Is it reasonable for atheists to ask Evangelicals for their supernatural claims? I listen to YouTube shows such as The Atheist Experience, Talk Heathen, The Hang-Up with Matt Dillahunty, Skeptalk, and The Sunday Show. The hosts of these shows ask theists of all stripes to call in and share with them what they believe and why. This is a Biblical approach, even if the hosts are atheists and agnostics. The Bible says in I Peter: But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. When unbelievers ask Christians why they believe what they do, they should be ready and willing to share the truth with them. When asked for evidence for their beliefs, Christians have a duty to provide it. Most cannot or will not do so, choosing to “live and let live” Evangelicals, in particular, are challenged to share their faith with the unwashed, uncircumcised Philistines of the world. Most don’t, but those who do are largely ill-prepared to handle the hard questions asked by skeptics.
Many Evangelicals think, when asked for evidence for their religious claims, that Bible verses are “evidence.” Is the Bible evidence for claims such as the existence of the triune God, the virgin birth of Jesus, his resurrection from the dead, and the plethora of miracles attributed to Jesus? Is the Bible evidence for claims such as a six-day creation, the existence of Adam and Eve, Noah’s flood, and notable people such as Moses? No. The Bible is a book of claims. Just because the Bible says something doesn’t mean it’s true. Sadly, countless Evangelicals, including college-trained preachers, either don’t understand this or refuse to accept it. They think by quoting one or more Bible verses that they have provided evidence for their claims. That’s not how it works. If that was not the case, I could prove Hogwarts exists simply by quoting passages from one or more of the Harry Potter books. In no other realm except religion do we accept claims without evidence. If Evangelicals want non-believers to accept and believe their claims, they MUST do more than quote chapter and verse.
The real issue here is that Evangelicals want to be viewed as rational, scientific people, so they attempt to “prove” their beliefs to unbelievers. Scores of apologetics ministries have cropped up, each, allegedly, giving rational, evidence-based defenses of Christianity. Unbelievers are rarely swayed by their arguments. I’ve concluded that these ministries exist, not to reach unbelievers, but to make Evangelicals feel good about what they believe. As science continues to push the Bible God to the margins of human experience, believers have harder time defending their beliefs — especially Evangelicals who are presuppositionally committed to Bible literalism and the inerrancy/infallibility of the sixty-six books of the Protestant Christian Bible. Numerous Evangelicals have called the shows I mentioned above to defend all sorts of things such as rape, misogyny, genocide, and slavery — to name a few abominable “Biblical” behaviors. Instead of admitting the Bible records things that are now considered immoral, and even criminal, these defenders of God’s name go to absurd lengths to keep God — who, according to them wrote the Bible — from looking bad. As I have said before, God has a PR problem.
Christianity is better served if believers retreat to their houses of faith. After all, doesn’t the Bible say that the foundation of Christianity is faith, and not evidence? In fact, a better approach to reaching people for Christ might be to love God with all their heart, soul, and mind, and to love their neighbors as they love themselves. Maybe the best evidence for transformative faith is good works. Sadly, most of what unbelievers see and experience from Evangelicals is anything but “good.” Eighty percent of Evangelicals voted for Donald Trump three times. Their “works” tell us everything we need to know about their faith. Think of the behavior of Evangelicals such as Dr. David Tee, Revival Fires, Steve Ransom, Danny Campbell, John, Steve, and countless others on this site. Does anything in their behavior remotely suggest that the Jesus they allegedly follow is one any of us would want to worship? I think not. When called out on their behavior, they deflect, defend, and attack instead of repenting and doing a better job representing the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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