If you are a Christian who is entering college or religious debate for the first time, you may be shocked to discover that some will view you as a laughingstock because of your beliefs. There is nothing new to mockery; the victims and the reason for the victimization change, but the cause remains the same. People naturally like to look down upon other people because, in making others look smaller, they create the illusion that they themselves are bigger. Academic bullying of Christians is becoming a socially acceptable form of misconduct and therefore, you should welcome it, because, like it or not, you are going to get it!

If one of your college professors makes a contemptuous comment concerning your faith in God, keep in mind a few things. Your respect for your professors or your opponents in debate should be earned, not automatically given. Professors are well aware of the influence they can have on young and impressionable minds and one who would exploit that position in order to attack a student's faith is of dubious character. When I was in college, I openly ridiculed any student brave enough to defend their Christian point of view until I ran into one who was an expert in debate and who subsequently assisted me in making a fool out of myself. Don't be intimidated and don't be discouraged. It can take years of study to acquire the knowledge to successfully defend any belief system, or lack thereof, including atheism. Secondly, when an authority tells you to question authority, don't feel silly questioning that authority's reasons for having you question authority! Usually, when a person tells you to question authority, they are telling you to only question the established authority. You will find that they don't like having their own views, or perceived authority, questioned or challenged. Finally, remember that there is nothing new under the sun. Christianity and God's existence have been debated since the gospel was first preached. The gospel writers were the first apologists, in fact! The arguments that you hear may be new to you and you may not yet know how to answer them, but most have been sufficiently answered time and time again by other Christians for two millennia.

You may also find it surprising to see that your textbooks in science and philosophy classes contain not so subtle anti-Christian remarks or viewpoints. Once again, everyone has a bias, including the authors of those texts. When Christian authors include their bias in their works, the secular world becomes indignant, but when the secular world makes anti-Christian remarks, it is considered whining if Christians protest. It's easy to see that secularists can have their own arrogance and their own hypocrisy.

There are those who would have you think that the educated and intelligent can only hold to an atheistic philosophy. While being intelligent and educated can make one so self-important and loud in one's own thoughts that he can no longer hear the voice of God, these things need not be made synonymous with atheism. There are many intelligent people with university degrees who maintain a faith in Jesus Christ. I belong to the American Scientific Affiliation, which is a group of scientists who are evangelical Christians. I encourage you to examine the credentials and beliefs of the members of ASA. This should indicate to you that there are qualified scientists with opinions on BOTH sides of the God issue.

If you feel that you are incapable of defending your faith, don't engage in debate. It's as simple as that! Three hundred pound men don't play tennis, they play football. Conversely, if you have a knack for adventures in wordplay and logic, apologetics can become an exciting hobby!

The anti-Christian's primary arsenal is designed to attack your faith through your ego. If Christianity has made your ego even larger than the average ego - that is to say, if you somehow got the impression that believing in The Life, The Truth and The Way has made you a superior to anyone who believes differently - your ego could be mortally wounded in the first assault. On the other hand, if you have successfully learned the Christian lessons of humility and silent perseverance in the face of condescension and outright disrespect, your ego is probably too small of a target for the opposition to hit.

In its desperation, the mortally wounded Ego will do anything it can to re-inflate itself, once it falls prey to the intellectual patronization of its peers. Thus, it is not uncommon for the most overbearing, self-righteous, egotistical, bible-thumping Christian to become an overbearing, self-righteous, egotistical, Bertrand Russell quoting atheist. This phenomenon is more readily apparent in the overweight kid in high school who is constantly teased about being fat, drops 80 pounds, and then proceeds to harshly tease other overweight kids because they are fat. We all secretly want to be the bully, not the bullied, and if we can't overcome that desire, we run the risk of fulfilling it. Don't let this happen to you! Be a humble servant, not a pompous blowhard. Of course, this is a general rule and there are exceptions (see "The Games Skeptics Play").

Intelligence, logic, and academic accomplishment used to be the criteria by which I judged another's worth. When I grew up, I found that these were no longer the details of people that impressed me. A doctorate is no substitute for integrity and intelligence cannot replace kindness. If belief in Jesus Christ assists us in being better persons, logic should tell us to retain this belief. If Christianity is a crutch that enables us to be better, kinder people, what does it say about a person who would willingly attempt to kick it out from under us?

A lot of people have the skill to make others look and feel stupid. When I debated as an atheist, my goal was to destroy the faith of any Christian who was dumb enough to engage me in a discussion. I threw everything I had at them, including arguments of logic, evolution, quantum physics, and M theory. When these arguments proved ineffective, I resorted to misinformation and deception. I drove a wedge in between God and many people by causing them to doubt. Don't let people, like the person I was, intellectually intimidate or bully you out of your faith in God. Don't settle for a blind faith! Your best defense against doubt is to know exactly what you believe and why you believe it.

I wish all who read this good fortune and growth in their Christian walk, especially in their new endeavors.

EPHESIANS 4:2 : Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

MATTHEW 10:16 : I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

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