In this post, I wanted to address the four common responses I get from Christians when they are asked why Christianity is true and other faiths are wrong.  I will have to save that for my next post.

Why?

I blame my good friend Stephen Hammond and what he pointed out in the comments of the previous post. Thank you for the insight, Stephen! You always make me think.

Before we can ask “Is Christianity true?” we have to ask “What is Christianity?” There are so many different versions of Christianity, it is impossible to pick one as “true Christianity” or to lump them all together as one unified “Christianity.” As we are all aware, it is certainly not unified. And so, since not all of these versions can be completely right, some of them must be false, or at least partially false.

Let me take it a bit further. There is no version of Christianity which is completely true. That’s right. You and your church do not have a corner on the truth market. Nor do I. We all believe and practice some error. Yes, there is some heresy in you too. (The trick is finding it.)

Furthermore, when we talk about Christianity being true, and other religions being false, just as we cannot say that all of Christianity is true, we also cannot say that all aspects of all other faiths are untrue. To the contrary, there is a lot of truth in every religion in the world. Let me go so far as to say that certain religions probably have more truth than some versions of Christianity!

So in the following posts, when I continue to ask “Is Christianity true?” what I really mean is, “Why do you believe and practice what you do? How do you know that it is true?” 

Even this question is too vague, but I’ll have to leave it at that…

As much as possible, I have always tried to observe and interact with people of many different religions and faith backgrounds. My current job affords me this opportunity much more than ever before.

A question I keep coming back to is “How do we know that Christianity is right and other faiths are wrong?” When I pose this question to various people of Christianity, I generally get one of four answers (if I am not immediately condemned for asking such a question). They are:

1. I’ve experienced God and so I know it’s true.
2. Christianity results in more substantial life change than other faiths. In other words, Christians live better lives, so it must be true.  
3. The Bible, which Christianity is based on, doesn’t have the errors and contradictions that are present in the “Holy books” of other faiths. It doesn’t contradict itself, nor does it contradict the facts of history and science (considering evolution is a theory). Therefore, the Bible can be trusted as true revelation from God.
4. God answers prayer and provides signs and wonders, which proves Christianity is true. This includes things like prophecy and healing.

Here is the curious thing: As I interact with people of other religions, and through the course of conversation find out why they hold their beliefs, I find that nearly all people of all religions have these same four basic arguments for why their beliefs are true. Some throw in a few other explanations (I just grew up with it… It’s the oldest religion… We have a great tradition.), but generally, these are the four I hear.

Personally, I think only one of these answers has much merit, but none of these four are the top reason I believe the Christian faith is uniquely true.

So before I tell you what my primary reason is, I am curious what you think. What do you think of the four reasons above? Are they compelling? Why or why not? Are there others you frequently hear? Why do you think that Christianity is (or is not) true?

A few posts ago, I complained that the typical “church planter profile” is based only on the big and successful churches which have “Type A” personalities at the helm. I questioned the idea that “mega-church” status should be the goal for all churches, and therefore, that only “Type A” people should plant churches.

Someone once told me that “It takes all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people, and all kinds of churches require all kinds of planters.” I agree. So what is it about the Type-A person that attracts crowds and convinces so many people that their way is the right way?

One answer may be that such leaders are louder.

A recent Time article revealed that these loud leadership types are wrong more often than the quiet types, but people will often follow and agree with them, for the simple reason that they speak up first and loudest. Here are a few quotes:

Repeatedly, the ones who emerged as leaders and were rated the highest in competence were not the ones who offered the greatest number of correct answers. Nor were they the ones whose SAT scores suggested they’d even be able to. What they did do was offer the most answers — period.

“Dominant individuals behaved in ways that made them appear competent,” the researchers write, “above and beyond their actual competence.” Troublingly, group members seemed only too willing to follow these underqualified bosses. An overwhelming 94% of the time, the teams used the first answer anyone shouted out — often giving only perfunctory consideration to others that were offered.

And more recently, I saw this great Tweet from Mark Sweeney:

“Don’t raise your voice, improve your argument.” – Desmond Tutu

— Mark Sweeney (@WonderBread07) April 21, 2013

Today is Wendy’s birthday. She is 29.   😉

I am so proud to be her husband. One of the things I love most about her is her creativity and dedication to hard work. I think if she wanted to, she could be the Mrs. Fields of biscotti and scones (if you’ve tasted her biscotti, you know), or start her own restaurant (healthy AND delicious), or be a sought after photographer (she’s a natural), or write best-selling children’s books (she’s written several, but we haven’t submitted them anywhere yet). She could excel at anything she set her mind to.

But instead, she has chosen to marry me and raise our three girls. All that creativity and dedication that bursts out of every bone in her body is directed at us.

Amazing.

I stand before her, both humbled and proud to be her husband, her best friend, and her lover.

Happy  Birthday, Wendy! I love you.

Christians generally think that evangelism is a bit like a sporting event, and we are on offense, trying to get past the defenses of others whose “eyes have been blinded by Satan.”

But I have found that when we go on offense, we often become offensive. The problem is not with their defense, but with all the fouls and penalties we commit.

For example, we generally “go for the jugular” by trying to immediately point out the errors and contradictions in the worldview and religious beliefs of others. We give them a Bible, a tract, or some piece of Christian literature, and ask them to read it. We think they will be so persuaded by the weight and logic of our arguments that they cannot help but believe in Jesus for eternal life. And when they aren’t, we say, “Well, you can’t win them all” and move on to our next “target” (aka victim).

I used to operate this way, but am finding that the exact opposite approach is often more effective in opening up serious dialogue.  I am not talking about “removing the offense of the cross” but getting rid of the offensive ways we present and share such truths with others. We need a different approach.

Removing the Offense
Rather than try to get my views and beliefs as the topics of discussion, I show genuine interest in the other person and in what they believe. This is not a gimmick! I truly want to know what they believe and why. I do not do this so I can “discover the holes” in their ideas, but so that I can truly get to know them.

Rather than give them my literature, I ask to read theirs. It is amazing how many good ideas and good teachings are found in the books of other religions. When I come across such things, I let my friend know, and praise their literature.

Rather than tell them my views, I ask them to teach me theirs. Rather then explain to them my “plan of salvation” I ask about theirs. I even ask them to critique Christianity, and point out our hypocrisies, our errors, and the holes in our worldview. The bottom line is that I come to them as a student rather than a teacher.

To Be Winsome, You Have to Lose Some
Eventually, the person ask the question, “What do you believe?” If and when that happens, I don’t dump the whole truck on them, but try to do what Jesus did. I will often lay out a teaser statement just to see if they really want to know what I believe, or if they are just trying to be courteous. For example, if they ask what I believe about how people get eternal life, I might say, “I believe anybody and everybody can receive eternal life, no matter what.”

If they raise an objection, then the conversation begins. If they say, “That’s nice” and go on to talk about the New York Giants, I won’t try to press it. Of course, if they say, “That’s ridiculous!” rather than jump on them and their beliefs, I will go go back to being a student: “Yeah, I know it sounds crazy. Why do you think this is?” To be winsome, I don’t need to win every battle.

Go Slow
These conversations never happen all at once over coffee at my kitchen table. Instead, they happen over days, weeks, and months as we live life and develop friendships together. So take your time. Be a friend. Enjoy the ride.

Have you seen this? (Source: Fox News)

BILLINGS, Mont. —  A 35-year-old man imprisoned for drug possession has filed a $10 million federal lawsuit against Yellowstone County, alleging jailers interfered with his satanic religious practices while he was in jail. The lawsuit filed by Jason P. Indreland claims county jail staff took from him a religious medallion, denied him access to a “Satanic Bible or Book of Satanic Rituals” and ridiculed and punished him for his religious beliefs.

The suit alleges that Yellowstone County jail staff placed “Christian natured greeting cards under (his) cell door,” that said “Jesus was ready to save and accept him.”

I am a Christian chaplain in the Prison system, and let me say something shocking: I can’t decide if I want him to win or lose.

Why do I say this? It’s not that I want people to practice Satanism! Far from it. Instead, it’s because one of our nation’s founding principles is religious freedom. If we start outlawing certain religions, it won’t be too long before Christianity is outlawed. Of course, that might be a good thing for Christianity, which is why I am undecided on how I want this case to go.

If Jason loses this lawsuit, it will be on the grounds that Satanism is a religion of hate and destruction and could hinder the safety of other inmates and staff. That is one reason Satanism is currently not allowed in most state and federal prisons. This is also why certain forms of Islam and White Supremacy cults are currently not allowed. But couldn’t similar arguments be made against some forms of Christianity? Aren’t some of us Christians pretty hateful and destructive toward others?

A case in point: As I was watching this news story this morning on a public television, the lady next to me found out I was a chaplain. She went on to tell me that she was a Christian and really hoped this guy would lose the lawsuit. Then she said this: “You know, I once worked with a Wiccan. She was the nicest person I ever met. She was always kind and joyful. In fact, I didn’t know she was a Wiccan until after she had worked there for a while. When I found out, I was really surprised because it’s just not how I imagined a Wiccan would be. But I went and told my boss that she was a Wiccan, and we decided that we couldn’t let her work for us. So we began to watch her real close, and finally, she inserted an IV into a patient incorrectly, and we were able to fire her. It’s too bad, because she was so nice and such a good employee.”

I wanted to cry.

Probably, the Wiccan employee had a good case for a “wrongful termination” lawsuit, but she was probably too nice to pursue it. Most of us Christians probably would have sued.

Isn’t it strange that sometimes, when we Christians think we are “fighting against Satan” we might actually be fighting for him? I will be watching this prison lawsuit with interest. The decision, whichever way it goes, will affect my life and my job in more ways than one.