Why debate?

[asajoseph]

Hi all, I'm still new here, so I'm looking forward to getting to know you all.

Two simple questions:-

1) - What are your motives for contributing to a debate regarding Christianity, and online apologetics in general?

2) - Why do you believe atheists wish to engage Christians in this manner?

Please, answer both questions - I believe that doing so will give us a good idea of exactly how we should be approaching our apologetic.

Asa

[otseng]

Hi Asajoseph. Welcome to the forum!

1) - What are your motives for contributing to a debate regarding Christianity, and online apologetics in general?

I posted a little bit about my reasons here.

2) - Why do you believe atheists wish to engage Christians in this manner?

The thread I posted above also gives some thoughts from non-Christians on why they are here.

[asajoseph]

Whoops... Never noticed that thread!

Thanks for pointing that out.

Asa

[hannahjoy]

Since the other thread is pretty old, I'll answer on this one.

1) - What are your motives for contributing to a debate regarding Christianity, and online apologetics in general?

There are several verses in which I find motivation and encouragement.

Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

2 Timothy 2:25
In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;

Jude 22-23
22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

I've done door-to-door visitation many times, but I'm not very good at "thinking on my feet" - I do much better here where I can take the time to think through my replies.

2) - Why do you believe atheists wish to engage Christians in this manner?

Because they want us to give up Christianity - or at least not think of them as being wrong or sinful. That would be my guess - are you thinking of something else?

Hannah Joy

[DarkSaying]

1) - What are your motives for contributing to a debate regarding Christianity, and online apologetics in general?

2) - Why do you believe atheists wish to engage Christians in this manner?

Hi asa, I'm a newbie myself (just joined), but I've often had apologetic-type debates -- from both sides of the fence, so to speak.

1. I've found more and more that debating anything is more often than not a selfish waste of time. It's me wanting to change others, or even worse, to prove them wrong. For this reason I usually try to stay away from debates where one side is purposefully egging the other on, or has shown intentional disregard for argument.

Debating for me now is both a test to see what I truely think about the situation and and an attempt to share what knowleadge I believe I have and to learn from the other sides.. I will not debate if it is apparent that none of the parties involved are able/willing to consider what is being said.

2. From my stint as an atheist, the reason I got into debates with christians was because (a) I thought they were deluded and (b) their existence was a threat. Again, the selfishness plays a big part in the first reason, but the second is much more insidious. Even if an atheist won't admit it, the very existence of christianity is a threat to most atheist's value system -- and it is human nature to respond (often aggresively) to threats.

Sorry about my long answers to short questions.

[Mattu]

Personally, when debating I don't try to convince anyone, I just try to point them in the right direction, or give them questions to ask themselves to help them answer a question they may have.

You find a lot of atheists who really dub themselves that to rebel. Rebelling in this world is hip and cool, it makes you dangerous, and danger is appealing. We are born rebels of God, some people choose not to continue in that lifestyle, unfortunately others do not ever find the answers they need, or have the right people to guide them. Ultimately as well, God has not chosen them.

But when I debate, I find joy in being able to disprove the most seemingly hardened atheistic arguments with a simple scripture or story I know from my own questions I've asked in the past.

I always like to encourage an atheist, or anyone in question, to simply ask God to tell them the truth and to tell them they want to find Him. If they keep up at it and eventually expect Him to respond, He will. It's just a matter of being persistent. No one openly excepts God without going through trials and tribulations, and I'm sure we've all had our fair share that have proven to us that He really is here to help us through, and make good out of the worst evil.

Hope that gives you some, yet very little overall, information about why I enjoy "debating the truth"


EDIT: Oh, forgot the second question:

I personally think a lot of atheists come here, and other places to debate because they aren't satisfied with what they believe. You could then say Christians do the same, and it would be true for some. Personally, I do enjoy debating to learn. I like to try and answer the questions atheists propose to further learn more personally about God, and just envelope myself in His truth and existence.

You could argue some atheists may come here as well to learn more about how there is no God, and they just enjoy spreading their truth with people, but this is just where, as a Christian, yet another point is proved. Satan is the master of deceit and lies, and sometimes there's really no spot on answer to questions like these.

[RevJP]

Hmmm.... why debate? Interesting question.

One reason: 1Pe 3:15-16 but sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord: being ready always to give answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear:
having a good conscience; that, wherein ye are spoken against, they may be put to shame who revile your good manner of life in Christ.

Being prepared to give answer many times requires debate, and debate also is a useful tool in preperation to give answers. Some answer with: "God said it so I believe it", but they say so without a clear understanding of what God actually said (scripturally), they take what they are told, from the pulpit or other believers, and assume it is God's Word. Debate amongst Christians regarding those things of God is vital to the spiritual and theological growth of Christians.

There needs to be an understanding though of what issues are worth dividing over and what are not. Issues of doctrine which do not concern the Gospel are not worth dividing over, music in church, women pastors, tithing or not tithing.... these do not effect the Gospel message of salvation by Grace through faith in Christ, and are not truly worth dividing over.

One other reason for debate is the sheer enjoyment of it. Discussion and debate can be fun and we are not precluded from enjoying ourselves scripturally.

As to why athiest do what they do I cannot answer. My thought is that they are the same as anyone else and want to be right, and to be proven or acknowledged as right (one of the reasons there is so much debate over non-salvational issue amongst Christians I would suspect as well).

[TQWcS]

We can't forget 2 Corinthians 10

"....I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. 3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete."

[djchuang]

1) - What are your motives for contributing to a debate regarding Christianity, and online apologetics in general?

2) - Why do you believe atheists wish to engage Christians in this manner?

I'll give you my reasons for when/if I engage in debate regarding anything, and also with respect to faith and apologetics.

For me, debating is an intellectual exercise, and is one form of dialogue and conversation. Some people enjoy having an engaging conversation about faith, and this forum and a debate forum is a way to do that. It's simply a value for conversation, a value for understanding, that I find inviting in the arena of debate, dialogue, and conversation.

A helpful verse to me is 1 Peter 3:15, and the 3 words that often get left out, when apologists make a case for the importance of defending the Christian faith: "when they ask". So, if/when an atheist (or anyone) asks, then the door is open for dialogue and conversation and debate.

So much effort and programming and materials have been produced so that a Christian can be equipped to defend their faith, to give an answer, to collect a lot of data and information about the Christian faith, arguments that support it, and so on. But very little has been done to demonstrate the hope that the Christians exhibit through their lives, which compells a person to ask.

It's been my experience that when people aren't asking, dispensing answers is not helpful. Here in a debate forum like this, people are asking, so let's start telling!

I do have to give a caution about motives, and that we all have mixed motives if we're honest with each other, and that it has often been harmful to guess at the motives of someone else doing something. (so it's good of you to ask, rather than guessing at someone else's motives.)

As an aside, some Christians (and non-Christians) might not be able to engage in debate with good motives, and thus impose their thinking that "all debate is negatively argumentative", and for those who have a difficult time separating emotions from propositional arguments as an intellectual exercise, then debating is a difficult thing for them. And they should avoid it. But those who can debate should exercise their liberty and freedom of conscience.