Talking to Atheists

How To Actually Talk To Atheists (If You're Christian)

I stumbled across the above article while sorting through my del.icio.us feeds. I think it's quite well written. I went through a long period of non-belief. I did not believe in any kind of God. Now I was never completely content with that (my atheism was more of a "giving up" than a "coming to", if that makes any sense) but I knew plenty of atheists who were and still are. Now that I am on the other side of the fence as a convinced believer I find that I still maintain a great deal of sympathy for atheists.

I know that many American Christians believe that they are being oppressed or silenced by an increasingly secular culture but if they could just step back for a moment and take a good look around I think they would see that this is simply not the case. This culture is saturated with Christian beliefs, images and frames-of-reference. The default position of most believers, even ones who do not identify totally as Christians, is still heavily influenced by Christian thinking. In most places it is still difficult to be elected to a government post without professing some sort of belief in God. Messages referring to God are on our money, in our pledge of allegiance and frequently on the lips of some of the highest elected officials in the land. We are so used to seeing references to Christianity that we cease to see it at all and it just becomes background noise.

I'm not arguing that this is either a good thing or a bad thing. It just is what it is and for an atheist it can be a bit overwhelming at times. That's why sometimes the language they use can seem so harsh; why they sometimes sound angry or frustrated or as if they don't like you, a Christian, personally. The fact is, sometimes they have a right to be angry. Believers eye them with suspicion. The culture in which they live seems built for believers. They are told that they cannot be moral, that they cannot be good citizens of the country in which they live. There are people out there who claim that atheists are less than human. All of these things are usually said by people who claim to follow Christ. Can you see why they resist the message? Can you see why they might not think of what we believe as "good news"?

That's why I believe the linked article makes a very good point, and it's something I believed when I was a young Christian, something I believed as an atheist and something I still believe today as a person who knows down to the very core of her being that there is a God and that he loves us very much: the best way -- the ONLY way -- to share the good news is to allow your life to become an example of the transforming power of Christ's love and God's grace. I don't believe there has ever been a person who was talked into believing in God. I don't even think that's possible. Knowing God is so far beyond an intellectual exercise that it's silly to even think of conversion in those terms. But I know plenty of people (including myself) who have been shown the Way. I've known plenty of people (including myself) who saw the changes God worked in someone else's life and felt the call to know more.

Jesus didn't badger people into believing in him. He loved them into it.