Insightful comments about Christianity by unbelievers

Sometimes, non-Christian people can surprise us with their perceptive statements about Christianity and Western society. For instance, I have written about atheist Frank Haviland’s bemusement at the way in which many church leaders deny core teachings of the faith they profess (The Church’s hole in the heart).1 Here are some more examples of insight from unbelievers.

Matthew Parris is a British journalist and writer, formerly a politician. Although an atheist, he credits the Gospel’s beneficial impact. He cannot understand why Christians are not more public about their faith:

“The New Testament offers a picture of a God who does not sound at all vague to me. He has sent his son to Earth. He has distinct plans both for his son and for mankind. He knows each of us personally and can communicate directly with us. We are capable of forming a direct relationship, individually with him, and are commanded to try. We are told this can be done only through his son. And we are offered the prospect of eternal life—an afterlife of happy, blissful or glorious circumstances …

Friends, if I believe that, or even a tenth of that … I would drop my job, sell my house, throw away my possessions, leave my acquaintances and set out into the world burning with the desire to know more and, when I had found out more, to act upon it and tell others. … Far from being puzzled that Mormons or Adventists should knock on my door, I am unable to understand how anyone who believed what is written in the Bible could choose to spend his waking hours in any other endeavour.”²

A major problem, regularly highlighted by [Creation Ministry International] writers and speakers, is that many people profess to be true Christians but deny the Genesis foundation;¹ then, they protest that their ‘progressive’ views on morality and ethics are endorsed by Scripture.

Ben Sixsmith is an author and contributing editor of The Critic. The following observations about what he calls ‘a twist of Christianity’ are insightful indeed:

“There is mainstream culture, celebrities, fashion, music, modish political activism and a message of self-love, but with a twist of Christianity. Most people stick with mainstream culture because they can have all those things and pre-marital sex. We can see the ‘with a twist of Christianity’ trend elsewhere. … So, if Christianity is such an inessential add-on, why become a Christian?

I am not religious, so it is not my place to dictate to Christians what they should and should not believe. Still, if someone has a faith worth following, I feel that their beliefs should make me feel uncomfortable for not doing so. If they share 90 percent of my lifestyle and values, then there is nothing especially inspiring about them. Instead of making me want to become more like them, it looks very much as if they want to become more like me.”4

The challenge: if you’re reading this as a Christian, do you believe the Scriptures, from the very first verse? Are you taking your stand for God’s truth—courageously, faithfully, lovingly, tactfully, prayerfully? Or are you still toying with the unbelief of the culture around you, unsure of your faith foundation, and hiding your allegiance to Christ chameleon-like? May God help all those who seek to stand firm for Him and His unbreakable truth (John 10:35; 1 Cor. 15:58).

Published: 10 September 2024

References and notes

1. Bell, P., The Church’s hole in the heart, creation.com/church-hole-in-the-heart, 6 February 2024.
2. Parris, M., Why do people debate the future of the church when they have not made up their minds about the existence of God? The Times, markmeynell.files.wordpress.com, May 2007.
3. Harari, Y.N., Homo Deus: A brief history of tomorrow, Vintage, London, p. 322, 2017.
4. Sixsmith, B., The sad irony of celebrity pastors, thespectator.com, 6 Dec 2020 (emphases added).

https://creation.com/unbelievers-on-christianity