We see it all the time – literally!

• Negative headlines about Christians and Christianity.
• Articles and editorials in magazines and newspapers putting down Christians using arguments that are simply not true.
• Politicians saying negative, and untrue, things about Christianity.
• Educational institutions teaching falsehoods about the Christian faith.
• Random people speaking ill of Christians and accusing them of things that are not true.

Where is all of this coming from?

Recently I saw an article with the headline: Politico Seems Baffled at Republicans Crediting “Divine Intervention” for Saving Trump from Assassination (https://www.foxnews.com/media/politico-seems-baffled-republicans-crediting-divine-intervention-saving-trump-from-assassination). Because of the circumstances of the attempted assassination, it is utterly amazing that Trump was not killed. The bullet that grazed his ear was within about ½ inch of penetrating his skull – a sure kill shot. It was only the fact that at the last second he slightly turned his head that his life was spared.

Following that incident, person after person commented that God was responsible for sparing Trump’s life. For those of us who believe in God, that is certainly a reasonable conclusion.

For those who don’t believe in God, however, it is utter silliness. Politico is, of course, a left leaning news organization. In their reporting on the assassination attempt, they interviewed people who don’t believe God intervened. One was former U.K. ambassador Peter Westmacott. He called the idea of God’s protection a “cynical observation.”

While not many people have jumped on the bandwagon of overt criticism because of the gravity of the event, there have been many who have spoken and written comments that downplay the seriousness of what happened. Being too overt over something this serious would make them look really bad. But they certainly dismiss the idea that God was at work.

In another article, this one in Rolling Stone Magazine, the writer spoke of former Vice President Mike Pence as a “Christian conservative chosen to represent white evangelicals” (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/jd-vance-extremist-christian-vp-mike-pence-1235069117/). The article goes on to speak of J.D. Vance (Trump’s current Vice Presidential candidate) as “a more radical religious politician than Pence.” This comment was intended as a negative assessment. The article went on to say that Vance “is a bridge to something more radical – a religious populism intent on bending the United States into a narrow reactionary Catholic, and perhaps monarchial, order.

It is not my intent at all to bring partisan politics into this discussion, but give me a break! I believe the people who are making all of these negative comments about anything Christian would have said the same thing if Franklin Graham had been the target of assassination, or about nearly any other Christian Trump might have selected as his V.P. running mate. For Christians who really believe God exists and is active in the lives of believers, crediting God for blessings is a normal thing. But for people who don’t believe in the God of the Bible, it is a different matter altogether.

To really understand this, we have to look at basic worldview beliefs. Beliefs that people hold at a worldview level are what allow us to understand why secular society doesn’t understand Christians.

A worldview is a set of beliefs people hold that defines how they distinguish reality from fantasy. Additionally, worldview beliefs are typically not held at a conscious level. Unless a person has actually studied worldview concepts, they are typically not even aware that it is possible to seriously entertain ideas that they understand to be fantasy. So when people who believe in God speak and act as if God is an actual person who can be known in a personal relationship, those who don’t believe in God consider those people to be delusional – literally.

While a majority of Americans still self-identify as Christians, those who dominate the major institutions of modern society do not. These are the people who run most of the news media, educational institutions, arts and entertainment, government, and business. These are the people who are not only inclined to put Christians down, but who have the most influence over the popular culture.

But the question still remains, why do those in secular society not understand Christians? The answer lies in their understanding of reality.

To get at a person’s worldview beliefs, we need to answer three questions.

1. What is the nature of ultimate reality?
2. What is a human being?
3. What is the ultimate people can achieve in this life?

Christians answer the three questions like this:

1. The description of reality is defined by the teachings in the Bible. God and transcendent reality exist, and they exist the way it is described in the Bible.
2. Human beings are persons created in the image of God, but fallen – again, as described in the Bible.
3. The ultimate a person can achieve in life is to establish and engage a personal relationship with God through the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Now, let’s contrast that with the way secularists answers the three questions:

1. The natural universe, operating by natural laws is all that exists.
2. Human beings are animal creatures that have naturally evolved to the level of the human species.
3. The ultimate a person can achieve in this life is the survival of the species, and, on a personal level, to acquire the highest level of personal fulfillment possible.

There are a couple of very important observations we need to make from this comparison.

First the answers to the three questions are all based on faith. No matter what worldview beliefs a person holds, they believe them by faith. In other words, a person’s worldview beliefs represent their religious beliefs. Most secularists truly believe that the are not religious at all, but that is simply not true.

Second, based on our comparison, it becomes easy to see why secular society doesn’t understand Christianity. Christian beliefs literally contradict the worldview beliefs of secularists at every point. If a person believes that the natural universe, operating by natural laws, is all that exists, then obviously belief in God and transcendent reality has to be fantasy. If they believe human beings are nothing more than naturally evolved animal creatures, the idea of them being “person’s created in the image of God” is ludicrous. Along with that, the idea of fallenness (which implies the existence of an objectively real moral law) is also ludicrous. And if they believe this world is all that exists, then relationship with God is a silly idea.

None of a secularist’s beliefs are based on any objective criteria. They are believed by faith in the truth of their answers to the three worldview questions.

So now we can answer our original question: Why doesn’t secular society understand Christians? And the answer is, they are religious zealots, and their religious beliefs deem the beliefs of Christians to be fantasy (even though they have no objective reason for their beliefs). It is as simple at that.

Freddy Davis is the president of MarketFaith Ministries. He is the author of numerous books entitled The Truth Mirage, Rules for Christians Radicals, Liberalism vs. Conservatism, and his latest book Shattering the Truth Mirage and has a background as an international missionary, pastor, radio host, worldview trainer, and entrepreneur. Freddy is a graduate of Florida State University with a BS in Communication and holds MDiv and DMin degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a popular speaker, particularly on the topic of worldview and its practical implications for the Christian life. He lives in Tallahassee, FL, with his wife Deborah.

You may also contact Freddy at Leadership Speakers Bureau to schedule him for speaking or leadership engagements.

To set up an appointment to speak to a Literary Agent:
Email: Alfredo Baguio
Call: (702) 605-4354