Why Atheist needed Stranger to find God

[@lewlewbelle7275]

I pray a stranger reaches my unsaved loved ones, they are not receptive to me.

[@ArtyAmeris]

Same for me.

[@ELIASMARTUS]

Welcome to the club, in my family it takes a miracle. They don't listen either.

[@kimturner1963]

In God's time, sometimes all we can do is pray and maybe plant some seeds.

[@young1939]

I have one son who claims he doesn't believe in God. I told him God didn't need his belief to exist. That didn't change his belief, but God still exists.

[@ArtyAmeris]

Praying

[@ricksteamboat8051]

He does exist. I'm the living moving miracle of Jesus Christ. He has answered my prayers multiple times.

[@Monarky777]

Ask him one day if he knows all knowledge? When he says no. Tell him lets say you know 1/2 of all the Knowledge in the whole universe. Is it possible God is in the other half? To be so dogmatic is to be ignorant of the feelings inside. Love, dreams, Emotion, To look at how orderly the universe is from the smallest of particles orbiting around binding with different particles to get different elements and things like water. All the way to the massive black holes and plants and suns all moving like a giant clock to give us time. As you look around the universe life teaches you that order never comes out of chaos. The programming language of our genes. It boggles my mind how I once too us to KNOW there was no God. But I was blind! Praise God!

[@young1939]

@Robert Clemmons I think he was trying to goad me more than anything else. But God is in everything since all is his creation. You can't change ones beliefs by arguing.

[@jms4406]

I think god would care if we loved more than told who he does and doesnt accept

[@leogomes-newworld]

That's really a good news that many are turning to God.

[@shelbachristian7003]

That’s great!!!

[@lynnlink4629]

LOVE this man of GOD. His ONE FOR ISRAEL testimony. Captures 'Nevertheless, GOD.' Miraculous Work of GOD. 🙏💥

[@calvinjohn2759]

God plant 🪴 the seed (word of truth and life). He also water 💧 it with the Holy Spirit and the Gospel. and we reap the haverest with discipleship. In Christ Jesus name 🙏 🙏 🙏 Amen

[@jms4406]

I was an atheist for five years after working hospice and seeing all these people die from various diseases and of all ages. It was just easier to not believe than to try to rationalize a loving god and suffering. What I liked about becoming an atheist is that I didnt have an agenda anymore. I didnt have the weight of the world on my shoulders. I agree with this man "god" knows exactly what's needed to reach a person.

[@shenomiya6194]

Can I ask how you stopped being an atheist? Thank you for sharing your testimony :)

[@jms4406]

@@shenomiya6194 so I put some of my experiences on my KZbin channel...I don't care about promoting it the videos arent good as far as its just myself, but the audio is good. I just wanted to put them on there to share with other people. I'm interested in others thoughts more than anything

[@tp1201]

"God"

[@ronalddave3200]

For all people of different religions and beliefs other than Christianity, If they would just give it a shot and PRAY to the true and living God and ask Him to show them the truth with a sincere heart, then God would surely respond and enlighten them of his truth, power and glory through the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit. Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 6:6-8 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Job 22:27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. Philippians 4:4-7 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

[@kevinclint7588]

NO ONE IS GONNA ESCAPE THE JUDGMENT OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST,…………..AMEN

[@anitavaughn1968]

But just the same, nothing can separate us from His love.

[@The1CLIMAX]

False

[@ronalddave3200]

Gospel/Salvation Verses: 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT John 3:16 John 6:28-29 John 14:6 Colossians 1:12-14 1 John 1:9 Romans 3:23-28 Romans 10:9-13 Ephesians 2:8-9

[@junevandermark952]

I suggest that it is best for one’s ego, to realize that self is not the first one to be filled with pride in the idea that you and “God” have the same way of “thinking.” From the book … 40 YEARS OF COUNTRY: LIFE OF A RURAL DOCTOR IN NORTHERN SASKATCHEWAN … author … Dr Mervin L Johnson During this time, Blanche and I found out from the Alliance Church Board that they did not want Blanche to teach in church any longer. She was an excellent teacher and really was being led by God, but they were afraid of what they’re hearing. I wrote in my diary, why is the Board destroying the work in this church? God do something I pleaded. Not for our sake but for Yours.

[@billbarrie6229]

Rom 3:9-18, so in order for someone to come to a "Saving" knowledge of Christ God has to regenerate them before they can or will believe

[@danjohnston9037]

Like they need panhandlers

[@giuseppesavaglio8136]

"Why Atheist needed Stranger to find God" If a stranger can find god for you, why can't god find you?

[@kiwisaram9373]

Pride!

[@giuseppesavaglio8136]

@@kiwisaram9373 Yeah you may be right. god's pride may get in the way.

[@tp1201]

@@giuseppesavaglio8136 if you don't believe in God/Jesus then why are you watching this video?? Nobody has a gun to your head trying to force God on you. You came here. This video is for Christians. Lol Some people Are just weird.

[@giuseppesavaglio8136]

@@tp1201 Hi TP, thanks for the reply. Am i not allowed to watch and or comment on any video i see? Besides it has an atheist as the prime component of the video. And so i posed the question: "If a stranger can find god for you, why can't god find you?" If you want to discuss further why god can't find someone like me i would be happy to converse. cheers G

[@tp1201]

@@giuseppesavaglio8136 I don't It makes Absolutely no sense to watch something you don't Believe in. Anyways. Have a good day!

[@Kaynos]

I don't like the word converts. It makes it look like a club you get in. Oh you're a convert, welcome to the club ! God is not a club only for certain peoples. God is within everyone, all they need is look inside to find Him. There's no "conversion" needed.

[@sarahlaslett3279]

"God is not a club only for certain people". You're right. But you won't find God by looking within. You'll find God through looking to Jesus. Many people have believed what you do and then went on to find that Jesus is who He said He was "The way, the truth and the life" and went on to follow Him. Pray you'll do the same.

[@northstar2621]

Yeah I mean, it's just a word to describe the person's personal history

[@craighopkins1173]

@@sarahlaslett3279 no its not a club, you are correct but! Not just anyone gets in to heaven. You need to believe in and have Jesus as you lord and savior through believing in and putting your faith in his death and resurrection. If we say anything other than that then we are telling God that his sacrificing his son was a waste of time and that's blasphemous.

[@sarahlaslett3279]

@@craighopkins1173 I was replying g to Kaynos's comment. I hope he comes to saving faith in the death and resurrection if Jesus Christ

[@The1CLIMAX]

@@craighopkins1173 Jesus didn’t stay dead. He only sacrificed one long weekend. God sacrifices himself to himself to appease himself. Cool story bro.

[@ancientfiction5244]

*Jesus falsely prophesied his return in the 1st century* Truly I tell you, ***some who are standing here will not taste death*** before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom Matthew 16:28 Truly I tell you, ***some who are standing here*** will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God Luke 9:27 Truly I tell you, ***this generation will certainly not pass away*** until all these things have happened Mark 13:30 The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. Truly I tell you, ***this generation will certainly not pass away*** until all these things have happened Matthew 24:29-34 There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. When you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, ***this generation will certainly not pass away*** until all these things have happened Luke 21:25-32 *Jesus promised to return over 2, 000 years ago and he still hasn’t.* Jesus and the angels never appeared from Heaven, the stars never fell from the sky, none of these things happened. Nothing he prophesied happened. ***Apologists can try to spin this, but the simple fact is that Jesus was either wrong or misquoted.*** According to the Bible that makes Jesus a false prophet or misquoted (and if Jesus is misquoted than the Bible is not inerrant or the word of God) How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord? If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken Deuteronomy 18:21-22 *Jesus falsely prophesied to the high priest and the Sanhedrin* Jesus also falsely prophesied to the high priest and the Sanhedrin (assemblies of either twenty-three or seventy-one rabbis appointed to sit as a tribunal) You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and ***coming on the clouds of heaven*** Matthew 26:64 Mark 14:62 Except the high priest and the Sanhedrin never saw Jesus sitting at the right hand side of God, or coming on the clouds of heaven, or any such thing. *Jesus falsely prophesied to Nathaniel* Jesus also falsely prophesied to Nathanael when he declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” Jesus said, You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that. He then added, ***“Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man*** John 1:50-51 *Nathanael never saw any such thing. Neither did anyone else.* The following quote from Stephen L. Harris, Professor Emeritus of Humanities and Religious Studies at California State University- Sacramento, completes this point with a devastating argument. *Jesus did not accomplish what Israel’s prophets said the Messiah was commissioned to do:* He did not deliver the covenant people from their Gentile enemies, reassemble those scattered in the Diaspora, restore the Davidic kingdom, or establish universal peace (cf.Isa. 9:6-7; 11:7-12:16, etc.). Instead of freeing Jews from oppressors and thereby fulfilling God’s ancient promises-for land, nationhood, kingship, and blessing- *Jesus died a “shameful” death, defeated by the very political powers the Messiah was prophesied to overcome.* Indeed, the Hebrew prophets did not foresee that Israel’s savior would be executed as a common criminal by Gentiles, *making Jesus’ crucifixion a “stumbling block” to scripturally literate Jews.* (1 Cor.1:23) Watch *Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet, Historical Lecture - Bart D. Ehrman* ------------------------------------------------------------------ Also, look up the following. *"13x Jesus was wrong in the Bible - Life Lessons"* *"End Times - Evil Bible .com"* *"The End of All Things is At Hand - The Church Of Truth"* *"Resurrection - Fact or Myth - Omission Report"* *"What’s Missing from Codex Sinaiticus, the Oldest New Testament? - Biblical Archaeology Society"* *"The “Strange” Ending of the Gospel of Mark and Why It Makes All the Difference - Biblical Archaeology Society"* *"ex-apologist: On One of the Main Reasons Why I Think Christianity is False (Reposted)"* *"Why Jesus? Nontract (August 1999) - Freedom From Religion Foundation"* *"272: JESUS’S 5200 AUTHENTIC WORDS - zingcreed"* *"43: IS THE FOURTH GOSPEL FICTION? - zingcreed"* *"Jesus Predicted a First Century Return Which Did Not Occur - by Alex Beyman - Medium"* *"Jesus’ Failed Prophecy About His Return - Black Nonbelievers, Inc."*

[@ancientfiction5244]

*CHRISTIAN APOLOGETIC RATIONALIZATIONS* To anyone not already indoctrinated into Christianity reading the above passages it is crystal clear that according to the Bible Jesus was supposed to return in the first century of the Christian Era. That has not happened. Yet the Christian religion persists with the majority of its adherents still awaiting the return of their savior. How have they reconciled their scriptures to reality? There are several lines of thought in Christendom about this. *Rationalization #1: Matthew 16:28 refers to Jesus’ transfiguration, not his second coming.* The transfiguration of Jesus is a story recorded in Matthew 17, Mark 9, and Luke 9. The first problem is that these Gospels place the transfiguration at different times. In Matthew, it occurs after Jesus made the prediction about his second coming. That might make it seem reasonable to think that it was a fulfillment of the earlier prediction. However, Mark and Luke place the transfiguration event before Jesus made spoke the prophecy. Laying aside the obvious discrepency in timing, we can say for certain that an event occurring before a prediction is made can’t be fulfilling the prediction. The “prediction” wouldn’t be a prediction at all. The preceding verse (verse 27) starts off the description of Jesus’ coming by saying he would come “in glory” with angels to dole out judgment to “every man”. That is not what happened in the transfiguration stories. Therefore, the explanation doesn’t work. Some try to make it work by separating verse 28 from the preceding verse so that the two verses talk about different “comings”. This is a baseless tinkering with the passage in order to make a doctrine fit the scripture. The same Christians who do this will accuse other of taking verses out of context when they disagree with an interpretation. Yet, this is exactly what they do here. *Rationalization #2: The word translated “generation” can mean “race”. So, Jesus meant the Jewish race would not die out before he returns.* This is a manufactured definition to suit doctrinal purposes. When you see “generation” in the New Testament is means just that - people living in a particular era, not a race of people. Elsewhere when he speaks of the Jews, he does so by saying “Jews”. It’s rather strange that he would speak cryptically in just this one instance. *Rationalization #3: When Jesus said “this generation shall not pass away” he meant the generation living at the time of the end times tribulation.* Correct! Jesus told his followers that they would go through persecution. So, he apparently thought they would be the generation living at the time of the end. It is evident in the writings of the New Testament that first century Christians saw the tribulations they were going through as a fulfillment of Jesus’ prediction about the end times and the tribulation. If they saw it as such, modern Christians have no real justification not to see it that way as well. Notice that Jesus didn’t say “that generation” - which would be the normal way of referring to a future generation. He said “this generation”. Besides through a plain common sense reading of the text, we know he meant the people alive while he was speaking because he said that some of his listeners (and the high priest at his trial) would still be alive to see his return to Earth. *Rationalization #4: When Jesus said that some of his listeners would be alive to see him return, he was talking about the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended on the church.* This is another explanation that is so far from rational that is it hard to accept that anyone sincerely believes it. The Book of Acts tells the story of the Holy Spirit appearing over the heads of the saints as tongues of fire endowing them with the magical ability to speak in unlearned languages. There is no mention of them seeing Jesus in the clouds with angels. The supposed event did not accompany the final judgment. None of the things Jesus said would occur at his return happened on the Day of Pentecost. *Rationalization #5: When it was revealed to John in his visions that Jesus would come quickly, it is to happen on God’s time scale, not a human time scale. “The time is near” and “coming quickly” are not to be taken literally. To God a thousand years is a day.* This is actually the first Christian attempt (found in 2 Peter 3) to explain away the fact that Jesus had not come as expected. Believers of the time had begun to waver in their faith because Jesus had not come back as promised. The writer tells them not to listen to people who say, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:4) By “fathers”, he evidently means the founding fathers of the faith who had all died by that time. This is evidence that almost from the start of Christianity, believers have been wrestling with the apparent failure of their savior’s end times prophecy. In verse 8, the writer tries to reassure them by saying, “with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” and continues in the next verse to say that the Lord is not slacking on his promise. He basically tries to make the argument that time is meaningless to God. This passage is in obvious contradiction to what Jesus himself said about his return and everything else written in the New Testament about it. This contradiction raises the question: Did the Simon Peter, one of Jesus’ personal disciples, actually write this book? The most truthful answer: Not likely. When reading 2 Peter, we must keep in mind when it was written. It is well-known that many of the writings floating around the early church were not written by the people claimed to have written them, but were forged by believers to push their particular doctrines. This is most likely the case with the book of 2 Peter. The first clue is that the writer acknowledged that “the fathers” have died. Since Peter was one of those founding fathers of the church, he couldn’t have written this book. It has proven difficult for scholars to pinpoint exactly when the book was written, but they all place its origin sometime between 60 and 160 A.D. This means that it was written at least 30 years after Jesus’ crucifixion is believed to have taken place when he was 33. Assuming his disciples were somewhere around his own age and taking into account average life expectancy of that time and that, according to church tradition, the apostles were all killed, none of them would have likely been alive in 60 A.D. (the earliest date scholars say the book would have been written). So, what can we make of the fact that this is in the Bible? It was written by a believer who didn’t want Jesus’ failure to come to cause the faith to die out. Knowing that Peter was a founding apostle and a personal disciple of Jesus who was deemed to be the first Pope of the Christian faction that came to be known as the Roman Catholic Church, the writer forged this book in Peter’s name. It seems likely that this was an attempt to keep believers in the nascent Catholic churches in the fold. This is not the only case of forgery to uphold Catholic doctrine. (There are other forgeries in the New Testament that have been recognized by scholars as such.) Whether written by the apostle Peter or something else, it is an obvious rationalization to try to deal with the failure of a prediction that came to be central to the Christian religion. We do not accept similar rationalizations from modern-day doomsdayers and we shouldn’t accept them from ancient religious people either. *Rationalization #6: In Matthew 16 when Jesus said some of his listeners would see him “coming in his kingdom”, he was talking about his coming into his kingdom in Heaven after his resurrection when he went back to Heaven. Many saw this event through visions.* This fails to take into account what Jesus said his “coming in his kingdom” would be connected to the day of judgment when he would “reward each according to his works”. As far as I know, no Christian apologists say the judgment occurred when Jesus supposedly went back to Heaven in the first century. Everything in the New Testament places judgment day at the end of the world. Even if we were to throw the Matthew 16 passage completely out of the Bible, there would still be the problem of other passages where Jesus said “this generation will not pass” before he comes and New Testament writers testifying to their belief that he would come in their lifetime. It is no wonder that this rationalization has largely been dropped by Christian theologians. *Rationalization #7: Maybe in our human understanding we don’t know what Jesus meant when he said “this general would not pass away” and that “some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom”. He couldn’t have meant he was coming in the first century because he hasn’t come back yet and that would make him a false prophet.* This rationalization is nothing more than interpreting the Bible by a doctrine you want to be true. If you’re going to believe in the Jesus of the Bible, shouldn’t you base your doctrines on what the Bible actually says? It is self-deceit to look at Jesus’ “prophecy” detailing his return in the lifetime of his disciples and rationalize why it didn’t happen. Only a mind interested in maintaining the illusion of faith could twist and mangle the plain words of the Bible the way Christians have in an attempt to make the incredible credible. An honest mind looking at the facts would have no choice but to admit that Jesus’ prophecy of the end of days has failed to come true.

[@ancientfiction5244]

"When we say…Jesus Christ…was produced without sexual union, and was crucified and died, and rose again, and ascended to heaven, ***we propound nothing new or different*** *from what you believe regarding those whom you call Sons of God. [In fact]…if anybody objects that [Jesus] was crucified, this is in* ***common*** *with the sons of Zeus (as you call them) who suffered, as previously listed [he listed Dionysus, Hercules, and Asclepius].* Since their fatal sufferings are all narrated as not similar but different, so his unique passion should not seem to be any worse." *Note how Justin (Martyr) is less of a fool than modern Christian apologists. He admits that differences don’t matter.* Since each and every one of the suffering and dying gods are slain by different means, one cannot argue the mytheme requires exactly the same means of death. “But Osiris can’t have inspired the Jesus myth because Osiris wasn’t nailed to a cross” is a stupid argument. The mytheme is simply death. Being killed. Suffering and dying. The exact mode of death can vary freely. It makes no difference to the existence and influence of the mytheme. It’s simply the particular instantiation of a generic abstraction. *And Justin’s argument (that Satan invented these fake religions to confuse people) entails Justin agreed the mytheme existed: indeed, it was demonically promulgated, multiple times. Intentionally.* *Likewise, Justin notices the mytheme is not virgin birth, but sexless conception. Of which many examples had already been popularized in pagan mythology (there just happens to also have been examples of actual virgin born gods as well). And by his argument (that the Devil was deliberately emulating the Jesus mytheme, in advance), Justin clearly accepted the same principle for “rising again” after death:* the particular exact metaphysics of the resurrection could, like the exact method of death or conception, vary freely. The mytheme consists solely of the abstraction: returning to life. Somehow. Some way. We will say bodily, at the very least. But what sort of body (the same one, a new one, a mortal one, an immortal one), didn’t matter. *If it had, Justin would have made the argument that “those gods” weren’t really resurrected. But that argument, never occurs to him. Nor did it to any other apologist of the first three centuries.* *Ancient Christians well knew there was nothing new about their dying-and-rising god. Not in respect to the mytheme.* Their claims were solely that his particular instantiation of it was better, and the only one that actually happened. *They didn’t make up the stupid modern arguments that dying-and-rising god myths didn’t exist or weren’t part of a common mytheme everyone knew about. For example, in the same century, Tertullian, in Prescription against Heretics 40, makes exactly the same argument as Justin. Funny that. They had better access to the evidence than we do. They knew what was really and widely the case. We should listen to them.* Google *"Dying-and-Rising Gods: It's Pagan, Guys. Get Over It. • Richard Carrier"* ------------------------------------------------------------------ In addition, look up the below articles. *"Ehrman Errs: Yes, Bart, There Were Dying & Rising Gods - atheologica"* Watch *"Dying & Rising Gods: A Response to William Lane Craig"* by Derreck Bennett at Atheologica. *"The First Easters: Death and Resurrection Before Christ | atheologica"* *"The Christs Before Christ: Tammuz-Adonis | atheologica"* Watch *"Asclepius: The Pre-Christian Healer & Savior"* by Derreck Bennett at Atheologica *"Virgin Birth: It's Pagan, Guys. Get Over It. • Richard Carrier"* *"5 Pagan Parallels to Jesus That Actually Aren’t Bullshit - Atheomedy"* *"Christian Apologetics: The Art of Deceit - Atheomedy"* *"Isaiah 53 & the Suffering Servant | atheologica"* *"Defending the Resurrection: It’s Easy if You Lie! - Atheomedy"* *"Rising Gods, Pagan Parallels, and Cultural Context: A Response to M. David Litwa | atheologica"* *"An Evidence Attested Resurrection? - chromosome two"* *"The Empty Tomb: A Rhetorical Dead End - atheologica"* *"Theological Dodgeball: On the Posturing of Faith over Reason | atheologica"* *"Majority of Scholars agree: The Gospels were not written by Eyewitnesses - Escaping Christian Fundamentalism"* A good site written by an actual Biblical scholar. *"Contradictions in the Bible | Identified verse by verse and explained using the most up-to-date scholarly information about the Bible, its texts, and the men who wrote them -- by Dr. Steven DiMattei"* *"How do we know that the biblical writers were* ***not*** *writing history? -- by Dr Steven DiMattei"* Also: *"How Did The Gospel Writers Know? - The Doston Jones Blog"* *"Yes, the Four Gospels Were Originally Anonymous: Part 1 - The Doston Jones Blog"* *"Are Stories in the Bible Influenced by Popular Greco-Roman Literature? - The Doston Jones Blog"* *"Gospels Not Written By Matthew, Mark, Luke or John - The Church Of Truth"*