As preparation for Urbana, we’ll be sharing encouragement from speakers who are giving seminars, and possibly others involved in Urbana as well. Today Rick Mattson, InterVarsity staff and author of How Faith Is Like Skydiving: And Other Memorable Images for Dialogue with Seekers and Skeptics (InterVarsity Press, 2014), kicks off with an excellent series. Because Urbana is a place to engage with our vocations as Christians and missional academics, we’ll sometimes share these on Mondays, alternating with Scholar’s Call. Interested in doing a series on Urbana or an interview with an Urbana speaker? Email us here.
At the upcoming Urbana Mission Convention, I will be presenting a seminar called “Love Your Atheist Neighbor.”
But who is my atheist neighbor? you ask.
I have three suggestions for you. He/she is . . .
1. A Friend You Serve: Like the Good Samaritan who rescued a man in crisis, you “take in” the atheist. You bandage, cook, rake (leaves), plow (snow), read (their books and articles), attend (their lectures), taxi, pray, ask (about their family), visit (in the hospital), invite (to Happy Hour).
Why? Because you care. But if you’re very honest with yourself and actually don’t feel that kind of care in your heart, go ahead and practice caring anyway. Sometimes our hearts need time to catch up with our actions.
2. An Author You Read: My slow, thorough read through Richard Dawkins’s The God Delusion a few years ago didn’t feel much like a pleasure cruise. More like a slog through a Minnesota blizzard. We Christians are quick to protect our minds from the “untruths” of our day, with good reason. But I think we also need to be aware of what’s being written by those who oppose Christianity, so that we can respond intelligently.
3. An Enemy You Love. Sadly, some atheists in the academy are extremely hostile toward Christians. Often their main weapons against the faith are not thoughtful arguments you’d expect in scholarly circles, but sarcasm and ridicule. They believe Christianity is not only irrational but pernicious — harmful to society. So they come at you with guns blazing.
But your calling and mine is to respond to curses with blessings, to sarcasm with sincerity, to insults with respect. Notice I didn’t say we’re supposed to be wimpy or feeble. 

Try saying something like this to your combative atheist friend: “What you just said sounds more like a put-down or an insult than a well-reasoned argument. I’d love to hear a good argument from a quality academic such as yourself.”
Never allow yourself to be drawn into a shouting match or battle of sarcastic jabs. We’re supposed to be different than atheists. If we’re not, why should they change?
Finally, think through your circle of friends, colleagues and acquaintances, and ask yourself: Who is my atheist neighbor?
Image courtesy of werner22brigitte at Pixabay.com
Rick Mattson is a national evangelist and apologist for InterVarsity, speaking at over eighty campuses the past few years. He lives in St. Paul, MN with his family. He studied at Bethel Seminary of St. Paul, MN, where he received his masters in the philosophy of religion. As part of his current duties he serves as evangelism coach for graduate students at several universities. Rick’s a committed family man and serious golfer. He is the author of three books: Faith is Like Skydiving, Faith Unexpected and Witness in the Academy.
Good start, Rick. Good insight, good advice.–Jim Sire
Good ideas. One I think particularly lacking is your #2 – taking the time to take their arguments seriously. I have seen far too many Christians displaying their ignorance by criticizing atheist thought without ever having read it carefully (of course, many atheists do the same with Christian writings, but that is not our problem, except in how we respond to it – your #3).
Gerry, Yes, it’s too easy to just shoot down the other side — atheist or Christian — without really knowing what they’re saying.