Friendly Atheists Heckle the Preaching! – Southampton Evangelism
We had a very small team in Southampton today, but even though we were few in number, so much happened. For the first forty minutes of the outreach, we decided to focus on one-to-one witnessing and tract work. During this time, all those on the team ended up having good conversations with people.
I spoke with a ninety-three-year-old Royal Navy veteran who had served in the Korean War. We joked that, based on the current state of the Navy, he may find himself being called back up. The man lamented the decline of society, and he suggested the reason for the fall is because, as a people, we have moved away from following the Bible and believing in God. I had to agree with him. However, it must be noted that this man is not a Christian. He could see all the issues and knew where the solutions were to be found, but he had not personally come to faith in the Lord Jesus.
The man told me he pulls out the Bible he was given in the Navy back in 1949, and he reads segments of it. I asked about his beliefs, and this then opened up a conversation about the gospel. At the end of the discussion, he shook my hand, saying how much he enjoyed our chat, and then took a tract and a copy of John’s Gospel. As he left, he said, “I will need to think about this more.”
Almost as soon as that conversation finished, I found myself speaking with a very friendly, though self-righteous, lady. She came from a mixed religious background and did not think herself that bad a sinner. In fact, she told us she had loved God perfectly. Sadly, this lady is also dying from cancer, so I urged her to consider eternity. I was able to share the gospel with her, and she admitted she was not as good as God and that she was sinful. At the end of the conversation, she took several gospel booklets and asked if she could come back to speak further another day.
While all this was going on, the team was kept busy speaking with people and engaging those who had stopped at the literature table. People were happy to browse the material and then ask good questions about Christianity. All were pointed to biblical answers and urged to trust in Christ.
It then came time for the preaching to commence. Ben preached first, speaking on “What People Often Say to Us”. In this message, he uses the common answers and objections people give to Christianity as a bridge to present the gospel. As he did so, a few people listened, including one young man I spoke with afterwards.
The young man was amazed we were on the streets, and he could not get over the fact that God had put us there. He shared that, even though he is spiritual, something happened the previous night that made him think about who God truly is. Now, here he was talking to us on the street. We had a good conversation about the person and nature of God, and the gospel. At the end of our chat, he took a copy of the Bible and the booklet, “Why Christianity?”
It was now my turn to preach. It was approaching 2 pm, so I asked Ben if he would be willing to preach again when I finished. Ben was willing, but the Lord was not. It turns out my open-air was going to last nearly an hour.
I started off by preaching on “Warning: Six Deadly Lies”. However, it would have been better to say “One Deadly Lie”. The first lie attracted hecklers to engage with the message. All the hecklers I had today were self-professed atheists, and all were very friendly. I love when people heckle, so I certainly encouraged them to express their thoughts and opinions.
The first heckler called out that there was no God, so we did a basic apologetic with him, but he could not stay too long as the person he was with dragged him away. However, his heckling set off a young man who would engage for nearly the full hour. This young man was polite, open, and friendly. He put forward his claim of atheism, so I asked him to explain why he held to that position. The reason he gave was that there were many opinions on who God is, so his conclusion was that this must mean God is not real. I pushed back, showing that a variety of views does not disprove anything. People have a variety of views on which football team is best, but that does not mean football does not exist. The man conceded, so I asked him to give me his best argument for atheism, his strongest case against Christianity. That argument never came.
For nearly an hour, we went back and forth, covering topics such as God’s existence, evolution, the Big Bang, Scripture, and the gospel, constantly returning to the good news. A crowd gathered, and other people engaged, including a physicist who admitted he could not answer the challenges put to him.
Throughout the open-air, people would request Bibles and booklets. At the end of the message, all the hecklers shook hands with me, and we parted on friendly terms. I fully support this kind of heckling: ask questions, engage with the answers, and remain friendly.
A black man from Zimbabwe who had listened for nearly an hour told me he enjoyed the discussion, but then he pointed at my Bible and said, “People used that book to enslave my people.” I replied, “People used this book to set your people free.” We had a good conversation about how people misuse Scripture, but that does not disprove the Bible. We also discussed the Book of Philemon in relation to slavery, and then William Wilberforce. The man was very friendly and took several booklets and a Gospel of John.
Though we were small in number today, the Lord did many wonderful things. Please pray for all those who heard the good news.
SDG!
_____
Josh Williamson is a full-time evangelist with The Open-Air Mission. Since 1853, OAM has been sharing the good news on the streets of the United Kingdom. To stay updated about the work of the Mission, please sign up for the free quarterly magazine and monthly prayer notes.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MAGAZINE AND PRAYER NOTES