On arguments and tactics used against Christians and what Christians should do about it

If you read the Gospels, one recurring theme that was constantly used against Jesus was his enemies trying to use his own words against, trying to reveal him a traitor to own morals, and otherwise trying to make him the bad guy because they hated what he stood for.

In modern day, not much has changed. Even if you are like me and live in a fairly free country to be a Christian, you will encounter much the same scorn and hatred from those who will treat you with contempt for your faith, and here' some of the most common ways this manifests.


1. Trying to use you own morals against you.



A common tactic those who hate Christians will use is trying to hold you to your morals and mercilessly trying to make you look like a stupid hypocrite for not living up to them 24/7.

This is dishonest for several reasons, here's some quotes from scripture on why that's the case.

Romans 3:9-20 English Standard Version (ESV)

No One Is Righteous

9 What then? Are we Jews[a] any better off?[b] No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one;
11     no one understands;
    no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
    no one does good,
    not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave;
    they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14     “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16     in their paths are ruin and misery,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.”
18     “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being[c] will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

As the above clearly shows, no one can be BE righteous 24/7, anyone trying to hold another human being to that standard is being a hypocrite themselves, especially if they curse God and treat him with contempt yet try to use your faith in God against you.

If you encounter this, my advice is to disregard whatever those who do this say. Those who spit venom have no business trying to call you a viper as well. So long as you refrain from returning the venom, the true vipers will be judged by God, and so long as you do not get on the ground with the snakes that spit venom at you, you will not be counted among their number when the time of judgment is at hand.



2. Trying to accuse you being a holy-roller Bible-Beater



Now, this accusation can having a grain of truth to it if you make a point of being cruel and abrasive about being a Christian. Me, I don't make a habit of that and in fact despise Bible-beating. It's counterproductive towards spread the Word. After all, would you want to read a Book that someone smashes against your face and calls you bad for not reading it?


However, if you act like the sinner in the below parable, this accusation against you is utterly worthless

Luke 18:9-14 New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

As the above shows, the tax collector (the sinner) admits straight up he doesn't deserve to look up in pride, it's because he knows he's fallen, he doesn't need to be told that, he readily acknowledges it, and for that humility, he was ultimately more righteous.

I've been subject IRL to self-righteous types who make clear they hate what I believe yet will tell me I think I'm better than them. I'll be blunt: I'm the farthest thing from righteous no matter how hard I try. 

In real life, I rarely look upwards because I live every day with the guilt of my sins and I know without the assistance of the sacrifice of Jesus, those sins are chains that bind me to death and eternal perdition. Without help beyond myself, I remain eternally damned and my grave will be my final resting place on this Earth before going to an even worse reward without admitting I'm an unregenerate sinner who needs to beseech an Almighty God for forgiveness.

If you can do the same, then while your assurance of salvation is something between you and the Lord, you can at least live with the knowledge you have humbled yourself before the Lord and need not fear the jibes and sneers of self-righteous men, because in your willingness to be humble before the true judge of good and evil, your redemption is more than possible.

3. Those who hate you will treat you like garbage because of your belief

This is not so much an argument or tactic, rather a general warning to anyone who believes in God: You will be treated like dirt by those who hate what you believe and whom you bow before.

I personally, despite living in a country where my freedom of religion is protected, I have still been subject to the vilest slander and libel possible to my name. My family has been assailed with slurs so cruel they would be blood insults worthy of bloodletting in ancient times, and I have been wracked with anguish more than once over how those who hate me get visceral joy out of watching me suffer rage over their wicked behavior.

And I guarantee every Christian will, to some degree, experience the same.

That said, here's some words of wisdom from the Bible on that subject:

1 Peter 2:20

For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.

1 Peter 3:14

But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED,

1 Peter 4:16

but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.

1 Peter 5:10

After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

Matthew 5:11

"Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

Matthew 10:22

"You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

I'm not going to mince words: Believing in God means you accept to suffer as his Son did. Wicked men will scorn you, your beliefs will be assailed as lies, your character will be defamed, you will be spat upon and derided before your peers, and you be treated as lower than dirt by those who see your willingness to not retaliate as a weakness to exploit instead of willingness to suffer in silence as did Jesus.

That said, I still consider it worth it, because at the end of the day, you are the one who has to ask yourself: Do I seek the favor of those who curse me, or the favor of the one who loves me regardless? Do I seek to be praised by those who would betray me if they found it to their convenience at a later date, or do I seek to be loved by someone who will never abandon me?

If you can answer in the latter instead of the former, in which the former has no lasting hope while the latter has unending hope, then congratulations, your sacrifice will be rewarded, because at the end of your days as you approach the time of your death on this Earth, you can be proud of what you did here, and when you make it to your reward, all the suffering will be compensated by eternal laurels worth more than any praise from the temporal bonds of this mortal coil.

Call me insane, stupid, crazy, whatever. Curse me, curse my blood-kin, slander my friends, It makes no difference.

Because the way I see it, there are two choices: Grovel like a worm before those who spit on you anyway, or put faith in someone who won't do that.

Personally, I believe true dignity is only possible with the latter option.