Anonymous asked a question:
So I’m taking an honors world history class taught by an atheist teacher and we’re learning about evolution and it’s really really testing my faith. Honestly I don’t know what’s true right now. My theology isn’t the greatest because I’ve only accepted Christ for two years now. I’m just now finding it hard to believe in the Bible and God right now.
Hey dear friend, thank you for sharing this with such honesty.
The truth is, every single type of belief system will eventually get shaken somewhere. When this happens, we can 1) investigate deeper into what we really believe, and 2) incorporate the new information into our beliefs somehow.
We each experience a kind of cognitive dissonance when our worldview is shaken. It can actually make you disoriented, nauseous, and depressed. Sometimes it’s from learning more about the world, or it’s from a terribly brutal tragedy, or it can be a very persuasive argument that uses flowery language. And these experiences will inform our theology and philosophy, and vice versa. But none of this has to be a threatening, stomach-punching trauma.
While we’re certainly going to feel what we feel, we can still explore this new information in light of what we currently know, and then navigate a way through it. It’ll be tough, and you may be scared or surprised by your conclusions, but it can actually make you a more thoughtful, whole person, too.
For me, I simply don’t buy into “faith versus science.” I don’t buy into this binary war between religion and reason. I grew up an atheist with supposedly liberal leanings, and then went to a hyper-conservative Baptist seminary, and I can safely say that both sides of the spectrum have many worthwhile truths and values. There’s a lot more overlap than we like to think.
I know plenty of wonderful Christians who hold to evolution and biblical allegorization and open theology. I know very passionate Christians who run the entire range of politics and doctrinal positions. What matters to me is that they love Jesus and love people. We major in the majors; the extra stuff is extra.
Also please consider that nearly everyone, myself included, has some sort of proselytizing agenda, whether it’s from a professor or preacher or political party, or it’s from one spouse to another arguing about how to raise their kids. We each enforce our own worldview in obvious and subtle ways, and if you’re easily convinced into someone else’s persuasion, you can just as easily be convinced right out of it. It’s easy to be won over by presentation or vocabulary or charm, until we’re simply being jostled around between the more winsome slide-show.
What I mean is: When someone presents a very strong case for their view and you’re pulled in, please pause and back up and really meditate on what’s being said. Consider your own response, too, and why the appeal is so strong to you.
Please remember that the first time you hear something new is almost like “love at first sight” — we fall so easily for hormones and chemistry that we don’t explore the actual person. I say all this to inoculate you from the illusion of first feelings, so that we can use both our brains and hearts when we encounter something for the first time.
A last thing. What’s happening to you is what has happened to everyone in all of history. Nothing is new under the sun. When I was an atheist, I felt the existential pull towards the pulse of divinity. As a Christian today, I still feel the nihilistic grippings of a godless universe. We each doubt, and then we doubt our doubts. We each run into these “otherworldly panics” that press into our beliefs — but at the end of the day, I still find Christianity to be intellectually sturdy and existentially satisfying. That’s enough for me. Where ever you land, I pray that it will be enough for you, too.
— J.S.
– A Faith Crisis: Crushed By Doubt, Questions, and Disconnection (And Some Good News)
– How Do You Defend Your Faith?
– How Do You Keep Believing This Jesus Bulls__t?
– Why Do You Believe In Jesus?
Photo by Image Catalog, CC BY PDM
J.S. Park: Hospital Chaplain 
I’d also encourage anyone who is struggling in their faith because of atheistic academia to go looking for some good, serious scholarship from believers. I grew up in the church, but always assumed that the Bible could be squared with what I was being taught in school.
It was probably 3 years ago that I realized just how much I had to compromise a clear reading of scripture (from the process of creation to the severity of the flood in Noah’s day) to accept what I was told was “unquestionably” true.
What I found was that many of the things that people deny from scripture actually best explain a lot of what we find in nature when you dig a little deeper. The problem is that academia tends to be more of a place for people to rely on their own understanding than for people to give honest answers (and sometimes admit that they don’t know), and it’s startling to realize just how many big names in the evolutionary community openly admit that one of their primary reasons for believing it is because they can’t “leave a divine foothold” or at least just “cannot believe in a god”.
Warning: There are some REALLY bad attempts at tackling science with a Biblical perspective out there. If you can tell a person is being disingenuous then they’re probably not going to give you a good perspective (even if they wouldn’t agree with each other).
Warning 2: While this endeavor strengthened my faith greatly, it certainly put me at the uncomfortable end of a great deal of intellectual snobbery. Even in the church, many treat evolution as undeniable fact and you become something of a scientific heretic if they’re not willing to just outright label you stupid. Ad hominem is the name of the game when you step into such a discussion. I don’t want this to discourage you, but count the cost.
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Jason, your warnings are right on. I’ve had to dig through stacks of dirty needles to find a good one. I’ve rolled my eyes enough at some of the half-formed apologetics attempting to bridge towards science. I appreciate the attempt, but my goodness.
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