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Isn't Christianity Just a 'Crutch' for Weak Minded People?
The argument goes something like this:
The world is a scary place! When we are born, we have people that take protect us from this. As we grow, we realize that the world is indeed quite harsh, although we (hopefully) have the benefit of loving parents taking care, making decisions, and sheltering us from the evil and pain for as long as they can. Once we get out on our own, it is natural for us to long for that childhood protection we once enjoyed, so we CREATE for ourselves an all-powerful loving God, from whom we can 'ask' for help, and have 'hope' that we will someday meet and be delivered from the misery and unfairness we experience in the world.
Sigmund Freud called this condition 'wish fulfillment'. Napoleon credited Christianity as the 'opiate of the masses' – which is useful to those in power as a means to keep the people suppressed, as they look forward to 'pie in the sky in the bye and bye' while they suffer under tyranny in the present. Are these proofs against the truth of Christianity?
First of all, these kinds of discussions commit what is known in Logic 101 class as the 'genetic fallacy'. This means that just because the 'accusation' may be true, it doesn't mean that the underlying assertion is not true. For example, I believe that interest rates will fall next year so I could afford to purchase a house. That sounds like a classic case of wish fulfillment, but you would be foolish to say that they will not come down just because of my wishes! They will or will not come down irregardless of my wishes – my wishes neither make it true NOR false!
The same is true with Christianity. In order to prove, or simply to believe, that Christianity is false, its critics will have to do MUCH more work than simply denigrate the 'motives' of the believers! Indeed, if Christianity is true, then we would expect that people would be longing for it! If we are truly separated from our Creator and He is the ultimate expression of our purpose, it makes sense that we WOULD desire Him! And if the Creator is actively searching for us and also longing for our reconciliation, it is not beyond belief that the needs within us would be left there by Him, to be used to draw us toward Him!
And finally – this particular criticism actually works against the critic!
Is it not possible that a person may project their 'wish' for autonomy and their 'fear' or 'dislike' of a righteous God by projecting (wising) that He does not exist? So, if religious belief can be seen as a kind of 'wish projection', so can religious unbelief!