Evangelism in an age of distraction
By Joy Hadden
Isn’t it an interesting time to be alive?
What do I mean by that? Well, we have AI apps and websites as personal assistants at our fingertips online; medical advancements where premature babies 21 weeks old can survive; and the ability to attend an online business meeting while still in our slippers!
But contemporary life is also "interesting" in the British, somewhat sceptical, sense of the word! I asked ChatGPT, "If you were the Devil, how would you distract people today?" It’s response? Information overload, encouraging pleasure over purpose, undermining meaning, and twisting truth into merely opinion.
Interesting and "interesting", right?
I was reminded of C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters where a senior devil mentors a junior devil in how to tempt a human away from God. Using subtle temptation, and nurturing pride and false humility, the devils seek to "gently" exploit human nature and flip our perspective of good and bad. I'm involved with the C.S. Lewis Institute Fellows Program - a discipleship programme that leads to significant life-change. Letter 14 of Lewis' The Screwtape Letters is read as part of the Fellows Program, under the topic of "humility" - where stark contrast is made between concern with self and Christ’s humility.
Christians are to have the attitude of Christ, depend on our Creator’s power and our Saviour’s grace, and to love God and love our neighbour (Matthew 24v34-40). I suspect like me, you have atheist, Muslim, Buddhist, and LGBTQ+ affirming neighbours. So, how can we follow Christ's example as we share our faith? Drawing on Christ’s humility and humbling ourselves are, I believe, paramount in our current day and age.
Pointers for sharing our faith
An atheist neighbour and I were discussing some of the big questions, like "What is the point of life?" and "What happens when we die?" She responded: "Well, Christianity seems nice for you, but for me, life has no meaning… I’ll turn back to cosmic dust when I die."
Christianity is more than just "nice"! And Jesus' exclusive claim to salvation through Him is inclusive for everyone who believes in Him.
My point? Conversations with our neighbour can be challenging.
In my own journey to Christianity and experience of sharing my faith, I want to mention three things that may be helpful…
Moral superiority or an attitude that "I’m right and you need to agree", should be replaced by authentic humility, e.g. "I’m still learning, but here’s what and Who changed my life..."
The aim is not to win arguments or claim to possess truth, rather; develop curiosity, respect and model faith through relationships. Remember; Truth is a person (Jesus Christ; John 14v6), not a possession.
Pride and false or performative humility should be distinguished from confidence in Christ and genuine love for our neighbour.
Humility is expressed in prayerfulness and our dependence on God. So, our starting point should be on our knees in prayer to our Heavenly Father about our neighbour, and for the help of the Holy Spirit.
To be clear, curiosity, open-mindedness and an attitude of humility are not the same as an open-hermeneutic or diluting our theological convictions. While attitudes and theology are very much inter-connected; they are also independent of one another[1]. We need to learn to walk the fine line between a bold faith and a gentle tone by speaking truth in love (Ephesians 4v15); true humility makes the gospel beautiful, not just believable.
By pointing my atheist neighbour to Jesus’s life - how He treated people, what He taught and did - she is becoming a little curious. While I don’t know how God is working in her life, I believe that He is.
So, it's a great time to be alive and to be a co-worker with God. What a privilege to tell our neighbours, and anyone, that God loves them and that Christ died for them.
I explore this more in; Hadden, J. S. (2025). Addressing a Sibling Rivalry: In Seeking Effective Christian–Muslim Relations, to What Extent Can Comparative Theology Contribute? An Evangelical Christian Perspective. Religions, 16(3), 297. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16030297
Joy is a Ministry Apprentice with Carrubbers Christian Centre and also facilitates the Fellows Program with the C.S. Lewis Institute in Edinburgh. Joy values time with family, friends and pets and enjoys reading, cycling and random trips in her campervan.