or ask him to reveal himself, or to open our hearts, etc...
Don't all of these require a belief in God? Is it another way of saying "Stop thinking about it and just believe"?
2007-07-24 06:23:56 · 20 answers · asked by Eleventy 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Republican: Done it. Didn't work.
2007-07-24 06:31:56 · update #1
might as well pray to Zeus or Thor
perhaps a xian could try that and let us know how it works out
2007-07-24 07:47:49 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The question though a good one.
Assumes that people who are now Atheists were always Atheists, And most of the time that is not the case.
They have prayed many of them a lot and many have ask for g-d to reveal himself to them. And nothing.
And it always amazes me how people also assume you choose not to believe. You can not force yourself to believe in something you do not believe in, This is a fact.
And for those who say other wise. Why don't you try believing someone Else's g-d or Fairies or Dragons.
See how well you do. Either way. If Deity exists It will reveal itself to whomever in it's own way. Not in Peoples own way.
2007-07-24 07:37:17 · answer #2 · answered by buffysrosebud 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well Eleventy,
You're right. At least I wouldn't straight up tell an atheist to pray to God unless I at least got him or her to the point of realizing that one cannot definitively conclude that God does not exist. Once he or she admits that God could possibly exist, I would then invite him or her to give prayer a try.
In response to one answer that said that religion tells you not to question anything, I might add, this might be true for those who only use religion as a means of comfort. But if this were necessarily true about all religion then why is it that there are some who came to believe in God specifically by questioning everything? I know someone who began to question even his own viewpoint about religion and where he got this viewpoint from. After seeing that his viewpoint was formed from what others said and that he did not know his own faith from first hand questioning and searching, he began to study it and found it was a lot more than what others were saying about it.
There's a saying that a little philosophy will cause one to loose one's faith in God, while a lot of philosophy will bring one to believe in God.
So, I'll adapt that and say...
A little reasoning will bring one to disbelief...
A lot of reasoning will bring one back to belief.
2007-07-24 11:23:56 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Christians want to spread the word of God. But you are right, it does require a belief in God or at least be open-minded to perhaps believe in God.
2007-07-24 06:33:08 · answer #4 · answered by tig 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Christians -believe-, and because they believe they feel God touches them through the Holy Spirit. If you really believe something, you feel your belief is vindicated. But people who don't believe, this whole idea just leaves them cold. What Christians tell them translates out to: "Well, if you believed, then you'd believe!"
When I used to hang out with fundamentalists, I would ask questions and make statements based on my own reading of the New Testament. I would say 'How can you believe such-and-such when it says right here . . . ' They would smile patronizingly and tell me that you can't really interpret the New Testament unless you're a believer. If you believe, then the Holy Spirit helps you make sense of the New Testament.
It always seemed to me that they were saying, in other words, 'Wel, if you believed it, you'd believe it.'
2007-07-24 06:33:30 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
One thing I've noticed about many religious, it's like they flip a switch when it comes to faith belief. They can't wrap their mind around approaching it logically. They would be the type telling a nonbeliever to pray I think.
They aren't all like that, I swear. :)
2007-07-24 06:28:02 · answer #6 · answered by Armless Joe, Bipedal Foe 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Ever heard of Frank Pastori or how ever you spell his name, he was an atheist who ofcourse did not believe in God and now he does wanna know why. 99.5 kkla listen to it on the radio
2007-07-24 08:03:58 · answer #7 · answered by ttt3 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Because they have no clue as to how an atheist thinks. Which explains why they are believers, too.
2007-07-24 06:28:42 · answer #8 · answered by Brent Y 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
"Never question God, because God knows everything."
Religion teaches you never to question everything. It's a blanket around you, slowly asphyxiating you as you sink to the bottom of the lake. It cramps the mind.
Never question?
What kind of lesson is that...
2007-07-24 06:27:34 · answer #9 · answered by Alley S. 6 · 6⤊ 0⤋
LOL...
It appears to be so... that the deepest desires of Christianity, Islam and Judaism are first to cause all free thinking to come to an abrupt end and then to devour each other.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb62/Randall_Fleck/Nietzsche_The_Dawn_Quote_GIF.gif
[][][] r u randy? [][][]
.
2007-07-24 07:52:42 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋