Or: How NOT to Witness to Atheists
By Siamang
Hemant’s website, Friendly Atheist has been flooded with fans of Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron’s “Way of the Master” name-brand of Christian evangelism.
Yeah. Fun.
Last week Hemant wrote a bunch of posts that spawned discussion leading up to and following the Nightline face off starring the pair. That seemed to call Com/Cam Masters out of the woodwork.
I’m sure folks here are familiar enough with Com/Cam and their tactics. If not, here’s my impression:
“Ten commandments. If you ever told a lie you’re a liar. If you stole a piece of candy when you were five, you’re a thief. If you’ve looked at another person you’re an adulterer. If I’m wrong, nothing happens, but if I’m right and you’re judged by almighty God at judgement day, by your own admission you’re a lying, thieving, blaspheming adulterer, how should you be judged….”
It’s a high-pressure sales script that sounds like it was written by a telemarketer. I’ve watched the Way of the Master shows, I’ve heard Ray use that script on podcasts. He never varies it at all. “If you’ve ever told a lie, Press ONE. If you’ve ever stolen something, even as a child, Press TWO or stay on the line!”
And that’s the general tack used by the first-time posters who descended on the Friendly Atheist site.
I complained about this sticking to a script on a discussion on Friendly Atheist. I said that Ray doesn’t ever LISTEN to the person he’s preaching at. He makes zero attempt to understand where a person is in their life and meeting them there. This is the response I got from poster Betty:
That’s because the message is the same for everybody. God will judge justly–everyone according to the same standard. He won’t bend or change His Law.
Wait a minute… I thought God’s message was the Gospels, not Ray’s telemarketing script. If you’re saying that God’s message is the same for everybody, why aren’t you preaching the Gospel? Why are you preaching things that were written by Ray Comfort?
If you’re going to preach something other than the Gospels, as a way to get people to understand their message, doesn’t it make sense to listen to the person you’re talking to and have a conversation rather than preach at them? Until you know where I’ve been and who I am, merely barking a pre-rolled script at me does neither of us any good.
So here’s a nickle’s worth of free advice to evangelists seeking to convert atheists: learn our stories first.
Siamang.
05-14-2007 |
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