Two years ago, I was watching an interview on YouTube featuring respected author and celebrated Christian apologist Nancy Pearcey discussing the importance of recognizing counterfeit gospels. During this 50-minute dialogue, the interviewer shared an analogy which had impacted her:
[When Banks want to train their employees how to recognize counterfeit bills], they never let them study counterfeit money, because you can’t go out there and study every single piece of counterfeit money and figure out what makes a counterfeit. They only ever let the bank tellers work with real money and have them work with it day in day out. Feel it, smell it, and hold it up to the light so that they’re so familiar with the real money. That if a counterfeit piece ever shows up, they know it immediately. [Therefore], when you focus on the truth, and you focus on God’s word, you don’t have to know all the details of everything else that’s wrong out there in the world [1]
At first glance (or listen), this sounds very reasonable! We should know the Scriptures well! We should follow Charles Spurgeon’s advice: “Visit many good books but live in the Bible.” As Christians, we should study God’s Word often! Jesus contended that we need the Scriptures more than anything else! “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4).
Therefore, given that we need to be lifelong students of God’s Word, reading the Scriptures often, why then does the Bank Analogy fall short? Or go bankrupt, shall we say? Nancy Pearcey’s response to the interviewer extends some needed wisdom:
“I’ve heard that metaphor a lot, but I used to be a bank teller and it’s not true. [We were taught how to identify counterfeits]. [1]
Pearcey continues…
“I actually don’t agree with that. Because I think you have to know something about the worldviews [of others]. Christians can’t just live in their own little bubble if they really want to talk to non-Christians, they have to know something about how they think.” [1}
What professor Pearcey is sharing here is incredibly compelling!
If we avoid learning about other worldviews, we are choosing to remain in “our own little bubble.” But if we earnestly want to share the Good News of the Gospel, we need to be aware that non-Christians (and even numerous professing Christians) also claim to own the correct currency on Truth.
To use the Bank Analogy further, every single major worldview has their own dollar bill. And these dollar bills are thought to be THE dollar bill. The doctrine which provides the look and feel of the bill comes from a sacred text associated with that worldview (Bible, Quran, Book of Mormon, Richard Rohr’s Universal Christ, Darwin’s Origin of Species, etc.) Therefore, if we do not slow down and define what makes their dollar bill THE dollar bill, we could be misunderstanding what they find to be essential. Defining terminology is therefore very important!! If we do not seek to understand what he or she means when referring to God, Jesus, and Salvation, we could be accepting or permitting the deposit of counterfeit theology without knowing it.
For example, per the CARM apologetics webpage, the Church of Latter-Day Saints define “God” as “One of the countless gods in existence. An exalted man from another world who created the earth whose name is ‘Elohim.’ He became a god by following the laws and ordinances of his god on the other world. He has a body of flesh and bones, D&C 130: 22-23).” [2]
This shows us that the LDS worldview is a polytheistic worldview (there are many Gods in Mormonism). A biblical worldview, however, instructs that there is only one God. Christianity is, therefore, monotheistic. This is an essential component to our dollar bill! There were and are no other Gods before Him nor besides Him (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 46:9; Ephesians 4:6). [3] God is the uncreated Creator of time and space, infinite and noncontingent (necessary). Humanity is created, finite, and contingent. The LDS and Christian worldviews differ dramatically when the terms are defined.
Having numerous respectful dialogues with co-workers, family members, and neighbors not only demonstrates that we love and care for them, but it also provides us with the opportunity to learn from them! Being available to listen to others share about their worldview/religion, helps us learn more about how they answer the major worldview questions (how we got here, why are we broken, how can we be fixed, etc.). Again, we should prioritize these moments!
Every heart needs to know how bankrupt we truly are because of sin. Minds need to grapple with the reality that God came down to live the sinless, righteous life we are unable to live, adding his own credit to our account after paying for our debt with his blood.
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21
Friends, studying the essential beliefs of other worldviews might seem overwhelming, but the hearts we encounter daily are worth that time. And you need not fear learning about other worldviews (that you might go astray)! As long as you are earnestly pursuing truth, you will find yourself on solid ground with Christianity (1 Corinthians 15). Yes, Christians, know God’s Word! And, be aware of the Counterfeits.
- “Nancy Pearcey, Finding Truth Part 1: Postmodernism Seeking a Substitute in all the Wrong Places.” 2021. The Meaning Code. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVd6QyQ4N9I&t=27s
Hold Fast Apologetics 