I don't know the answer to that, but I'd love to research it and get back to you," than to wade into territory that you're not familiar with. Explain the big picture. Familiarize yourself with the historical case for Christianity, and offer a high-level explanation of what makes this religion's claims compelling -- that Jesus' life and death fulfilled ancient scriptures that all historians agree existed before His time; that almost all the apostles were martyred for their faith; that Christianity spread like wildfire despite horrendous persecution.
Study the writings of the earliest Christians, who were defending Christianity in a pagan world that was largely hostile to their beliefs sound familiar? Be logical. Don't deny the validity of logical, scientific thought out of hand. It's true that science doesn't have all the answers, but it does have some of them, and if you try to deny that, you risk pushing yourself into crackpot territory. There is a long, learned history of rational arguments for Christianity, and if you can use them, you'll be speaking in terms that your atheist friend can understand.
Get to know some of the great Christian philosophers and apologists. If you haven't read C. Lewis's Mere Christianity, what are you waiting for?
Realize that your only goal is to plant a seed. In these discussions we can sometimes get so focused on the details that we lose sight of the big picture. It's extremely unlikely that the person you're talking to is going to be completely convinced of the truth of Christianity in one conversation. Just defend Christianity the best you can, and remember that conversion is ultimately God's job, not yours. Put yourself in your atheist friends' position. What if, for example, Christianity was false and Greek mythology was actually true?
What would it take to convince you of that? Don't use a lot of Christian catchphrases. Christians "give their hearts to Jesus" and "the Holy Spirit indwells us" and we take a "daily walk with Christ" so that we're "in the world but not of the world.
It's hard to avoid them, because we're used to using them as shorthand for some very complex concepts. But you should be able to explain those concepts in plain terms anyway. Don't make the mistake of relying solely on your own smarts when you have the Holy Spirit at your disposal.
Your rejection therefore was never really of James but of a certain idea of James. James if he was all good, loving, and merciful as God is would certainly not hold that against you and would welcome your friendship. In such a situation you would certainly not like James or want to be around him. However, once the confusion is cleared up James would certainly blame the person who did those things to you and made those claims rather than hold it against you.
They willfully do not care to know anything about him. These people will never be able to enter into a friendship with James. This comes down to how to we define faith. Does faith always need to be explicitly stated? How much does someone need to understand the faith to qualify as believing? Even in a polarized era, the survey reveals deep divisions in both partisan coalitions. Pew Research Center now uses as the last birth year for Millennials in our work. President Michael Dimock explains why.
The vast majority of U. Use this tool to compare the groups on some key topics and their demographics. About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world.
It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions.
It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Newsletters Donate My Account. Research Topics. Sign up for our weekly newsletter Fresh data delivered Saturday mornings. Share this link:.
0コメント