What's a good way to get Christians to see how closed minded they are?

Question

Hard core Christians, that is. What can I say to them to make them realize that their ideology is full of contradictions? What can I say to make them realize that their closed mindedness regarding who is saved or not, existence of God, existence of hell, evolution vs. creationism, etc. is wrong and does harm to themselves and society? St. Paul said to "test all things," (1 Thessalonians 5:21) so shouldn't Christians put their beliefs up to scrutiny? One tenet that hard core Christians believe is that the Bible is the infallible, inerrant Word of God. I believed that for years, but the following changed that:

Write a complete narrative of what happened after Jesus' crucifixion, using all four Gospels, and leaving out no details from any of the Gospels.

Once I saw that this is impossible, I saw that the Bible is not inerrant, and thus not the word of God. WHAT OTHER CHALLENGES CAN I SAY THAT MIGHT HAVE THE SAME EFFECT?

Christians, please respond to the challenge above!

Bkebrian: Let's see your narrative. Please update your answer when you have completed your attempt.

Mashiah48901: Please answer my challenge first--I already did ask you a question. I am waiting for an answer. Please update your answer if you think you have a narrative that meets my specs.

Out of 26 responses so far, no one has followed through. What gives?

Answer 1

I saw a post on time that said that of course the Bible has error, it was written by men. God and Jesus influenced these men to write their thoughts, feelings, views, and experiences. Other men later took these writings, translated them, decided what to keep and what to or destroy, and assembled them into the Bible. The Bible is true and has good things in it; but it is very easy to misinterpret. If the Bible was perfect in every since, then there wouldn’t be so many religions saying different things about the same verse. This is why we need more then just the bible to help us. Besides, last time I checked, the Bible doesn’t say anything on what we can or can’t do on the internet.

As for the closed minds. Many people would just assume remain in there little naïve world of arrogance then to be shown something that contradicts there belief; let alone may prove them wrong. After all, it’s human nature to want to be right, and never wrong. If the stay closed minded and don’t hear anything they don’t want to, they’ll never be wrong.

Answer 2

You have to understand something. The Gospel was written by four different people. Imagine four people retelling a story that happened to them. Would every detail be the same? Did they all see it through the same eyes? Are they going to remember every word spoken perfectly? Nope. Does this sound like real life? Yes. It adds to its credibility that it was a real event and not some story concocted afterwards where all the people saw and remembered the exact same thing. Are all the major details the same. Were some confused as to whether Jesus had really risen from the dead and appeared to all of them? No. Don't get caught up in the little side details. When you realize that human hands put those words on the page, but that they were real events, it makes you realize that Bible is really true. Some of the differences are not discrepancies, they simply may include more information than someone another. And even if there are minor differences in the same information, you have to understand that that is not what makes it infallible or not. None of it's claims or promises are false. That is what is really important.

Answer 3

Maybe you logic has faulty. Christians once thought just as you did with out any knowedge but with lots of sin. They were just like you thinking those christians are out there. Then one day they started studying and gained knowedge of the truth. So who is closed minded here? That would be you! In that you seem to think you are some kind of brain or something might i remind you that in actually terms of knowedge you would be considered retarded. No one human being has more then 1/2 of a percent of actual knowedge retained in his mind in this day and time. Yeat you claim some fame from what. You have failed to take into account that in all language and expression there is the position that the writer is expressing from and the the desired effect of the writer thus why would the 4 gosple match as there are told by 4 different positions of observation, and by four different writers who are each trying to express each different point as he understands it. If you will actually study these men you will find great changes taking place in there lives over there whole lives, just like in real life people grow and become more educated and have better skills of express themselfs. And actually the fact that the 4 gosple accounts have survived is a testimont to the fact that the truth has been perserved better then if on gosple account survived. As there of the 4 match greatly in detail and events of happening and the 4th is told that voiced other happenings then one can't really denouce the 4th as it adds to and does not take away from the gosple. So the observation is always painted by the observer. You give me proof that the bibe is not inerrant! Many have tried. The problem is that no one could disprove it in these thousands of years those prophets of old sure knew there stuff. When you disprove that israel was fortold to be send into exile and then would return as a nation after 2000 years latter. Then you might have a leg to stand upon until then get a life.

Answer 4

First of all, I already know I'm closed- minded. I can afford to be, cuz I'm right.

Secondly, I'm not gonna take your challenge and here's why:

If you don't believe the bible is the inerrant Word of God, you won't believe ever that it is YOU wherein the errors lie. Just because you don't SEE or UNDERSTAND everything in the bible, how it connects to the other things and how it could possibly be true, doesn't mean it isn't.

Since you're so up for making challenges, why don't YOU take a challenge from ME? Ask me ONE question about something in the bible that you think is an impossibility and/or contradiction and I will give you an answer that makes sense, EVEN TO YOU.

You on or not?

Answer 5

The four gospels were written by four different men, one (Mark) was written from the words of another of whom he was the friend, student, and recorder. If I ask you to get together with three friends and all of you watch the news. Pick out one story later and write a narrative about what happened, all will be different, yet all may be true and right. There is only the difference in how they tell the story not in what happened. If they matched word of word one would have to think they were all written by one of the Apostles not four different people at four different times.

Answer 6

About all you can do is present them with the truth by showing them a clear reflection of themselves.

There really is nothing wrong with the Bible - it's just a book, after all, and it's at least a useful tool for historians and scholars to ponder. However, for the average Joe on the street, the book is far to ambiguous to be of any practical value at all. Anyone can find meaning in it that just isn't there or that perhaps wasn't intended. Anyone can make his own interpretation of a scripture fit any design he has in mind for it - it's like clothing made of Spandex, a size 14 butt can squeeze into a size 10 outfit and the wearer can think that it still has room to spare....

When a "source of truth" is that flexible, it can lead away from truth as often as it might move toward it... What good is that for sorting out what's real and what's false?

The bible just isn't worth a darn as a reference for making decisions of what or how one ought to think, and, isn't it true that thinking ones way through life is what living is all about.

Just let them live in the dark for as long as they like, I guess... what else can you reasonably do?

[][][] r u randy? [][][]
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POST SCRIPT to squirrelc...: You're in error to think that all of the writers of the Gospels were eye witnesses to the life of Jesus. Check it out.

Answer 7

The same can be said about every other religion or atheist... we all have closed minds when we do not want to be told we are wrong and someone else is right. Its a fact of life.

Answer 8

First, everyone of us, liberals like myself, and the conservatives and the non-believes, everyone of us is closed minded to some extent on some matters. It is part of the human condition. As to the fundamentalist Christians that you are speaking to, I say to you the same that I say to them when they say "how can I get an Atheist to see XYZ?". Don't waste you time. Let them be. They are happy where they are and if God wants them to learn more, He will bring them to the right teacher.

Answer 9

i am a christian. isn't every ideology close minded or irreverent from a non believers point of view? please consider that, intolerance is why we have hatred and war in this world. aren't Muslims intolerant of others? atheists? racists? istn YOUR question intolerant to assume that all Christians or "hard core" Christians intolerant. what IS a "hard core" christian? a christian that refuses to change thier opinion or perception to what you want them to. when we attempt to control others we are part of the problem and not the solution.
um leavin out no details from the gospels? LOL jsut read the bible, that would leave out no details. please open YOUR mind and allow others int eh world to beieve what they wish and stop trying to impose YOUR limited ideals on everyone, there is a reasont here are 6 billion of us on thsi world and that we all dotn eblieve the same thing

Answer 10

You aren't going to change any minds directly. The ancient Mystery schools had the right idea- they kept their doctrines hidden from the 'profane' public. The way to influence society at large is to practice and encourage moral virtue. The practice of moral virtue leads to civil, religious and intellectual freedom, and allows society to progress one step at a time.