Spend enough time in online discussions about Christianity and you’ll notice a pattern. Many critiques keep returning to Genesis and the first few books of the Bible. Creation, the Great Flood, the Tower of Babel, the laws of Leviticus, and the conquest of Canaan become the lens through which the entire faith is judged. These are important texts, and Christians shouldn’t shy away from difficult questions people have about them. Yet this raises an obvious question: can you really understand Christianity by spending most of your time at the beginning of the story? It’s a little like claiming to understand a film after watching only the opening act. You know the setting, you’ve met some of the characters, and you’ve seen the conflict emerge—but you’ve missed the plot twist. And the whole point of a plot twist is that it changes how you understand everything that came before.
For Christians, that plot twist is Christ. It’s in the name. This isn’t because Genesis suddenly ceases to matter, nor because the Old Testament is discarded. On the contrary, it lays the foundation: the goodness of creation; humanity’s responsibility as God’s image-bearers; the tragedy of sin, suffering, and death; and God’s unfolding covenant with his people. But Christianity has always claimed that these themes find their fullest meaning in Christ. The Gospel of John deliberately opens with the words, “In the beginning…”, inviting us to read Genesis afresh through Jesus. The apostles repeatedly return to Israel’s Scriptures, convinced that they point beyond themselves to the one in whom God has made himself known. Jesus doesn’t simply continue the story; he reframes it the entire story.
That changes everything. Creation is now understood through Christ. Sacrifice is reinterpreted through the cross. Kingship is reimagined through a servant who washes feet. Divine power is revealed in self-giving love rather than domination, and victory comes through forgiveness rather than retaliation. Like any great plot twist, Jesus doesn’t erase the earlier scenes; he reveals what they were ultimately pointing towards. This is why critiques that remain almost entirely within Genesis or the opening books of the Bible often feel incomplete. They may engage the beginning of the story, but they stop short of the moment Christians believe gives the whole story its meaning. Ironically, some Christians do much the same, reading the Old Testament as though Jesus merely confirms their assumptions instead of allowing him to reshape how they understand God, Scripture, power, and even their enemies.
You don’t have to become a Christian to engage Christianity on its own terms. You may read the whole story and still remain unconvinced. But if we’re going to critique any worldview fairly, we should at least allow it to define itself. Christianity does not claim that Genesis is the final word, or even that the first few books of the Bible are the key to interpreting everything else. It claims that the fullest revelation of God is found in Jesus Christ, and that everything before him is ultimately read in his light. If you want to understand Christianity, don’t stop at the opening chapters. Stay for the plot twist.
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