What is this thread all about?
Just a place for general discussion. A place to unload whats on your mind and talk about anything - personal, health, help needed, achievements, daily highs and daily lows, theories, predictions and what have you.
Does not need to be Q related.
Have you pointed out the irony that he simply swapped religions, and is probably more dogmatic about his new one at that?
You have to believe there is a God to be an atheist.
You are letting him control the conversation and he is making it about you rather than the facts.
Ask him what he believes and why he believes what he does. This will put his guard down because he gets to talk about himself and you should be genuinely interested. Most people don't even understand or have a reason. Then just poke holes slowly by asking questions.
I would present the following:
You can see the evil in the world and know that it is so. Why?
Seek a solid foundation that you may not be deceived.
Seek the truth with all your heart and mind.
Why do you believe what you believe?
Seek love for all people. It is better for an evil person to recant than die. Why?
Where did we come from? Take it all the way back step by step.
Is there more than naturalism (chemicals in brain)?
Where does morality come from?
Why does anything matter?
Listen to people standing in courage and carefully consider what they have to say.
Be brave, form your own conclusions.
This is a series of general questions I made up. It is better if you adapt to what he is presenting. I highly recommend the book "Tactics" as an apologetic tool. Some of my co-workers are lost causes without prayer and the Lord's intervention. Hope this helps!
It is difficult. I have reached some people better than others and I hope at least started them down the path of asking questions of themselves and the world.
Be encouraged that you never know how far God is going to take that 1 step out in faith.
This is a true story -
When I started a job there was a guy hired soon after me who was the worst project partner I ever had in college. He not only did no work, he pretended he was going to do work. When it came time to partner review I gave my honest feedback to the professor and him. Don't hear anything from him.
Years later, when he joins the company I tell my boss he is not to be trusted or good. Boss says ok, we will keep an eye on him. I am understandably frustrated having to work with this guy again. But God starts working on my heart. I decide (with Holy Spirit prompting) to actively try to not just treat him professionally, but actively be friendly.
Years pass. He actually is doing well within the company and a solid contributor.
One day we were at dinner with other coworkers and he got very drunk. And he told this to all of us there. He said that when we were in class together in college he was on several hard drugs at the time, really unable to be motivated, and failing classes.
But then he got that partner feedback. And he credits me with being the reason he quit hard drugs, straightened out his life, and made all A's in college from there on out. Because I was real with him. He recognized that the way he was living was not ok. It was super awkward but that night has stuck with me ever since.
Point is, the sick need to understand they are sick before they will seek a solution or change. I am praying God convicts everyone in this world in the same way.
Don't forget to ask Holy Spirit to lead you in this. He will help given you the words to say, and you are only responsible for planting seeds. It is the Lord who is responsible for making them grow.
If, as you say, he is Godless, then you may not be able to do anything about that. If he is mainly anti-church, you may still be able to get him to have a relationship with God. There is a lot of evil in, I know, the Catholic church--I'm not too sure about the others--but they probably have their share of evil also. So believing in God is one thing and worshipping at the church is another. You can be a great believer and not like the formality of the church, no matter what religion you belong to. Do you think God cares if you worship him from outside or inside a church? I don't think so.
If I am reading what you put above, then sorry--but it sounded to me like he didn't like the organized part of religion--something I am not in favor of either. I say let people worship the way they want to and tithe what they want when they want.
Annoying and such a shame. The following may not have anything to do with religion, and you may already know this, but these are statistics that show the media is very prevalent in what we think, generally. He may be being influenced and not even know it:
This should be a wake-up call if you don’t already know this.
A recent poll was conducted by a national polling outfit. Names don't matter. They are all the same. This one was "YouGov”. Results to these questions asked of average people on the street. …………………………….
So why do people have such inaccurate thoughts on these counts? THE MEDIA! The media run race, gender, and wealth stories constantly. Result? You are being brainwashed by the national left with the media. Hitler’s propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels would be proud if he'd had half this success.
Disney just went full-on "gender" They will no longer welcome guests with the traditional "Welcome ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls" Why? Because 1% of the population dictates to the other 99% (that would be the vast majority) and corporate America falls for it.
Regardless of what you think. Less than 20% of Americans use "Twitter" yet Twitter controls 80% of public opinion, why? The media.
Next time you are thinking Americans have changed and not in a good way, remember, it's fake.
It's all a lie. Most people think just like you do but the media has brainwashed Americans with constant broadcasting of “LIES”.
Nudibranches. Please have him explain how random and abrupt evolution leads to a nudybranch.
etetnal jellyfish, 10000 year old trees are other good examples
But nudibranch trumps them all to me. All the nudibranch, even the craziest looking ones, have sound color theory and artistic balance. That's no accident, it's tangible proof of intelligent design
This comes late, but I think it's still relevant. Here is my view.
Look into his heart. You say he was heavily involved w/ church in his youth. Most likely, this means he had a heart to be good, to do good. When you do something like that, if you are sincere, you open your heart and you give. Easier for young people than older, normally.
He opened his heart, and then he saw things that were not good. Hypocrisy, and worse, no doubt (because hypocrisy is saying one thing and doing another, but what were the bad things they were doing?). So, he got hurt. He was wounded, struck in the most precious place, his heart.
When one's open heart is struck, the instinctive (aka automatic) reaction is to contract the heart, to close up, which reduces the feelings of pain and hurt. This will usually be done unconsciously, as a matter of reaction. Then, justifications will be offered. This is where the enemy's lies come in. "They did x. They are x. Look at how they are lying." etc. If the person succumbs to these words, they will become the justification for keeping the heart closed, shut down, and for turning away.
These are lies because, even if the facts are true, the purpose behind these words is to get the person to turn away from the heart, which is where God reaches us. The reason we need the Word of God, is because it helps us open and unlock our heart. The enemy seeks to give us words that shut down our heart, our ability to open up to God, and to others.
The lie here is that the man in question was offered a justification for avoiding the pain he felt when he felt betrayed, lied to. He may have even felt God had lied to him, saying "Christianity is X", when in fact (says the devil, the lie) 'it is Y'.
Notice this exact same dynamic is how the Cabal has shut down so many of our people? To avoid the pain for feeling duped, mislead, or hopeless, they embrace the lies and the deceit of the media and the government, saying its all to help save others, when in reality it's all to avoid the pain they know they would feel if they looked inward and recognized the truth.
In this case, the point is this: What this guy needs is not words. Words won't work. He's embraced the narrative he has (that religion or Christianity is a lie; that Jesus is a lie) for a reason. The reason? To avoid the pain. To avoid the hurt he felt, whether it was feeling like a fool, or being deceived by the church people, or whatever. Or to avoid the pangs of conscience, when he used the deeds of others as the justification to close himself off. Whatever the case, he opened his heart, and he got hit by evil.
You won't change him with words. Words are not what he needs at this time. I mean, he's telling you that by his behavior, loud and clear (even if it is unconscious). What he needs is love. Honest, caring, unconditional love. And please note, by unconditional, I don't mean love under any circumstances. I mean love that requires NOTHING from him. Love that is freely given, simply because to love is a good thing. A godly thing.
As followers of Christ, we sometimes forget that we are called MORE to love, than to preach. Yes, preaching, telling "the truth" will open up the heart that is ready, but for a heart to be ready, it must be able to feel God's presence, that is, feel love. If in doubt, re-read Paul's passages about gongs and cymbals. And, look at how Jesus behaved. He rarely preached, as much as he loved. He loved, even though the world threw it's utter worst in his face. And he gave his love freely, without requirement.
If you look at this guy, and imagine how lonely and hurt his heart is under all the rationalization and theoretical justification he has set up, and just commit to do small, unreasonable (aka without conditions) gestures and acts of agape love, you may end up helping him. And, you'll be growing your own heart.
Perhaps, the reason he infuriates you is because you recognize you need to give love to him, and others, but may not feel up to the task. but you can. "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." The all things here = love. The strength to truly love others, without requirement or condition, comes from Christ. His eternally open heart is the source of the love we need to open our own, even when someone else is shut down.
Small acts of kindness. Make him a coffee. Think about how you might be able to help him. He knows where you stand, so put aside the words. Now, show him by who you are, that love is real, and that Jesus' love is real, and that the hypocrites who were the instrument of his scarring - they are the fakes. Just be a friend, without conditions.
And if you don't succeed in helping him to open his heart, all you have done is given more love into the world. And this is what the world needs most: love. The reason we seek the truth is because it is the doorway to love.
Good luck, and God's blessing.
NB, I Cor 13:1-7, John 8:10-11, Phil 4:13
I believe I understand how and why people feel and think the way they do, but the them vs us divide is not helpful on a certain level.
I was listening to a podcast the other day, and the guys was saying he's not anti-leftist, he's not anti-right, not anti-great reset; he's pro-human.
He raised a really profound point, imo. At some level, to truly open our hearts and resonate with Jesus, we need to see that Satan is the opponent, and every other human is, on some level, a victim. Satan not only doesn't care - he hates humans. All you're hillaries, your klaus schwabs, they are ALL expendable, and Satan hates them to.
Another point: How do you love your enemy? Answer: When you truly love someone, they cease to be your enemy. So, you're not loving your enemy; you're loving your long lost brother, your long lost sister.
If we look at all the people in the world, those doing so much harm on the other side, and think of them as my uncle, my cousin, my brother, my sister, then we can really start to resonate with God's love. A lot of grief accompanies such thinking, because grief is the appropriate response when your brother or sister or daughter does something horrendous and destructive, but on the other side of grief is love.
We cannot fully access God's great heart without walking through the desert of grief.
A blessing on your day!
Next time just start picking at your teeth and tell him there’s something between his teeth.
You will disarm him and regain control.
At least that’s what the internet told me yesterday ;)
Give him the book I am reading... "I don't have enough faith to be an atheist."
Prolly should read it first, then give it?
shake the dust off your feet from that encounter. God in Christ is glorious, those who refuse HIM will never experience HIS Glory, in life and in the after life. We never know the outcome for another person, he may return, he may not. Church does do a number on some people, I never denied Christ, but I was "mad at religion" for a period in my life. God is not religion though, he can be found there, but it is not the only place.. there have been times when I have passively listened to atheists go on and on, all the while I say in my mind, "get behind me satan in the name of Jesus Christ". Little mantras like that can take the bad taste out of your mouth after a confrontation, better yet, repeat it as they are talking blah blah blah blah against the Holy Spirit, to yourself.