How to you speak with an atheist about Jesus?

Question

My last Q said " How do you tell someone to accept Jesus" and I meant to ask about speaking with some one about Jesus, bad wording sorry. My best friend is atheist and when we speak about God or the possibility he always starts asking the tough questions like "If he's so loving then why does he let bad things happen?" and "Who created him?"

Thanks for helping me realize that,no I can't try to make the decision for him because in the end it is his personal choice. But if he's curious about it, he'll ask and now I know what to say. Thanks Everyone:)

Answer 1

PERSONAL WITNESSING -
How Jesus Did It

John chapter 4, verses 7–26 give us the Master’s example of how to share our faith. Notice that Jesus spoke to the woman at the well when she was alone. We will often find that people are more open and honest when they are alone. So, if possible, pick a person who is sitting by himself. From there, we can see four clear principles to follow:

First: Jesus began in the natural realm (v. 7).
This woman was unregenerate, and the Bible tells us “the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:14). He therefore spoke of something she could relate to—water. Most of us can strike up a conversation with a stranger in the natural realm. It may be a friendly “How are you doing?” or a warm “Good morning!” If the person responds with a sense of warmth, we may then ask, “Do you live around here?” and from there develop a conversation.

Second: Jesus swung the conversation to the spiritual realm (v. 10).
He simply mentioned the things of God. This will take courage. We may say something like, “Did you go to church on Sunday?” or “Did you see that Christian TV program last week?” If the person responds positively, the question “Do you have a Christian background?” will probe his background. He may answer, “I went to church when I was a child, but I drifted away from it.” Another simple way to swing to the spiritual is to offer the person a gospel tract and ask, “Did you get one of these?” When he takes it, simply say, “It’s a gospel tract. Do you come from a Christian background?”

Third: Jesus brought conviction using the Law of God (vv. 16–18).
Jesus gently spoke to her conscience by alluding to the fact that she had transgressed the Seventh of the Ten Commandments. He used the Law to bring “the knowledge of sin” (see Romans 3:19,20). We can do the same, “Do you consider yourself to be a good person? Do you think that you have kept the Ten Commandments?” Most people think they have, so quickly follow with, “Have you ever told a lie?” This is confrontational, but if it’s asked in a spirit of love and gentleness, there won’t be any offense. Remember that the “work of the Law [is] written in their hearts” and that the conscience will bear “witness” (Romans 2:15). Jesus confronted the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18–21 with five of the Ten Commandments and there was no offense. Have confidence that the conscience will do its work and affirm the truth of each Commandment. Don’t be afraid to gently ask, “Have you ever stolen something, even if it’s small?” Learn how to open up the spirituality of the Law and show how God considers lust to be the same as adultery (Matthew 5:27,28) and hatred the same as murder (1 John 3:15). Make sure you get an admission of guilt.

Ask the person, “If God judges you by the Ten Commandments on Judgment Day, do you think you will be innocent or guilty?” If he says he will be innocent, ask, “Why is that?” If he admits his guilt, ask, “Do you think you will go to heaven or hell?”

From there the conversation may go one of three ways:

1. He may confidently say, “I don’t believe in hell.” Gently respond, “That doesn’t matter. You still have to face God on Judgment Day whether you believe in it or not. If I step onto the freeway when a massive truck is heading for me and I say, ‘I don’t believe in trucks,’ my lack of belief isn’t going to change reality.”

2. He may say that he’s guilty, but that he will go to heaven. This is usually because he thinks that God is “good,” and that He will, therefore, overlook sin in his case. Point out that if a judge in a criminal case has a guilty murderer standing before him, the judge, if he is a good man, can’t just let him go. He must ensure that the guilty man is punished. If God is good, He must (by nature) punish murderers, rapists, thieves, liars, adulterers, fornicators, and those who have lived in rebellion to the inner light that God has given to every man. Then tenderly tell him he has already admitted to you that he has lied, stolen, and committed adultery in his heart, and that God gave him a conscience so that he would know right from wrong. His conscience and the conviction of the Holy Spirit will do the rest. That’s why it is essential to draw out an admission of guilt before you mention Judgment Day or the existence of hell.

3. He may admit that he is guilty and therefore going to hell. Ask him if that concerns him. Speak to him about how much he values his eyes and how much more therefore he should value the salvation of his soul. (For the biblical description of hell, see Revelation 1:18 footnote.) If possible, take the person through the linked verses in this Bible, beginning at the Matthew 5:21,22 footnote.

Fourth: Jesus revealed Himself to her (v. 26).
Once the Law has humbled the person, he is ready for grace. Remember, the Bible says that God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). The gospel is for the humble (see Luke 4:18 footnote). Only the sick need a physician, and only those who will admit that they have the disease of sin will truly embrace the cure of the gospel.

Learn how to present the work of the cross —that God sent His Son to suffer and die in our place. Tell the sinner of the love of God in Christ; that Jesus rose from the dead and defeated death. Take him back to civil law and say, “It’s as simple as this: We broke God’s Law, and Jesus paid our fine. If you will repent and trust in the Savior, God will forgive your sins and dismiss your case.” Ask him if he understands what you have told him. If he is willing to confess and forsake his sins, and trust the Savior with his eternal salvation, have him pray and ask God to forgive him. Then pray for him. Get him a Bible. Instruct him to read it daily and obey what he reads, and encourage him to get into a Bible-believing, Christ-preaching church.

Answer 2

first of all, maybe you should consider what you mean by friend, Christian. If he is the enemy of Christ, how is he your friend? You are still obliged to think, act and speak in Love, so I wouldn't jump to any action. At least he is asking questions.

You might study these questions...mostly it's people who let bad things happen to people; often you will find that God has commanded people not to do those harmful things. Love does no wrong to anyone.

No one created God. He was, He is, and He is to come.

your pastor could help you, and there are books which help.

Instead of preaching, you could say what you know...you know you have believed in Jesus, and you know certain things have happened as a result of that faith. This is not just something you think, feel, hope, etc., but something you know.

Have faith, pray for him.

Answer 3

If you give up preaching and start with first respectfully listening to your friends point of view, you will have a better opportunity. Don't feel threatened by what you call tough questions. They are legitimate questions, I'm sure and if you both treat each other with respect you'll have an honest and inspiring talk about Jesus, who he was and who he is, what his life stood for, what he means to people today, etc. Just keep an open mind and open ears. Your friend should return the favor in kind.

Answer 4

Quite honestly you are taking the wrong approch if you are starting with Jesus. First of all you must ask these questions to yourself because people sure will ask you, if god created everything why did he create evil, the answer is probably to test our will to survive and to help us thrive to our full extent.

Also you are starting way to far ahead of them. Before they can understand Jesus they need to understand God. And before they can understand God they need to understand faith, and in order to understand faith they need to open their mind and accept there are things outside their senses that exsist beyond what we can see and feel. Start with nonreligous based conversations, such as "Do you ever think about the after life?" it is importent to not input your beliefs at this point, as part of any faith is self discovery rather then being told what to follow. They may say they don't believe in any after life and you can ask them why not, do you think this life is all there is, that we do all this stuff and then it all ends nothing more.

Other topics you might want to follow up with could be stuff like "Isn't it strange how there are so many things like emotion that we can't even start to understand but we feel the impact of?" of course thats a bit harder to fit into a conversation.

Also I would like to note that religon itself is so much more then just worshiping deities it is a understanding of our place in the whole stream of things. As for who created God good luck on that one, as for me I believe god is more of a force then a person. A concept if you will defined by a chaotic nature that is a balance between both sides of the spectrum god may have created Jesus but keep in mind he also created the Devil if he was truely the one to bring the heavens and the world as we know it into exsistence.

Answer 5

I suggest that you let him have his beliefs and you have yours. I heard something that I loved and totally agreed with. If an atheist puts down Chrisitan beliefs, he needs to be saved from hell and is misguided. But if a Chrisitan puts down an atheits thoughts and beliefs, it is 'spreading the word'. I was a Chrisitan and was totally turned off when I realized that I 'should' view everyone that did not believe in the Bible as misguided and needing Jesus. That is really judgmental and can hurt those close to you if they find out you feel that way about them. I suggest stop trying to pray for him to change unless he wants you too. Your prayers cannot change someone, only they can. If they want to change, your prayers can help them along, but your God will not go against his will. Your prayers have no power over someone and if he finds out you think he is going to hell, he will resist you and push back. Then if he does need help, I don't think he'll come to you...

Answer 6

There is proof of the lifestyles of Jesus, however there's no specific evidence. Actually there's much less proof even then men and women feel. In truth, even though such a lot historians do suppose that Jesus most often existed, there's definitely no proof external the Bible itself, early Christian writing, and Christian historians. So NO. Its now not like a historian used to be simply on sight to list Christ being reborn. And there are definitely many pupils that do not feel he did. Just like we do not honestly have evidence that Socartes existed. Some men and women feel its simply any one Plato invented. Maybe he did, might be he did not. When you manage time intervals goodbye in the past its almost unimaginable to have so much forged proof. There is not any such factor as evidence earlier than pictures, so thats now not even valued at discussing. Besides, Christians have a nasty tendency to reduction proof they do not like, and include that which they do. Like the Shroud of Turin, which used to be proven through 3 unbiased corporations, and located to have dated no additional again then the Middle Ages.... then there used to be an uproar, and so they determined that the subject that the Vatican allowed to be proven wasn't a aspect of the relaxation of it......and even though probabilities are well its NOT the specific shroud of Christ there are lots of who swear that its so. Who is aware of. Look on the method Y E Creationists prefer learn how to stress tips. According to them, if you happen to are not able to definitely turn out each and every element of Evolution, then its all a hoax. By that general its tough to turn out that my lunch exists. This is why they name it Faith. I am now not even nearly an Atheist. I do suppose that He existed, and used to be resurrected through the Lord. But I don't want miracles to suppose. And recollect that what old historians imply through most often or most likely is NOT what a scientist manner through the phrase. Most historians discover that the Bible is ample proof on which to base the idea that Jesus existed. But if you do not feel it's, then you're regularly out of a old Christ.

Answer 7

If he asks tough questions, you might want to consider what you think the answers might be rather than asking for advice on how to avoid them. As a scientist, it's hard for me to understand how people can accept something that requires their to ignore certain questions, or possible holes in their theory. However, religion is a personal matter, and no one can tell you what to believe. And you can't tell anyone else what to believe, either.

If you don't want to think about the questions your friend asks about religion, then your best course of action is probably to avoid talking about religion with that friend.

Answer 8

Next time your friend starts asking the tough questions give him or her the tough answers.
God is a loving God. It is mans sins that causes the bad things to happen. God is the creator not the created.

Answer 9

Your friend is smarter than you are, sweetie, from the looks of this question. Chances are.....your friend ALREADY heard of Jesus, sweetheart. He just chose to reject Jesus' divinity, or Jesus altogether.

I ask that if you want to be a true friend to him, then stop evangelizing. Your friend does not need that in a good friendship. Also, isn't evangelizing best done by actions, not words, sweetheart?

Answer 10

Believing in Jesus is a matter of faith and if you don't have it all the talking in the world won't make any difference at all. You guys should agree to disagree and talk about politics. Now that's a subject we can all agree on. lol

Answer 11

You accept your friend for who he is. It is never a good thing to press your beliefs on another person, especially if you can't answer the questions he dishes out. Just as you believe what you believe, he has his own beliefs.