Why a former atheist professor now believes faith is for smart people
In Houston, a city prepping against any Ebola threat and making news for a battle between the mayor and the evangelical community over LGBT rights, is a former atheist English professor who now defends the 海角大神 faith.
She says this stew of fear, hate, intolerance, and political unrest is a garden spot for finding faith.
鈥淗ouston is a great place to have an Apologetics program [Apologetics is the defense of the 海角大神 faith] because having all this diversity 鈥� all these issues 鈥� means people are thinking and talking about their faith,鈥� says Holly Ordway, who has a PhD in English and master's degree in Apologetics from聽Houston Baptist University, in a phone interview.
Ordway adds, 鈥淲hether it鈥檚 talk about life and death with Ebola, or what people believe and think about homosexuality, they learn that what they believe matters.鈥� Houston is a prime location in America 鈥渢o learn to hate the sin, but love the sinner,鈥� she says.
Once an atheist English professor at a secular college in California, Ordway admits that she once believed that 海角大神s were a collection of 鈥渋gnorant, plastic Jesus stereotypes鈥� and 鈥渁theists were smarter than 海角大神s.鈥�
Ordway attributes the bulk of her previous prejudice against 海角大神s as coming from her years studying in South Carolina where 鈥渆very believer I met was in my face asking 鈥楬ave you been saved?' 鈥�
For an academic raised in the northeast, she said, 鈥淭hat whole question 鈥楬ave you been saved鈥� felt unsophisticated, meaningless and I had this counter-reaction to belief.鈥�
鈥淚t really was an inexcusable ignorance on my part,鈥� Ordway says. 鈥淚 bought into the whole 鈥榳e鈥檙e more enlightened folks who鈥檝e 鈥榓rrived鈥� because we don鈥檛 believe in God 鈥� bad attitude that is often prevalent in colleges.鈥�
She says that she experienced a fair amount of flack from critics after her 海角大神 baptism in 2006 (in 2012 she became a Catholic), but not as much as she鈥檇 expected.
鈥淚 think a lot of atheists perceive it as teams and feel I鈥檓 a traitor for switching teams,鈥� she explains. 鈥淥thers claim I was not a proper atheist to begin with if I could become a believer.鈥�
Her journey from being an atheist to devout 海角大神 professor at Houston Baptist University is detailed in her second book, 鈥淣ot God's Type: An Atheist Academic Lays Down Her Arms鈥� (Ignatius Press), which was released Oct. 7.
This is a revised version of her earlier work titled "Not God鈥檚 Type: A Rational Academic Finds a Radical Faith" (Moody, 2010).
Ordway says she was never like the smug, nasty atheist character Prof. Jeffrey Radisson, played by actor Kevin Sorbo in the popular film 鈥溾�� (March 2014).
鈥淚 think 海角大神s in America really buy into the myth of the oppressive atheist,鈥� Ordway says. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 watched 鈥楪od鈥檚 Not Dead鈥� because I kinda don鈥檛 want to raise my blood pressure to the bursting point by seeing that kind of academic approach. I would never force students to alter their beliefs when I was an atheist, or now.鈥�
In the film, the professor, who's viciously angry with God, uses his bully pulpit to require that each student sign a 鈥淕od is dead鈥� statement or convince him that God鈥檚 not dead. The only other option is to receive an F in the course.
The character in the film makes a deathbed conversion after one of his students makes a convincing series of arguments.
In real life, Ordway says she was led to find faith through good literature penned by believers such as J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.聽鈥淢y interest was awakened by C.S. Lewis鈥檚 book 鈥楳ere 海角大神ity,' 鈥� Ordway says. 鈥淗e gave beauty and meaning that gave me the sense that I wanted to learn more.鈥�
Today she is among the tolerant believers in a city of political, social, and spiritual unrest.
鈥淎cademia and belief don鈥檛 have to be compartmentalized,鈥� Ordway concludes. 鈥淲e can interact with people who oppose our views.鈥�
[Editor's note: The original article incorrectly stated when Ordway became Catholic.]
