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Key Bible Verse: But God's angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. (Romans 1:18, The message) Dig Deeper: Romans 1:18-21

When it comes to sharing the gospel, many of us frankly feel somewhat apathetic or insecure. One reason for this is the absence of an accurate picture of the role the Christian mission has played in the great sweep of history.

This quest for the truth becomes more urgent in light of the particular version of history being advanced by a variety of articulate atheists or "anti-theists." They assert that a serious study of the past demonstrates that Christianity is not benevolent, or merely benign, but actually bad.

As this storyline goes, the church went on to ban books, suppress science and womanhood, and plunge once-noble Europe into the Dark Ages. Bent on taxing people to fund their material and moral excesses, the church's leadership crusaded across the Middle Ages, skewering infidels, racking skeptics, and burning dissidents. Thankfully, however, some courageous intellectuals finally revolted against the church's Darth Vader-like grip and birthed the Renaissance. They followed it up with the magnificent Enlightenment, staving off blind religion.

This is what is being taught as "history." Can you see why people steeped in this tale might be resistant to the Christian message or dis-couraged about sharing it with others?

—Daniel Meyer in Witness Essentials

My Response: How would I respond to these and similar anti-theist claims?

Adapted from Witness Essentials (IVP, 2012) by permission. All rights reserved by the copyright holder and/or the publisher. May not be reproduced.

Copyright © 2012 by Christianity Today/Men of Integrity magazine. Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Lord, help me to see the truth as you see it, so that I can have courage to share my faith.

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