A provocative post by Don Johnson explaining six reasons that many people reject Christianity. Each alleged reason is well defended. A few memorable snippets below.
1. Christians Behaving Badly
As Gaudium et Spes points out, “believers themselves often share some responsibility for [atheism]…To the extent that they…fail in their religious, moral, or social life, they must be said to conceal rather than to reveal the true nature of God and of religion.” (19)
2. Heartbreak
A recent study led by psychologist Julie Exline of Case Western Reserve University supports this notion. In studying college students, her research indicated that “atheists and agnostics reported more anger at God during their lifetimes than believers. A separate study also found this pattern among bereaved individuals.”
3. Fatherlessness
Their father has disappointed them profoundly or been absent. True for Hume, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Russell, Sartre, Camus, Hobbes, Voltaire, Butler, and Freud.
4. Social Pressures
They want to fit in among, for example, among atheistic or agnostic scientists.
5. The Cost of Discipleship
G.K. Chesterton famously said that “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried” (What’s Wrong with the World, Kindle Location 405). That sums up another reason for skepticism: following Jesus is hard!
6. Immorality
He unpacks the example of Aldous Huxley.
Read the whole thing.
HT: @jwarnerwallace