If People Smarter Than Me Reject Christianity, Isn’t It Likely That They’re Right and I’m Wrong?

Just the Facts?

We tend to think that we discover truth by simply gathering facts together. And once we’ve gathered enough facts, we can know things about the world. This includes knowledge about small things, such as who invented the cotton gin and how planes fly, as well as big things, such as the origins of the universe and the existence of God. It’s all very “scientific,” we think. To discover truth, you just have to put on the white lab coat and collect information.

Now, on this approach, truth becomes very “democratic.” We tend to think that anyone can access truth (all one needs is facts) and that the people with the most facts are bound to be right.

But there happens to be a little problem here. Science simply doesn’t work this way. In 1962, the American philosopher Thomas Kuhn wrote a groundbreaking book titled The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. In that book he argued that science doesn’t work in this linear “just the facts, ma’am” sort of way. Instead, facts are collected, sifted, and interpreted in light of a person’s preexisting worldview—what Kuhn calls a “paradigm.” And that worldview is not so much determined by the facts as it is controlling of what a person accepts as a fact in the first place.

While Kuhn’s ideas have been tweaked and challenged over the years, the overall point of his work remains. And that point is remarkably simple: people are not neutral. They have a worldview, a paradigm, that shapes everything they see. Worldviews involve our most foundational commitments: where the world came from, our place in it, the purpose of life, the meaning of “right” and “wrong,” the existence of God (or gods), what happens when we die, and so on. Although everyone has a worldview, most people have not really thought much about their own. It’s just there in the background, conditioning and controlling their search for knowledge.

Having a worldview is kind of like wearing colored glasses.¹ Ever wore yellow sunglasses and then forgot you were wearing them? It affects everything you see, and you don’t even realize it. What counts as green, red, and orange (not to mention yellow!) is distorted by the lenses through which you are looking. So a worldview is not so much something you look at as something you look through.²

Seeing What We Want to See

So what happens if a person’s worldview is contrary to the way things actually are? Put differently, what if they are looking at the world through the wrong glasses? The answer is simple: they will misunderstand and misinterpret the data around them. And this will be the case no matter how smart they are and no matter how many Ivy League degrees they have.

Think about it for a moment. If a person’s worldview says miracles are impossible, he is unlikely to find the evidence for the resurrection convincing (no matter how good it might be!). If he believes that humans are born naturally good, then he is unlikely to think that all people everywhere (including him) need a Savior from their sins. And if he believes there is no God, then he is unlikely to affirm an objective moral code that we are all obligated to follow.

C. S. Lewis captured this reality well in his book The Magician’s Nephew. While Narnia is a land filled with magic—where animals can talk and even sing—not all people can hear them. Indeed, Uncle Andrew cannot. When the animals speak to him, Uncle Andrew hears only animal sounds. Just noise, not words. Why? He is closed to the idea of a magical world. He assumes (in his worldview) that animals are nothing but dumb creatures. Thus, when Aslan sings, Uncle Andrew is able to rationalize it away: “‘Of course, it can’t really have been singing,’ he thought, ‘I must have imagined it. I’ve been letting my nerves get out of order. Who ever heard of a lion singing?’” Lewis (as the narrator) offers the most profound insight: “What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are.”

In other words, people accept only beliefs that are consistent with the earlier and more foundational beliefs present in their worldview.

Born This Way?

All of this raises an even larger question. Why do so many people walk around with a problematic worldview? What can explain why so many people have a paradigm that is hostile to Christianity?

Well, Christianity has an answer to that question. As strange as it might sound, the Bible teaches that people are born with a problematic worldview. That doesn’t mean, of course, that people are born with a complete package of beliefs. Obviously, such beliefs are acquired over time, whether it’s the Buddhist monk in China, the new age mystic in Romania, or the devout Muslim in the Middle East. At the same time, however, all people are born with an inherent disposition against the one true God. Because of Adam’s sin, all humanity is born with a dark, fallen heart. And that fundamental reality very much shapes our belief systems.

This means that, apart from the Spirit’s help, people are hardwired to reject Christianity. Paul makes this plain in his first letter to the Corinthians. He states, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them” (1 Cor. 2:14). It’s not just that non-Christians don’t understand Christianity; they are unable to understand it. Christianity just seems foolish.

It’s worth noting that the situation of the Corinthian church, to which Paul writes, is not that different from a present-day university setting. Corinth had become quite the hub of intellectual thought. Not far from Athens, Corinth prided itself on the sophistication of its philosophers, analyzing the latest ideas that passed their way. It was a hotbed of ideas and debate—similar in many ways to the modern university.

In other words, the Christians in Corinth probably felt intellectually alone. No doubt, they also wondered why all the smartest people in their midst rejected Christianity. Maybe they even asking: “Isn’t it more likely that these brilliant philosophers are right and we Christians are wrong?”

But Paul is very clear: regardless of how smart people are, they cannot see the truth unless the Spirit opens their eyes. Thus, the widespread rejection of Christianity by intellectual elites has nothing to do with whether Christianity is true.

Once you realize that people need the Holy Spirit to understand Christianity, then a couple of implications follow. First, it helps you realize that disagreements with your non-Christian friends cannot be solved simply by giving them more facts. Regardless of how many good arguments you give them, they will always reinterpret the evidence in light of their worldview. What they ultimately need, therefore, is conversion—and only the Spirit can do that.

This doesn’t mean that we don’t present our best evidence and arguments for Christianity—we can and should. But it should temper our expectations. And, more importantly, it should lead us to pray for our non-Christian friends.

But there’s a second implication. It also explains why you are a Christian. Paul is very keen to make sure the Corinthians understand something: they are not Christians because they are smarter than everyone else. On the contrary, Paul reminds the Corinthians, “Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards” (1 Cor. 1:26). In other words, they are believers because, and only because, God lavished his grace on them.

This article is adapted from Surviving Religion 101: Letters to a Christian Student on Keeping the Faith in College by Michael J. Kruger.

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