Witnessing to atheists?

[Faithful One]

The problem is, atheists don't want to look that stuff up! However, I believe there's also a spiritual side to this. I can't recall exactly where the Bible says this, but there's that demonic blinding out there that stops people from believing. As Christians we need to pray for that blinding to be removed. Only once those demons have been kicked out can a person be willing to receive the Gospel.

"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." (2 Corin.4:4)

And I take comfort in the fact that according to Jesus when these blinded minds start persecuting, hating, and reviling us they are actually making us very wealthy ....

" BLESSED are you when men shall hate you, ...and shall reproach you, and cast your name out as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice, and leap for joy!...for great is your reward in heaven!" - Jesus (Luke 6:22)

Faithful

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[Youssarian]

"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." (2 Corin.4:4)

And I take comfort in the fact that according to Jesus when these blinded minds start persecuting, hating, and reviling us they are actually making us very wealthy ....

" BLESSED are you when men shall hate you, ...and shall reproach you, and cast your name out as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice, and leap for joy!...for great is your reward in heaven!" - Jesus (Luke 6:22)

Faithful

..

2 Co. 4:4 is exactly what I was thinking.

[jesse]

I guess this is kinda in the context of the last two posts.... but it is also a question... Do you think the following verses are just about wealth? Or do you think the grain could be speaking about witnessing? Storing up all that God has given us and not "planting a seed" if you will.


17And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

18“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

21“This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:17-21

[Youssarian]

I guess this is kinda in the context of the last two posts.... but it is also a question... Do you think the following verses are just about wealth? Or do you think the grain could be speaking about witnessing? Storing up all that God has given us and not "planting a seed" if you will.


17And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

18“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

21“This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:17-21

Interesting. Although it does talk about wealth, it can be applied to anything else intangible we may have as well. For instance, knowledge. I know oh so much, and continually learn more, but if I store it all up and don't help others with it, what good is it at all?

[jesse]

Interesting. Although it does talk about wealth, it can be applied to anything else intangible we may have as well. For instance, knowledge. I know oh so much, and continually learn more, but if I store it all up and don't help others with it, what good is it at all?

Well... it would seem from these forums that no one wants me to spread my particular knowledge.

Thanks for the reply!

[ChristianCoffee]

I guess this is kinda in the context of the last two posts.... but it is also a question... Do you think the following verses are just about wealth? Or do you think the grain could be speaking about witnessing? Storing up all that God has given us and not "planting a seed" if you will.


17And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

18“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

21“This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:17-21

I do think it can be about both, but I lean more towards "witnessing". Our "seed" truly is not of this world: some seeds I may plant, you may harvest, and Youssarian may reap. Or vice versa. We are supposed to store our treasures in heaven, not on earth.

Our focus should be on ourselves for growth in Him. I feel only then can we truly plant seeds that will bear a ripe harvest. I farm (or garden, only about an acre or so), and I do understand tilling and prepairing the soil, getting out the weeds and rocks, and making the ground "clean" for a good planting and better harvest.

So, my friend, I guess this is my round-about way of saying I agree with you.

In Him,

CC

Romans 8:16

[Theophilus]

You want to witness to an atheist? Forget the faceless internet, and forget debates....we're not here to win debates, but souls. Every argument we make can be countered.

What can't be denied is living the life where they can see it...and that really starts by making friends. Form a relationship with non-believers or atheists...genuinely care about them...and live a life of Christ-likeness. God will provide venues for discussion...and perhaps, in His time, and as the Holy Spirit works through you, the resistance to God will come crashing down.

Almost no one is argued into a relationship with Christ...but if we live a winsome, godly life, we have a better chance of wooing someone into the Kingdom.

[Dani H]

Atheists are just people who need love, and lots of it. Just like everyone else.

[SirToady]

How do you do this? I seem to fail at wittnessing to atheists. They just completely ignore my message, which is trying to get them to come to Jesus Christs or believing in God. There is this message board i've posted at that has an atheist forum where they discuss religion. It seems like Christians get double teamed by atheists on the message board.

I could give you the link to the message board if you want to see what i'm talking about.

Some people you just can't reach regardless of facts or logic. The atheist's religion is anti-religion based upon vanity and political correctness. Ask them if they have a mind, will, and emotion - then ask them how can they prove it because you can't see them, only the effects that they have on the physical body. Then tell them that those things are a gift from God because we are of the image of God (Genesis) - (Father) Mind, (Son) Will, (Holy Spirit) Emotion.

[anynamewilldo]

I tried intensively ever day for around two years to show atheists the Way, but it was fruitless and it completely ground me down and affected me very badly.

I prayed for guidance and to know what is the best thing to do. I carefully re-read the Gospels and then contemplated Christ's words. Then it all came clear to me.

My big quandry was that I felt it was vitally important to help guide these people and bring them to Christ; not just for the sake of their souls, but also to help lift their hearts and to improve their lot in life. So I felt I was letting down our Lord by not succeeding in doing this and I felt bad about it and a failure.

However, Christ makes it 100% abundantly clear in his own words in Mark and in Matthew that non-believers should be left alone and basically left to their fate - you can read this said by him in different ways, sometimes most forcefully, both directly and in parables.

Knowing this made me feel completely relieved. Atheists are the wolves who try to feed on the sheep, and they are the vipers who try to kill us; they are the ones who try to lead the flock astray; they are the ones to beware of in case they attack. Christ said to brush the dust off your shoes at their door and move on.

It is the job of Christ on hs return to sort the wheat from the chaff and to cut down the weeds in the field when the good corn is harvested.

We should leave the atheists to Christ and take care of our own and those who are seekers, such as agnostics for they are the lost and wandering sheep that need to make their way home to the flock. It is a mistake to think that atheists are lost sheep - they are not - the door to their heart is not only closed, it is locked and bricked up on the inside (I know this after dealing with them for so long).

Christ will take care of them when the time comes. In the meantime leave them to each other. Please remember that there is a growing trend now for anti-theism, which is the mindset of Stalinists and others who seek to destroy all faiths and all faithful - so you need to be careful, because these people genuinely hate you and will not ever ever convert or even hear you.

Christ knows what to do. Just have faith in him and what he has said about the unbelievers. When he returns they will either swiftly believe, or they will perish - it will be their choice to make.

[Ceegen]

How do you do this? I seem to fail at wittnessing to atheists. They just completely ignore my message, which is trying to get them to come to Jesus Christs or believing in God. There is this message board i've posted at that has an atheist forum where they discuss religion. It seems like Christians get double teamed by atheists on the message board.

I could give you the link to the message board if you want to see what i'm talking about.

Try showing them these videos, it makes believers out of atheists. It bridges the gap between science and God:

"Unlocking the Mystery of Life"
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...25669588896670
Approximate run time: 1 hour.
Though it goes into some detail of the concepts and ideas of the origins of life among other things, the one thing that stands out is this: DNA can not simply spontaneously assemble, and amino acids do not perform functions without DNA. You need DNA to make DNA, and DNA is too structured to be happenstance.

"Privileged Planet"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFaSBEXum5g
Approximate run time: 1 hour.
This video makes the case for planet earth being both in the best location to observe the universe, and, the only planet with observers. It'll make your head spin.

If they don't believe it when they hear it coming out of the mouths of people with PhD's, don't waste your time trying to convert them. Be nice to them, but don't keep trying to convert them. Move on. Their ears and eyes are closed, for a reason. Let God do the rest. I would also suggest you watch both videos, so you can be familiar with the content, as it may help you in arguing against their failed theories that do not include God with regards to creation, etc..

I would ALSO suggest doing what I am about to start doing: Buy these videos, and pass them out to people. How can anyone know what the truth is, if we don't tell them? Illustria Media also has a few other videos/documentaries that you can get, but some of it is just recycled from their other videos. They're currently coming out with something new, and if you have a chance watch the preview for it (it's the one about butterflies).

Alternatively, you can show them this:
http://www.dissentfromdarwin.org/

It's worth a shot, at least.

God bless!

[Athanasius]

However, Christ makes it 100% abundantly clear in his own words in Mark and in Matthew that non-believers should be left alone and basically left to their fate - you can read this said by him in different ways, sometimes most forcefully, both directly and in parables.

If that's the message you got out of the Gospels, you may want to read them a few dozen more times.

[decrumpit]

Knowing this made me feel completely relieved. Atheists are the wolves who try to feed on the sheep, and they are the vipers who try to kill us; they are the ones who try to lead the flock astray; they are the ones to beware of in case they attack. Christ said to brush the dust off your shoes at their door and move on.

Having been an atheist, I can assure you that this is 100% false.

Before you were a Christian, you were essentially a renegade who is no different than an atheist in God's eyes. God doesn't save "basically good people", he saves sinners. Do you remember what that felt like? Do you remember being a slave to sin? If so, why would you feel any different evangelizing atheists than any other group of people? Sin doesn't enter through the mind - it enters through the heart. Intellectual atheists are just more articulate than non-intellectual atheists and can list more "reasons" to reject faith. It is all a heart issue, which is why you only have to show Christ's love.

[Hannah]

Trying to debate with atheists... Like people who idolize Dawkins is a waste of time.
I live in the second most secular country in the world, and I basically save it for people who express an interest.
I do mention being a Christian as often as I can without being annoying or in-your-face.
Then I try to witness just through my actions, by being kind to those others ignores, defending people others gossip about or behaving with integrity. I doubt it helps much and I have never personally managed to win somebody to Christianity.

[Ceegen]

Trying to debate with atheists... Like people who idolize Dawkins is a waste of time.
I live in the second most secular country in the world, and I basically save it for people who express an interest.
I do mention being a Christian as often as I can without being annoying or in-your-face.
Then I try to witness just through my actions, by being kind to those others ignores, defending people others gossip about or behaving with integrity. I doubt it helps much and I have never personally managed to win somebody to Christianity.

Yes!

LIVE the life of Jesus, and do good to those who would otherwise despitefully use you. They can't argue against good deeds, only make fun of us for doing so. They can't rationalize or logically explain agape love in action!

It dumbfounds them to the point of anger, I have found.