Natasha Crain responds to comments from a reader who grew up Christian but later became an atheist. In doing so, she offers some good advice to Christian parents whose kids are going to grow up in a world that’s ever more hostile to their faith:
Atheist Reader: We no longer live in closed monotheistic Christian cocoons. Multiculturalism and the information age expose us to a hugely diverse range of ideas and beliefs; many in stark opposition to Christian doctrine.
Natasha Crain: Well said! If you’re a Christian parent, please read these two sentences over and over and over. If you think it’s enough to simply teach your kids the core beliefs of Christianity without worrying about how to appropriately defend those beliefs (apologetics), please take what he is saying to heart. It’s our responsibility to know the tough questions being asked and to proactively engage our kids in discussing answers from a Christian worldview.
AR: It is a battle ground of ideas and Christianity is not faring so well.
NC: Indeed it is a battleground of ideas. And, in some respects, I agree with his assessment that Christianity isn’t always faring well – not because Christianity itself doesn’t fare well against competing ideas, but because many Christians are not prepared to engage in the battle on Christianity’s behalf. When we aren’t prepared to answer tough questions – for example, why exactly we believe that the resurrection was a historical event that provides reasonable evidence for a belief in Jesus as God – we are irresponsibly adding to the secular perception that Christianity does not “fare well” compared to other worldviews.