Confronting Christianity

Of course, I thought atheism was true,” Joy recalls, “but I hadn’t given quite enough attention to developing the proof of it.

“In Christ, we are not pursued like wanted criminals, but like wanted children, or like wanted lovers, because wrath is replaced by desire.”

If Jesus is the Bread of Life, loss of Jesus means starving. If Jesus is the Light of the World, loss of Jesus means darkness. If Jesus is the Good Shepherd, loss of Jesus means wandering alone and lost. If Jesus is the resurrection and the life, loss of Jesus is eternal death. And if Jesus is the Lamb of God, sacrificed for our sins, loss of Jesus means paying that price for ourselves.

Denhollander, a victim of child abuse, knows that she ultimately stands in the same dock as her abuser

“As long as our faith is defined by theory and not connected with practical realities, we shall not be able to fulfil the mission entrusted to us by Christ.”

From a biblical perspective, we must also reject the idea that if God loves us, he cannot intend for us to suffer.

In fact, pain is a place of special intimacy with him.

As you stand here in your desperate grief, your greatest need is not to have your brother back again. It’s to have me.

The conclusion I dread is not ‘So there’s no God after all,’ but ‘So this is what God’s really like.’”9

Sometimes, we call for Jesus through our tears, and he does not come.