By Michael Runyan ~
The true test of a religion’s truth claims is whether it followers, particularly the most ardent ones, behave in a way that validates the underlying dogma. Christianity fails this test, and it fails it miserably.
If a Christian truly believes the doctrine, he will accept that this life is just a brief spec of time compared to the eternity that awaits in heaven. He will also believe that dying is nothing to be concerned about because losing a few years on Earth is nothing compared to the trillions of years to be enjoyed in heaven, and besides, leaving the arduous and stressful existence often experienced in this life to go to a place of eternal peace and joy is a good thing. Further, if our 70 years on this planet decides whether we will spend 10000000000000000000000000000000000000000+ years in heaven versus the same amount of time in hell, it would demand that we spend every living moment making sure that we will go to the right place.
All of this fails with virtually every Christian- they are all frightened of their own deaths, grieve when loved ones die, frantically try to survive if they get cancer or some other life-threatening disease, and spend most of their time trying to make their lives good in this life- pursuing careers, buying expensive houses and cars, watching TV and movies, going on vacations- all instead of devoting every waking moment to Bible study, prayer, going to church, sharing the gospel with others, selling their possessions and giving to the poor.
It would be as if you were given the following offer. You have 10 minutes to pick up all of the $100 bills you can, but you must then live on that amount of money for the rest of your life. When the clock starts, would you dally around for a few minutes watching the birds flying around, or would you immediately start to pick up the money? In this analogy, the average Christian picks up a bill every minute or so while doing something completely irrelevant to the task the rest of the time.
This is the bottom line, Christians claim to believe in Christianity but behave just as if they know it’s false - that this is the only life we can count on and it’s a better bet to live as if that is the truth.
Christians often claim that one of the best indications that Christianity is true is the fact that so many people believe it. But a much more precise and defensible claim is that Christianity is false because so few people actually live as if it is true.
If a Christian truly believes the doctrine, he will accept that this life is just a brief spec of time compared to the eternity that awaits in heaven. He will also believe that dying is nothing to be concerned about because losing a few years on Earth is nothing compared to the trillions of years to be enjoyed in heaven, and besides, leaving the arduous and stressful existence often experienced in this life to go to a place of eternal peace and joy is a good thing. Further, if our 70 years on this planet decides whether we will spend 10000000000000000000000000000000000000000+ years in heaven versus the same amount of time in hell, it would demand that we spend every living moment making sure that we will go to the right place.
All of this fails with virtually every Christian- they are all frightened of their own deaths, grieve when loved ones die, frantically try to survive if they get cancer or some other life-threatening disease, and spend most of their time trying to make their lives good in this life- pursuing careers, buying expensive houses and cars, watching TV and movies, going on vacations- all instead of devoting every waking moment to Bible study, prayer, going to church, sharing the gospel with others, selling their possessions and giving to the poor.
It would be as if you were given the following offer. You have 10 minutes to pick up all of the $100 bills you can, but you must then live on that amount of money for the rest of your life. When the clock starts, would you dally around for a few minutes watching the birds flying around, or would you immediately start to pick up the money? In this analogy, the average Christian picks up a bill every minute or so while doing something completely irrelevant to the task the rest of the time.
This is the bottom line, Christians claim to believe in Christianity but behave just as if they know it’s false - that this is the only life we can count on and it’s a better bet to live as if that is the truth.
Christians often claim that one of the best indications that Christianity is true is the fact that so many people believe it. But a much more precise and defensible claim is that Christianity is false because so few people actually live as if it is true.
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