QUESTION: My brother-in-law says he doesn’t believe there’s such a thing as right and wrong, and that what’s right for one person may be wrong for someone else. I’ve tried to show him what the Bible says, but he just laughs at it. How can I convince him he’s wrong? — L.D.
I have a feeling that LD is probably misunderstanding his brother-in-law's position. More than likely, the claim being made was that there is no objective right and wrong. Meaning that right and wrong has not been divinely and eternally defined.And if LD's brother-in-law laughed at the Bible as a claim that there are objective morals, it was for good reason. The fact is that the Bible itself actually defies that claim, and is actually a source for some terrible 'moral standards'.
ANSWER: It’s often hard to convince someone like this that they’re wrong, because they simply don’t want to believe they’re wrong. Instead, they’ll do everything they can to hold on to their position, no matter what you say – or what God says in His Word.Kind of like just about every Christian I've ever debated? Believers have a habit of saying that nothing will ever change their mind. Yet most atheists, like me, will! Just show me some evidence...
Why is this?Because non-believers are honestly seeking the evidenced truth and many believers prefer a reasuring story regardless of it's truth?
Um... Sorry to disappoint you Billy, but that's not how we think. We aren't the 'do whatever we want' sort that you think we are. If anything, the fact that Christians are the majority of the prison population would suggest that believers are more likely to do whatever they want. And why shouldn't they? If they believe the Bible's message, then they believe that anything they do in life will be forgiven if they believe in Christ. Not exactly a system of justice conducive to lasting peace...I don’t know your brother-in-law, of course, but people who say this often are determined to be free to do anything they want to. In other words, if they can convince themselves there is no right or wrong, then they think they can live without worrying about God or His moral standards. Like the people of Ezekiel’s day, “They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people” (Ezekiel 12:2).
On the other hand, an atheists is typically a peaceful law abiding citizen. We follow the law, and do what we feel is right for ourselves and others. We simply don't believe that an objective standard for right and wrong exists. There are always exceptions, even if they are rare.
As for not living by God's moral standards... I'm damn glad that we don't. His standards included condoning slavery, punishing women for being raped, the killing of children who talk back or taunt, classing women as below men, punish a meal of lobster with eternal torture, the same for bacon, cotton-polyester clothing, and the list goes on and on.
What can you do? First, help your brother-in-law to realize just how illogical his position is. If there is no right or wrong (as he claims), does this mean it’s OK to murder, or abuse children, or steal, or persecute people we don’t like? No, of course not. Down inside, we all know that some things are always wrong, even if we deny it.
But the most important thing you can do is to pray for him. Only God can convict him of his folly, and only God can convince him of his need for Christ. Right now, he’s on the wrong road in life, but God loves him, and with Christ his life can be changed.Or maybe Billy and the other Christians are on the wrong road in life. Odin is going to be pissed...!
-Brain Hulk
Please share, subscribe, comment and follow us on your favorite social networking sites!
facebook | google+ | twitter
No comments:
Post a Comment