What makes Christianity true?
What makes Christianity true?
One might think that there are many possible different answers to this question. But there is only one possible answer. First, we must understand the difference between objective and subjective truth.
Subjective truth
Subjective truth is one’s opinion. For example, if I say that Butter Pecan ice cream is the best ice cream, that is my opinion and an example of subjective truth. Subjective truths are true for you, personal, private, or just your opinion, and they can change at any time. Subjective truth reflects you as the subject.
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Objective truth
Objective truths are true for all people, at all places, at all times. For example, if I say that the Kansas City Chiefs won the Superbowl in 2024, that is not my opinion (subjective truth). That is a historical truth and is objective because it’s true for everyone. It doesn’t matter what one’s opinion about the Chiefs winning happens to be. They won. That’s a fact. Historical and scientific truths relate to objective truth. Here’s another example — one can say they don’t believe in gravity (scientific truth), but it still is a fact of our universe whether we believe in it or not. If one says there’s no gravity and jumps off a building thinking they can fly, well, that person is still going to plummet to his or her death. Objective truths are just true, regardless of one’s opinion.
For far too long, religion has been put in the subjective category. We are not supposed to say that Christianity is true because, in our relativistic (subjective) culture, all religions are true. Everyone is right. There’s no right or wrong. It’s not politically correct to claim that there’s only one way to Heaven. However, Christianity is true because a historical event occurred — the resurrection. That is an objective, historical fact that does not depend on one’s opinion and happens to be true. A bold statement, I know.
Objections to the resurrection
The ancient inhabitants of Israel were just naïve or they made it up. That couldn’t possibly have happened. People don’t rise from the dead.
The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 that Jesus appeared to over 500 people at one time after his resurrection including his disciples. Some of those witnesses were still alive when the Gospels were written and could have claimed that the Gospels were false. But no one ever did. Paul and James the brother of Jesus went from being unbelievers to being leaders of the Christian church. Why? Because Jesus appeared to them and changed them forever. Here’s the biggest clencher for me, all of the 12 apostles went to their deaths as martyrs except for John. Peter was crucified upside down. They all died for what they knew was true. Not one of them recanted their faith. Now how many people do you know who would die for a lie? No one dies for what they know is a lie. No one.
Did you also know that historians who were not even believers in Him wrote about Him in their historical accounts? Josephus, Tacitus, and Pliny the Younger are three examples of historians who wrote about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In fact, if you threw away the Bible, you could still reconstruct the biblical accounts with just the historical evidence of writers outside the Bible.
Disappointments in life cause unbelief.
Maybe a church leader has disappointed you, and you’ve walked away from church forever because of that. People are sinners and will disappoint. That doesn’t mean that Jesus didn’t rise from the dead. Maybe one has lost a job, or a loved one, or has had some other tragedy in one’s life. But loss and disappointment don’t mean that Jesus didn’t resurrect from the dead. The resurrection is still a historical fact. Maybe someone has given you objections to Christianity for which you didn’t have answers. So now, you think Christianity is not true because no one has been able to answer your question so far. Please hear this — people will always disappoint because we are not perfect. We are all sinners. We live in a fallen world. This is not Heaven, and we shouldn’t expect it to be.
My story
About a week ago, my husband had an appointment for surgery at a local health clinic. There’s a crossing guard that we regularly see there. He is always very positive and encouraging. Just an all-around great guy. When I saw him, I mentioned that my husband was having surgery that day. He responded, “Well we’re going to pray that his surgery is a success and that the tumor is benign.” When I heard, “pray,” I said, “Are you a Christian? Because you said, ‘pray.’” He said, “No, I’m an agnostic.” When I asked him why, he said that during a church service he attended as a young man, he asked the pastor a question that made the pastor uncomfortable. The pastor called him a blasphemer and kicked him out of church. If that happened to me, that would put a bad taste in my mouth too. So, I told him that the pastor was wrong to do that and that Christians make mistakes too. Then I said, “Look, what the pastor did was wrong. But that doesn’t make Christianity false. Jesus still rose from the dead, and there are mountains of evidence for that.” I encouraged him to keep seeking. Then I had to go. But what this man told me is very typical of a lot of people. If people could understand that the resurrection, which is a historical event and objectively true, occurred whether we believe it or not, I wonder how many people would change their minds.
If God exists, and He does, and if He could create this world ex-nihilo (out of nothing), and He did, then a resurrection is child’s play for Him. During this Easter season, I encourage you to not let your doubts keep you from the truth. Seek out answers. Here’s something to get you started. I wrote an article last year at this time debunking common objections to the resurrection. You can read about it here.
Someday when we leave this earth, our soul will depart our body and this earth, and we will be more alive than ever. Our soul, the real us, will not be dead. We will only be changing our address. Where will you live? Where you go when you die is the most important matter in our lives. Don’t determine your eternity on feelings and emotions because someone disappointed you. Eternity is forever.
Claudia is a Christian apologist, national speaker, and blogger with a Master of Arts degree in Christian Apologetics from Biola University. She is on the speaking team for the Talbot Seminary Biola On-The-Road Apologetics conferences, teaches Apologetics at her church, and leads the ladies Bible study. Claudia has been a repeat guest on the KKLA radio show in Los Angeles, Real Life With Gina Pastore and David James. Her blog posts have been published multiple times in The Poached Egg online apologetics magazine, and she is a contributing writer for Women In Apologetics. She blogs at Straight Talk With Claudia K. After raising two now adult sons, her focus now is to make an impact in the world for Christ.
