I was a huge fan of all the new atheists and fell into the movement due to my questioning of my childhood faith. I became Buddhist after a while because of the teachings of Alan watts and the mystery behind the “religion.” At the end of my four year break with God, I was utterly unsatisfied with all of the unanswered questions and meaninglessness behind it all. It really is unbearable to live by the motto “life is meaningless, just have fun and make of it what you will.” There’s a reason humans strive for meaning: because God built us to be in relationship with him. I always hated the saying, but it really is true that we have a God sized hole in our hearts that only he can fill.
Who is the Creator? ANSWER - The Sovereign God and Heavenly Father of Jesus Christ as written in Matthew 22: 37 and John 17: 3 Who is Jesus Christ? ANSWER - The One given by the Creator all authority and sent from heaven to earth to preach and teach the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead" to all imperfect, suffering, and dying human beings as written in Matthew 28: 18, Luke 4: 43, and John 11: 25, 26 Who are the Atheists and Evolutionists? ANSWER - Imperfect, suffering, and dying human beings who are openly and deliberately mocking and degrading the Creator's Sovereignty, will, and commandments as worthless and useless and filling the world instead with their claim that the Biblical Creator doesn't exist and even if existing is still worthless, useless, and undeserving to be honored and respected as the True and Sovereign God Who are the fanatics of Religions? ANSWER - Jehovah's Witnesses, SDAs, Mormons, Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Born Again Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and all imperfect, suffering, and dying human beings who are openly and deliberately mocking and degrading the Biblical authority and teachings of Jesus Christ about the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead" as worthless and useless and filling the world instead with their own Unbiblical teachings and doctrines about "Armageddon", "Trinity", "immortality of the souls or the heaven and hellfire doctrine", "rapture", and "reincarnation". Who are the worshippers of the Creator? ANSWER - All imperfect, suffering, dying human beings who gladly and willingly submit to the Biblical authority of Jesus Christ as the One given by the Creator all authority in heaven and on earth and believe his Biblical teachings about the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead" in their obedience to what were written in Matthew 28: 18, Luke 4: 43, and John 11: 25, 26 What is the Creator's favor and reward to all his Worshippers and Followers of Jesus Christ? ANSWER - ETERNAL LIFE and EXISTENCE without sufferings, pains, griefs, sickness and death on a safe and peaceful earth without liars, traitors, deceivers, slanderers, perverts, and murderers as written in Revelation 21: 3, 4, 8 What is the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead" for? ANSWER - All human beings have no immortal souls and will just become worthless and useless dusts on earth after their deaths just like the animals as written in Ecclesiastes 3: 19, 20 ; 9: 5, 6 which means, all Atheists and Fanatics of all Christian and non-Christian Religions will never be glorified in their make-believe and fairy Heaven nor punished and tortured for eternity in their invented and fictitious Hell but just become worthless and useless dusts on earth forever after their deaths while worshippers of the Creator who died recently and thousands of years ago like Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Job, Naomi, Ruth, King David, Jesus Christ's disciples and followers, and many others will not remain as worthless and useless dusts on earth forever, instead, in the right and proper time and as written in John 11: 25, 26, the Creator will let Jesus Christ RESURRECT them back to life so they can all happily and abundantly live and exist on earth forever as submissive and obedient subjects of the "KINGDOM of GOD" or the Creator's Kingdom and fully enjoy the eternal love, kindness, goodness, compassions, generosities, favors, and blessings of the Creator and his Christ for eternity under the loving and kind rulership, guidance, and protection of Jesus Christ as the Creator's Chosen King and Ruler of the heavens and the earth as written in Revelation 11: 15.
Glad to have you in the family. I'm a former atheist. Became Christian at age 19. I probably would have self-deleted/OD'd by now if it wasn't for my relationship with Jesus Christ.
i grew up catholic and still believe in jesus but have been drawn towards buddhism the past several years due to the immediate experiential nature of it such as mindfulness etc. I have gone vegetarian for karmaic purposes, and mindfulness (awareness & regulation of thoughts & emotions) has had great positive effects on my mind & attitude etc. But, I must say...I haven't prayed a ton throughout my life so I wouldn't know if that would have the same effect..and I'm interested to try. Either way- neither Zen nor Buddhism says "life is meaningless" For Buddhism..its premise is life is suffering. The purpose of life is to bring yourself and others out of suffering (for those who say buddhism is egotistical..i can't believe it even has to be said.. but helping others accrues good karma). I enjoyed this. This is not to say that because of suffering God is bad, but the nature of life is extremely hard; think about wildlife. If you live well you are very lucky Zen is much harder to ascribe 'meaning' as it doesn't have meaning. Zen is not a matter of faith but a way of explaining our reality. In a nutshell, the only thing we can prove is our immediate experience, such as "i think therefore i am". the nature of reality is so complex that the only thing we can do is enjoy the moment and relax. So yeah Zen is nihilstic but its purpose isnt to find meaning but peace of mind Thanks to Sam Shamoun my concern for Christ is becoming much more real. especially with the direction of America
@@brigs369 that’s awesome. And beautiful. Buddhism, to bring you and others out of suffering. And yes, the god of the Bible is a jealous and mean god… flooding the earth, telling people how to handle slaves and unruly children. Telling Abraham to blood sacrifice his kid…
I remember listening to the debates many years ago. One thing that stood out to me was how many nominally religious people thought they could take a crack at atheism without any real effort and they would wind up surprised that their slogans didn't pan out. But as time went on, I saw more committed theists giving really strong arguments and atheists became stunned. I remember when atheists promised a new panacea if society would just give up her religion. Well a good portion of society has done it and now they can't tell if they're a man or a woman. We didn't get the panacea we were promised. Only more heartaches. All this to say that fads and trends are temporary. Eternity matters and knowing God and making peace with Him is the best thing you can do.
"But as time went on, I saw more committed theists giving really strong arguments and atheists became stunned." That's the way it is. I grew in a home of Christian values. When I grew up, the rituals made be bored. I never became atheist but I ended evening prayers, listening church service, trying to understand Bible etc. Finally I left the Lutheran Church. Many many years after that I met Lord Jesus and got reborn. Then I got interested in Bible and I started to understand the deepest meaning of Scriptures. That was and is a life-changing experience. But I still believed in evolution, which means I was a theistic evolutionist. That in fact can be even worse than being an outright atheist. A theistic evolutionist rejects Genesis and if you don't accept Genesis how can you trust anything in Bible? I became a YEC by studying first the evolution theory, then genetics, geology, biochemistry, paleontology and the laws of physics. The impossibility of abiogenesis and the distorted theory of natural selection acting as "gene generator" made me reject the idea of Universal Common Ancestor. Instead, I became 100% certain of the Intelligent Design, especially because there is no 3rd alternative. Genesis makes 100% sense while atheism has no explanation for the claimed abiogenesis or evolution that could generate new life forms. What Darwin saw was just intraspecific adaptive variation, not evolution from a universal common ancestor. In human thinking God shouldn't be positioned as contradicting science. That would be a mistake. Methodological naturalism is favored by atheists but it's not the only method of scientific studies. In fact it is not scientific at all, if we believe in the principle that science must not reject any alternative theories for ideological reasons. The precondition "No intelligent design accepted" is not science. Science must be objective and preconditions are against objectivity. Creationist scientists use critical rationalism as the preferred method of scientific studies, because in that method no theory is rejected for ideological reasons - evidence only counts.
@@kos-mos1127 If you want to take things to it's logical conclusion, then you'd better buckle up for the logical conclusion of Atheism. The logical conclusion of Atheism: Magical talking fairy rocks informed an invisible sky-daddy triune creator god who's name is "Natural Selection, Time, and Chance" that humans need rules to peacefully co-exist. So then this invisible sky-daddy triune creator god who's name is "Natural Selection, Time, and Chance" then crushed up these magical talking fairy rocks and then codexed their knowledge onto our DNA. And this is why humans have morals.
I came into faith through Neil deGrasse Tyson, despite his self-professed agnosticism. His eloquent explanations of the universe reveal a profound sense of awe that, to me, speaks to the majestic nature of a higher power-God.
@@Eliza-rg4vw And have you seen a pair of fish, give birth to an interspecies, and then that interspecies had offspring that had different DNA and became a turtle? Or did you see a birth defect and then imagine that some new species was formed? In order to verify that one species changed into another, you MUST have the parents, the birth defect, and the the birth defect's offspring to verify that a species actually changed into another species. Evolution has not been observed, but Atheists believe it without seeing it. Not intellectually sound to willingly do so.
I grew up in a Catholic home and was confirmed in The Catholic Church. I whole heartedly rejected God and the church, I was forced by my mother. But when I was 18, I had a Dawkins book I bought and I only made it through 3 chapters before throwing it I. The trash. Those few chapters made me realize that I did believe in a God. I hadn't quite came to Christ at that point, but it helped me reject atheism .
You realize there are many atheists who are that way because of Christian or other leaders, the Bible, etc. There are also many who simply reject the God claims altogether with no underlying scientific matrix. They simply think religion solves nothing and is not true.
Father hear my prayers. I’m losing hope. My husband is with you I still miss him even after all these years. These pass three years have been difficult. At times I feel so alone especially as a single mom. Since suffering a heart attack two years ago and my on going battle with lupus I’m overwhelmed. Both of my sons are autistic. I’m now homeschooling them so my hours to work are limited. BUT I TRUST YOU LORD! I keep faith even as I constantly struggle to provide for my kids and I constantly struggle to buy groceries. I receive hate for sharing my testimony. My testimony is one of faith. No matter what we are facing God will give us strength to over come. Thankfully I have you Lord! I know I’m not alone. Faith over fear!
Despite his suffering, Job knew that God was in control, and that knowledge helped him maintain resilience instead of giving in to defeat. His faith resulted in resiliency. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.” Choosing to trust in the Lord rather than rely on what we understand is the best way to stay resilient/strong. God takes each one of us through fearful situations, and, as we learn to obey God’s Word and allow it to saturate our thoughts, we find each trial becomes a stepping stone to a stronger and deeper faith in Him. Remember that Romans 5:3-5 says, "Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." Throughout life we will continue to face various trials that would cause us fear or start losing hope. God never promised He would take away our trials or suffering, instead God assures us that we can know a supernatural peace through it all. I pray this for you. 💙
@ChildofGod98765 We also have autistic son. We did therapies, changed his diet, tried detox, not much change at all... Then we found a family who had their son diagnosed with autism. In late 70's... Heavily autistic boy. Boy's name was Raun K. Kaufman. They did something completely different with him than what was recommended. It's actually quite simple but you might need help from some friends and one room separate for playing in your house. The room is a must and it's easy to set up. They can be helped massively!!! The program they developed is called Son-rise program. We just started and it did more in 2 weeks than 2 years of expensive therapy. Anybody can do that and they offer basically all you need for free. They don't advertise they have too many kids already to help. We bought the book from Raun himself and it is a life changer. Praise the Lord this is an answer to our long going prayers. We bought both audio and kindle version. There's basically comprehensive layout on how to work with your boys with tons of free online resources from their websites and tons of studies. Audio is great to listen anywhere and then when you read the book you will remember it better and catch things you might have missed. Try at least to look into it please, it will change your boys lives. www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B071JB6RMR/ref=ya_aw_dod_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The reason why many do NOT find God aside from the fact that they're not actually looking for Him, is that they are lacking one quality that we all believers share, humility!
No, it's because it is grounded in baseless assertions and so called 'miracles' that defy physics and reality while having ZERO evidence to back up any of the claims. (The bible says so is not evidence) Co-incidentally, the 'creator' is totally absent and requires belief without any form of interaction or evidence. How can you 'look' for something that does not interact in any way and is completely absent. How can you have a 'relationship' with that? Honestly, how can anyone even believe this garbage. Do you also fall for the Nigerian Lotto scam?, coz it sounds like you'll believe anything.
There is mock humility - those, who pick a church of their liking from the big table of Christendom. And there is real humility - those who allow Jehovah to make the rules of true worship. Only these people then are allowed to bear his name…😊
@@matthiasgrimm243 Please indulge me. I so rarely find someone that uses the divine name. You also display the same coarse brashness that makes my replies cutting. Are you a JW?
The Hebrews/Jews were spoonfed the truth, yet still they lacked appreciation and fell into false worship repeatedly, eventually forcing an end to Judiasm (Mat 23:37 - 24:2). The new way to get truth, Christianity, requires repeatedly praying for understanding -- Luke 11:5-13; Romans 12:12. Demonstrating continued interest is necessary as is the display of appreciation (Matthew 13:24). Most do not realize that holy spirit is the only way to understand: 1 Cor. 2:10 "For it is to us God has revealed them through his spirit, for the spirit searches into all things, even the deep things of God." And yes, either self-imposed humility or gaining the receptivity to consider spiritual matters when life forces humility upon us.
@@AnthonyAnderson. Yes! Prayers are very important. Because that will make Jehovah, to use his holy spirit and his angels to direct his people, to teach the truth to them! Mat 28:19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you. And look! I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.” There is only one group that is doing this work today!
I came back to Christianity by reading The Beginning of Infinity, a science book written by an atheist. When you are truly searching for truth, you eventually end up back with Christ.
@@johnferguson8794 it would point to the real God. So they would struggle with they faith most likely at that point and have to decide if they want to live truly and come to Christ. It only points to God.
Currently reading Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene. String theory sounds like its saying that it's a vibration ? From my understanding, that causes our reality. If im not mistaken . Sounds to me like The Word.
Dawkins didn’t make me a Christian..he did help me to understand what I thought, and helped compel me to a greater understanding Christ. I had to study and read to overcome his simplistic arguments, like the problem of evil…so he motivated me to learn so that I could give a good apology of why and why I believe.
Beautiful testimony. Sometimes people get so, intellectually beaten down when they express their faith they find it hard to pick themselves up again. Well done.!
@@wet-read The "POE"? I assume you mean the "Problem of Evil". Don't forget.... Satan is also at play in the world. The problem of evil is from the evil one, not from God's design or purpose.
@@CelticSpiritsCovenAnd yet your god let's it happen... What do you call a person who witnesses a crime, who has the means to stop it but does nothing about it?.
I had Christianity forced on me through Catholicism as a young man, which caused me to rebel against religion and begin worshipping satan. As time progressed, I began doing whatever would get people to like me or think I was cool. My drug use started at age 15 and evolved with my urge to fit in. Over the years, I grew angry with God. I always said, "I'm a good person. Why does God allow bad stuff to happen to me?" Then my Mom died the day before my birthday, and I was mad at God for taking my best friend and the only person I thought believed in me. Ironically, a Jehovah's Witness helped me to see that I was the cause of all the tribulations I was experiencing and that God was there the entire time. When my Mom died, I was incarcerated. Had I been on the streets, I would have committed suicide by overdose as I was an IV heroin user at the time. My life experience had caused me to resent God, and I refused to take accountability for my actions. I used to expect more from God than I was willing to give, and since He never showed up, I was in control of my life. Clearing my head of all the drugs was the first step. Once I opened my heart to God, I realized He had been there the entire time. So many people have been hurt or misled by Christianity. This causes them to close their hearts to Jesus. But God wants to love you and show you how great life is when you are in a relationship with Him. Thank you again for a great video, brother. I pray glory, splendor, and prosperity follow you everywhere you go. In Jesus name, Amen 🙏🏿✌🏿💙💪🏿
Alister McGrath is amazing! Love that you had this conversation with him! I feel like he is the theologian to theologians with how much he knows yet lives so humbly & simple. Love his books. Thank you for this!
"You've got to help them see what Christianity actually is. If you like unpack it to get rid of the cultural baggage and allow people to really see what is really there...." Thanks so much.
I came to faith through Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. In particular it was the chapter on hope where Lewis talks about intense longings for which no earthly experiences satisfy. Things like music, travel, new hobbies arouse the longings but in the end do not fully satisfy or fulfill them. Lewis was the first one in my experience to address what I felt intensly. He concluded if we have longings this world awakens but does not satisfy then we are meant for another world. That opened the door of Christianity for me and it has been an astonishing journey.
Fabulous interview! I cannot wait to read Mr. McGrath's book. I've always had faith in God by His terms and it would be good to understand other people's issues and be able to speak to those issues.
Based on Richard Dawkins recent comments about him, realizing the utilitarian usefulness of religion, I think he himself is in the early stages of coming to Christ. The reason I think this is that was my first step in that journey.
@@SonOfThineHandmaid The pope doesn't breathe a single truth from the Bible. Look at him now, approving what Romans 1:26-27 warned about and taught against. The pope is the Antichrist in 2Thess 2:3-4. Appropriate for him to be called a snake.
Just try to fathom abiogenesis with the impossible mathematical odds in the light of amazing complexity and integration needed for even the simplest life forms and you'll realise you can't possibly be an atheist.
@@oscargr_ Who said God was simple? In fact the Bible describes Him as having thoughts that are way higher (beyond) our thoughts, and His ways, which are not our ways, past finding out. He is of infinite intelligence. Hardly simple! His message of salvation is simple however, because it is for us all. He is no respecter of persons.
unfortunately i came to faith through witchcraft like tarot, astrology and numerology. as a former atheist it got me to believe in and see the spiritual world. got me to the conclusion if spirits are real then god is real. and then i started reading the bible and never touched those demonics things again. praise jesus
Amen! I was just starting to get into that occult stuff and then the Lord said that was enough of that and turned my life upside down. I went though a nightmare which I’m still dealing with but the bottom line was that not long after I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour and was born again. I’m still just going on one day at a time but Jesus is right here with me and I know Him.
Spirits could be real without God being real. The two do not necessarily follow. What are spirits and ghosts anyways? Did God forget to deliver them to heaven or hell?
When you look at things like the night sky, a sunset etc. - you realise how small we are in the scheme of things. The human mind connecting the dots fast comes to the reality, there's something so much bigger than us out there
Makes you wonder doesn't it, why would god make such a gigantic container , billions of light years across (just the bit we can see) - all just for us? Billions of galaxies, trillions of planets, just to put us on one teeny tiny little one of no significance. And in all this magnificence, his main concern is what humans do with their genitals. Pretty ridiculous.
In the last three years, it has been proven that the educated, the intelligent, the guardians, the rich , the powerful are not to be blindly believed or trusted. The lack of trust open the eyes. Open eyes easily see the works of God’s hands.
First timer here. Absolutely a blessing. What I see happening is that awareness of Spiritual things seems to me to be on the rise. Even the Catholic Church membership is looking for answers. This all tells me that God's Spirit is moving as we approach the final conflict.
I was into the new atheist thing for years and completely turned by back on my Christian upbringing. It was fun for a while but for years I just felt this black whole in my life. A feeling of emptiness than nothing could fill. I tried filling it with politics, hobbies and other distractions. I then admitted to myself I needed religion so tried buddhism 😂 eventually came back to Christ and everything fell back into place and the clouds lifted
It was a pleasure to watch this conversation with two intelligent men. Congratulations to Alistair on his book, which I look forward to reading. How great is our God when He can move through the hardest of hearts and the most stubborn minds and breathe new life into them! I find it so difficult to understand why people deny their God, because He is the God of all of us, whether some believe in Him or not, and He is waiting for us to get to know Him. Believing and trusting in God through Jesus Christ our Saviour is like having an eternal flame within the soul, so full of hope, wonder, joy and comfort. This is the Holy Spirit and it drives us and is a major part of our lives. Nothing can touch it, to have faith in Christ is the greatest gift and I am privileged to be a part of His Kingdom. Thank you Brothers in Christ.❤
Provide good evidence and I'll believe you. It is that simple. I deny the existence of God because no one has ever presented any good evidence for God. It is your job to do that if you claim God exists.
@linusloth4145 I can't. I don't have a list of the exact things I'll accept or won't. Generally, if the evidence is reliable, then I'll believe it. This shouldn't be a problem. I don't choose what I am convinced of, I just am. That is why we must discuss first the evidence, and then is me being convinced or not reasonable. I cannot provide you a list of the evidence I want, nor should I. Provide the evidence. I'll either accept or reject it. We will then discuss whether I am reasonable to do so or not. This is how discourse works.
I too was wondering, wandering, searching and came across Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens and bought into their theories. However I never was a full atheist. More like an deeply sceptical catholic, but still knowing there was something bigger. Reading their work, especially Dawkins (and Darwin) I was left with even more questions, knowing deep withion that there was something vastly significant missing. And through time and reading and learning I am coming full circle. St. Benedict, for various reasons, was my point of re-entry.
This is lovely. Thank you both for such an enjoyable, intellectual conversation about God and His availability to be known. I was bewildered by life as a child but when Jesus entered me in the Holy Eucharist when I was only seven, He came in so powerfully, so big, so Holy and infinitely Peaceful. I became addicted to God's Grace, the way He makes me feel and He also taught me Truth. All that I am is what I am in relationship with Jesus, with my Beloved Father-God, with the mysterious and powerful Holy Spirit. "The things of this world compared to You are like a candle to the Sun." - Joel Houston of Hillsong UNITED
Gee, where to start? There is so much to choose from...everything in the Bible, everyting innature, all the immaterial things you rely on every day. Do some reading, you can find it if you look,
@@teks-kj1nj One piece of evidence? As mentioned above - there is a plethora of evidence. But.. if you insist on one... How would you explain Love? I assume that you have a mother? Think back on all the hard times you gave her. Think about all the trouble you caused - all the things you did that hurt her. Now my question to you is - why did that hurt her? She loved you - right? But what is love? Atheists say its part of biology - part of evolution. So what purpose would love serve under those conditions (from an atheists perspective?). You cannot be so simple minded to make the argument "Biology created love to propagate the human species" If that were so, I would think that love then would diminish over time, or would be one sided (your mother would love you but for what reason would you love your mother - from a biological perspective?) I'd take it a step further.. if love is just a "made up" feeling based on chemicals in your brain- how can you possibly trust it? I mean - how can you possibly know that your mother loves you? How would you trust any thought that you ever had? Atheists also argue that God is unjust, due to the evil, death, war, violence, etc in this world. "What kind of God would allow that? What kind and just God would let some bad man rape and torture his daughter for 20 years, keeping her locked away in the basement?" Right? That answer is simple. What kind of God would take away free will? If God had to stop every bit of violence in the world, no-one would have a choice. No-one would be free to go this way or that way. God loves you (and humankind) so much that he is willing to let humans make their own choices - to the detriment of others. The last evidence I'll mention is - God wants you and all of humankind to come to Him - to know the Truth. He has made the truth known in literally every thing that was created - but humans simply need to seek for it. How would you convince a blind man that the moon exists? He can't see it. He can't feel it, or hear it, or taste it. If no-one told him, or described it to him - he would never know. That is what it's like for a Christian when talking with an atheist. A flat out refusal, on the atheists part, to listen. Just as @theluckybiomed7412 said - do some reading. Find it out for yourself.
When Dawkin's books came out in the mid / late 1980s, many Christians were on the defensive. The books have been around for long enough for Dawkin's poor philosophy, poor science and irrational rejection of Christianity to be exposed.
@@theluckybiomed7412 the Bible can’t be evidence because that’s where your god came from. Without your Bible you wouldn’t know your god. That’s why the Bible is “on trial” so to speak. Saying nature is evidence for a god MIGHT be possible, however it wouldn’t lead to to any evidence of a god because we can’t study the supernatural. Tell me, why is there “divine hiddeness”? Why can’t we talk to your god as he spoke to Adam, Abraham, Moses? He came down all the time. Now he is nowhere to be able to actually speak to him.
I was a full on new atheist. Aged 18 I read Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris and was absolutely convinced of their arguments. Now I’m 36. I got christened in the summer. Atheism felt totally empty and almost nihilistic. I couldn’t anchor myself to anything!
Your story sounds very similar to mine I was the same a full on new atheist I read all the books watched all the debates with Hawkins and Hitchens I would actually cheer them on from 18-30 that was my life and it was horrible. A life with no meaning led my down very dark paths drugs, sexual sin, haughty eyes and most offensive I blamed God for my unbelief I was utterly trapped. Then in my early 30's for reasons I cannot explain to this day I cried out to God for salvation and he led me on a long journey to his son Jesus Christ, I started out listening to Alan Watts I had no foundation yet I didnt know his son all I knew was that I had been wrong all this time and I had to find the TRUTH. I read everything buddhism, taoism, the quaran etc but they all felt wrong I found no truth no peace in them if anything they made more more confused but I refused to give up or should I say God refused to give up on me and 3 years ago I found the truth I kept knocking and the door was opened. God Bless and always keep Jesus in your sights in this long race my brother.
people turning into zombies rising from the dead, talking snakes, people turning into salt, a global flood and boat with every animal pair on earth and all their food and hygiene requirements for 1 year makes sense to you? Did you go to school?
God makes sense or did you actually mean to say "Choosing God is a far more comfortable and convenient for me - I really want to live forever, be righteous and feel in control".
@teks-kj1nj Yeah, global floods are crazy talk. The flood evidence writ large on the landscape across the sahara was put there by the government to fool us!
Ayaan Hirsi Ali just declared that she is now a Christian, and she has been friends with Dawkins and has been into the New Atheism. She speaks of the vacuity of the atheist story in dealing with the pressing issues of our day.
This was excellent and profound. Alistair McGrath said something that led to an ah moment. I'm in my 60s and was raised Catholic. Something always seemed off. I wanted an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ. I've been searching for authentic Christianity like the first century church experienced. My friend led me to Christ in 1972. We were both 14. I will be forever grateful to him. I experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit that day and was hungry for God's word. The joy that I experienced that day, I can't begin to describe. I knew I was a new creation in God. Jesus did that! I read the Bible cover to cover and have done so multiple times. This conversation triggered a thought in me. Westerners have damaged Christianity in numerous ways. Westerners have forgotten the Middle Eastern elements of Christianity. We've made things too complicated. The Catholic Church added layers between lay believers and Jesus Christ. Layers that Christ came to abolish through his death on the cross. I've known lovely Catholics who didn't realize that they could just talk to God. They thought that their own prayers weren't good enough, that they had to read a prayer written by an alleged "saint" to talk to God. Not realizing that believers are saints. Saints merely means set apart. All real Christ Followers are set apart. The Catholic Church did the same thing as the ancient Sadduccees and the Pharisees did when Christ came. Created a bunch of inane rituals and rules that God never intended and Jesus criticized. He said his burden is LIGHT, not heavy. The Protestant church isn't off the hook either. We have pastors who've totally denied Christ's uniqueness and death on the cross. Why are they calling themselves Christians? There are others who teach that our best life is now, get all you can while you're here. How is that different from the world? There is more that I could say, but won't. While the church either knowingly or unknowingly puts impediments before those genuinely seeking Christ, it just goes to show that God will use the least likely people and ways to bring glory to himself and lead people to his Son, Jesus Christ. Praise God for that!
Great testimony and so true. The Catholic Church has very little to do with true Christianity, check on the Book of revelation and read the account of the Great whore dressed in purple and gold and drunken with the blood of the saints......
@@Practical.Wisdom oh ok, he may have been around then when I was still in that phase, but I just had enough books on my plate from other apologists so I didn’t seek anymore of them out.
This is a cop out for overcoming inconsistencies with postulating a God. Any evidence that suggests God isn't in control you can just write off as God works in mysterious ways. Any event that you want to attribute to God you just credit God. Confirmation bias 101.
I love that you brought up that part about the expectation where it's like, " If you're(that's typically how they would refer to God. They generally don't bother with the proper grammar) here, show yourself!" It's like the child that's too lazy to go to the cookie jar and demands that the jar be brought to him/her. There's a big sense of entitlement in how they expect God to reveal Himself. Some cases suggest, in which they'll likely deny, that they want God as their personal genie. The entitlement is hard to push past.
yep, its narcissism, "God is not doing what I would do if I were God, so it's easier to claim God is not real than to admit that what I would do is not right."
@@InitialPC I would add that there are a lot of things in today's culture that enable that attitude. If a child rarely ever sees an adult admit to fault and/or be held accountable, it's probably not likely that they'll do it themselves.
@@mesplin3 You didn't have ESP to know before hand that everyone would vote "NO" when you posted this poll on your channel..... "True or false: If God knows which outcomes will occur prior to creating a thing and God creates that thing, then God caused those outcomes." Maybe your ESP works part of the time?
I grew up Christian going to church every Sunday like clockwork. I probably stopped believing around age 12-13 when I thought critically about everything. I was kind of angry about it that I felt I had been lied to and brainwashed into something I now didn’t think was true. I was always into dark things growing up. Ex: horror movies, metal, satanic imagery, skulls. My very Christian mom hated it all. I had to hide things. Couldn’t even wear a shirt with a skull on it. It’s just what I was naturally gravitated to. That only further turned to off to Christianity. Fast forward to age 32 for some reason I feel myself trying to get back to god or at least learn about it. Now I’m not forced to learn about it I’m genuinely curious. I was apart of the atheist group that pretty much thought if you believed in god you were just dumb but I know now that’s not true. I get it to an extent but so far in my journey I haven’t heard any arguments for a Christian god that make a better case than even simple atheistic arguments. Also love the channel! I’m keeping an open mind.
Thank you for what you do! Love your channel. Got to meet you while you were creating the Mining for God doc and its very cool and encouraging to see you working in this vein to teach, challenge, inspire, and lead people to the Truth. Be blessed!
Richard Dawkins is a dull figure like all diehard atheists are. Kind of a "living dead". I get shivers watching him. But I believe even he can find Lord Jesus. Our Lord raised dead people while He walked on earth and still does it.
@TurinTuramber Wanting can mean a desiring to be part of something greater but unable to live by the ideals and expectations It may mean giving up a certain lifestyle that is at odds with biblical scripture.
@@colinsmith1288 Don't want to die? No problem religion offers an afterlife story. Feeling lonely and out of control? Don't worry God Daddy is watching and listening to you. Want justice for your enemies? No problem God will punish those people with eternal hellfire and if you are lucky smite them down earlier. Sick family members or failing crops? Don't fret just beg to God and daddy will make it all better. Want to be righteous? Don't worry do what we say and God will reward you. What relevance and dread oblivion? No problem God has a plan for you and loves you. Obviously he will torture you forever if you don't love him back but he loves you. I could go on. Lots of supernatural solutions not based on evidence, sounds like wishfulment to me.
I’m really enjoying these interviews lately. I especially enjoyed the one you had with the Christian scientist discussing evolution (you’ll have to forgive, I can’t remember his name). I listened to that interview multiple time so I could really understand his explanations. You’re doing great work.
@@janbuyck1 yeah, its weird right. I have a really hard time with faces and names, it was a couple weeks ago, and I was focused more on the topic and substance. I can tell you he had a new book, he talked about how our DNA resembled the computer program and how evolution is the equivalent of going in and changing the numbers within a program. He also talked about fold in our DNA caused by particular proteins that don’t self replicate, and he was on Joe Rogan. But alas, his name eludes me.
I've always been fascinated by the debates on the existence of God and the arguments by atheist intellectuals like Dawkins. It's incredible to see how diverse paths lead people to faith, whether it's Dawkins sparking a deeper quest or a contemplation on the profound mysteries of the universe by astrophysicists. What's most heartening is the profound way different life experiences bring individuals to the profound realization of their faith, demonstrating the complexity and depth of belief in a higher power. 🌌📚✝
"...whether it's Dawkins sparking a deeper quest ..." There is nothing 'deeper' in Dawkins. When the guy asks "who created God" it means that he is intellectually on teenager or prepuberty level.
Those that have reality on our side rejoice. I am an easy going person but McGrath puts me to the test .. but I console myself with the thought .. what is real is the ultimate victor
@@TurinTuramber I don't know how new these atheistic arguments are, but hilarious they are ... Who really believe in magic? It might be a good idea to set the record straight on who REALLY believes in "Magic".
Creationists deduce that an Intelligence agent is the causation for all of the order, design and complexity we see in the world today. Atheists instead have written their own book on magic. That must be considered hypocrisy on steroids. It goes somehow like this ... In the beginning, nothing exploded or expanded and created all of the matter in the known universe.. No "magic" needed? 🙄 Then self replicating DNA molecules, encoded with billions of base pairs with the specified / irreducibly complex genetic information were able to mindlessly create themselves out of dirt, air, heat and water... While Man, with all of his knowledge, technology, resources and the ability to artificially control atmospheric and chemical conditions can't even begin to imagine how to create DNA. No "magic" there ? LOL Or the fact that Man's (or his "ancestor's") 10 vital interdependent organs and their support systems must all be working together in tandem or we die and go extinct. Which was the order for their evolution? Stomach first? Brain second? Lungs third? Or did they all randomly "evolve" together No magic required? LOL Oh.. How about the chicken or egg?? Which came first? Oh, the egg?? OK, just how did all of those genetic blueprints / specified DNA for that "proto" chicken (or its first "Egg Laying Ancestor") get inside that egg? Who or what put it there? No magic needed, huh? Or how about 50 million old dinosaur red blood cells, soft tissue and DNA fragments being able to last that long without biodegrading completely in 10,000 YEARS? Noo... No magic required there ... Or how about the European Green woodpecker that has a tongue that wraps around the back of its head, over the top of its brain and through its right nostril? We realize that without that special tongue, the bird cant eat and dies ,,,, How did that tongue "evolve" over millions of years? Nice magic trick? Or the hummingbird having wings that flap at up to 100 times per second so it can hover while eating. Without those special wings it can't eat and dies. According to the mindless "mud to man" myth that hummingbird supposedly evolved over 20 million years from a Tree Swift (Common glider). Who has enough Imagination to believe THAT level of magic? Or how did the Bombardier Beetle manage to somehow "evolve" the explosive chemicals, inhibitor, enzymes, glands, combustion tubes, sensory communication, muscles to direct the combustion tubes and reflex nervous systems at the same time, in order to be able to perfectly control his defense system yet not blow himself up? No"magic" necessary, right? LOL Or during the course of "500 Million Years", while living in the same exact environment at the same exact time, while some Jellyfish were evolving into humans, other Jellyfish were evolving into ... Jellyfish. Incredible! Of course no magic was necessary ... I suggest atheists / accidentalists take another look at their hypothetical hypothesis of Mindless MYO Mud to Man Myth. The slow "step by step by step" gradual (macro)evolution is nonsense. There is no genetic mechanism to make it possible. "Micro evolution" occurs within the species existing DNA. "Macro evolution" would need qualitatively new genes, but getting them is impossible. Mutations as "gene factories" is an absurd unproven unscientific hypothesis concocted by diehard evolutionists who live in their fantasy world. Charles Darwin hadn’t even heard of genes or thermodynamics or information science. After 160 years the Neo-Darwinists are equally ignorant. We have been brainwashed and indoctrinated into believing a lie that has ZERO empirical scientific evidence to support it.
My personal decision came when I was physically unable to say the Our Father and I don't have speech issues. My tongue literally twisted in my mouth when I got to "As we forgive those who trespass against us"
Great discussion. I'm a very 'stripped back' Christian in that I enjoy a personal relationship with the Divine through Jesus, but I don't pray for anything - I just do whatever He tells me to do and enjoy whatever He decides to give me in return. Although I'm totally devout, many years ago I asked him for help on how I should respond to everything and He 'channelled' to me the Guidelines of Problacism. Trust in Jesus and be relentless.
Who is the Creator? ANSWER - The Sovereign God and Heavenly Father of Jesus Christ as written in Matthew 22: 37 and John 17: 3 Who is Jesus Christ? ANSWER - The One given by the Creator all authority and sent from heaven to earth to preach and teach the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead" to all imperfect, suffering, and dying human beings as written in Matthew 28: 18, Luke 4: 43, and John 11: 25, 26 Who are the Atheists and Evolutionists? ANSWER - Imperfect, suffering, and dying human beings who are openly and deliberately mocking and degrading the Creator's Sovereignty, will, and commandments as worthless and useless and filling the world instead with their claim that the Biblical Creator doesn't exist and even if existing is still worthless, merciless, and undeserving to be honored and respected as the True and Sovereign God Who are the fanatics of Religions? ANSWER - Jehovah's Witnesses, SDAs, Mormons, Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Born Again Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and all imperfect, suffering, and dying human beings who are openly and deliberately mocking and degrading the Biblical authority and teachings of Jesus Christ about the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead" as worthless and useless and filling the world instead with their own Unbiblical teachings and doctrines about "Armageddon", "Trinity", "immortality of the souls or the heaven and hellfire doctrine", "rapture", and "reincarnation". Who are the worshippers of the Creator? ANSWER - All imperfect, suffering, dying human beings who gladly and willingly submit to the Biblical authority of Jesus Christ as the One given by the Creator all authority in heaven and on earth and believe his Biblical teachings about the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead" in their obedience to what were written in Matthew 28: 18, Luke 4: 43, and John 11: 25, 26 What is the Creator's favor and reward to all his Worshippers and Followers of Jesus Christ? ANSWER - ETERNAL LIFE and EXISTENCE without sufferings, pains, griefs, sickness and death on a safe and peaceful earth without liars, traitors, deceivers, slanderers, perverts, and murderers as written in Revelation 21: 3, 4, 8 What is the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead" for? ANSWER - All human beings have no immortal souls and will just become worthless and useless dusts on earth after their deaths just like the animals as written in Ecclesiastes 3: 19, 20 ; 9: 5, 6 which means, all Atheists and Fanatics of all Christian and non-Christian Religions will never be glorified in their make-believe and fairy Heaven nor punished and tortured for eternity in their invented and fictitious Hell but just become worthless and useless dusts on earth forever after their deaths while worshippers of the Creator who died recently and thousands of years ago like Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Job, Naomi, Ruth, King David, Jesus Christ's disciples and followers, and many others will not remain as worthless and useless dusts on earth forever, instead, in the right and proper time and as written in John 11: 25, 26, the Creator will let Jesus Christ RESURRECT them back to life so they can all happily and abundantly live and exist on earth forever as submissive and obedient subjects of the "KINGDOM of GOD" or the Creator's Kingdom and fully enjoy the eternal love, kindness, goodness, compassions, generosities, favors, and blessings of the Creator and his Christ for eternity under the loving and kind rulership, guidance, and protection of Jesus Christ as the Creator's Chosen King and Ruler of the heavens and the earth as written in Revelation 11: 15.
I really enjoy your approach. I’m not a fan of the street preacher yelling « repent » to non-believers types. Best way to bring more to the faith is by rationality through intellect. Keep up the amazing work. God bless
"I’m not a fan of the street preacher ..." Same here, but they have their own calling and I do respect it. I keep lectures and do the writing but I guess I'm not evangelist in the traditional meaning.
For me it was Sam Harris who has been so wrong about everything. Also people like Michael Knowles who is smart and wonderful I knew he had to know something I didn’t.
Raised a secularist in the SF Bay Area. After reading the most prominent atheists, the rationality of theism became glaringly obvious. We intuitively know our lives have meaning.
Yeah when you find out that atheism means nothing created everything and that throwing double sixes over and over about hundreds of thousands of times in a row would be easier than the universe forming a coherent stable environment , then you need a whole lot more faith than I am capable of to throw away the concept of an astoundingly powerful and intelligent agent as creator. And then you meet Him, and then you realise that he is soooo much more. Then you realize He is holding out His hand saying "Be my child and I will be your Father and nothing will harm you or take you from me. You were born for this destiny. Choose me."
It's funny how you mention growing up with the Indie scene. I was there before it took off and you're so right, it was like that when it came to hating on everyone and everything except what was going on with "our culture". I started wondering if you knew who Maps & Atlases were? I was in a band and we were friends with a band that was friends with them and I was at a house party in Chicago with them I think when they played with Minus the Bear around 2007. Anyways, love your work brother! Keep it up, God bless! 🙌
I think what you need to do is throw everything about this world away. Everything that you understand and know is actually something you don’t know. When you surrender your will to want to get close to God. I think that’s when you understand what you are and who you are to God. And then God does the rest.
I don’t know if I said it properly, but like a willingness to surrender, submit, and understand that everything in this world is a lie. I thought so lies it’s sinful and we can’t save ourselves. And when you understand that I believe that’s when God gets close to you when you Seek him
My little heart loves this whole big world ,yet this whole big world cannot fill little heart.. Only Jesus can fill my little heart to the brim till it overflows .
My father is one of these atheist he said he is not but when I’m telling him that I’m a Christian he is trying to disproof my faith and if that doesn’t work he will mock my entire religion and all other religions my father is almost 60 now and he hasn’t changed at all sorry but 😂 kinda funny, once he told me that 99% of the Bible already had been debunked through science
@@kos-mos1127well agnosticisme can leads to faith if agnostic poeple just do the right research I know a lot of Atheist and Agnostic and i'm just amazed that they have so little understanding of the historical evidence for faith they don't lack evidence they lack knowledge to understand that evidence i try to Explain but they probably think im crazy or something 😂 Before i came to Christ because I was raised non-Christian, first i needed to know if Jesus historically exist and every little evidence leads me to the conclusion that he did since i was little i always was interested in Jesus and christianity my father completly disagree with me and even calls my faith Satan And debunked with Science, i also had to know if Jesus was crucified and that he was risen and yes evidence showed he did, there is more proof for Jesus risen from the death than the evidence for Aristotle we have 5800 ancient manuscript from the 2th to 10th century A.D in a time period of the early church fathers all the way trough polycarp how knew John the Apostle himself well polycarp had 2 students called Papias and Ireneous how lived until the Early 3th Century A.D all of these church fathers say that the Apostles wrote there Gospel, I had many conversion with my father about the existence of the soul and about Near Death Experience's to Church and History but he refused some poeple just chose not to believe even if they know it's real, and after all my study in Scriptures and Near Death Experience's in books and people how i knew personally with there own Experience's and the design argument, skeptical and open minded to the Case of unexplained healing after a NDE to Death Bed Visions to what caused NDE's this toke me months so it was 2020 and i toke a year off until 2021 and i started to put every puzzel piece to getter to expand my scientfic knowledge And the evidence for my faith i see no problem with faith and Science not at all, I had many conversions, I read a lot of Books about Jesus historically and Biblically to NDE's and many more, i also read articals online and if there is an agreement between others and other articals to see if there is not a disagreement, I try to see what caused NDE's and if it could be debunked, I Learned a lot about Christianity and even Islam, Buddism, Hinduism and Judaism, I read a lot of Death Sea Scrolls and the Prophecies about Jesus that he full filled in the Papyrus epistels all the way trough historical writters like josephus flavius and Tacitus and many more and one more fact Christianity is true you have to believe me if not Good luck with throwing all your history books in the garbage, You have to know Jesus loves you and i do to amen 🙏🏻❤️✝️
Great conversation! 👍 I only discovered your channel quite recently and have been really impressed with the content thus far. So impressed in fact, you've just earned a new sub. Thank you for your effort. 🙏🏻 ✝️ ❤️
Very nice. Great interview, excellent idea for a book. An entire series of books can be written about this topic. I'm one of those people that got caught up in the atheism nonsense, so this is really cool. Thanks fellas. Namaste
@@UgliestManOnEarth-69 Really? So atheists have successfully demonstrated how a universe containing such complexity can arise from random interactions? No. So your burden of proof gotcha doesn't have any teeth. Did you cut class on day 1?
To have a direct experience with God, do as He said. Seek for Him with ALL of your heart. Don't be lazy about it. What does seeking for Him with ALL of your heart entail for you?
"Seek for Him with ALL of your heart. Don't be lazy about it." I've been in knowing (reborn) for 10 years but I'm only now learning that. Well, better later than never ...
The desperation of religious apologists. 🤦♂ Atheism has been on the rise. New atheism was not a new movement. As atheism has continued to rise it's obviously _not_ been a failure. Many atheists credit atheists from that time as influencing them. Theists are so desperate to be seen to be finally getting one back on atheists.
I love Richard and I'm a Christian. Hearing him speak always increases my faith especially if he's debating people like Dr. William Lang Craig or Dr. Jon Lennox.
Such an important and engaging discussion! I entered college in 1969...completely disinterested in religion. Christians in my circle of family/friends were kind and intelligent. I just had no way of understanding their God. One part of Dawkins you have not brought up is his acerbic, caustic view and treatment of religious people. One's philosophy/belief system is more than an "explanation." It is your way of being, of living, of treating others. Dawkins' "way of being...of treating others" was so off-putting that I was spared any interest in his "intellectual" ideas. Thus, I avoided drinking his poison. I was completely shocked when I encountered God in my 40's, and every day since has been a study in how I can best represent Christ. Quite a challenge, even after 70 years! :) Thank you for this discussion.
I like the analogy of the different avenues that God uses to bring us to knowledge of him. All roads can lead you to the one true road that leads to the Father, Jesus Christ. John 14:6-10
I visit the atheïst channels a lot, just for a laugh mostly. Sometimes i have a serious discussion, but not often. Most atheïsts are quite fanatic about it, and try to make fools of believers. They really don't wanna know anything, but what they think they know. The words slavery and evidence are their favorites. I think they're a little scared of their own thoughts,for getting really angry and cranky with me, when i don't agree with them. I love atheïsts for making me gratefull for my belief.
@@oscargr_ the central person of CHRISTianity happens to be Jesus. Which Christian hospitals, Christian drug rehabilitation centres, Christian homeless shelters, Christian food dispensaries, Christian medical ships serving the needs of 3 Billion people, Christian shelters, Christian housing programs, Christian homeless centres, Christian hostels, Christian debt centres, Christian community centres, Christian water programs, Christian Village revitalisation programs, Christian education centres, universities, faculties, and which of the 99% of modern law and common law protecting rights, property and people do you detest the most?
“Here are 70 people that cite Dawkins as a big reason they now believe in god.” “Here are 7,000 people who cite Dawkins as a big reason they no longer believe in a god.
I had become an atheist at age 40 and Dawkins was one of the atheists that got me to start questioning atheism . His philosophy is brain dead especially his “”who created God “ argument 😂 I now believe in God Thanks Richard !!! God Bless you buddy
@@UgliestManOnEarth-69 Dude xD Im telling you that your idea of God is wrong and thats why you think its illogical. If your idea of God is super duper over 9000 omega hero you are right to ask who created that phisical being inside universe but it's not even close to God of the Bible. Soo asking "who created God" you strawmaning our position :P
This is a brilliant and very relevant to-the-point conversation! Thanks so much for this. I've found it very interesting and will hopefully watch it again with my husband, who is not a Christian (yet 😊). I'm sure, it will add to his understanding of why atheism is highly inadequate. God bless!
May your royal blessings rest peacefully through the Gospel Truth and flow through the tears of doing merciful acts as a prudential means of grace.. Please bear in mind that many people who engage in the corporal works of mercy are certainly OPEN to the Holy Spirit. Corporal Works To feed the hungry. To give water to the thirsty. To clothe the naked. To shelter the homeless. To visit the sick. To visit the imprisoned, or ransom the captive. To bury the dead. This does not mean they are Christian. But they are certainly OPEN to the Holy Spirit. And I would caution against conflict. As John 3:18 says, "Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son." When someone authentically displays corporal works of mercy, they are most certainly believing in Christ by their actions. This view was taught to me since I joined the Catholic Church -- the full Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) program, I was fully confirmed in the Roman Catholic Church on April 14th, 2001. If I can bring this down to the most basic level, Jesus in Matthew 10:42 plainly says, "And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person (the person who who gave the cup of cold water) will certainly NOT lose their reward.” All people should just reciprocate kindness so they can be open to the Holy Spirit.
Misquoted as usual. A personal psychosis is many many orders of magnitude more likely than a conversation with a supernatural all powerful God. Therefore a psychosis must be ruled out first .....and many other possibilities.
@@TurinTuramber So why didn't Dawkins just say that he was most likely being delusional thinking that God came and spoke to him? Your method of twisting reality has backfired. Dawkins simply doesn't want to believe in a God. At all. His statement wasn't ambiguous. It was clear and to the point.
@@CelticSpiritsCoven You need to read David Hume. I am sorry if you cannot comprehend that a psychosis is more probably than talking to God. Dawkins is an atheist. He doesn't believe in God because God isn't in evidence. Every atheists would love a real God (not the clumsy God claims of religion) to exist and be in evidence. Difference is I won't let my wish for God cloud my vision in assessing the evidence. For theists the opposite is true.
@@TurinTuramber Atheists say it all the time.... _"there is no evidence"_ There is evidence. There's lots of evidence. The Atheist just doesn't want it to be true. When you say that Atheists would love a God.... what you actually mean is that Atheists wouldn't have a problem with a God who doesn't limit what s*xual intercourse they are allowed to have. Be honest. You in fact HAVE allowed your hate for God to cloud your vision in accessing the evidence. Theists have good evidence based reasons for why they believe. Non-Christian Historical people who wrote about the New Testament: Just how many non-Christian sources are there that mention Jesus? Including Josephus, there are ten known non-Christian writers who mention Jesus within 150 years of his life. Some of these non-Christian sources-such as Celsus, Tacitus, and the Jewish Talmud-could be considered anti-Christian sources. After all that has been found, everything except for 2 verses of the entire New Testament were written about by Non-Christian historical people. The story of Jesus isn't fake, it's confirmed that Jesus lived and the gospels are reliable testimony. To deny such a thing requires proof, which the uninformed Atheist does not possess. Denial of facts is what Atheist say is a bad thing. Then they deny these facts. Atheism is therefore a religion that requires faith that your hopes are true, regardless of how much evidence exists that proves them wrong. [Edit: For clarity]
@@TurinTuramber BTW... I am a psychiatrist. Just stop it with thinking that I don't know what psychosis is. Your gut assumptions about people is based upon your own biases and prejudices rather than a willingness to be a loving person and respect the humanity and dignity of others. People CAN disagree with you, and be correct. Good, decent, rational people can humble themselves and not be insulting to someone just because they have a difference of knowledge about a particular topic. The way you lash out at people because they seem to believe in God..... is not how a well adjusted person reacts in the world. Firstly, be kind and respectful to people. Don't immediately belittle and insult them because they have different knowledge than you.
I want to thank you for this content, the main reason is that nowdays almost every Christian I encounter is either just an hypocrite or someone who don't necessarily argue with logic or reason. That has just feeded my rejection towards the churches or non racional Chrsitian communities. As I understand it, moral is one of the most important if not the most important aspect within the human reponsabilities at the eyes of God, but there are resons for that, its not just because yes you know? So when I try to dive into the why of it and the objective meaning of what it points to at any scale, I usually struggle to find a compelling answer (not saying that there isn't) and as u probably guessed, what people would tell me is: "just have faith, God said it for a reason." But the problem with not understanding it as far as I can tell, is that in many scenarios where you "apply the teachings", lets say, within the most basic layer of understanding, the impact turns out being the opposite of what was expected; or many things just don't make sense if seen with poor knwoledge. Being able to educate myself more in, at the very least, some of the many facets of the topic of God is a really great help, specially when the people who are interviewed do indeed have something significant to say. Idk if you would read this, but I'm grateful. Thank you for being one of those few guys who actually do it with at least some transparency on the topic itself rather than completely for self interests.
Studying natural sciences has for me been a very important agent in deepening my faith to Lord Jesus. But one needs not necessarily know science to believe in Christ. Christ himself is the one who gives faith through his Spirit.
@@jounisuninen i'm not specifically talking about science, I'm talking about knowledge of the evidence for truth. Like history, science and so for. Stuff that is part of the reality, cuz otherwise u can make the foolish mistake of believing everything, wether it is true or not. Why should I have faith in Jesus but not Muhammad or other people that play a similar role form a basic human perspective. Evidence is the only thing I've got to decide which one is true and which one is not. For instance, why only those 4 gospels and not the other ones out there? I know why, but I wouldn't blame anybody for struggling with this questions. Ultimately, what I need is help, not people putting pressure on me for being logical or just trying to take the best choice 😔
Dawkins said something super profound which some people couldn’t help but raise a couple eyebrows about theism. It was about the relationship between an organism and it’s environment. The organism is a microcosm of the planet. By studying a bird you can determine a very many qualities of the earth such as chemical/ magnetic/physical properties of the earth. Just by studying the physiology of the bird we can determine what kind of environment it occupies. If we extrapolate this concept to aspects of human mortality, the aspiration to deep meaning/ purpose, a proclivity for worship, the narrative structure of learning we can map out a metaphysical landscape of our spiritual reality. Something to think about
What struck me when reading Dawkins was that ... he was explaining that you don't need religion to be moral, because the ten commandments were basically hardwired into our social structure. With that he basically proved that the commandments are really truly (like for really realz 😅) divine law. You don't have to believe it. Heck, you don't even have to know it. They just are. 🤷
_"the ten commandments were basically hardwired into our social structure"_ Really? Not working on Sunday. Idols to worship. No coveting. Do not kill. No adultery. Are people really following these?
Why would any of you worship a God who watches children being sexually assaulted and chooses to do nothing? Why would you worship a being that preferences the free will of a rapist over that of the victim? How does it give you meaning to believe that there is an entity who sees each act of violence and chooses to do nothing. It makes ZERO sense.
I came to Christ through science. Intelligent design and fine tuning is so much more evidently true than random atheism. Hugh Ross, Stephen Meyer, John Lennox, James Tour, J Warner Wallace, William Lane Craig, if you aren’t familiar with these names do yourself a favor search them out and listen.
I grew up at the height of the New Atheist movement on the internet, and was an atheist for most my life until the beginning of this year. I probably most closely could be labeled an Omnist -- it was JC that awakened me. The King is coming back, my friends. Much Love.
"... Dawkins he always looks sour and bitter." Hitchens was not only sour and bitter but also a drunk. So much happiness from atheism. I mean, that is not enough to prove atheism false per se. However it tells that something must be wrong in a worldview that makes its preachers sour and bitter. Sometimes even liar. Each and every reborn Christian is happy for having found the Truth that is Lord Jesus. That is telling.
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I was a huge fan of all the new atheists and fell into the movement due to my questioning of my childhood faith. I became Buddhist after a while because of the teachings of Alan watts and the mystery behind the “religion.” At the end of my four year break with God, I was utterly unsatisfied with all of the unanswered questions and meaninglessness behind it all. It really is unbearable to live by the motto “life is meaningless, just have fun and make of it what you will.” There’s a reason humans strive for meaning: because God built us to be in relationship with him. I always hated the saying, but it really is true that we have a God sized hole in our hearts that only he can fill.
Who is the Creator?
ANSWER -
The Sovereign God and Heavenly Father of Jesus Christ as written in Matthew 22: 37 and John 17: 3
Who is Jesus Christ?
ANSWER -
The One given by the Creator all authority and sent from heaven to earth to preach and teach the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead" to all imperfect, suffering, and dying human beings as written in Matthew 28: 18, Luke 4: 43, and John 11: 25, 26
Who are the Atheists and Evolutionists?
ANSWER -
Imperfect, suffering, and dying human beings who are openly and deliberately mocking and degrading the Creator's Sovereignty, will, and commandments as worthless and useless
and filling the world instead with their claim that the Biblical Creator doesn't exist and even if existing is still worthless, useless, and undeserving to be honored and respected as the True and Sovereign God
Who are the fanatics of Religions?
ANSWER -
Jehovah's Witnesses, SDAs, Mormons, Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Born Again Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and all imperfect, suffering, and dying human beings
who are openly and deliberately mocking and degrading the Biblical authority and teachings of Jesus Christ about the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead" as worthless and useless
and filling the world instead with their own Unbiblical teachings and doctrines about "Armageddon", "Trinity", "immortality of the souls or the heaven and hellfire doctrine", "rapture", and "reincarnation".
Who are the worshippers of the Creator?
ANSWER -
All imperfect, suffering, dying human beings who gladly and willingly submit to the Biblical authority of Jesus Christ as the One given by the Creator all authority in heaven and on earth and believe his Biblical teachings about the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead"
in their obedience to what were written in Matthew 28: 18, Luke 4: 43, and John 11: 25, 26
What is the Creator's favor and reward to all his Worshippers and Followers of Jesus Christ?
ANSWER -
ETERNAL LIFE and EXISTENCE without sufferings, pains, griefs, sickness and death on a safe and peaceful earth without liars, traitors, deceivers, slanderers, perverts, and murderers as written in Revelation 21: 3, 4, 8
What is the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead" for?
ANSWER -
All human beings have no immortal souls and will just become worthless and useless dusts on earth after their deaths just like the animals as written in Ecclesiastes 3: 19, 20 ; 9: 5, 6
which means,
all Atheists and Fanatics of all Christian and non-Christian Religions will never be glorified in their make-believe and fairy Heaven nor punished and tortured for eternity in their invented and fictitious Hell but just become worthless and useless dusts on earth forever after their deaths
while
worshippers of the Creator who died recently and thousands of years ago like Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Job, Naomi, Ruth, King David, Jesus Christ's disciples and followers, and many others will not remain as worthless and useless dusts on earth forever,
instead,
in the right and proper time and as written in John 11: 25, 26,
the Creator will let Jesus Christ RESURRECT them back to life so they can all happily and abundantly live and exist on earth forever as submissive and obedient subjects of the "KINGDOM of GOD" or the Creator's Kingdom
and fully enjoy the eternal love, kindness, goodness, compassions, generosities, favors, and blessings of the Creator and his Christ for eternity under the loving and kind rulership, guidance, and protection of Jesus Christ as the Creator's Chosen King and Ruler of the heavens and the earth as written in Revelation 11: 15.
Glad to have you in the family. I'm a former atheist. Became Christian at age 19.
I probably would have self-deleted/OD'd by now if it wasn't for my relationship with Jesus Christ.
If you have a hole on your heart, you need a doctor…not Jesus…
i grew up catholic and still believe in jesus but have been drawn towards buddhism the past several years due to the immediate experiential nature of it such as mindfulness etc. I have gone vegetarian for karmaic purposes, and mindfulness (awareness & regulation of thoughts & emotions) has had great positive effects on my mind & attitude etc. But, I must say...I haven't prayed a ton throughout my life so I wouldn't know if that would have the same effect..and I'm interested to try. Either way- neither Zen nor Buddhism says "life is meaningless"
For Buddhism..its premise is life is suffering. The purpose of life is to bring yourself and others out of suffering (for those who say buddhism is egotistical..i can't believe it even has to be said.. but helping others accrues good karma). I enjoyed this. This is not to say that because of suffering God is bad, but the nature of life is extremely hard; think about wildlife. If you live well you are very lucky
Zen is much harder to ascribe 'meaning' as it doesn't have meaning. Zen is not a matter of faith but a way of explaining our reality. In a nutshell, the only thing we can prove is our immediate experience, such as "i think therefore i am". the nature of reality is so complex that the only thing we can do is enjoy the moment and relax. So yeah Zen is nihilstic but its purpose isnt to find meaning but peace of mind
Thanks to Sam Shamoun my concern for Christ is becoming much more real. especially with the direction of America
@@brigs369 that’s awesome. And beautiful. Buddhism, to bring you and others out of suffering. And yes, the god of the Bible is a jealous and mean god… flooding the earth, telling people how to handle slaves and unruly children. Telling Abraham to blood sacrifice his kid…
I remember listening to the debates many years ago. One thing that stood out to me was how many nominally religious people thought they could take a crack at atheism without any real effort and they would wind up surprised that their slogans didn't pan out. But as time went on, I saw more committed theists giving really strong arguments and atheists became stunned. I remember when atheists promised a new panacea if society would just give up her religion. Well a good portion of society has done it and now they can't tell if they're a man or a woman. We didn't get the panacea we were promised. Only more heartaches. All this to say that fads and trends are temporary. Eternity matters and knowing God and making peace with Him is the best thing you can do.
Well said!
Actually they did not give up Christianity they took it to its logical conclusion.
"But as time went on, I saw more committed theists giving really strong arguments and atheists became stunned." That's the way it is.
I grew in a home of Christian values. When I grew up, the rituals made be bored. I never became atheist but I ended evening prayers, listening church service, trying to understand Bible etc. Finally I left the Lutheran Church. Many many years after that I met Lord Jesus and got reborn. Then I got interested in Bible and I started to understand the deepest meaning of Scriptures. That was and is a life-changing experience.
But I still believed in evolution, which means I was a theistic evolutionist. That in fact can be even worse than being an outright atheist. A theistic evolutionist rejects Genesis and if you don't accept Genesis how can you trust anything in Bible?
I became a YEC by studying first the evolution theory, then genetics, geology, biochemistry, paleontology and the laws of physics. The impossibility of abiogenesis and the distorted theory of natural selection acting as "gene generator" made me reject the idea of Universal Common Ancestor. Instead, I became 100% certain of the Intelligent Design, especially because there is no 3rd alternative. Genesis makes 100% sense while atheism has no explanation for the claimed abiogenesis or evolution that could generate new life forms. What Darwin saw was just intraspecific adaptive variation, not evolution from a universal common ancestor.
In human thinking God shouldn't be positioned as contradicting science. That would be a mistake. Methodological naturalism is favored by atheists but it's not the only method of scientific studies. In fact it is not scientific at all, if we believe in the principle that science must not reject any alternative theories for ideological reasons. The precondition "No intelligent design accepted" is not science. Science must be objective and preconditions are against objectivity. Creationist scientists use critical rationalism as the preferred method of scientific studies, because in that method no theory is rejected for ideological reasons - evidence only counts.
What strong arguments? Atheism is 1,000 - 0 against theism after all.
@@kos-mos1127 If you want to take things to it's logical conclusion, then you'd better buckle up for the logical conclusion of Atheism.
The logical conclusion of Atheism:
Magical talking fairy rocks informed an invisible sky-daddy triune creator god who's name is "Natural Selection, Time, and Chance" that humans need rules to peacefully co-exist.
So then this invisible sky-daddy triune creator god who's name is "Natural Selection, Time, and Chance" then crushed up these magical talking fairy rocks and then codexed their knowledge onto our DNA. And this is why humans have morals.
I came into faith through Neil deGrasse Tyson, despite his self-professed agnosticism. His eloquent explanations of the universe reveal a profound sense of awe that, to me, speaks to the majestic nature of a higher power-God.
So cool! Thanks for sharing
Same, Allah Akbhar!
I have the opposite reaction. The awesomeness of the universe makes me feel that its existence is beyond God's capabilities.
All I can do is laugh at that
@@Tooncow2no you are praying to a different God a dark God
You don't need signs and wonders to be a christian. "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
Amen
You gave an important reminder. Thank you. I wish you God's blessings.
This is anti-thought. It might be good to believe without seeing, but it is also not intellectually sound to willingly do so.
Amen!
@@Eliza-rg4vw And have you seen a pair of fish, give birth to an interspecies, and then that interspecies had offspring that had different DNA and became a turtle?
Or did you see a birth defect and then imagine that some new species was formed? In order to verify that one species changed into another, you MUST have the parents, the birth defect, and the the birth defect's offspring to verify that a species actually changed into another species.
Evolution has not been observed, but Atheists believe it without seeing it. Not intellectually sound to willingly do so.
I grew up in a Catholic home and was confirmed in The Catholic Church. I whole heartedly rejected God and the church, I was forced by my mother. But when I was 18, I had a Dawkins book I bought and I only made it through 3 chapters before throwing it I. The trash. Those few chapters made me realize that I did believe in a God. I hadn't quite came to Christ at that point, but it helped me reject atheism .
You did better than me. I managed three paragraphs.
You realize there are many atheists who are that way because of Christian or other leaders, the Bible, etc. There are also many who simply reject the God claims altogether with no underlying scientific matrix. They simply think religion solves nothing and is not true.
@@robinblackwood8859 You both did better than me. I had enough after the first three words. 🙂
That's very interesting. Do you remember what in those three chapters lead you to the realization you did believe in God?
Great testimony despite the fact that Roman Catholicism itself is not true Christianity.....
Father hear my prayers. I’m losing hope. My husband is with you I still miss him even after all these years. These pass three years have been difficult. At times I feel so alone especially as a single mom. Since suffering a heart attack two years ago and my on going battle with lupus I’m overwhelmed. Both of my sons are autistic. I’m now homeschooling them so my hours to work are limited. BUT I TRUST YOU LORD! I keep faith even as I constantly struggle to provide for my kids and I constantly struggle to buy groceries. I receive hate for sharing my testimony. My testimony is one of faith. No matter what we are facing God will give us strength to over come. Thankfully I have you Lord! I know I’m not alone. Faith over fear!
Can we connect will like to be a friend if that's ok ??
God bless you and may God give you comfort
Despite his suffering, Job knew that God was in control, and that knowledge helped him maintain resilience instead of giving in to defeat. His faith resulted in resiliency.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and lean not to your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he shall direct your paths.”
Choosing to trust in the Lord rather than rely on what we understand is the best way to stay resilient/strong.
God takes each one of us through fearful situations, and, as we learn to obey God’s Word and allow it to saturate our thoughts, we find each trial becomes a stepping stone to a stronger and deeper faith in Him. Remember that Romans 5:3-5 says, "Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."
Throughout life we will continue to face various trials that would cause us fear or start losing hope. God never promised He would take away our trials or suffering, instead God assures us that we can know a supernatural peace through it all. I pray this for you. 💙
@ChildofGod98765
We also have autistic son.
We did therapies, changed his diet, tried detox, not much change at all...
Then we found a family who had their son diagnosed with autism. In late 70's... Heavily autistic boy. Boy's name was Raun K. Kaufman. They did something completely different with him than what was recommended. It's actually quite simple but you might need help from some friends and one room separate for playing in your house. The room is a must and it's easy to set up.
They can be helped massively!!! The program they developed is called Son-rise program. We just started and it did more in 2 weeks than 2 years of expensive therapy. Anybody can do that and they offer basically all you need for free. They don't advertise they have too many kids already to help.
We bought the book from Raun himself and it is a life changer. Praise the Lord this is an answer to our long going prayers.
We bought both audio and kindle version. There's basically comprehensive layout on how to work with your boys with tons of free online resources from their websites and tons of studies. Audio is great to listen anywhere and then when you read the book you will remember it better and catch things you might have missed.
Try at least to look into it please, it will change your boys lives.
www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B071JB6RMR/ref=ya_aw_dod_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The reason why many do NOT find God aside from the fact that they're not actually looking for Him, is that they are lacking one quality that we all believers share, humility!
No, it's because it is grounded in baseless assertions and so called 'miracles' that defy physics and reality while having ZERO evidence to back up any of the claims. (The bible says so is not evidence)
Co-incidentally, the 'creator' is totally absent and requires belief without any form of interaction or evidence.
How can you 'look' for something that does not interact in any way and is completely absent. How can you have a 'relationship' with that?
Honestly, how can anyone even believe this garbage.
Do you also fall for the Nigerian Lotto scam?, coz it sounds like you'll believe anything.
There is mock humility - those, who pick a church of their liking from the big table of Christendom. And there is real humility - those who allow Jehovah to make the rules of true worship.
Only these people then are allowed to bear his name…😊
@@matthiasgrimm243 Please indulge me. I so rarely find someone that uses the divine name. You also display the same coarse brashness that makes my replies cutting. Are you a JW?
The Hebrews/Jews were spoonfed the truth, yet still they lacked appreciation and fell into false worship repeatedly, eventually forcing an end to Judiasm (Mat 23:37 - 24:2).
The new way to get truth, Christianity, requires repeatedly praying for understanding -- Luke 11:5-13; Romans 12:12. Demonstrating continued interest is necessary as is the display of appreciation (Matthew 13:24). Most do not realize that holy spirit is the only way to understand: 1 Cor. 2:10 "For it is to us God has revealed them through his spirit, for the spirit searches into all things, even the deep things of God."
And yes, either self-imposed humility or gaining the receptivity to consider spiritual matters when life forces humility upon us.
@@AnthonyAnderson.
Yes! Prayers are very important. Because that will make Jehovah, to use his holy spirit and his angels to direct his people, to teach the truth to them!
Mat 28:19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you. And look! I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.”
There is only one group that is doing this work today!
I came back to Christianity by reading The Beginning of Infinity, a science book written by an atheist. When you are truly searching for truth, you eventually end up back with Christ.
Amen! That’s so true
If you were born Muslim and lived in a predominantly Muslim area of the world would you be saying the same thing about coming back to Islam?
@@johnferguson8794 it would point to the real God. So they would struggle with they faith most likely at that point and have to decide if they want to live truly and come to Christ. It only points to God.
@@SD-hs2pk that doesn't really answer the question I asked. And I'm not sure what you mean by "it would point to the real god."
Currently reading Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene. String theory sounds like its saying that it's a vibration ? From my understanding, that causes our reality. If im not mistaken . Sounds to me like The Word.
Dawkins didn’t make me a Christian..he did help me to understand what I thought, and helped compel me to a greater understanding Christ.
I had to study and read to overcome his simplistic arguments, like the problem of evil…so he motivated me to learn so that I could give a good apology of why and why I believe.
The POE will always be a problem if we never had to exist, yet were created, anyway. Also, the POE still can be a thing even in a godless worldview.
Beautiful testimony. Sometimes people get so, intellectually beaten down when they express their faith they find it hard to pick themselves up again. Well done.!
@@wet-read The "POE"? I assume you mean the "Problem of Evil".
Don't forget.... Satan is also at play in the world. The problem of evil is from the evil one, not from God's design or purpose.
@@CelticSpiritsCovenAnd yet your god let's it happen... What do you call a person who witnesses a crime, who has the means to stop it but does nothing about it?.
@@markaguilera493 Do you want God to intervene in everything?
Praise the Lord! I love to hear of people turning to Christ, especially atheists.
I had Christianity forced on me through Catholicism as a young man, which caused me to rebel against religion and begin worshipping satan. As time progressed, I began doing whatever would get people to like me or think I was cool. My drug use started at age 15 and evolved with my urge to fit in. Over the years, I grew angry with God. I always said, "I'm a good person. Why does God allow bad stuff to happen to me?" Then my Mom died the day before my birthday, and I was mad at God for taking my best friend and the only person I thought believed in me. Ironically, a Jehovah's Witness helped me to see that I was the cause of all the tribulations I was experiencing and that God was there the entire time. When my Mom died, I was incarcerated. Had I been on the streets, I would have committed suicide by overdose as I was an IV heroin user at the time. My life experience had caused me to resent God, and I refused to take accountability for my actions. I used to expect more from God than I was willing to give, and since He never showed up, I was in control of my life. Clearing my head of all the drugs was the first step. Once I opened my heart to God, I realized He had been there the entire time. So many people have been hurt or misled by Christianity. This causes them to close their hearts to Jesus. But God wants to love you and show you how great life is when you are in a relationship with Him. Thank you again for a great video, brother. I pray glory, splendor, and prosperity follow you everywhere you go. In Jesus name, Amen 🙏🏿✌🏿💙💪🏿
And I had not had Christianity forced on me long story later I don't buy it.
Thank you for telling your story, I can relate to parts of it.
@@troywilkinson8937 glory to God. I'm grateful you can relate. Reach out if you ever need to talk. Jesus Christ saved my life 🙏🏿✌🏿💙💪🏿
@@IgnoranceBegetsConfidence no matter what you buy. Jesus loves you and so do I 🙏🏿✌🏿💙💪🏿
Thank you! Bless you bro!
Alister McGrath is amazing! Love that you had this conversation with him! I feel like he is the theologian to theologians with how much he knows yet lives so humbly & simple. Love his books. Thank you for this!
"You've got to help them see what Christianity actually is. If you like unpack it to get rid of the cultural baggage and allow people to really see what is really there...." Thanks so much.
What’s really there? Jesus watches children starve to death? Jesus watches children being killed in war? Jesus watching children being raped?
I came to faith through Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. In particular it was the chapter on hope where Lewis talks about intense longings for which no earthly experiences satisfy. Things like music, travel, new hobbies arouse the longings but in the end do not fully satisfy or fulfill them. Lewis was the first one in my experience to address what I felt intensly. He concluded if we have longings this world awakens but does not satisfy then we are meant for another world. That opened the door of Christianity for me and it has been an astonishing journey.
@@mart9738 beautiful, I'll see you soon when Christ 😜 returns for eternity!
Fabulous interview! I cannot wait to read Mr. McGrath's book. I've always had faith in God by His terms and it would be good to understand other people's issues and be able to speak to those issues.
Based on Richard Dawkins recent comments about him, realizing the utilitarian usefulness of religion, I think he himself is in the early stages of coming to Christ. The reason I think this is that was my first step in that journey.
Don't count on it.
Will he believe in the talking snake?.
@@markaguilera493That's a rude but accurate way of describing the pope, but hopefully no, he won't.
@@indigofenrir7236 that's a super cringe and inaccurate way of describing the Pope.
@@SonOfThineHandmaid The pope doesn't breathe a single truth from the Bible. Look at him now, approving what Romans 1:26-27 warned about and taught against.
The pope is the Antichrist in 2Thess 2:3-4. Appropriate for him to be called a snake.
Honestly listening to Dawkins definitely makes me a Christian. I think to myself "I'm not whatever he is selling".
So you became a Muslim because Dawkins is selling "anti-Islam" ?
Just try to fathom abiogenesis with the impossible mathematical odds in the light of amazing complexity and integration needed for even the simplest life forms and you'll realise you can't possibly be an atheist.
@@jimmycricket5366 And the god that designed and made all this complexity ... was just the most simple entity one can imagine?
@@oscargr_ Who said God was simple? In fact the Bible describes Him as having thoughts that are way higher (beyond) our thoughts, and His ways, which are not our ways, past finding out. He is of infinite intelligence. Hardly simple! His message of salvation is simple however, because it is for us all. He is no respecter of persons.
@@jimmycricket5366 Then how did something as complex as god come about? The odds are statistically even smaller.
unfortunately i came to faith through witchcraft like tarot, astrology and numerology. as a former atheist it got me to believe in and see the spiritual world. got me to the conclusion if spirits are real then god is real. and then i started reading the bible and never touched those demonics things again. praise jesus
WOW! Thank you for sharing this! Praise Jesus!!
Tarot cards are evidence god exists?
Amen! I was just starting to get into that occult stuff and then the Lord said that was enough of that and turned my life upside down. I went though a nightmare which I’m still dealing with but the bottom line was that not long after I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour and was born again. I’m still just going on one day at a time but Jesus is right here with me and I know Him.
Spirits could be real without God being real. The two do not necessarily follow. What are spirits and ghosts anyways? Did God forget to deliver them to heaven or hell?
@@haggismcbaggis9485 they're not spirits, they're demonic entities. All dead are either in paradise or hell
When you look at things like the night sky, a sunset etc. - you realise how small we are in the scheme of things. The human mind connecting the dots fast comes to the reality, there's something so much bigger than us out there
Makes you wonder doesn't it, why would god make such a gigantic container , billions of light years across (just the bit we can see) - all just for us?
Billions of galaxies, trillions of planets, just to put us on one teeny tiny little one of no significance.
And in all this magnificence, his main concern is what humans do with their genitals.
Pretty ridiculous.
In the last three years, it has been proven that the educated, the intelligent, the guardians, the rich , the powerful are not to be blindly believed or trusted.
The lack of trust open the eyes.
Open eyes easily see the works of God’s hands.
Amen!
I believe everyone is used in some way to fulfill Gods purpose. Praise God!! Thank you Jesus!
What is God's overall purpose?
I thought I was an atheist but after reading the god delusion it set me on the path to finding my faith. Thanks Richard.
How or why?
They work so hard trying to show how there is no God, that they end up showing you how there HAS to be one.
Which God you settle on? Zeus? Thor? The great Juju?
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. The great ' I AM ' of the Bible.
The one that makes prophecies that come to pass.
@@michaelszczys8316 What percentage of the Thousands of Prophecies came to pass?
First timer here. Absolutely a blessing. What I see happening is that awareness of Spiritual things seems to me to be on the rise. Even the Catholic Church membership is looking for answers. This all tells me that God's Spirit is moving as we approach the final conflict.
I was into the new atheist thing for years and completely turned by back on my Christian upbringing. It was fun for a while but for years I just felt this black whole in my life. A feeling of emptiness than nothing could fill. I tried filling it with politics, hobbies and other distractions. I then admitted to myself I needed religion so tried buddhism 😂 eventually came back to Christ and everything fell back into place and the clouds lifted
Thanks for sharing this journey brother 🙏
I had the same exact experience, though I considered myself agnostic.
It was a pleasure to watch this conversation with two intelligent men. Congratulations to Alistair on his book, which I look forward to reading.
How great is our God when He can move through the hardest of hearts and the most stubborn minds and breathe new life into them!
I find it so difficult to understand why people deny their God, because He is the God of all of us, whether some believe in Him or not, and He is waiting for us to get to know Him.
Believing and trusting in God through Jesus Christ our Saviour is like having an eternal flame within the soul, so full of hope, wonder, joy and comfort. This is the Holy Spirit and it drives us and is a major part of our lives. Nothing can touch it, to have faith in Christ is the greatest gift and I am privileged to be a part of His Kingdom.
Thank you Brothers in Christ.❤
Provide good evidence and I'll believe you. It is that simple.
I deny the existence of God because no one has ever presented any good evidence for God. It is your job to do that if you claim God exists.
@@LordMathious "no one has ever presented any good evidence for God" Good evidence by whose standard?
@linusloth4145 Well, of course, by mine. If my standard is reasonable, we should discuss and see.
@@LordMathious present your standards
@linusloth4145 I can't. I don't have a list of the exact things I'll accept or won't.
Generally, if the evidence is reliable, then I'll believe it.
This shouldn't be a problem. I don't choose what I am convinced of, I just am. That is why we must discuss first the evidence, and then is me being convinced or not reasonable.
I cannot provide you a list of the evidence I want, nor should I.
Provide the evidence. I'll either accept or reject it. We will then discuss whether I am reasonable to do so or not.
This is how discourse works.
I always ask God to use these very men who profusely deny Him, to end up bringing multitudes to Him instead. The Lord be glorified no matter what!!
Amen ❤️
I too was wondering, wandering, searching and came across Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens and bought into their theories. However I never was a full atheist. More like an deeply sceptical catholic, but still knowing there was something bigger.
Reading their work, especially Dawkins (and Darwin) I was left with even more questions, knowing deep withion that there was something vastly significant missing. And through time and reading and learning I am coming full circle. St. Benedict, for various reasons, was my point of re-entry.
This is lovely. Thank you both for such an enjoyable, intellectual conversation about God and His availability to be known. I was bewildered by life as a child but when Jesus entered me in the Holy Eucharist when I was only seven, He came in so powerfully, so big, so Holy and infinitely Peaceful. I became addicted to God's Grace, the way He makes me feel and He also taught me Truth. All that I am is what I am in relationship with Jesus, with my Beloved Father-God, with the mysterious and powerful Holy Spirit. "The things of this world compared to You are like a candle to the Sun." - Joel Houston of Hillsong UNITED
Dawkins weak arguments led me to explore the alternative - and here I am, fully Christian, based on evidence and reason.
What evidence?, seriously name one piece of evidence, name the best one and we'll break it down to see how it stacks up.
Gee, where to start? There is so much to choose from...everything in the Bible, everyting innature, all the immaterial things you rely on every day. Do some reading, you can find it if you look,
@@teks-kj1nj One piece of evidence? As mentioned above - there is a plethora of evidence.
But.. if you insist on one...
How would you explain Love?
I assume that you have a mother? Think back on all the hard times you gave her.
Think about all the trouble you caused - all the things you did that hurt her.
Now my question to you is - why did that hurt her? She loved you - right? But what is love? Atheists say its part of biology - part of evolution.
So what purpose would love serve under those conditions (from an atheists perspective?). You cannot be so simple minded to make the argument "Biology created love to propagate the human species" If that were so, I would think that love then would diminish over time, or would be one sided (your mother would love you but for what reason would you love your mother - from a biological perspective?)
I'd take it a step further.. if love is just a "made up" feeling based on chemicals in your brain- how can you possibly trust it? I mean - how can you possibly know that your mother loves you? How would you trust any thought that you ever had?
Atheists also argue that God is unjust, due to the evil, death, war, violence, etc in this world. "What kind of God would allow that? What kind and just God would let some bad man rape and torture his daughter for 20 years, keeping her locked away in the basement?"
Right?
That answer is simple. What kind of God would take away free will? If God had to stop every bit of violence in the world, no-one would have a choice. No-one would be free to go this way or that way. God loves you (and humankind) so much that he is willing to let humans make their own choices - to the detriment of others.
The last evidence I'll mention is - God wants you and all of humankind to come to Him - to know the Truth. He has made the truth known in literally every thing that was created - but humans simply need to seek for it.
How would you convince a blind man that the moon exists? He can't see it. He can't feel it, or hear it, or taste it. If no-one told him, or described it to him - he would never know.
That is what it's like for a Christian when talking with an atheist. A flat out refusal, on the atheists part, to listen.
Just as @theluckybiomed7412 said - do some reading. Find it out for yourself.
When Dawkin's books came out in the mid / late 1980s, many Christians were on the defensive. The books have been around for long enough for Dawkin's poor philosophy, poor science and irrational rejection of Christianity to be exposed.
@@theluckybiomed7412 the Bible can’t be evidence because that’s where your god came from. Without your Bible you wouldn’t know your god. That’s why the Bible is “on trial” so to speak. Saying nature is evidence for a god MIGHT be possible, however it wouldn’t lead to to any evidence of a god because we can’t study the supernatural. Tell me, why is there “divine hiddeness”? Why can’t we talk to your god as he spoke to Adam, Abraham, Moses? He came down all the time. Now he is nowhere to be able to actually speak to him.
I was a full on new atheist. Aged 18 I read Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris and was absolutely convinced of their arguments. Now I’m 36. I got christened in the summer. Atheism felt totally empty and almost nihilistic. I couldn’t anchor myself to anything!
Your story sounds very similar to mine I was the same a full on new atheist I read all the books watched all the debates with Hawkins and Hitchens I would actually cheer them on from 18-30 that was my life and it was horrible. A life with no meaning led my down very dark paths drugs, sexual sin, haughty eyes and most offensive I blamed God for my unbelief I was utterly trapped. Then in my early 30's for reasons I cannot explain to this day I cried out to God for salvation and he led me on a long journey to his son Jesus Christ, I started out listening to Alan Watts I had no foundation yet I didnt know his son all I knew was that I had been wrong all this time and I had to find the TRUTH.
I read everything buddhism, taoism, the quaran etc but they all felt wrong I found no truth no peace in them if anything they made more more confused but I refused to give up or should I say God refused to give up on me and 3 years ago I found the truth I kept knocking and the door was opened.
God Bless and always keep Jesus in your sights in this long race my brother.
God just makes sense to me.
people turning into zombies rising from the dead, talking snakes, people turning into salt, a global flood and boat with every animal pair on earth and all their food and hygiene requirements for 1 year makes sense to you? Did you go to school?
God makes sense or did you actually mean to say "Choosing God is a far more comfortable and convenient for me - I really want to live forever, be righteous and feel in control".
@teks-kj1nj Yeah, global floods are crazy talk. The flood evidence writ large on the landscape across the sahara was put there by the government to fool us!
@@teks-kj1njhe wouldnt be God if those things you mentioned didnt occured lol. Dumb atheists
@@teks-kj1njif everything happened can be explained scientifically, then, God isnt real.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali just declared that she is now a Christian, and she has been friends with Dawkins and has been into the New Atheism. She speaks of the vacuity of the atheist story in dealing with the pressing issues of our day.
This was excellent and profound. Alistair McGrath said something that led to an ah moment. I'm in my 60s and was raised Catholic. Something always seemed off. I wanted an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ. I've been searching for authentic Christianity like the first century church experienced. My friend led me to Christ in 1972. We were both 14. I will be forever grateful to him. I experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit that day and was hungry for God's word. The joy that I experienced that day, I can't begin to describe. I knew I was a new creation in God. Jesus did that! I read the Bible cover to cover and have done so multiple times.
This conversation triggered a thought in me. Westerners have damaged Christianity in numerous ways. Westerners have forgotten the Middle Eastern elements of Christianity. We've made things too complicated. The Catholic Church added layers between lay believers and Jesus Christ. Layers that Christ came to abolish through his death on the cross. I've known lovely Catholics who didn't realize that they could just talk to God. They thought that their own prayers weren't good enough, that they had to read a prayer written by an alleged "saint" to talk to God. Not realizing that believers are saints. Saints merely means set apart. All real Christ Followers are set apart. The Catholic Church did the same thing as the ancient Sadduccees and the Pharisees did when Christ came. Created a bunch of inane rituals and rules that God never intended and Jesus criticized. He said his burden is LIGHT, not heavy.
The Protestant church isn't off the hook either. We have pastors who've totally denied Christ's uniqueness and death on the cross. Why are they calling themselves Christians? There are others who teach that our best life is now, get all you can while you're here. How is that different from the world? There is more that I could say, but won't.
While the church either knowingly or unknowingly puts impediments before those genuinely seeking Christ, it just goes to show that God will use the least likely people and ways to bring glory to himself and lead people to his Son, Jesus Christ. Praise God for that!
Great testimony and so true. The Catholic Church has very little to do with true Christianity, check on the Book of revelation and read the account of the Great whore dressed in purple and gold and drunken with the blood of the saints......
" I wanted an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ." That's the whole thing in a nutshell. Religion saves no one. Only Lord Jesus can save 🙂
Amen. God bless you for that ....❤
The best way to go is pray that the Holy Spirit helps you while you read the Bible. That deepening your relationship with God ❤
There is so much wisdom in this conversation! So glad to see Alister on the show!
Special thanks to YOU for helping make it happen! So deeply appreciated 🙏
It's my pleasure! This is such a great conversation, thanks for sharing!@@Daily_Dose_Of_Wisdom
So this guy is Alister. I’ve seen his name dropped 1000 times, but my time with apologetics was over before he came around.
@@JoeBuck-uc3bl Alister is a prolific author who started publishing in the 1980s, but came to prominence in the 2000s.
@@Practical.Wisdom oh ok, he may have been around then when I was still in that phase, but I just had enough books on my plate from other apologists so I didn’t seek anymore of them out.
Yep. God works in a mysterious way. And Professor McGrath is so gracious.
Tell that to children dying around the world of any number of ailments. Sure is mysterious, huh?
This is a cop out for overcoming inconsistencies with postulating a God. Any evidence that suggests God isn't in control you can just write off as God works in mysterious ways. Any event that you want to attribute to God you just credit God.
Confirmation bias 101.
I love that you brought up that part about the expectation where it's like, " If you're(that's typically how they would refer to God. They generally don't bother with the proper grammar) here, show yourself!" It's like the child that's too lazy to go to the cookie jar and demands that the jar be brought to him/her. There's a big sense of entitlement in how they expect God to reveal Himself. Some cases suggest, in which they'll likely deny, that they want God as their personal genie.
The entitlement is hard to push past.
I have ESP. I can sense things that other people cannot but I don't need to prove myself to you.
@@mesplin3 no one asked anything from you and no one cares. Quit being a narcissist.
yep, its narcissism, "God is not doing what I would do if I were God, so it's easier to claim God is not real than to admit that what I would do is not right."
@@InitialPC I would add that there are a lot of things in today's culture that enable that attitude. If a child rarely ever sees an adult admit to fault and/or be held accountable, it's probably not likely that they'll do it themselves.
@@mesplin3 You didn't have ESP to know before hand that everyone would vote "NO" when you posted this poll on your channel..... "True or false: If God knows which outcomes will occur prior to creating a thing and God creates that thing, then God caused those outcomes."
Maybe your ESP works part of the time?
I grew up Christian going to church every Sunday like clockwork. I probably stopped believing around age 12-13 when I thought critically about everything. I was kind of angry about it that I felt I had been lied to and brainwashed into something I now didn’t think was true. I was always into dark things growing up. Ex: horror movies, metal, satanic imagery, skulls. My very Christian mom hated it all. I had to hide things. Couldn’t even wear a shirt with a skull on it. It’s just what I was naturally gravitated to. That only further turned to off to Christianity. Fast forward to age 32 for some reason I feel myself trying to get back to god or at least learn about it. Now I’m not forced to learn about it I’m genuinely curious. I was apart of the atheist group that pretty much thought if you believed in god you were just dumb but I know now that’s not true. I get it to an extent but so far in my journey I haven’t heard any arguments for a Christian god that make a better case than even simple atheistic arguments. Also love the channel! I’m keeping an open mind.
Have you read I don't have enough Faith to be an Atheist?
Or Cold Case Christianity?
@@minutemartialarts3152 no I’ll check it out though.
“Seek and you shall find” are the words of Jesus. Sounds like you are seeking and becoming humble. Those are very good things.
Jesus the logos. Wonderful God.
May the Lord bless your ministry!
Thank you for what you do! Love your channel. Got to meet you while you were creating the Mining for God doc and its very cool and encouraging to see you working in this vein to teach, challenge, inspire, and lead people to the Truth. Be blessed!
I was an atheist up until 1995. My influencers were Jesus, along with Scott McDowell, Philip Johnson, Dave Hunt, and Ken Hamm,
When I saw and heard Richard D. for the first time, the only thing he proved to me without doubt that even well know Scientist can be fools.
Richard Dawkins is a dull figure like all diehard atheists are. Kind of a "living dead". I get shivers watching him. But I believe even he can find Lord Jesus. Our Lord raised dead people while He walked on earth and still does it.
Dawkins derangement syndrome on show here. Dawkins hurt your feelings and now you act like jaded teenagers. Sad.
I feel that any conversation which inspires or helps us to scrutinize our own beliefs and make sure that we form our own opinions is valuable.
You are quickly becoming my favorite channel❤❤❤ God is so loving and faithful. Be encouraged that you are working for The Kingdom
Thank you & bless you!
You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart .(Jeremiah 29 : 13 )
Atheism is not a fabrication, It's just a lack of "faith in a god", or we don't like lying to ourselves!
That was a beautiful expression. People wanting to be part of a bigger story. A spiritual one perhaps within the love of Christ.
Clue word "wanting" basically just deciding what's reality by wishing.
@TurinTuramber Wanting can mean a desiring to be part of something greater but unable to live by the ideals and expectations
It may mean giving up a certain lifestyle that is at odds with biblical scripture.
@@colinsmith1288 I think your entire theology is led by your wants and desires.
@@TurinTuramber That could be so. Or did you just want to think like that.!
@@colinsmith1288 Don't want to die? No problem religion offers an afterlife story.
Feeling lonely and out of control? Don't worry God Daddy is watching and listening to you.
Want justice for your enemies? No problem God will punish those people with eternal hellfire and if you are lucky smite them down earlier.
Sick family members or failing crops? Don't fret just beg to God and daddy will make it all better.
Want to be righteous? Don't worry do what we say and God will reward you.
What relevance and dread oblivion? No problem God has a plan for you and loves you. Obviously he will torture you forever if you don't love him back but he loves you.
I could go on. Lots of supernatural solutions not based on evidence, sounds like wishfulment to me.
I’m really enjoying these interviews lately. I especially enjoyed the one you had with the Christian scientist discussing evolution (you’ll have to forgive, I can’t remember his name).
I listened to that interview multiple time so I could really understand his explanations.
You’re doing great work.
Stephen C. Meyer!
Either Stephen Meyer or James Tour. Thank you for the encouragement! 🙌❤️
You listened to it multiple times and you can’t remember his name. 😂🤣
@@janbuyck1 yeah, its weird right. I have a really hard time with faces and names, it was a couple weeks ago, and I was focused more on the topic and substance.
I can tell you he had a new book, he talked about how our DNA resembled the computer program and how evolution is the equivalent of going in and changing the numbers within a program. He also talked about fold in our DNA caused by particular proteins that don’t self replicate, and he was on Joe Rogan.
But alas, his name eludes me.
@@moosechuckleideas is what matters the most
I've always been fascinated by the debates on the existence of God and the arguments by atheist intellectuals like Dawkins. It's incredible to see how diverse paths lead people to faith, whether it's Dawkins sparking a deeper quest or a contemplation on the profound mysteries of the universe by astrophysicists. What's most heartening is the profound way different life experiences bring individuals to the profound realization of their faith, demonstrating the complexity and depth of belief in a higher power. 🌌📚✝
"...whether it's Dawkins sparking a deeper quest ..." There is nothing 'deeper' in Dawkins. When the guy asks "who created God" it means that he is intellectually on teenager or prepuberty level.
Those that have reality on our side rejoice. I am an easy going person but McGrath puts me to the test .. but I console myself with the thought .. what is real is the ultimate victor
Reality being... what, exactly?
@@wet-read Whatever you can get away with
@@thespiritofhegel3487
I'm not sure what you mean.
I became a theist because the new atheist arguments were so irrational that I had eventually concede that God has to exist
Praise God & thanks for sharing!
New atheist arguments such as???
What new atheist arguments?
Atheists don’t have arguments. We don’t make claims after all.
@@TurinTuramber I don't know how new these atheistic arguments are, but hilarious they are ...
Who really believe in magic? It might be a good idea to set the record straight on who REALLY believes in "Magic".
Creationists deduce that an Intelligence agent is the causation for all of the order, design and complexity we see in the world today. Atheists instead have written their own book on magic. That must be considered hypocrisy on steroids. It goes somehow like this ...
In the beginning, nothing exploded or expanded and created all of the matter in the known universe.. No "magic" needed? 🙄
Then self replicating DNA molecules, encoded with billions of base pairs with the specified / irreducibly complex genetic information were able to mindlessly create themselves out of dirt, air, heat and water... While Man, with all of his knowledge, technology, resources and the ability to artificially control atmospheric and chemical conditions can't even begin to imagine how to create DNA. No "magic" there ? LOL
Or the fact that Man's (or his "ancestor's") 10 vital interdependent organs and their support systems must all be working together in tandem or we die and go extinct. Which was the order for their evolution? Stomach first? Brain second? Lungs third? Or did they all randomly "evolve" together No magic required? LOL
Oh.. How about the chicken or egg?? Which came first? Oh, the egg?? OK, just how did all of those genetic blueprints / specified DNA for that "proto" chicken (or its first "Egg Laying Ancestor") get inside that egg? Who or what put it there? No magic needed, huh?
Or how about 50 million old dinosaur red blood cells, soft tissue and DNA fragments being able to last that long without biodegrading completely in 10,000 YEARS? Noo... No magic required there ...
Or how about the European Green woodpecker that has a tongue that wraps around the back of its head, over the top of its brain and through its right nostril? We realize that without that special tongue, the bird cant eat and dies ,,,, How did that tongue "evolve" over millions of years? Nice magic trick?
Or the hummingbird having wings that flap at up to 100 times per second so it can hover while eating. Without those special wings it can't eat and dies. According to the mindless "mud to man" myth that hummingbird supposedly evolved over 20 million years from a Tree Swift (Common glider). Who has enough Imagination to believe THAT level of magic?
Or how did the Bombardier Beetle manage to somehow "evolve" the explosive chemicals, inhibitor, enzymes, glands, combustion tubes, sensory communication, muscles to direct the combustion tubes and reflex nervous systems at the same time, in order to be able to perfectly control his defense system yet not blow himself up? No"magic" necessary, right? LOL
Or during the course of "500 Million Years", while living in the same exact environment at the same exact time, while some Jellyfish were evolving into humans, other Jellyfish were evolving into ... Jellyfish. Incredible! Of course no magic was necessary ...
I suggest atheists / accidentalists take another look at their hypothetical hypothesis of Mindless MYO Mud to Man Myth. The slow "step by step by step" gradual (macro)evolution is nonsense. There is no genetic mechanism to make it possible. "Micro evolution" occurs within the species existing DNA. "Macro evolution" would need qualitatively new genes, but getting them is impossible. Mutations as "gene factories" is an absurd unproven unscientific hypothesis concocted by diehard evolutionists who live in their fantasy world.
Charles Darwin hadn’t even heard of genes or thermodynamics or information science. After 160 years the Neo-Darwinists are equally ignorant. We have been brainwashed and indoctrinated into believing a lie that has ZERO empirical scientific evidence to support it.
Seriously? You didn't bother to look into more meaty atheist thought at all?
I just have to say that I love what you are doing and the way you do it. Truly Cerebrally Spiritual. Engaging.
My personal decision came when I was physically unable to say the Our Father and I don't have speech issues. My tongue literally twisted in my mouth when I got to "As we forgive those who trespass against us"
Hey, Brandon. I just want to ask you to upload the second part of the Copan's interview. You work is much appreciated. God bless you.
I will soon! Sorry for the delay. Had a few post production issues!
Great discussion. I'm a very 'stripped back' Christian in that I enjoy a personal relationship with the Divine through Jesus, but I don't pray for anything - I just do whatever He tells me to do and enjoy whatever He decides to give me in return. Although I'm totally devout, many years ago I asked him for help on how I should respond to everything and He 'channelled' to me the Guidelines of Problacism. Trust in Jesus and be relentless.
Who is the Creator?
ANSWER -
The Sovereign God and Heavenly Father of Jesus Christ as written in Matthew 22: 37 and John 17: 3
Who is Jesus Christ?
ANSWER -
The One given by the Creator all authority and sent from heaven to earth to preach and teach the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead" to all imperfect, suffering, and dying human beings as written in Matthew 28: 18, Luke 4: 43, and John 11: 25, 26
Who are the Atheists and Evolutionists?
ANSWER -
Imperfect, suffering, and dying human beings who are openly and deliberately mocking and degrading the Creator's Sovereignty, will, and commandments as worthless and useless
and filling the world instead with their claim that the Biblical Creator doesn't exist and even if existing is still worthless, merciless, and undeserving to be honored and respected as the True and Sovereign God
Who are the fanatics of Religions?
ANSWER -
Jehovah's Witnesses, SDAs, Mormons, Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Born Again Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and all imperfect, suffering, and dying human beings
who are openly and deliberately mocking and degrading the Biblical authority and teachings of Jesus Christ about the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead" as worthless and useless
and filling the world instead with their own Unbiblical teachings and doctrines about "Armageddon", "Trinity", "immortality of the souls or the heaven and hellfire doctrine", "rapture", and "reincarnation".
Who are the worshippers of the Creator?
ANSWER -
All imperfect, suffering, dying human beings who gladly and willingly submit to the Biblical authority of Jesus Christ as the One given by the Creator all authority in heaven and on earth and believe his Biblical teachings about the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead"
in their obedience to what were written in Matthew 28: 18, Luke 4: 43, and John 11: 25, 26
What is the Creator's favor and reward to all his Worshippers and Followers of Jesus Christ?
ANSWER -
ETERNAL LIFE and EXISTENCE without sufferings, pains, griefs, sickness and death on a safe and peaceful earth without liars, traitors, deceivers, slanderers, perverts, and murderers as written in Revelation 21: 3, 4, 8
What is the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead" for?
ANSWER -
All human beings have no immortal souls and will just become worthless and useless dusts on earth after their deaths just like the animals as written in Ecclesiastes 3: 19, 20 ; 9: 5, 6
which means,
all Atheists and Fanatics of all Christian and non-Christian Religions will never be glorified in their make-believe and fairy Heaven nor punished and tortured for eternity in their invented and fictitious Hell but just become worthless and useless dusts on earth forever after their deaths
while
worshippers of the Creator who died recently and thousands of years ago like Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Job, Naomi, Ruth, King David, Jesus Christ's disciples and followers, and many others will not remain as worthless and useless dusts on earth forever,
instead,
in the right and proper time and as written in John 11: 25, 26,
the Creator will let Jesus Christ RESURRECT them back to life so they can all happily and abundantly live and exist on earth forever as submissive and obedient subjects of the "KINGDOM of GOD" or the Creator's Kingdom
and fully enjoy the eternal love, kindness, goodness, compassions, generosities, favors, and blessings of the Creator and his Christ for eternity under the loving and kind rulership, guidance, and protection of Jesus Christ as the Creator's Chosen King and Ruler of the heavens and the earth as written in Revelation 11: 15.
How about the Bible and the words and character of Jesus himself as a guide?
I really enjoy your approach. I’m not a fan of the street preacher yelling « repent » to non-believers types. Best way to bring more to the faith is by rationality through intellect. Keep up the amazing work. God bless
I ignore street preachers.
"I’m not a fan of the street preacher ..." Same here, but they have their own calling and I do respect it. I keep lectures and do the writing but I guess I'm not evangelist in the traditional meaning.
Best way to convert atheists to God is to demonstrate God using evidence. Why is this so difficult to understand.
For me it was Sam Harris who has been so wrong about everything. Also people like Michael Knowles who is smart and wonderful I knew he had to know something I didn’t.
Raised a secularist in the SF Bay Area. After reading the most prominent atheists, the rationality of theism became glaringly obvious. We intuitively know our lives have meaning.
Im with Frank Turek, i don't have enough faith to be an atheist. Great video!
Yeah when you find out that atheism means nothing created everything and that throwing double sixes over and over about hundreds of thousands of times in a row would be easier than the universe forming a coherent stable environment , then you need a whole lot more faith than I am capable of to throw away the concept of an astoundingly powerful and intelligent agent as creator. And then you meet Him, and then you realise that he is soooo much more. Then you realize He is holding out His hand saying "Be my child and I will be your Father and nothing will harm you or take you from me. You were born for this destiny. Choose me."
@@broncosgjn 🥰🥰🥰🥰
I'd say that Frank Turek doesn't understand atheism but as his misunderstandings have no doubt be explained to him, he's just dishonest.
Frank Turek is a baffling buffoon.
It's funny how you mention growing up with the Indie scene. I was there before it took off and you're so right, it was like that when it came to hating on everyone and everything except what was going on with "our culture". I started wondering if you knew who Maps & Atlases were? I was in a band and we were friends with a band that was friends with them and I was at a house party in Chicago with them I think when they played with Minus the Bear around 2007. Anyways, love your work brother! Keep it up, God bless! 🙌
I think what you need to do is throw everything about this world away. Everything that you understand and know is actually something you don’t know. When you surrender your will to want to get close to God. I think that’s when you understand what you are and who you are to God. And then God does the rest.
I don’t know if I said it properly, but like a willingness to surrender, submit, and understand that everything in this world is a lie. I thought so lies it’s sinful and we can’t save ourselves. And when you understand that I believe that’s when God gets close to you when you Seek him
I used to be follower of Dawkins years ago and now I'm a follower of Jesus!
Poor choice of sides. Never heard Dawkins ranting on about hellfire.
Keep inviting this man! ❤
My little heart loves this whole big world ,yet this whole big world cannot fill little heart.. Only Jesus can fill my little heart to the brim till it overflows .
AMAZING conversation. thank you for your work and bless you!!!
Glad you enjoyed it!! 🙏❤️
My father is one of these atheist he said he is not but when I’m telling him that I’m a Christian he is trying to disproof my faith and if that doesn’t work he will mock my entire religion and all other religions my father is almost 60 now and he hasn’t changed at all sorry but 😂 kinda funny, once he told me that 99% of the Bible already had been debunked through science
Richard Dawkins brought a lot of people into agnosticism but not atheism. New atheism broadened and included agnostics.
@@kos-mos1127well agnosticisme can leads to faith if agnostic poeple just do the right research I know a lot of Atheist and Agnostic and i'm just amazed that they have so little understanding of the historical evidence for faith they don't lack evidence they lack knowledge to understand that evidence i try to Explain but they probably think im crazy or something 😂 Before i came to Christ because I was raised non-Christian, first i needed to know if Jesus historically exist and every little evidence leads me to the conclusion that he did since i was little i always was interested in Jesus and christianity my father completly disagree with me and even calls my faith Satan And debunked with Science, i also had to know if Jesus was crucified and that he was risen and yes evidence showed he did, there is more proof for Jesus risen from the death than the evidence for Aristotle we have 5800 ancient manuscript from the 2th to 10th century A.D in a time period of the early church fathers all the way trough polycarp how knew John the Apostle himself well polycarp had 2 students called Papias and Ireneous how lived until the Early 3th Century A.D all of these church fathers say that the Apostles wrote there Gospel, I had many conversion with my father about the existence of the soul and about Near Death Experience's to Church and History but he refused some poeple just chose not to believe even if they know it's real, and after all my study in Scriptures and Near Death Experience's in books and people how i knew personally with there own Experience's and the design argument, skeptical and open minded to the Case of unexplained healing after a NDE to Death Bed Visions to what caused NDE's this toke me months so it was 2020 and i toke a year off until 2021 and i started to put every puzzel piece to getter to expand my scientfic knowledge And the evidence for my faith i see no problem with faith and Science not at all, I had many conversions, I read a lot of Books about Jesus historically and Biblically to NDE's and many more, i also read articals online and if there is an agreement between others and other articals to see if there is not a disagreement, I try to see what caused NDE's and if it could be debunked, I Learned a lot about Christianity and even Islam, Buddism, Hinduism and Judaism, I read a lot of Death Sea Scrolls and the Prophecies about Jesus that he full filled in the Papyrus epistels all the way trough historical writters like josephus flavius and Tacitus and many more and one more fact Christianity is true you have to believe me if not Good luck with throwing all your history books in the garbage, You have to know Jesus loves you and i do to amen 🙏🏻❤️✝️
Great conversation! 👍
I only discovered your channel quite recently and have been really impressed with the content thus far. So impressed in fact, you've just earned a new sub.
Thank you for your effort.
🙏🏻 ✝️ ❤️
Welcome aboard!! 🙏❤️
New atheism offers the opportunity to think for yourself and grow as the person you are instead of requiring one to conform to religious doctrines.
I really love listening to Dr Alister McGrath.
Very nice. Great interview, excellent idea for a book. An entire series of books can be written about this topic. I'm one of those people that got caught up in the atheism nonsense, so this is really cool. Thanks fellas. Namaste
What Dawkins sells is more anti-theism than atheism, tho.
What’s “atheism nonsense?”
There’s nothing nonsensical about being aware that theists have a burden of proof that hasn’t been met. It’s like, day 1 logic class stuff.
@@UgliestManOnEarth-69 Really? So atheists have successfully demonstrated how a universe containing such complexity can arise from random interactions? No. So your burden of proof gotcha doesn't have any teeth. Did you cut class on day 1?
Interesting you end your comment with "Namaste" a traditional Hindu greeting, a religion that has multiple gods.
To have a direct experience with God, do as He said.
Seek for Him with ALL of your heart. Don't be lazy about it. What does seeking for Him with ALL of your heart entail for you?
"Seek for Him with ALL of your heart. Don't be lazy about it." I've been in knowing (reborn) for 10 years but I'm only now learning that. Well, better later than never ...
The desperation of religious apologists. 🤦♂
Atheism has been on the rise. New atheism was not a new movement. As atheism has continued to rise it's obviously _not_ been a failure. Many atheists credit atheists from that time as influencing them.
Theists are so desperate to be seen to be finally getting one back on atheists.
Chris Hitchens as I was a atheist at the time changed my mind about god and became believing in Christianity
I love Richard and I'm a Christian. Hearing him speak always increases my faith especially if he's debating people like Dr. William Lang Craig or Dr. Jon Lennox.
may God bless you all in Jesus Name
I can definitely see how atheist activists lead people to God. Even as a believer, their nonsense leads me to a deeper faith in God.
They push the multiverse in almost every movie to entrench it into young minds
Such an important and engaging discussion! I entered college in 1969...completely disinterested in religion. Christians in my circle of family/friends were kind and intelligent. I just had no way of understanding their God. One part of Dawkins you have not brought up is his acerbic, caustic view and treatment of religious people. One's philosophy/belief system is more than an "explanation." It is your way of being, of living, of treating others. Dawkins' "way of being...of treating others" was so off-putting that I was spared any interest in his "intellectual" ideas. Thus, I avoided drinking his poison. I was completely shocked when I encountered God in my 40's, and every day since has been a study in how I can best represent Christ. Quite a challenge, even after 70 years! :) Thank you for this discussion.
I like the analogy of the different avenues that God uses to bring us to knowledge of him. All roads can lead you to the one true road that leads to the Father, Jesus Christ. John 14:6-10
I visit the atheïst channels a lot, just for a laugh mostly. Sometimes i have a serious discussion, but not often. Most atheïsts are quite fanatic about it, and try to make fools of believers. They really don't wanna know anything, but what they think they know.
The words slavery and evidence are their favorites. I think they're a little scared of their own thoughts,for getting really angry and cranky with me, when i don't agree with them.
I love atheïsts for making me gratefull for my belief.
The ultimate compliment from Atheists for me. "God doesn't exist, and I hate Him."
@@voiceofreason162Which almost no atheist ever said.
If an atheist "hates" god, he/she means the ideas of Christianity and its affect on people.
@@oscargr_ the central person of CHRISTianity happens to be Jesus. Which Christian hospitals, Christian drug rehabilitation centres, Christian homeless shelters, Christian food dispensaries, Christian medical ships serving the needs of 3 Billion people, Christian shelters, Christian housing programs, Christian homeless centres, Christian hostels, Christian debt centres, Christian community centres, Christian water programs, Christian Village revitalisation programs, Christian education centres, universities, faculties, and which of the 99% of modern law and common law protecting rights, property and people do you detest the most?
I view this channel for a similar reason.
@@oscargr_ i have seen Atheist that hated god.
Richard can't lead people to God nearly as fast as christians drive them away.
“Here are 70 people that cite Dawkins as a big reason they now believe in god.”
“Here are 7,000 people who cite Dawkins as a big reason they no longer believe in a god.
I had become an atheist at age 40 and Dawkins was one of the atheists that got me to start questioning atheism .
His philosophy is brain dead especially his “”who created God “ argument 😂
I now believe in God
Thanks Richard !!!
God
Bless you buddy
But why is that illogical? Who did create god?
@@UgliestManOnEarth-69 it's illogical because we are not talking about a god like Odin from Marvel movies :)
@@RozkminTo…so your super hero is a SUPER super hero. An Extra Super Hero.
Respectfully, this is not logical.
Despite his spiritual blindness, Dawkins is a redeemable person of worth. I pray for him.
@@UgliestManOnEarth-69 Dude xD
Im telling you that your idea of God is wrong and thats why you think its illogical.
If your idea of God is super duper over 9000 omega hero you are right to ask who created that phisical being inside universe but it's not even close to God of the Bible.
Soo asking "who created God" you strawmaning our position :P
This is a brilliant and very relevant to-the-point conversation!
Thanks so much for this.
I've found it very interesting and will hopefully watch it again with my husband, who is not a Christian (yet 😊).
I'm sure, it will add to his understanding of why atheism is highly inadequate.
God bless!
Mathew 20:16
16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Unanswered questions are not evidence for god. How many times does that need to be said?
They are Right, that we *_Need Jesus Christ_*
Yes we all do!
Not awful lot but awesome lot of people coming to know Christ
Really enjoyed listening to this conversation! Definitely going to check out those links.
May your royal blessings rest peacefully through the Gospel Truth and flow through the tears of doing merciful acts as a prudential means of grace.. Please bear in mind that many people who engage in the corporal works of mercy are certainly OPEN to the Holy Spirit.
Corporal Works
To feed the hungry.
To give water to the thirsty.
To clothe the naked.
To shelter the homeless.
To visit the sick.
To visit the imprisoned, or ransom the captive.
To bury the dead.
This does not mean they are Christian. But they are certainly OPEN to the Holy Spirit. And I would caution against conflict. As John 3:18 says, "Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son." When someone authentically displays corporal works of mercy, they are most certainly believing in Christ by their actions. This view was taught to me since I joined the Catholic Church -- the full Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) program, I was fully confirmed in the Roman Catholic Church on April 14th, 2001.
If I can bring this down to the most basic level, Jesus in Matthew 10:42 plainly says, "And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person (the person who who gave the cup of cold water) will certainly NOT lose their reward.” All people should just reciprocate kindness so they can be open to the Holy Spirit.
God sends a powerfull delusion to them that believe not.
Richard Dawkins: 'I would never believe in God even if He came and spoke to me, I'd think it is aliens'
Misquoted as usual. A personal psychosis is many many orders of magnitude more likely than a conversation with a supernatural all powerful God. Therefore a psychosis must be ruled out first .....and many other possibilities.
@@TurinTuramber So why didn't Dawkins just say that he was most likely being delusional thinking that God came and spoke to him?
Your method of twisting reality has backfired.
Dawkins simply doesn't want to believe in a God. At all. His statement wasn't ambiguous. It was clear and to the point.
@@CelticSpiritsCoven You need to read David Hume. I am sorry if you cannot comprehend that a psychosis is more probably than talking to God.
Dawkins is an atheist. He doesn't believe in God because God isn't in evidence. Every atheists would love a real God (not the clumsy God claims of religion) to exist and be in evidence. Difference is I won't let my wish for God cloud my vision in assessing the evidence. For theists the opposite is true.
@@TurinTuramber Atheists say it all the time.... _"there is no evidence"_
There is evidence. There's lots of evidence. The Atheist just doesn't want it to be true.
When you say that Atheists would love a God.... what you actually mean is that Atheists wouldn't have a problem with a God who doesn't limit what s*xual intercourse they are allowed to have.
Be honest.
You in fact HAVE allowed your hate for God to cloud your vision in accessing the evidence.
Theists have good evidence based reasons for why they believe.
Non-Christian Historical people who wrote about the New Testament:
Just how many non-Christian sources are there that mention Jesus?
Including Josephus, there are ten known non-Christian writers who mention Jesus within 150 years of his life.
Some of these non-Christian sources-such as Celsus, Tacitus, and the Jewish Talmud-could be considered anti-Christian sources.
After all that has been found, everything except for 2 verses of the entire New Testament were written about by Non-Christian historical people. The story of Jesus isn't fake, it's confirmed that Jesus lived and the gospels are reliable testimony.
To deny such a thing requires proof, which the uninformed Atheist does not possess. Denial of facts is what Atheist say is a bad thing. Then they deny these facts. Atheism is therefore a religion that requires faith that your hopes are true, regardless of how much evidence exists that proves them wrong.
[Edit: For clarity]
@@TurinTuramber BTW... I am a psychiatrist. Just stop it with thinking that I don't know what psychosis is. Your gut assumptions about people is based upon your own biases and prejudices rather than a willingness to be a loving person and respect the humanity and dignity of others.
People CAN disagree with you, and be correct. Good, decent, rational people can humble themselves and not be insulting to someone just because they have a difference of knowledge about a particular topic.
The way you lash out at people because they seem to believe in God..... is not how a well adjusted person reacts in the world.
Firstly, be kind and respectful to people. Don't immediately belittle and insult them because they have different knowledge than you.
Adults with imaginary friends are adults who never outgrew having a security blanket.
Imaginary isnt real. The God of the Bible is real
@@purelyrandom1230 LMFAO
@@kurtbrisch5776he is right
@@Adrian-si1gz sure Jan.
@@kurtbrisch5776 Jan?
I want to thank you for this content, the main reason is that nowdays almost every Christian I encounter is either just an hypocrite or someone who don't necessarily argue with logic or reason. That has just feeded my rejection towards the churches or non racional Chrsitian communities.
As I understand it, moral is one of the most important if not the most important aspect within the human reponsabilities at the eyes of God, but there are resons for that, its not just because yes you know? So when I try to dive into the why of it and the objective meaning of what it points to at any scale, I usually struggle to find a compelling answer (not saying that there isn't) and as u probably guessed, what people would tell me is: "just have faith, God said it for a reason." But the problem with not understanding it as far as I can tell, is that in many scenarios where you "apply the teachings", lets say, within the most basic layer of understanding, the impact turns out being the opposite of what was expected; or many things just don't make sense if seen with poor knwoledge. Being able to educate myself more in, at the very least, some of the many facets of the topic of God is a really great help, specially when the people who are interviewed do indeed have something significant to say.
Idk if you would read this, but I'm grateful. Thank you for being one of those few guys who actually do it with at least some transparency on the topic itself rather than completely for self interests.
Studying natural sciences has for me been a very important agent in deepening my faith to Lord Jesus. But one needs not necessarily know science to believe in Christ. Christ himself is the one who gives faith through his Spirit.
@@jounisuninen i'm not specifically talking about science, I'm talking about knowledge of the evidence for truth. Like history, science and so for. Stuff that is part of the reality, cuz otherwise u can make the foolish mistake of believing everything, wether it is true or not. Why should I have faith in Jesus but not Muhammad or other people that play a similar role form a basic human perspective. Evidence is the only thing I've got to decide which one is true and which one is not. For instance, why only those 4 gospels and not the other ones out there? I know why, but I wouldn't blame anybody for struggling with this questions.
Ultimately, what I need is help, not people putting pressure on me for being logical or just trying to take the best choice 😔
Dawkins said something super profound which some people couldn’t help but raise a couple eyebrows about theism. It was about the relationship between an organism and it’s environment. The organism is a microcosm of the planet. By studying a bird you can determine a very many qualities of the earth such as chemical/ magnetic/physical properties of the earth. Just by studying the physiology of the bird we can determine what kind of environment it occupies. If we extrapolate this concept to aspects of human mortality, the aspiration to deep meaning/ purpose, a proclivity for worship, the narrative structure of learning we can map out a metaphysical landscape of our spiritual reality. Something to think about
What struck me when reading Dawkins was that ... he was explaining that you don't need religion to be moral, because the ten commandments were basically hardwired into our social structure. With that he basically proved that the commandments are really truly (like for really realz 😅) divine law. You don't have to believe it. Heck, you don't even have to know it. They just are. 🤷
_"the ten commandments were basically hardwired into our social structure"_
Really?
Not working on Sunday.
Idols to worship.
No coveting.
Do not kill.
No adultery.
Are people really following these?
@@markh1011 🙄
But yeah, a day of rest? Obviously you do that or you drop. Eventually.
@@simonspethmann8086 That doesn't answer the question about the things in that list.
Indeed. They are written on the table of our hearts
Are the social structures of bees also divine law? If not, why are those different?
Why would any of you worship a God who watches children being sexually assaulted and chooses to do nothing?
Why would you worship a being that preferences the free will of a rapist over that of the victim?
How does it give you meaning to believe that there is an entity who sees each act of violence and chooses to do nothing. It makes ZERO sense.
I came to Christ through science. Intelligent design and fine tuning is so much more evidently true than random atheism. Hugh Ross, Stephen Meyer, John Lennox, James Tour, J Warner Wallace, William Lane Craig, if you aren’t familiar with these names do yourself a favor search them out and listen.
lol. Thanks for the laugh.
@@bdawg-qj9bq Dr. Jason Lisle is definitely recommendable. See "The Ultimate Proof of Creation".
@@bdawg-qj9bqtherr isnt even funny in his statement. You atheists are weird
I grew up at the height of the New Atheist movement on the internet, and was an atheist for most my life until the beginning of this year. I probably most closely could be labeled an Omnist -- it was JC that awakened me. The King is coming back, my friends. Much Love.
Such a great listen on my way to church this morning ❤
In all the interviews I’ve seen of Dawkins he always looks sour and bitter. If only he opened his heart to God I’m sure he’d be a much happier person.
"... Dawkins he always looks sour and bitter." Hitchens was not only sour and bitter but also a drunk. So much happiness from atheism. I mean, that is not enough to prove atheism false per se. However it tells that something must be wrong in a worldview that makes its preachers sour and bitter. Sometimes even liar. Each and every reborn Christian is happy for having found the Truth that is Lord Jesus. That is telling.
Maybe read his books and stop watching Christian propaganda for your information?