No, you don’t have to agree on your beliefs about God to pick up useful habits, and there are quite a few things Christians could learn from people used to questioning everything.
The awkward question
A few Christians tense up immediately when they hear a question. They think it’s an attack. But they’re wrong. The truth is, atheists are good at asking questions. They’re not trying to be rude or anything because they only want clarity.
They genuinely want to know when they’re asking, ‘How do you know?’ and ‘Who told you that?’ Christians could learn from that. Yes, they could stop hearing every question as an attack and realize, maybe, it’s just a question.
The weak spot
Atheists know what a bad argument is. They’ll recognize it and move on. Christians don’t. They don’t recognize how the logic’s barely holding together, and they’re way too afraid to admit that the argument is weak. It’s okay to admit that.
It doesn’t mean the whole faith has to fall apart. No, it’s the opposite. Atheists understand that they need to retire the argument, or at least find a better way to present it. They see arguments as things to test. But Christians? It’s way more than that.
The clean line
Try asking an atheist about the difference between, ‘I believe this’ and ‘I can prove this to you.’ They’ll be able to find it. Not Christians, though. Religious people throw in their personal faith and spiritual experiences into the argument. They act like it supports what they’re saying.
Sure, sometimes it works, and sure, you can say that something happened to you. But there’s a huge distinction. You can accept it as evidence. It doesn’t mean everyone should have to. Christians would really benefit from knowing the difference between the two.
The empty space
‘I don’t know.’ It’s a sentence that’s sometimes hard to say, especially when you’re a Christian. Atheists don’t have much trouble with it. They’re genuinely fine with accepting they don’t have the answer and not collapsing. Why? Because they don’t think it’s losing.
They know their limits. They’re fine with it. A lot of Christians, unfortunately, feel like they’ve got to rush to fill every gap. They’re uncomfortable with silence. So, instead, they’ll try to build a confident answer out of what they have left. It doesn’t always work that way.
The normal reason
Turns out, atheists don’t need punishment to do the right thing. They don’t need heaven or hell to explain why it’s bad to be cruel and good to be kind. They’ll point to the real world. They’ll talk about fairness and trust as reasons to be a good person.
Christians could learn from that. They’d understand that you don’t need fear in every moral conversation. Loving and fair things have human words to describe them, after all. Being able to talk about ethics without religion? Now that’s a skill worth being proud of.
The small kindness
You’ll also see it in how atheists act. They’ll help somebody, no strings attached. Yes, really. They’re not going to bring up a lesson or message about how God told them to do it. They don’t believe in it. There’s no reason to turn a favor into a teachable moment.
That’s not to say that Christians aren’t giving people because, obviously, they are. But sometimes they’ll attach a lesson to it. Maybe they shouldn’t. Maybe, just maybe, they could learn from atheists. They could give for the sake of giving. Nothing more.
The steady voice
Don’t get us wrong, certainty is great. But sometimes it’s a way of hiding the truth. Atheists are great at spotting when someone’s using their certainty as an argument. They’ll call out people who say, ‘I’m sure.’ They’ll criticize them for not actually ending the conversation.
Why would that help Christians? Because they’d learn that faith doesn’t have to involve never pausing. They’d recognize that trust exists even when you’ve got questions. The loudest and surest answer in the room isn’t always the best one, or even the right one.
The closed loop
Circular reasoning is way too common in Christianity. You’ve probably heard it before. It’s when they say things like, ‘The Bible is true because it says so.’ Atheists don’t accept that. No, they’ll spot the loop before it even begins.
It’d really help Christians to have this skill. They’d be able to find the issues before building their entire argument on it. No, that doesn’t mean all of their arguments are wrong. It’s just that they should know what a real argument is. Hint, it’s not one that’s a circle.
The raised eyebrow
You won’t find many atheists blindly accepting what people in power say. It could be a famous pastor or a famous speaker, doesn’t matter. They know there’s a difference between being respected and being right about everything. Not every Christian gets that.
A lot of them accept what important people say without questioning. That’s not right. Sure, someone can know the Bible really well, but does that mean they know everything about history? Are they now experts in medicine? What are their motives? It’s worth asking.
The warm feeling
Strong feelings are one thing. Proof is another. Atheists understand that, and Christians should try paying a little more attention to it. You can feel calm, you can feel afraid. You can feel excited, you can feel guilty. That doesn’t make the claim right.
Everyone feels powerful things sometimes, but atheists recognize feelings aren’t facts. They’re part of being human. They’re not some kind of sign that what you’re thinking is true.
The extra click
It’s a fact. Atheists are skeptical. Very skeptical. Some of them are actually annoyingly good at it, but that’s a good thing. They’ll hear something cool and then check it first, instead of sharing immediately. It doesn’t matter that it makes them feel good.
It’s way more important for them to know the facts first. Some Christians struggle with that. Yes, they’ll see a miracle story and want to tell everyone about it. They want them to feel good, too. Perhaps they should be a little more careful next time.
The old chair
‘Why?’ is one of the most uncomfortable questions for a Christian. Atheists have no problem with it. In fact, they’ll even use it to talk about traditions people have done for ages. Why are people still doing it? They know that tradition doesn’t make something right.
That’s pretty important. A tradition can be familiar and beautiful, but it’s still worth questioning. Is it still good for us now? Or is it a rule about how people should behave, dressed up as tradition?
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
Atheists want religious people to answer 15 important questions
Atheists come up with questions about religion all the time in hopes of finally getting some straight answers to beliefs most follow blindly.
Atheists want religious people to answer 15 important questions
