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Newsletter Articles

"Christianity vs. Other Worldviews"

Volume 4 Issue 1    Spring , 2006

One of our more popular podcasts is a collection of shows I put together containing debates with people from various other worldviews. It includes talks with a Muslim, a Mormon, a Scientologist, a New Age “Zen-Master”, a  Pantheist and a couple of atheists.

   For the most part, the chats follow the same basic pattern: I ask my guest what it is they believe and why they believe it and then we assess how strong or weak those reasons are.

   Inevitable I end up asking the question, “Are there any good reasons to accept what you are telling me is true?” So far the answers I have received have been less than overwhelming. For example, the Scientologists flat out told me, “No.”

   Some of the respondents have at least tried—the Muslim and the atheists gave it a shot—but for many the question doesn’t even register. A majority of my interviewees do not even consider that they need good reasons to believe, or that the idea of evaluating truth claims matters at all. They think that religious searching has nothing to do with truth and everything to do with finding something that makes them feel good. Many of them don’t know what they believe and don’t care to.

   This attitude toward truth and reason is a tragedy, and not just because these people are spiritually lost. This attitude also makes it all the harder to save them.

    Preaching the gospel is proclaiming truth about reality. It is explaining the good news about Jesus and what God has done. If people do not think knowing truth about reality is important, how will they approach the gospel message? With a yawn. “Don’t tell me your doctrines”, they say, “give me something that makes me feel good, something that is practical.” It is no wonder that cults like scientology are thriving:  they focus on offering practical advice for everyday living and tell their adherents that truth doesn’t matter.

   That is what makes these debates so important, I believe. They re-assert the value of truth and expose silly truth claims for what they are. I hope that listeners will think twice about becoming scientologists when they hear my guest admits that he believes an  intergalactic warlord named Xenu deposited our souls on this planet 75 million years ago by dropping then into a volcano and that there is absolutely no good reason to think this actually happened.

   It should also help listeners realize that truth matters and that religion is about more than making a person feel good. Getting people to value truth is the first step in getting them to accept it and that is what make these debates an integral part of our evangelization project.

   You can hear all these debates on the home page of thedonjohnsonshow.com or at donjohnsonministries.org. I try to get new guests often, so keep checking back.