When I was a teenager, I fell in love with a Lutheran girl who attended a church-run program called Youth Alpha. The program featured an energetic video of a demon-hunting cowboy and an awkward man in his mid-twenties describing how great it was to not have sex.
Towards the end of each session, we would be broken up into groups to talk about ourselves, and more importantly, Jesus. I used to enjoy stirring up the group leaders by asking reasonable questions about religion.
In my last post about my fake conversion, I touched upon the concept of "busting the group-think bubble". This is the idea that simply by being present, an outed atheist or skeptic causes people to see themselves through the skeptic's eyes. In the context of a youth group, this means they are less likely to casually accept ideas that will make them appear ridiculous or complacent.
So I suggest the following. If there are youth groups in your area, attend. Be polite, reveal yourself as skeptical, and ask well-timed, pertinent questions.
What do you think?
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