On "Defending" the Triune God

“How do I respond to non-believers who accuse Christians of accepting cut-and-dry answers to Scripture like a Triune God and Heave n and Hell?”

God is love. Love is relational. Our understanding of true love comes from the relationship of the Holy Trinity. We (all humans) were made in the image of God, and as such we naturally imitate the love of the Triune God. But we do it imperfectly, due to the our fallenness, so not only do we naturally live in love, we also have the emptiness of not living in the love which is inherent to our nature. So the best way to respond to the non-believer who thinks our view of the Triune God is too simplistic might not be to tell them more about him, but to show him that which he longs for in his own nature but cannot quite grasp: God’s love in relationship. It would be like listening to a really good piece of music, instead of being told how good the music is and why it is so good.

As for the part about Heaven and Hell: show them how heaven reaches back to earth through God’s people (you and your kindness). The hell part won’t need more demonstration.

Of course the common question is, “How do I defend the things in the Bible that seem absurd to the non-Christian?” Here you need to come at it from several directions at once: 1) The direction described above (the way of love); 2) Answer the question directly as much as you are able to; 3) Remember that we are dealing with systems, not just individual points. Which system best explains things of the world? 4) Point out that every thought system has truth-claims that seem absurd from alternate approaches.