Converting athiests to christianity.

[nindoja]

Hello. I am going to try to convert one of my friends to christianity... I don't know where to start, or from what vantage point to start from (attack athiesm, or defend christianity). Please help me by providing some links to some sites, and sending me to some bible verses.
Thanks, and God's praise be with you.

 

[Gamecock]

Hello. I am going to try to convert one of my friends to christianity... I don't know where to start, or from what vantage point to start from (attack athiesm, or defend christianity). Please help me by providing some links to some sites, and sending me to some bible verses.
Thanks, and God's praise be with you.

From my perspective as a Calvinist, you cannot convert anyone. It is within God's will and the work of the Holy Spirit. That might sound harsh, but in fact it is very liberating. There is no pressure on you! You cannot mess it up by not quoting the right formula.

That being said, here is how you proceed.

1. Pray, then pray again, then pray some more.
2. Let your actions serve as a beacon. Be kind, loving considerate.
3. Pray some more
4. You must know where they are coming from. What is their perspective on Christianity?
5. Unwrap the Gospel from that perspective. In other words, if they believe that Christ never existed, approach it from a historical perspective. If they believe that Christ lived, but was just a great teacher, you must approach it from the perspective that Christ was indeed the Son of God. If they don't believe they need Christ, or that they are good enough to sneak into Heaven without Christ, you must expose their sin, and the consequences, but be gentle and loving. That is hard to do...
6. Don't get flustered, frustrated, or feel that they need to profess Christ after one session. It can take years! Be patient.
7. Did I mention the need for prayer?

8. Try this link for some tools. This is the site on which I gird myself for battle. http://www.carm.org/evangelize.htm

 

[wvmtnkid]

You might also just share your own faith story with them. Hopefully they will see the difference Christ has made in your life. But being able to tell them the difference, sharing how much Jesus means to you, sometimes has a great impact on others. If you have the time, go to the Testamonies forum and read the testamonies of some of our members and see the difference Christ made in their lifes and see how others approached them about Jesus. Sometimes it was just a simple invitation to a church service. You don't have to knock somebody over with a Bible :0, just love them and care for them with the love of Jesus, let Him shine through you. Let Him attract others to Him, through you.

 

[nindoja]

Thanks for the great advice people. I think that those are all good ideas. I will report back when I have accomplished something.

 

[Lyle]

Hello. I am going to try to convert one of my friends to christianity... I don't know where to start, or from what vantage point to start from (attack athiesm, or defend christianity). Please help me by providing some links to some sites, and sending me to some bible verses.
Thanks, and God's praise be with you.

It can be difficult, even more so with that type of a person. I know I have had almost (seemingly) no impact on them. Pray, it's the best thing. Pray that God will open their hearts.. Be open and honest about your faith... I don't have any verses now, and won't give any until I find out where this person is at. But remember to keep Christ first.. and then keep us updated

 

[nindoja]

Well, I can tell you that this person was raised catholic, but doesn't believe anymore... If that helps any

 

[Crazy Liz]

Well, I can tell you that this person was raised catholic, but doesn't believe anymore... If that helps any

That helps a lot.

First, I would say you've gotten some really good input already. I especially think what Gamecock said (although I'm not a Calvinist) about it not being your responsibility to convert someone, about prayer, about your life speakign more than your words, etc. are very, very important.

Second, I don't like preaching to people, and most peple don't like being preached to. Instead, ask questions. A good question to start with is why your friend stopped believing in the Catholic faith. Knowing what changed this person's mind before will give you something more to think and pray about. When you ask questions, be sympathetic & don't argue. Try to understand exactly what happened. Over time, you may become a safe person to talk with about some pain or injury that really is at the root of rejecting God's existence. Don't use this pain as a lever or a platform for making counter-arguments. Be patient. Also, remember both halves of 1 Peter 3:15. It doesn't do you any good just to be ready always to give an answer. You have to be able to do it with meekness and fear. Sympathy and respect might be better synonyms in today's parlance. If you can't give that kind of answer, it's probably better to keep quiet and listen. Maybe even say, "I'd like to think about that for a while. Can we talk about this again later?" Then pray at least as much as you study for an answer.

 

[Gamecock]

Well, I can tell you that this person was raised catholic, but doesn't believe anymore... If that helps any

First, this is not meant to be RC bashing!

Now, many who have grown up Catholic have issues with much of the doctrine of the RC church.

I have found that many of them respond quite well to the 5 Solas.

Talk about the scripture as the sole rule of the Christian faith, and Faith alone is what saves. S/he may respond quite rapidly to these truths.

 

[Hands&Feet]

Just love 'em. Don't let the issues get in the way of your relationship with them for now. Be caring, compassionate, and patient. They won't come by reason...no one will. They will come the same as the rest of us--by faith. When your friend can longer find any holes in your faith, he will begin to find them in his own unbelief. We'll be praying.

 

[Judilyn]

Lots of great advice here everyone.

Remember to talk to God about your friend more than you talk to your friend about God. Love them alot and let your light shine and don't get pushy.

I'll be praying

 

[Shekinahs]

Hello. I am going to try to convert one of my friends to christianity... I don't know where to start, or from what vantage point to start from (attack athiesm, or defend christianity). Please help me by providing some links to some sites, and sending me to some bible verses.
Thanks, and God's praise be with you.

Blessings Nindoja,

First off you are setting yourself up for frustrations if you feel the conversion is up to you. Only the Spirit of God can convert a heart. But it is within your power to introduce Christianity to your friend. The best way is to "live" a sermon. Non-Christians spend more time looking at how we live our lives than what we say. They tend to know what our Bible says and what we should and should not be doing and they pay attention.

After awhile they will come to you with gentle questions. Never ever attack their right to freedom of religion. Never attack their religious belief. They will get just as defensive and non accepting as a Christian would be if a non Christian attacked the name of Jesus. We would have no desire to hear anything else they have to say. Much less give our lives to the doctrine they are speaking of.

We as Christians reflect our God. When people see us they see a dim reflection of who our God is. And if we spend time attacking they see that as an attribute of God and normally have no desire to serve or follow a God who condones personal attacks.

Like Gamecock said, pray, pray, and pray some more.

~ShekinahMoon~
"For I am a reflection of the Shekinahs"

 

[Susan]

Blessings Nindoja,

First off you are setting yourself up for frustrations if you feel the conversion is up to you. Only the Spirit of God can convert a heart. But it is within your power to introduce Christianity to your friend. The best way is to "live" a sermon. Non-Christians spend more time looking at how we live our lives than what we say. They tend to know what our Bible says and what we should and should not be doing and they pay attention.

After awhile they will come to you with gentle questions. Never ever attack their right to freedom of religion. Never attack their religious belief. They will get just as defensive and non accepting as a Christian would be if a non Christian attacked the name of Jesus. We would have no desire to hear anything else they have to say. Much less give our lives to the doctrine they are speaking of.

We as Christians reflect our God. When people see us they see a dim reflection of who our God is. And if we spend time attacking they see that as an attribute of God and normally have no desire to serve or follow a God who condones personal attacks.

Like Gamecock said, pray, pray, and pray some more.

~ShekinahMoon~
"For I am a reflection of the Shekinahs"

Great post!

 

[Shekinahs]

Great post!

Thank you

~ShekinahMoon~

 

[Susan]

edited.

 

[Icystwolf]

Second, I don't like preaching to people, and most peple don't like being preached to. Instead, ask questions.

I was like you a couple of years ago, I kept saying to myself, the world let me down and blamed it on God, like they always do. Then everyone who dosen't believe in God is just plain stupid to not realise that it's the worlds fault and not God.

So I said to myself, screw the world, and the people still under it's influence of it because they all deserve to go to hell.

Until I relised how flawed my thoughts were, I deserve to go to hell as well except Jesus has died for my sins.

Preaching is a gift, it's a beautiful gift.

I use to hate seeing Christian preach, because it's so awkward, but until you see a person who has the gift of preaching....

It's AMAZING, and people who do get preached using this gift will wish they could preach like that...

I personally think, if you want to preach, do it properly. If it's inside you, then do it, don't hold back a gift. Else, ask someone with the gift to do it.

 

[Clutchman]

Listen man, why do you want to convert your friend. Is there something wrong with Athiesm? I'm an Atheist and I think you should leave your friend alone. If any of you guys wanna convert me, try.

 

[Gamecock]

Listen man, why do you want to convert your friend. Is there something wrong with Athiesm? I'm an Atheist and I think you should leave your friend alone. If any of you guys wanna convert me, try.

Do I want to convert you from athiesm? Hmmm.

Nope, not me.

 

[Susan]

Listen man, why do you want to convert your friend. Is there something wrong with Athiesm? I'm an Atheist and I think you should leave your friend alone. If any of you guys wanna convert me, try.

[noco]

Thank you.

 

[drstevej]

Listen man, why do you want to convert your friend. Is there something wrong with Athiesm? I'm an Atheist and I think you should leave your friend alone. If any of you guys wanna convert me, try.

No need to -- Romans 1 says you know there is a God because He made it plain to you. You are simply suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. All I could try to do is to get you to be honest.

Nevertheless, I'll pass on that challenge sense I anticipate you have a vested interest in the deception that you are an atheist.