Why Is My Son An Atheist?
A phone call from a compromised Christian
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, March 3, 2026 (Donate)
I had a compromised Christian who called up the ministry and
was transferred to me—he never even gave me his name. One of the first things
he told me was that he didn’t agree with our stance about the age of the earth
or that Genesis was literal history.
Then he told me that he had been urged to call anyway
because of his situation. So I kindly asked what was going on.
He said that his son refused to accept Jesus Christ and just
told him he was an atheist and would never trust the Bible. Yet he insisted
that he taught his son about Christ and has taken him to church for years.
Then I asked if the church taught Genesis as literal history
or as allegory/metaphor. He promptly said that both he and the church agree
that it was not literal history and was not meant to be taken as it was written
and they wouldn’t dare teach their children anything else.
I said, “So you taught your son that the Bible wasn’t really
trustworthy when it speaks in Genesis but you also told him that it is
trustworthy when it speaks about Christ?”
He sounded like he was “squirming” on the phone. I said,
“You realize that your son is
actually a pretty smart kid.”
I continued,
“Since you made it clear to him
that one part of the Bible wasn’t worth trusting, then he applied this to the
rest of the Bible.”
At this point, the man I spoke with realized where I was
coming from. I continued with a mini-relevance
talk to explain the problem of death
before sin and interpretation
of Genesis.
Though he still didn’t agree with us, he understood that he
was partly to blame for his son not accepting what the Bible teaches about
Christ, and I encouraged him to re-evaluate Genesis’ plain reading, and then
speak with his son. We discussed this a bit further and ended the conversation
in a kind, Christ-like manner.
I have been clear that one can still be a
Christian and be an evolutionist; however, this stance is inconsistent. This is
one reason the church is losing its children to atheism.
As long as the church or parents tell their children not to
believe what God says in Genesis, the children—logically—apply that stance to
the whole Bible, including the gospel. And these children refuse to believe in
Christ because they don’t trust the Bible in Genesis.
If parents want their children to take the gospel message
seriously, then they need to set an example that the Bible can be trusted in
all areas that it addresses, rather than teaching that only parts of
the Bible can be trusted. Children are perceptive and this explains why they
see many Christian role models, many times their own parents, as hypocritical.
The point, then, is yes, one can be compromised to the point
of accepting evolution and it won’t affect their salvation, but it does affect
the next generation and those who are witnessed to. Please pray that the church
as a whole will return to the plain reading of the Bible and get properly
rooted in Genesis, the foundation
of the gospel.
□
Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist
since 1998 helping out in various churches and running an apologetics website.
He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and
researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head
of the Oversight Council.
Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a
personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has
spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and
universities. He is married with four children.
Mr. Hodge earned a Bachelor and Master of Science degrees
from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC). Then he taught at SIUC
for a couple of years as a Visiting Instructor teaching all levels of
undergraduate engineering and running a materials lab and a CAD lab. He did
research on advanced ceramic materials to develop a new method of production of
titanium diboride with a grant from Lockheed Martin. He worked as a Test
Engineer for Caterpillar, Inc., prior to entering full-time ministry.
His love of science was coupled with a love of history, philosophy, and theology. For about one year of his life, Bodie was editing and updating a theological, historical, and scientific dictionary/encyclopedia for AI use and training. Mr. Hodge has over 25 years of experience in writing, speaking and researching in these fields. Originally at Answers in Genesis; Edited; Republished by permission.
