Tuesday, August 9, 2016

THE RADICAL TRUTH OF CHRISTIANITY

                I have almost finished G.K. Chesterton’s book Orthodoxy. In the final chapter, Authority and the Adventurer, he addresses some of the common arguments against Christianity. He masterfully shows how agnostics try to bring divergent ideas together to discount Christianity, only to affirm it. I was struck by Chesterton’s mental agility and clear logic. Without directly quoting him, I want to reproduce one set of his sample arguments. I was encouraged and challenged by his thoughts. I hope you are as well.

                Here are three ideas that agnostics put together to argue against Christianity. Their first argument is to point to the similarities between humans and other animals as a point against the idea that we were created in the image of God. Their second argument is the assertion that religion has grown out of fear and intellectual darkness. The third argument in this triumvirate is the argument that priests have blighted society with doom and gloom. Chesterton dismantles each of these in the following ways.

                The really amazing thing about humans and all other creatures is not how superficially similar they are, but how significantly different they are. The abilities, creativity, and ingenuity of humans is so far beyond all other creatures that there is no comparison at all. The real gap between humans and other creatures is so enormous that it cannot be bridged.

                When it comes to the idea that man started at a low place and progressively got better and that religion just created a boogey man to keep people in line is patently false. First, we know nothing for sure about pre-historic man, simply because he is pre-historic. All of our “discoveries” are purely speculation. Yet the legends handed down throughout the generations all speak of a time when humanity was more kind and more upright, and then something happened to change that. Christianity calls this the Fall. The truth is that humanity has not become more civilized, but more barbaric. We continue to create new and more horrible ways to kill one another.

                Lastly, the idea that priests, in particular, and religion, in general, have caused people to live dull, colorless lives is demonstrably false. Those people groups who have embraced Christianity have also excelled in the arts, music, and in general, the love of life. The boundaries imposed by faith actually foster freedom and creativity. To quote Chesterton, “Christianity is the only frame which has preserved the pleasure of Paganism.”

                One of Chesterton’s most compelling arguments is the resilience of Christianity and Christian culture. The most amazing thing is that the Church still exists. It has gone through a continuous cycle of death and rebirth. Again to quote Chesterton, “It is hardly an exaggeration to say that there is, in historical Christendom, a sort of unnatural life; it could be explained as a supernatural life.” “We are all revenants [returned from the dead]; all living Christians are dead pagans walking about.”

                The most compelling and encouraging aspect of what Chesterton wrote is the idea that most, if not all, of the arguments used against Christianity can actually be turned around and used to defend it. During a time when it feels like Christianity is being attacked from all sides, it is refreshing to be reminded that our faith can weather any storm.

Matthew 16:13-18
    When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
    They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
    "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
    Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

    Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 

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