Wow That was awesome on a number of levels. How to get time with an Atheist or any other person: Be kind, look them in the eye, and and be sane.

Awesome video. Thanks Ed.

WOW! .... At least the seed was planted.

Wow~ That is amazing.

Wow! Needed to hear that. I actually learned something from an atheist. Should be required watching...

Shame on me if I don't share at least this much with family at Christmas.

Wow from me as well.
Continues to show me that skeptics and atheists are open to honest conversations and rarely looking for a fight.

Impressive video...the guy seemed to be genuinely moved by this experience. If we had more encounters like this one happening between people from divergent perspectives, this nation would be a better place for sure. Reminds me of a certain President-elect and his choice for the inaugural invocation too. I'll be praying for Mr. Penn this week!

This was helpful, encouraging...convicting. These are the people we are to love. Thanks for sharing the video.

TBH

"How much do you have to hate somebody not to proselytize?"

What a profound and simple statement.

It is obvious that this stranger's love for Jesus as well as for lost people had a deep impact on Penn life. I think I will have to post this video too and show it to my youth.

Wow.

extremely convicting. I'm adding this link. Thanks so much, Ed.

Wow, there just isn't much to say after watching that.

How vivid is light when seen in darkness. Penn seems dramatically confused by love and that the guy "looked me right in the eye."

thanks for sharing! Gonna post and send it out.

WOW! That was just amazing. Thanks for posting. My mind is racing.

Nuff said.

Penn is a fierce atheist. When I lived in Las Vegas, his car was easily spotted by the license plate, which (if my memory serves me correctly) read "DOGON". Read it backwards...that's what he would tell people. And all this guy who gave him the book did was show Penn some genuine respect and love. He valued Penn as a person. Obviously, Penn's heart was moved. Moving his mind may take more effort and will certainly require a move by the Holy Spirit. Respect and love made a profound impact here...it's a reminder we all need. I'll be praying for Penn. Thanks for sharing that, Ed!

Sometimes outsiders will see thinks better than we do. Either we don't believe God wants to save, or we do hate our neighbors.

The respect this man gave to the Christian is a great illustration of 1 Peter 3:15-16

The power of God transforms lives, and Penn is on His list. We continue to pray for spiritual transformations.

This is a reminder to us that believe that God can save whomever He wishes and it is our job to share the full gospel of Jesus Christ with everyone. Who knows, Penn may eventually become a Christian...he could certainly use his talents for furthering of the kingdom of God rather than the kingdom of man He says he won't, but only God knows that. Pray for Penn and others like him...God is at work.
I would like to know how Penn knows this man was a "very good man" and what makes a man good? Those are good questions for most athiest to answer.

I hope Penn doesn't get bombarded with 'Christians' who see this as an opportunity to bat clean-up. If an atheist of his ilk is going to come to Christ, it will most likely be via the Berean road.

@Ed: Thanks for posting this. I will be re-posting it at my blog.

Powerful! Thanks for posting.

Evangelism done in a gracious way is awesome. We have to dump all the reactionary and defensive and argumentative stuff. More grace, gentleness, transparency and love.

It's alright. I won't leave anymore comments.

In January we are presenting "The Truth Project" to our entire congregation.

Central Theme: "Do you really believe that what you say you believe is really real?"

Thanks for the video Ed.

See you in January.

Wow. Good video.

This was very convicting. I have also linked it. Thanks

It makes me wonder what more jewels we could learn from outsiders and Atheists. Perhaps paying attention will help.

This video is awesome! I was deeply moved to share Jesus more. I have been impressed by statement such as this in the past. Here is some from others that have moved me...

This first section is from the writings of J. Oswald Sanders...

“Were I a religionist, did I truly, firmly, consistently believe, as millions SAY they do, that the knowledge and the practice of religion in this life influences destiny in another, religion should be to me EVERYTHING. I would cast aside earthly enjoyments as dross, earthly cares as follies, and earthly thoughts and feelings as less than vanity. Religion would be my first waking thought and my last image when sleep sank me in unconsciousness. I would labor in her cause alone. I would not labor for the meat that perisheth, nor for treasures on earth, but only for a crown of glory in heavenly regions where treasures and happiness are alike beyond the reach of time and chance. I would take thought for the morrow of eternity alone. I WOULD ESTEEM ONE SOUL GAINED FOR HEAVEN WORTH A LIFE OF SUFFERING. There should be neither worldly prudence nor calculating circumspection in my engrossing zeal. Earthly consequences should never stay my hand nor seal my lips. I would speak to the imagination, awaken the feelings, stir up the passions, arouse the fancy. Earth, its joys and its grief, should occupy no moment of my thoughts; for these are but the affairs of a portion of eternity—so small that no language can express its comparatively infinite littleness.

“I would strive to look but on eternity and on the immortal souls around me, soon to be everlastingly miserable or everlastingly happy. I would deem all who thought only of this world, merely seeking to increase temporal happiness and laboring to obtain temporal goods—I would deem all such pure madmen. I would go forth to the world and preach to it, in season and out of season; and my text should be: ‘What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul.'”

Why have I troubled to quote this in full? Because all unwittingly, the infidel has here written the philosophy of life of that Master Soul-winner, the Lord Jesus. Now read it again and see how accurately it presents His attitude to this world and to eternity. His life was absolutely consistent with His belief in the everlasting punishment of the lost. Have we the mind of Christ in this? Is our attitude to this life and eternity that described in the infidel's statement?

Many years ago, Charles Peace, one of the greatest of criminals, was brought to justice. A burglar, forger, and double murderer, he was condemned to death. As he was being led to the scaffold, the chaplain walked by his side, offering what we call “the consolations of religion.” As the chaplain spoke of Christ's power to save, the wretched man turned to him and said: “Do you believe it? Do you believe it? If I believed THAT, I would willingly crawl across England on broken glass to tell men it was true.”

Another one I like is a letter an modern atheist who wrote to Ray Comfort...

Ray,

You are really convinced that you've got all the answers. You've really got yourself tricked into believing that you're 100% right. Well, let me tell you just one thing. Do you consider yourself to be compassionate of other humans? If you're right, as you say you are, and believe that, then how can you sleep at night? When you speak with me you are speaking with someone who you believe is walking directly into eternal damnation into an endless onslaught of horrendous pain which your 'loving' god created, yet you stand by and do nothing.

If you believe one bit that thousands every day were falling into an eternal and unreacheable fate, you should be running the streets mad with rage at their blindness. That's equivalent to standing on a street corner and watching every person that passes you walk blindly directly into the path of a bus and die, yet you stand idly by and do nothing. You're just twiddling your thumbs, happy in the knowledge that one day that 'walk' signal will shine your way across the road.

Think about it. Imagine the horrors Hell must have in store if the bible is true. You're just going to allow that to happen and not care about saving anyone but yourself? If you're right then you're an uncaring, unemotional and purely selfish (expletive) that has no right to talk about subjects such as love and caring.

I am not much of a blogger so I hope these quotes are not too long. (Let me know if they are) but I thought these would stir some more thoughts in peoples heads. Lets love people enough to do and say something but not err on the weird side!

I dunno. If it really was an edition of the Psalms that Penn received — and obviously he doesn’t know & he doesn’t know whether the Psalms are from the OT or the NT — this is a book that doesn’t even address the issues of Heaven & Hell.

Also: does Penn know that this guy was motivated by a Heaven/Hell perspective? Of course not. Maybe he was (as the saying goes) just one beggar telling another where he had found bread. But, that would be a motivation harder for Penn to understand.

It seems much more likely that the witness would have treated Penn more as an object than a person if his motive was purely Heaven/Hell. And, it's the fact that it was done respectfully, that generated respect in return.

But it's certainly, nice to know that even outspoken atheists like Penn can be appreciate of gestures like this.

Thanks for posting this. I was really challenged. I appreciate how he was able to present a perspective that flies in the face of one of the most common Christian excuses for not engaging with people who don't know Christ.

Wow. That was convicting. I am moved beyond words. Thank you.

Awesome. What a great video.

I have seen the video several times over. I used it yesterday morning at our church in one of the adult classes that I have been teaching the past 4 weeks. I have the privilege of serving on staff as pastor of outreach and pastoral care, and one of our Bible study leaders asked me to lead a series on outreach and personal evangelism. The video created a large amount of discussion in the married adult class. As I concluded the series, I thought the video represented several things that should be at the heart of all Christ follower regarding evangelism.
1. Be intentionally engaging
2. Be sincere and real
3. Despite differences always have a genuine love for the person

Great post Ed.

Dany

Thank you, Ed for posting this video. I am convicted, brought to tears, and energized. God can TRULY use anyone to spread His message...even to us Christians.

Mr. Penn witnessed a good Samaritan; and, being an intelligent and articulate individual, he in turn became a better testimony to witnessing than most Christians could give.

"Mr. Penn witnessed a good Samaritan; and, being an intelligent and articulate individual, he in turn became a better testimony to witnessing than most Christians could give."

I'm not buying it. This is just his mean-spirited way of labeling us hypocrites. The fact is PLENTY of people have tried to convince Mr. Penn of the error of his ways and all they have gotten for their efforts is ridicule. (Read his "essay" for NPR.) We have done all that we can for him by way of prostyletizing: all we can do now is pray. Our time would be better spent with those whose young persons whose hearts have not yet hardened but may be impressed by the intelligence and articulateness of folks like Mr. Penn.