Sitting at a bar table at Joe's Coffee in downtown Austin, chatting with a dude interested in possibly joining our missional core to plant a church with us, a couple walked in and sat next to me.

I handed the guy a Church in Reverse card and he handed it right back and said, "I'm atheist." 

"No kidding, I have some great atheist and agnostic friends." 

We talked a bit. His name was Michael. I asked, "Do you believe in morals?" 

"They're real if you you believe they're real," he replied. "Everything is contextual." 

"Except what you just said." 

"Hu?" 

"The statement, 'Everything is contextual' is not a contextual statement but an absolute."

"You're right," he agreed.

"So if everything is contextual, then what you just said has to be contextual, which means what you said is not true since it makes an absolute claim instead of a contextual one." 

"True. You should talk to my friend, Megan here," he gestured to his female partner. "She's a philosophy major." 

"May I ask you guys a shocking question?"

"Sure," they said. 

"Is it ever right for a man to rape an eight year old girl?" 

"Of course not," said Megan. 

"I believe," said Michael, "it is never right." 

"Why do you believe child rape is always wrong?" I pressed. 

"Because my society and social norms tell me it is," Michael replied.

"Then you don't believe it's always wrong. You believe it's wrong only when society and social norms tell you it's wrong." 

"Well, I believe it's wrong because of my social norms." 

"But you believe it's always wrong, then social norms are not the reason you believe it's always wrong because social norms change. How do you reconcile believing that morality is relative yet holding to the absolute conviction that child rape is always wrong?"

"Well, I believe it's always wrong but I would never force my convictions on anyone." 

"You would if it was your own daughter who." 

"That's true." 

"And you would if you were on the jury of a court case where the evidence proved a man raped a child. Michael, I'm asking you these questions because many atheists sincerely believe that they hold to an objective perspective on life, but I keep finding that they are as religiously committed to morals as Christians are.

"The difference however, is I do have a reason—and only because of God's mercy who showed me this—that child rape is always wrong. God created human life which reflects His perfect image, which makes human life precious, which makes all kinds of rape, regardless of age or background, entirely wrong." 

The conversation naturally closed off; we shook hands and parted congenially.