Athiest tough questions

[Guest lonnyonline]

I am new here so take it easy on me. I went to an Apologetics conference last month taught by Richard G. Howe, Ph.D. from Southern Evangelical Seminary & Bible College in Matthews, NC. They came all the way to Naples, Italy (Napoli, Italia) to hold the conference. It was a total mind melt for me. However, I used the information I gained to help me in my ever going work debates with my Atheist co-workers. I am in the US Navy and have been so for 15 years. When I first got in to hear someone just run you through spiritual battles was not heard. However, now every day is a challenge. From one line puns to getting them Debunking God tracks. For me there nothing more then messages says in allot of words YOUR STUPID WE HATE YOU. After the apologetic conference I thought I would have enough ammo to fight back. WRONG the biggest question I get is how you believe in something you can't see. So I used the fact that I can't see gravity but I know it is there. The come back was well you know there is gravity because you can test it, but you can't test God. Being the Christian I am it is hard not to step out of my turn the other cheek and say WAKE UP to these guys. In the end it just comes down to one thing. The don't want to believe. Even if God was five feet in front of them they probably wouldn't believe. Anyway I am writing on and on so I will end it here. What do you tell an Atheist when they say you can test gravity but you can't test God?

[Trusting Jesus]

Welcome to Worthy, and may I encourage to to stay strong in your faith. Do you read your Bible a lot? There are answers in there....of course the unbeliever can't see them, but you will draw encouragement.

First, let me remind you of Noah. God told him to build an Ark, and amid the mocking of an unbelieving world Noah did what God told him...he believed, was an example of his faith, and he and his family were saved. You cannot make someone believe, they have to choose. There are many instances of one person standing strong in their faith against all odds. Abraham, Moses, Jonah, John the Baptist, Paul, Peter, the list goes on. These men believed. It didn't matter if anyone else did, but they were true to their faith.

Now, we are never told that our faith and our witnessing to others will bear fruit. We are just told to do it. Remember that the World cannot see who Jesus is, and He told us that we would be hated:

If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before [it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. John 15:18-19

I'm glad you found Worthy, because you will get a lot of encouragement here. No matter what anyone says, you know the Truth.

<>< ><>

Nathele

[Guest yod]

What do you tell an Atheist when they say you can test gravity but you can't test God?

"Taste and see that the Lord is good"

You are correct. As a former atheist, I wanted to avoid all questions of morality because it interfered with me being the judge of all things. I had to get to a place where knowing the truth was more important than my will.

It was the study of prophecy that led me to Him because there is definitely something supernatural going on there. How does Isaiah name Cyrus 200 years before he was born? How does Daniel describe Alexander the Great hundreds of years in advance? Who is this suffering servant of Isaiah 53-55? How do ALL the prophets know that Israel would be scattered into all the nations and yet come back at the "end of days" to their land? How did Isaiah predict May 14, 1948 (Is 66:8)

But maybe the best verse for you comes from Proverbs where it says "do not answer a fool according to his folly lest you become like him". Speak to their spirit instead of their brain.

1 Corinthians 2:14

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The Bible doesn't ever try to prove the existence of God because it is so evident ALREADY that men need salvation from sin. Keep the focus on Jesus no matter what road they might want to take you on.

Pray for them to have their eyes opened and then trust the Holy Spirit to do all the heavy-lifting.

[OneLight]

Welcome to Worthy. There are atheist here also, debating the existence of God and His word. Maybe if you check through these threads, you can gain a better understanding.

[lekh l'kha]

I am new here so take it easy on me. I went to an Apologetics conference last month taught by Richard G. Howe, Ph.D. from Southern Evangelical Seminary & Bible College in Matthews, NC. They came all the way to Naples, Italy (Napoli, Italia) to hold the conference. It was a total mind melt for me. However, I used the information I gained to help me in my ever going work debates with my Atheist co-workers. I am in the US Navy and have been so for 15 years. When I first got in to hear someone just run you through spiritual battles was not heard. However, now every day is a challenge. From one line puns to getting them Debunking God tracks. For me there nothing more then messages says in allot of words YOUR STUPID WE HATE YOU. After the apologetic conference I thought I would have enough ammo to fight back. WRONG the biggest question I get is how you believe in something you can't see. So I used the fact that I can't see gravity but I know it is there. The come back was well you know there is gravity because you can test it, but you can't test God. Being the Christian I am it is hard not to step out of my turn the other cheek and say WAKE UP to these guys. In the end it just comes down to one thing. The don't want to believe. Even if God was five feet in front of them they probably wouldn't believe. Anyway I am writing on and on so I will end it here. What do you tell an Atheist when they say you can test gravity but you can't test God?

Hey lonnyonline. Welcome!

It's a tough one. But it's true what you said - if they don't want to believe, they never will believe. The best thing to do, I think, is to throw back their own arguments at them, and then leave it alone unless they come attacking your faith again.

I mean, for example, ask them, "So tell me, .... what do you believe? How did we get here? Where did all this come from?"

Chances are good they'll tell you it happened by chance, through evolution.

Then ask, "O.k, so presuming there were millions of chance chemical and biological occurrences, each of which, according to science, had a chance of 1 in ten to the power of millions of occurring, and that these chance occurrences kept occurring until we got to what we see today, how long ago did it this all start?"

Chances are they'll tell you it all started with the Big Bang.

Then ask, ""O.K. So were you there when this all happened?" They'll obviously say "No".

Then ask, "So how can you believe in something you can't see?"

Then say, "Imagine you see a diagram of a Boeing 747 on a wall, showing all it's mechanical workings, and this diagram is placed next to a diagram of a human eye, with all it's workings. Are you telling me that neither of the two creations needed intelligence to make them work properly, or did only one of the two need intelligence to make?"

Then when they still argue (because they will), say something like, "Aaah. But you can't see evolution at work from the Big Bang till now, can you? So how can you believe in something you can't see?"

Chances are they'll still ridicule you. But you will have made your point, I think?

Anyway, it worked for me a few times.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, think of ways to throw there own arguments back at them in such a way that it shows them up to be ridiculous and not you.

Lekh

[nebula]

Just remember that Jesus could not say anything that would make the majority of the Pharisees and Sadducees and teachers of the law believe in Him.

Should we expect different results with atheists?

[Guest yod]

But maybe the best verse for you comes from Proverbs where it says "do not answer a fool according to his folly lest you become like him".

Which, I might point out, is immediately followed by "Do answer a fool according to his folly."

Proverbs 26:

4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.

5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.

Those verse mean we shouldn't answer according to his foolishness but rather speak to his heart's condition.

I never said we shouldn't give a good answer

[lekh l'kha]

Here's an idea.

Stop taking it personally.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, think of ways to throw there own arguments back at them in such a way that it shows them up to be ridiculous and not you.

And this attitude is no better. What kind of person enters a discussion with the intent of making those of an opposing viewpoint look ridiculous? Are you trying to convince people or do you just want to come out feeling like you "won"?

I have a very good friendship with all the atheists I threw their own arguments back at when they tried to make me look ridiculous for my faith - and we're still good friends.

I guess what I'm trying to say, Thracius, is,

Stop taking it personally.

[Fez]

We need a smiley showing water off a ducks back.

[lekh l'kha]

I have a very good friendship with all the atheists I threw their own arguments back at when they tried to make me look ridiculous for my faith - and we're still good friends.

...OK, great. What does that have to do with that I said? How does that answer my question? Does the fact that two people remain friends after a discussion mean that the discussion was any good?

See, if it's just a casual conversation between friends, fine, do or say whatever you want. That is not, however, what I was talking about. If you are engaging in a serious debate, you should not be approaching it with the intent of "winning" some trivial battle of wits and making your opponent look silly.

You're right. As a Christian, if I don't know the person I'm debating with very well, then I ought to be sensitive to the sensitivities of the insensitive, no matter how insulting they become.