It looks like atheists are pulling out all the stops in riling up Christians. This year, they put up a billboard claiming that people will have a "merrier" Christmas if they skip church services.
Dr. Jim Denison, founder of the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture, wrote in an article for Charisma News that it's no use for Christians to argue with atheists regarding this matter. As upsetting as the atheists' billboard might be, Denison said Christians need to take the higher road and remind themselves of two important things.
First, Denison said atheists aren't smarter than Christians, no matter what they claim. Richard Dawkins and other secularists love to refer to themselves as "brights," but Denison can name a lot of Christians who are just as smart, if not smarter, than they are.
"Let's examine the logic inherent in this year's atheist billboard: You can have a 'merrier' Christmas without worshiping Christ. 'Christmas' is the shortened version of 'Christ's Mass.' To say you can have a merry Christmas without Christ is like saying you can have a happy birthday without a birth," he said.
Denison said the problem with atheists and secularists is not that they are too smart for religion. Rather, their problem is they don't understand Christianity at all.
The second reason why Christians should not argue with atheists is that they cannot argue people into faith. "A relationship with God is like any other relationship: it requires a commitment that transcends the evidence and becomes self-validating," said Denison.
He believes the best way to show that the Christ of Christmas is real is to demonstrate His reality in their own lives. "When lost people see the transformation and joy of Jesus in us, they will want what we have," he said. "That's why it is so important that Christians relate to non-Christians in grace, speaking the truth in love."
Denison added that it's easy to get into heated argument with those who openly reject Christ. But that is the wrong approach. "Lost people act like lost people. So did we before we met Jesus. It's up to Christians to act like Christ," he said.
