The War on Atheism: A Christ-Like Way to Reach Non-Believers?

Recently, I read a great article on God’s Politics by Becky Garrison entitled “Christian vs. Atheist: Celebrity Death Match” that was both entertaining and insightful. It described a debate on the existence of God between Atheists and a God Squad including Kirk Cameron, Ray Comfort, and others. Garrison pointed out the flaws in the reasoning of the debate and then went on to come to a great conclusion where she quotes Brian McClaren in saying: “much of the appeal of today’s popular atheists – from Richard Dawkins to Sam Harris – lies in the corruption of religion.”

Garrisson explains this notion in a powerful way:

Through my travels and travails covering this unique phenomenon called Americana Christianity, I’ve learned that many of those with a deep hunger to be fed spiritually are those souls for whom “church” is not in their vocabulary. Often they’ve been burned by one too many toxic church settings, or they grew up in a household where religion was inconsequential at best. They can embrace the universal message of Jesus but they balk at how his teaching gets corrupted by those prayer warriors who are engaging in some very public and tawdry biblical battles waged in the religious-political arena.

I think that this is a powerful argument, basically, that many people are pushed away from Christianity by those that act as prayer warriors ready to fight “celebrity death matches” to prove Christ’s love. That instead, we need to live a life that reaches out to those people in a kind, merciful and Christ-like manner. Of course, I do want to make the caveat that there are many prayer warriors that are not confrontational and do immitate God’s loving nature, but I am referring to those that are both confrontational and often make use of false doctrine.

In regards to this, I recently heard an interview with Richard Dawkins, reknown physicist and Athiest and author of the “God Delusion”, on Fresh Air. He discussed his new book with Terry Gross and explained that before 9-11 he pitched it to hundreds of publishers and had absolutely no interest. The publishers did not think that a book about atheism could sell. However, five years after 9-11, there is an increasing backlash against the pseudo-religious fundamentalism that pervaded our society for these years. The Pat Robertsons, Jerry Falwells, George Bushs, and others had exploited a false Christianity to sell a war and push other horrific agendas, to the point that atheism seemed a much more rational idea. In other words, the false teachings of these prayer warriors actually pushed people away from Christ.

I think that this is a major reason why blogs like God’s Politics, ChristianityisMore, and many others are important. We need to demand truth, uncloak the false prophets, and create a dialog. Most importantly, this needs to be done in love and with humility – or our message will be lost. We need to trust in Christ and the grace he gives us that through our love and humility the Gospel will be spread, instead of resorting to our own selfish, confrontational, self-glorifying methods.

For instance, I mention Jerry Falwell in this entry as in many other entries. It is because I feel that his message was off-base, not because I disrespect the man. I especially would like to make this a point as he passed away two days ago, because while I write against his teachings, I love and pray for the man. I hope and pray that he found his way to peace and is with God as I write these words.