15 Things Non-Believers Want Religious People To Explain...
28th August 2024
A couple of weeks ago I came across an interesting article on msn.com entitled: 15 Things Non-Believers Want Religious People To Explain. I was immediately struck by the tone of it. The author, Susan Jones begins by saying:
"You never have to justify your religious beliefs to anyone. However, for atheists, there are some things about religion that just don’t add up.
These aren’t gotcha questions or attempts to mock your faith. They’re sincere inquiries that get to the heart of why some people can’t jump on the belief bandwagon, no matter how much we might want to.
If you’re game for some respectful but direct dialogue, consider these 15 questions that atheists would love to hear your take on."
SUSAN JONES
Reading through the questions - the tone of "respectful but direct dialogue" continues throughout, and I thought it would be great to take up the invitation to share my take on her sincere and searching questions.
So, I've set myself a challenge. Over the next 15 weeks (or possibly more if I miss a week, or need more than one blog to answer a question!) I'll be doing my best to engage with each issue raised the article - in the same spirit of respectful dialogue.
If you fancy coming along for the ride, we will be launching out next week - but before we start off, let me share a few initial thoughts...
For me, there was something quite moving about Susan's introduction - especially in the phrase:
"They’re sincere inquiries that get to the heart of why some people can’t jump on the belief bandwagon, no matter how much we might want to..."
Some people don't believe in God and are quite content with that position.
The famous atheist, Thomas Nagel once wrote:
I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God and, naturally, hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe to be like that.
THOMAS NAGEL
But there are other people who don't believe... but would love to be able to.
A number of years back I was running a street-work project. We had a large banner printed that simply said:
"I'd like to believe, BUT..." We stood in front of the banner with clipboards at the ready, offering a free takeaway coffee to anyone would finish the sentence for us. As you'd imagine they were a huge range of responses! One thing that was clear to me though, was that the question of faith is rarely a purely theoretical one - many people had deeply personal reasons for not believing, something we'll come back to I'm sure during this blog series.
Writing this, I'm reminded me of an old Michael W. Smith song:
Calling Heaven from his album:
Lead You Home. For some reason, the lyrics of this particular song are lodged really deeply in my mind. In the song, he is wrestling with some fairly massive questions; but at it's heart the song is a cry for mercy. Each chorus ends with the rather haunting line:
"Tell me there's a place for these."
In one verse he sings:
What of the noble who are searching for the truth
With truest of intentions
And yet they're jaded by hypocrisies behind cathedral walls?
Calling heaven, seeking mercy. Tell me there's a place for these!
CALLING HEAVEN (MICHAEL W. SMITH)
Sometimes what puts people off believing is believers themselves. What happens to those people?
It's a big question.
And an honest one.
Others may disagree with me here, but I'm not sure there is an easy answer to it...
However... I am very grateful that:
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I am not the judge,
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that the One who is the Judge sees beyond mere outward appearances, and knows our hearts,
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that His own heart is full of compassion and love, justice and mercy,
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and that this Judge wants to be known by us as a Father, a Forgiver, and a Friend.
As I type these words, I am acutely aware that the last four points are, of course, statements of faith in themselves. Each one merits an explanation as to why I consider them true if they are to hold any value to anyone else.
I will explore this further as this blog series progresses - but let me say this for now: If, as a Christian, I hold that Jesus is actually God Incarnate (literally, "God-in-the-flesh") then the way I think about God is informed and inspired by His life and character. And so the deeper question of Jesus' true nature and identity will be inescapable as we journey through the Christian responses to these questions.
And given the incredible (and unlikely) impact that this Jesus has had on the world, it can't be a bad place to start.
One historian from Yale University once wrote:
Regardless of what anyone may personally think or believe about Him, Jesus of Nazareth has been the dominant figure in the history of Western culture for almost twenty centuries. If it were possible, with some sort of super magnet, to pull up out of history every scrap of metal bearing at least a trace of his name, how much would be left?
It is from His birth that most of the human race dates its calendars, it is by His name that millions curse and in His name that millions pray.
JAROSLAV PELIKAN
Whether we want to believe or not - this Jesus of Nazareth simply refuses to go away.
Which begs the question - why is that?
H.G. Wells, who was a non-believer, once wrote:
More than 1900 years later, a historian like myself, who doesn’t even call himself a Christian, finds the picture centering irresistibly around the life and character of this most significant man… The historian’s test of an individual’s greatness is ‘what did they leave to grow?’ Did they start people to thinking along fresh lines with a vigor that persisted after him?
By this test, Jesus stands first.
H.G. WELLS
Of course H.G. Wells was writing a while back - but given, that there are an estimated 2.38 billion (and counting) Christians worldwide I think his claim still holds true: Jesus stands first. What He left behind has grown and grown to this very day. He has, quite simply, impacted the history of this planet like no-one else.
Maybe you don't believe... but count yourself among those who would love to.
Maybe you don't believe... but would like to more about why Jesus continues you have such an impact the world so much.
Or maybe you do believe... but would like to dive a bit deeper into the reasons for faith.
I really hope this blog will help the journey.
Before we set off proper - there's a few other things I'd like to share, including why I probably shouldn't be answering the "15 thing non-believers want religious people to explain" as I don't consider myself to be "religious"! But more on that tomorrow...