Kyle Beshears - Apatheism: How We Share When They Dont Care

Apatheism: How We Share When They Dont Care

Copyright 2021 by Kyle Beshears

Published by B&H Academic

Nashville, Tennessee

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-5359-9153-7

Subject Heading: THEISM / APATHEISM / GOD

Except where indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible, and CSB are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

The Web addresses referenced in this book were live and correct at the time of the books publication but may be subject to change.

Cover design by Darren Welch and Emily Keafer Lambright.

Figures designed by Christian Hilley.

Kyle Beshears has written, to my knowledge, the first full-length treatment of sharing our Christian faith with our apatheistic neighbors: those who simply do not care about questions of God, life, the universe, and everything. Beshears understands the cultural influences driving religious unconcern, and he provides helpful and practical suggestions for engaging lovingly and productively with non-religious friends. If you want to understand and impact our post-Christian age, I highly recommend this excellent volume.

Tawa Anderson , associate professor of philosophy, Oklahoma Baptist University

Weve been trained to share the gospel with adherents of other religions. Weve been trained to share the gospel with people who viscerally oppose Christianity. But what about that vast middle of folks who... just dont care? As people live their lives unaware of their dire spiritual state, evangelism to the uninterested is perhaps our greatest challenge. Apatheism is the book you need to reach a world that doesnt seem to care. With painstaking scriptural focus and a heart full of compassion for the lost, Beshears lays out an approach that is both biblical and wise. If you care about the people who dont care, you need this book.

Daniel Darling , senior vice president of communications, National Religious Broadcasters, and pastor of teaching and discipleship, Green Hill Church, Mt. Juliet, TN

In a secular age, belief in God is not just contestable, but also uninteresting. Theres a new virtue in town: apathy, especially when it comes to ultimate questions about God, meaning, and happiness. In Apatheism , Kyle Beshears expertly diagnoses the root causes of this indifference toward the God question and provides a helpful model for sharing the good news of Jesus to the uninterested. This book is essential reading for anyone seeking to effectively share the gospel with those who have lost touch with that deepest desire of every human heart for the pursuing love of God.

Paul M. Gould , associate professor of philosophy of religion and director of the MA in Philosophy of Religion program, Palm Beach Atlantic University

A wise pastor once told me the biggest problem we face as Christian leaders is not hostility but apathy. And thats the problem that Kyle Beshears helps us address in this important new book. Its not helpful for us to answer questions few bother to ask anymore. Beshears helps us stoke the latent desires of unbelievers to want to want to believe.

Collin Hansen , editorial director, The Gospel Coalition

Twenty years ago, when I took my first steps into the field of apologetics, non-Christians sometimes misunderstood what I said and often despised the claims that I madebut no one ever said, I dont care whether these things are true or false. But things have changed. Today, I hear some variation of this attitude over and over from high school and college students. Its not that these young people are vehemently anti-Christian; they simply dont care whether or not Christianity is true. Apologists in todays culture must have the capacity not only to respond to false claims about Christianity but also to engage with this growing sense of apathy toward faith. In Apatheism: How We Share When They Dont Care , Kyle Beshears provides a clear road map for sharing the gospel with those who claim that they arent interested in whether or not the claims of Jesus are true.

Timothy Paul Jones , vice president of doctoral studies and chair of apologetics, ethics, and philosophy, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

In the New Testament, we often read about unbelievers being hostile toward Christians and their faith, but in many places today, we arent dealing so much with a hostility toward the gospel problem (though thats increasing in places), but with a happy without the gospel problem. How do we reach happy pagansthose who are apathetic toward belief in God? With the rise in secularism in the West, including here in the States, I am thrilled to have Beshearss Apatheism in print. He provides us with important truth to consider in order to be both faithful and effective in our witness, as we radiate a contagious joy in Christ, and as we reflect the love of our God before a broken world in need.

Tony Merida , dean and professor of preaching and theology, Grimk Seminary; director of theological training, Acts 29; and pastor for preaching and vision, Imago Dei Church, Raleigh, NC

This book is for those who care to share with those who dont care. Its helpful for everyone to understand the religious, non-religious, and irreligious sentiments of our culture. Increasingly, vast numbers of people simply dont care about the question of God. You might remember the adage, You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot force it to drink. But there are things we might do to make it want to drink, and that is in part what this book is abouthow to get those apathetic to God to begin caring about the question of God and perhaps the gospel of Christ.

Corey Miller , president and CEO, Ratio Christi campus apologetics alliance

The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest, says our Lord in Luke 10:2. That word for send has often been explained to have a somewhat violent connotation, as if it must be done by force. Well, it has become clear to me that the Lords method of answering this prayer in this age will mean waking and shaking potential harvesters from the sleep of apathy and preparing them for a harvest field where people are numbed by apathy. In Apatheism , Beshears helps us understand a prevailing mindset of the culture around us. This book helps us become better missionaries and better students of our culture, equipped to engage hearts and minds to see the need they dont know they have. This work is a gift!

Noah Oldham , senior director of deployment, Send Network, North American Mission Board, and lead pastor, August Gate Church, Belleville, IL

To my daughter, Whitney. May you be raised in a home where our affection for the Lord Jesus is evident in all that we do as a family.

H ow do we share the gospel when people dont care about God? This question isnt one that can be answered by just one person. Certainly, thats been the case for me. From discussions Ive had with friends and colleagues to reading books and articles written by authors far sharper and wiser than me, I owe a lot to many. Thank you George Martin, Luke Bray, Nicholas Walburn, Stephen Lewis, Tim Stoner, Jared Halverson, Brad Hill, Dave Kakish, Brad Mills, Jud Daughtry, Tawa Anderson, Paul Gould, Chris Morgan, and my students for your engagement, support, feedback, and encouragement over the years. Thank you to the editors of the Evangelical Missiological Society Series and Themelios for allowing me a public space to discuss and debate my thoughts on this subject. Thank you to the team at B&HChris Thompson, Audrey Greeson, Sarah Landers, Jessi Wallace, and my anonymous reviewerfor your hard work and helpful suggestions. A special thanks to the church I pastor for giving me the opportunity to spend the necessary time to think, evangelize, and write. And a very special thanks to my beautiful bride, Heather, whose constant love and support sustained me. Finally, thank you, reader, for joining me on the Great Commission task of proclaiming the gospel to all peopleeven those who dont seem to care. Soli Deo Gloria .