Five Obstacles

In Monday’s Nederlands Dagblad there was a report from a conference where, among other things, attention was given to five reasons why people turn away from Christianity. In my own words, I will summarize them here:

1. the arrogant claim that only Christians go to heaven;
2. the intellectual problem of how a powerful and loving God can allow suffering;
3. science, which does away with a literal reading of Genesis 1;
4. the injustice that is perpetuated in the world partly because of orthodox Christianity;
5. the straitjacket of Christian rules that deprives people of moral freedom.

The criticism of Christianity reflected in these points seems to me, in part, entirely justified. I will briefly go through the list.

To begin with the last point: Christianity has indeed understood little of the freedom proclaimed by the “apostle of the nations” (“All is allowed me, but not all is expedient”). The lifestyle Paul presents is not dictatorial but logical (cf. Romans 12:2).

The fourth point is closely connected with a fatal misunderstanding of Paul’s message concerning “the Secret.” We live in a time in which Christ is hidden and is emphatically not engaged in subjecting the world to Himself. Christianity, on the other hand, has always regarded it as its task to leave its mark on the world. As a result, Christianity has become, to no small degree, partly responsible for the injustice in the world.

The third obstacle would, to a considerable extent, melt away like snow in the sun if people understood that the seven days of Genesis 1 began in a devastated world (verse 2). Genesis 1 describes the restoration of a devastated earth. “The present world” was preceded by “the then world” (2 Peter 3:6, 7). Fossils and geological strata are the silent witnesses to this. In traditional Christianity, this first, long-lasting eon is virtually unknown.

The second point of criticism is undoubtedly, together with number one, the most important rational obstacle preventing people from taking Christianity seriously. Christianity as a whole is completely at a loss when faced with the question of how the concept of a loving and powerful God can be reconciled with evil in the world. After all, it believes that the entrance of evil was, in effect, a mistake on God’s part (Isaiah 45:7; 46:10). Through the devil and the eating of the notorious fruit, God’s plan was thwarted. According to Scripture, that is impossible. Evil in the world is the dark backdrop against which God intends to make the jewels of His grace and love shine!

The first objection listed above is connected with this. Put sharply: the God of Christianity is a loser. Because, according to Christianity, the entrance of evil into the world was unintended, God has been left dealing with the wreckage ever since and is now trying to save whatever can still be saved. The saved, then, are the Christians. The rest are hopelessly lost and await hell. This idea not only portrays God as unloving toward His own creations; above all, it shows how completely He has lost control.

In any case, where darkness dominates the Christian world to such an extent, this gives the GoedBericht site (UltimateGoodNews.com) all the more reason to let the light given by God shine all the more brightly!

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