“The Sword Cuts Both Ways”

A popular yet unpersuasive argument against Christianity goes something like this: “If you were born in India, you would be a Hindu. If you were born in Thailand, you would be a Buddhist. If you were born in Saudi Arabia, you would be a Muslim. You are a Christian solely because you were born in South Dakota. Christianity isn’t true; it’s simply the product of where you were raised.” We might call this the geography-determines-belief objection to Christianity. This way of thinking tends to come from atheists. The reason why this objection fails? The sword cuts both ways.

Atheists fail to point out that, under the conditions of their argument against Christianity, their own belief in atheism is itself a product of where they were born. Let’s say the atheist who made this argument was born in New York City. The same reasoning could then be turned against them: your atheism is invalid because you were born in a place where atheism was widely accepted or culturally influential. If Christianity is the byproduct of where one is born, so also is atheism. Yet, atheists who use this argument do not recognize that last point. They neglect to realize that the sword they use against Christianity in fact cuts against their own beliefs.

On a broader point, how a belief arises (in this situation, where you are born) is not a conclusive argument against the truthfulness of that belief (in this situation, Christianity). This is the genetic fallacy (judging a belief based on its origin not on its substance). Let’s grant the argument that where you are born greatly impacts what you believe as true. Ok. So what? Did Jesus live, die, and rise from the dead? Yes, and those facts do not depend on where in the world you learned them. These truths are true in New Delhi, Bangkok, Mecca, Pierre, or New York City. Where or how you learn them doesn’t alter their truthfulness.

Don’t believe everything you hear. Discern, think, and consider. As you do, always remember the maxim: the sword cuts both ways. Use this statement against those who wield an intellectual sword against Christianity. You will find that often critics of Christianity fall victim to the same criticisms they make against Christianity, which shows us that their criticisms are invalid. Christianity is true regardless of how you come to believe that or where you are born.

Pastor Chance Sumner