Fallen Christians, Perfect God

Why the Existence of Hypocrites Doesn’t Falsify Christianity

“How can Christianity be true when it’s caused so much harm?” “I don’t believe in God because Christians are hypocritical.” Perhaps you’ve encountered these objections, or perhaps you’ve made them. It’s understandable that someone would move away from Christianity because of Christians who don’t live up to it. But logically it doesn’t follow that because Christians have caused harm, Christianity itself is therefore false.

Acknowledge Harm

At the outset, let me recognize the harm. John Dickson catalogues some of the evil Christians have done in the name of Christianity in his book Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History. He also records how Christians have done good for the world. (Like hospitals? Thank the Church.)

However, the harm continues today. Pastors fail, Christians snub, the church hurts. To some extent it’s not surprising. In fact, the Scriptures predict it. Jesus told his disciples that there would be false prophets among his people (Matthew 7:15), and Paul writes that all of mankind falls short of God’s standards (Romans 3:23). We are all hypocritical to some extent.

But not all perceived harm is actual harm. Christians are often accused of being unloving. Perhaps that’s because there’s disagreement over what it means to be loving. Christians ought not define loving behavior according to current—and ever-shifting—cultural standards but by the life of Christ. Sometimes the most loving thing to do is to call out bad behavior. And that’s not always received well, even when done well.

Does Not Follow

Again, just because Christians are imperfect, it does not mean Christianity is false. This is a non sequitur: the conclusion does not follow from the premise. It’s another way of saying that the argument isn’t valid. For an argument to be valid, the conclusion must be true whenever the premise(s) are true. For example: Ed is a horse; therefore, Ed is a mammal. If it’s true that Ed is a horse, it must be true that Ed is a mammal. Alternatively, we could argue that Ed is a mammal; therefore, Ed is a horse. But this is an invalid argument. Even if it’s true that Ed is a mammal, it doesn’t follow that he’s a horse—he could be a dog or a human or any of a number of other mammals.

So is the argument under consideration a valid argument? No. Consider it again: Christians are imperfect; therefore, Christianity is false. It still may be true that Christianity is true even if Christians are imperfect. And as mentioned above, it’s part of Christian teaching that Christians are imperfect.

The Standard for Truth

So what would make Christianity true? There’s a lot to say here, but let’s focus on two major claims Christianity makes: God exists, and Jesus rose from the dead. What makes a claim true is that it corresponds to reality. If God is real and Jesus actually rose from the dead, then Christianity is true. This is so whether or not Christians live up to Christian standards. God would be pretty fragile if his existence depended upon how well Christians behaved themselves.

Still, Don’t Be a Jerk

This doesn’t give the Christian license. If you’re a Christian, live up to it! Jesus told his disciples that their behavior toward one another would affect their witness: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).

So don’t dishonor his name by living for yourself. Don’t sin so that grace may abound. (Yet grace still abounds.) Let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Don’t be the reason someone walks away from Christ. While the truth of Christianity does not depend on your virtuous living, the well-being of others does.