Except they really don’t know what they are talking about.
I don't like to generalize, but that's simply been my experience debating atheists over and over again. Sometimes they call me a coward for declining to debate, but I've come to view it as a fruitless exercise. My experience is that most atheists are trapped in cognitive dissonance and are unable to see out of their naturalistic bubble...and the "debate" usually consists of gotcha questions and straw man arguments ("Hee hee! You believe in an invisible man in the sky!").
I find it intellectually unfulfilling and a waste of time. So many atheists are trapped viewing Christianity in the Sunday-school-religion form. Which is why they make stupid arguments like "snakes can't talk!" or what-have-you.
I’ve run into those on FR and told them that if they want an excuse to reject God, they need to find a better one because that’s pretty weak.
“Sometimes [atheists] call me a coward for declining to debate, but I’ve come to view it as a fruitless exercise.”
Most of the time people do not believe the Gospel because of issues of morality and character rather than logic, reason, or evidence. That’s why these debates tend to be fruitless.
But sometimes God intervenes in their lives to prove He is real, if they are really open-minded enough to receive it. He did that for Larry Nevenhoven, who writes for WND:
http://www.wnd.com/2018/04/do-we-still-need-prophecy-and-spiritual-gifts/
Agreed. I came to view it as a fruitless exercise with overly intellectual Christians just as much or more.
I actually started playing dumb with such, letting them think I was stupid or ignorant. I found the oneupmanship with God’s Word repulsive.
In my opinion, no theology fosters this kind of overweening pride more than Calvinism (Reformed). I am not here denouncing the actual theology, but the intellectual pride behind it.