Last month, I attended a debate on the existence of God between Douglas Jesseph (an atheist from N.C. State) and Michael Green (a theist from Oxford University.) Both men satisfactorily displayed a wealth of research and an evangelical exuberance rivaling a Billy Graham or a Bertrand Russell. But fireworks aside, there was one rather grave disappointment. They didn’t really engage one another. Each presented his own pre-formulated argument, but neither took it upon himself to actively criticize the other’s line of reasoning. Sadly, this was most true of the theist, Green. Being an evangelical Christian, he no doubt regards personal belief and faith as extremely significant, whereas Jesseph can probably sleep well at night knowing that a great number of people are deluded by the myth of God. It disturbs me — a proud theist and follower of Christ — that some honest skeptics may have been repulsed by Green’s evasive response to Jesseph’s, some would say, “eternally dangerous” promulgations.
The crystallization of Green’s evasion came when he was given the opportunity to rebut Jesseph. Instead of, in his words, “moving through the scenery of [the atheist’s] arguments,” Green announced he would give his own independent arguments against atheism. In other words, instead of debating his opponent — the purpose for which the audience was present — he decided to attack his own construction of atheism, which would naturally be easier to defeat.
Had Jesseph not given a thoughtful defense of atheism, this might have been more appropriate, though still abrasive. But he had. He raised the “hidden-ness of God” argument and the problem of evil. Although honest intellectual inquiry into these arguments actually renders theism less philosophically problematic, most people never get that far. Most people struggle with these questions on an emotional level. But their struggle is no less real. One of the most influential contemporary Christian apologists, Ravi Zacharias, freely admits the problem of evil is the most serious indictment against the Christian conception of God. And, because of its persuasive power, the problem is evil is employed more often by atheists than any other argument. There can be no doubt that Green was capable of responding. One has to assume he simply thought it to be a waste of time.
To make matters worse, Green’s cheerleaders were rambunctious and rude. A couple of otherwise warm and friendly gentlemen from Green’s local church, who were sitting behind me, audibly sneered at Jesseph anytime he made a powerful statement. Apparently, where the Bible says, “love your enemies” and “be ready always to give an answer,” these guys take it to mean, “get ticked off and scoff at them.”
Now, I’m quick to forgive these men; they were just reacting emotionally. But a definite point needs to be made. No matter how firm our beliefs maybe, both common decency and Christian morality demand we treat others with
respect and kindness. Zacharias, the aforementioned apologist, has said, “We tend to think being kind and listening to the opposition implies we have sacrificed the message. But we need to learn how to handle critique, how to address an antagonist. Even while you wrestle with the ideas of an opponent, you must keep the dignity of the opponent intact.”
The Christian faith has an enormous intellectual backbone. It is the Christian himself who is capable of weakness. Christians, who believe themselves in possession of the truth, ought not to fear the pursuit of truth; if the truth is on their side, what is there to fear? They also mustn’t treat nonChristians with scorn or indifference — for love, compassion and forgiveness are central to the message of Christ. Mark Noll, in his book “The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind,” argues that many Christians retreat from the arena of the philosophical and scientific pursuit of truth out of either fear or self-righteousness. In the academic world both are inexcusable. If Christianity is to thrive, it will do so not on the wobbly scaffolding of arrogance and trickery, but on the solid rock of charity and truth.
