It was eighty against one.  Not good odds but when I role-play an atheist with the typical Christian students, I like my chances.  But these weren’t students.  They were adults.  And not just any adults, but Christian leaders on the East Coast.  Pastors, youth pastors, parachurch leaders, school teachers, and administrators.

I launched into my “Why I’m Not a Christian” arguments.  Debate quickly followed.  From the start, a number of adults appealed to their experience of the Holy Spirit—“I know God is real because I’ve experienced His Spirit.”  I quickly shot back, “How do you know that’s really God?  Mormons say the same thing.  Do you think they’re experiencing God as well?”

One man in particular was emphatic.  “I just know it’s the Holy Spirit speaking to me.” He tried to bolster the argument, declaring God had spoken to him through the Bible as well.  I responded with a typical atheist challenge.  “The Bible tells us that God spoke to Abraham, asking him to sacrifice his son.”  Then I looked him in the eye and questioned him, “If God asked you to kill your son, would you do it?”  He joked about his son sitting there next to him, but he could not answer the challenge.

In fact, there were only two leaders out of those 80 who gave me real trouble during the exchange.  Neither appealed to feelings or experience.  The first, a youth pastor, launched into the moral argument for God’s existence.  I tried to take the “morals are determined by society” route, but he calmly pinned me down.  The second, a deacon and Sunday school teacher, offered a design argument, articulating Michael Behe’s argument from irreducible complexity.  I quickly changed topics.  Not only were their answers rational and intelligent, the men themselves were gracious and non-defensive.

Afterward, I spoke with these men who argued well for God’s existence.  Do you know what they had in common?  Both were careful students of apologetics.  And both were huge Stand to Reason fans.  The youth pastor revealed he has listened to every single STR podcast.  The deacon was currently taking his daughter through our Tactics material.  STR’s impact was unmistakable (Yeah, that’s a shameless plug for our work at STR but I don’t mind plugging the effectiveness of something we need a lot more of in the church).

Later, the man who claimed he just knew it was the Holy Spirit speaking to him approached me.  He wanted my help.  “My son, sitting next to me, is doubting everything.”  Then he burst into tears.  Embarrassed, he grabbed my arm and pulled me around the corner.  As he wept bitterly, his son’s story emerged.  A bright kid, grew up in a Christian home, led friends to the Lord, on fire for Christ, even preached in their church.  But now, he questioned it all.  He begged me, “Will you talk to him?  Please, will you talk to him today?”

After my final teaching session, the son approached me, quickly launching into a laundry list of objections to Christianity.  A lengthy conversation ensued, covering topics like objective moral truths, utilitarian ethical theory, Kant's categorical imperative, retributive justice, divine hiddenness, intelligent design, and the experience of the Holy Spirit.  From the conversation, I guessed he was a graduate student in philosophy.  Wrong.  He was a high school senior.

His objections boiled down to this:  “I’ve been taught that Christianity’s truthfulness is confirmed by my experience.  I am no longer having powerful Christian experiences.  In addition, I’m reading arguments against Christianity.  I now wonder if it’s rational for me to remain a Christian.”  He had just rehearsed his father’s argument for Christianity...and its shortcomings.

I listened, offered thoughts to reframe his view of Christianity’s truthfulness, put personal experience in its proper place, and introduced him to apologetics.  He thanked me and we parted ways.

Through the entire experience, two things were clear.  First, God is using the apologetic movement in powerful ways.  The first two men confirmed this.  Second, the defense of the faith is needed even more.  The second two men confirmed this.

Apologetics is not optional to discipleship under Jesus.  It's necessary: 

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who ask you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect..." (I Peter 3:15)