What’s your (real) objection?

Dealing with objections is second nature for sales professionals. They understand that people often hide their real objection, wittingly or unwittingly, behind various other objections to deflect or avoid introspection. Thus, the key to effective selling is peeling the onion; that is, accurately identifying and credibly addressing the root objection while also dealing with other more peripheral issues.

The topic of objections came to mind recently during an email exchange with a thoughtful friend and seasoned business leader who wrote:

“Jesus Christ was born a Jew and died a Jew.  I could find no evidence that he ever asked his followers to begin a new religion and to call it Christianity.  Research indicates that the first evidence of the use of the word Christianity was a full decade after the death of Jesus Christ.  If Jesus never asked that a religion be formed based on his name, why does it even exist today? It seems that this question is always avoided.

2000 years ago information was word of mouth. Scribes, with all their biases and prejudices (they were, after all, fallible humans) were not readily available to transcribe every written word and even if they were, how are we to know whether their transcriptions were even accurate. Whatever will be will be! In this regard, blind faith doesn’t work for me.”

He raises several good points, some of which are correct but need amplification. Others are common objections to the Christian worldview but don’t stand up well to critical scrutiny. The issues raised may be summarized as (1) Jesus’ perspective on religion; (2) non-Jewish Christians; (3) the continuing existence (and growth) of Christianity since Jesus’ time; (4) the trustworthiness of the Bible; (5) fatalism (aka “whatever will be will be”); and (6) blind faith. Let’s dig a little deeper into these issues.

Jesus’ perspective on religion

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, religion may be defined as “a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices.” By this definition, my friend is absolutely correct in his assertion that Jesus never intended to initiate a new religion. 

Indeed, much of Jesus’ critique of the Jewish leaders of his day was their putting various religious practices ahead of the spirit underlying the Mosaic law instituted by God. On one occasion, Jesus said, “They [the religious leaders] crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. Everything they do is for show…” (Matthew 23:4-5(a) NLT-SE). Indeed, an argument can be made that Jesus hated their practice of religion, since it tended to separate people from God.

Jesus never intended to initiate a new religion. 

Jesus did not come to initiate a new religion but rather a new relationship. Prior to his arrival, the Jews related to God through a set of religious observances passed down from Moses including sacrifices to atone for their sinful conduct toward God and other people. Through his life, death and resurrection, Jesus opened the door to an eternal relationship with God that has absolutely nothing to do with religion. Rather, it has everything to do with each individual recognizing her or his need for a savior, repenting of their indifference to God, and surrendering their lives to Him and His plans and purposes. 

Next post: For Jews only? 

Photo by LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash