On this day, five years ago, I wrote this…and nothing has changed!

I got an email recently from an adolescent atheist mocking my decision to make “Atheist Tuesday” posts an occasional blog item instead of weekly. Here it is:

SUBJECT: Laughter

Wish you could hear mine. [Presumably his own laughter]

Quitters never win and winners never quit, Steve.

I like the fact that your “Evangelism Schedule” and “Evangelism Training” posts have received no comments, not even from Christians, while your “atheists are bad” post has received over fifty.

Keep up the good work.

Yes, it’s a sad fact that this blog will never be popular.

If I wanted to pander to atheists, I suppose that it would be more popular, but why would I want that? I will end up having to answer over and over again the same Googleable questions that are found ad nauseum on Christian apologetic sites’ comments sections. You know, questions like these:

• What makes your story of creationism fundamentally different from all the others that exist now, have existed before, and will exist in the future?
• Why is there at least some evidence for our scientific theories, but none at all for your creationism?
• Why does your God support slavery, murder, etc.

Remember, this is an evangelism blog “written to be an encouragement to those who share their faith and a motivation to those who don’t.” (Steve’s note: The emphasis of this blog changed in 2013.)

I found I was getting off-track and wasting my time answering questions that never lead to salvation. That is, I can try and answer all those questions, but really, atheists will not believe the truth by my answers, only if they have been called by the Holy Spirit.

So, back to the adolescent atheist’s email….

Yes, I admit it. This blog will never be popular. Ever. I’d love to have more people sample this site but I’m not naive. I understand that an evangelism blog has a very limited audience. Here’s why:

• Bill Bright has stated in his 1995 book “The Coming Revival,” that 2% of Christians share their faith. Out of those 2% most are repelled by biblical evangelism because they don’t understand it, dismissing it as too harsh and judgmental. I don’t expect them to visit. (Sadly, a Barna study showed that born again Christians say they actually did share the Gospel at least once this past year to someone with different beliefs, in the hope that they might accept Jesus Christ as their Savior.)
• Another subset of that 2% who evangelize won’t come back to this site because their way of witnessing is better and “that guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about anyway.”
• Of those who do share their faith in a biblical manner—those that understand that using the Law, the 10 Commandments, is the most effective way for sinners to understand why they  are going to Hell and need a Savior—even they eventually lose their zeal (for the most part) and don’t want to be reminded of the urgency of this irksome task, which is the whole purpose of this blog. I don’t expect them to visit that often.

• The other 98% of Christians will not be interested in this type of site because they are too concerned with other things: potlucks, worship practice, sports, weddings,  family rearing, life. All good things, important things, of course, but shouldn’t evangelism be included? I expect them to stumble on this site accidentally then quickly click on over to a Christian Facebook page.

I’m reminded of that famous quote from Oswald J. Smith:

“Oh my friends… we are loaded down with countless church activities while the real work of the church—that of evangelizing and winning the lost—is almost entirely neglected. The Body of Christ is not a pleasure cruiser on its way to Heaven, but a battleship stationed at the very gates of Hell.”

• Non Christians (the non-atheist kind) will not understand why this site needs to exist. It’s a waste of time. Stupid. They won’t visit again.

• Atheists will visit for a limited time and only because they want to ridicule this writer and his faith. Eventually they, too, will leave in frustration due to his fundamentalist, narrow-minded, Stone-Age thinking. I expect them to visit haphazardly.

But I’m stuck. I can’t write with passion about anything else!  I must encourage believers to take the step and experience the great adventure that is Biblical evangelism. There is nothing else I can do, so I’ll just  have to be satisfied with my limited audience.

Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.

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