Talking about faith with someone who does not believe in the existence of God and explains the world purely through a material lens can feel challenging. This is especially true when our interlocutors understand not only the origin of the world and humanity differently, but also the very foundations of knowledge, morality, and the meaning of life. Yet, a Christian conversation is not a debate that must be won at all costs. Its goal, first and foremost, is to listen to the other person, to understand what questions and convictions stand behind his views, and to quietly bear witness to what the Church believes. How should we speak about God with committed materialists? We have asked some priests blessed with the gift of the word and long years of service at God’s altar to share their experience.
Archpriest Igor Fomin, lecturer at the Sretensky Theological Academy, rector of the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky at the Moscow State Institute for International Relations (MGIMO):
A materialist is also a believer. He believes that God does not exist and that everything is governed by chance. He will defend his position, and we will defend ours as Orthodox Christians who believe in God, in the Holy Trinity. And very often, these positions are, of course, diametrically opposed. However, the atheist’s position is built on denying what we have. It is not built on his own arguments and observations because, to him, God does not exist—and you cannot build a position on something that isn’t there. You can only build it on the denial of whom or what you are rejecting. This means an atheist must first acknowledge that the One being spoken of does exist, and only then try to prove His non-existence. This is probably the only standpoint from which we can engage in a dialogue with an atheist.
Archpriest Igor Fomin. Photo: hramnevskogo.ru
Naturally, our goal is not to convince him that God exists. Our position is that we must give him the opportunity to realize, see, and think about it for himself and, of course, make his own decision. From his perspective, this means planting seeds of doubt about his own beliefs, but from ours, it means parting the veil to a deeper understanding of God. Understanding God can only come through personal experience.
For instance, we can look at the Book of Job from the Old Testament. While suffering and having lost everything, the Righteous Job first speaks with his religious friends—who are often described as religious dogmatists. In theory, everything they say is correct, yet Job remains unsatisfied. Instead, he demands an encounter and a conversation with God. And this conversation, naturally, takes place. Job’s friends say all the right things, but they miss one crucial point that we should probably apply to our own conversations: They do not try to pray for Job so that the Lord might give him an answer. Our dialogue must be built as a prayer for that person. There is no need to say, “I will pray for you,” or anything like that. Instead, we must genuinely start caring for our interlocutor and feeling for him from the bottom of our hearts. This is a vital condition for a conversation with an atheist. This is the first point: We do not converse with him to prove we are right, but so that he, too, may find happiness and come to salvation.
The second point, which is of course very important, is being able to listen to a person. He may be talking nonsense from our point of view, bringing up confusing arguments, but he still needs to be given a chance to speak—within reason, naturally. He should state his position, and we do not necessarily have to accept it, but rather process it through dialogue with him. I am talking about respecting our interlocutor.
The third point is that we need to have strong arguments. The strongest argument in a conversation with an atheist is our own prayers and spiritual practices. If we say or do something, we must believe in it ourselves, test it on ourselves, and practice what we preach. It is a very powerful argument when we do not speak of some detached truths, but of what we have personally experienced. In my view, this is a very important aspect.
These arguments also include our intellectual knowledge, which confirms our faith. In such conversations, when talking about personal matters, instead of saying “The Church teaches this and that,” it is sometimes better to say, “There was a moment in my life when I…”, and so on. Naturally, everything we say must be true. There should be absolutely no suspicion that you have made something up or are lying. You must not be afraid to admit that you don’t know something or don’t understand certain mysteries of faith.
What is absolutely unacceptable? Insulting your interlocutor (e.g., “You are a fool”, “You are godless”) or playing on fear (e.g., “You will go to hell”). In other words, we must not intimidate him. And I believe the ultimate secret of our conversation is love for this person. Compassion, love, and empathy for him—all of this matters. Under no circumstances should we mock another person’s beliefs and questions. For an atheist, the Gospel is not proof, yet it is precisely from the perspective of the Gospel that we must speak to him. Paradoxical as it may sound—if it is neither an argument, nor an authority, nor proof to him, why should we use it? Because the Word of God heals absolutely everyone who comes into contact with it. And quotes from the Holy Scriptures influence people in a truly wondrous way.
The only way to explain to a non-believer that God is continuously present in his life is by drawing parallels to his everyday experience. For example, take the relationship between parents and children. A child thinks (and the younger he is, the more certain he is) that he does everything in life on his own. In reality, he is under the constant care and protection of his parents. Just as a human infant cannot survive without parents, so also in our in lives—we believe we can achieve things on our own, but ultimately, if it were not for the Lord, we would have vanished from earth long ago. Although, we cannot prove this—we can only show it. A materialist won’t believe us right away, but when something akin to a miracle happens to him, it might make him pause and realize that this is truly the case. As the Apostle Paul says, faith cometh by hearing (Rom. 10:17).
But we won’t prove anything with miracles. There is even a saying among Orthodox Christians: “Miracles prove nothing—they only show.” This is why we should read the Book of Job. At the end of the Book, Job speaks with the Lord. And for Job, this conversation is truly saving—it explains absolutely everything to him. Yet, we won’t understand a thing from this conversation. It is amazing!
So the main thing is to display love, to show a non-believer that you are a person of faith and that you love him. That is the only way. We won’t prove anything—empty talk will only lead to a negative effect. But showing that we love him is a truly powerful approach. Should we speak about God? When it comes to children and teenagers, we need to speak to God about our children more than we talk to them about God. Although, of course, we should still speak to children about God constantly.
Every non-believer—and indeed, every single person—has his own priorities. Some are tech-minded, others are philosophers, and others are simple folk. As much as possible, we need to speak to them on their own level. This does not mean judging their education, but rather speaking the language they understand. That is what creates a truly powerful, profound effect. But let me repeat: Without love and prayer, we can accomplish nothing. It is imperative that the person speaking about God and faith hold absolutely no pride or sense of superiority over others: “Now I’m going to tell, show, and explain everything to you, and you’ll finally get it! Look how smart and wonderful I am!” You shouldn’t be in the picture at all. You must do this solely for the glory of God and out of love for that person.
