Billy Graham: 2 things Christians can do to lead Atheist friends to Jesus Christ

[RussBLib]

Did you see this silly, silly story recently? One of the "great minds" of the modern religious movement is basically saying there is NOTHING you can do to get atheists over to JC except to pray for them.

I find this really hilarious. Obviously reason ain't gonna cut it. Might as well just piss in the wind.

Billy Graham: 2 things Christians can do to lead Atheist friends to Jesus Christ
Praying for God to soften the hearts of atheist friends is the most important thing Christian can do for non-believers, says famed evangelist the Rev. Billy Graham, who also encourages believers to be a "witness to Jesus' peace and joy."

In a question-and-answer column published Monday on the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association website, Graham was asked what Christians can do to encourage their atheist friends to seek salvation in Jesus Christ.

"My best friend and I enjoy each other's company, but I'm a Christian and he says he's an atheist. I've tried to argue with him, but he just laughs and says I ought to grow up and forget about God. How can I win him over?" the person asked.

Graham responded by saying, "you can't win him over by yourself" and that part of the effort must include God, since "He can conquer even the most stubborn heart.

"And that's why the most important thing you can do for your friend is to pray for him, asking God to convict him of his sin and his pride and convince him of his need for Christ," wrote Graham. "Pray also that your life will be a witness to him — a witness to Christ's peace and joy. People may argue with what we say — but they can't argue with the reality of a life that's been transformed by Christ."

Original (sorry it's from FOX)

[deucemagnet]

1. I don't mind the praying,

as long as it's not the "laying of hands" type of praying. If they want to pray for me, they can go ahead and knock themselves out. It keeps them out of the way and quiet and they feel like they're doing something, which is better than in-your-face evangelism.

[Leith]

2. How Is Prayer Any Different from Casting a Spell?

Expelliarmus!

[Nitram]

5. A spell appeals to spirits of nature, demons or the devil, while a Chrisitan's prayer appeals to

their god Jehovah/Jesus. If you believe in spirits or gods. Oh, was that a rhetorical question?

[Leith]

7. Yeah, Kinda...

I figured it would be safe to say in this group.

[DetlefK]

12. You are addressing different forces of nature.

I'm talking about Renaissance-magic here, which inspired most of what today's novels/movies depict about magic.

In this magic, the universe consists of several layers: God at the top-most, below him Archangels, below them Angels, below them stars and planets (corresponding to spirits and daemons), below them the humans, below them the animals, below them the plants... Approximately like that.

When you pray, you go directly to God. When you do magic, you reach out to a higher layer to harness its power, though nobody has ever "discovered" how to contact God's powers by magic. Magic is more pseudo-science than Religion.

[Binkie The Clown]

3. They should do something useful like praying to stop earthquakes and hurricanes.

And praying to eradicate cancer.

Let them put it to the test and see how much good praying actually does.

[Nitram]

6. I believe studies have rated prayer at the same level of relevance to reality as Astrology.

Zilch, nada, bogus, futile and inutile.

[AlbertCat]

8. Zilch, nada, bogus, futile and inutile.

I believe in one study .... with people praying for patients' recovery.... the patients did WORSE if they knew they were being payed for. It apparently created anxiety which suppresses some immunity reactions.

[Nitram]

11. If a bunch of christian fundies were praying for me in my hospital room I'd probably

commit suicide.

[Binkie The Clown]

10. You don't have to convince me. Us virgos are too logical to believe in Astrology. n/t

[Warpy]

4. Praying is the ultimat slacktivism

so they can spend as much time as they want to doing it. It keeps them off the streets, out of the bars, and out of my hair. Some people have even backed into true meditation through prayer, so hey, why not?

However, this is some of the best advice the man has ever given. You can't argue, harangue or lead anyone anyplace he's not ready and willing to go, so hang it up, kiddies.

That advice applies to us, too. Flying without a net is not for everybody. Well, except the praying, not going to bother when nobody's on the other end of the line.

[AlbertCat]

9. Notice....

The hard heart and pride of atheists....


....that people who condemn you to eternal punishment and also think the universe might do what they want if they ask, think is just awful!