Daniel Morgan writes of his confrontation with street preacher Tom Short. I was out confronting street preachers tonight as well. I ran into a girl from my dorm who seemed genuinely saddened to find out that I deny the doctrine of Hell.
A lot of people wonder (and I do myself at times) our motivation for atheistic evangelism, or athevangelism, as you said. I really believe that it is healthy to challenge public speakers in public forums who make bold claims, no matter the subject of discussion.
I really believe that I can help other people to begin to think critically, something I wish others had helped cultivate in me at a much younger age.
I do *not* believe that I can "deconvert" Christians by pointing out the absurdity of some campus preacher's claims. I do *not* believe that people will ultimately lose faith when I point to the logical fallacies ripe in his pitiful analogies and pseudo-arguments for God.
I just hope they'll stop and think about how solid those claims are, and perhaps abandon a few of the PRATTs and canards.
Also, I love debate and dialogue and argument. Campus preachers act like they do, but then realize that they are not there to discuss the validity of some position, but to assert the infallibility of their own position, and to see others believe that too. This guy kept changing the subject and doing theatrics; I realized later that it was because he didn't want to lose the interest of the crowd, and attention to his message.
Honest observers will note when one person in a dialogue is verifiably interested in establishing true beliefs, and when the other is convinced they don't need to. That's all I really hope for.
I think I may have touched the girl from my dorms. She turned out to be the type to give you a deer-in-headlights look rather than argue with you. For a number of reasons, including the fact that she lives just down the hall from me, she's in a position to ask to talk more whenever she wants. We'll see what happens.
2 comments:
Chris,
Thanks for the link-love.
A lot of people wonder (and I do myself at times) our motivation for atheistic evangelism, or athevangelism, as you said. I really believe that it is healthy to challenge public speakers in public forums who make bold claims, no matter the subject of discussion.
I really believe that I can help other people to begin to think critically, something I wish others had helped cultivate in me at a much younger age.
I do *not* believe that I can "deconvert" Christians by pointing out the absurdity of some campus preacher's claims. I do *not* believe that people will ultimately lose faith when I point to the logical fallacies ripe in his pitiful analogies and pseudo-arguments for God.
I just hope they'll stop and think about how solid those claims are, and perhaps abandon a few of the PRATTs and canards.
Also, I love debate and dialogue and argument. Campus preachers act like they do, but then realize that they are not there to discuss the validity of some position, but to assert the infallibility of their own position, and to see others believe that too. This guy kept changing the subject and doing theatrics; I realized later that it was because he didn't want to lose the interest of the crowd, and attention to his message.
Honest observers will note when one person in a dialogue is verifiably interested in establishing true beliefs, and when the other is convinced they don't need to. That's all I really hope for.
I think I may have touched the girl from my dorms. She turned out to be the type to give you a deer-in-headlights look rather than argue with you. For a number of reasons, including the fact that she lives just down the hall from me, she's in a position to ask to talk more whenever she wants. We'll see what happens.
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