THE SURPRISE
THE INSTANT NICK finished speaking, a former friend and classmate stood up and shouted, “That’s just your opinion, Nick!” She was wearing a bright T-shirt proclaiming There’s Probably No God—Now Stop Worrying and Enjoy Your Life in bold letters, and everyone stared.
Nick was startled, but recovered quickly. “Andrea? What are you doing? And what do you mean by that? You know what I’ve said is more than just my opinion. Every bit of it corresponds to historical reality. On what foundation is your opinion based?”
Immediately another student stood up, this one wearing a black shirt with Atheist printed in red letters. “Jesus Christ was a man! Nothing more! What makes you think your Jesus is better than any other teacher?”
Nick turned to look at him and said, “You’re right—Jesus was a man. But He was also God, and He proved His claims of deity by His resurrection.”
Another student yelled, “Hey Nick, you’re full of it!”
Nick, growing irritated, called back, “What’s your name?”
The student didn’t answer, so Nick persisted. “You—the one who told me I’m full of it. What’s your name?”
Lord, give Nick wisdom, Jessica prayed silently.
“I’m Sam,” replied the student.
“Okay, Sam. Explain to me how I’m full of it.”
“Jesus Christ was just a man … and that’s all. A do-good teacher followed by some misguided, naïve people—like you. Those people attributed outrageous supernatural abilities to Him.”
Nick shot back, “why do you think so many people attributed supernatural power to Him?”
Sam didn’t answer because the guy with the atheist T-shirt, cut in. “Very few, if any, books written back then mentioned his divinity. Jesus might have been a popular guy, but He sure wasn’t divine.”
Nick was in adrenaline mode. “You really don’t have any basis for your claim—and I was actually asking Sam the question.”
Sam yelled, “Jesus wasn’t even a good teacher! He was a moron on a power trip, deceiving the gullible with riddles and condemning anyone who disagreed to hell.”
Nick looked at Sam. “First of all, you’re contradicting yourself. You just said Jesus was a ‘do-good teacher.’ You also said He was a moron who taught riddles, yet the people attributed supernatural abilities to Him. If Jesus was just an ignorant moron, why would eyewitnesses attribute miracles to Him?”
“You’re just a superstitious Christian!” yelled another angry student. “We don’t believe in God, talking snakes, virgin births, or unicorns!”
Things were getting out of hand. Did Andrea bring the entire atheist club here just to interrupt me? wondered Nick. Then he got an idea. “Friends, I understand why some of you are angry. I felt the same way as an agnostic. I couldn’t even stand the thought of God. I get that. But we’re running out of time here so let me make a request. I ask that you not interrupt tonight’s meeting any more. We can have dialogue without verbal attacks. In fact, in three weeks we’re hosting a forum with one of our own instructors, Jamal Washington, addressing the identity of the historical Christ. Jamal, a theist, will be joined by Dr. Jurgen Hitzfield, the agnostic church historian, and Dr. Franck Gouffran, an atheist philosopher of science. I invite you to come to this forum. For now, I’m going to close in prayer and then the band is going to close us out with a couple more songs. I ask that you would please be respectful and not interrupt me. Also, Andrea, will you chat with me afterwards?”
Andrea’s face remained blank, and when the band finished up she was gone. Nick hoped either Mina or Jessica connected with her, but it seemed like she was hurting and didn’t want to talk.
He left the coffeehouse frustrated that he hadn’t offered better answers and that he didn’t handle the rowdy crowd very well. He also felt convicted because of his bad attitude.
As he was leaving, a young man holding a motorcycle helmet stopped him. “Hey Nick, my name is Brett. Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure!”
“I liked the I am Second video, but do you think I can meet with you sometime about this stuff?”
“Yeah, I’d be glad to meet with you. Tell me what’s up.”
“First, I want to apologize for my rude atheist friends. I have my own questions and doubts, but they shouldn’t have jacked your meeting.”
“That’s okay,” said Nick. “Christians can be pretty rude sometimes, too.”
Brett nodded. “Anyways, I’m a biology and premed student and I tend to be logical in my thinking. I didn’t grow up in Texas like these Bible-thumping kids. My father taught at MIT and he trained us to avoid blind emotional faith. Even though Brian Welch’s story is good, I don’t think personal testimony counts for much. Stories like his have no actual value to anyone but Christians, and such things only serve to strengthen what you guys already believe. It’s confirmation bias.”
“What you’re saying makes sense,” said Nick. “I would agree that personal testimony may not be the strongest intellectual argument for God, but I wouldn’t say it doesn’t have any actual value in reality.”
“Nick, it matters to you because you’re a Christian, but it doesn’t count for anything to people like me who have a logical, rational, scientific outlook.”
Nick motioned toward the outdoor tables and chairs. “You have a minute to talk?”