Defending the Truth on the Campus of the University of Alabama
| by | Kyle Butt, M.Div. |
On Tuesday, October 19, I was invited by the Tide for Christ campus ministry, in conjunction with the Northport church of Christ campus ministry, to be involved in a multimedia presentation refuting atheism and defending New Testament Christianity. Several days prior to the event, approximately 15 students from Heritage Christian University in Florence, Alabama, in conjunction with several of the students involved in the campus ministries, blanketed the campus, inviting students and handing out literally thousands of flyers about the event. Trae Durden, the campus minister with Tide for Christ, originally organized the event in conjunction with the AAA (Alabama Atheists and Agnostics). Trae worked with them to make sure that several atheists and agnostics on campus were in attendance so that the atheistic position would be well-represented. In all, some 150-200 people were in attendance.
Trae originally wanted to set up a debate with Sam Harris (one of the nation’s leading atheistic writers and speakers), but Harris required $50,000, making his presence cost prohibitive. Instead, several video clips were shown of the world’s most well known atheists expressing their atheistic points of view. I then responded to the assertions, and presented evidence confirming Christian theism. Questions from the audience were then taken. Several students from the AAA and the school’s philosophy department attended, and asked questions or made statements regarding their beliefs. The question and answer session lasted over an hour. The questions raised were mostly from the atheistic point of view. Each question was answered with solid biblical, historical, and scientific information. The truth was defended, God was glorified, and atheism was refuted.
In addition, the Northport church of Christ and the Central church of Christ contributed $500 dollars so that a host of books and materials could be given away free to all those in attendance. Those who attended and received the books seemed extremely grateful, and it was exciting to be able to see atheists and agnostics leave the event with materials that could potentially save their souls. It was also thrilling to be able to review the plan of salvation, knowing that it may have been the first, and possibly only, time that some had heard, or will ever hear, the truth on the subject. I was thrilled to be a part of God’s activities on the campus of the University of Alabama. We pray that many more such events will take place across the country and that the borders of God’s Kingdom will continue to spread. Please visit our Facebook page for pictures of the event.