Why are so many fearful to question Christianity?

[Igel]

24. A nearly data-free conclusion.

Still, there is that one datum messing up an otherwise flawless conclusion.

Look, there are millions of people who call themselves Xian.

I've known people who weren't afraid to have it questioned. They considered it blasphemy. They're different kinds of things. They believe and see no need to question it.

I've known people whose faith was fragile, and they were afraid to question any part of it.

In some cases they had their beliefs structured in such a way that if one bit failed, then the entire structure would need revision--and they weren't up to it, or suspected the structure would crash. (These are, of couse, two different scenarios.)

There are other people who perceive such questioning by people who don't believe as simply insincere. It's like the believer who goes up to a non-believer and asks, "Do you know where you'll go after death?" Doesn't matter if you have an answer--they want to change your mind because they think they're far superior, whether you want to change your mind or not.

In other cases, the insincerity of the question has more to do with belittling the person. If they already feel persecuted or put down for any reason--their beliefs, their skin color, their education--that's just one more way of kicking them, they feel. In the end, such a question leads to condescension and the assertion of their inferiority or your superiority.

It's a common human reaction to being downtrodden--assign a primary cause for that and make sure it's something that you bear no responsibility for, but if somebody picks on you because of it it's a Bad Thing. Then make every instance of being put down that can be put into that particular pidgeonhole fit. I've seen people do it with race, religion, ethnicity, gender, age. Once they're in that mindset, it's impossible to dislodge them. That's the reason the guy cut them off in traffic, the reason for not getting a promotion, the reason they weren't invited to lunch, the reason that they didn't hear about some party, the reason Mathilda failed to greet him/her in the hall, the reason Adbul Mammon failed to hold the elevator door.

Sometimes we bend over backwards to make sure that such a loon feels justified and secure in their persecution complex. Sometimes we bend over backwards in the other direction. We're flexible. (Then again, so are most people, at least in this regard.)