It seems to me engaging too much in apologetics might lead to bad theological habits. Like, if you’re so busy responding to arguments by atheists, you might fail to see the best grasp of crucial parts of the faith actually depend on some doctrines being, quite frankly, open to skeptical attack. I have in mind, most particularly, the Deus Absconditus.

But in short, my commitment to Christian doctrine does not depend—in the slightest—on my being able to respond to the sorts of objections I used to have. I *can* explain why I no longer find those objections compelling. But I make no guarantees, at all, that my explanations will be brief or even possibly persuasive to skeptics.

So when an atheist says, “Ha ha! You believe that Jonah survived three days in the belly of a fish? LOL!” I’m not sure it is especially crucial to have a glib response prepared. It might actually be better to say, “Yes, it’s very strange, isn’t it? How can it be that Christians believe this? Let’s see…”