Faulty reasons not to believe

This post first appeared as my guest-post on friend and brother Slim Jim’s excellent blog (see here) back on April 24th and has been revised.

Reasons to Believe: One Man’s Journey Among the Evangelicals and the Faith He Left Behind
By John Marks
HarperCollins, 2008, 365 pp.

This “former-insider’s exposé of evangelical Christianity” at the library was on my books-to-read list for several years and since I’m now prioritizing library books in my penny-pinching retirement years, I finally got around to reading it.

Journalist John Marks claims to have “accepted Jesus Christ as (his) personal Savior” in 1979 at the age of sixteen while participating in a Young Life, Christian youth group rally. He asserts that he subsequently “lost his faith” while attending college in Marburg, Germany. He claims that he couldn’t reconcile Jesus Christ, the Bible, and a sovereign God, with the horrors of the Twentieth Century – the World Wars, the Holocaust, Soviet brutality, etc. Neither could he square in his mind the belief that pious Hindu, Mahatma Gandhi, was in hell while notorious Manson Family murderer, Charles “Tex” Watson, was going to Heaven because it’s alleged he accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior while in prison.

As noted above, Marks presents two of the most popular arguments against God/Christianity/Biblical belief: 1) the presence of great evil throughout history and 2) the exclusivity of salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.

In reply:

• As every presuppositional apologist will point out, it’s inconsistent and contradictory for an atheist to label anything as “evil.” Morality has no basis in atheism.

• As the Bible makes very clear, it’s a fallen world and sin abounds. Christians are not surprised by evil in the hearts of individuals and its presence throughout society.

• All men and women are depraved sinners and deserve eternal punishment, but God loves us so much He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay for our sins by His death on the cross. But Jesus rose from the grave, defeating sin and death, and offers forgiveness of sins and the free gift of eternal life by accepting Him as Savior through faith alone. Because ALL people are sinners and under judgement, an alleged “good man” like Ghandi couldn’t merit Heaven and a cold-blooded killer like Tex Watson can respond to God’s Word and the enlightenment and conviction of the Holy Spirit and genuinely accept Jesus Christ as Savior through faith alone. Jesus is the ONLY way.

Another objection Marks has to evangelical Christianity, which he devotes quite a bit of space to, is Christian Nationalism, the mixing of faith and nationalism that’s very popular among Christians living in America. I share Marks’ criticism, however Christian Nationalism is not a New Testament concept. Marks’ observations exemplify how American Christians’ enmeshment in politics/nationalism is a regrettable stumbling block for unbelievers.

In addition to the chore of wading through the muck of determined unbelief, the author’s many references to Christian politicos’ infatuation with George W. Bush date this 2008 book.

“Reasons to Believe” was sad reading. It’s clear that John Marks didn’t genuinely accept Jesus Christ as his Savior back in 1979. No one could genuinely trust in Jesus Christ as Savior, be spiritually re-born into God’s family, and then toss it all away.

A significant “Oops”: On page 280, Marks refers to King Saul of Israel as “King David’s father.” All but the newest of believers with only a paucity of Bible knowledge are aware that David was not the son of Saul. While Marks claims to have “accepted Christ” at a youth rally for teens, this misstatement reveals he wasn’t into the Word.