Although some theists may not trust a debate or conversation with an atheist, i think that it should be understood that many atheists are looking to learn. Now, the way they understand "knowledge" and "facts" may differ dramatically from many theists, it is still a common desire - the desire to understand the culture and mindset of the theist. So keep that in mind.
It has been difficult for me to find many christians versed in their own history and knowledge of the bible. For me personally, I hit a brick wall all too often (and I'm sure some of them feel the same towards me).
I hope some theists here will be inquisitive enough to investigate the Project: Reason forums just as I have come here to learn more (even if I'm still unable to understand fully).
Hi rpeg, I have accepted the invitation and am presently working on my welcome over there before I get engaged in any battles that might cause disrepute.
A brief comment about understanding the truth of Christianity: when I was a child my parents would take me to church every Sunday morning and they had a children's school sort of thing where we learned the stories of Moses, Samson, David & Goliath, Jesus etc, so a lot of the knowledge of the bible was there in my memory. Then after being a teenager I went away from religion and even became quite opposed to the idea of being Christian (as are most people who don't understand it properly).
Then last year when the time came that I really dedicated my whole effort to knowing the truth, I asked God to show me the truth. Notice at this point I did not believe Christianity was true, but I had been speaking to Christians online and I had a deep respect for the God who had given us life. This verse speaks of the type of faith I had even before believing that the bible was true:
"Hebrews 17:16 one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life."
Then when I realized that I was completely at a loss for knowing the truth about God - I had faith that God had given us life, but I didn't have a relationship with this God nor did I understand Him, but those Christians had the confidence to say they did know Him, I asked God to show me the truth. After I had done this, I had the thought "maybe the bible is true", so I asked those Christians to prove that the bible is true and the verse they gave me was the missing piece of the puzzle - everything in my memory fell into place such that I could understand the truth of the bible.
Then when I realized the bible was true I couldn't stop reading it, and as I read it, some of the verses would make sense in a way I never knew before and the more I read the more I understood God and I came to hear God speaking to me as I read the bible. Then a Christian colleague at work approached me and I asked for his help, he led me in the sinners prayer asking Jesus to come into my life, and that night The Holy Spirit fluttered down from heaven and said "I will never leave you".
There is no end to this type of learning from God, which is what Jesus means "eating fruit from the tree of life" - it is a spiritual food, that we have a never ending satisfaction by reading the bible and thinking about what it says, and it's not just the bible that God uses to teach us, I learn by thinking about lyrics, observations, discussion with others, basically anything that stimulates us to think and understand is what gives me life. It is "free thinking" in accordance with God's will instead of free thinking in accordance with our own will (for afterall, how feeble is our wisdom compared to God's?).
So maybe this can help you understand what it is like to become Christian, it isn't that we are deceived into putting a cage around our mind, it is only that information suddenly begins to make sense
in favor of God, which is a privilege that is not afforded to unbelievers.
The crucial thing for you to know is to understand that you must make that pact with God to believe whatever He wants to tell you, and that requires
trust (not "blind faith" as some would say).
Back to OP, thank you for the invitation to that forum. If there is a specific thread over there that you would like my presence on I really would appreciate your invitation to participate.
