I’m excited to tell you about a new site launched today by my friend Brandon Vogt.
It’s called StrangeNotions.com.
I think it will be a great resource for catechists and catechetical leaders dealing with people influenced by New Atheist authors like Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins.
Strange Notions: A digital areopagus
StrangeNotions.com is designed to be a kind of “digital areopagus”…a place where atheists and Catholics can dialogue about God, religion, and the meaning of life.
Check out this awesome trailer created by the very talented Cory Heimann:
You’ll recall from Acts 17:16-34, the Areopagus was the place in ancient Athens where people gathered to discuss all manner of new ideas about philosophy and religion. St. Paul spoke there when he visited and engaged the Athenians about their temple to “an unknown God” and Christ’s resurrection. The Athenians responded with, “you bring some strange notions to our ears; we should like to know what these things mean.”
This website hopes to do the same thing today. The goal is to create a place where open-minded atheists can encounter reasonable arguments for God and his Church, maybe for the first time in their lives, and like St. Paul’s listeners they’ll leave intrigued by these strange notions.
Brandon has also gathered an impressive line-up of contributors to this site. There’s over 30 including names like Dr. Peter Kreeft, Fr. Robert Barron, Fr. Robert Spitzer, Dr. Benjamin Wiker, Dr. Christopher Kaczor, Dr. Janet Smith, Christopher West, Jimmy Akin, Jennifer Fulwiler, Marc Barnes, Mark Shea, Tim Staples, and Carl Olson.
How Strange Notions will be valuable to religious educators
I see two ways religious educators can benefit from this site.
First, as a place to send inquirers.
There are some amazing writers on this site. And they’re addressing some tough stuff.
Say someone comes by the parish who’s interested in Catholicism but they have some tough questions and you’re between classes. Send them here. You’ll want them to address their issues in person, but in the meantime, they can visit this site to get some preliminary answers.
The booklist alone is fantastic and would keep an inquirer busy for a long time.
Second, as a resource for your own teaching.
I know, I know, you’re supposed to be catechizing kids, or perhaps teens, that are already Catholic. They’re supposed to believe already.
Think again. Most of the kids you teach, by the time they reach 7th grade, are functional atheists. That’s why we need to evangelize while we catechize…they don’t believe!
They hear the media present controversial ideas that challenge the core beliefs of Catholicism. Teens are transitioning to a personal faith and trying to figure out what they believe. They are vulnerable and can easily have their faith shaken.
You need to know how to address these New Atheist arguments because your students are picking them up. If you’re not able to dialogue and explain why these ideas are false, you might lose them.
Evangelization takeaway
StrangeNotions.com will be a valuable resource for the New Evangelization.
I can see it being a place where atheists curious about Catholicism can find answers and maybe move closer to conversion. I hope it will also be a place where they can dialogue with Catholics and come to understand even deeper the riches of the Catholic Faith.
It also looks like a place where catechists and catechetical leaders can send inquirers to the Faith and also perhaps deepen their own knowledge for use in the classroom.
I know I’m intrigued by some of the articles. I’m sure you will be too.
Do you think this will be valuable for religious educators? Will it attract atheists to dialogue and possibly conversion? Drop a line in the comments and let me know what you think.
Thanks for sharing. I think it’s a needed resource in times like this and that we’ll be seeing more of leaning towards a secular minded perspective. It’s really about how to reach those to understand that our faith gives us what we need to live this life to it’s fullest and to know the infinite love of God.