Non-believers

PDN

Wicknight wrote: »

You asked what would a Christians say to convert a non-believer and you are surprised it become a discussion between Christians and atheism. Really?

How in your head did you see this thread going

You could see the way this thread was going to go from the start, the Christians were either going to say that they wouldn't say anything, being a Christian is about inner knowledge of God, or they were going to say something like quote a Bible and the atheists were going to point out that this wouldn't convert them in a million years.

Sometimes I think these threads are only started so people can complain about "trolls"/"hi-jackers"/"rabbit holes" :rolleyes:

Actually, for Christians, most 'unbelievers' are not atheists. They are nominal Catholics, new-agers, Muslims and a whole bunch of people who live a secular life with no fixed views on religion or God.

The problem is that a small minority of unbelievers (atheists) are the most vocal and so think everything is about them - thereby pretty well dragging us down the same old arguments and preventing us discussing how we would share our faith with everybody else.

Zombrex

TheColl wrote: »

I didn't ask for non-believers to come on and say "nope that didnt work for me".

And you didn't ask not for that either. This is a discussion forum, the idea that you wouldn't want input from the people you are discussing is not immediately obvious :rolleyes:

TheColl

Wicknight wrote: »

And you didn't ask not for that either. This is a discussion forum, the idea that you wouldn't want input from the people you are discussing is not immediately obvious :rolleyes:

Missing the point of my question :rolleyes:

Zombrex

TheColl wrote: »

Missing the point of my question :rolleyes:

You didn't explain the point of your question, you just asked it.

looksee

How can you say 'Christian answers only' about something that involves non-Christians? Are you saying that you just want a cosy chat where everyone agrees with each other and you convince yourselves that you can save the world? Suggesting that there could be a single phrase that could convert people sounds very much like looking for a magic spell.

I had a very positive experience of Christianity - as a child I attended Sunday School. As I got older I attended church at least once on a Sunday. I was a Sunday School teacher. I belonged to several social groups. I had a great experience and social life until I was 21, when I went abroad. However, as I got older I gradually realised that my interest in religion was mostly social and that I did not genuinely believe what I was singing and praying. I felt quite guilty about it, but I could not convince myself to believe.

I was introduced to Catholicism, and felt that maybe it had something, but again I gradually realised that a. the Catholic Church had no interest in me, in fact it apparently despised me, and b. religion in Ireland was as much a political choice as a spiritual one.

So now, while I am sympathetic to a general concept of a supreme influence, and mildly interested in the subject, I do not consider myself religious. I am mostly unconvinced about is (man-made) theology, and the argument 'but the Bible says so, so that proves it'. So no phrase from the Bible is going to bring me round, because I do not believe there is anything to be brought round to.

I have no problem with people who believe, good luck to them, one can in a way envy their security in their belief. But wars, cruelty, violence and brainwashing have resulted from a desire to spread the message of love. People have taken it on themselves to decide what God wants and have often concluded that any means may be taken to achieve that end.

I believe there is a void in human minds created by the things we do not know, the fear of the unknown and the questions of why and how we are here. This has resulted in every society creating answers for themselves. If someone thinks through the great questions and comes to conclusions that satisfy him, then he needs other people to confirm his beliefs by accepting the same things, and people are willing to accept what they are told for the security it provides. So you get a useful willing symbiosis of people who like the authority and power, and people who want a pattern to live by. It is so much easier to be told what to do than to figure things out for yourself, and there is a strong desire in most people to be part of a group. It seems to me that this is the basis of our society, and as such is a positive influence.

Maybe there is some sort of instinct that makes people want to bring other people round to their way of thinking, in order to strengthen the bond of society. In that case I suppose all belief systems serve a useful purpose and it accounts for the proselytizing that most of them do.

philologos

The thread is about how Christians would share the Gospel with those who don't believe in the Gospel. That could include Muslims, Jews, Sikhs etc as well as atheists or agnostics. A lot of people seem to think when they hear the term non-believer it refers just to atheists.

So the Christian-only tag would be perfectly acceptable.