ASK “Isn't Christianity Just a Psychological Crutch?”
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ASK “Isn’t Christianity Just a Psychological Crutch?” Introduction: This morning we’re continuing in our series called “Ask” based on questions coming from our community. We’ve engaged with many of our friends and neighbors from the Georgian Triangle region and had some interesting discussions already. Some of those people haven’t really asked a question, they’ve stated, in different words, that Christianity is a fairy tale or a myth, like Santa Claus. Others in history, like Sigmund Freud, have inferred that we believe in God simply in order to psychologically help us to cope with difficulties in this life. The atheist P.K. Atkins said, “[Religious belief is] outmoded and ridiculous. [Belief in gods was a] worn out but once useful crutch in mankind's journey towards truth. We consider the time has come for that crutch to be abandoned.” This seems to be a common refrain, but is it true? Does God simply exist as a figment of our overactive imaginations? Have we simply invented him or her or it in order to make our lives easier? I won’t speak today for other religions, but I will speak for Christianity. Let me begin with a story. A few days ago, the Open Doors annual World Watch List of the most dangerous places in the world for Christians to live came out. North Korea is number one on the list. In many countries in our world today, being a Christian or becoming a Christian puts you at risk of persecution and even death. Not here, of course, generally speaking. In fact, today, before you go to bed tonight, today, if it was an average day, around the world at least 8 Christians will be killed simply because they chose to follow Jesus Christ. That number is probably low because of countries like North Korea or China, where it’s difficult to get accurate reports. One of those people is a pastor by the name of Lawan Andimi from Nigeria. He was declared missing on January 3rd after a raid by Boko Haram – an Islamist militant group. In a ransom video – he thanked God, and asked people not to cry, but to give thanks to God. It was reported on January 21st that he was beheaded after he refused to deny faith in Jesus Christ. Page | 1 It’s difficult to imagine that the martyrs in Iran, Afghanistan, Nigeria, North Korea or throughout history came to Christianity as a psychological crutch – something that will make their lives easier, or help them to cope. For many, conversion to Christianity means ostracism from family, the loss of job, home and status. For others it means arrest. Yet, it’s interesting, isn’t it, that it is in some of those very countries that the church is growing the most rapidly. So, how do we deal with this claim about faith? When making an honest examination of them, the first thing to recognize is what those making the statements are claiming about themselves. Critics of faith are saying that Christians are prone to psychological and wish-fulfillment factors that they, the skeptics, are not. But how do they know that? Perhaps Freud, himself, had an outworking of wish-fulfillment that revealed itself in not wanting a Holy God and judgment in the afterlife to exist, a wish for hell (for example) not to be real. After all, he did say that, “The bad part of it, especially for me, lies in the fact that science of all things seems to demand the existence of a God.” Some atheists have honestly and openly stated that. Serving as one example, Philosophy Professor Thomas Nagel once said, “I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. It isn’t just that I don't believe in God and naturally hope that I'm right in my belief. It’s that I hope that there is no God! I don't want there to be a God; I don't want the universe to be like that.” So, I think we could easily turn that question around and ask, “Isn’t atheism just a psychological crutch for those who do not want to believe in God?” What leads someone to say that they hope that there is no God? That may be interesting and somewhat informative, but it still doesn’t deal with the facts, which is what we ought to be dealing with. If it’s not a psychological crutch, why would we say it isn’t? 1. True Christianity doesn’t always (ever?) make your life easier. The assumption here is that Christianity does make your life easier. That is not at all what the Bible teaches, and it certainly isn’t true for many Christians around the world. I love what C.S. Lewis said, “I didn't go into religion to make me happy. I knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel comfortable, I would not recommend Christianity.” Page | 2 Here, I think, we must make reference to what some have called “easy-believism.” This is the brand of Christianity in some parts of the West that has been used to give all who claim to follow Christ a bad name. It is a faith with no cross, no suffering, and no expectations. In contrast to that, we have the words of Jesus to those who were considering being His disciples: “Take up your cross and follow me.” What He was saying was well understood by those who were listening to Him. In fact, many turned away when He said that. Those Galileans were used to seeing the condemned, following the Roman soldiers, carrying their crosses to the place of crucifixion. The cross meant death. As we come to see in Jesus’ teaching, it doesn’t always mean a physical death for His followers, but what it does mean is that those who follow Him die to their own selfish ambitions and agendas and live to advance the Kingdom of God. The early church advanced the Gospel around the known world with limited resources, limited means of transportation, and in an often hostile environment! Their lives were not easier! True Christianity always comes with a cost. It is worth it, yes. But, as the great British writer and philosopher G.K. Chesterton said, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.” I believe that what Freud was criticizing was not Christianity, but a caricature of Christianity. 2. Christianity is based on historical facts I do think that Freud may be onto something about believing in myths as a psychological crutch, but Christianity is not about myths, rather it is based in historical fact. That is largely what we’re talking about in this series. There is a huge difference here. You see, many religions are based in myth. Their stories were never meant to be taken as historical, but usually as allegorical. Some which have made claims have been proven to be mythological – such as the Mormon story of advanced ancient civilizations in North America. John Stonestreet wrote that, “unlike other faiths, Christianity is rooted in real human history. It tells the story of God’s actions in the same world that you and I occupy, as opposed to some mythical ‘once upon a time.’” This is one of many reasons that makes biblical Christianity different from every other religion on earth. Page | 3 What is truth? Here the question must be addressed: how can we know what is true? And even – what is truth? A simple definition of truth that I like is this: truth is that which conforms to reality. Some people – especially in our day and age – would deny the existence of objective truth. We touched on this earlier as we addressed moral and cultural relativism. But if someone ever tells you that there is no such thing as truth, just ask them if what they are saying is true. Even to make the statement doesn’t make sense. How can you affirm anything if you don’t believe that truth exists? So, the question then becomes, how can we determine what is true from what isn’t? Thankfully, we have lots of different ways of doing that. We have the scientific method, which looks for repeatable results through experimentation to affirm or deny a thesis. Through the scientific method theses become theories which may be revealed as laws – like the law of gravity. We have archaeology, where we can unearth things long since buried which often confirm or deny truth claims. There are many different methods used to determine the accuracy of such things. I have found it interesting reading the work of J. Warner Wallace who was a police detective in Los Angeles, often featured on Dateline, and an atheist until he was convinced to put his cold case skills to work on looking at the testimony from the New Testament. Here’s the method he used in his criminal cases and in this case, where the New Testament is claimed to be an eyewitness account. 1. Principle One: Make Sure the Witnesses Were Present in the First Place 2. Principle Two: Try to Find Some Corroboration for the Claims of the Witnesses 3. Principle Three: Examine the Consistency and Accuracy of the Witnesses 4. Principle Four: Examine the Presence of Bias on the Part of the Witnesses The evidence for the historical accuracy of the Bible was enough to convince a skeptical atheist that these eyewitnesses were telling the truth, and that the New Testament conforms to reality – it is true history.