It is unlikely that you will argue over apologetics with an atheist until he becomes a believer. There are many benefits to apologetics in evangelism, but in the end, an unbeliever needs to accept what is written in the Bible. Namely, he needs to believe in Christ for eternal life. If he does not believe that God exists or that Christ is risen, etc., then he will not accept Christ’s offer of salvation. Even if he does believe in fundamental apologetic truths, he can still reject the Gospel and instead rely on his works for eternal life. We must use the Bible in evangelism.
So, what do you do if the Bible is no authority at all for the person you are talking to?
This is a good question. It is something that I have experienced first-hand. In my early 20s, I was an outspoken critic of the Bible, but by my late 20s, I was an outspoken defender of the Bible and remain so to this day (with no intention of quitting!). There was a time as an adult when I did not believe that the Bible had any authority, so I like to reflect on the experience now and then to ponder what was effective when my Christian friends tried to reach me.
In retrospect, I find that the people who were most effective in reaching me were those who exemplified Colossians 4:2–6:
Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. (Col. 4:2–6)
A lot of work was put into my reconversion, but at the time, it would have seemed as though all of this work was just a waste of time. So, I thought I would bring up four occasions that seemed like a waste back then, but looking back, they were quite significant to getting me where I am today.
A Soldier Prayed For Me
Several years after my reconversion, I was talking to an old army buddy about our time in Iraq. He knew me at the height of apostasy and he let me know that he was praying for me even back then. That means a lot to me now, but back then I would have been the first to tell him that he was wasting his breath.
Several of my Christian friends tried to reach me when I was in the army. Some would drink with me and get into philosophical arguments. Others would just accuse me of looking for shock value, which was true to an extent, but I still had genuine disbelief. Others would say that terrible things happened to me in church as a kid. While my church experience was quite negative, they had no idea what they were talking about.
I was entirely unaware of it at the time, but in the end, of everything that my army friends tried to do to help me, it was probably prayer that was most helpful.
The Bible says, “Continue earnestly in prayer… that God would open to us a door for the word.” The door was not open for this friend to share the Gospel with me (nor for several other friends who were praying for me), but that day eventually came.
A Seminary Professor Talked To Me
I was raised in church and saved at a young age, but as I got older, I had questions. Unfortunately, I had a negative experience in youth group as a teenager. I incorrectly concluded that Christianity was just an empty religion based on a silly book, so I abandoned Christianity. Anyhow, fast forward a few years to a particular Thanksgiving. My dad’s sister’s husband’s wife’s husband — or one of those sorts of relationships — anyhoo, there is a seminary professor somewhere on the family tree and he happened to be celebrating Thanksgiving with us.
The prof and I got to talking. My aunt tells this story differently. She said she looked over and saw that her brother-in-law had sucked me into another boring theological discussion… but then she realized that I was actually enjoying the discussion. We were discussing worldview and global conflicts and while I forget the specifics, I do remember that it was a very interesting discussion.
I remember the impression that the conversation left me with. I remember thinking, “To this guy, Christianity is more than just a weekend hobby. If that is what Christianity was, then maybe I could be a Christian. But this is not Christianity because Christianity is everything that my youth pastor told me it was.”
Oy, how stupid of me! But it was a seed planted that perhaps there is another way to be a Christian other than what I had been taught.
The Bible says, “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.” This guy personified that command. It is not that he suddenly became wise because there was an idiot (i.e., me) in the room; rather, he walks in wisdom regularly and his wisdom naturally poured over into our conversation.
A Student Gave Me A Book
I had several Christian friends when I was in college. Many of them had no idea how to address my objections to Christianity. Often, they would have a prepared speech to disprove, say, atheism, but I wasn’t an atheist. Frequently I just wasn’t heard. This only reinforced me in my foolish disbelief.
One day, I was telling a Christian my whole spiel, how you can’t trust the Bible, how Jesus never resurrected, how the virgin birth is nonsense, etc. and he politely heard me out, even though I undoubtedly was being disrespectful of his worldview in my criticisms. In the end, he did not argue with me but rather offered me a gift. He said that he had a book that I might like. The book was written by someone who sought to disprove Christianity in college but changed his views and he addresses several of the things that I was talking about. This was a good move on my friend’s part; instead of becoming an antagonist, he became a gift-giver.
The book he gave me was More than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell. It had the “Who would die for a lie?” argument for Christ’s resurrection and I had to admit that I could not explain how this ‘myth’ of the resurrection came to be. I just knew that Christ was not resurrected, but it left me with a real head-scratcher.
By the way, this turn of events is one of the reasons that I am in a book distribution ministry today.
The bible says, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” My friend probably could have dismantled every argument that I presented to him (it’s not like any of my arguments were any good), but he probably perceived that this would not be beneficial. Instead, he answered with grace, by giving me a gift.
A Church Loved Me
Well, my stupid lifestyle eventually caught up to me and I ended up in county jail for blowing up a statue of the Virgin Mary at a local church with some friends and possession of pipe bombs, marijuana, and halogenic mushrooms. Everyone needs a hobby, but still, choose a better hobby than drugs and vandalism, kids.
Several of my friends turned their backs on me at this time. They snitched to the police about things I had done and they even lied saying I had done things that I didn’t, just to make me look bad and get themselves off the hook. It happens that many of the guys in jail with me were there because of snitches, too.
Anyhow, it was around that time that the same church that I was raised in reached out to me. They sent me books and letters of encouragement when the rest of society would prefer that I rotted in jail forever. It occurred to me that I had been wrong about Christians; maybe they weren’t so bad. And if I was wrong about Christians, then maybe, but probably not, but perhaps, it’s unlikely, but maybe, just maybe, I was wrong about Christianity. Probably not, but maybe. Either way, I had plenty of time on my hands, so what else was I going to do but read the books they had sent?
The first was Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. On the first page, Lewis talked me out of my worldview. I take issue with several of C.S. Lewis’ doctrines, but that’s a topic for another day. Suffice to say that I was finally studying with a genuinely open mind. From there, I revisited the book More than a Carpenter. Nothing about the book had changed, but I was finally willing to give it a fair shot.
So, there I was. In jail because of snitches and surrounded by people who were in jail because of snitches. Snitchery is an integral part of the criminal culture; anyone will say anything to avoid a few months behind bars. My former view had been that Jesus was dead and buried, but that the apostles did something with the body. A problem is that these apostles were all arrested, beaten, and for the most part, killed. Why didn’t they snitch? It was a problem that I could not answer when my friend gave me the same book earlier, but I was at a point where I could not deny it any longer: Christ is risen, indeed!
So, Christ is risen and I’ve been obsessed with that fact ever since I realized it.
Members from the church exemplified all three of the above points from Colossians 4:2–6. They prayed for me for a long time, they were able to answer my specific reservations with wisdom, and they did so with grace at a time when I felt so abandoned.
Conclusion
A lot of people are being saved with the help of tracts, open air evangelism, and other fast methods. On the other hand, a lot of people are not so quick to accept Christ. God loves us knuckleheads, too, so be patient and keep working with them. Pray. Be wise. Speak with grace.