When Skeptics Ask

Some people watch too much Oprah and read too much Newsweek. The result is that they pick up on fascinating ideas that they never really think about or examine further. And one day when you or I mention the benefits of faith in Christ, we get this knowing reply: "Sure, but how to you explain all those horrible things done in the name of Christ throughout history?"

Next time it happens, I dare you to smile and ask, "Which atrocity did you have in mind?" Half the time, your pop philosopher friend will have no response at all other than a blank look and silence. But about half the time, neighbors and co-workers will cite one of the Big Three: the Salem Trials, the Spanish Inquisition, or the Crusades. Reasonable Christians can quickly apologize for the Witch Trials and the Inquisition. They were un-Christlike and stood in defiance of everything Jesus died for. (I never apologize for the Crusades, because they were basically a defensive war by ordinary people against Centuries of advance by the armies of Mohammed across the Middle East and into Europe. Islam's Armies were the aggressors.)

But ask your friends if they know when those things happened. The Witch Trials were 300 years ago. The Inquisition fizzled out nearly 200 years ago. And the Crusades, a clearly defensive effort, ended 500 years ago! Do skeptics ever read recent history?

It seems most skeptics are blissfully ignorant of the 70 million people killed by an atheist named Mao between 1930 and 1975. Many of those millions were Christians. And why is it so difficult to remember the 20 million killed by an atheist named Joseph Stalin in the 1940's? We still speak of 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust, but nobody finishes the sentence to mention that more than 10 million people were ultimately wiped out by that leader- an atheist named Adolph Hitler. Unlike the Spanish Inquisition which took place in a remote time when violence was more widely expected, the atheists I just mentioned killed 100 million people during peace time in a world where their deeds were clearly deemed atrocities.

I shared these ideas in a sermon on Sunday. Afterwards, a friend with ties to China mentioned that he has actually met Christians who endured the reign of terror led by Mao Tse Tung. When he encountered them years ago, they still bore the broken bodies and the scars that were inflicted by Mao's Red Guard. And it was their faith which fueled the amazing revival that had made the underground Church in China the fastest growing and possibly largest church in the world.

Don't let your skeptical friends off the hook. Bring them up to date and let them ponder if they'd rather live in China (with an atheist tradition;) Saudi Arabia (with an Islamic tradition;) or the USA (with our Christian roots.) If they're honest, their answer will close the book.