Declaring that the existence God and the lordship of Christ are facts without offering reasons why that is so, is actually a bold demonstration of a profound lack of respect for those who do not acknowledge those declarations to be facts in the first place.

This applies particularly to atheists because they pride themselves on being reasonable. So to show our atheist brethren proper respect for their outlook on the topic, the believer must be able to reason out why the existence of God is a fact and then explain that reasoning to the atheist.

Saint Paul learned how to do that during his journeys throughout the Greco-Roman world.

Such a method will diminish the danger of becoming swept away by strong, irrational feelings that are so wisely noted in the post.

Such a method forces the believer to explain the Gospel through the gentleness of reason and not the harsh billy club of incomprehensible dogma and loud unfounded declarations.

@NotWhereIThought@xanga - Reasoning out the existence of God has a long history. In fact, the existence of God is self-evident. That means it can be reasoned out. There is a strain of anti-intellectualism that runs through Christianity. And I believe atheists find that especially repugnant. 

I believe that it is our Christian duty, given our life and times, to lay out our faith reasonably to ourselves (fellow believers), those who are thinking about approaching Christianity, and especially atheists who are not able to understand the language of faith.

Effective communication requires common language. Reason and rationality are intellectual faculties common to us all as part of our human nature. 

Saying to atheists, "God exists, and Jesus is Lord, that's a fact. I respect you. End of discussion," is in fact, disrespectful and divisive.

Atheists I know outside of Xanga are men and women of great accomplishment, virtue and are amazingly intelligent. The fundamentalist, anti-intellectual brand of Christianity tries their patience because its proponents demand automatic, unthinking acceptance of the "facts".

It really bothers me when christians say it's my way or no way. As a christian, you should ultimately believe that God is in control of everything, knows all, and understand far more than we ever could hope to. Who are you to say that someone's path is the wrong one? Did you ever stop to think that perhaps God has set them on a different path for a reason? All you should do is be willing to share what you have learned and be a support for others who are learning, without a holier-than-thou attitude. You can be a righteous person without being self-righteous. How many people do you really think you'll win for your cause by telling them flat out that they are wrong? You're basically saying "You are wrong. We all love you. Join us." Seriously, people are going to stop at the 'you're wrong' part, call you names, and turn their backs on you. You can't say that what you believe is a fact without being able to provide proof of the fact. And don't start quoting bible verses as proof because that's just circular reasoning. The only proof of the existence of God a person has is their own experiences. Some people are open to that, some are not. But don't tell a person they are wrong because of what God has chosen to give them. He has His reasons and you of all people should know that. 

@kk_grayfox@xanga - I'm super duper positively sure that cake is delicious :3

I'm a follower of Yahshua. I'm not a christian. I do not presume to know what path God has placed before a person. Would you like it if I told you that christianity was wrong, The False Religion? (I'm not saying it is, just trying to prove a point.) Would you begin to ask questions to join what I consider to be the only path to salvation? No. Probably you'd get mad and tell me I'm set for hell. In fact, I believe an angry answer has already formed in your head as you read this. Do you think that non-religious are going to have another response to the "your wrong" attitude? It's interesting to me to play the devil's advocate on posts like this. Was there ever a time in your life when you didn't believe in God? If not, you won't understand where non-believers are coming from. It seems to me that the majority of christians fail to show empathy for people who have different beliefs. Most of them seem very closed minded about learned more about another person's beliefs, yet they just expect others to jump on board right away. 

@greene_lily@xanga - Thanks for the feedback. I love that you're interacting! I had some thoughts concerning your words.

God has revealed truth to us about him and his Way in the scriptures. It's not about who I am but about who God is and what he has said. I'm not claiming authority. I'm claiming Christ and Christ speaks of the truth of God. 

I did. I believe God is always drawing people to him as he pursues them.  I don't think he sets people on paths away from him (unless it's truly a path to him and only looks like it is away from him) but I don't see instances of God sending people on a path away from him in that way in scripture. That seems to be more like Satan activity than YHWH activity (Judas is a good example of this). People certainly make choices to walk in the opposite direction of God and he gives them the opportunity to do that and allows their choice to exist but I don't think scripture supports the idea that God sends people away from him to draw them closer. He has hardened hearts at times to fulfill his purposes but that was in response to rebellion.

 I'm happy to share what I've learned and to support those who are seeking and learning. To claim something as right and wrong, or even to say one has seized what is right and others have seized what is wrong is not being holier-than-thou or self righteous. Scripture doesn't lead me to believe it's wrong to say "this is right and this is wrong" especially when it comes to declaring the name of God. In fact, quite the opposite exists in scripture. So either it's wrong to say certain things are right and certain things wrong or all the prophets, apostles, judges, kings, and servants of God, even God himself are wrong because they all draw those distinctions. 

That's okay. That's their choice. If someone tells me I'm wrong I won't do that to them because I'm secure in what I claim to be true. Someone telling me I'm wrong is not threatening and worthy of that type of behavior. How someone reacts to God's declarations is on them and not me. Interestingly, I didn't get the result you speak of here on my original post. I got the opposite overall. I also don't experience your predicted result in offline interactions. My atheist friends and I are on great terms even though they know my position and we love each other dearly. I choose to love them and speak truth to them. They don't have to accept that truth for me to continue loving them. The love is not conditional. If their love is conditional that's unfortunate and it sends a message.

 As a Christian I believe the Word of God speaks truth and reveals what is true about God to us. Scripture speaks of the greatest realities around us. When I speak of God being real I do point to scripture because that's a place where he has revealed himself to man. I also point to my life and the lives of others but experience is not the only revelation of God that exists. I'd even say that experience can be less convincing than scripture a lot of the time. Some may deny the nature of scripture as truth concerning Creator God, and that's fine, they're wrong about it, but if we are Christians we must confess that scripture is a valid source to inform humanity about the truth of God. 

I don't assume my path is the only one. Others need not live an identical life as mine. However, they should imitate Jesus (we're all struggling to do this). I believe all must come through Christ to be with the Father eternally (however that ends up working itself out). It is possible to believe my path is not the only acceptable one while also recognizing there are paths that are not leading to God but to death and those paths are characterized by rebellion against God. Scripture seems pretty clear about that. Following the way of God and coming under his reign is the Way to God. Standing against God and rejecting him is not a way to him. Just as we can't draw closer to a spouse by abandoning, divorcing, and not loving them we also can't draw close to God by abandoning, divorcing and not loving him. Assuming every path is right is dangerous too. Peace be with you. I appreciate the interaction!

@duckie_iz_me@xanga - In this we can not have fellowship ;)

I love your responses. It shows that you are different from many of the other christians that I've met online and in person. I've really seen some nasty things written about atheists, other religions, or people who just disagree in general. I appreciate that you've allowed me to play the devil's advocate on your blog. Many of the things I said I have had said to me before. And it shows that there can be disagreement without the nastiness. Honestly, I'm right there with you. We do actually believe many of the same things, though I do believe our personal religions differ slightly. Kudos!

No one has proved or disproved God/gods through reason so I think we should all just leave one another alone and respect each other.

@When_We_Were_Both_Cats@xanga -  The a priori arguments, and their criticisms, for God are based on reason alone, and have nothing to do with faith.

@NotWhereIThought@xanga - If you want to read arguments that aren't "flat out awful", try the a posteriori & a priori arguments for God, and their respective criticisms. (I only linked the most well known!)

Jesus said that no one comes to the Father except through him.  

If Jesus didn't make exclusive statements such as this one, Christians could agree that there are multiple paths to God. But because Jesus did make those claims, to agree that other paths are valid is to disown their own path.

I can't say anything to this because I'll be deemed dis-respectful. And that I'll need to open my mind. Or something. 

"@greene_lily@xanga - Thanks for the feedback. I love that you're interacting! I had some thoughts concerning your words.

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