12. Holly Ordway: How the Arts Can Open Closed Minds
Literature professor Holly Ordway had resisted Christianity on intellectual grounds for years. She was not prepared for the poets and storytellers to get through her defenses, but George MacDonald, G.K. Chesterton, Gerard Manley Hopkins, J.R.R. Tolkien, and C.S. Lewis each quietly chipped away at her certainties.
A fencing coach who spoke about Christianity without judgment gave Ordway a safe space to ask questions. In her memoir “Not God’s Type,” Ordway describes conversion as laying down her “arms” against unbelief. She is now a leading voice on what she calls “imaginative apologetics,” the idea that great art and literature can prepare the heart to receive truth the intellect has blocked.
Key takeaway: Don’t underestimate the arts as an outreach tool. Book clubs, film discussions, poetry nights, and art shows aren’t just cultural events. They’re potential pathways to faith.
13. Alister McGrath: The Oxford Scientist Who Became a Theologian
When Alister McGrath enrolled at Oxford University to study biophysics, he was a convinced atheist who expected scientific training to confirm his skepticism. Instead, his exposure to history, philosophy, and Christian thought led him in an entirely different direction.
McGrath went on to earn doctorate degrees in both molecular biology and theology and became one of the most formidable defenders of Christianity alive. His books “The Twilight of Atheism” and “The Dawkins Delusion?” engage directly with the New Atheist movement from a position of deep scientific and philosophical credibility.
“I grew up as an atheist and I was quite convinced that God was a myth. What changed my mind was evidence.” — Alister McGrath
Key takeaway: McGrath’s story is a powerful one to share with young people headed to secular universities who fear they’ll have to choose between faith and intellect. They won’t.
What These Stories Have in Common
Across 13 very different lives, several patterns emerge:
Evidence mattered. Strobel, McDowell, Collins, McGrath—for intellectually driven skeptics, a reasoned, evidence-based engagement with Christian claims is not a waste of time. It can be the turning point.
Relationships opened doors. Butterfield’s neighbors. Gumbel’s friends at Cambridge. Ordway’s fencing coach. In nearly every case, a real human relationship created the space where faith could take root. Programs don’t convert people. People do.
The arts prepared the way. From the examples of Lewis, Chesterton, Tolkien, and MacDonald we can learn that great Christian writing and storytelling reached people whose defenses were up against direct proclamation. The imagination can go where the argument cannot.
Suffering asked questions that atheism couldn’t answer. Collins was undone by patients facing death with peace he couldn’t explain. Hirsi Ali found atheism “unendurable.” Hitchens faced personal crisis. When life gets hard, the framework matters.
Conversion takes time. Lewis’s journey spanned years. Butterfield’s did too. Hirsi Ali says she is still learning. Plant seeds, stay patient, keep praying. The harvest happens in God’s timing, not yours.
Practical Steps for Your Outreach
- Welcome questions. Host a roundtable where skeptics and seekers can raise doubts in a safe, non-pressured environment.
- Grow genuine friendships. Don’t pursue relationships with an agenda. Focus on real friendships that simply leave room for honest conversation.
- Use the arts. Start a community book club, host a film discussion, showcase local Christian artists. These aren’t soft options; they are serious pathways.
- Feed people first. Alpha’s model—food, friendship, space to ask questions—works because it’s human. Borrow it.
- Mentor new believers. Coming to faith is disorienting. Pair new Christians with patient mentors and keep spiritual jargon out of early discipleship.
- Take the long view. As Matthew 19:26 reminds us, with God all things are possible, including the conversion of the person you’ve been praying for longest.
The Holy Spirit works in ways you can’t see, often for longer than feels comfortable. Keep going.
