Skepticism and Christianity: Part Four
Doctrinal Disillusionment
Disillusionment is generally defined as a feeling of disappointment resulting from the discovery that something is not as good as one believed it to be. It is disillusionment with Christian doctrine/theology that has driven some Christians to abandon Christianity. In this fourth essay of this series, I will address this issue.
Overview of Christian belief:
Christianity is a blend of teachings obtained from both the Old and New Testament (The Hebrew and Greek) Biblical Scriptures. The Hebrew Scriptures begin with the Genesis account of creation. Man is seen as being made from the dust of the earth, being given life and given the name Adam. Adam is seen as being provided a partner named Eve. Eve is seen as being deceived by a talking serpent and disobeying a command from God by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which God said not to eat of. Adam is seen eating of this tree as well. This act on the part of Adam and Eve is seen as sin. Sin is seen in Scripture as any behavior contrary to the will of God. Scripture shows the consequence of sin to be death.
Because of the sin of Adam and Eve, it is generally believed by Christians that the sin of Adam and Eve is passed on to all humans through procreation (The original sin doctrine). Therefore, all humans are born sinners and become subject to death as did Adam and Eve. This death is seen as a combination of physical and spiritual death in that we biologically die and also experience an eternal separation from God. This eternal separation is seen by some as annihilation and by others as eternal conscious punishment (The hell doctrine). Many Christians believe we are born with an immortal (eternally alive) soul and thus don’t cease to exist upon biological death but continue to exist in a different form either in heaven or in hell. Others believe the soul is not immortal and therefore can be annihilated.
The Christian doctrine of salvation has the creator God sending His son Christ Jesus to planet earth (The incarnation doctrine) to pay the eternal death penalty in our stead (The crucifixion) and through His resurrection from the dead, providing our escape from eternal death. Some see this escape from eternal death occurring at a time future to us when Jesus returns to planet earth and facilitates resurrection and transformation of the dead. Others see this escape as occurring upon physical death when we go to heaven and live forever in the presence of God.
Most Christians believe this escape from eternal death can only be experienced by those who place faith in the sacrifice of Jesus while a physical Being on planet earth. Those who fail to do so (the majority of historical humanity) are either not resurrected to eternal life and are annihilated or experience some kind of eternal conscious separation from God. While most Christians believe we have freewill and can choose or reject the salvation offered by God, there is a major branch of Christianity that teaches predestination to salvation of only the elect (Calvinism). (See my series on this issue at http://theologicalperspectives.com/predistination-and-free-will. Under this doctrine, it is believed that God has in advance chosen who will be saved and who will not be saved and we humans can do nothing to change the mind of God about our destiny.
All Christians believe Jesus came into the world through the pregnancy of the virgin Mary. Catholic doctrine teaches that Mary was born without sin (The immaculate conception doctrine), a necessary dynamic in order for Jesus not to have inherited Adamic sin like supposedly all other humans do. Catholic doctrine teaches that Mary remained a virgin throughout her life. Mary is seen as not dying a normal human death but being bodily taken up into heaven (The assumption of Mary doctrine). Mary is highly venerated within Catholicism. Protestant Christians do not venerate Mary nor believe in the immaculate conception, assumption of Mary or she remaining a virgin.
Many Christians believe Jesus is going to return to planet earth sometime in our future to establish a Kingdom and rule over the nations of the earth. Other Christians (Sometimes called Preterists) believe Jesus returned 2000 years ago in connection with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in AD 70 which it is believed Jesus facilitated through the agency of the Roman military. Those who take this position do not believe in a future to us return of Christ. (For a comprehensive discussion of this issue, go to: http://theologicalperspectives.com/the-second-coming-of-christ.
The foregoing is a very brief overview of some basic tenets and perspectives contained within the Christian doctrinal/theological system. There are a great deal of additional dynamics associated with the Christian belief system and here are a few of them.
There is the Genesis account of the Noachian flood where God becomes angry with the human race because of their sin and decided to kill them all via a flood except for Noah and his family. There is God selecting Abraham and his descendants (The children of Israel) to be a special people with whom He would establish a covenant featuring over 600 laws that God would require Israel to live by. There is the God facilitated escape from Egypt under the leadership of Moses and the subsequent establishment of the Kingdom of Israel. There is a great amount of OT history showing the successes and failures of the Kingdom of Israel.
The OT records much God directed and facilitated warfare where God uses the armed forces of Israel to oust the occupants of the land of Canaan which God had promised to Israel for them to occupy. There is also much God directed warfare against nations who are seen as sinful. God is seen as becoming angry with Israel over their failure to remain faithful to Him and He facilitating their going into captivity. He is seen as facilitating this captivity by bringing foreign nations to fight against Israel.
In the New Testament we see Jesus teaching moral concepts, healing the sick and performing a variety of miracles. A personage called Satan/Devil is seen as very active in the NT narrative. (See my series of essays entitled “Origin and significance of Satan and Demons” at: http://theologicalperspectives.com/origin-and-significance-of-satan-part-ne.
We see Jesus being constantly challenged by the Jewish leadership and eventually being put to death by them via the Roman authority. After His purported resurrection and ascension, His disciples begin to build what eventually becomes the NT church. Apostle Paul becomes a featured facilitator of this process. The NT shows a great deal of conflict between the Jewish community and the developing Christian community over matters of Jewish doctrine versus Christian doctrine. In AD 70 the temple is destroyed by the Romans which pretty much brought to an end the facilitation of the Old Covenant system of sacrifices and ceremonial worship.
Going forward from the first century development of the Christian church, we see a great deal of doctrinal and theological diversity occurring. Church leaders and would-be leaders appear on the scene and develop followings. Conflicts develop between Christian teachers and groups as to what is required and not required for salvation. The nature of God becomes a major area of different perspectives with eventually the Trinitarian concept of God becoming the orthodox position. However, there are currently whole denominations of Christianity that are not Trinitarian.
Different perspectives were expressed as to what documents should make up the bible. It took years for a canon of Scripture to be established and to this very day there is not universal agreement as to what the canon of Scripture is or should be. In the past several hundred years, the Biblical Scriptures have come under extreme scrutiny as to their overall creditability. For a comprehensive discussion of how we got the Biblical Scriptures and are they reliable, go to http://theologicalperspectives.com/scriptural-reliability
The Skeptic Perspective.
The skeptic looks at how the Christian doctrinal/theological system developed and finds it to be highly problematic. The skeptic finds the Adam and Eve story upon which the Christian doctrine of salvation is based to be fictional. Skeptics see no archaeological evidence for the ten plagues said to have been exacted upon the Egyptians or the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. It is recorded in Exodus 12 that about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children, along with many other people and large droves of livestock left Egypt in the exodus. Skeptics find it improbable that there would not be some extra-Biblical record and archaeological evidence of an event this big occurring. Yet skeptics claim there is none.
By and large, religious skeptics have come to believe in the validity of evolution as the means whereby the universe and life forms have come to be. As previously discussed in this series, some skeptics are deists and believe there is a supernatural entity that is the source of what is. It is believed this entity (call it God if you will) created the evolutionary process and has simply let it proceed.
Most skeptics take the orthodox evolutionist position that the universe and life forms have not come to be through a supernatural entity but through the fortuitous activity of resident forces present within the constituents of matter which is believed to have always existed in one form or another. For an in-depth discussion of evolution versus creation, go to: http://theologicalperspectives.com/creation-versus-evolution-part-one
Skeptics consider the Adam and Eve story to be a myth. Because it is considered a myth, there was no so-called “fall.” There was no sin that resulted in a penalty of eternal death. Therefore, there was/is no need for an atonement facilitated be Christ or anyone else for that matter. Skeptics see the Judeo/Christian religious system as being built upon a false foundation and therefore being a false system. As is true of other extant religious systems, skeptics believe the Judeo/Christian religious system has resulted from humanly created perspectives that got expanded into a complex belief system. Numerous religious belief systems have arisen throughout recorded human history and have expanded into monolithic organizations attracting millions of followers. Take Islam as an example.
Islam (means submission in Arabic) began when a man named Muhammad claimed to have received direct revelation from God (Allah in Islam) through the angel Gabriel. Muhammad claimed the angel Gabriel spoke messages to him on behalf of Allah and therefore it is believed these words are the words of God. These messages were collected and became the book entitled the Qur’an (means “recitation” in Arabic) around 30 years after the death of Muhammad. Thus began the Islamic religion around 622 AD. Today there are around 1.5 billion followers of this religion.
The Qur’an mentions the Biblical characters Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and 20 other individuals as having been prophets of God. However, Muhammad is believed to be the last of the prophets of God and what was revealed to him supersedes and takes precedence over what was revealed to former prophets.
Islamics (Muslims) believe the Judeo/Christian Scriptures have been corrupted, misinterpreted and manipulated by followers of Christianity and Judaism. Only the Qur’an is considered trust worthy and only in its original writing in Arabic. Muslims claim Jesus is not the Son of God because Allah is an undifferentiated single Being and doesn’t have a son. Islam claims that Allah switched the bodies of Judas and Jesus on the cross and made Judas look like Jesus because Allah would not have let his prophet die an undeserving death.
Muslims don’t believe they are born sinners because of what Adam and Eve did and therefore there is no need for there to be a sacrifice to atone for sin. Under Islamic theology, the pathway to heaven is to do good works and be obedient to Allah as revealed in the Qur’an. Islamic theology teaches that when Muslims die, they remain in their grave until judgment day at which time Allah will decide their destiny beyond this physical life. Muslims believe there to be a place of punishment called hell for those who reject Allah and fail to follow the dictates of the Islamic religious system. There is a general belief by Muslims that there will be an Islamic leader that will return to earth one day as a savior and restore the earth to peace.
There are 5 pillars that all Muslims are required to follow. They must publicly declare that Allah is the only God and Muhammasd is his prophet, pray five times a day facing the direction of Mecca, give to the poor, fast during the month of Ramadan and visit the city of Mecca at least once during their lifetime if possible. It is to be noted that there are several branches of Islam including Sunni, Shia, Ibadi, and Ahmadiyya. Needless to say, these group are in disagreement with each other over various aspects of the Islamic belief system.
Skeptics ask where the evidence is for Muhammad receiving messages from a god? Since these messages were first gathered and recorded 30 years after his death, Skeptics ask how can these messages be shown to be what Muhammad actually said let alone shown to be messages received from Allah?
Skeptics also point to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (AKA the Mormon Church) as another example of how quickly a religious system can arise and develop based on supposed God given revelations to a particular man.
Joseph Smith (1805-1844) claimed to have been visited by God the Father and Jesus Christ and told that Christianity had been in apostasy since roughly 105 AD. He was told that he was to restore the teachings of the Church. In 1823, an angel by the name of Moroni is said to have appeared to Smith, and showed him Golden Tablets written in “reformed Egyptian.” Using “seer stones,” Smith translated the tablets over a period of two years (1827 to 1829) and dictated the narrative to his wife and several others. This translated narrative was published as the Book of Mormon in 1830.
As the story goes, after the fall of the Tower of Babel, a group called Jaredites traveled by boat to the western hemisphere. In 600 BC, following the earlier lead of the Jaredites, a man named Lehi (a supposed Israelite) led Israelites from Jerusalem to the Americas. Lehi had two sons, Nephi and Laman. Followers of Nephi called Nephites, worshiped God and created civilizations such as the Mayans and Incas. The American Indians are believed by Mormons to be in part descendants of the Israelites through the lineage of Lehi.
Laman also developed a following (the Lamanites) but this group committed much sin and were punished by God in that God turned their skin dark. War ensued between the Nephites and the Lamanites for a thousand years except for a period of time after the resurrection of Jesus when Jesus came to live with the Nephites for a period of time.
In 421 AD, a great battle occurred between the Nephites and the Lamanites. The Lamanites won the battle in the area of what is now seen as upstate New York at Hill Cumorah. Only two Nephites survived. Mormon and Moroni. Mormon is reported to have written the story of the Nephites on golden tablets which were buried at Hill Cumorah. Upon his death, Morini became the angel Moroni who led Joseph Smith to the tablets and helped facilitate their translation.
Mormons have a number of beliefs that differ significantly from orthodox Christian beliefs. Since its founding, there have developed over 400 splinter groups. Suffice it to say for the purpose of this discussion, within less than 200 years of its inception, this church has gained over 15 million adherents.
Skeptics point out that there is no archeological evidence that peoples such as the Jaredites, Nephites or Lamanites every existed in the Americas. There is no genetic evidence that the American Indians are descendants of any of the tribes of Israel. Genetic studies on Native Americans indicate that their ancestry is primarily linked to East Asian populations. Yet over 15 million people believe the Mormon doctrinal system to be valid.
Skeptics see the Judeo/Christian religious system developing in the same way as did Islam, Mormonism and the many so-called pagan religions extant throughout human history. As is seen in many religious systems, individuals come to believe a supernatural entity or entities are involved in what they are experiencing and develop a system of belief based on their real or imaged experience.
Skeptics believe individuals such as Moses, Noah, Abraham, the prophets, kings of Israel and other notables of OT history, came to believe a supernatural being (YHWH) was directing them to do certain things and was associated with various events they experienced. This belief was passed on from one generation to another with many embellishments made to the story along the way.
Skeptics believe that this system of belief that developed throughout OT history continued to be upheld by the Jewish community of the first century. It is believed the man Jesus came to believe he was fulfilling OT prophecies regarding the coming of a savior. (See my series on this issue at: http://theologicalperspectives.com/old-testament-prophecies-and-jesus-part-one. The coming of such a savior (Messiah) was anticipated by first century Jews. It was believed He would be a military leader who would deliver first century Israel from Roman rule.
Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, in an apparent prophecy about Messiah Jesus, said that God had raised up a horn of salvation for them in the house of his servant David who would provide “salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us” and would “rescue us from the hand of our enemies” (Luke 1:71-74). It was the governing authority of the Roman Empire that was looked upon as the enemy of first century Israel. The Messiah was expected to be the one to deliver Israel from Roman oppression.
As things turned out, Jesus was not the military leader the Jews were expecting. Jesus was killed but allegedly was resurrected from the dead. Belief in his resurrection resulted in Jesus becoming the centerpiece of a new religious system called Christianity (See my essay on evidence for the resurrection at: http://theologicalperspectives.com/evidence-for-the-resurrection). This system was expanded upon by leaders such as Paul and various disciples of Jesus. After the early leadership of Christianity died out, others continued to develop the Christian theological/doctrinal system and there developed many conflicting perspectives as to what that theological/doctrinal system should look like.
Skeptics point out that the NT Scriptures give instruction that there be no divisions among the Christian brethren. (1st Corinthians 1:10). In Philippians 2:2, Paul exhorts the Christians to be one in spirit and of one mind. Yet historically, Christianity has been divided big time as to doctrinal/theological belief and is anything but one in spirit and mind. This has been going on since the inception of Christianity over 2000 years ago. Today it is estimated that there are over 45,000 different denominations of Christianity extant in the world.
Skeptics ask how a religious system can profess to teach the truth when it is divided into hundreds of perspectives as to what the truth is. As pointed out in Part One of this series, the Christian Scriptures teach that God promised to send his followers a Spirit of truth (John 15:26) and that Spirit would guide His followers into all the truth (John 15:26). Yet for 2000 years, Christians claiming to be led by the Spirit of God (The Holy Spirit), have differed widely over what the truth is. Skeptics believe that on this basis alone, Christianity should be rejected. It is asked how you can place faith in the teachings of a system that is so diverse in perspective as to what the truth is.
The skeptic says that if the Judeo/Christian God is for real and sent Jesus to begin the Christian religious system, you would think He would have ensured that this system is well explained and understood. Instead, what we have are hundreds of different perspectives and teachings on everything from the nature of God to the nature of salvation. Here are just a few of such diverse Christian beliefs.
The Nature of God:
The majority of Christians believe God is a trinity composed of indwelling entities of Father, Son and Spirit. Others believe God is only the Father and Son indwelling each other with the Spirit being their commonly shared power. Others believe only the Father is God and the Son is a separate glorified Being but not God as the Father is God. Still others believe the Father, Son and Spirit are separate God Beings. Some believe God is a family of God Beings which we humans can become part of after biological death.
After Death Theology:
We have those who believe the “righteous” go straight to heaven when they die and the “wicked” go to a place of everlasting conscious punishment called hell. Others believe you lay dead in the grave when you die and await a future resurrection at which time you are judged and either sent to heaven, hell or annihilated. Catholics believe in purgatory, a place or state of punishment for the souls of those who die in God's grace but need to become purified of past sins in order to become fit for heaven.
Some Christians believe you are “saved” through a combination of God’s grace and your works. Others believe you are saved by grace alone. Still others believe only God’s “elect” are saved and all others are destined for everlasting conscious punishment or annihilation. Under this perspective, God has predestinated some to be saved and others to be lost. Some believe all humans will be resurrected at some point and given opportunity to be saved. Still others believe in “universal salvation” where all humans are in essence already saved because of the Christ event and will be granted eternal life in the heavenly realm.
Many Christians believe in the immortality of the soul. It is believed we humans are born with a pre-existing immaterial immortal (cannot die) something called the soul and when we biologically die this immortal soul returns to God. Others believe the soul is nothing more than the life of the body and dies when the body dies. (For a comprehensive discussion of this issue, go to: http://theologicalperspectives.com/what-happens-after-death-
The Return of Christ:
Many Christians believe Jesus is going to return to planet earth in the future and establish a kingdom with headquarters in Jerusalem from where He will rule the world and establish global peace and tranquility. (See my series entitled “What is the Kingdom of God” at: http://theologicalperspectives.com/what-is-the-kingdom-of-god-part-one.
Others believe (Preterists) that Jesus has already returned and such return was a God facilitated return in judgement against first century Israel which was manifested in the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem in AD 70. Some believe that Scripture shows that the reason for this judgement against first century Jews was their rejection of Jesus as the promised Messiah.
Luke 19:43-44: The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you” (An apparent reference to Jesus as the coming Messiah of God).
Acts 3:13-25: The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.
Here Peter pejoratively accuses the Jews of killing Jesus. Jesus, Himself, spoke of His betrayer Judas as it being “better for him if he had not been born” (Matthew 26:24, Mark 14:21).
Paul, in a letter to the Thessalonian Church, speaks of the Jews having killed Jesus (“who killed the Lord Jesus”) and writes that “The wrath of God has come upon them at last,” an apparent reference to the coming destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem (1st Thessalonians 2:15-16).
Skeptics ask why there should be any pejorative language or judgment directed at Judas or the Jews in general for their involvement in the death of Jesus. Christians believe the death of Jesus was a pre-ordained event by God to provide for the redemption of mankind. Revelation 13:8 refers to Jesus as “the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.” If the death of Jesus was a pre-ordained event, then the action of those responsible for His death were beyond their control. It had to happen the way it happened because God pre-determined it to happen that way. So how can there be justification in punishment against those who facilitated a pre-determined act of God? Skeptics see this as an absurdity.
Acts 2:23: This man (Jesus) was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
Acts 4:27-28: Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.
For an all-inclusive discussion of the Preterist position as to the return of Christ, go to: http://theologicalperspectives.com/the-second-coming-of-christ.
Miscellaneous differences:
Celebration of Christ's birth:
While there is no Scriptural directive to celebrate the birth of Christ, most Christians do celebrate His birth and do so on December 25th. Other Christians, (Armenian and some Eastern Orthodox Churches) celebrate the birth on January 6th. Still other Christians believe the December 25th celebration of the birth of Christ is pagan in that it is believed this celebration is derived from pagan sun worship. Therefore, it is believed the Christmas celebration should be abandoned by Christians. (See my essay on this issue at http://theologicalperspectives.com/the-christmas-controversy).
Good Friday, Easter Sunday Tradition:
Most of Christendom believes Jesus was crucified on a Friday afternoon and resurrected the following Sunday morning (The Good Friday/Easter Sunday tradition). However, it is recorded in Matthew 12:40 that Jesus said He would be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. Overall, there is strong Scriptural evidence for a Wednesday afternoon crucifixion and a late Saturday or early Sunday morning resurrection for Jesus. See my essay entitled “Three days and three nights at http://theologicalperspectives.com/three-days-and-three-nights.
Saturday or Sunday?
Most Christians meet for weekly church services on Sunday. The general belief is that Sabbath (Saturday) worship was at some point changed to Sunday. Other Christians vehemently reject this view and teach that the Sabbath is and has always been the seventh day of the week (Saturday) and Christians are obligated to worship on Saturday (Seventh Day Adventists, Seventh Day Baptists, and various Church of God groups). Still other Christians believe that under the New Covenant there is no designated day of worship and no Scriptural obligation to meet on any particular day of the week for worship. See my essay on this issue at: http://theologicalperspectives.com/which-day-is-the-christian-sabbath. You may also be interested in http://theologicalperspectives.com/what-is-and-what-ain-t-part-one
Water baptism:
Christians differ as to the role of baptism. Catholic Christians believe baby’s need to be baptized to purify them from Adamic sin (original sin). Most Protestant Christians (not all) believe baptism should only take place after one has come to understand its purpose, repented of sin and accepted Christ as savior. There also are different beliefs as to the mode of baptism. Some Christians believe only total immersion in water is baptism while other Christians believe simply sprinkling someone with water is baptism. For a comprehensive discussion of Biblical baptism, go to: http://theologicalperspectives.com/faith-repentance-baptism-salvation-part-two
Skeptics look at all of this conflicting belief and conclude that an omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient and immutable creator God would not allow for such a hodgepodge of religious belief if it was true He established the Christian religion through the man Jesus. Therefore, skeptics believe this God doesn’t exist and Jesus, while He may have had some unusual powers (as is seen in men of other religious systems as well), was not God in the flesh as Christians believe, but a human who became convinced he was a special agent of God (John 5:46 and Luke 24:27) but ended up dying and, from the perspective of the skeptic, remains dead to this very day.
Scriptural Integrity:
Many Christians believe the Biblical Scriptures are the inerrant word of God. Skeptics see this to be an absurd doctrine. Skeptics point to what they believe are multiple inconsistencies and outright contradictions in Scripture. They point to what they consider a troubling history of the development of the Scriptural narrative which they believe has created series doubt as to the veracity and, therefore, the reliability of the Biblical Scriptures. This being the case, Skeptics ask how anyone can intelligently conclude that the Biblical Scriptures should be seen as accurate history or used as an instructional manual on how to live or as a roadmap for gaining life beyond biological death.
This author has posted on this website a comprehensive series of essays on the matter of scriptural integrity/reliability. This being the case, I will not in this series discuss the concerns of the skeptic or the beliefs of the Christian regarding Scriptural integrity. I instead refer the reader to my series on this issue at http://theologicalperspectives.com/scriptural-reliability. This series discusses the matters of Scriptural inconsistencies, contradictions, errancy verses inerrancy, word of God versus word of man, historical development and much, much more.
Skeptics see where Jesus, Paul and other NT luminaries claim that many OT prophecies point to events in the life of Christ and were fulfilled in Christ. Skeptics have looked at these supposed fulfillments and see no connection to the Christ event. For example, Matthew writes that the virgin birth of Jesus was prophesied by Isaiah. Skeptics point out that the OT Scriptures shows this prophecy was fulfilled during the time of Isaiah with no hint of it being fulfilled in the birth of Christ. The issue of OT prophecies being fulfilled in Christ where in their OT context no such fulfillment in Christ is apparent, has been a contentious topic in Christianity for a long time. For a comprehensive discussion of his issue, go to: http://theologicalperspectives.com/old-testament-prophecies-and-jesus-part-one
Salvation Theology:
Christians maintain that humans are born sinners and/or become sinners and God has determined that the penalty for sin is eternal death. It is basic Christian belief that God has provided a way to avoid eternal death. He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die in our stead. Therefore, we can avoid eternal death by accepting the sacrifice of Jesus as payment of the death penalty. Since we all biologically die, it is believed the death Jesus paid for is eternal death, a death from which there can be no return to life. It is instructive that the phrase “eternal death” is not found in Scripture. However, eternal life is contrasted with death thus indicating that one can pass from eternal biological death to eternal life (John 5:24, Romans 5:21, 6:23, Hebrews 9:14).
To the skeptic, salvation theology is an absurdity. To begin with, it is asked why God would create humans with a nature prone to sin and then exact on them the penalty of eternal death for such sin which in essence He has facilitated because of the manner in which He has created humans. If humans who don’t accept the sacrifice of Christ suffer eternal conscious punishment as is believed by many, skeptics ask how can God be justified in punishing humans for sin that He virtually has facilitated by creating humans with the nature humans have?
Furthermore, if a Being called Satan is responsible for much of the evil behavior perpetrated by humans as many Christians believe, why would God allow such a Being to act upon an already depraved human nature and cause humans to behave in evil ways and then punish humans for the behavior brought upon them by a Being much more powerful than they are? This too is seen as an absurdity by skeptics. If it should be true that much evil in the world is the result of the influence of Satan, skeptics see this as an extremely woeful allowance on the part of a God purported to be good, kind and compassionate. It is asked how one can justify the punishment of humans for behaviors caused by a Being outside of themselves.
Skeptics point out that the majority of the human race, past, present and future, have never been provided the salvation massage or if they have, they have not responded to it. Right now, there are around 8 billion people on planet earth. There are around 2 billion Christians. If the world would come to an end today and all who identify as Christians would receive eternal life in the heavenly realm, there would still be 6 billion humans who would not receive eternal life in the heavenly realm. There would be billions more who have previously died not having received the salvation message.
According to basic Christian theology, because these billions of humans weren’t Christians when they died, they either remain dead forever (eternal death) or experience some kind of conscious separation from God which means they would receive eternal life but not in the presence of God and therefore experience a not so pleasant afterlife. Skeptics consider this entire matter an absolute absurdity. For a comprehensive discussion of an alternative view on salvation, go to: http://theologicalperspectives.com/us-1
Christian theology teaches movement from eternal death to eternal life through the Christ event and yet most Christians believe in the immortality of the soul which means eternal death doesn’t really occur because we have an immortal soul that cannot die. If this Christian perspective is correct, the idea of eternal death is superfluous.
Some Christians believe it is “spiritual death” we experience due to sin. Physical death is seen as the natural consequence of being human and not a consequence of sin per se. Spiritual death is seen as a “spiritual” separation from God. However, the phrase “spiritual death” is not found in Scripture and there is no direct teaching that it is “spiritual death” that we suffer because of sin. All Scriptural indications are that the biological death we all experience is a death we suffer because of sin.
Skeptics ask how it can be said that Jesus experienced the death penalty on our behalf? If death is the penalty for sin, we all pay the penalty for our sin because all humans experience death. Therefore, how can it be said Jesus died in our stead? We all personally pay the death penalty for sin if indeed it is sin that causes death. If the death we die is considered eternal death from which there can be no return to life and it is that death Jesus died in our stead for, then He should be eternally dead. If He is not, then He didn’t really pay the eternal death penalty on our behalf. Since Christians believe Jesus rose from the dead, how can it be said Jesus paid the eternal death penalty in our stead? Skeptics see it as a contradiction to say Jesus died to pay the eternal death penalty in our stead when in reality He didn’t if indeed He was resurrected from the dead.
Unanswered Prayer:
Skeptics observe that Christians by the millions pray for physical and/or psychological healing as well as many other things and nothing happens. Some pray for these things for years and nothing happens. Skeptics have observed that the vast majority of prayers produce no result. Such massive amount of unanswered prayer convinces the skeptic that the Scriptural promises (Matthew 7:7-11, 21:21-22, John 14:13-14) of answered prayer are bogus promises. These promises are seen as totally out of sync with the reality of unanswered prayer.
Skeptics point to the millions of prayers made daily for the healing of people dying of cancer, heart disease, injuries and other maladies with little apparent result. Skeptics point out that you don’t see prayed for people jumping out of wheelchairs, throwing away their crutches, or suddenly healed of cancer, diabetes or the many other diseases that plague humanity. People have been praying for peace throughout time with little evidence that such prayer has brought peace. Psalm 122:6 speaks of praying for the peace of Jerusalem. Both Christians and Jews have been doing this for centuries. Yet what do we have? Jerusalem and surrounding territories have been the epicenter of war and conflict for thousands of years. This all tells the skeptic that the prayers to the Judeo/Christian God (if He exists) go largely unanswered or simply ignored.
Skeptics bristle at the hearing of religious, political and governmental leaders asking for prayer for those hurt, displaced or in other ways negatively impacted by weather disasters. To ask for prayer for people whose lives have been turned upside down by a tornado, hurricane, flood or some other so-called act of God is seen as ludicrous.
As covered earlier in this series, skeptics see weather disasters as preventable by an all- powerful loving God. Because such disasters do occur on a regular basis and create havoc for multiple thousands of people, this loving God is seen as not to exist. Skeptics ask what is there to pray for after the damage has already been done, damage that it is believed could have been prevented by a loving God that is supposedly in charge of the weather. It is believed to be absurd to ask for God's comfort and help for something He should have prevented in the first place.
Some Christians believe all things are predestinated. That is, all that happens in the world is predetermined by God to happen in the way it happens. Skeptics point out that if this should be the case, there is absolutely no purpose in prayer. Everything is already set to happen in a certain way and all the prayer in the world isn’t going to change that (See my series on this issue at http://theologicalperspectives.com/predistination-and-free-will).
Where reports of answered prayer are made, such reports are seen by skeptics as highly subjective in nature with no way to determine whether there was truly a divine involvement. Skeptics believe perceived results from prayer can be identified in ways outside of any supernatural involvement. Where prayer appears to produce a positive outcome, skeptics attribute such outcome to psychological dynamics such as humanly generated faith. Research shows that faith in a positive outcome can produce a positive outcome independent of belief in the supernatural (The power of positive thinking).
The Christian Response to all of the above:
The Christian agrees with the skeptic’s observation that we all personally pay the death penalty for sin. Sin is seen as beginning in the Garden of Eden and passing on to all humans. Paul shows that all humans sin and that the result of sin is death.
Romans 5:12: Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all people because all sinned.
Romans 3:23: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Christians see the Christ event making human death a temporary cessation of life, not a permanent cessation. The death and resurrection of Jesus made restoration of life possible. Jesus came along and took human sin upon Himself and subsequently died. By taking human sin upon Himself, He came under the same eternal death penalty we all do when we sin. Paul wrote that Jesus became sin for us (2nd Corinthians 5:21). If God had not resurrected Jesus, Jesus would still be dead today and would remain dead for all eternity.
However, God resurrected Jesus (Acts 2:24,32, 3:15,26, 4:10, 5:30, 10:40, 13:30,34, 1st Corinthians 6:14, Romans 8:11,10:9, Galatians 1:1, Ephesians 1:17-20, 1st Thessalonians 1:10, 1st Peter 1:21) and in so doing rescinded the eternal death penalty for sin. Jesus did not die for His own sin like we all do because Jesus never sinned. Therefore, death was not eternal for him. The Scriptures teach that Jesus could not remain dead. “But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him” (Acts 2:24). God resurrected Him from the dead and His resurrection from the dead makes it possible for we humans to be resurrected from the dead. Jesus is seen as defeating death through His being resurrected from the dead.
While we humans continue to sin and pay the death penalty for sin, we no longer have to die eternally. The resurrection of Jesus has enabled humans to pass from eternal death unto eternal life. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” (John 11:25) and “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24).
It is evident that we continue to biologically die but we can be restored to life through the Christ event. (Go to http://theologicalperspectives.com/doctrine-of-original-sin [Part Three] for a comprehensive discussion of the sin and death issue)
As to the story of the exodus, including the Red Sea crossing, Christians admit that extra-Biblical evidence is scanty but believe there is enough evidence outside the Scriptural record to verify the Scriptural account. Christians find the skeptics rejection of the exodus account as assuming the thing to be proved. Christian apologists argue that the lack of archeological evidence for the exodus doesn’t prove it didn’t occur. Skeptics are asked to prove the Biblical account of the exodus to be false. Christian apologists accuse skeptics of denying the validity of the exodus account because of their a priori belief that the Scriptures are not reliable accounts of actual history.
See https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/ancient-israel-in-egypt-and-the-exodus.pdf for an overview of research pertaining to the existence of Israel and the exodus event.
It is pointed out that the Israelites, prior to settling into the Promised Land, were nomadic and therefore would not have left archaeological evidence such as the remains of buildings. It’s also pointed out that there is archeological evidence for Israel’s interaction with the various nations that OT history speaks of which gives evidence to the historical validity of these Scriptural accounts.
As to the issue of unanswered prayer, Christians contend that prayer is often answered and even when it is not seemingly answered, it is answered in that God has decided to not grant the request being made. Christians point to various Scriptural requirements that must be met to facilitate a positive answer to prayer. The Scriptures speak of praying according to God's will (1st John 5: 14-15) and praying with faith and an obedient response to God's commandments (Matthew 21:22, John 9:31, 15:15, 1st Peter 3:12, James 1:6-7, 4:3, 5:16, Hebrews 11:6, Isaiah 59:2, Proverbs 28:9). Christians believe that it is lack of faith and obedience to God that often results in prayer not being answered in a positive way. Christians point to a variety of studies where prayer is seen as efficacious.
Christians point to the Scriptures requiring prayer, not only the asking for things, but prayers of praise to God, and prayers of thanksgiving (Matthew 6:5-13, 1st
Thessalonians 5:17, Philippians 4:6, 1st Timothy 2:1-2, Ephesians 6:18). There are multiple dozens of examples and exhortations to praise God and give thanks to him found throughout the Scriptures. Therefore, prayer is seen as a foundational dynamic of being a Christian.
As to the great historical diversity in perspective as to Christian doctrine/theology, Christian apologists assert that this is so because God has given man freewill. Freewill allows for diversity of thought which results in diversity of perspectives on just about everything. Christian apologists maintain that the Christian doctrine of salvation through the Christ event is basically the same throughout Christianity and that diverse beliefs as to other aspects of Christian doctrine/theology are not determining factors as to one’s eternal destiny.
It is maintained that if one believes in the reality of the death and resurrection of Jesus and ascribes to the moral behavioral teachings of Jesus, there will be a glorious life beyond biological death. One’s perspective as to all other aspects and dynamics associated with the Christian faith are not seen as determinatives of one’s destiny after biological death. It is acceptance of the sacrifice of Christ that determines one’s afterlife destiny. It is believed that only in the afterlife we will discover the truth as to what was right and what was wrong as to the various extant Christian doctrinal/theological perspectives.
This being said, serious students of the Biblical Scriptures contend that if these Scriptures are examined with an open objective mind and with a willingness to go where the evidence takes one, there can be a significant reduction in the diversity of thought related to the narrative of Scripture. While there will always be diversity of interpretation, it is believed by some that a willingness to abandon orthodox beliefs and traditions when such beliefs and traditions are not clearly supported by evidence, will go a long way toward determining the truth or falsehood of the Judeo/Christian religious system.
The Skeptics last word:
Skeptics contend that since there is such diversity in the Christian doctrinal/theological belief system, why should we believe in the absolute validity of anything this system claims as truth, including salvation theology. It is asked how a religious system can be trusted to teach the truth about any of its doctrines when it is and has been historically divided in hundreds of ways as to what the true doctrine is.
Furthermore, the skeptic believes that if the problem of evil and the alleged character defects of the Judeo/Christian God discussed in this series are intelligently examined and reflected upon, you have no rational choice but to abandon a belief in the validity of the Judeo/Christian God and the Judeo/Christian religious system.
Skeptics maintain that if the Judeo/Christian God is for real and sent Jesus to begin the Christian religious system, you would think He would have ensured that this system is well explained and understood by us humans and not subject to multiple interpretations of the data. To appeal to freewill as the reason for the diversity in Christian doctrine and theology is seen as a copout. It is seen as doing nothing to logically and rationally deal with the objections presented by skeptics as to the validity of the Christian religious system.
Conclusion:
This concludes this series on skepticism and Christianity. As stated at the beginning of this series, I have endeavored to present the viewpoints of both skeptics and Christians without drawing conclusions as to their truth or falsehood. I leave it to you the reader to evaluate the evidence and draw conclusions accordingly. I have included in this series a number of links to other essays that deal in much greater depth with issues only briefly discussed in this series. Hopefully these essays will provide information that will be helpful in determining whether it is the skeptic or the Christian position that is the most probable.