What would you say to someone who thinks Human Being are just "High-Level Animals"

[ohgin]

Hi there. I was just trying to share the Gospel to one of my friends when a question suddenly popped up in my mind. One of the quuestions that I asked was that what does he think is going to happen to him one day if he dies and he told me that if he dies he will just become nothing. Then I asked him if he believe that he has a soul and he told me that he does not really believe that he has one and so the next question i asked him was that do you really believe that Human Beings are very different as compared to Animals. And he told me that the only difference between Human Beings and Animals is that human beings are more intelligent then Animals. I then started to tell him that human being can make choices but Animals dun normallly do and that human beings tend to have feeling but animals are not so sensitive but he gave me very solid answers to actually dispute me. Mayby I could not really think stright at that time because suddenly I was being attacked with questions and I was really spiritually attacked when he told me those things. I prayed to God about this and ask God to actually provide me with more convincing answers to tell him and actually I found out about a few things.
1) Human have a conscience and know right or wrong. They can choose to proceed with the choices which they make and in the end depending on their choices, there will be consequences but animals only operate on instinct. We do have some matter of responsibility.
2) The imaginative skills of human beings are really great. If human beings are just very intelligent creatures without any creativity which comes from God then I am sure that we would not see so much progress. A lot of the progress that we see nowadays are due to the creativity that God has imparted to Man.
3)Spirituality is a very strong part of Human Beings as we know that if we associate with certain things, our spirtualliy will be affected.
4)Human Beings have a lot of power and can influenced things based on their decisions

Actually there are many things I can state which shows that Human Beings are actually much,much higher as compared to animals. The fact that Man can actually associate themselves with animals just showed how depraved this world is getting. Because of their pride, they actually think themselves lower then what they should be. So what other things you can think of that actually differentiates Man from animals and also if you are planning to evangelize to your friends what do you think you can do if you actually cannot handle their questions at that time???

 

[McWilliams]

Well, first of all, how much scripture did you use? What God said is of the utmost importance! Our opinions are of little value in convincing others.

Also we are responsible for being faithful stewards of the Word, sharing the truth of the good news! We are not responsible for convincing anyone! God regenerates hearts and creates thirst and heals blind eyes and deaf ears. Until the heart is opened by Him they just dont listen! We continue telling the gospel, knowing all the while that as we plant, someone else may water but only God brings the increase!

Sounds like your friend is not acquainted with the Word of God and the fact that God is creator, owner, maintainer and manager of all He created, including him!

It is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment!(Hebrews 9:27)

Remember that after you've finished talking to him that the Word has a life of its own and may continue to work in his heart long after you finish the conversation!

God bless your sharing of the Word!

 

[cygnusx1]

If we are animals then who would mind if humans were sold as meat in the butchers ............ everyone would!!!!!

 

[Jon_]

This is called behaviorism and it's a form of empirical psychology that is really popular with the evolutionists. Rather than giving you a crash course, I'd really rather refer you to a couple of good books that address the subject. I'm afraid the topic is lengthy and I don't want to give you too little information. That could possibly just confuse you, and maybe even set you up to get your stuff handed to you if you ever tried to confront a behaviorist.

Anyway, check out The Biblical Doctrine of Man and Behaviorism and Christianity both by Gordon H. Clark. He pretty much demolishes secular behaviorism in these two short books (short = yay!).

Soli Deo Gloria

Jon

 

[GrinningDwarf]

Then there's the good ol' fall back position...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! (With a lot of pointing at your opponent and shaking your head. Sometimes falling on the ground with your hands around your stomach helps, too.)

(Just kidding, folks!!)

 

[Knight]

Then there's the good ol' fall back position...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! (With a lot of pointing at your opponent and shaking your head. Sometimes falling on the ground with your hands around your stomach helps, too.)

(Just kidding, folks!!)

I think you're on to something here....

Here is a question I always want to ask people with this view.
If this is the true origin of man then where did morality come from? Why do we all know that some things are right and wrong? It can't be because a society said so. You can find remote tribes in Africa where killing another person is still viewed as wrong.

My opinion: You cannot have a Godless society and morality at the same time.

 

[Jon_]

My opinion: You cannot have a Godless society and morality at the same time.

That's my opinion too. In fact, when performing apologetics, morality is where I hit hardest. It is impossible for a secularist to justify any kind of universal morality without an absolute being. The argument doesn't work as well against other religions because they obviously have their own god and own form of morality. But it works wonders against evolutions. They have to admit, after some argumentation, that they don't know why morality exists and that it is not binding. (If they want to remain consistent, anyway. Many of them take great pleasure in being inconsistent.)

Soli Deo Gloria

Jon

 

[ohgin]

Of course I did share the Gospel with him but do you think that if someone thinks that he is very similar to an animal that he will actually believe in the Gospel??? Do you think it is possible for someone to believe that Jesus is a savior of his soul and at the same time do not believe that he has a soul? Of course my thoughts about this matter goes into the same line as what you guys are discussing but frankly speaking if you share the gospel if you think that just sharing the Gospel without trying to answer some of his doubt is going to make someone believe then really human beings are just like animals. I mean how can you expect a non christian to accept everything from the Gospel?They are not animals anyway. If you think that sharing the Gospel is just telling them about the Good News and then stop there then I do not think that you are doing that out of love. In fact i would say that you are not a good testimony to God because when people view us they would say that we are just illogical people who are closed minded and not really believing in the truth

 

[mlqurgw]

The claim that we are just animals comes from a desire to act like one. Our depraved natures want to be brute beasts that have no moral values. Promiscuity is just am example of it. Jon hit the nail on the head when he spoke of dealing with the moral nature of God's world. I do try to answer questions when talking to people about the Gospel but I do not waste my time with questions that are intended to make you stumble. If they ask because they want to know rather than just to give you their answer I will do my best. If it becomes clear that they are only asking in order to tell you what they believe they are not really open to truth and it isn't our responsibility to convince them with arguments. Paul speaks of preaching the Gospel not with man's wisdom because he wanted their faith to not be in the wisdom of man but in the power of God. 1Cor. 2:1-5. If you could convince some one to believe by coming up with a good argument what do you think their faith is in? It is in the wisdom of your words not in the death, burial and ressurection of Christ.

 

[ClementofRome]

My opinion: You cannot have a Godless society and morality at the same time.

Even the godless recognize this. Consider the following:

Back in 1992 Henry Grunwald, Time magazine’s editor-in-chief wrote an essay based upon some research that he had done (“The Year 2000: Is it the End-Or, Just the Beginning,” Time, 30 March 1992, 74). His conclusions were that from the humanism of the 19th century to today “ethics without the sanction of some higher authority simply were not compelling.”

As for laughing.....it does get the point across!

 

[GrinningDwarf]

Of course I did share the Gospel with him but do you think that if someone thinks that he is very similar to an animal that he will actually believe in the Gospel??? Do you think it is possible for someone to believe that Jesus is a savior of his soul and at the same time do not believe that he has a soul? Of course my thoughts about this matter goes into the same line as what you guys are discussing but frankly speaking if you share the gospel if you think that just sharing the Gospel without trying to answer some of his doubt is going to make someone believe then really human beings are just like animals. I mean how can you expect a non christian to accept everything from the Gospel?They are not animals anyway. If you think that sharing the Gospel is just telling them about the Good News and then stop there then I do not think that you are doing that out of love. In fact i would say that you are not a good testimony to God because when people view us they would say that we are just illogical people who are closed minded and not really believing in the truth

I think the key here is not to focus on the Good News of salvation, but maybe the Bad News of our inability to live up perfectly to even fallen man's standards of morality, and the judgement to come. I don't think we have to rely on convincing arguements we devise, but on the Holy Spirit to work on a person's heart. Don't worry about getting him to 'make a decision'. That will come in God's time. First give the Holy Spirit something to work on in this man's heart for a while. In order to receive the Good News, we first need to be convinced of the Bad News.

Now...I'm not saying you need to become a harbringer of doom to the guy every time you see him. Continue demonstrating Christian love to him and be a friend.

 

[mlqurgw]

I think the key here is not to focus on the Good News of salvation, but maybe the Bad News of our inability to live up perfectly to even fallen man's standards of morality, and the judgement to come. I don't think we have to rely on convincing arguements we devise, but on the Holy Spirit to work on a person's heart. Don't worry about getting him to 'make a decision'. That will come in God's time. First give the Holy Spirit something to work on in this man's heart for a while. In order to receive the Good News, we first need to be convinced of the Bad News.

Now...I'm not saying you need to become a harbringer of doom to the guy every time you see him. Continue demonstrating Christian love to him and be a friend.

Something my Pastor said once; God always comes as a conqueror before He comes as a comfortor.