I once listened to a book by one of the world’s prominent atheists. The primary argument of this book is the author’s belief that “religion poisons everything.” To be clear, he does not attack one particular religion, but all religion. His claim is rooted in the various abuses that have been perpetuated in the name of “religion” over the centuries. And there is no shortage of examples of such abuse to draw from over the length of human history. You might also guess, there is a substantial bend to his writing. He does very, very little to acknowledge the massive amount of good that comes from people of faith, instead pointing only to the misuses of religious principles by men to satisfy greedy, power-hungry desires. He also significantly distorts the writings of scripture to fit his narrative.
There is a temptation to take a book like this and dismissively brush it off as the rantings of a hard heart who doesn’t know what he’s talking about or just doesn’t care. However, the referencing of well-documented abuses and personal experiences reveals a little bit of why he has arrived at his conclusions. In part, his callousness to religion has been shaped by negative encounters with people who claim to represent God. In other words, they were sending the wrong message about God.
This reminds me of the warning Paul gives his readers in Romans 2:17-24. In summary, if you claim to be a follower of God and presume to teach others of his ways, but actively live in rebellion of those truths, you are part of the problem. “You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, ‘The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you’” (Rom. 2:23-24).
When we claim allegiance to God, we assume the role of being his representatives. Effectively, our lives become the living statement, “This is what God is like.” Therefore, when people interact with us, what we show them will be the traits they associate with God. Passages like the one above should lead us to evaluate if we are sending the right message about who God is by the way we conduct ourselves. How do we handle conflict? Do we treat all people with love, respect, and dignity? Do we preach about morality, only to cast our support to those who actively fight against those values? Are we entertained on Saturday night by things we preach against on Sunday morning? Does our concern for the oppressed and downtrodden result in action, or are we content to merely talk about the tragedies in this world?
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Understand, I give no credence to the conclusions this author or others like him espouse. Neither do I hate him or recommend that any derision be sent his way. I do believe we should be praying earnestly for those who have adopted such views. I also believe we Christians should make sure that our actions match our mouths, and that our mouths match the Bible. Our daily choices have a ripple effect that go well beyond ourselves. They have the ability to support or undermine someone else’s pursuit of the truth.
May God grant us the willingness and objectivity to make sure that as his representatives we’re sending the right message.
Cory Waddell
