googlef87758e9b6df9bec.html A Sure Word: Answering the 10 Questions Every Christian Must Answer: Part 7

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Answering the 10 Questions Every Christian Must Answer: Part 7

#9) Why would Jesus want you to eat his body and drink his blood?

Here we have a blatant appeal to emotion or what might be called an argument of outrage. Note carefully the language the video uses: “It sounds totally grotesque, doesn't it? Why would an all-powerful God want you to do something that, in any other context, sounds like a disgusting, cannibalistic, satanic ritual?” There is absolutely no substance in the question. It's merely an attempt to cast the Lord's Supper in a bad light through the use of loaded words.

Of all the questions asked in the video, this is perhaps the weakest. Actually, I might have said that already about the some other question because several are very weak but this one really is THE weakest. The makers of the video are either completely ignorant of the use of metaphor or they are intentionally invoking the argument of outrage in hopes that the viewer is ignorant of the symbolic nature of the Lord's Supper.

Isn't metaphor taught in middle-school English? When you compare two, unlike objects with the word, “is”, then you have a metaphor: “This car is my baby”; “My kids are my life”; “Love is a rose.” These are all metaphors. The Bible certainly uses metaphor: “I am the vine” (John 15:1); “I am the shepherd (John 10:11); “I am the door” (John 10:7). Likewise, Jesus said (paraphrasing) “This wine is my blood. This bread is my body” (Luke 22:19-20).

In the Bible, having a meal be representative of a historic event is not unique to the Lord's Supper. The Jews at the Passover eat the bitter herbs and the unleavened bread in remembrance of God delivering them from Egypt. Of course, it's hard to make that sound grotesque through loaded words. The Lord's Supper is very much the same thing: when we eat the bread and drink the wine, we do so to remember our Savior's death and look forward to His return (1 Corinthians 11:24-26). The bread and wine are merely symbols.

Metaphor is a common, literary device. It isn't hard to spot. Like I said, most middle-school kids can identify it. Why is it that seemingly bright and otherwise intelligent people suddenly can't read when it comes to the Bible?

#10) Why do Christians get divorced at the same rate as non-Christians?

The video isn't quite accurate on this fact. The truth is that Christians get divorced at nearly the same rate as the general population. Of course, the general population is overwhelming made up of self-identified Christians (75-80%) so it's no wonder the rates are about the same. In reality, though, many people who identify themselves as Christians are only nominal Christians. Anecdotally speaking, I've been to many weddings where the ceremony itself was the only time I'd ever seen either of the partners in church. Perhaps you've seen that as well. If you break the statistics down by faith groups, the divorce rate among evangelical Christians is noticeably lower than atheists or agnostics. Remember too that the rate of marriage among Christians is far higher than among atheists – the latter being more likely to cohabitate. When unmarried couples break-up, it doesn't count as a divorce thus skewing the statistics against Christians.

Having said all that, I concede that the divorce rate among Christians is too high. It's alarming and sad that God's people do not take marriage more seriously – especially given that marriage is an earthly reflection of Christ's relationship with His church (Ephesians 5:22-28). However, a high divorce rate among Christians is not evidence that God is imaginary. Instead, it attests to the fact that we are sinners. Jesus Himself said that God did not intend there to be divorce but only allowed it because of the hardness of our hearts (Matthew 19:8). To imagine that there should be no divorce among Christians because God has joined them together would be like saying that there should be no murders because God has forbid murder. God does not want us to sin but He doesn't stop us.

I am curious what these same skeptics would say if God did indeed keep married couples together against their wills. No doubt they would consider God cruel for forcing couples to stay together in an unhappy marriage. This may not be the weakest question, but it's another obvious fail.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 8

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