Dietary Taboos

So, tell me again about how crazy the ancients were with all of their dietary taboos. And we silly moderns mock those silly Hebrews for hunting for leaven in their homes.

Help! I've Got a Friend Who is an Atheist!

A brief journey away from biblical interpretation today and into the territory of apologetics.

I have conversations like these fairly frequently. It is a function of teaching a class on Christian Apologetics. The conversation usually begins with words like: “So, I’ve got this friend who is an atheist…” These are conversations that I usually love. Sure, there are those with questionable motives. I’m not much into supplying Christians with ammunition to use against their pagan “friends” and classmates. But most of the time there is a real and personal pleading in the question. “Help me! I hate to see my friends far away from God. I hate to hear them so hostile to faith. Their questions/accusations are breaking my heart, and, if I’m honest, they are freaking me out.” In short, I love to see Christians, especially Christian young people, passionate to provide some sort of answer to their skeptical friends (while also seeking answers to their own questions). This is a very human and biblical instinct. 

I had the opportunity recently to have this conversation in a somewhat surprising place and time. Every year I travel with our church’s youth group to Michigan to participate in Christ in Youth’s “Move” event. It is always an amazing experience for both the students and adults who go. Usually the last night of the event is spent by the boys goofing off in the dorms walking that fine line that all boys walk between having a blast with friends and getting into serious trouble. At about 12:30 I was summoned up to the rooms housing our sophomore boys. My first thought was that someone must have wandered over that line and needed correction. But when I got up to the room, I was asked by about 20 sophomore boys to spend some time teaching them some basic apologetics for some friends who were atheists. I’ve never taught apologetics at one in the morning, but it was one of the best hours of teaching that I can remember. They paid closer attention than most of my college students!

There were basically four points that I made with them about speaking to their atheist friends and I’ve decided to share them here. These are not specific arguments to be made. They are more like “rules of engagement” because specific arguments are worse than worthless if we don’t have the right approach.

1.       Do not be mystified. Sometimes young people treat a friend who has declared herself an atheist with a certain kind of celebrity. A high schooler who is an atheist – particularly in the Bible Belt – is treated as an exotic creature. We may find ourselves assuming then that this person is somehow more intelligent and has thought through the issues with much greater depth and clarity than we have. This may be true on occasion, but my experience is that most of the time it is not. Whenever the average high school atheist is asked to give the reasons for his faith (yes, it is faith when that word is properly defined), the answers are almost always disappointing. Their answers are filled with a shocking number of errors in logic, gullibility to false or sensationalized arguments (Thank you, YouTube.), and a general lack of philosophical, scientific, and theological knowledge. I don’t say this to demean the average high school atheist – only to demystify her. She is a high school kid trying to figure things out just like you. Don’t falsely believe that all of the burden of proof lies with you.

2.       Do not be hostile. We do present arguments for our faith. But we should always do so without being argumentative or hostile. I would hope that this would go without saying, but our job is not crusade against those filthy atheists by hunting them down and beating them up with our superior knowledge. Truth matters. It matters for eternity. But we should also take Paul’s (never one to shy away from an argument) words to heart that the greatest virtue is love. Be careful of gang apologetics and public shaming of atheists – this happens in schools, work, and also frequently on social media. Believe me, your arguments will be counter-productive. The best approach is the private and personal conversation.

3.       Do be a consistent friend and disciple. I always caution students to remember that more atheists have stopped believing in God for emotional reasons than for intellectual reasons. Deep within the heart of the average atheist – especially if they are in high school – is a great deal of brokenness. Often there is a sense of abandonment and despair. The intellectual issues are often a cover for deeper issues. What they need is not someone to continue to yell at them or threaten to leave them if they don’t start believing rightly. What they need is a good and consistent friend who will show them truth and love. They also need to see a consistent disciple. A life faithfully lived for Christ is usually a much better apologetic than a sophisticated philosophical argument. It is hard to make a case for Christ with a friend who is an atheist when there is precious little difference between your life and hers.

4.       Do be prepared. Timely answers come from a deep well. Take seriously your own development as a follower of Jesus. Study, read, and think so that you might know what and why you believe. There are far too many Christian young people who are unwilling or unable to think critically or deeply about the content of their faith. Be careful of easy and thoughtless Christian clichés. Instead develop a deep and seasoned faith of your own so that when the time comes you will be able to offer honest and thoughtful answers.