Paul famously said that the message of Christ is “a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” (1 Cor. 1:23). This provocative statement is part of an elaborate rhetorical argument that provocatively frames the way that the heart of Christianity, the incarnation, atonement, and resurrection, challenged the received wisdom of the day. This stumbling block is a non-negotiable, one that is at the heart of the foundational creeds of the church. Unfortunately, Christians have a long history of adding their own stumbling blocks by insisting that specific interpretations of Christianity are part of the essential message.
Here is a brief sampling of some beliefs which, while they are held by some Christians, they are nonetheless not part of mere Christianity and thus, the stumbling blocks that they present (stumbling blocks ranging from a contradiction of widely accepted facts about earth history to violations of our most basic moral intuitions) are wholly unnecessary:
- “God created in six days.”
- “Species did not evolve. Rather, God created each kind directly.”
- “All human beings descend from an original pair of humans: Adam and Eve.”
- “All infants are born with the imputed moral guilt of Adam.”
- “There was a global flood that drowned all human beings and animals save those safe on the ark (including dinosaurs!).”
- “God gave Israel a promised land by commanding the genocidal slaughter of the residents living in Canaan.”
- “God gave a perfect law to govern Israel which included violent punishments like stoning children to death and sawing of the hands of women.”
- “Christ was our perfect sacrifice who absorbed the wrath of the Father against our sin.”
- “In order to be saved by Jesus, you need to pray a sinner’s prayer to Jesus.”
- “All those who don’t become Christians go to hell.”
- “God sovereignly chooses those who respond favorably to the Gospel and he hardens the hearts of others to reject the Gospel and go to hell.”
- “Those who are in hell suffer unimaginable torment forever.”
- “This world will be destroyed in fire and Christians will all go to live in an otherworldly heaven.”
- “When Christians are together in heaven they will take delight in God’s righteous punishment of the wicked in hell.”
The End!
