I question the premise. Seriously. I often hear that stuff about always being prepared to give a reason for the hope that you have, but I rarely find a theist who follows it - and never for very long. I enjoy talking to intelligent people who disagree with me about religion, but I rarely find Christians (or Muslims) who want to talk to _me._ And as soon as I ask them for evidence - just *one* piece of good evidence, specific enough and in enough detail that I can judge it for myself, backing up their religious beliefs - even those rare individuals leave in a hurry. (I'm talking about online or email. I've been surrounded by Christians my entire life, but my friends never even _mention_ religion, and I don't want to push myself on anyone.) I'm an atheist, but I'm not infallible. I _could_ be wrong. And if I _am_ wrong - about anything, not just gods - I want to know that, so I can change my mind. But Christians seem terrified of even _talking_ to me. That makes it hard to even take your claims seriously. And then I find videos like this one. There are lots of them on RUclips, and it really strikes me as humorous. What you really mean, I suspect, is defending your beliefs among other _Christians,_ right? You just mean trying to convince other Christians that your own particular brand of Christianity is the correct one? You wouldn't actually try to convince an atheist? And I suppose that makes sense. After all, Christians can't even agree with _other Christians_ about much of anything, let alone with the other faith-based people in the world, even when you're all supposedly following the same magic book supposedly provided to you by the same supposedly all-knowing deity _specifically to tell you stuff!_ But it just seems weird to me. I'm not trying to be nasty here. I just don't get it. Christians tell me that they're supposed to spread the good news,... but only among people who already believe it? As I say, it just seems weird to me.
Think of it this way...the Bible speaks of evangelizing like planting seeds. If you were spreading literal seed, you're not going to have every last seed sprout and prosper. Out of thousands of seeds you throw on the ground, there are bound to be many that don't "take". Why should the spiritual/metaphorical be any different from the physical? Being a good preacher/evangelist takes experience and development like being a good farmer. You'll know how to read the environment and know how to plant and subsequently nurture each seed. The Bible also speaks to seeds that land on the rocks or on good soil. You need to know who to approach and when/how to approach. I could throw an avocado pit out on the ground in my back yard and it's never going to grow. I need to know the environment it needs. Thus, don't cast your pearls before swine; there is discernment in evangelizing.
@@Bill_Garthright Not sure how you got that from what I said, but you sound like the type of person I'd pass on. Just looking for an argument, not trying to understand. Good luck! 😊
@@azrielsmith3167 I was joking. But this is how you stay unchallenged. Talking to an atheist is "casting your pearls before swine," so you only have to talk to the people who won't ask you difficult questions. And it's poisoning the well (a known logical fallacy), too. You're already set to dismiss anything "swine" say. Why listen to _them?_ They're just "swine," right? Obviously, you can talk to whomever you like. You certainly have no duty to talk to _me_ in a RUclips comment. I just think it's kind of funny. It's an obvious defense mechanism. You never have to question yourself, because even if you _do_ talk to someone unsuccessfully, that's not because of your argument. It's just because you mistook stony ground for good soil, huh? And so you can dismiss the possibility that you could be wrong, the possibility that you believe this stuff for very poor reasons. I just find that interesting. Of course, as an atheist, I find the same thing. Relatively few theists will rethink the religion they were taught to believe as a child. The difference is that I'm willing to talk to _everyone._ I recognize that I'm not infallible, that I _could_ be wrong. And if I _am_ wrong - about anything, not just gods - I want to know that so I can change my mind. I would _like_ to convince more people to become evidence-based, rather than faith-based. Faith-based thinking is destroying my country and my world. But that's not likely to happen. Too bad. Now, I could _think_ of that as stony ground, of course, but it doesn't really matter to me. I find this stuff interesting, and I'm happy to talk to even the most devout theists (Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Mormon, or whatever). Indeed, I'd _prefer_ to be challenged. If my thinking was never challenged, how could I ever be confident in it?
Easy - - - If you are unwilling to believe in the Creator of Everything; God the Father and His Son; Jesus then you are doomed to be deceived into believing in evolution and ETs (aliens) as our progenitors…. God help us all not to fall victim to this “great deception” in the name of Jesus, Amen! (Psalm 14:1 KJV, Matthew 24:24 KJV, 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 KJV and to avoid deception John 3:16 KJV)
Thanks for sharing brother 🙏
02:00 amen
You hit the nail on the head in this one. Great job. Can’t wait to hear the following classes.
I question the premise. Seriously. I often hear that stuff about always being prepared to give a reason for the hope that you have, but I rarely find a theist who follows it - and never for very long.
I enjoy talking to intelligent people who disagree with me about religion, but I rarely find Christians (or Muslims) who want to talk to _me._ And as soon as I ask them for evidence - just *one* piece of good evidence, specific enough and in enough detail that I can judge it for myself, backing up their religious beliefs - even those rare individuals leave in a hurry. (I'm talking about online or email. I've been surrounded by Christians my entire life, but my friends never even _mention_ religion, and I don't want to push myself on anyone.)
I'm an atheist, but I'm not infallible. I _could_ be wrong. And if I _am_ wrong - about anything, not just gods - I want to know that, so I can change my mind. But Christians seem terrified of even _talking_ to me. That makes it hard to even take your claims seriously.
And then I find videos like this one. There are lots of them on RUclips, and it really strikes me as humorous. What you really mean, I suspect, is defending your beliefs among other _Christians,_ right? You just mean trying to convince other Christians that your own particular brand of Christianity is the correct one? You wouldn't actually try to convince an atheist?
And I suppose that makes sense. After all, Christians can't even agree with _other Christians_ about much of anything, let alone with the other faith-based people in the world, even when you're all supposedly following the same magic book supposedly provided to you by the same supposedly all-knowing deity _specifically to tell you stuff!_ But it just seems weird to me.
I'm not trying to be nasty here. I just don't get it. Christians tell me that they're supposed to spread the good news,... but only among people who already believe it? As I say, it just seems weird to me.
See our conversation on the other thread.
@@thegeologian
Thank you!
You’re welcome!
Think of it this way...the Bible speaks of evangelizing like planting seeds. If you were spreading literal seed, you're not going to have every last seed sprout and prosper. Out of thousands of seeds you throw on the ground, there are bound to be many that don't "take". Why should the spiritual/metaphorical be any different from the physical? Being a good preacher/evangelist takes experience and development like being a good farmer. You'll know how to read the environment and know how to plant and subsequently nurture each seed. The Bible also speaks to seeds that land on the rocks or on good soil. You need to know who to approach and when/how to approach. I could throw an avocado pit out on the ground in my back yard and it's never going to grow. I need to know the environment it needs. Thus, don't cast your pearls before swine; there is discernment in evangelizing.
Right. Only talk to people who already agree with you, huh? :)
@@Bill_Garthright Not sure how you got that from what I said, but you sound like the type of person I'd pass on. Just looking for an argument, not trying to understand. Good luck! 😊
@@azrielsmith3167
I was joking. But this is how you stay unchallenged. Talking to an atheist is "casting your pearls before swine," so you only have to talk to the people who won't ask you difficult questions. And it's poisoning the well (a known logical fallacy), too. You're already set to dismiss anything "swine" say. Why listen to _them?_ They're just "swine," right?
Obviously, you can talk to whomever you like. You certainly have no duty to talk to _me_ in a RUclips comment. I just think it's kind of funny. It's an obvious defense mechanism. You never have to question yourself, because even if you _do_ talk to someone unsuccessfully, that's not because of your argument. It's just because you mistook stony ground for good soil, huh?
And so you can dismiss the possibility that you could be wrong, the possibility that you believe this stuff for very poor reasons. I just find that interesting.
Of course, as an atheist, I find the same thing. Relatively few theists will rethink the religion they were taught to believe as a child. The difference is that I'm willing to talk to _everyone._ I recognize that I'm not infallible, that I _could_ be wrong. And if I _am_ wrong - about anything, not just gods - I want to know that so I can change my mind.
I would _like_ to convince more people to become evidence-based, rather than faith-based. Faith-based thinking is destroying my country and my world. But that's not likely to happen. Too bad.
Now, I could _think_ of that as stony ground, of course, but it doesn't really matter to me. I find this stuff interesting, and I'm happy to talk to even the most devout theists (Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Mormon, or whatever). Indeed, I'd _prefer_ to be challenged. If my thinking was never challenged, how could I ever be confident in it?
Easy - - - If you are unwilling to believe in the Creator of Everything; God the Father and His Son; Jesus then you are doomed to be deceived into believing in evolution and ETs (aliens) as our progenitors…. God help us all not to fall victim to this “great deception” in the name of Jesus, Amen! (Psalm 14:1 KJV, Matthew 24:24 KJV, 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 KJV and to avoid deception John 3:16 KJV)