Introduction
Introduction
HAS CHRISTIANITY FAILED YOU?
Some time ago, our ministry held an open forum at the beautiful Fox Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. Some of my younger colleagues asked me to consider addressing the topic "Has
Christianity Failed You?" My first reaction was surprise that they thought such a topic would be of interest to a diverse audience. They were even more surprised by my surprise. The disappointment in Christianity they had heard expressed by so many of their friends was supported by the questions raised in scores of letters received at our ministry. (It is said that for every person that writes a letter, there are probably a thousand who feel the same way.) Many of their contemporaries, having found new hope and meaning in Christ, had begun to experience tension between what they believed and what they were seeing around them or experiencing themselves.
Uncertainties about their faith had grown and weariness had begun to creep in. What had been a vibrant and dynamic faith had become defined by nothing more than a circle of friends and range of activities. They concluded that, especially for the younger generation, this was not a topic we should keep from addressing.
So I agreed, even though I was still not sure to what degree people would be drawn out into the open. During the weeks before the forum, our videographer took his camera to record the responses of several people who had renounced the Christian faith they had once held. One was a man who had
been rejected by Christians because of his gay lifestyle.
Another had fallen into adultery, and though she had repented, she had never felt accepted by Christians at church again.
Some said they had been disappointed in Christianity because they found it intellectually untenable in an age of reason.
To my total surprise, on the day of the event we had a capacity crowd of four thousand people—with more people lined up outside, willing to pay a higher price for a ticket to get in. I had seen "scalpers" at ball games but never at a Christian
"talking head" event. Some of those who had been interviewed made a point of attending the event so they could see if there was an acceptable answer to their disappointment. If this crowd was any indication, the sense that Christianity has failed is real and troubling and pervasive.
Why are so many today not only living with silent doubt but actually leaving the "evangelical fold" for something else?
Is there something wrong with the message, with the communicator, with the hearer—or with all three? Is it time to ask ourselves some hard questions about what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ? Why does it seem that God has made it so hard to continue believing, regardless of one's education, personal experience, or standing in society? Such skepticism is not representative of just those who are hostile to the faith; it also represents many who are honestly asking questions. This book is an attempt to respond to both of these groups, within and outside the Christian faith. More to the point, I believe, is whether it is actually possible to still make sense out of life once one has denied one's faith in Christ or has shunted him aside.
In the end, the answers that are given and received must be both felt and real, with the added impetus that God is nearer
than one might think. He desires that we sense him very near to us and not distant from us. But the assurance of his nearness comes at a cost, just as is true for any relationship of love and commitment. Of the thirty-seven years that my wife and I have been married, the three most difficult years in our marriage were those during which I set aside my calling as an itinerant evangelist and, at the request of my denominational leadership, took up a seminary professorship as my principal contribution to the work of the church. Going against my inner calling was difficult, and in the end I realized that when one is outside the will of God, one's other commitments can also be put at risk and one's most important relationships can become dry and lifeless. To be in the place where God wants you is indispensable to enjoying the blessings God offers.
The question raised in this book—Has Christianity failed you?—is an even deeper challenge than it may appear. It is not merely that Christianity may not be what some thought it would be (that sounds more like a question of felt need); the real question is one of intellectual coherence, and that is much deeper. Former evangelical Robert M. Price takes to task Rick
War-ren's bestselling book, The Purpose Driven Life®, and responds with one of his own, The Reason-Driven Life. Price puts the sword to evangelical faith and twists it with delight. In powerful words and with boastful scholarship, he declares that evangelicals have been intellectually hoodwinked or are existentially hypocritical. Every chapter is laced with mockery of what he claims to have once believed as an evangelical and reveals his anger for having been "taken in." I would venture to suggest that large numbers of people would concur with him as many of our young people in particular are finding themselves trying to survive the terrifying high seas of their
faith journey without chart or compass.
When Noah was building his ark, God gave him detailed instructions for everything: how high, no higher; how long, no longer; what species to include and in what numbers—details ad nauseum. But when all had been done according to God's instructions and the door was finally shut, it must have been a terrifying experience to realize there was no sail or rudder on this ark. Who was in control?
Is Christianity a mindless game in which we are hurled into the storms of life with false assurances, or are the instructions we have been given so detailed that we can anticipate what the storms of belief will be like, know who is in control, and what to do when we reach solid ground? In the end, rather than it being
Christianity that has failed, could it be that we will be startled to find out it is the church that has failed, not Christ?
This book is for Christians and skeptics alike. I pray it will make a difference in how each person who reads it sees Jesus, how they see themselves, and how they see the way life is to be lived and thought through. God does not disappoint us. We often disappoint him and ourselves. There is a road to recovery; there is direction to the center of his place for us. I hope the following pages will point to the rudder and the sail we have been given and, most important, to the Captain of this ship called Life.