archive

Reaching those we know: Ask yourself the hard questions

25 July

Have you ever been reluctant to chat with a friend about your faith because you're afraid of the tough questions they might ask? For example, you might think to yourself:

"What if they ask me about why God allows suffering? I've got no idea how to answer that question, and I'll just look foolish. It's better if I just stay quiet."

These tricky questions are sometimes referred to as 'defeater beliefs'. Tim Keller describes these in the following way: 

"Every culture hostile to Christianity holds to a set of 'common-sense' consensus beliefs that automatically make Christianity seem implausible to people. These are what philosophers call "defeater beliefs." A defeater belief is Belief-A that, if true, means Belief-B can't be true."

These defeater beliefs are often phrased as questions. For example: 

  • "How can there be only one God?"
  • "How can a loving God allow suffering?"
  • "How can you trust a book that was written so many years ago?"

Have you ever heard those tough questions before? Perhaps you've thought or asked them yourself. 

Keller continues with a helpful reminder that the seemingly insurpassable objections to Christianity are often culturally specific:

"Christianity is disbelieved in one culture for totally opposite reasons it is disbelieved in another. So for example, in the West (as we will explore below) it is widely assumed that Christianity can't be true because of the cultural belief there can't be just one "true" religion. But in the Middle East, people have absolutely no problem with the idea that there is just one true religion. That doesn't seem implausible at all. Rather there it is widely assumed that Christianity can't be true because of the cultural belief that American culture, based on Christianity, is unjust and corrupt. (Skeptics ought to realize, then, that the objections they have to the Christian faith are culturally relative!) So each culture has its own set of culturally-based doubt-generators which people call 'objections' or 'problems' with Christianity."

He also offers some useful advice in responding to these defeater beliefs. You can read it here - 'Deconstructing Defeater Beliefs' (PDF). I also commend to you his book, 'The Reason for God' (reviewed here).

We don't need to be armed with all the answers to every question people might ask us. In fact, to some questions, there simply aren't neat 'answers' to offer. However, we can boost our confidence in speaking to others by praying (throwing our trust off ourselves and onto God), and tackling these tough questions head-on ourselves.

Where we feel inadequate in responding to particular questions, we can do some reading to learn about how other Christians respond to the same questions. We aren't the first people to struggle with difficult questions, and by considering them for ourselves, we grow in both our confidence to speak with others, and our own faith.

Here's some resources that you can consult to help you tackle these question. If you've discovered other useful resources, please share them in the comments section below. 

I also find it comforting to remember that the apostles were "unschooled, ordinary men" - God doesn't need us to know the answer to every possible question in order for us to speak out and make him known. Regardless of our schooling, knowledge or intellectual prowess, God is willing and able to use us for his Kingdom.