The Petra Zone

Mountain Man wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 04, 2019 10:37 pm

Be careful. It's very rare to find an open-minded atheist who is truly willing to listen to and contemplate on the arguments and evidence for God, and you need be careful you're not getting sucked into a debate where he just wants to try and browbeat your faith out of you. I've encountered plenty of those kinds of atheists on the internet, and their primary tools are ignorance and ridicule.

But logically proving God's existence is a big question that's a lot easier to ask than it is to answer (and I suspect he knows that). It's not unanswerable, but the answer can be fairly complex and takes a lot of explanation. Dr. William Lain Craig wrote a whole essay about it which I recommend titled The New Atheism and Five Arguments For God. In this essay, Craig presents five logically sound arguments for God's existence, but the explanations to support each argument are quite lengthy and complex (although Craig does an excellent job making them understandable).

I point this out only because if your atheist friend is expecting a quick and easy answer then he's going to be disappointed, and I doubt he will have any interest in digging through a piece like Craig's. Perhaps I'm wrong, and he is genuinely interested in finding answers. I've been debating theology on the internet for almost two-decades, so I admit that I'm probably a bit jaded, but in my experience, most atheists just want to keep asking questions until they stump you or you can't answer to their satisfaction, and then they declare victory. They rarely want answers, just more excuses to continue disbelieving ("Ha! That Christian couldn't answer my question, so my disbelief in God is justified!").

Theological debate, especially on the internet, can be a pretty rough business, so you want to be prepared.

Mountain Man wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 04, 2019 10:37 pm

Be careful. It's very rare to find an open-minded atheist who is truly willing to listen to and contemplate on the arguments and evidence for God, and you need be careful you're not getting sucked into a debate where he just wants to try and browbeat your faith out of you. I've encountered plenty of those kinds of atheists on the internet, and their primary tools are ignorance and ridicule.

But logically proving God's existence is a big question that's a lot easier to ask than it is to answer (and I suspect he knows that). It's not unanswerable, but the answer can be fairly complex and takes a lot of explanation. Dr. William Lain Craig wrote a whole essay about it which I recommend titled The New Atheism and Five Arguments For God. In this essay, Craig presents five logically sound arguments for God's existence, but the explanations to support each argument are quite lengthy and complex (although Craig does an excellent job making them understandable).

I point this out only because if your atheist friend is expecting a quick and easy answer then he's going to be disappointed, and I doubt he will have any interest in digging through a piece like Craig's. Perhaps I'm wrong, and he is genuinely interested in finding answers. I've been debating theology on the internet for almost two-decades, so I admit that I'm probably a bit jaded, but in my experience, most atheists just want to keep asking questions until they stump you or you can't answer to their satisfaction, and then they declare victory. They rarely want answers, just more excuses to continue disbelieving ("Ha! That Christian couldn't answer my question, so my disbelief in God is justified!").

Theological debate, especially on the internet, can be a pretty rough business, so you want to be prepared.

Diehardpetrafan:) wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 06, 2019 2:51 pm

More help please!! Another guy has joined the conversation (many have actually) and he's in the usual situation where he was a believer and then he prayed and prayed and people died, his wife, babies, he was bullied as a kid, became depressed, all these things, and he's given up on God. I know somewhat how to talk to him, and I have asked my friend who's in a Bible College right now and she can help a lot, but everyone has different experience talking with different kinds of people. Thanks to anyone who helps!

Diehardpetrafan:) wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 06, 2019 2:51 pm

More help please!! Another guy has joined the conversation (many have actually) and he's in the usual situation where he was a believer and then he prayed and prayed and people died, his wife, babies, he was bullied as a kid, became depressed, all these things, and he's given up on God. I know somewhat how to talk to him, and I have asked my friend who's in a Bible College right now and she can help a lot, but everyone has different experience talking with different kinds of people. Thanks to anyone who helps!

Mountain Man wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 06, 2019 7:26 pm

Death, unfortunately, is a fact of life. My wife of 25-years died six-months ago after a two-year battle with cancer, so I know the heartache this world can bring. I prayed for her everyday, asked that she be miraculously healed, and she still died. Did God fail me? Of course not. First of all, God never promised us perfection on earth. And secondly, this life is not all there is. God did heal my wife, but he did it by giving her the perfect body that all Christians are promised in heaven. I miss her, and I sometimes ask God why he took her even though I know she's way better off in heaven than I am here on earth... but give up on God? Why would I, when he's never given up on me? His mercies are renewed every morning, and God knows I need it!

I'm not sure this helps you any, and it's not the kind of argument that's going to slay your opponent in a debate, but that's my story, and I'm sticking with it.