Have we forgotten how to act like Christ?

I was impressed by the attendance of both skeptics and believers at the Creationist speaker and showing of Religulous this weekend, but was disappointed in the approach some believers took towards the skeptics. During the creationist speaker I was grateful that some members of the newly formed Skeptic's Society at Tech, composed primarily of atheists and agnostics, were in attendance. The skeptics were the ones near the front primarily dominating the Q&A period. However, I was disheartened to see an unloving attitude presented by some Christians in the audience; demonstrated by what I heard being mumbled under breath. I'm not implying that being skeptical of intelligent design makes one "unchristian," but tearing people down, in an Ad hominem sense, for asking legitimate questions isn't Christian.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing from the audience. Here were skeptics trying to ask questions in a group where a majority were likely Christians. And yet, people were talking behind their backs wishing that they would go away? These questions are opportunities to understand the skeptic perspective, and to discover what sort of answers skeptics are searching for in their pursuit of truth. Yet I see Christians complaining about their questions. I hope this isn't an attitude people are taking when they approach skeptics. What sort of evangelism is that? Where in scripture is Jesus found answering a question by insulting the posed question (save maybe his own disciples)? Certainly, Jesus exposes hypocrisy in individuals and is aware of people who are arguing for the sake of trapping him, but does so in a loving manner.

In Religulous, Bill Maher made a comedy out of hypocrisy, borderline blasphemy, and stupidity in the church. Why does such a film even exist? I feel that it came as a consequence from Christians having a lack of knowledge of what a Christian is and acting like it. Christians don't lack the ability to defend themselves, but it appears that no one is taking the effort to learn how. Jesus does not call us to blindly follow him. Asking us to have a faith like a child does not imply being gullible, but to have the curiosity to ask questions and being genuine enough to back them up. Occasionally, a humble "I don't know" is necessary for certain questions. Answers are out there. However, merely going to church and calling yourself a Christian is about the equivalent of standing in a garage and calling yourself a car. The cost of discipleship is about study, devotion, self sacrifice, and a willingness to answer the call to follow Him and His actions.

It'd be impossible to find a Christian who does not believe on some level that the Bible is the written word of God - but it's not difficult to find those who don't take that statement seriously. We need to be studying all aspects of scripture from multiple viewpoints, especially atheistic. This way, when someone asks a question regarding the authority of the book that you base your spirituality on, you're able to understand what they're talking about. There are several Atheists I've come across who know the Bible better than the average Christian. More importantly however, while knowledge is essential, we need to first be acting like Christians.