Poor apologetics
One of the most common mistakes that most of my Christian friends (and I) make is to jump into a direct rebuttal to our non-Christian friends. However, that demostrates poor listening skills. Often people expressed an opinion (in this case on the fairness of God), we give them 101 reasons or examples why God is fair. But we need to get to the heart of the issue-- what do they actually mean?
The concept of grace is unfair!
One way that they could actually mean is that grace is unfair-- how can God make salvation something a gift rather than something we can earn?
If you think about it deeply, it is true-- the concept of grace is unfair. By dying on the cross to redeem mankind, God made salvation a gift, rather than something anyone deserves(Romans 5: 6-8). Because if God gives us what we deserve, we'll go to hell--no one is simply good enough (Romans 3: 9-20).
Attempting to define God's intention
Another aspect that non-Christians may misunderstand is to set up false aims that the Christian God intented to achieve. For instance, some may argue that if God was fair, everyone would be healthy, wealthy or the like.
However, nowhere in the Bible does it state that God's ultimate intention for mankind is for everyone to be without illness or poverty.
Conclusion
When non-believers say that God is unfair we must carefully examine what they mean, instead of giving textbook answers without getting to the heart of the matter.
Note that this list of potential reasons why non-Christians view God is unfair is not exhaustive, but simply a starter to such conversations.
