c l a s s i c a l
When atheists have legitimate complaints against Christian behavior or beliefs I think we need to listen. From my own actions and experiences I can testify that being a disciple of Christ does not make one perfect. We also need to be aware of how we address our complaints against atheists and atheism in general. After all, no one is going to be convinced of Christian truth claims through belligerent and arrogant attitudes: "And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone, an apt teacher, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness" (2 Tim. 2:24-25 NRSV).
But merely engaging or seriously challenging opponents of Christian truths is not equivalent to being belligerent or hateful: quite the contrary. Dr. Dale Wayman reminded me, with regard to atheist Penn Jillette's very endearing comment concerning a sincere man giving him a Bible (link): when nice and well-intentioned atheists accurately critique us, we would do well to listen.
If you listen carefully to Jillette's short story, you will notice his appreciation, not merely for the man's humble and genuine sincerity in giving him a Gideon New Testament, but that the man was not defensive. Just that brief, appreciative statement moved me. This is what most sincere believers are trying to do: point those who
do not yet believe to what Jesus (Himself Truth incarnate) claimed
to be truth (John 14:6), and doing so without defense.
But then Penn said something astounding. He said that he does not respect a person who does not proselytize. He states:
But then Penn said something astounding. He said that he does not respect a person who does not proselytize. He states:
If you believe that there's a heaven and hell, and people could be going to hell, or not getting eternal life, or whatever, and you think that, "Well, it's not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward" -- an atheist would think that people shouldn't proselytize, "Just leave me alone; keep your religion to yourself" -- how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that? (link)
Those words pierced my heart. Penn's brief commentary is not only more convicting than some sermons I have had to endure, but it is also a scathing tell-tale sign of the condition of the modern church. For how many of us have witnessed to even one person this past week, or month, or year? I will confess my own sin here: I cannot remember the last time I asked someone, in a very genuinely-specific manner, if he or she had trusted Christ for salvation.
Atheists such as Penn Jillette and Hemant Mehta have our respect due to their own respective attitudes. Unfortunately, many of the New Atheists do not share their disposition. Just as in the Christian tradition there are those of the heretical Fred Phelps ("God hates fags") variety, so, too, does Atheism have its nasty polemicists. One wonders, from both sides of the philosophical-religious playing field, if those who protest the loudest do not protest too much, to a rather telling, self-revealing fault.
James Spiegel, author of The Making of an Atheist: How Immorality Leads to Unbelief, is convinced that denying the reality of God "is not inconsistent with some level of awareness of God"1 (cf. Rom. 1:18). Given the innate value of God making His attributes known through creation, and granting to all people unequivocally a sense of eternity (Ecclesiastes 3:11), then some sense of God can never be completely expunged. The convinced atheist, then, must work very diligently against an ingrained intuition of God's existence, and such becomes easier with time and the influence of sin.
The irony of an atheist polemicist like Richard Dawkins writing a book entitled The God Delusion is almost jaw-droppingly shocking. Spiegel explains:
Those who see the world through the lens of a false or distorting paradigm [such as Dawkins] suffer from what I call paradigm-induced blindness. Their theoretical framework prevents them from seeing the truth, even when it is right in front of them. In a sense this condition is more pernicious than simple ignorance, because the person labors under the illusion of enlightenment and clear-sightedness. He or she is always ready to pontificate on the stubbornness or academic foolishness of others who do not "see" so clearly as they.2
Perhaps if we followers of Christ -- we who have been regenerated by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ and who have experienced the Lord to a degree that unbelievers have not -- better understood the cognitive distortion under which atheists are operating, we would be a bit more gracious toward them.
Again, though, engaging or seriously challenging opponents of Christian truths is not
equivalent to being belligerent or hateful: quite the contrary. I think we must seek to carefully, intelligently, yet humbly answer the complaints of atheists (cf. Acts 17:17-20; 1 Pet. 3:15).
At the same time, we must understand the role of the Holy Spirit in conversion. He works in the hearts of people regarding sin, lack of inherent righteousness, and the judgment to come (John 16:8), all of which are encapsulated in the gospel of Christ. Even if all of an atheist's questions were answered sufficiently, this, in and of itself, will not bring him or her into the kingdom of heaven, since accepting such truth claims as the existence of God, and Him as creator, is not tantamount to receiving Jesus Christ as both Lord and Savior (Acts 2:36; 4:12; Rom. 10:9-10). Our apologetics must have the gospel of Christ as its firm foundation.
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1 James S. Spiegel, The Making of an Atheist: How Immorality Leads to Unbelief, (Chicago: Moody Press, 2010), 106.
2 Ibid., 102.
In the words of Scripture atheists are fools. However, to be fair, they are not alone within that moniker. I have seen many a church member who lives like an atheist. Penn Gillette seems to accurately trace the logical conclusions of a believer better than most professing believers. What feeds the atheist trolls is the open hypocrisy of the church and its adherents. Let us be completely honest. The teachings of Jesus and the life he led are so remarkable and so ethereal and so dramatically opposed to the culture that our lives should be startling as we walk in a culture of darkness.
ReplyDeleteBut in fact our words (sometimes) and our theologies far outdistance our lives as it pertains to being remarkable. The only measuring stick atheists have is the inconsistent and culturally aligned lives of church members. And while preachers are becoming millionaires and the entire world screams with dire needs, men like Pat Robertson speak of demon possessed sweaters. If I had not been born again I would consider being an atheist myself. The entire evangelical construct seems like a well oiled and redundant religious machine which produces just enough energy to keep itself going.
Atheists can argue based upon the incongruous commitment of western believers today. I myself would be an easy target. However they would have a difficult time explaining this.
ReplyDeletehttp://judahslion.blogspot.com/2009/10/blandina-o-ne-sure-way-to-have-wrong.html
To be fair, Rick, the hypocrisy of some branches of the modern church is not the only thing, and probably not the main thing, that feeds the New Atheist trolls. People like Dawkins, Hitchens, et al. hate the very notion of a sovereign, holy Creator God who will hold them accountable, and they detest the teachings and stories of the Bible - both the Old and New Testaments. In fact, anecdotally, I think I've heard/read Dawkins and Hitchens inveighing directly against the Bible, God, and Jesus than against the modern church. Many of these people have encountered faithful Christian witness - in the case of Christopher Hitchens, there were Douglas Wilson, William Lane Craig, and his own evangelical brother Peter Hitchens; their atheism is more than just a rejection of a distorted modern Christianity.
ReplyDeleteI really don't think Dawkins would be impressed with a story like Blandina's; he would just chalk it up to an unfortunate delusion, the likes of which also motivates Buddhists to incinerate themselves, or that led some followers of the (early and less warlike) Mohammed to suffer persecution for Islam.
I'm not saying this to be critical; I just think that if we want to address the New Atheism properly, we have to endeavor to understand its root causes.
You are correct that their darkened hearts must always bear a great deal of the responsibility. Penn Gillette might find Blandina conrguent with what he believes Christians should do, but Hawkins and Hitchens seem much more impressed with their own intellects.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Rick. Speaking of what Christians should do when confronted with New Atheist types, I am reminded of the conversion story of Rosaria Butterfield, a radical-atheist-lesbian turned evangelical. She describes the actions of a pastor who prompted her to reconsider her views. I think this pastor is a shining example of how to engage the embittered modern atheist: he was bold, but lacking hostility; firm, but patient; and intelligent and rational, yet pastoral.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/january-february/my-train-wreck-conversion.html
(She became a Calvinist, but I don't think y'all should hold that against her ;).)
I read that article! I was impressed with that pastor and his wife. As for her being a Calvinist: she could do worse, I suppose, lol.
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