Often when having conversations about faith with people in the street, there will come a time during the discussion when they will raise objections to what is being said. So far, so obvious.
We were speaking to a lady today at the book table in Rochdale for a long time. During the conversation she spoke about karma and reincarnation as something that she loosely believed. Later, when we spoke in depth about Jesus, she suddenly responded sharply with words to the effect of, “Wait a minute, so in order to be a Christian, you have to believe that Jesus was punished for your sin. I don’t believe that. I’d rather pay for my own sin.” It was as if a switch had been flicked, she understood what was being said and didn’t like it. The discussion continued for quite some time afterwards and she ended up taking a Gospel of John from one of our team.
Reflecting on this afterwards, I realised this was a prime example of someone with both a red herring and a real hindrance (not my phrases, but useful here.) The red herring was the lady’s loosely held new age beliefs as they didn’t stand up to scrutiny, and we were relatively easily able to redirect the hearer back to the important matters. The real hindrance was the idea that she could somehow atone for her sin herself. This conviction was more deeply held in her heart, and concerned key elements of the Gospel, so it was necessary to try and remove the hurdle before continuing.
Perhaps you have spoken to people like this and wondered whether to redirect the hearer, effectively ignoring the red herring, or to attempt to remove the hurdle of the real hindrance which is likely to be an ongoing barrier to the person seeking to understand.
It’s an interesting dilemma for Christians and not always as obvious as the example I have given. Furthermore, what may be a red herring for one person, may be a real hindrance for another!
Consider how you would deal with these:
-I believe in Science
-What may be true for you may not be true for me
-I’ve lived a pretty good life
-Sometimes, I think my mum is looking down on me from Heaven.
-I’m a Muslim/Buddhist/Hindu/Catholic
-I can’t change religion at my stage of life
-I would like to believe it but I just can’t
-Christians have never helped me when I’ve needed it
-Do you believe in Noah’s ark then?
-Why didn’t God stop Aberfan?
-Aren’t Catholic and Christian the same thing?
-The cross is cosmic child abuse
-So, you think you’re better than me
-The God of the Old Testament is vengeful and slaughtered loads of innocent people
-It’s not justice for Jesus to be punished in my place
-God seems arrogant, demanding worship for Himself
-I can’t come to church as I’m socially anxious
-Why did God create evil?
-We’re all going to end up in Heaven anyway
-Religion has caused loads of wars. What about the crusades?
-I only trust myself
-I’m a drug addict, God can’t help me as I’ve tried asking Him before
-I want to do things my way
-How can God have a Son?
-We believe in Jesus too. We belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints.
-I don’t believe in God, so He can’t judge me.
-Will I have to give all my money to the church?
-Is being gay a sin?
-Why did God create the world if He knew what would happen?
-Nobody has come back to tell us. I can’t believe unless I see.
-Churches are full of hypocrites.
-Is there any sin that can’t be forgiven?
-So, your God died on a cross, couldn’t He have stopped that happening?
-The Bible was written 2000 years ago.
-When you’re dead, you’re dead.
-What are you collecting for?
A lot of the time, the tone of the conversation will tell you whether the person is really struggling with something, or whether they are just mocking the Christian, or attempting to show off to their friends. They might even be deflecting you with a red herring to avoid getting into anything serious.
It’s worth knowing the biblical answers to these questions and statements, to help those who are sincerely seeking God. It’s also good to make sure you know what you believe, (the key elements of the Gospel), so that you can redirect and refocus someone who has thrown you a red herring.
There will also be times when someone asks something that you haven’t thought about before. Don’t be afraid to admit this, and then either ask someone else, or get back to them with an answer.
Nobody has all the answers, and there are some things we just don’t know because God has left them unanswered.
Prayer is key as God is in control and He promises to honour us if we honour Him. He wants us to seek to share the Gospel with others, so even when we think we haven’t done well in a discussion or when we have engaged with a red herring, or failed to address a real hindrance, God can still use our weak efforts for His glory.
No comments:
Post a Comment