Matt W Cook

7) Christianity is cruel

The man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself. – Proverbs 11:17

The cruelty of Christians is no more proof against the validity of Christianity than Hitler’s actions prove Germans are cruel. Those who killed and tortured in the name of Christ were not actually doing it in his name. Because his name and his character are completely against cruelty. He is meek and mild, a gentle master. The main characteristic of Christianity is love, regardless of what people did years ago or how many misguided people do cruel things in its name. The normal practice of Christianity is messed up; this much is true. But Christ is still too great a treasure to be abandoned.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

8) Christianity is anti-intellectual, anti-scientific

The author seems to think that dangerous superstitions a thousand years ago existed only within the Christian world. This is not true. Every people group of that time had superstitions that cost people lives. Think of Aztec human sacrifice as one example. No one calls the Brazilians cruel today because of what the people in that country did a thousand years ago.

Every high school science student learns important characteristics of scientific knowledge. Scientific knowledge is tentative (always subject to change based on new observations), limited (science cannot study all things like the perception of beauty or metaphysical truths), and based on observation. Knowing this about scientific knowledge I maintain that there is no contradiction between the faith of Christ and science. The author claims that the Bible speaks of scientifically impossible things happening, like the dead being raised. But according to science nothing can be proved impossible unless every entity and influence of a system is controlled or, at least, accurately measured. Science has never claimed to hold all the secrets of the universe because that simply goes outside of scientific purpose. Science is based on observation and some things are not observable. It is not scientifically impossible for a dead man to be brought back to life. Just scientifically confusing. Science cannot see what would bring a dead body to life, but that lack of knowledge does not force science to declare it impossible. Can the dead be raised? Can water be turned into wine? Can five loaves feed an army? Only by a force that we have no scientific knowledge about. And science cannot deny the existence of such a force.