Christians think their religion is true, and everybody else’s religion is false. They think you have to believe in Jesus to be saved. How arrogant, right? Actually, no. While there may be some Christians who are truly arrogant, thinking Christianity is the only true religion is not arrogant in itself. When you think about it, everyone one of us thinks we are right in the things we believe. If we didn’t think what we believed was true, we wouldn’t believe it. After all, nobody believes things they think are false! Of course, we could be mistaken in our beliefs. What we think is true may actually be false, but everybody who believes something believes it because they think it is true. And by force of logic, if what we believe is true, all contrary views must be false. So if arrogance is defined as thinking one’s own view to be right and contrary views to be wrong, then everyone is arrogant – not just Christians.
But this isn’t arrogance at all; it’s just the nature of belief and truth. If A is true, then –A must be false. If Sacramento is the capital of California, then it’s false that San Francisco is the capital of California — or Los Angeles, or San Diego, or any other city for that matter. Likewise, if Christianity is true, then all other religions must be false. Why? Because they all offer different pictures of reality. Some religions say there is only one God, while others say there are many; some say God is personal, while others say He is impersonal; some say we are resurrected after death, while others say we are reincarnated. Surely God cannot be both one and many; He cannot be both personal and impersonal; we cannot be both resurrected and reincarnated. Seeing that different religions make competing truth claims, they can’t all be right. So if Christians have good reason to believe Christianity is true, then it follows logically that non-Christian religions aren’t true (even if they have elements of truth in them).
It often goes unnoticed that the charge of arrogance is self-refuting. After all, why does the person who faults Christians as being arrogant for thinking they are right and others wrong do so, if not because s/he thinks s/he is right and Christians are wrong? If it’s wrong and arrogant to tell others they are wrong, why is s/he telling Christians they are wrong? Wouldn’t this make his/her views equally wrong and arrogant? As Greg Koukl once asked, Why is it that when Christians think they are right they are arrogant, but when non-Christians think they are right…they are just right? You see, this is not a matter of one person claiming to be right, but two – actually, nearly 7 billion! Any definition of arrogance, then, that equates epistemic confidence with arrogance is misguided.
Arrogance is not descriptive of what you believe, or even the confidence with which you believe it, but rather how you believe it. Arrogance is an attitude one has about their beliefs; an unwarranted display of superiority over others who do not think as you do. It is a feature of one’s character and behavior, not one’s beliefs. People should not be faulted, then, for having epistemic confidence that their point-of-view is true, particularly when that view is supported by good reasons. The charge of arrogance is only appropriate if one displays an undue sense of superiority over others because of the truths they have come to learn.
While there may be Christians who are truly arrogant, it reflects a defect in their character, not a defect in Christianity itself. On the Christian worldview, knowledge of the truth is a gift from God. What we know about God, we know only because He graciously disclosed it to us. We did not acquire this knowledge because of our own intellectual or moral superiority, but only by His grace (1 Corinthians 15:10; Ephesians 2:1-10).
If you have encountered arrogant Christians, that is truly unfortunate. But their character flaw should not stand in the way of your honest consideration of Christianity. If an arrogant doctor discovered a cure for an incurable disease you suffered from, you would not refuse it simply because the doctor was arrogant. Likewise, you shouldn’t reject Jesus because of the imperfections of His followers. What matters most is who Jesus is, and whether the religion that bears His name accurately depicts spiritual reality; i.e. whether it is true. We are persuaded by reason and experience that Christianity is true, that Jesus is who he claimed to be, and that one must trust exclusively in Him to experience salvation.
September 14, 2009 at 6:33 am
As usual, well said!! I must remember these points as a debate with my New Agey Boss and Agnostic family.
Lynne
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October 7, 2009 at 12:45 pm
… i was raised in a christian background, but recently have been moving towards an agnostic or deist stance. i find myself hating the perceived arrogance and perceived lack of logic when it comes to christianity… my own personal study led me to this point…
it really confuses me and makes me angry… i’m like how can’t they see this. it’s really hard to understand how they don’t understand what i see it seems like common sense… but i recognize their sincerity and realize they probably feel the same way about me…
it’s amazing how two people can read the same thing and feel so passionately different about it…
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October 7, 2009 at 3:09 pm
lamar9,
Why would you consider abandoning Christianity just because of the way it is perceived by outsiders? Even if most people who profess to be Christians are arrogant and stupid, that doesn’t mean Jesus is arrogant and stupid, or that Christianity is not true.
Christianity is a very philosophically robust religion. The evidence in favor of Christian truth claims is far superior to any other religion, and far superior to atheism. Don’t jump ship for the wrong reasons, and by all means don’t jump from this ship into a burning one.
Jason
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February 3, 2010 at 12:05 pm
I am Monotheistic. I know that. And believe it with all my heart. But I do not conform myself to one religion, because I AM NOT ARROGANT. I do not have a religion that I call my own, because all religions are man made, and based on man’s beliefs. And most religions seem to be arrogant enough to want to put some mortal between man and God. Nothing should come between you and your God, especially a mere mortal. I may not believe that Jesus is lord, but I do not put down Christianity or Jesus. I still believe Jesus was a great prophet, who done more for humanity than any other single Human Being. But he came to earth to show people the way. They way to God, to pray to God, to obey God, the same way he did. God is the creator of the heavens, the creator of Earth, the creator of man, and the creator of Jesus. But the reality is this, To err is human, so everything made by humans, have errors, so every religion, which are all man made, are flwed in some sort. If I only believe in God, and try to do good with my life, then I am covering the only basis I care about. I pray to God, and only care what he thinks of me. Free your mind of religions, and become spiritual, with an open heart, and open mind, to understand all, and not be biased or arrogant, like most Christians.
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February 3, 2010 at 2:16 pm
Jason,
You have failed to interact with my points, which run contrary to your claims. Why think your beliefs are not man-made just like all other religious beliefs?
And if to err is human, then why should I not think that everything you just wrote is not error?
And clearly you are biased. One cannot escape bias. The only question is whether one’s bias is toward the truth, or away from it.
Jason
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April 29, 2010 at 3:41 pm
Jesus christ did not say i am God worship me !!!! go check the bible read your verse ,,, you will never find it but you’ll find somebody alluding ( paul),but Jesus never said to any body am God worship me
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April 29, 2010 at 3:46 pm
And your point is what?
Jason
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June 1, 2010 at 7:17 pm
I’m going to admit when i first read the title I was a bit insulted but after reading it i=I must say i really liked it, great article.
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July 30, 2010 at 8:41 am
yeah, unless you claim to not ‘know’, and believe those claiming to ‘know’ are arrogant.
no refutation there.
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August 13, 2010 at 6:33 am
Many Christians are most definitely arrogant. Particularly missionaries. The very act of entering another country and attempting to convert the “heathens” is an act of arrogance and aggression. Especially when the pretext of helping the poor is used as a way of forcing or coercing people to convert. This cannot be the way of any god and is a way of malice and trickery.
As usual, it is the people, not the religion who are at fault. The true purpose of all religion is to realize your divinity – any path will get you there. The problem is the people who champion the religion and do so in an underhanded manner. Christian missionaries are at the top of the list – they should stay at home and leave other countries alone.
Hinduism, for example, has never and has no interest in converting anyone. Neither has Judaism to the best of my knowledge. It is the arrogant, aggressive religions who do so. And they will suffer for their irreligious actions, I’m sure of it.
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August 13, 2010 at 10:23 am
the real one,
I agree. Christians can be arrogant. But so can people of other religions, and atheists. In fact, the most arrogant people I’ve ever met are atheists! But does that mean their worldview is not true? Of course not.
If people should stay home and not evangelize, then you would have never come to the belief that you are divine, because that belief was carried here by Easterners.
Whether Hindus want to convert anyone I cannot say. I can say, however, that anyone who thinks their views are correct should want to convert others in the same way a teacher wants to “convert” the student who thinks 2+2=5 to the view that 2+2=4. We naturally want people to know the truth, particularly if one’s ignorance of the truth can lead to grave consequences. And on the Christian view, the consequences for spiritual ignorance are grave indeed. Evangelism is not an act of arrogance, but an act of love. It’s comparable to a doctor trying to save someone’s life, not to a bully trying to get everyone to do as he says.
Jason
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June 15, 2012 at 6:44 am
You keep using that word truth. As all Christians do. But it is your truth, not everyone’s. Truth is relative, and you cannot find any absolute truth in a book. If I believed that all Christians are going to Hell for practicing the wrong religion, it would still be arrogant for me to say, Hey Christian, you are wrong and you are going to burn in Hell, let me show you the truth. You would think I was stupid for telling you that you were wrong, you would laugh in my face. That’s exactly how I feel when some Christian comes up to me and starts trying to tell me my beliefs are wrong. I want to laugh in their face. But never do I go up to anyone and tell them they are wrong. As long as they love their God and are trying to be a good person, who am I to tell them they are wrong. You can try to explain why til you’re blue in the face, but that doesn’t change the fact that Christians are arrogant.
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June 15, 2012 at 12:36 pm
We use the word “truth” as all people do, not just as Christians do. And for good reason. People recognize that there is such a thing as truth, even if they may disagree as to what it is.
If all truth is relative as you say, then so are the truths you are asserting in your comments. So why should I care about the relative truths you hold to? Why do you even bother to talk about it? If “truth” is really just personal fiction, why spend time talking about each other’s personal truths? Who cares! Would it make any sense to speak to people who believe in Star Wars truth about why they are wrong and why Lord of the Rings truth is better? No. It would make just as much sense as arguing over flavors of ice-cream.
You don’t go up to someone and tell them they are wrong? Balderdash! What is your comment about? It’s you coming up to my virtual face and telling me I am wrong. You are a basket of contradictions.
Jason
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June 26, 2012 at 6:32 am
It’s a virtual face Jason, that’s why I am here. That is what a blog is about. It’s a lot different than coming up to your face and calling you wrong. Besides, I don’t call you wrong, I say it is not right for you to call me wrong, big difference. If you believe in your religion and it helps you to be a better person, than it is right for you. See, I say your religion is right…. for you. I don’t call you wrong. Christians come up to me and tell me I’m lost, I’m going to hell, that Satan has me fooled, that I’m an antichrist, etc. All because I don’t believe in their way of thinking. That is wrong, that is judging, that is arrogant. That is not the same as what I am doing.
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June 26, 2012 at 6:44 am
“The evidence in favor of Christian truth claims is far superior to any other religion, and far superior to atheism. Don’t jump ship for the wrong reasons, and by all means don’t jump from this ship into a burning one.”
And how are Christian claims far superior to any other religion, and far superior to Atheism? That is an arrogant and unsupportable claim. I also notice how you capitalize Christian but not Atheism.
If you use science as a method of backing Atheism, Atheism has far more truth claims than the unsubstantiated claims of Christianity. You have a book with places in time that existed. You have a very good probability that Jesus did exist, and the rest is taken on faith. So how are truth claims far superior? They are faith based claims. How can you prove that there is a hell, that Jesus was divine, that there is a heaven, that Jesus did rise from the dead, that Jesus did walk on water, that Jesus did turn water into wine, that Jesus did multiply the fish, that unicorns and satyrs do exist, that the earth is flat with a firmament above? You can’t even prove that the authors of the Bible are truly the authors of the Bible! I’m sorry, I just don’t agree that Christian truth claims are any better than any other truth claims.
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July 2, 2012 at 3:10 pm
Jason,
Your distinction between a “virtual face” and “in person” is bogus. Telling someone they are wrong is telling someone they are wrong, however it is done. And you are definitely telling me I am wrong. What else does it mean to “say it is not right for you to call me wrong”? What does “not right” mean?
When you say that what Christians have done to you as wrong, that is making a moral judgment. There’s no way around it.
Jason
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