A Tribute to the Atheists in My Life

Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, recently accepted an invitation to speak at Brigham Young University. For the non-theologically inclined, that's a big deal. Mohler's fundamental and unwavering belief system stands in stark contrast to the tenets of Mormonism, the rock on which BYU stands. It's staggering. They invited him? He accepted?

Yes, and yes. And in the process, Mohler's introduction to his audience offer great wisdom for us all:

The presence of the president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary behind the podium at Brigham Young University requires some explanation. I come as an evangelical Christian, committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to the trinitarian beliefs of the historic Christian faith. I come as one who does not share your theology and who has long been involved in urgent discussions about the distinctions between the faith of the Latter Day Saints and the faith of the historic Christian church. I come as who I am, and your leaders invited me to come knowing who I am. I have come knowing who you are and what you believe and my presence here does not mean that the distance between our beliefs has been reduced. It does mean, however, that we now know something that we did not know before. We need to talk. We can and must take the risk of responsible, respectful, and honest conversation. We owe this to each other, and we owe this to the faiths we represent. And we had better talk with candor and urgency, for the times demand it.

My presence here is indicative of one of the strangest and most ironic truths of all - that the people who can have the most important and the most honest conversations are those who hold the deepest beliefs and who hold those beliefs with candor and engage one another with the most substantial discussion of the issues that are of most crucial importance to us. And thus the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is thankful to be among you at Brigham Young University. You are a university that stands, as all great universities stand, for the importance of ideas and the honor of seeking after the truth. I come to honor the importance of ideas and the centrality of the search for truth with you.

Responsible, respectful, honest conversation. Candor. We owe this, says Mohler.

When is the last time you thought that you owed something to those with whom you most vehemently disagree about that which you hold most dear? Yet here is Mohler, calling not only for respect, but demanding conversation of us to those around us. With candor and truth and humility, we must not only state our opinion but also ask theirs. What if Republicans and Democrats operated under this assumption? Student peer groups? Communities in conflict? Families feuding? Hawkeye and Cyclone fans? Or, more importantly and more to Mohler's point, what about those of us with vastly differing worldviews and faiths (or lack thereof)?

I have been blessed with many atheists in my life. I've often joked that I've had more good friends who were atheists over the course of my life than I have who are Christian. At this point I no longer believe that's true, but the numbers haven't been as far off as some might assume regarding someone who writes a blog from a Christ-centered worldview. I say that it's been a blessing because most of them have fleshed out Mohler's advice: with candor and enthusiasm we've discussed our respective positions, and I've rarely felt like they were trying to win. Rather, they listened, they rebutted, they questioned, and they shared. And we continue life with a respect for each other. Though we are slow to budge one way or another from our stances, we have not been hesitant to discuss. Despite the fact that I think they are robbing themselves of the joy of the Almighty and will end up in eternal damnation (unless they find Christ), and they think I am wasting my life on a fairy tale, we are friends. And we can talk about that wide gulf in the difference of our opinions.

Perhaps I've just been blessed to find the right atheists. There are plenty irrational and disrespectful God-loathing mouthpieces neither listening, sharing, or filling the air with honesty. And unfortunately there are many who claim Christ who are unable to do this as well. But it begs the question: what if?

If BYU can listen to Mohler, and he can accept their invitation, then why not us? Avoid God and politics at the supper table? No, thank you. I'll take a side of both.