Further to my previous post, I’ve seen several other examples lately of people taking offense when Christians have the audacity to claim that the Gospel is actually true. First we have a commenter on the old Discuss DaVinci Code Blog who was apparently offended that the site claimed that the traditional biblical story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection is actually true. (See also my reply below their comments on that same page.)

Next we have a person’s review of the book The Illustrated Guide to World Religions by Dean C Halverson. I have not read the book, but I noticed this particular review as I was browsing Amazon today (as I do FAR too often …) Anyways, here’s their review in its entirety:

The goal of this book is to teach about other religions so people can use that knowledge to convert others to Christianity. If that’s not your goal, don’t bother. I find it very offensive and am throwing it away.

And my reply (posted in reply on Amazon):

Why would you find this offensive? Are you saying all Christians should abandon their own beliefs and believe like you do? If not, what exactly are you suggesting here? As far as I know this book makes no suggestion or approval of coercive techniques of evangelism, so I don’t see the problem with attempting to more effectively share the Christian message with others who belong to different faiths.

If the book contains factual inaccuracies, then that is a different matter. But no viewpoint (whether it be Christian, Muslim, pluralist, secularist, whatever) is neutral, so please don’t disparage this book merely because it is written from a Christian point of view, because there is no worldview-free book about religion.

Further reading:

• Christianity is true. (Are you offended?) - Tackles similar themes to this post re offense at claiming something is true.
• Tolerance - What is the real meaning of tolerance? Greg Koukl’s thoughts on the matter with my comments.
• Tolerance Part 2: Stating Facts = Hatin? - Does profoundly disagreeing with someone mean you are intolerant of them? No, in fact, it gives you a wonderful opportunity to be tolerant!

Finally completed my update of my essay/eBook The Historical Reliability of the New Testament! My original essay was rather short (due to the prescribed limits of the seminary class assignment for which it was written) however I have greatly expanded the essay (from approximately 3,000 words to over 8,000 words) and included many more details, observations, and citation of important thinkers on many subjects. Therefore, I now feel it’s more legitimate to consider it an eBook on its own, although if I ever finish my more comprehensive eBook, this will likely become a single chapter within that larger work. The only entirely new section in this update is “The Copycat Argument”, which refutes theories that the New Testament is merely the product of copying other religious myths. (Though I lent out my copy of Strobel’s newest, The Case for the Real Jesus, so I may add some material from that book once I get it back.)

If you’ve read it before, check out the new version! If not, no better time than the present to read it now! (It’s got a swanky new cover and everything! :))

You can also use this shorter URL to link to the eBook: http://www.whyfaith.com/nt/

I have unfortunately lost the source of these quotes. I saved them in a text file to reply to later on this blog, but the quote does not appear (anymore?) on the url I saved with it. (The quote was likely from a review of another book on Amazon.) Regardless, here are the comments and my replies.

One never has a “moral obligation” to impose beliefs that are not solidly backed up with proof. In fact, doing so is an insult and an offense to the person whose beliefs you attack with the well-intended suggestion that yours are better.

I agree, although I would substitute the word “evidence” for where he/she has written “proof”, thus Paul says “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15,16)

Think about it. Where did your beliefs come from? Someone told you to believe, and probably told you you would go to hell for not believing. Am I right?

Actually, no. I grew up in an atheist/agnostic home and came to my own conclusions based on my personal investigation (and, I believe, God’s grace). Many people are Christians because they were brought up Christians; but that proves nothing about whether the Christianity is true. (See: Genetic fallacy.)

Don’t arrogantly foist your belief system on people who have their own. Be a little meek and humble, the way the Bible tells you to be. Leave people to believe the way they choose to.

I certainly don’t support “arrogantly foisting” things on anyone. Evangelism is about sharing the good news, not forcing anyone to do anything. But note that the implication here is quite stunning. Here’s what is basically seems to be suggested: “If you believe all of those people are headed for eternal torment/destruction, just leave them alone. Don’t try to help them. Don’t even mention this to them, even though they may not be aware of it.” If you believed someone was putting his life in danger, wouldn’t you want to help them? Christians don’t share their faith because it’s always a fun time for them. It’s often a frustrating and thankless endeavor. Christians share their faith (at least, in theory) because of their concern for others.

And respect that maybe - just maybe - what you think and believe doesn’t matter one whit. Maybe it’s just how we behave, and how well we follow the Golden Rule that counts.

Here we come to the crux of the issue. If “how we behave, and how well we follow the Golden Rule” are really what counts, then this author is right, we should stop all of this religious talk and just get on with being as “good” as possible. This is indeed what most religions believe, albeit they have different ideas about what being “good” means. But, unlike all other faiths, this is NOT what Christians believe. Christians do not believe what saves us is being good. What separates Christianity from other faiths is grace.

The question is: How good is good enough? Are you “good enough”? I mean, you’re probably a pretty swell guy/girl. Compared to the jerk down the street who runs his lawnmower early Sunday mornings, or that “bad” uncle no one talks about, or … well what about, Adolf Hitler? Compared to them, you’re a saint. But where, exactly, is the ‘line’ that determines goodness? 50% goodness? That seems a little low. What about 90% goodness? Remember now, if God exists, He is 100% holy, righteous, and “good” in every sense of the word.

It’s something to think about. How good is good enough? This is not a rhetorical question … it has eternal consequences! The fact is that the common assumption (often not thought about and hardly ever challenged) that “good people to to heaven” is wrong.

Go deeper:

• Jesus: Fact or Fiction? - God’s grace: A nice idea, but is it true? Only if Jesus is real …
• How Good is Good Enough? - Short, easy to read book, highly recommended

The full article appears in the Calgary Sun:

Maybe if Artur Pawlowski had been holding a flag of the outlawed terrorist organization Hezbollah, Calgary Police would have left him alone … Pawlowski, 33, who has been helping the homeless for years, gave up his lucrative home-building business last year to start up The Street Church full-time … Because Pawlowski has been threatened so often by drug dealers angry their clients often turn away from drugs as a result of his message of hope and help, he started videotaping every outing. Wednesday’s was no different … On Monday, Pawlowski and his brother went to the park, talked with tarot card readers and other practisers of “sorcery” to tell them the Bible condemns such practices. Video shows they remained calm but the vendors became agitated. Event organizers called police and Pawlowski and his brother David were asked not to talk to the vendors again. They agreed and left. On Wednesday, when they returned to pray, they stayed far away from the vendors. Organizers called police anyway. The video shows Pawlowski standing on the public sidewalk with his hands in his pockets. He asks a burly police officer in a calm voice, “Why are you harassing me? What did I do wrong?” The police officer responds with: “I’m going to arrest you for obstruction.” At that, Pawlowski is handcuffed and made to walk backwards to the police cruiser where he was frisked … He was also charged with trespassing and disturbing the peace. He spent one night in jail and is to appear in court on Sept. 7 … The video clearly shows six police officers attending to the calm Pawlowski. (Licia Corbella, Calgary Sun)

Seems excessive, don’t you think? Had they not been videotaping that day, things might’ve gone even worse for him.