Some of the responses I receive online for posting about Christian faith resort to caricatures to criticize Christianity. Caricatures distort, exaggerate, or oversimplify. One such criticism arose in response to a post about Easter a few weeks ago. It came in the form of a dialogue that began with “God” stating “I forgive you”, while “Everyone” in response said “Gee, thanks.” The dialogue proceeded to make God look ridiculous, as an uninvited intruder offering dubious gifts and becoming outraged when they are declined.
Responding to things like this are difficult. Many charges are laid in a short space of time. There is one thing I have noticed that I would like to look out for. Pay attention to when the presentation of Christian beliefs is lopsided: based on selected points only while omitting others that give a fuller and fairer depiction.
In light of this, the entrance of “God” onto a stage created by an unscrupulous critic hollowed God of his God-ness. God is the Creator and the Judge of the world and of humankind. By choosing to omit that fact, God of course looks like an unwelcome intruder, worthy of rejection. But is this fair? No, it is akin to cheating.
Starting the dialogue with no acknowledgement of this background strips the Easter message of the context that allows it to make sense. Now, a critic could just as easily dispute the existence of God as Creator, but depicting the message of Easter without that background does not give a right presentation. This depiction is like a police officer making an arrest without a state and its laws: it makes no sense, and such a police officer is really little more than a kidnapper wearing a uniform.
When you hear criticisms that belittle our beliefs, pay attention to the presentation. Misrepresenting something might make it easier to attack, but it is not attacking the real thing. An unbalanced or incomplete picture is not a fair picture, and that should be called out and corrected. Many times critics are raising questions genuinely, but are unclear on Christian doctrine. But other times the critic has made a straw-man.
May we never be found doing likewise!