HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH A SKEPTIC?

HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH A SKEPTIC?

Being a widow with much time on my hands I have chosen the internet as my way of ministering to those that are interested in reading or watching what I have to say.  I Blog and have a You Tube Channel where I try to uplift the name of Jesus and reach out to help others in any way I can.  I care about those that take the time to read or to view what I have to share. 

Recently I received a comment on a video I presented, by a 19 year old that was brought up in a Christian church.  He entered University and is now studying Science, other religions and Christianity.  The studies in Science have caused him to question and doubt the Supernatural and the studies in other religions have caused him to question the prominence of Christianity over these other religions.   In one letter he asked “How do you validate your faith on a personal level? Rejecting these other religions and promoting yours?”  

Some in the Christian community are at a loss to answer these sincere seekers of truth because they don’t really know what they believe or why they believe it.  Many grew up in Christian homes never doubting what they had been taught.  Many converted after some sort of experience.  Is there any kind of “proof” that we can offer this doubting world as to the validity of our faith over that of another?

I know what I believe and why I believe it but how does one communicate that to a skeptical world?  How does one prove that we have not just believed on “blind faith”?  How does one put many years of study into a brief conversation easy for another to understand?  This was the dilemma I faced.

The world doesn’t want to hear quotes from the Bible because they think the Bible is archaic and merely written by men and not by God.  Personal experience is thrown out because other religions have personal experiences that back up their claims.  The threats of eternal punishment in hell – they believe – are scare tactics to keep followers in line.  They see no “proof” of God or any kind of life after death.  They want scientifically verifiable evidence before they are willing to believe anything.

Many Atheists/Skeptics on the net are not trying to find truth as they believe they already have it.  They comment on Christian videos and blogs hoping for an opportunity to prove how unintelligent or unaware the Christian Community is.  Sad to say, many well meaning Christians tend to prove them right.  In trying to give articulate answers they don’t stop to think, pray or discern who their audience is.  Many offer Bible quotes or refer to their personal experiences. Others resort to anger and threaten with hell to try to prove their point.  The non believer tends to look at this as the normal response from an uneducated unintelligent individual. 

I nearly fell into the same trap. 

The first comment I received from this individual was somewhat mocking. I immediately grouped him with all the others who “troll” the net looking for unsuspecting Christians to attack.  I was at the ready with a reply that would have been sarcastic and dismissive when a little voice inside me said “What if this person is really seeking the truth.” 

It would have been easy to dismiss that voice and continue as I had planned but when I thought about it, I reconsidered what I was about to write. 

We are Ambassadors for Christ sent to do what he would do were he personally present. 

Wanting to communicate as Christ would, I went to Him in prayer asking him to direct every word I wrote. 

I tried to think as this young man would think.  I presumed he probably encountered people that offered him glib answers to his heart felt questions only to be let down with the results.  I assumed he didn’t want to hear the “five and dime store” version of Christianity, as he’d already heard enough of that.  I speculated that he was looking for something new and something real that would make an impression on him. 

I tried to meet him where he was; on his level, that of a skeptical Christian who has struggled with many of my beliefs showing him how I found answers.

My first response was somewhat unconventional as far as Christian witnessing goes.  I figured he would be ready to counter all the customary answers he had probably heard in the past and already had dismissed.  I was hoping to demonstrate that I was not simply regurgitating things I had been taught or heard elsewhere. 

My individual response seemed to spark his interest and he was willing to converse further.  I continue to communicate with him using my God given intelligence and reason using principles and experiences that are common to everyone.

The lines of communication are open because I chose to listen, to go to God first and to try to discern where this person was coming from.  He is now more open to listen to the explanations I offer as to how I validate my faith.  Hopefully through continuing dialogue I will be able to demonstrate to him why I am able to reject other religions and promote my own.  

I cannot lead anyone to Christ.  Only God the Holy Spirit is able to do that.  I can only be an instrument in the Master’s hands appealing to one’s sense of logic, intellect, reason and curiosity.  They must do the thinking for them self and ultimately make their own choices. How it all ends is in God’s hands.