A CHALLENGE TO ATHEISM
How to Witness to an Atheist
by
A.S.A. Jones
When a Christian did the impossible or the outrageous or lived out the extreme philosophy of Jesus Christ, these were the things that caused me to take notice and offense. No amount of talk about God's Law could have made any difference with me. The only time that caught my attention was when a Christian acted extraordinarily in the Spirit of the Law.
What is the best way to witness to an atheist? Live your Christianity, don't debate it.
Here are some of the Christians who ultimately made a positive impression on me.
BOB
I worked with this mild mannered, soft-spoken man for ten years. My co-workers and I were in the habit of making snide comments about his participation in anti-abortion marches and his belief in God. He wasn't overly pushy about his beliefs, but we were ready to call the ACLU if he said, "God bless you," when one of us sneezed.
When lay-offs came in the mid 90's, the company we worked for devised a unique way to avoid potential lawsuits. It demanded that the employees vote on a few select co-workers who would then compare and rate the workforce that voted for them. In other words, we were to be judged by our peers. Bob and I and two others were voted out and subsequently lost our jobs right before Christmas. While I deserved to lose my position because my apathy and boredom had compromised my job performance, Bob's only crime was that of being unpopular. It wasn't that he had any glaring personality faults; on the contrary, I couldn't recall him ever saying anything negative about anyone. It wasn't that his work was inadequate; he plugged away at every task he was given. But he stood for an offensive standard and because of that, he wasn't one of us and he paid the price.
Unable to admit to my own shortcomings, I became very bitter and very hateful toward the people who I felt had caused me to lose my job. I kept only one friend and we stayed in contact with each other in the months following my dismissal. It was during one of our talks that she mentioned going to a Christmas party at Bob's house right after the lay-offs. "Bob had a party?" I asked. "Why were you invited?" She then told me that Bob had invited everyone from the lab.
I couldn't believe it! This guy was in his 60's and he wasn't going to bounce back into any comparable employment. He had to know that the only reason he had lost his job was because his co-workers had despised him. I couldn't imagine him wanting to look at any of them let alone have a party for them. For years, every time that resentment welled up in me, I thought about Bob. How could he forgive them? How?
His action of forgiveness was a source of irritation to me, but eventually it became one piece in the puzzle of Jesus Christ.
6 RESIDENTS OF ST. ANNE'S NURSING HOME
When I was in my 20's, I went to visit a friend at St. Anne's Nursing Home. We were seated in the activities room when the staff began wheeling in some of the other residents. These people were pitiable, all confined to reclining wheelchairs, their arms and legs grotesquely bent at odd and unimaginable angles. I had the thought that if I ever found myself in a state as deplorable as theirs, I would rather be dead.
Most were unable to speak or even move their heads, and I was curious to see in what activity these six patients had been assembled to participate. A nurse saw my curiosity, and giving a weak smile said, "They have church every week." The program director introduced a Baptist choir and, as they sang 'Amazing Grace', I watched those men and women in the crippled audience and I was shocked and unsettled to see peace and happiness take over their expressions. Some sat there with frozen smiles while others silently mouthed the words of the hymn, but there was victory in their eyes. At the time, I recall having thought that these people were already in heaven, despite being confined to an earthly hell.
After the choir left, I half-heartedly spoke to the one patient who could still verbalize. "How are you doing?" I asked. She was completely paralyzed and couldn't even turn her face to see me, but she was glowing.
"Wonderful!" she replied and continued smiling as a nurse wheeled her back to her room.
How could these people be happy? What allowed them to be this way in their tragic affliction while I could barely manage a smile in all my good fortune?
LET IT SHINE
The real power of Christ's light makes itself known when it shines forth in life's darkest hours. If we have been given adversity, we have also been given a good opportunity to witness.
It doesn't take the Spirit of Christ to be nice to nice people, nor does it take any divine spirit to be generous when one has wealth. Show me a poor person who sacrifices his own necessities for the welfare of strangers. Let me see persons who remain kindhearted to people who mistreat them. Show me a person who knowingly passes up a chance to destroy their enemy. When a person does these things, they are not acting according to human nature, but against it. The most valued attributes of mankind do not come naturally to the human animal; character borrows from the divine.
No matter what our situation may be, there will always be a profound way to represent our Lord. Christianity is extreme and we shouldn't settle for mediocrity or allow our walk to become a shuffling gait. Our best witness is a life lived for Christ!
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