Classifying atheists -whom to ignore

[Nadjeschda]

2 hours ago, Neighbor said:

Hi. I have met some who have said "I am Jesus", "I am God", in my travels and bond-servant service. Some very difficult and violent too, our own service comes at some risk to the flesh for sure, but hey what value is this flesh anyway? 

God provides though, He provided the perfect words for me when  one such  lunatic was threatening to kill a fellow saint/teacher and some class members.

 I propelled myself forward, bear hugged his far bigger mass than me, and said, "Hey lets go get a giant bottle of Orange crush, what do you say, just you and me and then I will take you  to the home before everyone else and you can have it all to yourself."  That wisdom evidently came straight out of the book of Probes.

This beast of a man  forgot his anger and stopped  his attempt at attack, said "Orange Crush?"  and we got in the church van. I bought him that bottle of soda and took hm to the care home and told them what was up.

Never know what one is going to come up against. Just have to go through it as best one can including the challenge of those that say "I am God". Why really, I did say that myself "I am my own god". I didn't attack anyone over it, but it was my own response to those that said you have to believe in something. I didn't buy that statement from any of them. I relied upon myself totally, and so I was indeed my own god. In my mind it was so. God showed me otherwise.

I credit many for having shared of our Lord, but most of all my grandmother who prayed for me daily for years and years till her death which occurred before God turned me about- He was and is faithful to His word. He answers prayer.

All I can encourage is don't give up on anyone as long as the grace from God given to you allows to to pursue sharing the gospel of our Lord and savior.  Don't give in, nor give up. Pray and pray and pray, share and share.

What you did is called „paradox intervention“. Very nicely done. 

But you where probably more facing someone psychical ill and that is not at all a barrier to finding god. Narcissism seems in contrast to be a huge barrier because there can be only one „big boss“ : the narcissist or god. The narcissistic Christian I saw said: god is my equal. This is as well a serious misunderstanding of the concept of god.  

Edited September 16, 2019 by Nadjeschda

[Nadjeschda]

2 hours ago, lovethelord said:

Nadjeschda,

I don't see the need to classify atheists. Instead of thinking which Atheists should be ignored, the goal should be to treat everyone who is not a believer with gentleness and respect. We all know that you cannot argue someone to faith, however we can plant a seed and see where that goes.  Jesus says there are those who plant and those who harvest.  Any little bit that you do for God's kingdom is recognized by our Lord Jesus. The bible gives examples on when to shake the dust off our feet and move on and how to handle those who ridicule the gospel and have no need to hear the message. However, if you happen to speak to someone who is completely uninterested and even rude, we don't know that that person will remain in that same attitude at a later time. God through trials or life can bring about a complete change of attitude for that same person and wake them up to wanting to know about the gospel message and accept God's grace.

You are right that that change might come. Maybe it will come for everyone in the moment of his death and we just don‘t know. But narcissist are thought to be almost incurable in their grandiosity.

Miracles happen   But I want to describe and warn you about this special type of person, and I think it even can help to be more gentle to the other atheists. Because once you realize who is the really frustrating atheist and why it might explain many bad experience you had in the past and prevent you from projecting that bad experience on the next Person you encounter. If you want to see it in more religious terms the narcissist is the one who has taken a really really deep bite in satans apple and now thinks as a consequence he knows it all.

[JTC]

Hi Nadjeschda,

    I noticed you are in Germany while most of us are in the USA, what I mean is people's attitudes are probably quite different where you are. In fact I'm sure they're different. I've never been big on trying to evangelize other people because no one could ever convince me. God had to convince me. That was a very long time ago. When I look back on it now, I'm glad for all the people who tried to evangelize me, but I wish they hadn't argued with me. What was helpful was just hearing from people that they believed in Jesus. Back then we were known as "Jesus freaks" and I didn't want to become a Jesus freak. But I did and I'm glad I am. I also want to say that around here if someone said he believes he is god my first thought would be he's into the New Age, not that he's a narcissist. But that could be a cultural difference.

   Let the Holy Spirit be your guide in terms of who to tell about your faith. That's the best advice I have. 

[Nadjeschda]

9 hours ago, JTC said:

Hi Nadjeschda,

    I noticed you are in Germany while most of us are in the USA, what I mean is people's attitudes are probably quite different where you are. In fact I'm sure they're different. I've never been big on trying to evangelize other people because no one could ever convince me. God had to convince me. That was a very long time ago. When I look back on it now, I'm glad for all the people who tried to evangelize me, but I wish they hadn't argued with me. What was helpful was just hearing from people that they believed in Jesus. Back then we were known as "Jesus freaks" and I didn't want to become a Jesus freak. But I did and I'm glad I am. I also want to say that around here if someone said he believes he is god my first thought would be he's into the New Age, not that he's a narcissist. But that could be a cultural difference.

   Let the Holy Spirit be your guide in terms of who to tell about your faith. That's the best advice I have. 

I understand what you mean with new age believer. But this guy was really ardent that he does NOT believe and that he IS god. If you run into mentally ill people in contrast they believe that the supernatural exist and that they are god. Because mental illness is mentall illness I would not blame that on him; to the contrary he or she is suffering in reality and deserving kindness. But narcicism - the believe that you are like god king over all humans is rising. And as you see it has nothing to do with beeing religious. The more superficial and the more distorted our society becomes the more openly this people will present themselves.

Talk in itself did not convince me but talk from people who did live in Jesus style humility and where charitable had a large influence. So propably evangelizing might be more about giving a good example.

[Nadjeschda]

9 hours ago, DustyRoad said:

I find myself agreeing with the majority in this thread. Not only was I an atheist but you might have been deeply grieved to learn how I ran off and denied God the first time he called out to me. I might have been "worse than an atheist" in your eyes. Who knows?

And therein lies the problem. Only the Lord knows the hearts and minds and unless his Spirit reveals knowledge to our awareness, we shouldn't assume that someone is a lost cause. Especially in this day and age!

I suppose I fitted your "injustice atheist" stereotype. Over the years I convinced myself that I had experienced a break with reality (psychosis) when God started speaking, calling out for me to come to him. I also chose to toss the miraculous things I witnessed into similar packaging, writing it all off as delusions and magical (wishful) thinking. Ugh, I was horrible. 

I was doing my very best to insulate myself against the Truth. The Lord was so beyond me I was left reeling, unable to reconcile the evil of this world with a God who is love. I was humiliated and ashamed and so I bolted! It took years for me to devolve into atheism so it didn't happen overnight. Whenever an earnest believer in Christ crossed my path I never failed to feel conflicted inside. On the one hand I felt embarrassed for their sake, remembering what it was like to try my hand at "witnessing" all those years ago. I also couldn't deny the anger which swelled up inside. I had no idea what my anger was all about when I was lost and in my sins.

We usually aren't aware of what our efforts to befriend the lost accomplish, but never sell yourself short. We obey Christ when we love our neighbor, no matter how rabidly they disbelieve or deny. We obey Christ when we forgive them, love them, and show them the Life which God planted in us. Don't give up on someone even if they're crazy. Remember this:

If I can come to the Son of God in weakness and repentance then anyone can! 

But if you fitted my injustice atheist (the highly empathic atheist that feels so strong about injustice) you realize that I predicted that you would become the better Christian and more easier convert ? I am well able to stand my argument even if the threat is against me: narcicism is a major barrier against believe. Narcicism blends over into psychopathy seemlessly so you have the people here which already have the longest registry of sins. This in itself does not preclude becoming a Christian as Jesus loves the lost sheep. But the size of thinking error they have to addmit is larger than those that have commited few sin. If you are person that learns eagerly and a humile person you can achieve addmitting such thinking errors, but that is not the charisterics of a narcicist.

They can not addmit thinking errors - not even in front of themselves - because they see themselves always and in all areas of life as more smart than others. But an atheist to convert would for a moment have to understand and addmitt that he has been an idiot in the most important area of life. He has to realize that there at least a billion people who where smarter than him in the god question. I had this moment and believe me it felt amazing

The king of the world and propably smartest person alive (that is the image narcicist have about themselves) simply will not consider the option that he has been an idiot for even a second.

[Nadjeschda]

Nothing I think is fool proof because I am a human. But this does not mean that I will stop thinking altogether.

It has been shown that true psychopaths mainly think about money, erotics and food. Or in other words: they think purely materialistic.

Materialism does not give you the prequesits to enter a religion, but in the most superficial of ways. I stand firm on that opinion, you can’t change my mind. God might still know a way to save them but I don’t.

Think of it this way: if you believe you are capable of evangelizing a demon - does that not show that you lack humility? 

And when you give energy and time into this project - how much time do you have left to help those that are true seekers? This man gave me shudders and that might already have been the direct wisdom from god you ask for.

Frankly I have made up my mind and I guess that I will keep mostly out of evangelizing directly in the future. I never was impressed as an atheist by the words of Christians on their own, I was impressed by the example they gave in their life.

I hence rather want to live in poverty and help others -and helping others includes warning others of narcissism wherever I can.