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More Atheist Student Groups Emerging On U.S. College Campuses

By 316Networks.com

Published: September 16, 2008

On public college and universities campuses across the nation, Christian clubs and groups can easily be found. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, a prominent Christian campus ministry, boast an enormous staff-led presence on over 500 U.S. college campuses alone. Alec Hill, President of InterVarsity, calls the college campus "the strategic point where you can impact the world by connecting with students, because of who the students will become."

However, it now seems that the college campus is no longer viewed as a strategic point by Christians alone. An increasing number of atheist groups can now be found on college campuses "evangelizing" new adherents.

This new generation of atheists, more aggressive and outspoken than atheists of the past, are producing new leaders like John Loftus, a former Church of Christ preacher, who has begun a crusade to debunk evangelical Christianity at Indiana State University. Loftus, who once taught apologetics to students at Christian universities, is now the author of a new book entitled, Why I Became an Atheist.

On Saturday, Loftus spoke to a auditorium filled with students who are seeking to unveil Christianity as a false system. He said that Christians should realize their faith is one of many, and cited evidence based on history, philosophy and scripture in effort to make his case that the existence of a Christian God is 'impossible.'

"I want them to get away from relying on inspired texts," says Loftus, according to the university paper. "(They) should come up with their own conclusions adopted by themselves based on their own reasons and evidence."

Loftus operates a web site called "Debunking Christianity" whose purpose is to attack mainstream evangelical Christianity. On his blog, Loftus profiles himself as holding a Th.M. degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and having once majored under well-known apologist, William Lane Craig.

During his address to students at ISU, Loftus stated he had a crisis of faith after a failed love affair led to him be outcast from his Christian community. Over the next 14 years, Loftus said he shed his faith and eventually adopted atheism.

While Loftus' story led him to atheism, it is in strong contrast to the story of Lee Strobel, a former atheist, who has accepted Christ and is now a popular Christian apologist.

A best-selling author, Strobel recently released "The Case for Christ" DVD, which answers two of the biggest objections to Christianity: "Why is Jesus the only way to God?" and "How could a loving God exist if there is evil and suffering in the world?" For more information about this DVD or Lee Strobel, log onto LeeStrobel.com.

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