More secular thinkers are turning to Christianity, wrote Nathan Guy in “Some of Christianity’s Biggest Skeptics Are Becoming Vocal Converts.” He asked, “How do we distinguish between those who have fully accepted the truth and those who have adopted the faith as a sociopolitical tool or cultural accessory?”
Our readers offered answers on social media. “By their fruits, of course,” wrote one person on X. An Instagram user added, “I’m okay with asking, ‘Is their faith merely intellectual?’ as long as we also ask, ‘Is so-and-so’s faith merely prayerful?’ or ‘Is so-and-so’s faith merely experiential?’ We have to stop pretending an intellectual pursuit of God is somehow inferior to any other pursuit of him.”
Other readers questioned these conversions’ significance. “It seems like a lot of the former atheists who are coming over are doing so for the culture war—they prefer ‘traditional’ values,” said a reader on Instagram. Another found it “unlikely that these three individuals [A. N. Wilson, Tom Holland, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali] are examples of a greater trend.” Even if they were, “the validity of theism doesn’t rest on how many people endorse it or find it somehow more appealing than atheism.” Whether or not a few notable converts reflect a broader shift, Christians always ought to be ready to give the reason for the hope that they have.
Kate Lucky, senior editor, engagement & culture
The Uneasy Conscience of Christian Nationalism
If you truly want to be big tent, why not have an article from both sides of the evangelical political spectrum? CT could have just as easily featured an article on “The Uneasy Conscience of the Christian Left” or “The Soul of Evangelicals for Harris.” I canceled my subscription to the Christian Century long ago. I don’t want to cancel my subscription to Christianity Today.
Gene Frost, West Chicago, IL
A Dating App Dilemma at Church
The only thing I would have added to Kevin Antlitz’s response is that maybe this little boy had a mental illness that cannot be helped. What would other parents do in a situation where your child cannot act “normal”? It’s an impossible ask for people who are not familiar with mental illness and the pain and suffering that goes with it.
Claudia Davidson, Bothell, WA
The Soul of MAGA
I am suspicious that Americans’ love of television gave rise to Trump’s current mythos. It seems the most clear motivation is the desire to be seen and heard in a society that his supporters feel has excluded them.
Johnny Nickel, Birmingham, AL
A Vision for Repair
The Catholic church near my home runs a monthly repair café where skilled professionals and gifted amateur craftsmen and craftswomen will fix and repair almost anything, from old vacuum cleaners to laptops. You can sit and enjoy coffee and cake while the work takes place. The youngest repairer is 16; the oldest over 80. But the major issue [in society] is “How do we repair the breaks caused by conflict on social media?” With algorithms giving us views like our own, it’s easy to go down some very deep rabbit holes where the light of reason is never seen.
David Parish, London, UK
Making Space for ‘Yearners’
If you look at a herd of animals, there are animals in the center completely surrounded and protected, and there are animals on the edge. The ones in the center don’t come in contact with what is outside the herd; the ones on the edges do. “Edge people” are the ones evaluating and negotiating those outside and inside the herd. They are in contact with both. Evangelicalism wants them to become insiders. But maybe they are doing and being exactly what they need to do and be. Maybe orthodoxy is the museum of Christianity, and it is absolutely necessary and valuable. But maybe we need other ways of being and thinking too. Luther was a heretic. Jesus was a heretic to many Jews. Yearners implies they would be better off to move to the center of the herd. Maybe not.
Patricia Hunt, Staunton, VA
Calling Is More Than Your Job
I felt Steven Zhou’s response omitted the most relevant question: Should Christians be seeking a vocational calling at all? The idea that God specifically calls each believer to a career (or a spouse, a college, etc.) is not well supported by Scripture and, as Zhou articulates, often leads to disappointment and frustration. Instead of stretching the idea of a vocational call to make it fit reality, we should instead pursue with wisdom the faithfulness in our work to which all believers are called.
Justin Myers, Alexandria, VA
The Man Who Made Global Methodism Possible
While I appreciate that theologically CT has more affinity to the GMC, as a lifelong member of the UMC I would have appreciated at least some representation of the alternative views readily available about the conduct of the WCA and Mr. Boyette during the separation process. There are two sides to the story. Instead, we got a hagiographic depiction of him and the nascent GMC. I recognize that I am not unbiased in this matter, but to anyone truly familiar with all of the difficult back-and-forth during this denominational split, this article was astoundingly biased. The descriptor puff piece seems apt.
Tim Griffy, Richardson, TX
