I have a question concerning Atheists & contact with such individuals. I know a few people (co-workers) who are confessed Atheists. I however believe in GOD and his son Jesus Christ, I also attempt to live my life in a righteous manner, I’m not perfect, but when speaking with people (The Atheists included) I make sure I give GOD thanks for all the blessings that I am given. From the time I found that these folks did not believe in GOD I placed my bible on top of my desk for all to see simply because I want them to know first that I am a believer & secondly I have nothing to hide and do not feel ashamed & thirdly I feel really uncomfortable with them (Atheists) sitting behind or beside me. I don’t trust people whose only true belief is that there is no GOD.
My question is: Should I still have contact with such people or keep it to a minimum because I do have to work with these folks after all. Quite frankly people who don’t believe in God scare me, & I don’t want to be around them. Am I wrong, or misguided, is there a scripture I can read to help me better understand?
As believers we’re called to be in the world, but not of the world. That means we’ve been placed in an environment that’s largely opposed to Christianity, but that we’re not supposed to adopt its ways.
The reason for this is so we’ll stand out, causing people to look at us and wonder about us. When they see that we appear to be happier and more assured than they feel, more able to take the ups and downs of life in stride, they may come to us for comfort or advice when they’re down. When we treat them with love and respect they may wonder about the source of our love. And that will give us a chance to tell them about Jesus.
It’s the truest form of evangelism and the most effective because it’s real, not contrived. It could never happen if we were cloistered away and had no contact.
For a Bible passage try Matt. 9:9-12 where Jesus explained why He associated with unbelievers.