It is important to me to understand where people are coming from, especially when we disagree. I am always interested in listening to people who disagree with me so I can better understand their thought process and how they came to their conclusions. When speaking with non-Christians, I have heard a number of objections and arguments as to why Christianity is not a reasonable belief system. One point brought up again and again by non-believers is that they do not like the God described by the Bible. I have heard people say that the God of the Bible is distant, judgmental, angry, evil, etc. As a result, they want no part of him. I am surprised by how often I have heard someone say, “Even if I could be convinced that the God of the Bible was real I still wouldn’t become a Christian because the God of the Bible is evil.”
It seems matters of religion are one of the few areas in which people consider their own personal feelings on a topic to be tantamount to evidence. In spiritual discussions, people may consider a line of evidence but, before reaching a conclusion, will ask themselves how they feel about the conclusion itself. If the evidence points to the God of the Bible as being real, but I don’t want there to be a God like the one in the Bible, is it reasonable to simply choose not to believe?
I don’t necessarily see this type of reasoning in other areas of life. For example, if a doctor or researcher is investigating a certain disease and attempting to come up with a vaccine or cure, they will typically design a set of experiments and ultimately test different treatments. It is my hope that the researchers involved would follow the evidence gleaned from their tests in order to come up with the most likely treatment to cure the disease. Can you imagine, however, if a doctor were to consider their own feelings on the results before coming to a conclusion? What if the most effective treatment was unappealing to the researcher? If the treatment were invasive or uncomfortable to the patient, could the researcher simply state they didn’t like the way the way the research was going and choose to ignore the best treatment due to personal preference? Of course not, we expect the researcher to come to the most reasonable conclusion even if it is not the conclusion they wanted to find.
I have sympathy for people who struggle with the way God is. There are many times when I am personally frustrated with God. I do not always like the things he expects of me, I don’t like the things I have to do or go through, I am not always content when I see injustice in the world around me that I believe he could fix. But this is the nature of truth: If the God of the Bible truly exists, then he exists regardless of our feelings about him. Our opinion will not change the reality of who God is.
As difficult as it may be, if we want to find the truth then we have to put our own personal feelings aside. Our feelings are not a piece of evidence we can use to find the truth. Instead, we must allow ourselves to come to the most reasonable conclusion based on the evidence, regardless of how we feel about it. Once we have reached a conclusion, then we can assess our feelings on the subject and decide our best course of action.
If the God of the Bible truly exists, He loves you, wants a relationship with you, and wants to be reunited with you, as described in the Scripture. - Jimmy Wallace Share on XIf the God of the Bible truly exists, He loves you, wants a relationship with you, and wants to be reunited with you, as described in the Scripture. It would be a shame if our own personal preferences prevented us from seeing this beautiful reality.
Jimmy Wallace is a detective who holds a BA in Psychology (from UCLA) and an MA in Theology - Applied Apologetics (from Colorado Christian University).
Frank Stodolka
December 20, 2020 at 12:33 pm
I have been a born again Christian since 1978. My faith is based on both miraculous revelations from God and hard core scientific evidence, including the Shroud of Turin. However, today while reading the gospel of Luke I discovered what appears to be a major problem between the gospels. Luke 2:39 says that Mary & Joseph, returned to Nazareth after their required sacrifice at the temple. There was no mention of Magi bringing gifts and certainly no fleeing to Egypt. Are we to assume that they eventually MOVED from Nazareth to Bethlehem? I understand that the Christ child may have been two years old at the time the Magi came. But I am concerned that such major events as moving to Bethlehem and fleeing to Egypt were left out of Luke’s gospel.
Jacob N.
January 2, 2021 at 10:24 am
Frank, I saw no one has replied to your question yet, and wanted to help. The explanation given in this link helps shed some light on it:
https://veritasdomain.wordpress.com/2016/12/07/bible-contradiction-did-jesus-mary-and-joseph-go-to-egypt-or-nazareth/
Blessings,
A brother in Christ
Jim Lee
January 26, 2021 at 2:17 am
Thanks for sharing that link
kenley
February 8, 2021 at 7:56 pm
How can someone say God is evil? He created humans who have become the evil ones due to the fall of mankind. I feel as if people would just open their hearts and allow God to do something for them, they may see He is a loving God who cares for his people. Even as a Christian, I have been angry at God due to things that I’ve done because I saw “no change” in my life. All I did was just ask God to help without putting in the effort. He is not evil, He is good, loving, and just.