TR Hartley

Loving the Other

(Some apologists would disagree with some of these points, but these are the basic rules I encourage Christians to follow in presenting Christianity to Western [and scientific/materialistic] atheists.)

1. Starting point of apologetics:  Is it to PROVE Christianity, or it is to DEFEND Christianity’s rationality?  I would argue that the goal is to show that first belief in God/gods is logically and rationally supported, and then from there that Christianity is logically, rationally, and historically supported, more so than other theistic traditions.  But there will always remain a need for faith, but we want to have a Christian faith that is rational, an “eyes-wide-open” faith, and present Christianity that way to others as well. Christianity is not and should not be a “blind” faith.  As we present Christianity as a rational belief system, an invitation to “taste and see” the Gospel, etc, is going to land better for a skeptic.
   
   
2. You will never know all the answers, nor do you need to know all the answers.  You don’t need to be the smartest person.  You certainly shouldn’t pretend to be something you aren’t, or know something you don’t know.  Don’t ever bullcrap someone by pretending to know concretely what you don’t know.  Have integrity, and let Christ shine through your weakness.  Being honest with what you don’t know, in general, builds trust and respect.  But follow up.  If someone asks you a question you don’t know, or presents an argument you don’t know how to respond to, applaud them for asking a good question, tell them you’ll study up on the topic and get back to them.  And then DO RESEARCH AND GET BACK TO THEM.
   

3. There is generally little point in engaging over and over again with people who only want to argue, or to belittle the Christian faith.  A good question to ask is:  “If you were convinced that Christianity, as presented in its historic writings in the Christian Bible, was true, would you willingly give your life to Jesus and become a Christian, a follower of Jesus’ teaching and commandments?”  Ask people to honestly consider that… If the answer is no, then their primary issue is a heart issue, a desire to be their own god and judge, more so than an intellectual or belief issue.
   
   
4. Scoffing doesn’t make a good foundation for worldview.  You will encounter this in some circumstances.  If someone’s response to a Christian worldview is only scoffing and is not willing to actually think through or articulate certain problems they have with the Christian faith, you need to spend time asking God to soften their heart more than you need to engage their scoffing.  
   

5. The “truth” of Christianity and the Gospel is dependent on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  There are a lot of things that are important to our faith, such as the trustworthiness of Scripture, our understanding of Creation, etc.  But we could be wrong about a LOT of things, and still rightly worship and align our lives with the Person and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth, provided that we are correct to believe that Christ has died and risen. 
   
   This provides a powerful starting point for many discussions.  “Why do you think that homosexuality is a sin?” or “Why would a good God judge people with a judgment that lasts forever?” or “What about all of the brutal commands concerning warfare given by God in the Old Testament” or even, “What if we can prove aliens are real and have visited earth?!”  Well, none of those things are the foundation, or starting point, of my faith.  The starting point for my faith is the resurrection of Christ.  If Christ rose from the dead, then I would be foolish to not listen and pay close attention to the people He chose to represent Himself and His message to the world.  
   
   Similarly, if Christ remains dead, then we are wrong about EVERYTHING.   

“¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. ¹⁵ More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. ¹⁹ If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”  (1 Corinthians 15:14-19)

6. Your testimony is powerful!  But testimony alone isn’t enough:  Muslims, Buddhists, etc have testimonies, perceived personal experience with the divine.  You need something beyond just this.
   
   
7. Ask for their best or biggest arguments against Christianity.  Sometimes, people will simply jump from one argument against Christianity to the next criticism if their first criticism is answered or addressed.  “Whatever, what about…”  This redirection, sometimes referred to as “moving the goalposts”, is common and can keep a conversation from staying on a fruitful topic.  A more practical approach can be to ask someone what their best criticisms against Christianity are, and then seek to answer those objections well.  You will have more success establishing Christianity as reasonable if Christianity can answer the ‘biggest’ concerns first.
   

8. Our reason for faith is a converging argument:  First, that theism isn’t irrational, and then that Christianity is better supported by history and logic than other religions.  And then testimony shows that it has practical, real, tangible life change accompanying faith.
   
   
9. Note, there is a difference between the logical fallacy of “shifting goalposts” (point 7), and a Christian using a converging argument (point 8):
   
   Moving the goalposts undermines fair debate by shifting the criteria for success or acceptance, making it impossible to reach a conclusion or resolution.
   
   Converging arguments build strength through multiple sources of evidence pointing towards the same conclusion.

10. Ask Questions!
    Don’t be someone who talks AT atheists!  Talk WITH them.  Ask questions with kindness and sincerity, and listen closely.
    1. Why do you think x is true?
    2. Who told you that? (Especially helpful for value statements, ie, “Self-fulfillment is the goal of humanity, and religion gets in the way of that”, etc.)
    3. Are you truly content with your life? You say you’re okay with meaninglessness… is that really true? How does that work?