Christ on Campus: Christ in the Dock

By Craig Parton

Before the rise of modern secularism in the eighteenth century, it was thought that man was the one who must answer for his conduct. Man was, as C. S. Lewis said, in the dock, on trial. Today the situation is totally reversed. God (and specifically Jesus Christ) is in the dock, whether in the classroom, coffee house, or corporate office.

One who assumes that Christianity is still in the driver’s seat of culture rather than in the crosshairs of culture is both dangerous and deluded. Secular society exists not to usher in the Kingdom of heaven on earth but to maintain peace and good order so that there is maximum freedom to preach the Gospel.

Keeping in mind the apostle Peter’s charge to “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15 ESV), here are some of the common accusations against Christianity, which are heard from the podiums of both academia and pop culture.

Christianity is Bigoted

If our culture teaches anything, it is that nobody has the truth. Anybody claiming they have the truth is not only bigoted and narrow, they are also dangerous and probably live in a commune in rural Idaho, maybe have a third grade education, and are about ready to start using a gun at any moment.

However, truth is by nature narrow. Two plus two equals four, not five. Lincoln was shot at Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C., not at Starbucks in Des Moines. Water is composed of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. These statements are true regardless of whether one lives in Minneapolis or Moscow. They are also true regardless of whether anybody thinks they are true. The issue is not that Christianity asserts a narrow truth. If it is true, we would expect nothing less than precision. The issue whether Christianity is true and how one would verify that truth claim.

More importantly, if Christianity is true about original sin, then we are in the absolute worst position for criticizing God for providing only one way to salvation. The question is not why is there only one way? The real question, in light of man’s wretchedness, is why is there any way?

We did not come up with this idea of Jesus being the only way. Jesus did! Jesus is extremely narrow when it comes to the issue of multiple ways to heaven. He totally rejected the idea (John 14:6). Since Jesus verified His claims by rising from the dead in real history (proven repeatedly by serious trial lawyers who have investigated this event 1), He is in the very best place to give his opinion on whether He alone is the way to God.

Christianity is Mythical

It is often believed that Christianity was thought up by inebriated monks in the fourth century as a way to motivate superstitious people to give offerings and expand the rule of the current emperor. The Da Vinci Code simply articulates what millions of people already believe is the case, namely that the Bible is unreliable and covers up a more sinister conspiracy story that the Church seeks to suppress. The real Jesus is simply shrouded in mystery, and no one can know much about him other than the fact that He was probably married and approved of homosexuality.

Christianity, as has been shown repeatedly by scholars dealing with other works originating in the classical world, has the best attested eyewitness documents of antiquity. 2 The historicity and authenticity of Christianity is simply undeniable and the evidence abundant to show that our primary source material (e.g. , Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) would stand up in any court of law as utterly trustworthy. 3 Deny the reliability of the Gospel writers and the events they record, and you can throw away all your knowledge of the classical world.

Christianity is Subjective

The argument is regularly heard that even if Christianity is historically sound, it suffers from death by a thousand interpretations. The unbeliever wonders, quite correctly, who exactly has the right read on this material. Baptists? Lutherans? Pentecostals? Catholics? Orthodox? The nut in the school plaza each Friday at noon who yells a lot and says Jesus once every ten minutes?

First, remember that the truly surprising issue is how much agreement there is amongst all Christians! The three so-called ecumenical creeds of Christendom (i.e., Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian) are unanimously affirmed by all Christians, whether Protestant, Catholic, or Orthodox. If a Christian denies a proposition found in one of these creeds, chances are exceedingly high that they are the ones messed up but are too clueless to know it.

Second, contrary to postmodern thinkers, interpretation is not subjective. Interpretation is a science. Not all interpretations are equal, and there is one best interpretation of a text.

Finally, and most importantly, we do not live in a world where we accept the idea that all interpretations are equally valid. A cancer doctor gives only one diagnosis of a disease and provides a remedy based on an objective read of all the data concerning the patient’s condition. Similarly, juries give one verdict based on the best interpretation of the facts. Life and death are often at stake.

Nobody standing at the foot of the cross of Jesus at Calvary can put Christ in the dock. Rather, man is in the dock and stands desperately in need of legal counsel with appropriate standing before God the Father—a standing based on complete and total righteousness.

Thanks be to God that at that great judgment seat of Christ, we have such a Counselor, a true “Advocate [i.e. , lawyer] with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1–2 ESV).

Craig Parton is a trial lawyer, managing partner of the oldest law firm west of the Mississippi, convert to Lutheran theology, and United States Director of the International Academy of Apologetics, Evangelism, and Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. He is also the author of The Defense Never Rests: A Lawyer's Quest for the Gospel (CPH, 2004).

1 For a book detailing how trial lawyers in particular deal with the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus, see Ross Clifford, Leading Lawyers’ Case for the Resurrection (Edmonton, Alberta: Canadian Institute for Law & Theology, 1996). 2 For the best work on the subject, see F. F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987). 3 See the great work by the late Dean of the Harvard Law School and Professor of Evidence, Simon Greenleaf, in his book The Testimony of the Evangelists: The Gospels Examined by the Rules of Evidence Administered in Courts of Justice (Grand Rapids: Kregel Books, 1995).