Answering an objection about faith: an honest answer in two sentences
“If God exists, why so much suffering?” “Christians are hypocrites.” “Science has explained everything.” These objections keep coming back. If you have never thought about them, you may be left speechless or answer beside the point. This quest invites you to choose an objection and prepare an honest, short and humble answer.
What it looks like in your day
Choose the objection you hear most often, or the one that has questioned you yourself. Then proceed like this:
- Restate it fairly. What the person is really saying, without caricature. Often, behind the objection, there is a wound: suffering experienced, a disappointing church experience.
- Look for what is right. Almost always, the objection contains a grain of truth. Acknowledge it: “It's true that Christians have done a lot of harm.”
- Write an answer in two sentences. One to acknowledge, one to offer a perspective: “I don't understand everything, but what holds me is that God didn't stay at a distance: he suffered himself in Jesus.”
- End with a question. “And you, what led you to think that?”
A few frequent objections: suffering and evil, the hypocrisy of believers, the supposed contradiction with science, the exclusivity of Jesus, the credibility of the Bible, the intolerance of religions. Each requires humility and reading.
If you are short on time, prepare just one objection. If you are shy, learn your answer in writing. If you don't know how to answer, say so: “I'll think about it” is a respectable answer.
What the Bible says
Paul asks for speech accompanied by grace:
“Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”
“Seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man”: there is no universal answer, but attention to the person. The book of Proverbs even acknowledges the difficulty of answering:
“Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.”
Two pieces of advice that seem to contradict each other: sometimes we don't answer, sometimes we do. We have to discern. Jude, for his part, invites us to have compassion on those who doubt (Jude 1:22): objections are often doubts seeking to be heard. And Peter reminds us to be ready to answer gently and respectfully (1 Peter 3:15-16).
Pitfalls to avoid
Winning the debate. A “won” discussion often leaves the person offended. The goal is for them to feel heard.
Reciting apologetics. Arguments learned by heart sound cold. Speak about what holds you.
Claiming to know everything. Some objections have no complete answer. Acknowledging your limits is more credible.
Ignoring the wound behind it. Someone who says “God is unjust” may have lost a child. Before answering, listen.
Avoiding the subject. Conversely, changing the subject at every objection suggests that faith can't withstand questioning.
Today, choose an objection. Write an honest answer in two sentences and a question to ask.