By Pastor Stephen Hess –
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers made headlines recently when he was interviewed by his girlfriend Danica Patrick for her podcast. During the interview the conversation turned to the subject of religion and Rodgers shared that he was involved in the church and other Christian organizations as a young person, but has moved away from that now and has become more of a skeptic. What became clear to me as I watched the conversation is that Rodgers’s main objections to Christianity are quite common, but they reveal some fundamental misunderstandings regarding the Christian faith.
First, Rodgers objected to Christianity on the grounds that it is too focused on following rules. Rodgers said, “Rules and regulations and binary systems don’t really resonate with me.” This objection is problematic on a couple of levels. First, it ignores the fact that every person on the planet, whether Christian or non-Christian, lives their life by a set of rules. These rules might be self-determined or prescribed by a religion, but rules are inescapable. But secondly, this objection fails to understand that the heart of the Christian faith is not about following rules or laws. The Bible teaches not only that we have all failed to follow God’s laws, but that our fallen nature makes us unable to follow them. Consequently, we are separated from God and need to be rescued. Jesus died on the cross to rescue us from our sins and we are saved through faith in him, not through following rules. Therefore, at its heart, Christianity is not about trusting in what I have done to save me but trusting in what Christ has done on my behalf.
Second, Rodgers objected to Christianity on the grounds that it is too exclusive or “black and white.” Rodgers described religion like this: “It’s us and them. It’s saved and unsaved. It’s heaven and hell. It’s enlightened and heathen. It’s holy and righteous, and sinner and guilty.” Many people today share the belief that Christianity is too “black and white.” There are a couple of problems with this objection. First, it fails to recognize that all worldviews are exclusive in some sense, because all worldviews make truth claims about God, the world, and humanity. Any time you make a truth claim it will necessarily affirm certain beliefs and negate others. In this sense, atheists are just as “black and white” as Christians. If we believe in objective truth, we have to understand that truth is inherently exclusive. But second, we must also understand that Christians didn’t invent the idea that Jesus is the only way to salvation. The reason Christians believe this is because Jesus himself made this claim. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn. 14:6). Therefore, if you reject the idea that Jesus is the only way to salvation, your problem isn’t with Christians; your problem is with Jesus himself.
Third, Rodgers objected to Christianity because of the doctrine of hell. Rodgers said, “I don’t know how you can believe in a God who wants to condemn most of the planet to a fiery hell.” Many people assume that if God is loving he cannot be wrathful at the same time. But we should note that if God is a God of justice, he must express wrath. Just as a police officer who allows criminals to commit crimes without consequence is not just, so too a God who does not exercise his wrath toward sin would not be just. A just God cannot respond to sin and evil with indifference. But we should also note that those who are in hell are there not because God is sadistic and likes to condemn people; they are there because they have rejected God himself. As C.S. Lewis once wrote, “There are only two kinds of people—those who say ‘Thy will be done’ to God or those to whom God in the end says, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in Hell choose it. Without that self-choice it wouldn’t be Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it.”
Rodgers’s objections to Christianity are shared by many people in the world today. But what his comments reveal to me is that while he may have been exposed to some aspects of Christianity, he has never fully understood the message of the Christian gospel. The gospel or “good news” announces that we are all rule-breakers and we all deserve God’s judgment, but Jesus came into the world to receive God’s judgment for us. Now, anyone who stops trusting in their own works and puts their faith in Jesus for forgiveness will be saved.