How do you make someone like me, an Ex-Christian, believe in the Bible and Jesus?

Question

Note that I was a Christian trying to convert non-believers for years. I used the same arguments most Christians here use. How would you turn me into believing?

Answer 1

You know the lies. It would be very unlikely for you to lapse back. But remain on guard. Crust Stains are predators, and they are very resourceful. They can smell the slightest emotional weakness, and they will pounce, manipulating your emotions until you lose your grasp on reason and fall back into their twisted reality.



Beware!

Answer 2

As a previous Atheist, I used to ridicule believers, I feel one way is the way that worked for me.

I became more scientific. I read all about evolution and more importantly, the flaws with the theory, because they do have a point, that get little popular press. Michael Behe, Steven Meyer, etc.

Read the famous Dissent List, signed by over 800 PHDs, stating that evolution can't produce the biodiversity around us.

this alone, should give you confidence, that believing in a designer isn't just for dummies.

Also, you may want to look a Physics. The latest issue of Scientific America, talks about the flaws with the big bang theory. the biggest flaw that sited, is that for it to happen, things had to be fine tuned to an impossibly high degree, otherwise it doesn't produce what we see. Physicists are always running into this, so much so they gave it a name, the Anthopic principle. It means the universe looks like it was designed for us to exist. This doesn't sound like an accident.

Once you can accept a designer, it's a small leap to wonder why he went ot all this trouble.

Looking at other faiths, I found the God of the Bible makes the most sense, scientifically, but it's too much to go into right now.

Just start with the science, and Good Luck.

Joe Jensen.

Answer 3

I'd have to know why you stopped believing. We don't have enough information.



Being a Christian is not formulaic. Becoming a Christian can be, but living as a Christian is very personal. A personal walk with Jesus is found within you, and it's not easy. You have the world attacking you from every angle. The more the Devil believes he can shake your faith, the more trouble he sends your way. Why would God allow this to happen? He needs strong Christians to stand up and be counted just as you used to do.



Every time you withstand the devil's attacks, you become a little stronger. It's a lot like going to the gym and lifting weights. You do not become stronger by lifting the 5 pound weight a few times and call it good exercise. No, you lift the weight that will challenge you, and then you lift it a little more till your muscles ache. Or running. You don't walk a casual stroll and call yourself a distance runner. You push yourself, test yourself, practice till it hurts, then you push a little more so you can do better next time.



The same is true for faith and strength of character. As a Christian, your faith will be exercised and tested. And when the time comes, will you be able to say you fought the good fight and finished the race? Or will you say you gave up because it was just too hard. I encourage you, stick to your faith and trust in God and his word until the Devil finally realizes you are just too strong and he simply can't shake you down.

Answer 4

Doesn't sound like you were born again/converted. Did you forget the story of the prodigal son or 2 Peter 2:20?



For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.





John 14:6 Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life, know once comes to the father but by me.



Mark 1:15 The kingdom of heaven is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel.



Repent of your sins and trust in Jesus to save you from hell as you would trust in a parachute to save your from a plane crash. Read the Bible for yourself, start with the book of John

Answer 5

Argument from science. I was agnostic for a while, once I got old enough to think, "Why should I believe everything this book is telling me?" But then I took advanced science classes and realized that evolution just doesn't make sense without some sort of interference from a higher power. For example, think of all of our internal organs. Now think of the in-between stages necessary for them to form. How could those stages have been beneficial enough to be passed on in a significant number of offspring?



There would, of necessity, be more to the argument, if I actually intended to be persuasive. I just don't feel like typing it all right now. But from there, having convinced you of the existence of God, I would proceed to the Bible. I would not treat the Bible as the unerring word of God, because obviously it is not; I am not some apologetic trying to force meaning on passages in order to keep it internally consistent. I've seen series written by a single author with glaring flaws in the plotline, and the Bible was written by over 40 different people over a span of millennia. What I would do is dissect the Bible in a scholarly manner, showing how the miracles are actually consistent with our understanding of science. Contrary to popular belief, this doesn't contradict them being the work of God; to paraphrase from a White Collar episode, God can use bacteria to do His will (that particular conversation was referring to the curse of the mummy which was speculated to be caused by bacteria in the tomb). For example, the parting of the Sea of Reeds (more commonly called the Red Sea) can be explained by a combination of wind (mentioned in the Bible) and tides. The miracle, then, is not that the sea parted, but that it happened at just the right time for the Hebrews to pass, while the Egyptians who followed them were drowned by the returning water. This second step would establish that the God who was demonstrated in the first argument is indeed the God of the Hebrews rather than the God of some other religion.



Finally, I would have to convince you that Jesus was indeed the son of God. I should hope I would not have to convince you of Jesus's existence, because that is documented by contemporary historians who had no reason to verify the claims of the Christian religion. The point up for dispute is whether he was actually the son of God, or whether he was just some nutjob who ran around claiming to be the son of God. I'm not sure exactly how I would accomplish this, as I have not yet made it to the New Testament in my reading of the Bible, but I imagine I would explain the miracles of Jesus in a scientific manner, and then point out that there was no way Jesus could have known to use science in such a way unless God, the greatest scientist of all, told him how to do it. This last would be, perhaps, my least convincing argument, but if I convinced you of all the rest and you converted to Judaism rather than Christianity, I would still consider it a job well done.

Answer 6

There is no such thing as an Ex-Christian. God does not give salvation to

some one and take it back. Since he has foreknowledge, he knows if and when

you were going to back out. So if you are not a Christian now, you never were.



Judas Iscariot was as close to Jesus as the rest of the apostles but he was

just going through the motions as you may have been. Maybe that's why you

gave up because it really wasn't in you to begin with.



The bible speaks of those that were once enlightened and turn away. It also says

in those cases it is impossible to renew them again. (Hebrews 6)

It also says that those that have been exposed to the truth and have participated,

then turn away, their punishment will be worse because they knew better.



In James it says, "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."

In case you weren't saved in the first place, you should ask Jesus to forgive you

of your sins and to come into your life, then ask him to turn you into a believer.

Repeat Romans 10:9,10 out loud and mean it in your heart, then you can be sure

for God looks at the heart and he already knows in advance if you are for real or not.

Answer 7

I have two things that keep me believing. First, is a famous argument made by somone i can't remember but here is how it goes. You either believe in God or you don't and there either is a God or not. If you don't believe and God and there is no God, well congratulations for nothing. If you don't believe and there is a God, you risk eternal damnation. If you believe and there isn't a God, well you've just lived a moral life. If you believe and there is a God, you are rewarded with eternal happiness. Seems like believing is a good idea huh?



Secondly is the fact that some people who die in the hospital and are brought back, have visions. Now we know scientifically as a fact, that those people were dead for x number of minutes, which means no brain signals. So how did or what did they see. Think about it. Hope you have faith and return from the dark side (star wars humor)

Answer 8

The Bible is a non secular training guide. there is not any individual in this international which could stay a ideal existence except Jesus. Its genuine that we are to adhere to the commandments yet there is not any individual which could do it. Jesus did not come to sentence yet to keep. Jesus paid the cost for our sins and we should be counted on that. The Bible is a collection of writers all telling you the same tale of their own words. very such as witnesses in courtroom. that is impossible to make up a tale like this with each and every of different human beings telling it. attempt getting 5 human beings to jot down a tale even after telling what that is to be about and see how different all their thoughts come out. i do not see a thanks to say the Bible is a lie or a fairy tale in accordance to that representation

Answer 9

Why are you ex-Christian wanting to believe again. You sound very confused but then again, like you said, you were a Christian trying to convert non-believers for years, there's your mistake.

Answer 10

This is not the right medium to "convert" someone. I think it is very weak on that account. That sounds like a defiant challenge that will never be met based on your criteria. All I can do is to expand you knowledge and understanding by giving you something to look into. Hold your nose, cringe and try it:

http://www.mormon.org

Answer 11

No one can "make" another person believe in the Bible or in God, its a choice a person can either accept or reject. You can't force it down someone's throat, though honestly a lot of Christians try to do it like that

Answer 12

Have you tried praying, asking God for forgiveness for your status presently ? Is there something that happened in your life that caused you to have much bitterness, and much pain because you wanted something to happen that did not happen, or the reverse of that ? Is there unresolved anger, a lack of others coming to God from your efforts before you decided to drop out ? Your status reminds me of the statements in the Scriptures that say, they 'thought they were of the Lord, but in reality never were ', do you really want to be that ? i.e. 'dropped out of the faith because of something that happened to you that you know you didn't want to happen ? Satan uses many ploys to cause people to drop out, are you under his nasty control of your soul, or have you lost your way because you know you have a deep guilt for something you don't want to give up, and know that you aren't willing to do so. That is a root of a spiritual demonic influence of bitterness in your soul, seek His forgiveness, repent and confess and get real help if you actually want it. If you keep like this, know that you will regret it desparetly for hell is not a place any soul would want to be.But they don't realize it because they don't believe it is real. Heaven is just as real, Jesus has made that known . Read in Revelations and know that it is true ! Don't accept the lies of the ones who say a given date and the return will take place, that can cause much confusion to one who doesn't realize it is a lie. Only the Father knows the Truth, and He knows your heart more than you want to admit to Him. If you have fallen did you ever really know HIM ? That is something you should consider, did you think you were a Christian but in reality were part of a cult that has gotten you so terribly confused that you really don't know where you are ? Have you considered the Real Christian ministries and tried going to them ? Have you allowed yourself to believe lies in the areas that you thought were real ? i.e. cult teachings . Did you let your old ego get the better of you ? i.e. take back control ? That is something that the evil one loves to do. Where did you stop believing and why did you do that ? A contrite and penitant heart will open up the door to forgiveness, know that He will hear honest confession and repentance . Know that He knows your heart and what is best. Seek to believe that His word is True, and is not a lie. Get into the New American Standard Bible, cry out to God, and confess your heart to Him, your mind, and your soul. See if that will help you. There are many cults that think they are ' Christian', so go over that with A real Christian minister, say Chuck Swindol, David Jerermiah, Erwin Lutzer, Ravi Zacharias, and pyscologist, Dr. James Dobson's minsitry of Focus on the Family to name a few. Check these guys out, they all have websites and will be more than happy to help you if you are in deep earnest desire to really want help .

Answer 13

In all probability you never knew the truth of what the Bible actually teaches. Rather you were taught the lies of pagan doctrines whitewashed with Christian labels. Face it. You were set up by Satan to fail. His entire purpose is to keep all humans away from knowing the true God. There is only one faith, one way that God approves. As long as Satan can provide thousands of false choices, the odds of your looking harder is very remote. He counts on most people being too lazy to look deeper to find they one true religion of the Bible.



If I was taught the lies you were, I would probably reject it all too. The difference is my being given the opportunity to learn the truth of Bible teachings. The logic and reasonableness of them. By being encouraged to study the Bible to find these truths myself, I knew them to be true. That is the only real difference between us.

Answer 14

Being an ex-Christian doesn't mean you're less susceptible to becoming a Christian again. However, if you are also a rational skeptic and a scientific naturalist, it would be virtually impossible for a Christian to draw you back into their land of myth.

Answer 15

If you want to proof of the God of Israel, then read below:



The Judo-Christian God of the Bible is the One and True God because He is the only God that has withstood the test of time, science, history, and prophecies of the Bible. This can be seen through the Dead Sea Scrolls that were written over 2000 years ago; proving that it with stood the test of time because it matches up word-for-word of the Hebrew Bible today. Verses such as Leviticus 17:14 stating “For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.” and Isaiah 40:22 stating “It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:”. These verses in the Bible are proven to be scientifically true thousands of years after they were written! The Israelites being enslaved to the Egyptians 3000 years ago and the Israelites spending 40 years in the desert is historically accurate proving that the Bible stands the test of history. And the test of prophecy is being fulfilled right now by the world leaders discussing and making plans how on they, the leaders of the world, are able to unite the world through a global government and economy. This is written in the Bible in verse of Revelation 13:7 “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” and in Revelation 13:16-17 “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”.

Answer 16

>>>According to Hebrews, you have rejected the truth. What your doing is more serious than someone who is in a backsliden state. You are openly shaming the Lord.......

Answer 17

I assume you require the same thing I do for that sort of belief -- direct contact with Jesus/Yahweh. If he's omnipotent, this shouldn't be asking much.

Answer 18

I wouldn't. You've made your decision and I'm sure you're aware of the verses that talk about turning back.



You've turned back to the world. Any effort to "make" you believe would be wasted.

Answer 19

I wouldn't. If you were actually a Christian then you know you are just a back slider. Now you claim to be an atheist? Either your lying now or then. Either way your a liar. Perhaps God doesn't want you?

Answer 20

I'm once an atheist but got conviced by a church who seem Irrefutable.

Go for a church and ask questions.

Answer 21

Come on. The sun goes up and the sun goes down - never a miscommunication. If that ain't proof of Jesus, then you're just a pinhead.

Answer 22

I can't make you believe what you don't want to believe. It's called faith for a reason.

Answer 23

I wouldn't be able to because you would be too cynical. You should take up another religion.

Answer 24

i'd use scare tactics, then emotional appeals. everyday prosletyzing is normally a combination fo these two

Answer 25

"How would you turn me into believing?"



Hypothetically? Provide you with evidence corroborating the veracity of my claims.

Answer 26

Lobotomy

Answer 27

Wait until you are miserable with your life.

Answer 28

we cant

it was your choice

i pray you would come back though

Answer 29

There is nothing to believe.

Answer 30

I wouldn't bother.

Answer 31

that's not our choice, nor yours. it's God's.

Answer 32

inb4 someone threatens you with hell.