Evangelism:
The Joy of Sharing the Good News.
Part 17.
This week we continue to look at how to deal with objections when you share the gospel. In part 16 we discussed objections related to the existence of God. This week we address objections related to truth itself, and the mistaken idea that Jesus was a good man and great teacher, but nothing more.
First, let’s look at five objections related to truth.
- Agnosticism – “Truth cannot be known.”
This is self-defeating. The agnostic may say he knows enough about reality to affirm that nothing can be known about reality. However, if you know that you don’t know anything, then at least you know that much. This means you have positive knowledge of something and can no longer claim to be fully agnostic. If there is one thing you can know then there might be other things. Jesus Christ claimed we can know God and his truth.
- Skepticism – “We must doubt whether anything can be known.”
This is also self-defeating. Do you doubt your position? If you don’t doubt that you should doubt, then there is one thing you can be certain of. If there is one thing there may be other things you can be certain of. Jesus Christ claimed we can have knowledge of God through a relationship with Him.
To silence the skeptic, ask: “Do you doubt your existence?”
If they answer yes, then point out that they must exist in order to doubt and that certainly should remove their doubts. If they answer no, then show them that there at least some things which are beyond doubt.
Furthermore, to hold off making a decision about the world is actually making a decision about the world. Your car is on the railroad tracks and the train is coming. To not make the decision to move is to decide for death.
- Subjectivism – “Truth is what feels right.”
This is either a truth claim or it is not. If it’s not, it has no rightful claim to knowledge. If it is a truth claim it must have a truth test — not all claims can be true, at least not contrary ones. If two people have different feelings about the same statement, what test determines what is true? Once the person offers justification for his position it moves beyond feeling and thus undermines subjectivism.
Feelings do not determine truth. You may subjectively believe a gun is not loaded when it is. If it is and you discharge it aimed at your foot, then you will have a hole in your foot!
Further, feelings are a poor test for what is true. Why? Feelings or emotions change.
- Relativism “Truth is relative. There is no absolute truth.”
This is another self-defeating view. The claim that is there is one absolute truth, or that there is no absolute truth. If there is an absolute truth, then relativism is an untenable position.
There are absolute truths and moral judgments (e.g., It is always wrong to torture an infant). But relativists are not consistent with their beliefs. They live with “should” and “should not” statements and values.
- Positivism – “You shouldn’t believe anything that hasn’t been proven scientifically.”
Once again, this is self-defeating. What’s the scientific proof of that statement? It is a philosophical statement, not one proved by the scientific method.
To summarize all of that in one thought: Truth is that which corresponds to reality — what God says is true.
Jesus was a Good Man and Great Teacher, but Nothing More
A common objection from unbelievers — particularly those who subscribe to other faiths — is that Jesus Christ was a good man and great teacher, but nothing more.
However, Jesus Christ cannot be a good moral teacher given who he claimed to be. In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis presents the issue succinctly:
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.
Here are three examples of things Jesus said that disprove this idea:
- Jesus Christ claimed to be God, and the people in the monotheistic culture of the time understood his claims. See John 10:30-33; John 5:17,18; and Mark 2:5-7.
- He claimed to be the source of eternal life. See John 5:21-24; 6:47.
- Jesus accepted worship as God. See John 20:25-29; Matthew 16:16-17; 28:8-9, and 16-17.
So given his claim to be God, Jesus was a either liar, a lunatic, or Lord. Which is it?
- Liar – Why do liars lie? To get something for themselves. What did Jesus get out of his “lie”? He was misunderstood, hated, rejected, betrayed, persecuted, spit on, whipped, tried, tortured, and crucified. Hardly a list of perks. And his disciples got the very same thing out of it — if they are the ones who invented the lie. That makes no sense at all. Philip Schaff said: “How in the name of logic, common sense, and experience could an imposter — that is, a deceitful, selfish, depraved man — have invented and consistently maintained from the beginning to end the purest and noblest character known in history with the most perfect air of truth and reality?”
- Lunatic – Jesus was too wise, too perceptive, and too good with people. In Jesus we don’t find the abnormalities and imbalance associated with being deranged. Again, from Philip Schaff: “Is such an intellect — clear as the sky, bracing as the mountain air, sharp and penetrating as a sword, thoroughly healthy and vigorous, always ready and always self-possessed — liable to a radical and most serious delusion concerning His own character and mission. Preposterous imagination!”
- Lord — Do you believe Jesus was a liar? Do you believe He was a lunatic? There is only one option left — Jesus is who He claimed to be: God incarnate.
Another frequent objection is that Christianity is narrow-minded. How can Jesus be the only way?
You could respond to this with a few questions: “Do you ever fill your gas tank with diesel or water?” Wait for their response, then ask “Why not?” Then ask them what 2 + 2 equals. Can they name an instance where 2 + 2 does not equal 4?
Then ask if he or she would agree truth can be exclusive. Of course, it is good for someone to admit the possibility that they might be wrong. Plus it’s never good to maintain a wrong position no matter what the evidence is against it. Do we remain open-minded when all the evidence says there can only be one conclusion? You cannot really be open-minded unless you are open to some real absolutes that cannot be denied.
The belief — and truth —of Jesus as the only Lord and Savior is often called intolerance. But the word “intolerance” refers to someone’s manner or attitude they hold toward truth — not to truth itself. The fact is that truth is intolerant of error. To maintain otherwise is not open-minded. It’s empty-headed. Jesus claimed to be the only way to God (see John 14:6, Acts 4:12, 1 Timothy 2:5, and 1 John 5:11-12). Doing so makes him either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord.
Finally, another objection you will hear is that all religions ultimately lead to God (or the same reality).
This can be called the “mountain analogy” — many paths lead up the mountain. People venture up a mountain from different points at the bottom but eventually they all reach the same peak. What's wrong with this idea?
- It contradicts the teaching of the religions themselves.
- It presumes various faiths lead to eternal life or liberation beyond death.
- It assumes God has not uniquely revealed himself to mankind.
On a purely human level, death prevents us from validating the claim that all religions ultimately bring us to God. Only God himself — or one who came back from the dead — could verify which way truly leads to God. Both of these qualifications are fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ! He singularly claims to be God incarnate and demonstrates this truth by his miraculous life and resurrection from the dead. Praise be to God!
We will look at more objections in next week’s installment.