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Recently, in speaking with people, and endeavoring to share the gospel, I have noticed quite a few folks have brought up a similar opinion. The general view that they seem to believe can be summarized like this: “Religion causes division among people. In fact all wars are rooted in religion or religious differences. Therefore religion is not a good thing.” What these individuals seemed to really be saying, in essence, was “I’m not interested in religion, and in particular, I’m not interested in Jesus or the gospel.”

Apparently, this thinking is more pervasive than I used to realize. For many people, this can be either a roadblock to hearing the gospel, or an excuse not to believe. So much so, in fact, that it seems important to consider how to address this argument, in order to help people get beyond this apparent obstacle.

One of my favorite Scriptures is Matthew 16:13 – 17.

13Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

14And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”

15He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

17And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”