Episode 7: "So what?" - it's a valid response

Hey y'all!

There are times when someone offers a challenge to Christianity that they think is really strong but in fact it actually has no impact at all.

Take the claim that there are contradictions in the Bible. Someone might pose this as a big problem for Christians. Their challenge is that we claim the Bible is God’s word, but if it has logical problems (a contradiction is saying something is both true and false at the same time and in the same way), how can God be trustworthy? In that situation, we need to remember that the claim that the Bible is “God’s Word” doesn’t even have to be a part of the conversation. Your goal isn’t to convince them of Biblical inerrancy, but rather to introduce them to Jesus, the real man that walked the earth 2,000 years ago. They are not saved by believing in the inerrancy of the Bible, but by believing in Jesus and it doesn’t take inerrancy to tell them about Jesus. It just takes an historically accurate ancient book that gives them true information about Jesus., which the Bible has proven to be (even according to scholars who aren’t Christians).

The way to navigate the conversation is around the topic of “so what?” While you’ll have to be on very friendly terms to say that directly, other questions you could ask are: Can books on their shelves, not inspired by the Holy Spirit give them truth? Can they even have some mistakes in them, but give them truth in other subjects? Of course they can! And the gospels have very good evidence that they are conveying the truth of the matter as biographies of Jesus. There aren’t any supposed contradictions about the core elements of who Jesus is.

The point is that they can start their relationship with Jesus thinking there are contradictions even though mature Christians have a deeper understanding that gets to the bottom of what’s really going on in those situations. They will learn over time and God will grow them in Christlikeness through a process that he desires. Biblical inerrancy may not be the first item on the list.

Another topic that people complain about is the number of denominations, that somehow differences between Christians nullify the core truths that make us all claim Christ in the first place.

Remember to “Be Smart, Be Tactical, Be Nice” in your conversations.

If you're interested in hearing a little more dialog about these two topics, check out these podcasts:

How Would You Respond to the Claim That the Bible Is Full of Contradictions?

Are You About to Tell Me You Know the One and Only True Denomination on Earth?

As always.. ask anything, any time!

-Uncle Doug