Wishful thinking cannot nullify truth
“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 there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe to be like that.”
—Thomas Nagel, Professor of Philosophy and Law at New York University
From years of listening to adherents of other worldviews explain why they don’t believe in God of the Bible, I am more convinced than ever that their views are not based upon a careful examination of the many lines of evidence supporting belief in God of the Bible. Rather, they are usually based upon other factors including cultural upbringing, the perceived misbehavior of some Christians, and media and educational institutions that are generally hostile to the Christian worldview.
However, one of the biggest factors explaining the general public’s antipathy to the Christian worldview is wishful thinking; that is, people would rather that it weren’t true because, as Nagel points out in the opening epigraph, they don’t want the world to be like that. And by “the world to be like that,” he means he doesn’t want the following biblical propositions to be true:
Individual humans were created by God in His image and for His purposes (not theirs); and
Individuals are separated from perfect and holy God because of the sin nature with which everyone is born; and
Individuals will be judged by God for their sins of thought, word and deed committed throughout their lives and irrespective of any good deeds they may have performed; unless
Individuals repent of their disobedience and wholeheartedly accept Jesus’ offer of forgiveness through his sacrificial death on the cross; otherwise, they are choosing to be eternally separated from God.
Given their personal misgivings about the implications of the Christian worldview including the necessity of surrendering their autonomy to God’s rule, they frequently raise various objections to the claims put forward in support of the Christian worldview, including the following:
The Bible is trustworthy;
Jesus was physically raised from the dead;
Modern science, while often a source of blessing through the development of helpful technologies, is not the only pathway to truth and, specifically, does not negate belief in God; and/or
The claim of religious pluralism that all religions (including atheism) are equally valid cannot be true because of Jesus’ claim that trusting in him and his substitutionary sacrifice is the only way to be reconciled with God.
One of the key truths well known to successful salespeople is that objections raised by potential customers are often a smokescreen to obscure the real objection. And, in the context of this blog, the real objection is often, quite simply, that they don’t want Christianity to be true.
These objections are addressed in Part 3 of my book, “More Than Your Business Card.” One of the key truths well known to successful salespeople is that objections raised by potential customers are often a smokescreen to obscure the real objection. And, in the context of this blog, the real objection is often, quite simply, that they don’t want Christianity to be true. As a result, they are not prepared to honestly engage with evidence supporting Christian truth claims.
When you share your faith in Jesus, are you prepared to (winsomely) confront not-yet-believers with the possibility they are engaged in wishful thinking? Do they understand that wishful thinking can’t nullify truth? One question you might ask to confirm their perspective: “If Christianity were true, would you become a Christian?”
Photo by Dayne Topkin on Unsplash
