Where evil really is
As yet another famous figure admits to charges of sexual
abuse, I’ve been thinking about how these cases have followed on from scandals involving
Christians. One of the arguments made against Christianity being true is the
terrible behaviour of some of those who say they follow Jesus, but I don’t
think this stands up. In fact, it leads to an affirmation of what Christianity teaches:
- Christians have committed or been complicit in sexual abuse, now we have seemingly everyone from post-war light entertainment being found guilty of similar crimes.
- Christians have been accused of waging war in the name of their ideology, now we’ve had a century of secular bloodshed.
- Christians have manipulated the emotions of ignorant people in order to get their loyalty and money, now we have adverts.
“Think of people you consider fanatical. They’re overbearing, self-righteous, insensitive, harsh. Why? It’s not because they are too Christian but because they are not Christian enough. They are fanatically zealous and courageous, but they are not fanatically humble, sensitive, loving, empathetic, forgiving or understanding – as Christ was… What strikes us as overly fanatical is actually a failure to be fully committed to Christ and to His gospel.” (Timothy Keller, The Reason for God)