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Share one or two ways you or someone you know has lovingly responded to an attack on your/their Christian faith.
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Listening to them rather than arguing with them. Quoting scripture.
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One way that I tend to respond lovingly to others when they are attacking my faith is by using verses from the Bible, also by saying I might not agree with you but God has commanded me to love you, and to stay firm on my beliefs.
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Actually, several students come to mind for this question. High school students are very aware of attacks on Christianity in the culture. Some respond with arrogance, treating the problem as an intellectual debate that they can win through superior argument. In those students, I often see behavior in other areas that do not reflect Christ at work in their lives. Other students, equally aware of the attacks on Christianity, have a strong command of God’s scripture, but seem less obsessed with those intellectual battles. They tend to be the students who exhibit kindness and respect to teachers and classmates. They are more often the students who notice when others are left out and to try to include them. In the long run, the love of Christ that is fleshed out in their lives day to day will go much farther in defeating the attacks on Christianity than open, hostile, verbal warfare. Correct doctrine is essential to maturing in the faith, but the impact of a life growing in the fruit of the spirit has the power to impact the culture in a loving — and far more powerful — way.
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I believe in a young earth model, that Genesis does not lie and I understand that not everyone shares my understanding. I am the only high school teacher in my ACSI school that holds that view; the Creation/evolution debate has been a passion of mine for over 25 years. I have wonderful students with amazing parents that pray with me fervently for the school where I work. Sadly, I will not be working there much longer. Praying and listening to the Holy Spirit for guidance is imperative. Patience and as one commentator quoted from James 1, be slow to speak and quick to listen. Loving people through their crises, hearing them actually, and being able to keep your mouth shut when you are a sounding board are important tools to have in your belt when coupled with prayer.
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I have responded through patience and prayer.
