How to speak to atheists

Talking with atheists is something I don't relish as much as I did in college, where we'd have long debates over dinner in the cafeteria. . .maybe it's because I don't have as much time as I did then, but Jen Fulweiler of Et Tu, a former atheist, in her article suggests that atheists are getting bolder as they seem to have the upper hand in recent days.
"Atheism is a strong and growing influence in our culture. You can see it everywhere from the bestseller table at your local bookstore to the Darwin-mutated Jesus fish on the car in traffic in front of you. Atheists are comfortable declaring themselves atheists, comfortable promoting atheism, and comfortable decrying religion, which, according to some of the more prominent atheists, resides on the list of mankind's blessings somewhere between diphtheria and Nazism.

And now that we're encountering it more often, Christians sometimes find themselves ill-prepared to deal with this kind of muscular atheism. Especially for lifelong Christians, atheist arguments are so foreign that they don't know how to respond, and too often lapse into anger ("How dare you?!") or fear ("What if they're right?!"), neither of which does anyone any good, harming the Christian's witness and leaving the atheist firmly entrenched in his atheism. "
Prepare yourself for being drawn into such a discussion, it may come sooner that you think. As 1 Peter 15 says, we must always be ready to give the reason for our hope.
HT Holy Spirit Interactive

Review of Guerrilla Apologetics for Catholics

I have always meant to compile a cheat sheet for apologetics, ready answers, complete with Scripture references in case I'm asked one of the 'big questions' like: "Why do Catholics believe in Purgatory?" Well, thanks to Guerrilla Apologetics for Catholics, I no longer have to write my cheat sheet. It's all here, by topic, and full of Scriptural references. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is not referenced because, non-Catholics don't accept that as valid, and discussion must stem from a source both believers trust, the Scriptures.

As with Guerrilla Apologetics for Life Issues, this book teaches how to frame the discussion, not merely respond to innumerable questions until your opponent is worn out. In fact, he teaches how to turn their question into our question.

A great jumping-off point for a beginning apologist, or handy pocket guide for a seasoned apologist. It covers all the basic points of discussion, Purgatory, the doctrine of "faith alone is necessary for salvation, the doctrine of "Scripture alone", the Papacy (with a handy list of every pope since St. Peter), divorce, the saints, the Blessed Mother, and the Eucharist.

Once you get these basic points down, or become proficient at looking them up in this user-friendly book, you can correct 90% of Protestant misconceptions about Catholicism.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said, "most people don't reject Catholicism, they reject what they misinterpret as Catholicism". Correct the misconceptions, and your job is done.

Be Part of the New Springtime of Evangelization

Pope Benedict XVI once commented on John 5:15, which reads, "No longer do I call you servants... but... friends." The Holy Father said that the Apostles "were able to be apostles and witnesses of Christ because they were close to Him. They were united to him by a bond of love, brought to life by the Holy Spirit."
Lighthouse Catholic Media has experienced tremendous success by distributing over 1,000,000 apologetic CDs to over 1,000 Catholic parishes across the United States and parts of the world. Imagine the impact this is having on our culture! But we must do more; we are called to do more: "Go to the ends of the world", our Lords tells us in Matthew 28.
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