Yesterday, while at Panera Bread, I had the privilege of overhearing a conversation between a skeptic and a couple of Christians. If I hadn’t heard this myself, I would have never believed it had taken place.
The two Christians were trying to evangelize this skeptic and he was having none of it.
They asked him if he had read the “Left Behind” books. When he told them that he didn’t care about stuff like that, they told him that they cared about him.
Then one Christian said, “Do you believe that the Bible is the infallible Word of God?”
The skeptic said, “No. I believe some of it’s from God and some of it’s not. There are too many fingerprints left on it for me to believe that it’s all from God.”
So the Christian responded, “Do you believe in a literal, burning hell?”
Again, the skeptic said he didn’t and he couldn’t understand how it fit into the plan of an all-loving creator God.
This caused the Christian to launch into a rousing defense of a literal, burning hell and how it fit into God’s plan of redemption.
As I listened, I found myself starting to root for the skeptic.
Telling Stories, Asking Questions, Learning Lessons
Maybe praying for the skeptic would be more appropriate?
Funny that we (I say that being generous) Take people to the Bible and to Hell or in some cases “how we do church” instead of to Jesus. I expect if they were insistant on telling him about Jesus, you would have rooted for him to know Jesus. Given they wanted to convert him to a Hell Fearing Bible believer… I can understand rooting for the skeptic.
i’m a skeptic who knows jesus.
I don’t agree with anything the christians say in this story. (as it’s written)
I guess you can pray for me too.
I know what you mean….
I think you’ve mislabeled the folks in your story.
I encountered that same type of provocation recently while doing research on a project. I ran across this link http://www.apuritansmind.com/ChristianWalk/HateChrist.htm and found myself feeling strangely icky about the way this site is attempting to lead people into a relationship with Christ.
But Wade, if they didn’t beat that lost soul over the head with the word, who will?
I got lost during your story… who were the Christians again? I asked someone recently if when they became a Christian, did they envision entering into something (we had been discussing the kingdom of God) or getting out of something (namely escaping the world/hell)? So I’m beginning to ask myself: am I teaching an entrance strategy gospel or an exit strategy. Makes a big difference.
-Russ
The sequel to Left Behind should have been titled Right Behind so that it could have been marketed in a two-volume set as Full Behind.
Somehow, I don’t think the Holy Spirit was behind the inspiration of the authors when they sat down together and agreed, “Hey! Let’s write a series of books that scares people out of hell with the very fear of Satan and of apocalyptic disaster on a doomed earth!”
They sound like students of the Kirk Cameron school of evangelism.
Part of me wants to say, “Well at least they were trying”, and another part of me feels really bad that they probably just confirmed the skeptic’s very real doubts.
My problem in rooting for the skeptic in this story, whatever a skeptic is, is that we are pulling for him in either his unbelief or apathy about kingdom truth: the second coming of Christ, the source of God’s revelation (whether infallible or not), and whether a good God could allow someone to go to hell. He says he doesn’t care about the Lord returning and we say, “attaboy”? He says he doesn’t believe God will send anyone to hell, and we go “alright!”? He (evidently) is saying we can’t trust the Bible and we say, “yeah!!!”? Why would we do that? Is the Lord coming again? Absolutely. Is the Bible trustworthy? Yes, though there are some inconsequential variations in the text we possess. Is God going to send people to hell? Yes. The Bible says God is love and there will be people in hell. Why would we root for a guy not willing to accept these truths?
I get it on what Wade is trying to convey. Scaring people into submission rarely works, and never lasts, if that is all they know. But why could the prophets, apostles and even Jesus himself talk about hell to folks and we can’t? And when someone does mention hell, albeit in a way that may not seem appropriate, why do we start to root for the other side to win in their unbelief? That doesn’t sit well with me.
What continues to boggle my mind in regards to many in the N. American Evangelical Tribe is their inability to understand the perspective of those who are different. Why would a skeptic (I’m assuming that the skeptic in this story is different from many of the self-proclaimed skeptics in this discussion) belive the Bible has much of anything to say about life, let alone be authoratiative and infalible? Why would a skeptic care about the Left Behind books? Why would a skeptic be in fear of something he or she isn’t sure even exists?
I remember being an atheist and being told I was going to hell and guess what? It didn’t help one bit. It told me nothing about God, Jesus, or the Church.
Chris,
It’s not that different perspectives are hard to understand. Yours is easy. I get it. It’s just that certain perspectives are going to get you into a whole lot of trouble, and some of us can’t just sit back and watch others chop the limb off while standing on the wrong end. If you reject Scripture as being God-breathed, what else do you have? How can a person speak? How can a person judge anything as being right or wrong? How can a person determine his or her course in life? What is a person going to believe about Christ?
Wow, Wade, that’s quite a conversation you overheard! Here’s what I am thinking…
1) Do they have any relationship with this person? Have they done anything to SHOW this atheist that they love him?
2) Starting with the Left Behind books? Hmmm. I guess it’s a possibility that he had read them, but it’s more important that he reads/understand the Bible.
3) If someone doesn’t believe that the Bible is inspired, it seems like the place to start would be belief in God Himself (instead of harping on the authority of scripture.)
4) If someone doesn’t believe in God, it would be common-sense to conclude that they don’t believe in Hell, either!
Well, how do we do this? Is there a better way to train evangelists than just preach about it and then set people loose? Doesn’t the Bible say that some are gifted at it? Should we try to identify those people and equip them? Shouldn’t they be these type of people…?
5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Col. 4:5-6)
Since everyone else is hitting the core of the issue…I’ll just comment about Wade hanging out at Panera Bread…where the Wifi is always on and always free! Love the free wifi!!!!
There’s a right way and a wrong way to do evangelism, and that’s definitely the wrong way. I think they forgot about the Gospel message in there somewhere.
Brad,
When it comes to the question from the story of whether or not Scripture is God breathed, I guess I just assumed that the two Christians knew that the skeptic was in fact a skeptic. I’d never start out with, “Do you think the Bible is infalible” with such a person because clearly this person doesn’t! It’s redundant in a way. If Christ is the capstone of our faith, then let’s start with Him – start our way from the tree trunk, and work our way out to the branches, as it were. Let’s start with the question Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say I (Jesus) am?” But, to start with the infalible question, move to Left Behind, and then end with the flames of hell, shows a complete lack of perspective in my mind.
I recommend a good dose of The Barbarian Way: Unleash the Untamed Faith Within by Erwin Raphael McManu.
Peace.
Chris,
Good thoughts. I think you are right. The point to start with people is Jesus. That’s why I think the point behind (maybe way behind) the whole skeptic story is a valid one. Fear and guilt may not be the best place to start with most folks.
But sit down with a skeptic and tell him about Jesus, and the first thing he’ll say is “prove it”. That’s the nature of a skeptic. Prove Jesus did miracles. Prove Jesus rose from the dead. Prove Jesus was a great man of compassion and love. Prove Jesus is God. Prove Jesus is the only way. What are you going to do then? You’ve got to crack The Book, because the book is all you’ve got. It’ll end up being the very first thing he’ll have to deal with before you can move on to anything about God’s intentions for his or her life.
I guess my wish in all of this is that we would give well meaning folks a bit of a break who are at least trying to guide others to kingdom truths, however out of order they get it, however ignorant they may be of the big picture, instead of rooting for the other side in this case. Maybe we can show those folks, the “Christians” a better way, give them better insight, etc. But let’s at least root for them, root for anyone who is trying to put God’s word out there. My Bible says the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword. It is a powerful instrument in the hands of the Holy Spirit to convict people of Jesus and His kingdom. That’s what my prayers would be.
And the skeptic? I’m going to root for him not to win in his skepticism, but to come to a genuine faith in all areas of truth about God.
A good discussion. Does it mean you didn’t get my message?
I don’t start with the Bible or Jesus, I like to start with truth. There is a reality that is unavoidable. Then I can tell them how that reality is shown in Jesus and then I can walk along as they read about Him in the book.
I don’t know, I am supposed to have lunch with my resident skeptic tomorrow. He has invited me to lunch at a downtown Bible study.
Darin,
You start with truth, a “reality that is unavoidable.” What is this “unavoidable” reality? I don’t believe there is such a thing.
Brad,
I appreciate your high esteem of the Scriptures. They are invaluable in the life of a believer. But in the life of an unbeliever, the Scriptures are ancient wisdom literature at best. I realize that at some point you’re going to have to open the Bible. I reject the idea, however, that the Bible is all I’ve got. My Bible says that the Holy Spirit moves people to the cross, that prayer works, that the world will know that Jesus’ disciples are his by their love for one another, and that community/relationship matter.
I’ll never forget my lunch with a vampire (don’t laugh, it’s true) while in college. I went there with all my arguments, ideas, Scripture passages, etc. ready to prove this guy wrong. When I got there, there was an entire table full of them living life: caring for eachother, laughing, and telling stories. At one point in my discussion with my “date” a young woman turned to me and said, “Look at these people. These are the only people that care about me. I don’t need your Christianity.” I was completely dissarmed. I didn’t know what to say.
I guess my point in this story is that if I had come to the lunch to love the guy instead of trying to sell him a car he didn’t want, I probably would have made it a lot further. Christ loving skeptics through His Church begins to tear down the walls of “prove it.”
Your last two paragraphs are beautiful, and probably what we should be about. Thanks for sharing that!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
I have to say that sometimes skeptics make Christians look silly. To go to the hell topic first is really funny. I just hope someone who is living Jesus will meet the skeptic and tell him the gospel story.
On a similar note, I once got done eating a delicious Banzai Burger at Red Robin and in my windshield wipers was a tract about hell, complete with fire and verses about hell. I looked, but sadly, there was no Jesus. I still have it to remind me what is important.
You found yourself rooting for the skeptic? The Christians may not have approached it right or even good at all (I’d have to be there to truly know or not), but I would at least root for them, not the skeptic. When that happens, you have to ask yourself whether you’re doing it to win others to Christ or just doing it to find the best argument ever. If it’s the latter, then you need to revisit your motive for doing so.
Hmm. i have a good idea.
lets just scare the living daylights out of all the non-believers, and hope they want a part of what we participate in.. sounds great guys! lets get to it!