Last time we met up, I showed you how Tim Keller addressed what he called defeater beliefs. We found his self-titled “deconstructions” in a handout hosted by a college evangelism group called Cru. That’s not too surprising, given that the handout is meant to help evangelicals recruit new members to Read more
When it comes to evangelicals’ testimonies, what is old eventually becomes new again. Lately, I’ve been noticing a resurgence of a trendy trope that flared, then faded about 10 years ago: the totally-an-ex-atheist testimony. Today, let’s check out these newly-repopularized testimonies, see why they’re so appealing right now, and then, Read more
Evangelicals can’t defeat actual atheism, so they vastly prefer strawman atheism—their own unique and deliberate mangling of atheism. The real thing is impenetrable to them, and they very clearly realize it. But this strawman form of atheism is much easier to tackle. Today, let me show you how what was Read more
A recent story in Baptist Press (archive) caught my eye with a reference to a self-proclaimed nontheist. It seemed like such a strange way to refer to someone who holds no religious beliefs or affiliations. That observation led me through a rabbit hole of evangelical contempt for non-believers. When their religion’s Read more
Quite a few Christians think that without Christianity, people will fail to gain a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives. That’s so untrue. In fact, the opposite just might be the real truth. With or without Christianity, people tend to muddle along just fine. And today, we’ll explore Read more
Evangelicals have zero clue how to approach atheists. That’s just the facts, ma’am. Last time we met up, we talked about evangelicals’ weird redefinitions of atheism. With those redefinitions, they create a strawman caricature of atheists, which they have a much easier time dismantling and defeating. Today, I want to Read more
Years ago in the 2000s and 2010s, evangelicals tangled with atheists all the time. This squabbling formed part of what we now call internet blood sports. Nowadays, though, the landscape of the Christ-o-sphere looks very different. Out-and-out squabbling and entanglement aren’t as popular as they once were. Gen Z and Read more
In the consumer internet’s early years, evangelical Creationists started a war against, um, reality itself—but they insisted that no, they were actually at war with atheists. In the ensuing 10-20 years, they haven’t changed much. They still think their #1 enemies are atheists. And they’re still pumping out the same Read more
What’s strange is that I don’t think I’ve ever seen any real advice about evangelizing atheists that might actually work to create a sales engagement.
Hi and welcome back! Lately, we’ve been talking about Beach Reach. That’s the short-term missionary trip organized by the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). For two weeks, they unleash bright-eyed young volunteers on a Texas beach during Spring Break. There, they perform various acts of charity for partying college students — Read more