Thursday, February 03, 2005

How to Drive an Atheist Crazy

One of my best friends for over 25 years is a confirmed atheist. We spent hour and hours trying to convince one another of the rightness of our view. Each of us had our day. Once he said that he believes that only those who don't believe in God go to heaven. Makes you think.

But humbly as possible I report that I finally won the debate. I wish I could say it resulted in a conversion, but alas. On the other hand it has been a great tool to engage those who don't believe in God. You simply ask them to list any practical advantages they enjoy as a result of their belief. Don't give any hints as to the kinds of advantages, but it is ok to suggest that there are many advantages to being a Christian -practical, emotional, relational, eternal, etc.

If they can come up with one advantage it is unusual. In a wild debate at Skeptic magazine, the entire email list was able to come up with 10 advantages, most of which were variations on one main theme. I'll leave it there for now. Maybe you'd like to think about it.

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