Christian Apologist: Most Skeptics Doubt After Being Hurt by Church

Christian apologist Dr. Alex McFarland concluded after interviewing skeptics for his new book, 10 Answers for Skeptics, that most developed their skepticism due to bad personal experiences with organized religion.

“Through nearly a year of research and numerous personal interviews, my goal was to really get ‘inside the mind of the skeptic,’” said McFarland in an interview with The Christian Post.

“The most common type of skeptics I meet are wounded skeptics. They have been hurt by church, religion, or by another Christian,” added McFarland, who explained that “virtually all” the skeptics he talked to for this book came from a religious background.

In his book, McFarland identifies ten different types of skeptics. These various types include “The Educated Skeptic,” which is someone who holds intellectual objections to Christianity; "The Tolerant Skeptic," who thinks of all religious beliefs as being true and desires no serious talk on religion; and "The Wounded Skeptic,” which is someone who rejects Christianity because they had a bad experience with the church growing up.

"My heart goes out to many of the skeptics I meet. Intellectual doubt is often preceded by emotional pain," said McFarland, who is president of Southern Evangelical Seminary in North Carolina.

The spiritual situation in the United States described by the well-known Christian speaker in his book can be distressing. He often describes how a mixture of secularism in public education and bad personal experiences has led many to reject Christian belief. To read more, click here.