Sis. Esther Dhanraj’s allegations
against Christianity are unbelievably primitive. Her so-called objections are
archaic. They have been asked and answered. Answers to her questions are
available on the internet.
Given this situation, it would be
legitimate to ask why Sis. Esther is positing the same old questions now. Does
she not know that there are reasonable answers to her questions against
Christianity? Did she not research well enough for answers? Or is she
intentionally striving to mislead Christians?
A few years ago, Da Vinci Code (the book) was published.
It was authored by Dan Brown. One possible reason for Dan Brown to publish that
book may have been to gain wealth and fame in the shortest time span. And he
did!
The Bible is the most read book on
earth and Christianity is the largest religion in the world. Anyone who
criticizes the Bible and Christianity would gain the attention of a huge number
of Christians. This seems to be the most excellent technique to gain fame and
wealth.
Sis. Esther and Mr. Rajiv Malhotra
allege that Christianity is a flawed product and that it fails scientifically,
historically, logically and archaeologically.1 Is this assertion
credible?
Historic Christianity has been in
existence for more than 2000 years. Since then, none of the objections against
Christianity has prevailed. As Ravi Zacharias said, “The Word of God remains
eternal. Those who have tried to bury it only find out that the Bible rises up
to outlive its pallbearers.”2
Interestingly, Sis. Esther has not
posted any substantive videos in 2019. Her interview with Mr. Rajiv Malhotra
was her only public post after her initial accusatory video in 2018. One wonders
the reason for the delay.
Whatever the case may be, it should
suffice if we can reasonably answer a couple of Sis. Esther’s main objections. Every
allegation proceeding from Sis. Esther has been answered already. A cursory
internet search will fetch the answers. Moreover, apologists from Sakshi
Apologetics Network have countered Sis. Esther Dhanraj and Mr. Rajiv Malhotra
through their vlogs on YouTube. Please visit these channels: Sakshi Apologetics
Network and Sakshi Christian Voice.3
Sis. Esther alleges that all narratives about Jesus’ existence are nonsensical
or a myth.4 On the contrary, every serious historian or theologian
in the highest level of academics do not doubt the existence of historical
Jesus.
In the past, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev
also made similar allegations against Christianity. Is this a pattern in the
Hindu apologetics scheme?
While Sis. Esther urges Indian
Christians to think and question their faith in Christ does she not know that
they will also question her objections against Christianity?
The
historical Jesus did exist:5
As to the
existence of historical Jesus, there is no doubt whatsoever, not even an iota
of doubt exists. Historians are convinced about the existence of the historical
Jesus.
Here are a few
testimonies of hostile witnesses about the existence of the historical Jesus:4
The testimony of a
hostile witness is very powerful (cf. Criterion of Unsympathetic Sources). Dr.
Bart Ehrman is one such hostile witness. He is a much acclaimed and widely
respected scholar.
Bart Ehrman is a
hostile witness since he does not believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus
Christ. A hostile witness (in this context) has no bias or no need, whatsoever,
to affirm in the existence of the Historical Jesus.
Bart Ehrman believes
in the existence of the Historical Jesus. Significantly, Ehrman emphasizes that
scholars who have genuinely studied the evidence pertaining to the existence of
Historical Jesus believe that HE existed, “Mythicists have often gotten upset
with me for pointing out that almost no one with any qualifications in the
requisite fields of scholarship agrees with them. I can see why that would be upsetting. My sense is that some of them think that I’ve
been rubbing their noses in it. But that
isn’t really my intent. My intent is to
point out to anyone who is interested – for example, someone who just doesn’t
know what to think – that those who are qualified to speak knowledgeably on
such subjects are virtually unified on one view (there was a historical Jesus
of Nazareth) and opposed to the other (he is a complete myth).”4
This should do it!
If every serious
scholar believes in the existence of the Historical Jesus, every claim that
attempts to disregard the Historical Jesus are insincere and hypocritical.
Therefore, these hypocritical claims ought to be disregarded.
Bart Ehrman is not the
only secular scholar who believes in the existence of Historical Jesus. Here’s
more from the website of Answers In Genesis:5
Here is what some
scholars have written about the Jesus Myth (these statements are not just from
conservative Christians—the first four are critical scholars who have rejected
the miraculous elements of Christ’s life).
Of course the doubt as
to whether Jesus really existed is unfounded and not worth refutation. No sane
person can doubt that Jesus stands as founder behind the historical movement
whose first distinct stage is represented by the oldest Palestinian community.
(Rudolf Bultmann)1
To doubt the
historical existence of Jesus at all … was reserved for an unrestrained,
tendentious criticism of modern times into which it is not worthwhile to enter
here. (Günther Bornkamm)2
I am of the opinion
(and it is an opinion shared by every serious historian) that the theory [“that
Jesus never lived, that he was a purely mythical figure”] is historically
untenable. (Willi Marxsen)3
To sum up, modern
critical methods fail to support the Christ-myth theory. It has “again and
again been answered and annihilated by first-rank scholars.” In recent years
“no serious scholar has ventured to postulate the non-historicity of Jesus”—or
at any rate very few, and they have not succeeded in disposing of the much stronger,
indeed very abundant, evidence to the contrary. (Michael Grant)4
Contemporary New
Testament scholars have typically viewed their [i.e., Jesus mythers] arguments
as so weak or bizarre that they relegate them to footnotes, or often ignore
them completely. (Robert Van Voorst)5
The total evidence is
so overpowering, so absolute that only the shallowest of intellects would dare
to deny Jesus’ existence. (Paul L. Maier)6
On a side note, do
remember that every claim of Jesus Mythers can be rejected by proving them to
be incorrect. There’s an abundance of resources [on the internet] to help us
achieve this.
Here’s an example:
Jesus Mythers contend that Nazareth did not exist, hence Christ did not exist.
But Bart Ehrman debunks this contention by ascertaining that [Palestinian]
archaeologists believe that Nazareth existed because they have discovered
evidence for its existence. He goes on to add that the existence of Nazareth is
not even a point of debate among Palestinian archaeologists.6
Sis. Esther also claims that the God of the Bible is not the God of the
universe.6 She alleges that the God of the Bible is unfair.7
She substantiates this claim by referring to God’s massacre of the Canaanites.
This allegation is not new to
Christianity. The new atheists make similar allegations. These allegations have
been reasonably answered:8
…a just God
has morally sufficient reasons to kill people, so God is justified and none can
fault God. What then is one morally sufficient and justifiable reason for God
to kill people?
God Can Kill Wicked & Unrepentant
People
Deuteronomy 2:34, 3:6, 20:16-18,
Exodus 23:23, Deuteronomy 7:1-2, Joshua 3:10, 9:24 and 1 Samuel 15:2-3 record
God’s command to exterminate people. Take for instance the Canaanites, who were
they?
They were wicked. They practiced
idolatry, witchcraft, soothsaying, sorcery, incest, adultery, child sacrifice,
homosexuality and bestiality.1
But wasn’t there a chance for these
people to repent and be good? Yes. Genesis 15: 13-16 teaches that God refrained
from his judgment upon the Canaanites for 400 years during which time God’s own
people languished in slavery.
If Canaanites did not repent in 400
years, common sense suggests that they would not have repented even if God had
given them another 400 years. But God is omniscient (God possesses middle
knowledge2 as well). Thus God knew precisely that Canaanites would not repent.
Hence God judged them.
What about children who were
killed? Was God unjust in killing children? No!
Death is either a gateway to heaven
or hell. When children die, God in HIS grace takes them into HIS own presence
(Cf. 2 Samuel 12: 23). So the death of children is in fact their salvation.
Children who die will be with God in heaven.
Just as how the owner of a building
possesses all authority to demolish a building, God, the owner of every life,
possesses all authority to create and to eliminate life. Instead of allowing
the children to grow in the Canaanite practice, God in HIS mercy takes them
away, and by doing so, favors the children from an eternal perspective.
Having said this, let us engage
some objections:
Objection #1: God Killed Millions But Satan
Killed Only 60!
Obviously this objection accuses
God as the greater evil. Since the source of the data for this objection is the
Bible, it’s only reasonable that we posit a response from the Bible.
The Bible does not refer to Satan
as a good being. Satan opposes God. The Bible terms Satan as an accuser
(Revelation 12:10), tempter (Matthew 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:5), and a deceiver
(Genesis 3; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 20:3).
If Satan opposes God, and if God is
an evil killer (as proclaimed by the atheists), then Satan should be
intrinsically good. But Satan is not good, instead Satan is purely evil.
Therefore, the inverse condition is more reasonable i.e. since Satan, the evil
being, opposes God, God should be intrinsically good.
Significantly, those who raise this
objection against God display a serious inadequacy of biblical comprehension.
God is sovereign, whereas Satan is not. It is also evident from the Bible that
Satan is not independent of God. Satan cannot kill anyone without God allowing
him to. Therefore, attribute the 60 or whatever number that one wants to add to
Satan’s credit into God’s account.
Every single death by Satan can be
reasonably explained. Consider Job’s family that was killed by Satan.
God allowed it for a particular
reason. While God commends Job’s righteousness, Satan accused Job of being
godly and righteous for selfish reasons. If the godliness of a righteous man in
whom God delights can be shown to be a terrible sin, then redemption is
unimaginable, for the godliest of godly will be the most ungodly. More
importantly, God’s judgment about Job’s righteousness would have been proven
erroneous.
Therefore, God allows Job’s
travails, and true to God’s commendation, Job emerges as godly and righteous
after that severe trial. Satan was proven to be a false accuser.
Objection #2: God Cannot Murder
If you and I cannot murder, then
God cannot murder as well.
Because the universe in its
creational intent is temporal, human life is also temporal. Therefore the
creational intent is that death is inevitable for every human life - that which
is born should die. As said before, only the creator God can eliminate life
when HE determines the appropriate time and reason according to HIS perfect
knowledge and justice.
God does not murder when HE
eliminates life from this temporal world. God judges people for violating HIS
laws. The consequence of God’s judgment is death initiated by God.
A case in point is that a just
human judge does not murder when he sentences a convict to death; instead the
judge pronounces a judgment upon a law-offender. A judge has the authority to
sentence a criminal to death, if the said criminal is a proven offender of the
law.
Objection #3: If God Can Kill, So Can A
Parent
Life is created by God. A father
and a mother do not create life. They merely provide the sperm and the egg,
which is the creational design of God. Thus father and mother are a means to
creation of life.
Parents are created beings
themselves. Parents are not creators of life. Therefore, parents are merely
stewards of life created by God.
Since parents are not creators,
they are not owners of life, hence parents, as created beings themselves, do
not have the authority to eliminate life. Only the creator God has the
authority to eliminate life. No one else has this authority.
Objection #4: Why Did God Not Offer Sodom
& Gomorrah 400 years To Repent?
We posit God’s deferral of judgment
upon Canaanites for 400 years as justification for the Canaanite massacre. But
this act of God requires a greater understanding.
God is omniscient – HE knows
everything with respect to the past, present and the future. God possesses
middle knowledge as well.
To begin with, God would have known
that even in 400 years the Canaanites would not repent. So to infer that God
hoped for the Canaanites to repent and believe in HIM is incorrect.
Why then did God wait for 400 years
to judge Canaanites? On one hand, God waited for 400 years to judge the
Canaanites but on the other hand, God punished Sodom & Gomorrah rather
quickly. Why?
Both Canaanites and the residents of Sodom
and Gomorrah were guilty of sins against God. Neither of them repented before
God’s judgment. So it was morally sufficient and justifiable for God to judge
them both for their sins.
The Bible teaches us, “Will not the
Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18: 25c, NIV). God, for reasons that
are just, but best known to HIM, defers judgment upon people, according to HIS
will.
But the Bible does provide a clue
about God’s judgment of Canaanites and Sodomites. In Genesis 15: 13-16, God
says that “…the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” So
God waited for their sins to reach its full measure to pronounce judgment upon
the Amorites - a Canaanite clan. Similarly it is possible that the sins of
Sodom and Gomorrah had reached its full measure when judgment was pronounced
(Cf. Genesis 19: 13).
Conclusion
We can go on and on reasonably
dealing with every objection that are posited against God. When a mind compulsively
argues against God, then it’s a given that that mind integrally refuses or does
not innately desire to comprehend God. This is a mind that has rejected God.
This mind, as long as it continues to integrally reject God, will not
comprehend God, barring a divine intervention in the likeness of an
intervention on the road to Damascus.
Then there are honest objections
against God. These objections are from a mind that earnestly desires and seeks
to comprehend God and HIS actions in this world. An infinite being’s actions in
this world are not effortlessly comprehensible by finite minds, such as yours
and mine.
Therefore, our starting point is to
earnestly seek God in all humility for all our doubts and confusions. May we,
by the grace of God, endeavor to assimilate the humility that Christ practiced,
and may the peace of God that transcends human comprehension fill our hearts
and minds and guard us in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Endnotes:
1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNdgGttyvyA&t=1804s
; Time: 24:30 & 25:34
2https://twitter.com/ravizacharias/status/450107278432432128?lang=en
3https://www.youtube.com/user/SakshiApologetics
& https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6uoWgBWqi4ZIcn3NXOYwdw
4https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihkMjrXtsfM;
Time: 14:04
5http://rajkumarrichard.blogspot.com/2019/09/debunking-sadhguru-jaggi-vasudevs-false.html
6Ibid,
20:35.
7https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nR3w9xNtgA&t=21s
, Time: 3:42
8http://rajkumarrichard.blogspot.com/2014/12/why-did-god-kill-25-million-people-in.html
Websites last
accessed on 13th February 2020.
