We all know folks who are hypocrites and others who are extremists… and some who are both.
This might sound hard to swallow, but neither the presence of hypocrites nor extremists make a belief system unreasonable. It means that there is a wide range of followers of the belief system.
We all know Christians who exhibit hypocrisy. Some do it only rarely, some seem to shovel it our way like a homeowner after a blizzard in Minnesota – almost non-stop. I could and would never defend hypocrisy for two reasons: 1) it has been practiced by most, if not all of us at least at some points in life and 2) It has been practiced by me many times and for long seasons. From the perspective of the culprit, what we ideally want is for people to forgive us for our past hypocrisy and pray that we would be free from it in the future.
But this post isn’t about hypocrisy. It is about the core position of those who hold a belief and the reasonableness of that position. Sure, there are climate change hypocrites who fly around in private jets and socialism hypocrites who deeply enjoy and employ the fruits of pure capitalism, but the presence of hypocrites doesn’t make the core position unreasonable.
The first question I would like to ask is about the Christians that you know and have spent some time with enough to get to know. In general, are they happy, content, caring, giving, and forgiving people? If not, I suggest that they are either living in a season of distance from God or not really Christians. God the Father does not let His true adopted children languish long in sin without bringing discipline into their lives – like any good parent would do.
It is easy to focus on those Christians who fall into these categories if you are a non or anti Christian. I get that, but is it reasonable to question the belief system on the basis of some outliers? I suggest not. My experience may be quite different from yours, but the vast majority of people that I have known who identify as Christians are people who are joyful, content, caring, giving, and forgiving.
The real question is, is this a life and lifestyle that seems admirable and admire-able? I suggest to you that if a person rejects Christianity because she/he does not want to be joyful, content, caring, giving, and forgiving has some deep rooted problems. What person in their right mind would not want a life characterized by these qualities?
The second question I would like to ask is what do you think is at the core of this life and lifestyle? Could they all be hypnotized, brainwashed, or drugged? Well, anyone can try to defend anything, but this seems highly unlikely. It seems far more likely that they are on to something…. not on something.
What if what they are onto is metaphysical and spiritual truth and have had their individual lives transformed by the power and presence of a powerful and present Heavenly Father?
What if?
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For His Glory,
Jim