I want to write a scene with a conversation between an atheist and a Christian evangelist on a college campus. I figured there would be lots of Youtube recordings of such interactions, but I only found conveniently-edited clips by an evangelist channel. Can anyone direct me to a written or recorded account of how proselytizers start conversations with passers-by and what their strategies to try to convert them are?

Try searching counter-apologetics.

Try searching "Street epistemology" on YouTube.

Go to your local college campus and simply walk around with your 'Satan Is My Brah' t-shirt.  I'm sure it won't be long until you have all the research you need.

Boru

I attended the University of Iowa back in the late 1980s, ultimately, earning a MBA. Lots of campus preachers back then, but when I return to Iowa City, I have never seen any. Ditto for my town of Cedar Rapids, IA, where I have lived now for 30 years. Back in the 90s, street preachers would be downtown, screaming at people. Haven't seen (or, heard) any of those for at least 15 years. And, so, anecdotally, it seems like this phenomenon is dying out.

(November 18, 2020 at 12:15 am)Sayetsu Wrote: I want to write a scene with a conversation between an atheist and a Christian evangelist on a college campus. I figured there would be lots of Youtube recordings of such interactions, but I only found conveniently-edited clips by an evangelist channel. Can anyone direct me to a written or recorded account of how proselytizers start conversations with passers-by and what their strategies to try to convert them are?

Those already exist. They're  called "debates". You might find one or 1,000 of those on YouTube between atheists and Christian evangelists, among other shit.

Try Questioning Evangelism, Randy Newman.

Quote:A revolutionary look at sharing Christ with unbelievers by using the probing, provocative, and penetrating method Jesus used to engage others in personal dialogue and caring interaction.
A much-needed look at sharing Christ with unbelievers, based not on the techniques of guerrilla hard-sell tactics, but on engaging questions and caring interaction. Filled with humor and stories, this book provides a challenging yet encouraging look at evangelism in our world today. This volume argues that asking questions and starting meaningful conversations is a far better method for sharing faith than prepared lectures or statements. It gives advice on what people need to hear in response to the world around them.

Author was raised Jewish and has a unique, rabbinical outlook on evangelism
Encouraging and useful
Easy-to-read, conversational style
Study guide at the end to aid in teaching and discussion

(November 18, 2020 at 8:54 am)Jehanne Wrote: I attended the University of Iowa back in the late 1980s, ultimately, earning a MBA.  Lots of campus preachers back then, but when I return to Iowa City, I have never seen any.  Ditto for my town of Cedar Rapids, IA, where I have lived now for 30 years.  Back in the 90s, street preachers would be downtown, screaming at people.  Haven't seen (or, heard) any of those for at least 15 years.  And, so, anecdotally, it seems like this phenomenon is dying out.

We had Brother Jim and Sister Cindy on our campus.  They called us fornicators.  That hurt.  Some of us weren't so lucky.

Here they are on the Brother Jed Campus Ministry site

Yeah, that's the dumb way to do it. It's a matter f personal taste and whatever the plot is supposed to be, but I think that a thoughtful scene with a non-garbage evangelist might be better - and if the author is an atheist, they have all the material they need for the other half.

CE - "Hey, have you heard the good news ? It's all right here in the bible free for anyone to read."

A - "That book doesn't contain any news. And rarely does it contain anything good. I would consider it more like poison to the human brain. If you believe what is written on those pages, you might want to seek medical attention right away."

CE - "This book was written by god."
A -"Written by men. Altered by men, some 50,000 times. No original texts. Large portions of it, we don't know who the authors are and the central figure doesn't seem to appear in any other historical accounts of the time. It's fiction."

CE -"Written by men who were inspired by god."
A -"Inspired by their own imagination and some inspired by mushrooms or drunken debauchery."

CE-"How dare you utter such blasphemy."
A -"How dare you follow such evil and try to pass it along to others like a deadly virus."

CE -"This is a good book. There is nothing evil about it."
A-"Genocide, torture, killing children, slavery."

I could go on and on....this kind of conversation is not difficult to write.