Just keep talking, when they want to talk. If you try And push it on them they might not want to hear you. I know first hand because my hubby is a non believer. Pray and speak to them about god when they initiate the conversation. Tell them your testimonies, I know, my hubby laughs, but I don't take it to heart. I just say " ok I'm not discussing this with you anymore" he usually wants to continue so we do. The other day he told me to pray for him. I told him a already do, always. Just talk when they want, pray, pray and never stop. You can't do much, but god can. Leave it in his hands, ask for guidance and he will guide your heart. He will also get them when he's ready. The people that used to be church members and have been hurt....people do stray from gods path, pray and let them be. There's a reason for everything only god knows what he's up to. Trust that he knows and pray for those people. Never try to push your beliefs on anyone and don't overwhelm them. I used to do that. It doesn't work. Be there when they need you and pray. Good luck!!
Need Advice About How To Tell A Non-believer About God
- Thread starter Quietbird
- Start date
Matthew 5:22, Jesus says, "Whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire."
As KingJ points out, there is no point in talking to these people anymore. The continual "I want proof" is not only designed to mock and provide entertainment for you, but it is also designed to try to bring you out of your "delusion" and cure you of your backward thinking , convert you to atheism.
Genuine people asking about God do not continually ask for evidence and proof and dismiss everything you say about it. Do not waste your time anymore on them, Pearls before swine and all that.
Genuine people asking about God do not continually ask for evidence and proof and dismiss everything you say about it. Do not waste your time anymore on them, Pearls before swine and all that.
I don't understand, Agricola. You've given up pretty quickly on a soul. Aren't you tasked as a Christian to spread the gospel? Your attitude seems very negative and defeatist and not very Christian. You also make too many assumptions, including your use of "convert."
If there is someone asking you about your beliefs, etc., you are tasked with telling them. People get frustrated all the time,,but is that any reason to give up? Is it truly a waste of time? I often teach people (my expertise isn't of relevance here) and as I teach them the foundations of my curriculum it only helps me reinforce what I already know. I just don't understand people giving up so easily. If I were an agnostic atheist and approached a theist with some questions, the minute I felt they didn't take me seriously or gave up on me, it might only reinforce that my beliefs are correct because the theist didn't believe enough in their own faith to think it was important enough to save me, regardless of my "need for proof" or whatever.
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You have some good points: but as "Johnnys-come-lately", we really don't know the full situation. It could be a person that just needs to listen to another voice and/or person.
I had a brother (he's passed away) who said he didn't want to hear me anymore. I said, "OK. I will never mention the Lord to you anymore. But if you belong to Him, He won't let you go: and no matter where you're at, there will always be someone there to preach to you." A few months later, he was in jail and I went to visit him. It was only a fifteen minute visit. I always took my Bible with me, and as we spoke, I laid my Bible on a shelf and talked to him about everything...except the Lord. And he kept glancing over to my Bible. After about five minutes, he looked down, and said that he had a "backslider" as a roommate: and all he did was talk about Jesus.
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I believe your question was: if you are asked...
You believe one is "tasked" as long as there are questions. That is a very good point, if one is in a secular position/situation. I must tell you, my experience has been that eventually the person I speak with will either love me or hate me. Very, very, few
in-betweens. The atheists with whom I have spoken cannot (or will not) relate to the spiritual realm; and they only want to speak about the natural, "scientific" realm. So there is an automatic impasse, so to speak. So I tlook for a common ground...which is faith. Everyone has faith, right?
You travel down the street at 45 mph, and another car, coming toward you, is also traveling at 45 mph. You have "faith" that he will obey the rules of the road and stay in his lane. That's natural faith.
Spiritual faith is not blind: and that's what many people think. Spiritual faith is God calling, a man hearing; and man either obeys or doesn't; and God either shows you something, or He doesn't (according to your response).
Anyway, that's only me. Do you know a better way?
Well, I think you are using both definitions of faith to help your point, which isn't completely honest. Faith, as it pertains to religion and god, is a belief in something without evidence. But faith a fellow motorist won't suddenly swerve into my lane isn't believing in something without evidence, it's the first definition of faith, which is confidence in a situation or person.
Regardless of what an atheist wants to talk about, or whether he will hate or love you, I just didn't appreciate the defeatist attitude of the earlier poster and didn't think it was fair or what Christians should do. Difficulty is what conversion is all about.
Regardless of what an atheist wants to talk about, or whether he will hate or love you, I just didn't appreciate the defeatist attitude of the earlier poster and didn't think it was fair or what Christians should do. Difficulty is what conversion is all about.
MichaelH
Inactive
I wonder........................
I am word minded. I don't allow anyone in my life even Christians full of unbelief. Jesus did say wipe the dust from you feet if they won't hear. Clear enough instructions.
However.
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.
(Mat 11:18-19)
By Jesus own admission, he did eat and drink with sinners even Alcohol. Wisdom though is Justified of her Children........
I Wisdom, means he was not doing wrong and justified by doing it.
Wisdom as you all know from Prov 8 is a Spiritual force if not one of the Attributes of the Holy Spirit.
But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
(Mat 9:12-13)
Both cases here it seems Jesus was there for the sinner, to hope they repent. I can't find a place where he played hardball with sinners, but with those that think they know, He was rough.
It could be we are so dogmatic to grab fresh meat and get it saved, forgetting that sometimes the unsaved just need to hang out with us a bit. I mean we ram Jesus down their Throats.
I wonder.
If we ignored their unlearned questions and just said....... HI, Glad to have you. If we did not get involved in their Earthly wisdom debate but just accepted them.
Now that won't happen here on a forum, we have far to many dogmatic believers for that.
I just said I wonder. I am not suggesting I am right here or have a doctrine, I said I am just wondering.
Be blessed.
I am word minded. I don't allow anyone in my life even Christians full of unbelief. Jesus did say wipe the dust from you feet if they won't hear. Clear enough instructions.
However.
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.
(Mat 11:18-19)
By Jesus own admission, he did eat and drink with sinners even Alcohol. Wisdom though is Justified of her Children........
I Wisdom, means he was not doing wrong and justified by doing it.
Wisdom as you all know from Prov 8 is a Spiritual force if not one of the Attributes of the Holy Spirit.
But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
(Mat 9:12-13)
Both cases here it seems Jesus was there for the sinner, to hope they repent. I can't find a place where he played hardball with sinners, but with those that think they know, He was rough.
It could be we are so dogmatic to grab fresh meat and get it saved, forgetting that sometimes the unsaved just need to hang out with us a bit. I mean we ram Jesus down their Throats.
I wonder.
If we ignored their unlearned questions and just said....... HI, Glad to have you. If we did not get involved in their Earthly wisdom debate but just accepted them.
Now that won't happen here on a forum, we have far to many dogmatic believers for that.
I just said I wonder. I am not suggesting I am right here or have a doctrine, I said I am just wondering.
Be blessed.
And do you have any biblical suggestions as to what a Christian "should do" ? You seem to state often that certain things are not what Christians should be doing.
Where do you get the idea that difficulty is what conversion is all about?
The bible tells you to spread the good news, does it not? Does it tell you to give up? As for conversion, do you expect all doubters to easily convert, or do you expect some resistance? Should it be an endeavor that if not easy it's not worth doing? And do you need the bible to know what is Christian? Do you have to have it spelled out for you, or do you not know what is right in your heart?
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"instant condemnation and retreat...innocent querying"?????
Not all Christians are on the same level of faith or knowledge: will you judge us all the same and with the same breath?
Then there are the not converted and non-believers.
The not converted (to me) can be classified (for want of a better term) as those who can be added to the Church, "...as many as should be saved...". Their hearts are more pliable, either because they are naturally so, or perhaps there was a "John the Baptist"
in their lives that prepared their hearts for the Gospel.
The non-believers include those that will never be saved: the Lord knows why. Understand this: it is not because they have been rejected from the onset; but they are those who have heard the Gospel, and continually have rejected Truth.
Then there are those that need to be "weeded" out from among the non-believers; who have been convinced against anything that is spiritual, but who still have the opportunity to hear and believe.
As the Spirit of the Lord leads, so should the Christian speak as the opportunity arises.
We're talking about a forum here, and someone asking for advice on how to talk to a non-believer about god, and the poster simply says the non-believer is basically toying with them and mocking them and that the OP should just ignore or give up. You're words fall on deaf ears in this case because you are looking for ways to avoid any hard work to convert someone. All I'm saying is, if you truly believe then no one should be below salvation.
In a way you are correct-- we should never give up in someone and continue to pray for them. But we are called to share the gospel with then and God does the rest
Why would you quote that without its context / at least the whole verse? ...But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, 'Raca,' is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Is an atheist / someone who says there is no God, my brother or sister? There is more context to this and my verse, but this alone debunks your use of it.
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