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Does God Exist? The Nightline Face-Off
Written by Jerry Robinson
Originally Posted on 5/11/2007
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A Televised Debate
A debate about the existence of God was aired on the ABC news program Nightline last week. The Christian viewpoint was presented by the founders of The Way of the Master ministries, Kirk Cameron (once famous child TV actor) and Ray Comfort (a veteran evangelist.) Representing the atheistic viewpoint was Brian Sapient and Kelly from the Rational Response Squad who recently made headlines with their internet-based project, The Blasphemy Challenge. The challenge asks online visitors to create and submit videos to the website YouTube.com in which they record themselves blaspheming the Holy Spirit. The challenge cites a passage from the Gospel of Mark which states: “he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation.” (Mark 3:29)
After watching the debate on ABC’s website, (which you can do too by clicking here), I was left with mixed emotions. While Kirk and Ray really did a fine job in presenting the truth of the Gospel, I believe that it is possible that they underestimated the tenacity and the fierceness of the atheistic cause. However, Kirk and Ray were exemplary witnesses of Christ in the debate. They did not resort to ridicule or to disparaging remarks about their opponents, as the other side did. However, a few great opportunities were lost to demonstrate that Christianity is a faith rooted in historical evidence.
The Lost Art of "Reasoning"
The debate made me appreciate the fact there are still Christians out there who are not afraid to publicly “reason” with unbelievers. In fact, this type of witnessing was the primary evangelism tool of the Apostle Paul. The Bible tells us that he repeatedly “reasoned” with unbelievers in an effort to persuade them with the truth of Christ. Here are just a few examples:
ACTS 17:2 “And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures” (ESV)
ACTS 18:4 “And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.” (ESV)
ACTS 18:19 “And they came to Ephesus… but he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.” (ESV)
ACTS 19:8 “And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.” (ESV)
The word “reason” used in these Biblical passages is the Greek word, dialego. It is derived from the prefix "dia-" meaning "through" and the word "lego" which means "to speak words." "Lego" is the verb form of the more common Greek word "logos" which literally means "word". Therefore, the word "dialego" could be translated as "to word-through." "Dialego" shows up in scripture most often as the word “dispute” or “debate.”
The Church at large desperately needs to return to this type of bold witnessing when engaging unbelievers. In recent decades, the American church has been marginalized, for good reason, due to its own persistent pursuit of irrelevance. Many televangelists echo hip-hop artists in their quest to "Get rich or die trying." Many pastors perpetuate a steady diet of milk for their emaciated flocks instead of preparing a feast of delicious meat from the Word of God. This cheap and shallow brand of Christianity has robbed us of evangelistic vigor and has stained the historic orthodox faith that many of us would lay down our lives for. A return to the merciful approach of "reasoning" with unbelievers begins with us.
Watch the Debate Online
Overall, ABC Nightline considered the debate a wash – no clear winner emerged. However, the Gospel was clearly presented on secular show on network television. I applaud Kirk and Ray for their efforts. Theirs was no easy task.
I encourage you to watch the debate on ABC’s website, click here.
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