Why I Usually Stay Away From Arguing About Religion
Back when I was newly saved, people really complained that I'm a Bible thumper, when the pastor tells me I should read the Bible more, somebody says that I use the Bible in debating with others. I really can't forget how I thought getting engaged in arguing for Jesus in debates was the only way to go. It's really a sad thing any Christian can get severely misled into believing that the only way to reach the lost is to be as cheesy and offensive as possible. No wonder some Christians are so engaged in conspiracy theories to the point they can be ineffective witnesses of the Gospel.
What has debating against the followers of false religion done for the lost? It hasn't shown any love but only an argumentative and an angry spirit towards them. 2 Timothy 2:16 says, "But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness." This is all about foolish discussions with willfully stupid people. It's pretty certain that if you're going to debate with a fool, it's going to be very stressful. Suffering for the cause of Christ is a noble task but to get stress over debating with apologists of false religions is really unnecessary stress. It's like laboring in the field without the necessary equipment to finish the work.
Proverbs 26:4 says, "Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him." My experience of arguing with fools only gave me migraines and made me more temperamental as a result. Some of these people don't even think properly, they're very emotional and they frequently miss the point even if the point is made clear as day. Some of them don't even bother getting the context right. They get emotional, they get offended and expect them to give all sorts of stupid replies without understanding anything. It gets very annoying that they don't even bother to understand anything. For them, they're really that smart as Proverbs 26:12 says, "Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? There is more hope of a fool than of him."
Sharing the Gospel and defending the faith is what Christians are called to do and not to argue with people. The hard truth of the Gospel has to be shared in love and not in the way you'd go fully offensive on people. After sharing, if the person refuses to listen then it's his or her problem because they heard the Gospel, they reject it and it's their problem. Defending the faith is to provide evidence for one's beliefs but it's not a call to be argumentative against people. It's knowing what you believe, why you believe it and acting on what Christians know and believe.