If Christianity is so Good, Why are Christians so Bad?
Out of the blue, the Scottish publisher Christian Focus asked if I'd be interested in doing one of their "Big Ten: Critical Questions Answered" books, and I was happy to say yes. I welcomed the challenge, and, providentially, it supplied me with the book contract needed to claim a sabbatical year of study from SBTS. Indeed, it was an answer to prayer, a fact I reference in the commendatory blurb I wrote for son Jedidah's new book, 21 Days to Childlike Prayer: Changing Your World One Specific Prayer at a Time (Harvest House, 2022). When I mention the assigned title to fellow believers, I often get the answer, "Well, we're fallen creatures." Yes, indeed, but, of course, there's more to be said about it—not only concerning the answer, but also about the status of the question itself. Along the way, I grant the reality of the problem, even pitching in a few more embarrassing examples; map the issue onto the Bible; raise the matter of "false professors," doubtful narratives, and false equivalencies; survey the spiritual antibodies at work in the church; press the critic to consider the way Christianity has protected skeptics; and point to a time when we won't be "so bad," but still unsavory to the lost.