"Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive." - Proverbs 17:28.
Regardless of your religious affiliation, we should all be able to agree with this particular concept. Indeed, we see it in modern proverbs, too. "Some people seem smart until you hear them speak", or "better to be silent and thought of as a fool than to speak out of term and remove all doubt". These are just two examples. And it's true. When you speak about things you know nothing about, you do look very stupid. And we all know someone who does it.
As an apologist, I obviously see it in greater concentrations, but Christians in general are likely to encounter this phenomenon when sharing our faith. We live in a time and place where pretending to know the Bible is popular, but actually knowing it is another thing altogether. The result? Atheist cliches run rampant.
Of course, I could dedicate this whole article to just one example. I could point out that atheists typically know about the pork and shellfish prohibition, but can rarely name one other unclean animal. Or I could point out that they love to speak about the flood, which any Sunday schooler could tell you about, yet wouldn't have a clue who Edom are, much less the specifics of the judgement they received. All too often, atheists know the basics, but as much as they claim they know about the Bible, most of them have never even touched one.
But one thing I notice is that even the ones that have never did so with any due diligence. It shouldn't need to be said, but there is a world of difference between reading and studying. This difference comes down to comprehension. Technically, though I can read a French document, it will mean nothing to me, because I cannot understand French. And this is how the Bible seems to many people.
One thing that particularly hinders atheists in this regard is that the most popular translation in our language is 400 years old. In other words, it's not even really our language anymore. English has changed a fair amount even since I was a child. Imagine what 4 centuries has done to it.
To give an example, consider the word "evil". It seems like such a simple word. It is an inherently negative term. It means bad things. Wicked things. Sin, effectively. To us, there is almost a perfect contrast between "good" and "evil", with God being the most good, and Satan being the most evil. So, what does an atheist do when he picks up his KJV and sees "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things" (Isaiah 45:7)? Le gasp! God creates evil! So God isn't all good after all, right?
This is where more modern translations help out by rendering the word as "calamity", or "chaos". But even without these translations, we can draw the same understanding from the context. In the 1600s, "evil" was a much broader term. It was not contrasted with good, but with peace. Not every good thing is peaceful, however. Punishment for evil is a good thing. In fact, it is so good that it is the very reason God gives us our human governments (Romans 13:1-7). The government, our ministers for our good, bear the sword, in order that the wicked will be afraid.
Thus, a studious person will understand Isaiah 45:7 after a certain amount of thought. They will come to understand that, while it is less common in our time, "evil" could be something morally upright in the 1600s, just as "bully" was once a positive thing. More famously, even the word "gay" once referred to happiness, and had absolutely nothing to do with sexuality. The former meaning, however, has almost completely fallen out of use.
But a less diligent atheist will take Isaiah 45:7 and run with it. "I know what you believe better than you do! Your God creates evil! He's not all good! No free will defence for you! Hahahahahaha!" No, slow down, think about what it says, and if you still don't understand, there's more than likely a reason the only ones who share your interpretation are those who are equally sloppy. Worst case scenario, we have search engines you can use.
Of course, if you're particularly sloppy, then not even finding the truth will deter you from boasting in your folly. Though I would be quite surprised if such an atheist even clicked the link to this article, much less read this far. But to other atheists, if you're bragging in your wisdom, surely you wish to actually be wise enough to be worth bragging about? Why would you take such joy in such simplicity? You would stake your eternal destiny on such sloppy practices?
Of course, even if you do not come to faith in Christ, it would at least be wiser to know why you reject Him so. Imagine a world in which everyone just believes random things without knowing what lead them to such beliefs - much less keeps them in them. This would make, and keep, the whole world stupid. Even getting the right answers with the wrong methods should be considered less than ideal.
To avoid such a sorry state of affairs in our own lives, we should all take the time to study before we speak. When we do this, I believe the most likely outcome is faith in Christ. Of course, I am biased in this direction, as it is the destination I reached along that very road. But many other atheists reached the same conclusions. The evidence, contrary to the lazy atheist mantra, does, in fact, exist, and it is compelling enough to convince a reasonable mind. When we look at the historical evidence alone, we find that Jesus was a historical figure who really died as the Bible records, and it is quite clear that He rose again after. Nothing but the unsubstantiated assumption that He couldn't have risen would compel us to seek another solution.
Of course, if Christ has not risen, the Christian faith is in vain. That, and all the benefits it brings, such as reason, morality, and even science. But if Christ is risen, not only is the Christian faith true, but also effective, for it is the very method of our salvation. Other religions have their views, all of which involve doing something. Perhaps you must obey specific commandments to be saved. Perhaps you must simply do more good than bad, or do good things to atone for your bad. Whatever the case, every other religion requires your works to some degree. But Christianity is the other way around. We do not do good in order to get to God, He does good in order to bring us to Himself. This leads to gradual reform in our lives, and ultimately, at the end of our lives, having confessed Him as Lord, and believed in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, Jesus will raise us, too.