I get it. It’s tough to present the beauty of Christianity in a culture in which the plausibility structures are set against you, in a pluralist society that sees all evangelism as intolerant, in an age that sees one’s self-expression (especially sexually) as fundamental to identity. Yes, it’s tough. We can all feel that pressure. But we do ourselves no favors by backpedaling, by coming up with tortured explanations of why we believe what we believe, or by acting as if our hands are (unfortunately) tied by the biblical text we say is our authority.

In a recent post laying out four big challenges facing Christians in the West today, I mentioned the moral revolution in our society that has led many to see a number of Christian beliefs about morality and doctrine to be not only old-fashioned but also dangerous and repressive.

When you track the changes of societal views on a host of issues (Jesus is the only way to God, the existence of hell, same-sex marriage), it becomes obvious that some of these hot-button issues are stumbling blocks for people who might otherwise consider the Christian faith. Dave Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons lay out the statistics:

• Two out of five adults believe it is extremist to try to convert others to their faith.
• 69 percent of all adults in American and 83 percent of atheists and agnostics believe evangelism—one of the central actions of Christian conviction—is extremist.
• A slim majority says that holding the belief the same-sex relationships are morally wrong is extremist.
• Two out of five adults believe it’s extreme to quit a good-paying job to pursue mission work in another country.

Evangelicals believe that part of our mandate is to have an influence in society, to engage well with the people around us. Because we understand our calling to spread the gospel, we willingly adapt certain church practices and methods in ways that make it easier for people to give the gospel a hearing.

Dealing with ‘Defeaters’

But what happens when there are immediate “defeater” beliefs, such as “Christianity is intolerant because you believe Jesus is the only way” or “Christians believe in hell,” or “Christians discriminate against LGBT people because they don’t perform same-sex marriages”? When we come up against these objections, it’s easy to assume that the way to win a hearing is to present the teachings of the Christian faith in the most tortured way possible, almost as if we too are as uncomfortable with our religion’s teaching as they are. We build common ground by acting as if we hold in common an outsider’s aversion to Christianity.

By presenting the image of ourselves as “wrestling” with challenging teachings, we think we come across more human, more vulnerable, and more authentic. We’re convinced we are more winsome when we make it seem as if we’d love for Christianity or the Bible to be different, or we’d love to find a way to interpret these texts differently, but right now, we’re just in the same season of struggle as many people of faith are, as we try to reach the modern world.

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