Don't Defend the Faith!

Instead, heal the people. God hardly needs us for protection, but the world most assuredly needs us to act as agents of Christ's hope and healing.

When I say "Don't defend the faith," I'm talking about how established Christians have this overwhelming urge, whenever a non-Christian makes a strong attack (either rightly or in error) on Christianity, to erect a defense. I spend a fair amount of time talking with people outside the church and I haven't found this to be helpful in any way, ever.

When the attack is accurate: confess
Sometimes people outside the church will tick off the reasons why they dislike God, the church, or church people, and they may be right on target. "The church is full of hypocrites," they'll shout, or "The church is responsible for some of the worst sins against humanity. Just look at the crusades, the Inquisition, and so on!" This is our opportunity to do a little confession. After all, there are these and more. The church could do well to spend more time listening to our sins and being heartbroken over them. And a sincere, heartfelt "You're right," often makes a tremendous difference to people outside the church.

When the attack is in error: wait
Sometimes the attack on God is spurious and insubstantial. Usually that means that there's something that isn't being said, an injury that goes deeper. These attacks usually turn up the greatest opportunity for healing, but you have to wait and watch for it. Sometimes you'll miss the cue, but you can count on getting another opportunity. There are still plenty of people in the world who understand very little about God.

Once the main part of the initial attack passes, you can begin to look for your friend's injury. Sometimes all it takes is making an observation, or asking a question.

I recently met a young man named Brandon. He initiated our conversation by telling me in fairly strong terms that he didn't believe in God, and that all religion was a crutch, or a drug. "Science explains everything," he adamantly assured me. Curious, I let him rant, and pretty soon the conversation took an unexpected turn. He shared with me an incident in his life in which he had treated his wife very badly. His speech slowed down some as he expressed his remorse. I knew my chance was about to arrive and started looking for it.

"Why do you feel such remorse?" I asked.

He looked at me as if I were nuts. "Because," he cried, "what I did was awful! It was a horrible way to treat her."

"How do you know it was bad?" I asked.

"I just know," he insisted.

"But how do you know?" I asked, "Science didn't teach you that. Science is impartial. Science doesn't care how you treat your wife."

He looked at me, silent for once.

This is when I knew I could offer the healing God brings. You never know if someone will accept it, but you if you can find the injury, you can always offer it.

"Science didn't make the world," I said quietly, "God did. And because God is good, and we are made in God's image, we're hardwired to know the difference between good and bad. Maybe that's how come you knew that you had treated your wife badly."

That was it. That was the end of my speech. For someone as angry and dismissive of God as Brandon was, I didn't want to bombard him with God talk, and he didn't ask. But in the end, the edge was gone from Brandon's anger, and I think he left with a new idea to mull, an idea which is pretty radical for him, and one which has the power to bring healing to his relationship with his wife.

Whenever I hear someone building walls around themselves or their faith (or lack of faith) I always wonder who or what they are trying to keep out. Jesus was more of a wall-remover than a wall builder, and our faith isn't a city to be defended from attack. It's a light to be shared.

How to get ready for your next non-defense of the faith: learn from the Master
The best way to share Christ is to know a little about him. Don't let your faith be a Sunday-only kind of thing; get involved in spiritual friendships, serve your church or find a ministry you can be a part of. Be a part of a small group or find a prayer partner. Read the great Christian leaders. The more you actively follow Jesus, the more you will know about how he operates.

Two of the tools Jesus used most to heal people were his ability to listen, and his well-put questions. Without being obnoxious, he was able to uncover what people didn't know about God. And when a person was vulnerable, he didn't rush to exploit, or crow about his superior way. Instead he invited people to join him on the journey and experience the peace and healing of living in harmony with God.