking about. Christians might
not be so few as you think
Going to church and calling oneself a Christian does not automatically make one
a Christian, some people just do it because their parents did, and they don't
really believe in Jesus themselves. Still, we might get some idea of the extent
of Christianity's appeal If we recognize that about a third‑32%—of the world's
people affiliate with Christianity. The next most popular religion Is Islam,
with about 17% of the world's people, followed by Hinduism with about 13%,
Buddhism and Taoism with about 8%, Confucianism with about 5%, and Animism with
about 3%. About a fifth of the world's people—20%‑affillate with no religion. So
Christianity is the world's most popular religion.
Still, about 2/3 of the world's people don't call themselves Christians, and not
all who call themselves Christians really are. It takes a personal commitment to
Jesus Christ to be a Christian. So why aren't more people Christians? There are
several reasons.
Many have never heard of Christianity. It's no wonder that they aren't
Christians. Some are surprised at the simplicity of the good news about Jesus.
The Idea that all that is necessary to be reconciled to God Is to believe in
Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord seems to them too simple. They want to work for
God's favor, even though Jesus taught that we must have the attitude of
simplicity that we find In little children If we are to be His followers
(Matthew 18:3). Because Christianity teaches salvation by grace, not by works,
it doesn't sit well with those who are proud of their good works. This is why,
as the Apostle Paul put it, there are "not many wise according to the flesh, not
many mighty, not many noble" among Christians (1 Corinthians 1:26). It's not
that wise people don't become Christians, but that people who pride themselves
in their wisdom don't tend to become Christians; they can't humble themselves to
believe something so simple. Some of the most brilliant thinkers In history have
been Christians‑but they were people who did not let their great knowledge make
them proud and boastful.
Some reject Christianity because they have a mistaken idea of what it is. In
this case they're not Intentionally rejecting real Christianity, they're
rejecting a fake Christianity. But because of that fake Christianity, they don't
take the time to look carefully at the real Christianity. They think
Christianity is a set of negative duties—"Don't do this, don't do that, don't do
this other thing. "They get the idea that when you believe in Jesus you resign
your‑self to a life of unhappiness, restrictions, and, boredom. But that isn't
Christianity at all.
When someone trusts Jesus as Savior, he becomes truly free. Jesus said if He
made you free, you would be truly free (John 8:36). Jesus sets people free from
things that have them imprisoned so that they can be the sort of people they
were meant to be. "I came that they might have life," Jesus said, "and might
have it abundantly" (John 10:10).
Some don't become Christians because of guilt feelings. They have lived lives in
which they've committed many ugly deeds, and they don't believe they can be
forgiven by God. But the Bible clearly teaches that anyone without exception,
who seeks God and desires to be forgiven of his sins will be forgiven. There is
no sin that is too great for God to forgive, only unbelief can stop someone from
going to heaven. If a person refuses to believe in Jesus Christ then there is
no hope for him.
Some reject Jesus because of some specific sin in their lives. They realize that
if they are to follow Jesus they will have to stop doing that particular sin,
and they just don't want to stop that. Jesus said of such people, "And this Is
the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness
rather than the light; for their deeds were evil" (John 3:19).
Some refuse Jesus because they are self‑centered. Christianity maybe simple‑all
It asks is for a person to be sorry for his sins, to determine to forsake them,
and to cast himself on Jesus in trust that He will forgive and cleanse him from
sin‑but it isn't necessarily easy. It requires that we surrender ourselves to
Him, that we admit our own inadequacy, our own inability to make ourselves
acceptable to God. For a self‑centered person, that's not easy at all. This
keeps many from believing in Jesus.
Some claim they have intellectual objections to Christianity~ yet when all those
objections have been answered, they still don't become Christians. Sometimes
they begin asking the same questions again, as if they hadn't been answered.
Normally this indicates that they don't object for intellectual reasons but
because they simply aren't willing to renounce their pride and cast their fate
on Jesus Christ. Paul describes such people as trying to suppress the truth In
unrighteousness (Romans 1: 18).
After all this, it remains true that popularity does not establish truth or
falsehood. The real question Is, "What are you going to do? How are you going to
respond to Jesus, now that you have seen a great deal of evidence for the truth
of Christianity?"
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I guess I can understand that. But
something's bothering me. You keep quoting the Bible as if you knew it were
true. I don’t believe that.
I believe the Bible Is true because Jesus did, and Jesus couldn't have been
wrong about that, since He is God.
How do you
know Jesus believed the Bible was true?
Jesus referred many times to the Old Testament, and always with the utmost trust
in its truth and reliability. He never questioned its truth, but always assumed
it (Luke 11:51; Matthew 24:37; John 8:56; Luke 10:12; 17:28; Matthew 8:11; Mark
2:25, and many other references). Jesus exemplified absolute trust in the
historical and doctrinal parts of the Old Testament alike (Matthew 4:1‑11; Luke
4.1‑13).
One common way of referring to the Old Testament in Jesus' day was to call it
"the Law and the Prophets." At the start of Jesus' ministry, He explained, "Do
not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets: I did not come to
abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass
away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all
is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and
so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever
keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven"
(Matthew 5:17‑19).
Once when Jesus was arguing with some Jewish leaders who resented His claiming
to be equal with God, Jesus quoted from the Old Testament, called It "the word
of God," and added, "and the Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35),
indicating His absolute respect for the Old Testament.
What about the New
Testament? None of that was written until after Jesus died.
Jesus promised His followers that the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the
Trinity, would so guide their thoughts that they would remember perfectly all
that He had taught them, so that they could pass that along to others (John
14:26). It is apparent from their writings that they understood Him to mean that
their writings would be of equal value with the Old Testament. Peter, for
instance, put Paul's writings on a level with the Old Testament (2 Peter 3:16),
and Paul consistently claimed that his teaching and writing were God's words (1
Thessalonians 2:13, 1 Corinthians 7:40).
Paul described the Old Testament as "God‑breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16), and Jesus'
promise to His followers indicates that their writings would be equally of
divine origin.
See, you're doing it
again? You're quoting the Bible to convince me that the Bible is God's Word.
Just because the Bible says it is God's Word doesn't prove that it is!
You're right It doesn't
But that isn't quite what I'm doing.
What do you mean?
You are quoting the Bible.
Yes, but I'm quoting it with the assumption that it is merely generally reliable
historically. I'm not quoting it with the assumption that it is God's Word.
So what's the
difference?
The difference is that I'm not "arguing in a circle," as the logicians would
put it, but in a straight line.
The New Testament, which we assume to begin with is merely historically
reliable, has solid historical evidence in it that Jesus rose from the dead,
proving that He was who He said He was. If Jesus was who He said He was, then
whatever He says is true, since God knows everything and doesn't lie. The New
Testament also gives me solid historical evidence that Jesus taught that the
Bible is God's Word and completely true. If He was who He said He was, then
whatever He said about the Bible is true. So if Jesus was who He said He was,
and if He said that the Bible is God's Word, then the Bible is God's Word.
I have as much reason to believe that the Bible is God's Word, then, as I have
to believe Jesus is who He said He was; and I have as much reason to believe
that as I have to believe He rose from the dead. You've already agreed that this
evidence is strong. So you, too, have that same amount of evidence to lead you
to believe the Bible is God's Word.
I think I understand
what you're saying, but it's still not completely clear to me.
Think of it as an argument
with five steps and a conclusion:
1. The New Testament is a basically reliable and trustworthy historical document.
2.
On the basis of this reliable document we have sufficient evidence to
believe confidently that Jesus Christ is who he said he was, namely God.
3.
As God, Jesus Christ is an infallible authority; He never believes or teaches
anything that is false.
4. Jesus Christ teaches that the Bible is more than basically
reliable and trustworthy; He says that it is the Word of God and is absolutely
true.
5. If the Bible is God's
Word, then it must be without error.
Conclusion: On the basis of the infallible authority of Jesus Christ, Christians
have sound reason to believe that the Bible is utterly truthful and is God's
Word.
Okay, I can see the
strength of that argument. But I’m still not convinced that the Bible is God's
Word.
I don't think I can give you a stronger argument than this, but I can give you
some additional reasons.
First, the Bible is unique. It was written over a period of 1,500years by more
that 40 different authors, In three different languages, on three different
continents. Its authors ranged from high government officials, peasants,
military officers, and fishermen, to a prime minister, a cupbearer for a king,
religious teachers, and others. It purports to tell us of the beginning and end
of the world. It claims to be God's Word‑a claim made by very few other
writings, and substantiated by none but the Bible. It has survived innumerable
attempts to destroy it from the face of the earth.
Another thing that bolsters my belief that the Bible is God's Words is its
amazing unity. Although the Bible speaks on hundreds of controversial topics, it
never contradicts itself. This would be amazing enough for a book as long as it
is if it had been written by only one man. It would be even more amazing had it
been written by ten contemporaries who were friends. It would be even more
amazing if it had been written by ten men who were not contemporaries. But the
Bible was written by forty men over a span of 1,500 years, and they were from
different cultural backgrounds.
Its unity extends to more than the fact that it doesn't contradict itself. From
beginning to end, there's one unfolding story of God's plan of salvation for
mankind. This salvation is in Jesus Christ, and Jesus is the central theme of
the whole Bible, from beginning to end. Jesus Himself claimed this: "You search
the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is
these that bear witness of Me; ... For if you believed Moses, you would believe
Me; for he wrote of Me. But If you do not believe his writings, how will you
believe My words?" (John 5:39,46,47).
The Old Testament prepares us for the coming of Jesus; the gospels tell of His
life; the Book of Acts tells of the early spreading of the good news about
Jesus' life and death and resurrection; the letters by Paul, Peter, James, John
and others explain the good news and elucidate Jesus' teachings; and the Book of
Revelation is about the end of the world and Jesus' triumph over all evil. The
whole Bible is about Jesus!
I think this unity is something beyond man's ability to produce. I think it
indicates that someone else did it and I think God is the best explanation for
this unity.
There's one other evidence I'd like to mention briefly (there are more, but we
don't really have the time to discuss them and some require access to lots of
books to ascertain the facts). The Bible has an enormous power to change the
lives of people. Throughout history, people who have believed in Jesus Christ
and determined to trust their Bibles and read them frequently and carefully have
seen their lives changed for the better in ways they could never have imagined
possible otherwise. I believe this is one more sign that the Bible is more than
a human product.
You claim that the Bible is unified, but I’ve heard the Old Testament
describes God as vengeful, hateful, and demanding justice, while the New
Testament describes Him as gracious, loving, and forgiving.
The Old Testament as truly pictures God as loving, forgiving, and patient with
man as does the New and the New Testament as truly pictures Him as just and as
punishing those who refuse to submit to Him as does the Old. Neither pictures
God as hateful.
In the Old Testament we learn that God was patient for hundreds of years with
the Amorites before finally exercising judgment on them (Genesis 15:16). God
Himself declared His patience and love for rebellious people when He said, "Do I
have any pleasure in the death of the wicked.... rather than that he should turn
from his ways and live?" (Ezekiel 18:23). When His own people, Israel, rebelled
against Him, He pleaded with them, "Repent and turn away from all your
transgressions, so that iniquity may not become a stumbling block to you. Cast
away from you all your transgressions which you have committed, and make
yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why will you die, O house of
Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,... Therefore,
repent and live" (Ezekiel 18:30‑32).
King David knew of the loving mercy of God, too. "I sought the LORD, and He
answered me, and delivered me from all my fears," David wrote (Psalm 34:4).
Elsewhere he wrote, "Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the
desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He
will do it. And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your
judgment as the noonday" (Psalm 37:4,5). His view of God could be summed up in
this: "The earth is fun of the lovingkindness of the LORD" (Psalm 33:5).
The New Testament of course speaks often of God's love. I have already referred
to John 3:16, where Jesus said, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whoever believes In Him should not perish, but have
eternal life."
Yet the New Testament also teaches of God's just judgment on sinners who refuse
to repent and seek His forgiveness. Jesus Himself did not hesitate to speak of
those who would "go away into eternal punishment" (Matthew 25:46), and Paul
reminded Christians not to take vengeance for themselves against people who
offended them, but to leave that to God, for "'Vengeance Is Mine, I will
repay,' says the Lord" (Romans 12:19). Near the end of Revelation, the last book
of the Bible, we read of the punishment to come upon all who finally and utterly
reject God (Revelation 20).
So the Bible truly is
consistent in its picture of God.
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