Hardly a surprise, since the clergy urge, “Just take it on faith”
Quite a few years ago I knew a devout Catholic woman who bragged that she never read books—not even in college. She managed to get passing grades by taking careful notes in class. Nor did she have any interest in discussing religion, because she didn’t want to risk damaging here faith. Her primary goal in being deeply Catholic was to be able to see her mother again in heaven. She represents a case of extreme piety, but I have met other devout Christians who decline to engage with me on religious issues; they are determined to hold tight to their beliefs, reluctant to weaken them in any way. I suspect they’ve experienced too many moments of scary doubt.
Thus they prefer to avoid the challenge to think critically. And the clergy are perfectly willing to encourage this reluctance. Are there any preachers on a Sunday morning who would urge their parishioners to go right home and read/study the gospel of Mark carefully, critically, skeptically? “I want you to make a list of all the things in Mark’s gospel that don’t make sense, given our modern understanding of the world.” There are episodes—and Jesus-script as well—that would fit right in with Harry Potter or Disney fantasies. If devout Christians came across these items in the scriptures of other religions, they would not take them seriously for a second. But the Bible is off-limits for such skepticism, for the exercise of critical thinking.
Precisely because this is the case, there must be a high level of Christian distress because atheist authors have written extensively about the major flaws in their beliefs. Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris come to mind especially, but also former preachers John Loftus, Dan Barker, and Tim Sledge. Check out the Amazon Author Pages of these six writers.
But there’s another high-impact author who encourages critical thinking about religious issues, namely, Guy P. Harrison, especially in his 2013 book, 50 Simple Questions for Every Christian. In the Introduction, Harrison explains what he’s up to:
“This book is not an attack on Christian people. While it does challenge many claims made by the Christian religion and various factions of Christians, it is not an extended argument aimed at turning every Christian in the world into an atheist. This book is far more humble and far less threatening than that. My goal is to help Christians gain a better understanding of why, after two thousand years, the majority of the world is still unconvinced by the basic claims of their religion.” (p. 9, Kindle)
Gain a better understanding. Based, of course, on critical thinking about the 50 questions he discusses in the book. In my article here last week, I likened Christianity’s weaknesses to flat tires that are beyond repair. The 50 questions that Harrison poses can be thought of as puncture-points, that is, he has identified so many vulnerabilities. I can understand why devout Christians might flee from this book. Do they really want to face 50 questions about their beliefs? Consider just ten of his questions, any one of which requires a lot of homework—or considerable honesty, e.g., Have you read the Bible?
1. What is a god?
2. What is atheism?
3. Have you read the Bible?
4. How can we be sure about the resurrection?
5. Why is God so violent?
6. How do we know that the man Jesus existed?
7. Is the universe fine-tuned for us?
8. What has archaeology proved?
9. What is the problem with evolution?
10. Why does a good god allow so much suffering in the world?
In his opening chapter, Does Christianity Make Sense? Harrison explains his approach:
“Those who are in the most difficult spot, however, are skeptics, people who are compelled to put in the hard work of thinking about a claim before climbing aboard. A good skeptic doesn’t accept or reject an unusual claim because it feels right to do so or because of what the majority says. Any extraordinary and important claim has to run a gauntlet of critical thinking and, if appropriate, survive the scientific process. The same reasoning process that so easily pokes gaping holes in astrology, psychics, and ghosts also works for supernatural claims made by all religions.” (p. 17, Kindle)
The central doctrine of the Christian faith is the resurrection of Jesus, but Harrison notes that there is lack of data to back it up:
“Maybe Jesus was a god. Maybe he did magically vanish from inside that tomb. I don’t know. But what I do know is that Christians have not proved that he did. And until they do, those of us who are unwilling to suspend their critical thinking and skepticism will not accept this claim. It’s simply a case of too much claim and too little evidence.” (p. 88, Kindle)
The gospels as a whole give us little confidence that their authors knew how to write history, as Harrison notes:
“The stories are nothing close to being objective and impartial accounts of past events that we can take at face value. They were produced by Christians with an agenda and could not have been more biased. This raises obvious concerns about not only factual details and miracle claims but also about the very existence of Jesus. Skeptics would be more satisfied if his name came up in less partisan texts somewhere, anywhere. Unfortunately, it does not.” (p.161, Kindle)
One of the things I like the most about Harrison’s approach is his seeing Christianity in the context of the world at large, and in comparison with other faiths:
“If Christianity is accurate, then hundreds of billions of people are suffering eternal torment in hell—not because they rejected or rebelled against Jesus, but because they never heard the story, or if they did, they were not convinced by it due to the absence of good evidence.” (p. 216, Kindle)
Harrison’s 50 Simple Questions for Every Christian is highly readable, written in accessible conversational style. It deserves attention as one of the top books available to encourage devout Jesus-believers to embrace critical thinking.
David Madison was a pastor in the Methodist Church for nine years, and has a PhD in Biblical Studies from Boston University. He is the author of Ten Tough Problems in Christian Thought and Belief: a Minister-Turned-Atheist Shows Why You Should Ditch the Faith, now being reissued in several volumes:
· Guessing About God (2023),
· Ten Things Christians Wish Jesus Hadn’t Taught: And Other Reasons to Question His Words (2021). The Spanish translation of this book is also available.
· Everything You Need to Know About Prayer But May Not Want to Admit (2025)
His YouTube channel is here. At the invitation of John Loftus, he has written for the Debunking Christianity Blog since 2016.
The Cure-for-Christianity Library©, now with more than 500 titles, is here. A brief video explanation of the Library is here.
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