This will be my final post on The Berkeley Mission. As I mentioned in earlier posts, we had the opportunity for some in-depth interaction with serious atheists. There were four different presentations with plenty of Q & A. Two particular insights were reinforced from these interactions:
#1 - We need to raise the level of expectations we have for the training of our young people. High school students are capable of much more than the evangelical world typically offers them. We expect plenty when it comes to their school work or sports training but for some reason, we don't want to get "too theological" or "too intellectual" when it comes to their Christianity. In fact, much of what we offer is simply a repackaging of two basic messages: 1) "Be good" and 2) "Love Jesus." Oftentimes, that is about as deep as we go with them in our churches and youth groups.
David Fitzgerald of the San Francisco Atheists noted the results when we raise expectations, with an e-mail to me the day after his presentation to our group: “Just wanted to send a quick note to say what a great time we had meeting you and your group yesterday. I was really knocked out by the quality of the questions everybody raised. Very refreshing…I was really impressed with your group.” Richard Carrier, a prominent atheist who sat in on our sessions, gave me similar feedback: "I think you have a really good program. It's something I've wanted to create for atheists, too, but up to now I've not had the time or resources...I'd love to speak at any venue for you...The idea of getting a chance to communicate with high school students is also attractive, especially seeing how intelligent your kids were--I think they were ready for deeper discussion than Larry [of the East Bay Atheists] or David could provide."
We raised the bar for our students, they responded and God Spirit's worked powerfully in their lives.
#2 - The most compelling atheists were gracious, winsome and attractive. We found much similiarity in the particular arguments each of the four atheists made during their presentations. However, the two atheists who had the biggest impact on our group were Josiah Greene from SANE and David Fitzgerald. During our interaction with these two men, they seemed kind-hearted, graious, non-defensive, easy-going, calm and patient, and even humorous. Their lives were attractive and winsome. Thus, there character commended their message.
Of course, this hits home with us at Stand to Reason. This lines up with our Ambassador's Creed. It was a good reminder that those we want to reach with our message will listen more carefully and be more open to our ideas when our lives are marked by virtue. In the world of apologetics, where oftentimes the majority of our attention is given to the quality of our ideas, we must also give attention to our character. For many of the peolpe we talk to, Emerson's words ring true: "What you are shouts so loudly in my ears I cannot hear what you say."
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