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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
As Christians who know the love of God and have the assurance of eternity in heaven, it's hard to understand why anyone would want to be an atheist. But when we realize the sin nature and its stron...
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Eric Hunter
Supporter
It is not our choice who is to be saved. We are simply to spread the news of His glory. That being said, please consider this. I was born into a family of very devout atheists. But Jesus did not intend for me to remain lost. Praise His Holy name! Later my nephew also raised as an atheist was writing a book to be the "final definitive proof against the existence of God." He continually questioned me regarding Jesus and suddenly Jesus showed His glory! My nephew then accepted Jesus. His life instantly transformed in a proof of God's glory. Please speak to everyone, always, everywhere at every opportunity.
Gary Patton
Supporter
A short, simple, but not simplistic, answer to this important question is in the New Covenant of Jesus. It is clearly outlined for every Jesus Follower to implement in the context of obeying Matthew 28:18-20. The answer applies to sharing Jesus with atheists, as well as every other person who does not know Jesus in a personal way. Holy Spirit's answer is in 1 Peter 3:15-17. Blessings all!
Billy P Eldred
Supporter
Absolutely! The question is not whether we should, rather how we should. We are called to evangelize any and every one who is not a Christian. "Go ye into the world and make disciples of all nations." The best way to evangelize anyone is through personal relationships. Someone once said "they don't care what you know until they know how much you care". If you are in a relationship with anyone, you are better equipped to demonstrate that caring, adding power to your witness! That being said, we do not always have a relationship with everyone we meet especially as Christians, with atheist. So we need to develope skills to help us in these situations. I like the Five questions approach. 1. Do you have any kind of Spiritual beliefs? 2. To you, who is Jesus? 3. Do you think there is a Heaven and a he'll? 4. If you died, where would you go, and why? 5. If what you are believing were not true, would you want to know? The beauty of this approach is that it does not matter what someone answers each question, you simply go to the next question. Admittedly, if you are speaking to a committed atheists, you will get more no's on the last question then otherwise and the idea is that if you get a no here then you just move on because that person is not ready but if you get a yes, then you just take them to the Romans road. My favorite question is "If you died, where would you go? You will be amazed at how many people's answer will be" I don't know, probably to hell" even though they just told you they did not believe there was a heaven and a he'll. The Romans Road ROMANS 3:10 ROMANS 3:23 ROMANS 5:12 ROMANS 6:23 ROMANS 5:8 ROMANS 10:13 ROMANS 10:9-10 At this point, again if you are speaking with an atheist, he may be resistant to the validity of scripture so you will need to give him personal testimony about why you believe. I even like to throw in what I belive about how the Bible is true and why. (Read Grant Jeffrey 'S The Signature of God as good base of knowledge here) The final point here is that you cannot make anyone believe and that is not your job. That is the job of the Holy Spirit and He is more than capable. Sometimes your effort will just be planting a seed that He will need time to nurture and grow, other times the result will be immediate. Either way, make a friend and be a good ambassador for Christ. One final final point here (:. When you are giving your personal testimony, try to include one supernatural point that you personally have experienced. This may be an answered prayer, a vision, a healing, a fulfilled prophecy, or a (you fill in the blank), but personal is best.
Aurel Gheorghe
Supporter
There is definitely a humbling spirit that should guide us when we deal with people of other faiths or no faith of all. Only God knows the heart of people and what they might respond to or not. One great example is Jonah. God called him to witness to Nineveh, a wicked city; however, he run the other way (Jonah 1:1-3). In witnessing to people we should not discriminate against faiths or believes or lack thereof. God can and will work miracles in people's lives and convert hearts that we did not think possible. Having said that, we should also be mindful and respectful of other people privacy and expressed or implied wish to be left alone. Sometime we can be overly enthusiastic and lose a friend or neighbor while trying to witness to someone who might not be ready or willing to hear the message at that particular time. We should be patient and pray for people salvation while accepting the sad fact that many will reject Christ.
Janet Austin
Supporter
Yes, Christians should try to evangelize to atheists. I cannot say it better than Penn Jillette, the well-known magician, self-proclaimed atheist. He said: “I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe there is a heaven and hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life or whatever, and you think it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward. How much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate someone to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?” Jillette then offered this example to illustrate his point: “If I believed, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you, and you didn’t believe it, that that truck was bearing down on you, there’s a certain point that I tackle you, and this is more important than that.” Isn’t that great! And as a HOW-TO: Sharing the Gospel can be done simply: talk of YOUR LIFE BEFORE Christ, YOUR LIFE CHANGED BY Christ, and YOUR NEW LIFE IN Christ. Practice getting it down to a one-minute message and you are likely to pique an atheist’s interest. If they ask for more, be ready to share; if they ask you to stop, stop. Remember, the Holy Spirit is the One who draws people to God. Your job is to obey Jesus’ command to make disciples of all nations.
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