The Christian Constipation Method

Does religious word salad have too much fiber?

Christians use words like salvation, grace, and redemption without defining them. As soon as an atheist allows any of these concepts into discourse without challenging them, the atheist begins to lose their ability to defend an argument with rationality.

In many debates between atheists and Christians, I notice a crucial moment when the atheist is so overwhelmed by the sheer volume and variety of claims by the Christian that they began to lose their ability to focus on one claim at a time. As soon as that happens, the Christian has the upper hand in the debate because they have introduced irrational concepts into what is supposed to be a rational conversation. I think of this as the tipping point. While I don’t assume most Christians are doing this on purpose, this is a sure way to introduce so much indigestible fiber into the conversation that the debate will become constipated.

If you listen carefully to any conversation, it’s obvious when we are in our comfort zones. Atheists are comfortable talking about reason, evidence, and science, while Christians are comfortable talking about emotions, the bible, and the doctrines of their religion. The adoption of rational thought inspires atheists to use a certain type of lexicon, while religiosity requires another. One might say “Well, these two types of language are simply opposite ways of communicating about the the world,” but I would argue otherwise. The language of rationality can be understood on a completely objective basis, while the language of religion is dependent on the subjective definitions of many of its fundamental terms.

Let’s take a look at some of these terms. For Christians, sin is very important to their religious faith. When we talk about faith, we are talking about the Merriam Webster definition of a “firm belief in something for which there is no proof.” This applies to the doctrines of any religion as well as a belief or trust in and loyalty to any god. One can have faith in many things, as long as there is a lack of, or only subjective or anecdotal evidence for, this belief.

Christians use this word in a different way. They talk about “having faith” because their type of faith is almost like a possession. Atheists do…