2nd Most Powerful Argument Against God

The idea is that the God, as the Christian describes Him, cannot exist, since a loving God would reveal Himself to the non-resistant non-believer and He does not. Therefore, such a loving God must not exist. I think this is a truly challenging argument not only because it tackles what feels like a very real world issue (I admit) but because arguing against it can quickly put you into the position where you are no longer arguing so much about philosophy or logic but where you are pigeon-holed into a situation where people will think you are personally attacking individuals. In other words, when I say that humans are accountable to know that God exists this argument can quickly turn things into the social foul of saying that people have bad motives or are otherwise insincere. What starts as a philosophical view of the apparentness of God's existence turns into a bullying situation where the Christian is painted as personally attacking others. I reject that framing but I realize that many will continue to see things in that perspective, sadly.
This is a short video and it doesn't get into all the issues related to "Divine Hiddenness." It only covers a couple aspects of it. Other arguments should be made about how apparent God's existence is and to address other issues. I hoped to simply do some work that would build a bit of a bridge past the sense of personal offense many feel on this issue and open them up to another way of seeing things.
Are you wondering what I would consider the STRONGEST argument against God? Well, in terms of persuasiveness, it would be the Problem of Evil. I have a video on that right here. • How to Answer the Prob...
My website BibleThinker.org

[@chance_peterik]

“I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief.”

[@ThePerpetualStudent]

Same brother, same.

[@jastheadventurer1784]

You should be looking for the truth and not looking to believe in things without evidence.

[@Space_Noise]

One of my favorite prayers.

[@jastheadventurer1784]

@@Space_Noise You're basically asking to be ignorant!

[@chance_peterik]

@@jastheadventurer1784 the evidence is in the identity, Union and multiplicity of all things.

[@lisa4357]

My husband told me that, years ago, he spent three days praying to God to show Himself and help him to believe. Nothing happened. On the fourth day, my husband told himself he wouldnt be discouraged and decided that he would never stop searching. That he would keep seeking God in a different way. He told me that, at that moment, he was filled with a warm rush of love and peace, and he could feel his faith begin to solidify around him. He did continue to study and search, and im so glad that he did because the knowledge he has gained helps me every day on my own walk.

[@junk3996]

ya that makes sense. i mean its subjectional right, depending from person to person, but for someone to say they'll search and put in their all...well, why not test that? its in scripture too. if you say you've genuinely searched for God whole heartedly, but it only lasted a couple days, then can you really claim you genuinely searched for God whole heartedly?

[@cipherklosenuf9242]

@@junk3996Many Native American cultures practiced vision quests. How they came to acquire visions and the content of those visions were precisely what one would expect from human physiology/neurology and cultural conditioning. People who bridge cognitive dissonance regarding “spiritual matters” will express similar confidence. Acknowledging and even celebrating intense personal experiences is a significant aspect of life for people of all faith traditions, spiritual persuasions and secular philosophical preferences.

[@aspiringlegend9514]

@@cipherklosenuf9242 What did they do to acquire those visions/how did they acquire them? How is that possible to give oneself a vision? what were the contents of those visions? And do you mind giving me an ELI5 on the cognitive dissonance bridge concept you mentioned?

[@rubber2023]

@@cipherklosenuf9242 There are demonic encounters too. You can tell they are bad if they go against Biblical teaching.

[@IsraelCountryCube]

​@@cipherklosenuf9242"atheist persuasions" how appropriate that is I like the fugly gem on it!

[@papoo9517]

The other day my wife was looking for tartar sauce in the fridge. She didn’t see it and declared we needed to put it on our grocery list. I told her we had some. She continued looking but to no avail. I told her exactly where it was. Still no tartar sauce. I finally got up and went to the fridge and immediately grabbed the tartar sauce and handed it to her. She was obviously embarrassed and said she thought it came in a squeeze bottle…not a jar. Moral of the story. -sometimes no matter how hard you look, you just can’t see things. That’s why other people are important in your life. Also…spend more time in the fridge.

[@SpaceCadet4Jesus]

I have spent more time in the fridge, to my eventual disappointment. Otherwise, my scale shouts "Stay out of the Fridge". 😏

[@thefifthemperor7235]

So what I'm hearing is spend more time in the fridge?

[@moisesfrias1117]

1 Corinth 8:5-6 For even though there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, just as there are many “gods” and many “lords,” 6 there is actually to us one God, the Father Jehovah, from whom all things are and we for him; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things are and we through him.

[@jonathanh761]

You spent too much time on the scale... should have just spent more time in the fridge 😅​@@SpaceCadet4Jesus

[@Ultramagnus-oe6bj]

I've been reading "The Silver Chair" to my kids. There is a scene where the queen of Underland is enchanting Prince Rilian, Jill, Scrubb and Puddleglum to doubt there is a sun, a sky, grass, etc. And she does so quite convincingly. The line that stuck out the most was, "the more enchanted you get, the more certain you feel that you are not enchanted at all." C.S. certainly had a way of expressing certain ideas.

[@Kaemea]

I love that book! Your kids (and you) might really like The Screwtape Letters by Lewis. He uses that way to show how satan fools people into sin.

[@Vulture402]

I wish more people had read that book. I read that story many years ago; and, while I forgot the story, I remembered the lesson.

[@_Kroaken_]

Please never start shying away from the truth for the sake of not offending someone. You're willingness and commitment to the truth wherever it leads you is my favorite thing about listening to your teaching.

[@MHzle734]

As a kid, I always prayed to God to just reveal Himself to me so I could believe and devote my life to Him. I never heard back, saw any signs, nothing. Many years later, as I was reading Matthew on a genuine lark, I felt overwhelmed with conviction over my sin and felt like I had been shattered by a sledgehammer. I have never felt such sorrow, but soon afterward I have never felt such love. Don’t worry about offending non-believers. Only God can change their hearts. Just follow His Word and spread the Gospel.

[@ThinkAboutIt-xr1le]

So, do you believe you were bulletproof in those in-between years because God was undertaking a long process of showing you the truth? Or do you think you're just lucky a bus didn't hit you during that period, whereby you'd now be spending an eternity in hellfire?

[@Jonas-gl9ke]

If only God can change hearts, why doesn’t God change everyone’s heart? Are you a Calvinist?

[@MHzle734]

@@Jonas-gl9ke ”What shall we say then? Is there any unrighteousness with God? May it never be! For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it does not depend on the one who wills or the one who runs, but on God who has mercy.“ ‭‭Romans‬ ‭9‬:‭14‬-‭16‬ ‭LSB‬‬

[@Wmeester1971]

"Just follow His Word and spread the Gospel" And which Gospel would you spread? They are not the same and do contrain errors and contradictions.

[@MHzle734]

@@Wmeester1971 You are a sinner and deserve the righteous wrath and punishment of a Holy God. But by His sovereign mercy and grace, He delivered up His Son to atone for your sin by His blood, if you would believe in Him and obey Him as Lord. ”And Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.“ ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭22‬:‭8‬ ‭LSB‬‬

[@TrePryorRealtor]

Very well said. "You will seek and find me" (when?) "When you seek me with *all* your heart." Jeremiah 29:13

[@moisesfrias1117]

1 Corinth 8:5-6 For even though there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, just as there are many “gods” and many “lords,” 6 there is actually to us one God, the Father Jehovah, from whom all things are and we for him; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things are and we through him.

[@SheepofChrist818]

That’s out of context. That’s for Israel in the Old Testament.

[@TrePryorRealtor]

@@SheepofChrist818 "Come near to God and he will come near to you." James 4:8

[@SheepofChrist818]

@@TrePryorRealtor Once again out of context. That is an admonition for believers.

[@Tacticslion]

“Lord, I believe; help me with my unbelief!”

[@JennieRose8]

Oh, yes! 👏

[@Wmeester1971]

LOL...

[@ichsehsanders]

This works great when youre into word play Logically it can only be one of the above

[@Tacticslion]

@@ichsehsanders Amusing, but not really. Any seeming contradiction is easily resolved when you realize that one can be a choice and the other a feeling. Of course the idea that humans are incapable of experiencing two, even contradictory, sensations or emotions at the same time is trivially disproven-even children’s shows like Daniel Tiger have songs to this effect. And the idea that we must always agree with our own impulses is equally false-“I am at war with myself” is a common enough idiom that displays our propensity for inner conflict. Even our impulses can conflict with themselves, as can our logical conclusions, as “I am of two minds on the matter,” is another common-enough parlance. Effectively, people are messy. Our ability to exist in multiple contradictory states is well established and can happen from multiple different reasons. Does that help?

[@ichsehsanders]

@@Tacticslion Funnily enough i agree with all the example statements you give where seemingly opposing statements are plausible but when it comes to believe your simply wrong. Noboday can choose what he believes We become convinced (or not) for good or bad reasons

[@8bitsloth]

Willful ignorance exists. I've seen people totally ignore an event happening before their eyes. I think we need to remember people will, either through their own will or being manipulated by Satan, will willfully ignore proof of God in all it's forms.

[@rodiusmaximus]

I think there's a cycle that goes with it too. Maybe some tragic event sets it off, or simply observing the depravity and destruction in the world that leads them to disbelief (or the classic 'I hate God, therefore He doesn't exist' type scenario), then they settle on alternate explanations for the universe, and because of their unbelief, they won't even consider anything outside of their new belief system. Something like "if God doesn't exist, then evolution is true" "if evolution is true, then God doesn't exist"

[@totogogocc5526]

Scripture declares, God has a name. Its found in many places in the Bible. May we use it..

[@frqubit]

Gideon fits this description well in the book of Judges.

[@kaymojil7669]

As a teenager a friend of mine once told me she tried to pray once and asked Jesus to reveal himself and he didn’t. I was too young and weak and had no idea what to say. But now I know it was likely she has imagined a specific something would happen… Lord, please pursue Amber. Please give her another chance to see and know you.

[@IsraelCountryCube]

IF. You are close to her and can contact her at all. Definitely do so with ought cowardice. You can tell her yourself. Ask God to give you the courage. BY PRACTICING COURAGE!

[@IsraelCountryCube]

I also stopped asking specific things to God. I just now say broadly to give me answer anything which I can understand.

[@stand4truth607]

With myself, after i was saved, I realized I had a pride issue. So God needed to humble me in order to truly help me seek Him. I believe that's one of the biggest reasons for those asking and not hearing.

[@francoisminnaar397]

I identified as a Christian and prayed fairly often for decades. I was saved and reborn and became a Christian fairly recently only. It happened for me because God called me but personally my pride was the issue. It was always subtle, but it was only once I surrendered and submitted to the gospel that I got saved (I use the word "I" in the loosest possible terms because I contributed nothing to my salvation just so that is clear). Only after being saved could I "see" God. With my eyes opened now I can honestly say that before being saved I was not seeking God or 'seeing' God. If I have to define it I was more seeking validation for my own morality and relying on myself as my own saviour - I think an atheist looking for God is in a very similar position when they 'seek' God - Also if you define yourself an atheist you probably are not as open as you think. For example, I identified as a Christian which meant that I didn't think I needed saving which got in the way of my salvation. For the hypothetical atheist in this scenario you are similarly going into seeking God not believing that you need saving (or that there is a God) which gets in the way of your salvation. I am not explaining this well but I am hoping this helps someone gain some perspective. The thing that almost 100% of people who are not saved believe is that their hearts are pure and trustworthy and that they make mistakes but their hearts are good. I believed that my heart was good and that stopped me from having a relationship with God. Your morality and what you perceive as goodness means nothing compared to the Almighty Glory and Perfection and Holiness of God.

[@IsraelCountryCube]

When crying mentally broken down by horrible life circumstances realizing how misrable I was. Two people were there with me. One man one woman in a car with me.the woman said God made all people good. And people are all good. But they choose evil. She identifies herself as Catholic as I do. But they're influenced by evangelical Protestantism heresey. As was Me. Though when she said "I'm good" I felt depressed and disappointed disillusioned all of a sudden. Because I understood that we're all evil. GOD SAYS "MANS HEART IS WICKED 🖤 BUT WHO CAN KNOW IT?" I know it very deeply. And God KNOWS IT INTIMATELY. And Satan is also aware. In that second I realized she could not help me. I recorded my over 1 hour emotional talk with them. The man being my friend and the woman affiliated with my friend both way older than me. God allowed my foolish human mind to understand Come to me. I didn't listen. My physical body is not willing...but I know my spirit is willing.. I agreed strongly. If I believe I'm good already before and after finding Christianity. Pride is deadly sin that prevents us from TRUE SALVATION! fear mongering gets in the way of Our return to Jesus Christ! Satan literally doesn't get in the way between God and us. It's us also ok Both. But that's why I drag myself to read Bible and pray .so eventually I can pray without being a slug! Amen I AM LITERALLY EVIL! Now I'm not gonna do what ted Bundy did. But in the same circumstances most possibly. So I pray God lead me not in temptation! Chain Satan in hell and send your archangel saint Michael in YahWehs name amen! Humans are complex..that's why it's pointless arguing anywhere........

[@ronnychristenjoyer6778]

Yeah humans aren't as good as they make themselves out to be. I also noticed that people are quick to judge the moral failings of others, and are equally quick to rationalize and explain away their own moral failures. Another thing, atheists love to position themselves as the rational ones (I used to be like that), and yet, their rejection is irrational and rather emotional, bitter and mocking and arguments only serve as weapons, rather than tools of unearthing the truth.

[@sorenpx]

If you prayed before, I have to think you believed. No one prays to a being that that they don't think exists.

[@tomtemple69]

Yeah, Calvinism is true 😏

[@silence19999]

@@sorenpx I also prayed before I was a true believer.

[@justdoinmything]

I've been struggling with my faith just the last few days. All I know is I keep praying I believe God is there and He will get me through this storm.

[@sarahfaith316]

I’m sorry to hear you’re struggling. Here is a video on doubt that I hope will help: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKK1ioN3fth3h9Usi=RU4YviCm95U6T9Ju

[@IndyB23]

What kind of struggles do you have, if you don't mind me asking? Are there specific questions that occupy you, for example?

[@moisesfrias1117]

1 Corinth 8:5-6 For even though there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, just as there are many “gods” and many “lords,” 6 there is actually to us one God, the Father Jehovah, from whom all things are and we for him; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things are and we through him.

[@bradmorris5797]

Self-deception is powerful. Aside from getting us what we want, it cloaks us with the illusion that we are right. Even as a Believer, I all too often deceive myself into doing things I should not, saying things I should not, thinking things I should not...even though exploring those thoughts and actions deeper would eventually reveal to me that I was wrong. It's entirely natural that an atheist says to himself, "I seek, but I do not find" just like it is natural for me to say "I tried my hardest, but I failed" when I didn't even know at the time what my hardest even was.

[@moisesfrias1117]

1 Corinth 8:5-6 For even though there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, just as there are many “gods” and many “lords,” 6 there is actually to us one God, the Father Jehovah, from whom all things are and we for him; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things are and we through him.

[@carternorton2682]

I’ve always wanted to ask to people who believe they’re seeking God, what is it that you’re seeking? A feeling, your idea of God, a supernatural revelation like Paul? I don’t think we should use our own failed expectations of what we thought finding God would be like to justify His non-existence

[@horridhenry9920]

How do you explain that billions of theists believe they have found God. It’s just not your God,

[@omnikevlar2338]

A relationship with God and that's not a delusion like it was previously.

[@counterpoiseag6068]

Truth. That’s what non-believers are seeking. Truth that is verifiable, simple, and applicable to all. Truth that does not require apologetics.

[@StageWatcher]

@@horridhenry9920 Paul addressed that in Romans 1.

[@omnikevlar2338]

@@StageWatcher Taking advice from someone who supposedly had Jesus appear to him on the topic of faith isn't helpful. Its easy to tell people to believe when you've had Jesus appear to you. So I can't take advice from someone who believed after seeing.

[@Basicallybiblical116]

One of my favorite things about you and this ministry all together is your heart Mike. You can see how genuine you are and you can see the heart you have for people who are far from God. Love you brother, and appreciate everything you do. You're ministry has been a great blessing to me as I try to find my own path with this as well.

[@davidfiler7439]

Yep, genuinely wrong in every way.

[@Basicallybiblical116]

@@davidfiler7439 spend a lot of time scanning the comments to find some way to attempt to troll Mike and the fans of his teaching? I guess at least you're hearing some solid biblical teaching while you're doing so. If you don't already know God I pray you find him, If you do I pray that your relationship with him grows even deeper! God Bless!

[@davidfiler7439]

I think you missed the point. I simply enjoy treating liars for the baby jesus with the disrespect they so richly deserve. It's an excellent method to help skip over irritating ads during sporting events. @@Basicallybiblical116

[@salserokorsou]

One disgusting thing is his dishonesty. Really ugly.

[@moisesfrias1117]

1 Corinth 8:5-6 For even though there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, just as there are many “gods” and many “lords,” 6 there is actually to us one God, the Father Jehovah, from whom all things are and we for him; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things are and we through him.

[@susandavis5833]

I was happily living my life thinking I was saved but knowing I could be a better Christian. Something happened that made me think God has stopped having my back. A small tragedy that got my attention and made seek a true walk. I was seeking whole heartedly and I found a collection of videos by Chuck Missler called learn the Bible in 24 hours. Chuck's teaching methods and wealth of biblical as well as historical knowledge blew my mind. It really helped me see the Bible as s true trustworthy source and see God in a way I hadn't before.

[@amandablakely7702]

Thanks, I needed something like this. Just started listening. 😊

[@calebgeary3890]

I think you described Alex O'Connor well. He claims the non-resistant position, but has made an entire KZbinr empire promoting rationalism/skepticism in opposition to religion, namely Christianity. When I first saw that clip floating around of him in a debate talking about this argument, that smelt off.

[@SpaceCadet4Jesus]

In agreement, Alex O'Connor isn't taking a non-resistant position, no matter what he says. His actions speak volumes in opposition. Nobody who is non-resistant is taking the time, energy and money Alex spends on discouraging and belittling people from faith. If God doesn't exist, then Alex is spending his life chasing the wind (by discouraging other seekers of God). Plenty of people have found God after searching for him, should he exist. I was brought up strictly secular and agnostic and didn't even know John 3:16 by the age of 19. I wouldn't have known a bible verse had you slapped me in the face with one. Rather, God reveals himself when he knows our hearts are ready and Alex has never proven that to God and based on his actions, Alex seems to move further from that point of decision.

[@epik2244]

He has the right to criticize, just as Mike has the right to as well. Both can claim a non-resistant position, but both also have the right to have a voice.

[@calebgeary3890]

@@epik2244 Nobody is denying a right to criticize. But don't say you're non-resistant when in reality you actually strongly disagree and are opposed to key tenants. That's like saying, "I'm not opposed to marrying you, but I don't want to marry you and here's why." See how non-sensical that sounds? That's what O'Connor sounds like. And that's what Winger would sound like if he became non-resistant to atheism (which he isn't). "Whoever is not with me is against me" - Matthew 12:30

[@wishlist011]

@@calebgeary3890 "That's like saying, "I'm not opposed to marrying you, but I don't want to marry you and here's why."" I think you are confusing desire with a sincere search for what is true. I think Mike Winger is doing the same thing in this video. "Opposed to" and "don't want to" are both referencing a wish or want in your example, hence the contradiction. "I don't want to" is having an "opposition to". That's the only reason it is non-sensical. If the comparison is instead between whether I'm doubtful of there being such a thing as marriage and potentially wanting to marry someone if marriage exists then there is no such conflict. I believe Alex sincerely wants to know whether there is such a being as the Christian God but, beyond a wish to know the truth, he doesn't have any particular want or desire that favours this particular answer. Hence his continued criticism of ideas that don't seem to make sense to him. Is your idea of a non-resistant non-believer like Mike Winger's? Someone who (really?!) wants God to be real and whose heart yearns for a particular conclusion? That sounds like a recipe for finding what you wish for rather than what's there to me.

[@calebgeary3890]

@@wishlist011 If Alex didn't have "any want or particular desire that isn't there," then he would not have an entire KZbin channel dedicated to arguing against it. Our disagreement boils down to how charitable you are to Alex. I'm much less charitable, and that's because I've followed him for years. I believe Alex has not approached seeking God with a right heart. That doesn't mean there's not a category of someone in the process of searching, let alone someone doubting their faith for a season. Cornelius didn't know Christ instantly and it was a journey, though not existentially (Acts 10). I just don't see Alex in that category, and find his claims to be so disingenuous.

[@lanetaglio]

TY for being sincere Mike.

[@one-step-at-a-time-curiosity]

I love how respectful you are explaining this.

[@callingallhandsondeck]

Mike, that was well explained. Personally for me, when I attended college I had a lot of ah ha/light bulb moments. The more I learned about the natural world & the universe the more convinced I was that there is a Creator. Usually in college it's the other way around but no way did all of this & us just happen so perfectly. When a person learns about the intricacies of the human body, flowers, animals, trees, insects, planets, stars it's really amazing. Years ago, I came up with the saying "Nature = Evidence of God". I'm still using it.

[@johnhammond6423]

Your just using the argument from complexity fallacy here my friend.

[@CrystalNinja07]

@@johnhammond6423Hi John. How is it that we are so intricate in our cellular structure yet our greatest desire and biggest need is to be loved? Everything points to a "someone" who designed us. When you visit a natural landmark, like a mountain range and you get that feeling of being really small...it's because you are really small. Something powerful made all that see. It's obvious to those who are honest I think, and it's blinding to people who purposely suppress the truth because they don't want anything to do with God. To themselves, they are god. The amount of faith required to say that this world is meaningless and accidental is MUCH MORE than believing there is an intentional design and designer.

[@jayonly3568]

This the problem I have. I don’t want to go through nature to get to God. I want to be able to speak to God or an angel. I just don’t understand believing in a God I can’t even communicate with. I want to find God through God. Not through his creation

[@johnhammond6423]

@@CrystalNinja07 _'How is it that we are so intricate in our cellular structure'_ The natural evolution of species [Darwinian evolution] explains that perfectly. _'biggest need is to be loved?'_ Yes, and many other species show love not just us homo sapiens. _'Everything points to a "someone" who designed us'_ Yes, it does seem that way. But we know better now thanks to modern science and evolution. _'It's obvious to those who are honest I think'_ Are you saying because I am an atheist I am somehow dishonest? [no offence taken my friend but that was a little offensive] _'they don't want anything to do with God'_ I would be more than happy to believe in a God if there were any good testible verifiable evidence for a God. Almost all atheists are atheist because they have found no convincing evidence for a God, not that they don't want a God. Atheism is not faith based as there is no convincing evidence for a God. Its religion that is faith based my friend. Nice talking to you, John.

[@CrystalNinja07]

@@johnhammond6423 Sounds like you've already made up your mind. So I will respect that. I'll just say that I noticed you seem to believe in evolution, which is not verifiable. That requires a certain faith. I've never seen two monkeys mate and produce anything other than a monkey. Same for humans I suppose. If you genuinely wanted to know whether God was real, have you privately asked him in prayer? If not, then perhaps you are happy in your unbelief. John, if Christianity is true, then you are nearing the end of your life here and soon you will meet your maker who will decide your eternal future. If you were wrong about him, just remember, that an eternity is a long time to be wrong. I'm speaking the truth in love here, I hope you can understand. I'll leave it at that.

[@jacobwittmer2479]

Something I’ve been contemplating for quite some time. I’ve heard others go this route and thought the same, the scariest thing in life is that we can lie to ourself Thanks Mike

[@davidfiler7439]

Yep, your entire beliefs are based on ignorance and lies.

[@IsraelCountryCube]

Amen brotha I know it!

[@BFpro156]

thank you for this, God bless you

[@icecoolguita]

Hang in there Mike, we're with you amidst the criticism. We don't struggle against flesh and blood, it's ultimately a Spiritual battle.

[@kriegjaeger]

Amen against the principalities who rule the earth and seem to be working to something.

[@davidfiler7439]

Twaddle.

[@Jonas-gl9ke]

Why speak for everyone? Why not just say, “I’m with you amongst the criticism”?

[@romitsu968]

Confess the Lord Jesus Christ with your mouth and believe in your heart that He died for your sins on the cross and God raised Him from the dead on the third day; repent of your sins and be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit!

[@johnhammond6423]

And what did that have to do with Mikes video?

[@robrmartin9369]

Agrreed!!! PRAY for them...

[@jayonly3568]

Didn’t work… baptized twice and had the Holy Ghost “prayed”into me. Nothing.

[@mikec.6687]

Hey just curious what did you think would happen?

[@cc3775]

Who raised Jesus from the dead?

[@micktoss]

Nice shirt Mike ;) The video was great too

[@jonathanjoseph88joseph10]

Amen! Praise the lord! ❤❤

[@adamvano3459]

A lot of the time the problem is (of course) in that very attitude of ours - that we think it is WE who are supposed to seek intensely. But this way we end up putting our attention onto us, our efforts, our quest to find God. That is why He cant meet us. But those who perservere and are able to let go of their stubborness come to see that it is God who seeks and finds us. And we are simple to open doors for Him to enter us. That instead of seeking we just need to let ourselves be found. And eventually it is shown to us that in a mysterious way maybe even the decision to let go of our stubborness was granted to us by His Grace and not of us. Bishop Barron has a great sermon on this great mistake we all often make. May God find us all♡

[@TicketToRide-dj4vk]

YOU: And we are simple to open doors for Him to enter us. That instead of seeking we just need to let ourselves be found. *ME: Barron is deceiving people by contradicting the Apostle/Bible -- Hebrews 11:6:* "But without faith {it is} impossible to please {Him}; for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and He is a rewarder of the that DILIGENTLY SEEK Him." Acts 17:27 "That they should SEEK the Lord, if haply they might search for/feel after Him, and FIND Him, though He be not far from every one of us." Barron is part of the same group of men in Rome that now say its okay with GOD to bless the SIN of homosexual unions -- that's called heresy and blasphemy. Barron and the rest are working hard to get GOD's people to move as far away from GOD as possible.....

[@wethepeoplegh]

The intention behind pursuing God really matters a lot. Especially if you want an encounter with Him.

[@jayonly3568]

If you were raised in the church how can you seek God with bad intention. I was baptized twice. Recommitted to God. I literally never even questioned if there was a God until I was like 16 when I realized wait this God has never spoken to me. I am following a God I cannot communicate with. EVEN THEN i spent about 2-3 more years seeking him. But a God I can’t talk to. I just can’t get with that.

[@HokageFlete]

It's called cultural Christianity; not biblical genuine Christianity. Was always around church/christian school, yet was never saved. It was only when I realised im a sinner and needed God. I then trusted/had faith in romans 10:9 John 3:36 and ephesians 2:8-9....But it all started with John 14:6.@@jayonly3568

[@wethepeoplegh]

@@jayonly3568 Can it also be possible that God probably spoke to you in other ways other than literally speaking with you? Could be as simple as a discussion with a family member, a co worker, a teacher or even an ad on the TV. God speaks to us in many ways we often do not see unless the Holy Spirit prompts us.

[@ThinkAboutIt-xr1le]

Why?

[@kensey007]

I am a nonbeliever, amd Mike's response is not offensive. I understand his commitment to scripture. It is offensive when some Christians deny what I tell them about my own state of mind. That kind of argument is also just really ineffective because I know what is in my own mind better than someone else.

[@jerronlinck5325]

Thanks for the respect lots of other non believers aren’t, I hope your ok with all Christians praying for you and your relationship with Jesus, I respectfully challenge you to read the 4 gospels Mathew, mark, Luke and John then do outside research it’s not to hard to find the surviving Roman court documents confirming Jesus and his death and that his body was missing at the end of 3 days never to be found by anyone to date then assess if you can trust Jesus claim using all your research either way I respect your right to choose, either way I hope nothing but the best

[@kensey007]

@jerronlinck5325 I have read the Gospels. Indeed, that is one thing that turned me away from Christianity. I was told the Gospels were independent accounts and, to anyone who reads them, they plainly are not. (At least not Mark, Matthew, Luke.) I'm fine people with praying, but it would be even better if they did so without telling me. Jesus instructs people to pray in private.

[@stevenpeach6971]

You speaking the truth. People have a tendency to play the victim with almost everything. They think it makes them innocent and therefore not to be held accountable. They're engaging and entertaining their sin and not being totally honest with themselves. Why do gay people always say "God made me this way?" Because they don't want to give up their sin. I've seen people try justifying watching pornography, saying God understands me and knows I need this to reduce the stress. Man's heart is incredibly deceptive and wicked, but we don't face it. When you're finally all worn out and at the point where you really want the truth, then progress can be made.

[@TheSilentEntity]

And every time you have ever heard someone speak on the nature of reality and every time you will ever hear someone speak on it, deep in your heart you will hear a voice saying "thats just not the full answer".

[@dillanklapp]

It is frustrating as an atheist when someone tells you seek and you shall find. And then you seek, and don’t find, and you get accused of not seeking properly… sure maybe I am “blind” but how am I supposed to fix that without intervention from God? Paul was persecuting Christian’s when God revealed himself to him. God intervened with Jonah when he was running the opposite direction. But when I seek as genuinely as I am capable of God does not reveal himself? I think I’ve done more than can be expected, more than most Christians, and more than some Bible characters. If god exists and that’s not enough for him I don’t think there’s anything else I can do or care to do.

[@-TheWordWasGod-]

Hello, take what I say lightly, however I would respond by saying look where you are. Like as of now in the moment that you posted this comment. You’re on a Christian KZbin channel that seeks to help people think about things biblically. Many times we are looking for or expecting God to do either something miraculous or grand for us in the way of either revealing himself or just doing things the way that we think it should be done. While I don’t claim to know what God has or has not done in your life and even what he’s doing right now, but sometimes it’s the small quiet things. You could have been anywhere, had your attention anywhere else, but what if it’s a possibility that God led you here to this specific channel? If you’re genuinely seeking him, I think it could be a definite possibility. I just feel like so many times we can be so fixed on one thing, that we miss what God is actually doing because of premeditated expectations about how we think he should work and what we think he should do. And I can attest that Mike Winger is a man God has gifted in the area of teaching and wisdom on how to apply that teaching to your life. These are just some thoughts, and I will be praying for you. Lord bless you and have a great day!

[@Justyouraverageguy172]

As a Catholic, you are free to either hear and think on my following words or just dismiss them. I was living in sin, darkness, and filth in my soul for 15 years (now I am ages 28 a few weeks ago) with a pornography and masturbation addiction that happened everyday. I never sought God and tried quitting using my own will, pride and power. I was only quit when I finally just broke down and had enough and cried out with my entire being in tears for God to come into me and save me with the next day after that being the first time I don’t automatically succumb to the addictions. I mention this because here’s the lesson when God delivered me last year at Easter. God does want to meet us and and draw closer but if the disposition of our hearts are impure, prideful, arrogant, and self centered, then this leaves no room for God to come in and have fellowship with us. Last June after abstinence from my past chronic sins and recovery, Jesus appeared to me on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in June. I was praying to God to make me pure and clean including my heart but never to see him. Thus Jesus true to his word spoke to me “Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God.” The vision was of myself naked and ashamed in deep darkness showing my entire life so far and past sins up to the current point. I was sorrowful, regretful, and in pain over the things I had done and the good things I could have done but now died is what I was thinking. I was so sorrowful that I walked for this narrow hallway and through this tight door to be blinded by this piercing, white, bright, dazzling light to which I knew I didn’t not belong because of my impurity and evil. Yet I was immediately clothed in white and welcomed into that calm beautiful place after that thought. I saw a man waving me over calling me his friend, and I didn’t know it was Jesus showing me His glory and God’s in Heaven until he spoke to me about marriage and the Resurrection. He spoke the words to me when he told off the Sadducees. “Blessed are the more of heart for they shall see God. Your sister is looking for you to which you are wrong about marriage and doubting the Resurrection in your heart.” You have to read Mark 12:1-18 to know what I am saying but God speaks all the time but we don’t listen and doubt him which makes it hard to hear and see him.

[@dillanklapp]

@@Justyouraverageguy172 thank you for your thoughtful and personal response. Breaking down and crying out to God is something I was very familiar with. Snot in the carpet, and carpet burn on my face type crying out to God. At this point in my life, the conclusion I’ve come to is that religious experience has more to do with different people’s psychological constitution, not a God who is selectively hiding from some people and revealing himself to others. For some people it just clicks, they have an emotional break through and all the sudden Islam, or Mormonism, or Christianity feels real to them. I don’t think there is some God unfairly hiding from me or being cruel and punishing me. I just think different religions click for different people. And some people just have to move on and see the world for what it is. I’m still open to being wrong, and wouldn’t resist God if he wanted to show up in my life. But I’m not actively searching for relationship with the Christian God anymore than you are actively trying to develop a relationship with the God of Islam.

[@AlexShatterstar89]

Hello there Dillan, I think I understand you pretty well as I've had friends that had your same experience of "seeking" and not "finding" God. It's true that "seek, and you will find", but how you do the seeking is important as well. If you seek to find a coin on a dark large basement, but with no lights, it will be nearly impossible to find it, isn't it? I don't know you, your heart and intentions, and your path in seeking for God, all I'm trying to do is to show you is that there are reasonable explanations other than "well I didn't find anything so I suppose God is not real and Christianity is false", and that it is possible to be genuinely and sincerely mistaken and wrong in our pursuit of God and truth, and it can happen to anyone! If you really care about truth, you will eventually find Jesus, both intellectually and spiritually. The question I have for you is this: are you willing to humble yourself and submit to God? Are you willing to sacrifice and give up all, to follow Jesus? As a side note, the biblical examples you gave are not really analogous to the situation of the "non-resistant non believer": Jonah decided to disobey God fully knowing that He is the one true God; Paul believed in the one true God and was persecuting christians convinced that he was serving God and he was doing a righteous deed, until Jesus revealed Himself to him. So none of these characters "disbelieved" in God, they only had wrong motives or intentions :) God bless you!

[@dillanklapp]

@@-TheWordWasGod- thank you for taking the time to respond in a respectful and personal way. When I have cried out to God in the past I definitely was not expecting a miracle or anything specific or unreasonable. I just wanted him to help change my mind or give me direct knowledge of his existence however he saw fit. I appreciate the idea that maybe God is in the little things in life. But these are the types of comments I would get from Muslim and Mormon channels as well when I watch their content. “Look where you are, watching Islamic content, you are on the right path.” “If you keep search earnestly with an open heart, and growing your faith you will eventually see Mormonism is true.” I don’t find much evidential value when Mormons or Muslims make those same points, so unfortunately it doesn’t impact me much when Christian say the same thing.

[@Wertbag99]

I was never sure why being "non-resistant" was a requirement? Why our bias or sins should matter. After all it is God we are speaking of, there should be nothing a mortal could do to block Him if He wants us to know Him. If He wanted the world to know Him then everyone would. Paul is the obvious example, a guy who was not actively seeking and quite anti-Christian, and yet was convinced. We are the ones with limited power to make this relationship a reality, while God has no such limitations.

[@merlinator11]

Agree. I can't say I was truelly seeking when God removed my blindness and I'm thoroughly convinced I didn't deserve it either. This is why I fall more on the calvinistic side. God chooses. The who and why are just things we may never know. Sometimes we(myself included) sound really entitled when we expect God to reveal himself to us. We've done NOTHING to deserve that honour.

[@cipherklosenuf9242]

@@merlinator11 Very well … you were chosen and others who weren’t must suffer and they have only themselves to blame for being born … or is God involved in conception? How is God involved in miscarriage? A God who knows who will be chosen is still considered just and loving though it permits people who are doomed to be born, live in sin a little while then be tormented forever. Does that fairly summarize your supernatural beliefs?

[@Wertbag99]

@@merlinator11 Yes, quite right. It is the people who put forward the common position that God wants a relationship with everyone universally, so when He doesn't have it then this problem arises. If there is any kind of selection criteria, whether we know it or not, then the problem goes away. Consider the total population of the world, there are ~2 billion Christians out of ~8 billion people, so only 25% of people have been convinced of Christianity. Not a great total if God is actively trying to convince everyone that He is part of their lives.

[@essequamvideri]

when John's disciples approached Jesus after John acknowledged His holiness in front of them, and they approached Jesus... He said, "what are you looking for?" Many people feel like they never find the God they created in their own mind, instead of seeking Jesus as He is, and as He has made Himself known. God will speak into your life in a way YOU can perceive, like He did with Samuel sleeping in the temple. But sometimes, in our limited understanding, we respond to what we think we see or hear, like Samuel did... And it took Eli, a mentor- someone with wisdom & faith, to help Samuel understand and process the way God was speaking to him, and then respond in an open and transformative way. like the Magi- seek truth, not just validation of your own perceptions & biases, and the search will lead to The Truth, and He has a name: Jesus. 🙏🇺🇲🙏🌏

[@hannahseale9954]

I searched for God for years, genuinely reading, going to church & even dabbling with o the beliefs systems trying to done the truth. It was not until I was truly broken & at the of my road searching, that in was actually willing to be wrong about everything I believed in - that I got saved. Don’t get discouraged! He does listen! Christianity is a relationship & sometimes we just aren’t ready for Him to talk back.

[@lmorter7867]

I had a dear friend who was an unbeliever. His wife became a very strong believer early in their marriage and shared the gospel with him and they studied scripture together over many years. He even attended church fairly regularly. He would say that he wanted to believe but he couldn't. I discovered in my many conversations with him about Jesus that his issue was not his inability to believe, it was his pride. He admitted more than a few times that he would not humble himself enough to subit to God or anyone else. I believe he was more than able to believe but he did not want to let go of control of his life. He recently passed away at the age of 89😢

[@megantuttle5406]

Good for him! Glad he was able to stay true to himself and he sounds like he was a great person. I wouldn’t say it was pride though that kept him from changing his mind. My guess is he just realized that starting with the conclusion and finding the evidence that supports the conclusion will more likely lead to false beliefs vs evaluate all the evidence and let the evidence determine the best conclusion. He probably stayed a non-believer because Christianity can’t provide suitable evidence to support its claim.

[@lmorter7867]

@@megantuttle5406 I don't believe it was for lack of evidence. He made it clear that he didn't want to give control of his life to anyone including God.

[@megantuttle5406]

@@lmorter7867 eh I never knew him, but since you called him a non-believer, I can only suspect if he actually thought the religion was true then he would at least be inclined to worshipping. Personally I know I couldn’t worship something I wasn’t sure was true. Worship really should come after belief, the whole fake it til you believe mentality isn’t a good way of finding truth.

[@lmorter7867]

@@megantuttle5406 I agree, fake it till you feel it just doesn't work when it comes to faith.

[@Spriktor]

​@@megantuttle5406so you studied most of thee evidence? Regardless some people will resist no matter how much evidence you give. Denial and pride are strong blindfods

[@counterpoiseag6068]

Mike - lovingly - would you please share your thoughts on whether choosing to believe is a bias? It would greatly assist my journey to hear about how often you ponder the veracity of your convictions (and with that the potential implications of being wrong). Much love and thank you.

[@Yipper64]

Well at that point it depends on what you mean by bias. Choosing to believe in an of itself isn't objectively biased, it's not biased to believe what is true, right? However compared to the world it does cause a bias due to that worldview.

[@Zomfoo]

Much of the time they aren’t seeking God, but a feeling.

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Hey Mike, I made a response video to your original divine hiddenness problem video a few months ago. Seeing as you are broaching the topic again, i wonder if you would be open to a friendly and respectful dialogue on the topic?

[@kellyfoster1377]

I've been watching your videos for a little while now and find them very helpful. I have been an atheist for a few decades now but have been attending church and reading the bible these last few months. I am definitely open to being Christian and hope my exploration leads me to become one. I wanted to say something on this video and i guess this is where I am at currently. I have gained a lot more understanding by talking to the people at my church and getting answers to questions I have. I was never someone who hated God or religion, rather my reason for being atheist was simply the lack of belief in God. There are great arguments on both sides and certainly a lot of evidence and archaeological finds to support the bible. But my fear is that even though my mind is agreeing, my heart so far has not. I can't force myself to believe in God so what happens if that belief never finds its way into me? Some atheist are as you described, but what of those of us that want the bible to be true and want there to be a God but we just don't believe? I hope that rambling made sense.

[@lindaguetschow6342]

God is drawing you. Your interest in Christianity is evidence of that. But His timing may not match yours. Be patient. Keep seeking. Keep asking questions. God will reveal himself at exactly the right time. Your life isn't over yet.

[@ronaldlindeman6136]

I don't think Christianity is true. Consider this. Look up where Jesus of Christianity and Disciples did not have to wash before meals. The reason given in the Christian book of stories gives a Religious reason. But why didn't Jesus of Christianity explain microbiology and the value of sanitation, cleanliness, sterilization, in the prevention of illness and diseases? Because the creator of the stories, humans, didn't have that knowledge. Humans can make up stories in the Supernatural, like the stories of Superman, the stories of Spiderman, the stories of Star Trek and Star Wars, with Luke Skywalker, etc.. Jesus does not know about nature and does not know about Science, the process of investigating nature, because Jesus of Christianity is a character in human created stories.

[@D-Roethlisberger]

There is a passage in the Bible where a man tells Jesus, “I believe; help my unbelief.” (Mark‬ ‭9‬:‭24‬). I am a Christian that is having a hard time forgiving and moving past spiritual abuse and accusation/pain I experienced working with a ministry. I have similar thoughts to what you mentioned. I don’t feel like I can force myself to forgive (even though I want to, God forgave me, and commands me to, and I know it would be good for me) and I wonder if that forgiveness will ever just be possible for me. Christ has strong teachings on forgiveness and is THE example of forgiving sin, yet I still struggle. I am not confident in an answer to my predicament, but the apparent similarity in process says to me that our situations might share an answer. The verse I included above has helped me stay in the process instead of disengaging. My brothers, who went through a lot of it too, have either disengaged or renounced God. I often tell God, “I forgive; help my unforgiveness.” I have also said, “I forgive entirely and they owe me nothing,” (and feeling like I meant it) only to go back to despising them when the consequences of everything that went down come up again. There is a dynamic of heart and mind that I haven’t had to face since I first repented and believed, starting living in Christ. Can I force myself to forgive? Can you force yourself to believe? Certainly we have a choice to make but there is likely something God will show us to help us get there. Is it his love? His kindness? Provision? Mercy? Grace? What is the message he is sharing with us from what is revealed from him in the Bible? For myself, I have been starting to think that I have forgotten how much I need forgiveness so I withhold it in my heart towards others. I want to get away with it but I don’t want them to get away with it.

[@ronaldlindeman6136]

@@D-Roethlisberger Miracles, Christian Supernaturalism, and Naturalism. What good are miracles? Superman can do miracles. Superman is a Supernatural Superhero. Spiderman can do miracles. Spiderman is a Supernatural Superhero. Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader can do miracles. Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader are Supernatural Superheroes. The X-men can do miracles. The X-men are Supernatural Superheroes and Supervillains. Here is what prevents the Bubonic Plague from killing people, from Wikipedia; (Bubonic plague outbreaks are controlled by pest control and modern sanitation techniques.) In the years 1347 to 1351, 1/3rd of the population of Europe died to the Bubonic Plague. Parents would have been praying to Jesus of Christianity to protect themselves and their family from harm and children would have prayed to Jesus of Christianity to protect their parents from harm. Did Jesus tell them how to prevent Bubonic Plague when they were praying on how to protect themselves from harm? 1/3rd of the population died. The reason we don't usually have Bubonic Plague around is because of the modern sanitation and pest control. Was that to much for Jesus to explain to the Christians in Europe? So what did the people of Europe need in the years 1347 to 1351? Did Europe need a Supernatural Superhero? Or did Europe need a Naturalism Hero with knowledge of Nature? Most people of any age of humanity can write stories of Gods that can do miracles. The harder part is for people to be able to examine Nature successfully. The Age of Enlightenment writers wrote about ancient Story Gods for the altar and for the throne, rule from both Religion and Government. That is why Age of Enlightenment Philosophers, directed us humans to Nature's God and not human created Story Gods. Thus Thomas Jefferson's "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God." Jesus of Christianity is never a Nature's God.

[@NMemone]

I was raised atheist and had the exact same experience as you. Even a couple of years ago if you had told me I'd believe in Christ someday I'd have thought you were cra zy. I too started going to church and reading the Bible but worried a lot about not finding real faith. I persistently asked Jesus to soften my heart and fortunately He did. I still have doubts sometimes but I feel that's to be expected. I don't have any real advice but just want to let you know you're not alone. I hope you hear that "still, small voice" and find peace.

[@thecatalysm5658]

I totally get cynicism about organized religion. I totally don't get rejecting an intelligent Creator in this incredible world that we live in. Just seeing something as simple and beautiful as a sunrise and seeing and knowing about the majesty of our planet and universe is all I need to know: God is real and deserves worship (proskuneo / shachah), honor, and obedience. I still don't get the overuse and misuse of the word 'worship' in referencing praise to music.

[@Vic-sp4tp]

Amen, well said brother

[@victorcharlie7491]

I was praying, lord the Bible sais ask & you shall receive seek & ye shall find knock an it shall be open, im asking & im seekin thee & im knocking as loud as i can, And boy did he ever show up incredible power out of this world, the Power filled me so much it felt like i was leaving the world, but when i opened my eyes i didn't go anywhere, but i sure do know now exactly what 1st Corinthians ch 2 vs 5 means! But he didn't have to do all that i was just looking for guidance cause i already Believed, but i sure am thankful he did!

[@Spriktor]

What does it mean?

[@superquad7]

I'd definitely like to see a sit down with you and Alex O'Connor, as this is his very claim that he's earnestly sought God and could not find Him.

[@jncon8013]

He’s actually already done a video in response to this you can check it out!

[@superquad7]

@@jncon8013 link?

[@TurinTuramber]

Alex will be brilliant but very quickly Mike will have to invoke a big jump in logic and rationality. You cannot have a meaningful conversation if one person can make ungrounded statement or use emotional appeals for suppositions.

[@jncon8013]

@@superquad7 I have replied to you twice now and they have both disappeared. This will be my third and last attempt lol. I was mistakenly thinking of Dr. Ortlund on the channel truth unites. He has a video response to Alex called Divine Hiddenness

[@nunayobidness7217]

When my non-believer brother once told me that he'd prayed for God to show him the truth, etc. and there was no answer. I told him that I am an answer to that prayer. I've been trying to tell him the gospel for decades. Regarding our atheist poster finding all this unsatisfactory, there are may of us Xns that have been there, done that. To qoute an old Andre Crouch song, "I didn't think it could be 'til it happened to me./And you'll never know that it's true until it happens to you." As Mike has said, if you seek God, you'll find Him. He's not hidden, but waiting and urging you to learn about Him. And this Xn life is very satisfactory. If you actually listen to good teaching like Mike and read and study the Bible, that's a clue that you're probably being drawn to God by God. Looking forward to when you finally decide.

[@jayonly3568]

That’s my problem. You can only get to God through man. Your brother prayed to a God for a sign and the answer he sent was ….another human? What’s super natural about that!?

[@philipmitchener28]

He does this to humble us. When we think that God should have done something our way, the way we think He should have done it, it shows that we have pride. God exposes our pride by constantly doing things that subvert our expectations of how He should operate. In other words, God exposes the false idols we have of Him, while also exposing exactly who He is and how He really operates.

[@Jessica_Jones]

​@@jayonly3568 for those truly seeking (and even for Christians when seeking answers in faith and in life), God _does_ speak supernaturally, it simply isn't in any loud way. I've heard a number of testimonies about perfectly timed series of events that spoke to a silent prayer, or of ordinary encounters with other people that directly address some unspoken prayer or even spoken prejudice about existence. I even know someone who got to rethinking about a higher power because of a few near misses that happened in close succession. God speaks uniquely to each person, and at all the right moments...sometimes it simply takes more time for things to click.

[@davidfiler7439]

Keep it up chum, you are doing more for atheism than you will ever know.@@philipmitchener28

[@ThinkAboutIt-xr1le]

But your brother was never going to take your word for it and surely God knew that. Why would God send an insufficient sign?

[@suzum.9713]

Excellent, thankyou!

[@billsherman1565]

This is 200% the hardest argument to answer, it was what made me leave

[@georgecataloni4720]

I think it's very foolish to believe without first being skeptical. When I go out to find out if a claim is true, I do so with an open mind, but also a skeptical hesitance. If not the former, I'd find nothing new. If not the latter, I'd believe things that weren't true.

[@Krikenemp18]

And Christianity claims that there is someone actively trying to deceive us, so it should be God's will (if he exists and is good) that we be skeptical of everything so we don't fall for it. It's strange, then, that if the bible says anything about being skeptical, it's to tell us *don't.* Sounds like something that would benefit a deceptive agent more than an honest one...

[@bradmorris5797]

Jesus seems to place a lot of value in the faith that is child-like. It makes sense to be a cynic of things and ideas of the world, because such ideas are illusory and unreal and full of evil. God has placed an intuition in your heart _beyond the reach of man_ that the world is wrong, and more importantly, that something is out of place within you. This intuition identifies with absolute moral truth and a desire for goodness and hope. If such things exist, they are real things. They don't need to be vetted with the same sort of default cynicism. If it exists within you, it should be believed in as a child believes. If not, then there's nothing to doubt, anyway.

[@georgecataloni4720]

@@bradmorris5797 It's not, but there is something to doubt. It's the claims of people that seem to know what's in my heart.

[@Krikenemp18]

@@bradmorris5797 I don't have that intuition, and when people tell me I have it when my experience is not having it, I can only feel suspicion that they want me to not question something for their gain and/or my loss. Because from my perspective, they could still be having faith in the world, not something beyond it. Let me put it this way. What would be your response from someone of a different faith telling you the same thing but with belief toward their God? To them, that's not having faith in the world, but to you it probably is because you probably believe they are mistaken about their God. Now put yourself in an atheist's shoes who feels the exact same thing towards your God, and tell me why that should change our minds when it doesn't change yours - that you're not being biased when you say this.

[@bradmorris5797]

​I am claiming a doctrine that reveals that God knows what he's placed in each heart. Jesus claims to know what is in your heart, not people. Holding this claim against the people who tell you is sort of a deflection - I expect it's a bit easier to consider me arrogant than to deal with the issue as a scriptural one. In any case, I accept that this teaching is confrontational, and I don't plan on pushing my luck any further on the matter. If Christians sound arrogant to you when they tell you what I just told you, try to remember your real contention is with scripture, not other Christians.

[@jayonly3568]

Long post but it’s on my heart today: Former Christian current Atheist here. Big fan of your videos. Even though I don’t believe I love your earnest approach to your religion and your attempt to really understand God through his word. It’s crazy how many preachers don’t preach the actual Bible. They are more like a life coach. So your focus on the Bible and the tough questions that most pastors shy away from is refreshing. My issue with this logic you are presenting today is that it requires me to go through man to find God which I have a problem with. Jewish people, Islamic people, and Christians all believe in the same God of Adam. They all have prophets who said they spoke to the same God. But they have different rules on how to obey God and gain access to heaven. How do I know which religion to pick if God is not speaking to me directly or giving me any feeling? I am one of those who was raised in church, tried earnestly to seek God in high school, and never heard anything. Pastors have tried to pray the Holy Ghost into me. Nothing worked. Hoping one day if God is real he or an angel speaks to me directly because at this point that’s the only way I see me converting back. Love your work Mike and just figured this was a good post for atheists to post how they feel

[@princybella5386]

You don't find GOD He finds you! You trusting in man and religion will get you nowhere! And he,ll show you in His word And GOD gives you his SPIRIT not man .

[@Justyouraverageguy172]

As a Catholic, you are free to either hear and think on my following words or just dismiss them. I was living in sin, darkness, and filth in my soul for 15 years (now I am ages 28 a few weeks ago) with a pornography and masturbation addiction that happened everyday. I never sought God and tried quitting using my own will, pride and power. I was only quit when I finally just broke down and had enough and cried out with my entire being in tears for God to come into me and save me with the next day after that being the first time I don’t automatically succumb to the addictions. I mention this because here’s the lesson when God delivered me last year at Easter. God does want to meet us and and draw closer but if the disposition of our hearts are impure, prideful, arrogant, and self centered, then this leaves no room for God to come in and have fellowship with us. Last June after abstinence from my past chronic sins and recovery, Jesus appeared to me on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in June. I was praying to God to make me pure and clean including my heart but never to see him. Thus Jesus true to his word spoke to me “Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God.” The vision was of myself naked and ashamed in deep darkness showing my entire life so far and past sins up to the current point. I was sorrowful, regretful, and in pain over the things I had done and the good things I could have done but now died is what I was thinking. I was so sorrowful that I walked for this narrow hallway and through this tight door to be blinded by this piercing, white, bright, dazzling light to which I knew I didn’t not belong because of my impurity and evil. Yet I was immediately clothed in white and welcomed into that calm beautiful place after that thought. I saw a man waving me over calling me his friend, and I didn’t know it was Jesus showing me His glory and God’s in Heaven until he spoke to me about marriage and the Resurrection. He spoke the words to me when he told off the Sadducees. “Blessed are the more of heart for they shall see God. Your sister is looking for you to which you are wrong about marriage and doubting the Resurrection in your heart.” You have to read Mark 12:1-18 to know what I am saying but God speaks all the time but we don’t listen and doubt him which makes it hard to hear and see him.

[@OnTheThirdDay]

I am not sure how familiar you are with Islam, but Muslims do NOT believe in the same God. Just like Abraham Lincoln and Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer are not the same Abraham Lincoln. Islam rewrites history for its own ideosyncratic relgious beliefs, denying the truth of what Jews and Christians believe while affirming it elsewhere. Islam only superficially is connected to the prior religions. The more I have learned about Islam, the less impressed I was with it as a continuation of Christianity or even Judaism. About Judaism vs Christianity, I don't think that the video's point about atheists really distinguishes between these two. They both believe in a creator God (and before and after Jesus there were Jews who even believed in a version of the divinity of the messiah. Modern Judaism is one version of Judaism that was roughly around back then but there were others.) Moreover, many Jewish Christians were still living with and attending synagogue with non-Christian jews for decades after the Bible ended. There were political divisions and religious divisions that ultimately led to their separation.

[@railwayjade]

Faith comes from hearing and hearing comes from God's Word. No pastor can pray the Holy Spirit into you, God decides to reveal Himself. You cannot trust feelings - you must trust your mind, it says in the Bible we have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. All the religions you mention have the prophets etc., but Christianity is the only religion where God Himself came down to earth to feel and experience what we do. That is insanity, why would God do that? It is amazing! A lot of these religions have contradictions that when people try to explain them away, they make less or no sense. I will tell you that something very hard for me to understand is the Trinity, but I have learned to be ok with not understanding it. Some things are beyond my comprehension and that it is ok, something does not need my understanding to be valid/true. Something also interesting to me about Christianity is that there is nothing you or I can do to get to heaven, it is a free gift - the other religions require you to perform deeds, etc. One day when we are in the new heavens and earth, we will praise God because he had mercy on us. Sorry for the long comment, but yeah, just read the Bible because that is God's word to us and pray and I would say do not rush things. lastly, remember that being a Christian does not mean your life will all of a sudden become easy and everything plain sailing. Its never promised to us. Good luck

[@thelastadmin9272]

I'd like to present this in turn. In order for us to understand God, He has to help us grasp portions of who He is. We are not great enough or capable enough of, on our own, knowing even a portion of God's nature or character. As the finite cannot comprehend the infinite. To assist us in our understanding, God speaks through Men (and women) at different times. As the Book of Hebrews says. ‭Hebrews‬ ‭1:1‭-‬2‬ "[1] Long ago God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways. [2] In these last days, He has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed Him heir of all things and made the universe through Him." Alongside His Divine Accommodation or Condensation, the principle that "God, while being in His nature unknowable and unreachable, has nevertheless communicated with humanity in a way that humans can understand and to which they can respond, pre-eminently by the incarnation of Christ and similarly, for example, in the Bible." In revealing His Nature and Character, we find an answer to both questions and arguments you present. We can know that God is All Knowing, Eternal, Speaks of what is to come, cannot lie, altogether Holy, righteous, and true. So what He reveals of His nature and Character must be eternal in scope and never changing. As the book of numbers shows, ‭ Numbers‬ ‭23:19‬ "[19] God is not a man, that he might lie, or a son of man, that he might change his mind. Does he speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?" Judaism and Christianity do hold to belief in the same God. But God must fulfill His promises according to His character, in the time and way He spoke they would come. A study through the messianic prophecies reveals Jesus must have been the messiah. A study of the revealed Character and Nature of God, who doesn't change. In comparison to the Islamic faith. Reveals too many inconsistencies in the God of scripture and Allah in the Quran. By holding a high view of God. We keep ourselves from being trapped in this thought that God has to speak to us directly. Rather we should look to what He has revealed of Himself. Then compare that to the Creation around us and use that to determine who speaks truth. As Romans says, ‭Romans‬ ‭1:19‭-‬20‬ "[19] since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. [20] For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse." So creation itself is an opportunity to understand God's nature and character as well. Especially in light of the fall. When we look to creation to understand God, we must also recognize through the conscience we've been given. Literally His Law on our hearts, ‭Romans‬ ‭2:15‭-‬16‬ "[15] They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts. Their consciences confirm this. Their competing thoughts either accuse or even excuse them [16] on the day when God judges what people have kept secret, according to my gospel through Christ Jesus." Where things are wrong, evil, and defiled. Things such as sickness, death, and creation slowly degrading. Then taking that information, compare it to God's revealed character and nature and determine if He and His word is true. Peace and grace to you and I wish you the best as you continue to study on this.

[@YouTw1tFace]

I was an atheist for 39 years. It took me that long to find God, Jesus, and get baptized. It is possible.

[@eljefe8149]

I pray for myself and others that God would give me faith, truth, wisdom, salvation, strength for the day and a clean heart. It's sometimes surprising to see that after praying this I will often notice changes in the people's lives that I prayed for.

[@ferventheat]

Often God doesn't reveal himself on our timescale, but hes never late. Sometimes we're just not ready for the truth, as believers or unbelievers. Seeking God is way more than just searching for the evidence of and for (a) God, but a true soul search in humility where theres always some doubt and unknown, yet we can know in ourselves that the God of the bible is real, and we sure can sense our own judgement before a holy God. Not that we should ever delay in seeking Him. It took thousands of years for Jesus to finally arrive (Luke 2v25,26)

[@johnhammond6423]

_'Often God doesn't reveal himself on our timescale'_ Well I am an 80 year old atheist so he had better get a move on!

[@Lorkisen]

​@johnhammond6423 What does seeking mean to you? I was an atheist and when I was seeking I sought the strongest arguments I could find for Christianity or at least tested my objections. 1. Jesus was not a real historical figure. 2. The Bible was written centuries after Jesus Etc. I went through philosophical arguments, archeological evidence, then read the Bible. And once I got past the rational objections, I got stuck on my own willfullness, I didn't want to be restricted, one I wanted my "freedom", and two, I thought I could never live up to the standard set by Jesus. I talked to believers and sincerely engaged to get my concerns answered. Chose a church that was serious about the Bible, talked with the pastor, etc.

[@johnhammond6423]

@@Lorkisen Lets cut to the chase here........... There is no good testible verifiable evidence for any God or anything supernatural.....none! Think I am wrong? Then please give me any real evidence my friend.

[@ferventheat]

@@johnhammond6423 or put another way, time is running out for you. God has no obligation to make it easy for you to find him. Proverbs 2 all of it, but particularly verses 3 to 5. Silver, gold, precious gems, even coal and oil are most often deposited deep underground and take much effort to seek and to extract. Yet it doesn't have to be this way if we chose to sensitise ourselves to tie world around us, it's pain, sufferings, hopes, desire for eternity (ecclesiastes 3v11), our sense of justice and inequality, the misery of death and loss and destruction; we should also ask God to open our eyes, ears and senses to what He reveals to every person (Romans 1 v16-32) so everyone is without excuse , as Mike talks about. If you died today you would have no reason or excuse to excuse you from God's dealing as he so chooses with you. Yet God is not willing for you to perish but come to the knowledge of God. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. God is being patient with you. I encourage you to be thankful for that, or even verbalise it even if you cannot believe it yet. Perhaps it's time to consider that patience and wait for His revealing of himself to you: be it through creation, a child's birth, a sunset, divine revelation, God's word or any means necessary to reach your heart. God bless you for talking. P.s. I heard recently of a friend's relative who gave his life to the Lord at the age of 94. Nothing is impossible with God 🙂

[@kriegjaeger]

​@Lorkisen If there an omnipotent omniscient timeless Father be willing to submit to him and let your old self be put to the cross. Following Jesus means suffering and the death of your old self. What many refer to as "born again" which is from Christ's own teaching of a pharisee, the academic elite of his time that you must be born again in the spirit to be saved. You must be willing to put aside your pride, presuppositions and ask him to help you no matter what it means to who you are now. It's not like a voice descends from heaven to tell you that your his now, but looking back at that moment I've changed more in two years then my last 30. The old self is dead and I am a new creation in the spirit.

[@silence2314]

The ketchup bottle metaphor strikes me far harder than it really should, for being such a silly comparison. But it's true! We've all had those times where we are looking for something that we know is there, and yet even with it right in front of our face, we fail to see it. At those times the smarter thing to do is almost always ask somebody else to help look, or to just look later with a fresh mind. Unfortunately, its very tempting to just assume your own first perceptions are true instead. Saying "I've been told the promise of Christ, and I know of the evidence given to support the existence of God, but I still can't understand it so I won't believe in it." Is tantamount to saying "I know my wife bought ketchup, I know I put it away in the fridge, but since I can't find it right now I guess it never actually existed." On top of it all, there's nothing more frustrating than looking for something like that and failing to find it, just to hear that somebody else managed to find it easily...

[@Jonas-gl9ke]

We can hold a ketchup bottle, measure a ketchup bottle, photograph a ketchup bottle and test a ketchup bottle’s capacity to hold ketchup. We can demonstrate a ketchup bottle exists but we can’t demonstrate any god exists. It’s a really poor analogy.

[@sniperfox8806]

When I was a child I was told that being a Christian meant that bad things would never happen to me, so I was confused when they inevitably did, my faith was solidified in learning that pain and hardship was the path of a Christian, God reveals himself in curious ways, and I've never seen him revealed in any ways we expect.

[@TicketToRide-dj4vk]

Yeah, Satan has the right to tempt you and test your Faith -- happened to Job, happened to Jesus, happens to us. All GOD promises is that if you remain in Faith, He will see you thru the storm.

[@BenDol90]

Mike. I am a non-resistant non-believer, I will be teaching my children many messages from the bible, I will read it to them and we will live in an accordance to the wisdom of the past primarily from a Judeo Christian perspective. This is because I think it is the best way to live. However over the past few years I have realized that I am an agnostic atheist after a lot of searching, I came to realize I do not believe in the things I would say anymore. I am still waiting for God to reveal himself to me in a way that would meet the threshold of evidence any sane human-being would use to believe in something enough to where they would go out and preach the message to others. Not a warm feeling, not an emotional moment, not a whisper, not a worship session, not a back feeling better, not a parking spot opening up. An actual conversation using the senses which from a Christians perspective is given to us by God, proclaiming and informing me that Jesus is the son of God as a visual/audible experience while I am fully coherent with all my faculties. If this threshold of evidence is too high for the creator of the universe who claims to love me as a son, then either one of two things is true; one, the creator (initial cause) of our Universe does not actually care about me, or two, the Christian God is not real. I have slowed down in my searching a bit now, but I try to pray when I can to receive this and there is nothing but silence. I used to watch all your videos before I became an atheist and still try to when one catches my attention every now and again. I will continue to leave my heart open to finding God in a true way and not in a way that leaves room for doubt. If it is true I want to know, but in all honesty I don't even think you really fully know and believe it whole heartedly, you are likely in the place I was two years ago, other factors are keeping your mind and emotions in it and I love that for you. I will not allow myself to be bullied into believing in the things that someone else wants me to believe by being told I have no faith and that I lack in any area here, the ball is in the creators court. I have also made it a point that I will not attempt to talk anyone out of the faith in my direct circle, so only a few people really know about it in my family and I will respect their beliefs. Truth above all else.

[@showmesasquatch3623]

In a Godless society, people are spiritually blinded, by the hardening of the heart🙏🏼👑

[@davidfiler7439]

Really? I thought it was the broadening of the mind.

[@velkyn1]

funny how your bible says that your god hardens hearts and poof goes the claim of free will.

[@victorialindblad6673]

This is interesting. I have come to the conclusion that i am not capable of believing in God and even if i did - how do i know that i do? Faith is so far from my life and i have little to no understanding of it. I hope i figure out how and where to go from here.

[@tori_va807]

Faith is the confidence of something you haven't seen, assurance of something you hope for. So I'm sure you've had faith in something before. For example, when you eat something, you don't know for sure that it's not poisoned, but you eat it because you are confident that it isn't. Likewise, I've never seen God before, but I'm pretty confident that He's there, but for me there's the actual evidence in that ever since I found Him I've been set free from things that used to torture me. I hope this helps you get a grasp of what faith may be. God bless you❤❤

[@kriegjaeger]

Mark nine twenty four "Lord I beleive, help my unbelief!" A man with an epileptic daughter cried to him. You can pray to him for belief. For love to give to others. For faith. He will give it to you if you genuinely want it and are willing to give up who you are and serve him. If you want things only for yourself, why would he give them?

[@francoisminnaar397]

You are certainly capable of believing in God. How do you know? Imagine im your co-worker. One morning you noticed I had come in a bit late for work. During a casual conversation you ask me why I was late and I reply: "I stepped in front of a bus and it ran me over". You would either think I am a liar or that Ive gone crazy. You would certainly not believe that there was an actual bus that hit me because nothing is different and I look fine. My point is that if you encounter a bus moving at 40mph your life would be affected, different, and probably drastically changed. So how much more, after encountering the Almightly Living God, will your life change. You dont encounter God and walk away the same. Trust me. You WILL know

[@francoisminnaar397]

Could I suggest you watch a presentation of the gospel? This one in particular I think would help you. I identified as a Christian for around 25 years and believed God existed but I did not have a relationship or an 'encounter' with God so to speak. I know now the only way to God is through Christ and we cannot believe (in the way you are looking to have assurance in that belief) otherwise. I also wasn't sure for 25 years and what I believed in wasnt actually God but a figment of my imagination. Only once I believed in the gospel I was saved. This might sound far-fetched and I understand that. I have been there and fought against the same truth that I would now happily die for. Can you imagine believing in a truth so much that you would rather die than denying that truth?

[@Breath_Alive]

If you believe and have faith in gravity, that same kind of belief and faith is required towards God. You cant see gravity, but you know its there. You cant really feel gravity, but you know its forces are acting on you right now. Biblical faith is belief in evidence of things not seen. There is plenty of evidence for gravity to exist even though we cant see it or touch it, we cant even really describe what it is or what its made of, but we know it exists. That same kind of belief in God is what God is looking for in us. Believe in Him even when we cant see, feel, or even understand Him and His ways. Have faith in Him the same way a small child has faith in his parents to be there and to care for him.

[@cambridgehathaway3367]

Believing God is like believing your eyes. It's hard to find reasons to believe your eyes if you already don't believe your eyes.

[@Jerry_4685]

I acknowledge the truth of Christianity solely based on apologistics but I struggle to have a relationship with God frequently.

[@JensSchraeder]

I love God and have felt him in my life. Pray not for what you want but what you need. The Lord God will provide. I still seek him every day. Im far from perfect. But God lives in me. Im a much better person now than I ever was.

[@harryfaber]

None of us are perfect! Have a blessed day.

[@saundradriscoll282]

It comes down to; There is a Heaven and there is a Hell. They both are for eternity. Either liven forever with a new glorified body or stay in torment, and fire for eternity. I prayed for a healing and was instantly healed. All you need is to ask God for faith. All you need is a small mustard seed like a carnal of popcorn faith to start snd God will give you your faith. Jesus is truly coming back soon and we have the choice to believe for eternal life in Heaven or we can go to Hell for eternity. God loves you. Truth

[@ferventheat]

Not all Christians believe hell is for eternity . That's a sincerely held belief by many. So I commend you to consider why you would try to 'scare' people into heaven. I'm not saying you are wrong in your understanding, but consider at least, from scripture, what it means to perish (John 3 16) where death and hell are thrown into the lake of fire (revelation 20 15)

[@johnhammond6423]

_'There is a Heaven and there is a Hell'_ And the evidence for that claim is......................

[@Lorkisen]

​​@@ferventheatAny other view of hell isn't really biblical. We get this life to chose, after that we are judged. Luke 16:19-31 - Parable about the Rich Man and the beggar Lazarus. Yes, the holding place for sinners is cast into the lake of fire in Revelation, but there is no indication anywhere that you get a second chance after you get sent there. Something is either true or it isn't. It doesn't matter how many people sincerely believe in it. If you can argue it convincingly using scripture, then go ahead.

[@ferventheat]

@@Lorkisen some people think it is biblical. However, my point wasn't what theology was correct or incorrect, my point was using eternal hell as a scare tactic 'chose eternal life or eternal hell' as a witness tool to atheists, or those professing to be. It can turn people away from conversing, if that's all we have to offer them : 'heaven or hell' as a choice to make. Just offering you a alternative approach. I do mention eternity in my witnessing. David Pawson has a good series on this topic.

[@TheUnknownScholar777]

its the view of annihilation @@Lorkisen

[@BeginAgain316]

Mike , thank you so much for your Scripture based content and advise . I get so much from your videos. May God continue to annoint you and Bless you❤

[@salserokorsou]

Did the people that wrote the bible know anything about science? Cuz believe in god among scientists who know about nature is running high. That's what happens when you are not ignorant about nature.

[@rubber2023]

@@salserokorsou "Did the people that wrote the bible know anything about science?" Irrelevant. the Omniscient God directed them to write. You dont need to know science to be a good historian. God created the laws of physics. God causes science to be possible.

[@salserokorsou]

@@rubber2023 so god told them to write that the sun and the moon are the same size? Does god know anything about the universe?

[@rubber2023]

@@salserokorsou "so god told them to write that the sun and the moon are the same size?" Whaaat?? Where in the Bible does it say this?? The fact they are referred to as great lights does NOT indicate "same size", if thats what youre thinking. It says great, but not HOW great. "Does god know anything about the universe?" Of course He does. He knows ALL about it, He is the Creator of it. Jesus still loves you and wants you to follow Him.

[@Usersh6480]

Whenever this question comes up, I always think of the Ethiopian eunuch, and how God left nothing to chance to provide him what he needed to come to Him.

[@CrystalNinja07]

I get confused because Calvinism on paper is unbiblical to a lot of people, but experientially a lot of people dont seem to be able to receive God unless God wills it. Ive seen too many people say they were saved at times they werent seeking God AND on the flip side I see people seeking God who say they cant receive Him...

[@kriegjaeger]

God knows their hearts. People may claim to be seeking but are they really? If he told them to pick up their cross and follow him, would they? Remember that after feeding the 5000 they followed him trying to get him to make more bread. Then he gave them a hard teaching so all but 12 remained. Keep in mind God used the pagan kings of old, even nebuchenezzar of bablyon was chosen by him. Atheists are also in the palm of his hand and serve his purpose.

[@CrystalNinja07]

@@kriegjaeger You may be right. When I was lost I KNEW I was lost. Life couldn't go on until I knew what God's plan was for me. So I earnestly prayed for God to help me in my lostness before I heard the gospel. And I randomly bumped into some Christians shortly after that, heard the gospel and was saved. But though I earnestly sought God, I was still at His mercy and not sure how to receive Him. In Matthew 16, Simon Peter acknowledges Jesus as Messiah. And Jesus refers to him as "blessed" because it was God who revealed this to him!?

[@IndyB23]

Hey! Just as a note to any Christian viewers here: as an atheist myself, you guys should know that I don't actually find any of this offensive - I just find it unsatisfactory, that's all. Just wanted to note that as some atheists might resent being characterised as offended (I personally don't - mainly just bemused and maybe a bit exasperated 😅), and I'm sure that's not something any of you would want. Cheers!

[@-Redemption-]

Hey! can you explain what it is that you find unsatisfactory about the claims made in the video please?

[@IndyB23]

@@-Redemption- Sure! I think the main thing would be how Christians are forced to hold the view that unbelievers are without excuse for their unbelief because that's what Paul says in the Bible. Perhaps Christian thinking about atheists would be rather different in a world where Paul didn't pen those words, or that letter didn't make it into the Bible, but we don't live in that world. Because those words appear in the Bible, and evangelical Christians are generally committed to the inerrancy of the Bible, Christians are forced to reconcile Paul's words with apparent reality - for non-believers like me, though, there's nothing to reconcile. I don't think that the Bible is the inerrant word of God: Paul's words are just those of a man with whom I am free to disagree, whereas Christians committed to an inerrant Bible are not free to do so. As such, this video hinging on the reconciliation of Paul's supposedly divinely inspired words with what Christians encounter in the world leaves me unsatisfied and a bit frustrated. Put yourself in my shoes for a sec: imagine a friend of yours who follows a religion other than Christianity - a fictional one (rather than Islam or Hinduism, which you might already have preconceived notions about) that has its own holy book, God, belief system, afterlife, and so on. Imagine that this friend has a completely different interpretation of the world to you, seeing all sorts of things as evidence of their God that you just don't agree with at all: every piece of supposed evidence they provide simply fails to convince you, as you can either think of a more plausible and reasonable explanation for each phenomenon they bring up, or you simply think they are over-reaching and don't have enough evidence to back up their claims. One day, you tell your friend, "I'm not sure I can seriously be blamed for not believing in your God - I've considered what you've told me and I'm just not convinced. It seems a bit questionable that, if it's all actually true, I would go to your version of hell for the 'crime' of failing to be convinced by any of this supposed evidence." Your friend replies, "Well, I'm sorry to hear that, but my holy book says that you non-believers are without excuse, given the preponderance of evidence that surrounds us. Therefore, I really do have to ask: how *sincerely* have you sought my God? Have you *genuinely* considered the evidence? Because if you had, my holy book, which is inerrant, says that you would have come to the right conclusion: those who earnestly seek my God will find him." Now, would you be *offended* by your friend? Or just kind of unsatisfied/confused/bemused/frustrated by the fact that they're hamstrung into a way of thinking that makes no sense to you, all because of what their holy book says? That'd be the main thing leaving me unsatisfied/exasperated - there might be one or two others as well (such as what Mike says about blindness), which I might share later if I have the time!

[@ronaldlindeman6136]

@@-Redemption- I'll explain to you what is going on. There are 2 ways of looking at the world. One is looking at the Supernatural. Two is looking at the Natural. The Supernatural contains things like Superman, Spiderman, Luke Skywalker. Stories created by humans, that go the motivations and desires of humans. This world can be created in human created stories. The natural goes to what is actually here. If a God wanted to really help people, that God would tell humans about natural ways to prevent illnesses and diseases. If humans were writing and creating stories for humans to believe in a God that was a character in their human created story, they would have a God that would heal a very few people of Leprosey, or other diseases. That character of a God that humans would create in stories would have very little knowledge of nature because humans writers and creators of stories has very little knowledge of nature. It takes a few thousand years to make knowledge by using a process of Science to get information out of nature. A character in human created stories about a God would not even know about the process of Science. Jesus of Christianity is like Superman, Luke Skywalker, a character in human created stories. Humans like drama in their lives, which is why people watch movies and TV shows so much. Just think of all the joy that dramas gives them. That a person is asked to believe in a God and gets wonderful prizes for that belief, is about adding drama to their life.

[@briarpatchson3039]

I have TRAVELED A LOT!!! Now, I don't believe in TRUE ATHEIST!!! Most of atheist live in the Western Christian-Judio countries. Comfortable countries that have freedoms that a lot of easterns countries don't.

[@BigIdeaSeeker]

@@IndyB23Well stated, thanks! Add to that the frustration of Romans 1:18ff where Paul says that the non believer is not only sincere or self-blinded, but is actually “suppressing the truth in unrighteousness” that he may indulge in orgies, self-exaltation to being his own deity, and other such sins. When evangelicals take this as absolute, inerrant truth it is indeed frustration and annoying. For me, mostly because believers who adhere to this thinking are near impossible to have a simple conversation with. Cheers.

[@eljefe8149]

The destructiveness of sin leads people to God and shows that His word is true.

[@S3t3sh]

No, Mike... I would have vehemently said no. I love the Lord now, but then, there was no way I would have said I'd ever follow God. Before I knew His Great Love I adamantly refuted His omnipotence, His sentience, and at every opportunity, His will.

[@kellystone7501]

What does God look like? - oh, you can't actually see him What did he tell you? - well, it's not like you can actually hear him. Mike, you have never given any objective reason to think that what you claim to know is anything other than a personal belief. I'm not offended. You're just wrong. Frankly, you have no excuse for believing a myth is real at your age.

[@kriegjaeger]

Funnily enough pagans made the same response mocking an invisible God when theirs had idols, statues and art Cleary describing them. Anything a human can describe is within our comprehension. So possible to be made. God is beyond comprehension 😅

[@Justyouraverageguy172]

As a Catholic, you are free to either hear and think on my following words or just dismiss them. I was living in sin, darkness, and filth in my soul for 15 years (now I am ages 28 a few weeks ago) with a pornography and masturbation addiction that happened everyday. I never sought God and tried quitting using my own will, pride and power. I was only quit when I finally just broke down and had enough and cried out with my entire being in tears for God to come into me and save me with the next day after that being the first time I don’t automatically succumb to the addictions. I mention this because here’s the lesson when God delivered me last year at Easter. God does want to meet us and and draw closer but if the disposition of our hearts are impure, prideful, arrogant, and self centered, then this leaves no room for God to come in and have fellowship with us. Last June after abstinence from my past chronic sins and recovery, Jesus appeared to me on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in June. I was praying to God to make me pure and clean including my heart but never to see him. Thus Jesus true to his word spoke to me “Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God.” The vision was of myself naked and ashamed in deep darkness showing my entire life so far and past sins up to the current point. I was sorrowful, regretful, and in pain over the things I had done and the good things I could have done but now died is what I was thinking. I was so sorrowful that I walked for this narrow hallway and through this tight door to be blinded by this piercing, white, bright, dazzling light to which I knew I didn’t not belong because of my impurity and evil. Yet I was immediately clothed in white and welcomed into that calm beautiful place after that thought. I saw a man waving me over calling me his friend, and I didn’t know it was Jesus showing me His glory and God’s in Heaven until he spoke to me about marriage and the Resurrection. He spoke the words to me when he told off the Sadducees. “Blessed are the more of heart for they shall see God. Your sister is looking for you to which you are wrong about marriage and doubting the Resurrection in your heart.” You have to read Mark 12:1-18 to know what I am saying but God speaks all the time but we don’t listen and doubt him which makes it hard to hear and see him.

[@cameronstolhand7149]

What does gravity look like?

[@liljenborg2517]

There was an old coot down in Louisiana sitting on his front porch one day when a police car drove into his driveway. "The river is topping the levies," the cops told him. "This whole area will be underwater by tonight. Everyone needs to evacuate before the flood hits. We'll even wait for you to grab a suitcase and take you with us, if you need a lift." "I'm not afraid," the old coot told them. "I know God will save me." The floods came by the next moring his first floor was nearly all underwater. A rescue boat came down the river that used to be his street. The old coot was sitting at his second floor window. "Hey!" they shouted over to him. "We've got room for you in the boat! There expecting another six to ten feet of water!" "I'm not afraid," the old coot told them. "I know God will save me!" That evening a helicopter flew over the neighborhood and spotted the old coot sitting on the peak of his roof, the only part of the house still visible. They dropped a ladder down. "Climb up!" the yelled to him. "The flood will get deeper!" "I'm not afraid," the old coot told them. "I know God will save me!" A few hours later the old man was swept away by the flood and woke to find himself in heaven. He was brought before God. "Hey, God," the old coot grumped. "I thought you were going to save me!" "I sent you a police car, a rescue boat, and helicopter! What more did you want?" Out expectations can blind us to truth right in front of us. Often when we are looking for God to open a door for us, at what we think is our hardest, most sincere, most faith-filled level, He can be standing right beside us opening a window. And we completely miss what He's doing because we're focused on the door.

[@kriegjaeger]

It's a cute story but biblically speaking God is clear if we ask him. I would say look in judges when the tribes attacked the tribe of Benjamin. Though that tribe had done heinous things, their attacks failed time and again. Exasperated the commander walked back to his tent and prayed to God "Who's side are you on here?!?" "No one's side". God is not on "our side" we have to be sure we are on HIS side and never assume we're doing the right thing and he will follow us.

[@jasonleslie4349]

Mike I love ur passion in God and the bible and pointing biases we can have on whether we can believe or not. Correct me if I'm wrong but I've devised a way to at least shorten the gap between believers and non believers .1 Our indicating mark should be finding out the TRUTH. That may mean sometimes the answer we want is wrong thus truly exposing a bias. 2.Logic .Common Sense. If there's any plausible reason to doubt something and I mean 'is it likely that this could happen 'then this will expose a bias. 3.Were you born into or raised a believer or not. Would you agree that this is probably 1 of the biggest reasons as to why we may know we're right?.I could could carry on but I'll leave it there .Your thoughts. then this will expose a bias.

[@AksamRafiz]

Hey mike, would you ever consider going into a debate with people of other religion? Thanks!

[@matthewnitz8367]

I will agree with @IndyB23 and say that as an atheist I'm also not offended by your statement. I also am just not convinced by your approach because it looks to me like exactly what would have to be done in order to protect a false claim from scrutiny by making it unfalsifiable. Here's an example scenario to show how I would see Mike's points playing out in a conversation, making the claim slowly more and more unfalsifiable and immune to any scrutiny: The believer makes an initial claim that the truth of their belief is evident to everyone ever since the beginning of time. An unbeliever says to them "hey, your belief really doesn't look like it is true to me". The believer then modifies their statement and says "well, you probably just haven't studied it enough yet to really see how true it is", adding on a vague criteria that the truth of their belief is evident to everyone that has studied it 'enough'. The unbeliever then tells them "actually I did believe and deeply studied this for decades, and it just became apparent to me that it actually isn't true". Assuming the believer accepts this as 'enough', they then modify their claim again and say "well, you may have some bias that is keeping you from honestly evaluating the evidence", adding another vague criteria that the truth of their belief is evident to everyone that is not 'too biased' against their belief. The unbeliever says "actually, I really wanted the belief to be true, I was really happy when I believed and did everything I could think of to keep believing, but it eventually just seemed too obvious to me that it was false and that I was lying to myself if I said I believed it". Assuming the believer doesn't just outright dismiss this statement and decide the person must be mistaken or lying about actually being biased towards the truth of the belief, they once again modify the claim and say "well, we know that Satan can blind people to the truth, and also it is possible God will just make it evident to you sometime in the future". This adds on two new elements that quite effectively protect the claim from any further possible scrutiny. In the case of the first the claim becomes so spiritualized and nebulous that it is completely detached from any possible verification in the physical world, and in the case of the second the claim is made so open-ended in time that even if seconds before dying the unbeliever says they still aren't convinced of the truth of the belief (and the believer accepts their sincerity), the believer can still reassure themselves that in those final seconds the truth was made evident to them. The claim has now gone from "the truth of my belief is evident to everyone ever since the beginning of time" to "the truth of my belief is evident to everyone as long as they have studied it enough without too many biases and they haven't been blinded by Satan, and this just is the case eventually in their life possibly only in the moments before they die". Is all that possible? Sure, I can't disprove it, although it seems like a strange set of obstacles that would delay or prevent a God from revealing himself evidently when that is apparently his top priority and the highest good his creations can achieve. But the reason I now can't disprove the claim is that it has gone through a series of modifications that make the claim entirely useless, because the claim now explains a world that looks EXACTLY like a world in which the claim is entirely false and the truth of the belief is in fact not actually evident to many or even most people. That is the hallmark of a claim that has been made unfalsifiable, that it is modified to the point that you could still think it was true even in a world in which it is totally and even quite obviously false. And that in turn is what actually makes this claim look so untrue; truth does not have to go through a series of modifications that make it indistinguishable from falsehood in order to be protected.

[@BigIdeaSeeker]

Brilliantly stated, thanks!

[@cameronstolhand7149]

What do you think caused the explosion of order that you guys call The Big Bang?

[@briarpatchson3039]

🕎Psalms 53:1 “(To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, A Psalm of David.) The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.” ✝Romans 1:20 “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:”

[@davidfiler7439]

So you can copy/paste. Well that's something at least.

[@andrewstambaugh240]

It's hard to not come across as judgemental when talking about someone else's blindness. *That not unique to this subject.* As a Christian who has had pretenders slander me and *convinced a group of professing believers to kick me out* - it astonishes me how many of them claim things like "i would change my mind if i saw truth saying otherwise..." What astonishes me is they are stumbling over and serving around acknowledging the truth. *They willfully turn away and refuse to see the truth, even while claiming to search for or be open to it.* The irony is while they've ignored miraculous healing (turned their heads down and ignored it), ignored the opposition lying and slandering, ignored the fruit, ignored and badgered actual witnesses - *a civil court cared more about truth.* God used a civil, non-Christian court to clear my name, to confirm my training was true, and confirm the accusations against me were false. Did any of them want to see that? No. *My own brother acted **_disappointed_** the evil attack against me failed to hit.* I am reminded of the Pharisees when Lazarus was raised from the dead. *Did they see an amazing miracle and change their minds?* No! They got angry and made plots to kill Lazarus. It's interesting to me that the visual presentation of someone looking down and avoiding eyes in shame - looks remarkably similar to each person I've seen in person confronted with one of those obvious truths that should change their stance. Just add a little hint of anger and stubbornness. It's like -they know they are wrong- - but unwilling because they know the consequences of admitting that would demand more then they are willing to face. So it looks like cowardice (shameful), mixed with stubborn indignation. The Bible tells us that rejecting truth comes with a specific curse - delusion. Proverbs tells us of a type of fool known as the unreasonable fool. They are characterized as always seeking but never coming to the truth. Also, they desire to be deemed wise. This is taking about a type of fool - as in, there is something wrong in them causing this. It's not 'normal.' For example, the naive fool has 2 major forms: 1. Seems everything the same/same value. This is obvious in that someone should not value a stupid joke the same as life advice that will spare them great trouble. It is foolish - because they should know better, but have a character fault. 2. Form 2 is they should know something - but remain ignorant. A 4 year old didn't know basic math. He's naive, but it's reasonable nativity. An adult improvishing his home and unable to meet bills because he doesn't know basic math - and chooses to remain ignorant is what Proverbs calls a naive fool. (He ought to know better, but demonstrates foolishness by living like a child) The unreasonable fool has a character flaw that keeps them from coming to the truth. My experience with one was like having a conversation with a goldfish: intellectually tasteful - until you realize you keep having similar conversations and it's like amnesia steals any intellectual progress from moving forward. No foundation of reason can be built upon, because they wipe all progress clean. And it was notable that only progress toward God and therefore accountability toward God was wiped clean. The excuse layers always stayed, even if you had their own words acknowledging it didn't make sense and refuting the excuse the prior day. Wipe, reset, excuse in play again. I remember telling that former friend i *no longer found his conversations intellectually simulating,* because they never went anywhere and we could never build on the ideas when he just reset each time.

[@TicketToRide-dj4vk]

2Corinth 4:4 -- they can never come to the truth even with the facts staring them in the face -- because they are blinded by Satan -- this is a description of those that ignore the facts and vote for the Marxists Democrats.

[@HelicopterRidesForCommunists]

It’s possible to really truly believe and yet be mistaken at the same time.

[@midimusicforever]

Come to Jesus, atheists! You won't regret it!

[@jayonly3568]

But how do we do it!? That’s the whole point lol. How do we come to someone who won’t speak to us

[@cameronstolhand7149]

@@jayonly3568 You could start by questioning your existence and challenging what you have been taught. Can you tell me what caused the explosion of order that you guys call The Big Bang?

[@midimusicforever]

@@jayonly3568 Are you sure that Jesus won't speak to you?

[@thedude0000]

0:09 - of course you're a little torn by it, because denying non-resistant non-believers exist.... *IS THE ONLY WAY* to discredit the Divine Hiddenness argument. Yet, you can't actually deny they exist....unless you decide to be intellectually dishonest.

[@TSpartanDR]

Exactly. There are plenty of us, not including the many Christian cosplayers who won’t ever self-identify as NRNBs solely to avoid criticism and isolation.

[@YingGuoRen]

They do deny it, though. They will say that we were not earnestly seeking God, that our hearts were not fully committed to it, and that we have grown too accustomed to 'suppressing the truth in unrighteousness' and 'being our own gods' to submit to God. Obviously, they will not accept that we truly sought and did not find, because that would mean that Christianity is false. So, we are mistaken in our understanding of our own minds and motivations.

[@eljefe8149]

Once you get to a place in life where the Bible starts making sense, you will see beyond a shadow of a doubt that Christianity is true. The Bible comes alive in unexpected ways and it is amazing. It defies all logic

[@kaiserthegamer1058]

The one thing that caused my unbelief was this huge idea that I had to love the lord day 1 as being a Christian but love needs time to develop.. it’s a relationship. And relationships take time to develop! So I was like ok God, I can’t say I’m completely devoted yet but I’m choosing to build this relationship.

[@TicketToRide-dj4vk]

YOU: The one thing that caused my unbelief was this huge idea that I had to love the lord day 1 as being a Christian but love needs time to develop.. *ME: Read Peter's sermons to the Jews in the book of Acts -- he never says that you have to "love the lord from day 1" -- all Peter tells them is to BELIEVE/faith that Jesus is the prophesied Jewish Messiah/Anointed One/Savior.* But if you TRULY understood what that means, you would automatically love GOD/Elohim and Jesus -- because understading exactly what happened in the original Greek of Phil 2:6-8, would have you on your knees in thanksgiving, praise, and undying love for GOD/Elohim and Jesus. That you don't love GOD, just is a glaring indication that you have no understanding of the Bible.

[@malvokaquila6768]

As an ex Atheist convert to Christianity this is great stuff Mike. The moment I sought God genuinely he revealed himself to me, I then immediately went off to find more about him from any religion other than Christianity as to avoid cultural bias. I can say fully that Christianity is the only world view that has any chance of being true.

[@thedude0000]

As an ex-Christian who is now an atheist, I can say that I genuinely believe and sought to find God, but he *NEVER* revealed himself to me.

[@jayonly3568]

How is God reveal himself to you?

[@AngelOfDeath45010]

@@jayonly3568 First of all, if you think G-d has to prove himself to you in other for you to believe in him then you are living in a delusion, i notice this has been a common believe to Christians which is wrong. Deuteronomy 6:16-25. He says, "again it is written, 'do not put the LORD your G-d to the test. who do you think you are in the eyes of G-d? This life is just a test and the bible is the prove of G-d's words. either we believe in it or not is up to us. The only thing you can do is pray to G-d to strengthen your faith in him, because G-d doesn't need you, you need him. John 20:29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

[@AngelOfDeath45010]

@@thedude0000 First of all, if you think G-d has to prove himself to you in other for you to believe in him then you are living in a delusion, i notice this has been a common believe to Christians which is wrong. Deuteronomy 6:16-25. He says, "again it is written, 'do not put the LORD your G-d to the test. who do you think you are in the eyes of G-d? This life is just a test and the bible is the prove of G-d's words. either we believe in it or not is up to us. The only thing you can do is pray to G-d to strengthen your faith in him, because G-d doesn't need you, you need him. John 20:29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

[@thedude0000]

@@AngelOfDeath45010 First, quoting bible verses is fairly pointless. Second, _First of all, if you think G-d has to prove himself to you in other for you to believe in him then you are living in a delusion_ That's just an assertion...

[@AlexanderDuncann]

"ya can't shake hands with a clenched fist"

[@rockmusicvideoreviewer896]

You can't convince someone to believe when you aren't able to provide them with evidence that proves it.

[@Tinesthia]

The problem is when you claim they have clinched fists but they clearly don’t. Their hands have handled the same evidence, claims, texts as you. But because some heretic convert Paul says that any who don’t agree with him have clenched fists, and Winger & Co choose to believe Paul over what they can see with their own eyes and hear by direct living testimony because it protects them from the cognitive dissonance of how bad their evidence is for Theism. Its not insulting to me, it just makes me sad for Winger. His obvious answers are right there if he could apply an outsider test of faith to his arguments. I have no vested interest in Atheism. My life would immediately improve if I were a Christian because of my Christian Wife and family. But I just won’t lie to myself for where my personal and independent study of “the evidence” has led me, even while I was still a heavily invested Christian.

[@rockmusicvideoreviewer896]

@@Tinesthia Winger says to look all around and you see evidence for god. Look, a tree, for instance. But that is the question of how did the tree get here? The tree is a question, not the answer.

[@rubber2023]

@@rockmusicvideoreviewer896 me describing nonChristians:

[@rubber2023]

@@rockmusicvideoreviewer896 It got there by being planted. but the very first plants were supernaturally created, not cobbled together by chance. origins is a history matter not a science one.

[@cataphracts123]

The fact that someone is here to you advocate to you for the truth of God is an example of God's seeking you out. The idea that they want to seek out God in the first place is an example as well.

[@patchooo84]

True Trinity teaching being so obscure and impossible to teach and less possible to grasp without years of "grooming" and mindless repetition , pushes honest hearted ones away

[@tonygoodkind7858]

Reality: contradicts book Believer: sides with book Why isn't truth the guiding principle to your beliefs? Why is "I must obey this book" so important that it would cause you to reject reality in favor of the book's claims? The lead-in point about atheists like myself reporting to genuinely not see evidence of a god, and Mike ignoring those reports to basically accuse them of believing anyway, _should feel wrong to people._ (Mike included.) Maybe it does feel wrong to Mike, but he's forced into this position because it's how he makes money. I think in most cases people are just genuinely misled by bad ideas, but when someone's a really prominent theist and has heard all the counter-arguments to _literally every "evidence" argument for god_ I have to wonder if the reason they keep at it is purely that it's a comfy job and they don't know what else they'd do.

[@perfectpeace00]

You really think Mike makes a lot of money and being a pastor is a comfy job? He lives in California where everything is really expensive. Your claims are full of baseless assumptions.

[@josephpurdy8390]

Exodus 32: 1-9 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coin Where are the atheist denouncing this coin being a violation of the 1st amendment? Where are the jews denouncing it as being the reason they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years? Where are the christians denouncing it as being the mark of the beast?

[@merlinator11]

Can I just correct some of your ideas here. Truth is absolutely the guiding principle. I do not obey a book I obey a living God and a primary form of communication from Him happens to be a collection of books and letters spanning thousands of years beautifully interwoven. The Bible doesn't contradict reality. The interpretation is tricky. As you should expect from a text for people of various cultures and education levels written by a transcendant being. Yes there are counter arguments to arguments for God's existence but there are counter argument to those as well. I don't think it's that clear cut. That all being said, I do appreciate hearing your side of this thank you

[@tonygoodkind7858]

@@perfectpeace00 Why are you acting like this? * the most important point was truth. You ignored that entirely. * did I make an assumption? No. I considered a possibility. That doesn't assume anything. * was the assumption he makes lots of money? No. It was a question of _how_ he makes money. We know he runs a YT channel (one source of income) and his profile says he's a pastor (another source of income) and so that confirms _this is how he makes money._ He has a vested interest in hiding the truth, because to focus on truth would be to lose his major (and maybe only?) income sources. * was the argument made better or worse by California? Better. Because in expensive places to live, you're that much more protective of your income sources, right?

[@tonygoodkind7858]

@@merlinator11 1. Did humans originate by (a) a god creating them out of the dust of the ground (Gen 2:7), or (b) by evolving from earlier species (the evidence to start being ~289 scientific papers in the references of "human evolution" on Wikipedia)? 2. Is Tyre (a) permanently destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II (Eze 26:1-21), or (b) a modern-day city you can visit in Lebanon? 3. Has a resurrection ever (a) happened (Luke 24 and few other biblical authors), or (b) not (the sum total of all other evidence notably failing to support a resurrection)? So answer again is *truth* the guiding principle? Because if you chose "a" for any of these points, it really feels like it isn't. The idea that you'd believe that (1) an all-knowing god existed, which would be absolutely perfect, and then they (2) _communicated by imperfect humans, resulting in staggeringly imperfect communication,_ is weird to me. Why do that? Have you _read_ the Bible? It's not a perfect communication from a god. (If you don't believe me, tell me again how many sects of Christianity there are.)

[@vamingxiong4376]

One of the biggest point atheist make is with the problem of evil. How unfair it is if there is a just and holy god. I believe this question has been answered through debates in the past. However my personal believe is some atheist purposely don't want god to exist.

[@johnhammond6423]

I would love to hear your explanation of why there is suffering if God is all powerful and at the same time all loving my friend.

[@kellystone7501]

Why not just talk to some atheists rather than assuming what they think?

[@johnhammond6423]

@@kellystone7501 He does, and it just goes in one ear and out the other. He is a Christion apologist remember. Watch his debate with Matt Dillahunty and you will see what I mean.

[@vamingxiong4376]

@@johnhammond6423 Never claimed to be one. Just listen to lots of debates. And yes I have spoken to many atheist before. I find it hard to explain what might sound like a simple question. So it would be unfair if you are really and honestly searching. My thumbs don't type well enough. So if you want to benefit please look up the debates.

[@reality1958]

@@vamingxiong4376I have yet, in my many years of debating designed suffering, to hear anyone who could justify a god who inflicts genetic diseases upon innocent young children/babies. This is only cruel and dispenses with any notion of a good or just god

[@swayzy762]

I firmly believe the number one reason someone will have a terribly hard time coming to God is their misalignment with His will and the law. If im deep into sin, I will feel i have much more to lose by faith in God than I can gain. I might say in my heart, "Well, if He isnt real, when it comes to judgement time, Ill declare blame on Him. He failed me. I failed him, not." Everytime I sin, I truly feel a distance put between God and I. I feel my prayer has less dignity behind it, or credibility. I feel like im not in a position to ask God of something; unworthy. Surely if I have these convictions as a firm believer, the unrepentant sinner will feel this 50-fold, even if they aren't conscious of it neccesarily.

[@mathius_dragoon532]

The issue with telling nonbelievers to keep seeking a relationship with God even if they aren't finding him is that eventually it starts to feel like you are doing "fake it until you make it" and that rapidly starts to feel disingenuous.

[@TicketToRide-dj4vk]

It is not Biblical to tell non-believers to "keep seeking GOD" -- the BIble clearly states that ONLY when a person seeks GOD with their whole heart, will they find Him -- just plodding thru the motions of seeking GOD is a worthless venture.

[@JamesRichardWiley]

As an atheist I find it hard to believe you find fairy tales of giants, prophets, gods, angels, and demons, compelling and decide to promote them as real to other people. As an atheist I cannot find any of these characters anywhere in my world after looking for 75 years. Please deliver the goods that you are selling.

[@jk.9300]

Could you possibly Mike… be wrong about this book and be blinded by your own ignorance?

[@JosephLachh]

It sounds like you’re not open to the the existence of God.

[@jk.9300]

@@JosephLachh no, I asked the question. It’s about the book too, I’m not in any way denying the existence of God 😭

[@JosephLachh]

@@jk.9300 That’s not how the comment reads

[@jk.9300]

@@JosephLachh “wrong about this book”

[@JosephLachh]

@@jk.9300 Sounds like you're saying that Mike could be wrong about the Bible, but not God's existence. The evidence for Christianity to a person would be the transformative work of God in their lives as a result of trusting in the scriptures. Addictions are cured, angry people become humble, and in Mike's life, he would be able to testify how the Spirit of God has changed him, personally. Furthermore, there is historical evidence for the Bible in The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel, and other similar works.

[@lukeherrin5260]

Gavin Ortlund has been examining this question very in depth lately. I highly recommend anyone take a look at it, and hope maybe he and Mike can do a collab on it!

[@JoniEscar_07]

If the Lord chooses to, present himself to you, it will be at his time, not when you or one demands it, not when you see it right, the Lord's timing is perfect, not a moment before, nor a moment later, have faith brothers and sisters, in the Lord.

[@johnhammond6423]

I am one of the many non-resistant non-believers [as I suspect most atheists are] Your religion has backed you up into a corner and you have no choice now but to call all of us atheists liars. When religion clashes with the real world this is the sort of problems you will come up against Mike.

[@JohnCephas]

Liars or deceived, friend. Maybe a bit of both deep down at the heart level, far deeper than the brain. It isn't about being judgemental. It's about the Truth. I hope the best for you, stranger. Love ya - Really.

[@johnhammond6423]

@@JohnCephas _'deep down at the heart level, far deeper than the brain'_ I use my brain to do the thinking and leave my heart to do the pumping. How about you?

[@JohnCephas]

@@johnhammond6423 Far more. Are you looking for an argument or communion?

[@johnhammond6423]

@@JohnCephas Just responding to your coment my friend. 😊

[@JohnCephas]

@@johnhammond6423 This is empty. Can you see?

[@viciousnfkndelicious]

Sin separates us all from God and brings spiritual blindness. If non believers aren't submitting their sin and their lives to Christ Jesus then how can they expect to experience Him? God knows our hearts more than we know our hearts

[@DiggitySlice]

"Genuine seeker" and "not finding Jesus" are two things that do not go together. The real answer is to figure out what emotional factor is stopping them.

[@bobrice6333]

Its like looking for evidence of the baker inside the cake. If you cut open the cake you will not find the baker but the result of the creative effort of the baker. Now maybe you got a cake from someone you know and find evidence of the nuances of the baker, such as your Grandma always made you a yellow sheetpan cake with mocha-chocolate frosting for your birthday. You know seeing the cake, tasting a piece, and taking in the rich flavors contained within, your Grandmother made this cake. Only when you know and understand God (thru reading, studying, knowing and have confidence in his Word) can you begin to find evidence of him. Or maybe you just don't like cake.😇

[@lukasmakarios4998]

If you can't see God in creation, and He isn't speaking to you in prayer, it might be the same blindness in both cases. Why are you afraid to hear and believe? Do you think He will ask something that you won't want to hear? Lots of people don't want to believe because they expect that He will demand that they should change their lives. But God doesn't work that way. He gives us Truth, and allows us to ask Him to change our hearts before He asks for changes. When we change, it's because we want to do it to please Him. It's love, not fear. The answer is still a simple one. Keep on seeking the Lord. If He hasn't spoken to you yet, maybe you're not ready. But don't expect to be shocked out of disbelief. God almost always speaks in a small still voice, not from a storm.

[@sarabee7710]

God made a promise. "He who comes to Him must believe that He is and He is a REWARDER OF THOSE WHO DILLIGENTLY SEEK HIM". I think we give the atheist that verse and encourage them to persevere in their pursuit of God, He will reveal Himself to them. He will answer eventually. He keeps His word.

[@samuelcallai4209]

Great video

[@mitch_tmv]

I know friends who have had success in reasoning with atheists with such questions as "do you want to believe in God". There are people who don't want God to exist because then they have to leave their sinful habits and they don't want to, so they have this bias in their mind whether or not they realise it at first.