yet ask you to explain why they should believe what you believe? what if they honestly ask you to explain your beliefs in a way that they will be able to accept and believe? what will you do? in what way can you explain why you believe what you believe without referring to the bible?
2007-01-04 18:34:10 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
i'm merely curious how christians explain their faith. it's not that i'm a christian or what nor do i plan in converting anyone to christianity. i just want to know what you do to explain your faith in a believable way.
2007-01-04 18:43:56 · update #1
That's a good question, but good luck getting a straight answer. Most Christians find it really difficult to even understand what you are asking, much less answer it. Kind of how atheists feel when asked to explain why they don't believe in the existence of a god: they just don't, that's why.
Christians believe in their God, and they believe that the Bible backs up this faith. They might think that they believe in God BECAUSE of what is written in the Bible, but of course no one picks up a bible and decides, based solely on what they read, that there must be a God. First they'd need to be convinced that everything in the Bible was true, and for that you need to believe that there is a God who inspired the Bible's authors.
Several people have suggested that one option is to pray to God and ask him to help you to believe in God. The utter absurdity of this suggestion is a pretty good illustration of the basic problem. The only way anyone will accept something without personal experience is if they hear it from someone they trust completely. Hence the overwhelming majority of theists in the world believe in God because their parents said so, at a time when they believed everything their parents told them. And once you believe in God, the idea of asking him if he exists and trusting the answer makes perfect sense.
Again, good luck.
2007-01-04 19:12:47 · answer #1 · answered by abram.kelly 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Christianity is based on TRADITION and NOT just the Bible. St Paul says in one of his Epistles to "hold fast to tradition...". Other passages in the Bible also state that not everything jesus said and did were contained in the Books of the Bible.
Also, since there were no mass printings of the Bible until the Gutenberg Press in the 15th century, Christianity was practiced by tradition passed down through the ages. There were SOME copies of the Bible, but they were relatively few since they had to be hand-copied by the Monks and other religeous.
But having said all that, if someone truly disbelieves christianity and the validity of the Bible, then you cannot convince them of anything stated within the Bible since they regard it as a work of fiction or superstition.
2007-01-05 02:43:06 · answer #2 · answered by texrad 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
God often does the "drawing in" of people, by the Holy spirit. Even the biggest of skeptics, that become christians, start somewhere, asking questions, etc. It is not up to christians to do some amazing act of explanation, but we are to share the good news, to a lost world. The good news is, that there is hope, and a way out of going to hell forever, but more, to have a relationship with the God of the universe. He loves you, and made a way to live a true life with him forever. To the people that hear about God, and Jesus, and what he did on the cross, it is simply up to them to respond or not. They can totally reject it, and scoff at it. OR, they can say hey, let me at least rule out this goofy sounding stuff. If you care an iota about truth, this cannot hurt. The Bible is god's revelation to man, and an amazing ancient work of literature, with so much, that actually points to it being, exactly what it claims to be. Weigh out the data.....but don't demand people throw out the bible.
2007-01-05 02:51:12 · answer #3 · answered by oceansnsunsets 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If the Christian is normal, there is something mysterious about him/her. They just plainly are not like other people. The normal Christian has a peace that passes human understanding. They have a joy that cannot be explained. They know that God has come to live inside of them and God desires to live out His life in that one. That is why when a Christian falls or demonstrates anything that is impure, dishonest, or unlike God, the whole world rises up to condemn that one.
Whether one believes in the Bible or not, it does not negate the fact that the Bible is God-speaking to man. "Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."
God Bless
2007-01-05 02:49:51 · answer #4 · answered by lindakflowers 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You need to know your Bible facts substantially first.
1) Pray and ask God sincerely to guide you.
2) Check out answersingenesis.org
3) also www.icr.org
4) www.carm.org
You can tell that they do not have to believe what you believe in but it is nevertheless your belief. We are not to force the gospel unto anyone. Once you know your apologetics then you can refer those who are interested in the credibility of the Bible or Christ and everything else on the above- mentioned sites. Look it up. It helps. All the best
2007-01-05 02:44:34 · answer #5 · answered by Shiloh 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If they ask, I refer them to these books: Messiah by Grant Jeffery and The Handwriting of God, also by Grant Jeffery, Is that Really In the Bible by Dr Charles F. Potter Hidden Wealth by Ray Comfort, the Biblical Basis For Modern Science by Morris.
Sometimes, leaving people to read for themselves what these scholars have found, makes a huge difference, rather than becoming emotional and preachy. Telling people about your experiences helps. The best example of Christianity is the example of one's life and why you are happy, even in trying situations. People will notice how much different you are.
2007-01-05 02:47:47 · answer #6 · answered by Stormchaser 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Are you asking can I give reasons I believe, outside of the bible? I can give you many examples from History, Archeology, and Science, that confirm and corroborate the Bible. Is that what your asking? To ask me if I can explain my belief in God, without ever referencing the Bible. No. Could you explain your belief In Rome, without ever using History?
2007-01-05 02:46:45 · answer #7 · answered by mark g 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
l cannot change a person much the same he/she can't change me. l accept them for who they are.
l'm a Catholic and raised conservatively. The irony is that l have an atheist brother. We've talked about the religion thing many times but in vain. l've long accepted we are different even if we're siblings.
Accept and respect, that will keep the peace.
2007-01-05 02:47:21 · answer #8 · answered by ? 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Hi! I myself encountered several people who does not believe the bible as the word of God, some doubt in it's reliability and trustworthiness. It's not easy, nevertheless we need to share something to help them have faith in God according to the Scriptures. We can start to the facts that they cannot deny like history. Christianity is not just a make believe it is historcal, you can read books to help you like" Evidence that demands a verdict " by Josh Mcdowell(though it is not historical but apologitic), Christianity through century, and other like books dealing with history. Jesus is a historical person, not a myth. He live like us but He does and prove what He claims of Who he is. Secondly, not only through history but through creation, things around us points to God the creator of all things. Science cannot deny the beatiful and purposely arranged universe. Things arround us does not pop-up by themselve and we don't pop-by our own and the creation itself cannot arranged itsel. It is not logcally acceptable to a scientific mind that the things arround us has their own ability to creat themselves and arrange themselve by their own. There must be a designer, arranger, planner, and creator of all of us and the things arround us. Thirdly, we can share to them about the universality of humans consciouness of sin and goodness. Where does our knowledge and guilt of sin comes from. Even the most worst sinner admit that he or she knows about right and wrong. This only points us that we are created with a built-in awareness of what is right and wrong no matter how we differ in our views about right and wrong.
And of course we can share to them from our experience how God helps us in our day to day life experiences. Dont forget to ask the help of God to share this and help the person understand it.
2007-01-05 03:19:50 · answer #9 · answered by agapetos 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I do not force my opionion on people. I have a personal relationship with Jesus, and I talk to him just like a friend, I have been through some trying times in my life and I really feel that God helped me through them or protected me. I tell them to talk to God and ask him to show in his own way that HE is REAL, not like move the mountain but in a small personal way. Good luck in your search.....
2007-01-05 02:39:33 · answer #10 · answered by whattheheck 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋