Review - Not God's Type: An Atheist Academic Lays Down Her Arms
Inside the book jacket, the following statement is in bold letters at the top of the book description: This is the story of a glorious defeat. Indeed. Ordway chronicles God’s glorious defeat of her fervent atheism. And, because God has a marvelous sense of humor, he uses the most unlikely of people to bring the Gospel to her in a way that disarms her and allows the Word of God, that two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12), to pierce her heart and mind and bring her to faith in Christ.
The defeat took a long time. God’s chosen instrument of communication was Josh, Ordway’s fencing coach. He spoke to her in an intellectual language that she could understand. He exhibited patience and discipline in dealing with Ordway. Not only in fencing, which she readily concedes that she needed, but also during their discussions of the Christian faith. He let her ask questions and set the limits to their conversations. When it was obviously the right time, Josh presented two books to help understand the resurrection. The books are The Risen Jesus and Future Hope by Gary Habermas and The Resurrection of the Son of God by N. T. Wright. He let her ask questions and debated her in a calm and rational way.
When Ordway intellectually assented to the existence of God and that God’s Son died and rose for the sake of the world, he gently encouraged her to connect with a church. She went to his family’s church but that was not for her. The Holy Spirit led her first to an Episcopal Church and then five years later she was received into the Roman Catholic Church.
Ordway tells her story with honesty and integrity. This is not an emotional conversion story but a calm, intellectual one, rich in literature, symbolism, and historical investigation.
In these pages, Ordway offers wise words of counsel for those with ears to hear. She shows how a person of faith and the potential convert often have different meanings of words such as God, cross, sin, salvation. She also shows how Christian earnestness may be perceived by someone who is not a Christian. For example, in college she was invited to cook out. She learned that the fellow student who befriended her was only interested in her as a potential convert, not as a friend. Ordway was turned off by the faux friendship. She skipped the cook out and became leery of “evangelism techniques.” She encourages empathy for when Christians become impatient because where they see “sin” and the need for God, while the not-a-Christian person sees no deficit in their behavior or thinking and has no perceived need for what they think God has to offer. As the Christian becomes persistent, they may appear and be received as arrogant, judgmental, and rude. Consequently, that opportunity is lost.
The edition that I read is the second edition and published by a different publisher. The interviews, questions, and comments that came after the first edition was published helped Ordway discern that God had pursued her for many years. Many things were in place that allowed her to receive the Good News of Jesus Christ as the Good News is intended to be received. Ordway acknowledges with gratitude the Lord’s persistence and grace.
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