How To: Convert someone into an atheist

Wow. This really shows a total misunderstanding of having a relationship with God.

I must admit that you take a more open minded approach to atheism than perhaps 99% of the atheists I have come in contact in postings recently....

As to your proof however.... An old timer once said that for a skeptic no proof is ever enough. While that may be true, believers are also told in1 Peter 3:15 (New International Version)
15But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,"

Christianity doesn't mean to "check your brain at the door" or to "have blind faith.." While "Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things yet not seen..." it does not imply that we are to without thinking accept everything. If that were the case then Christians would always be knocked about to and fro giving and accepting the latest change in doctrine as absolute. I believe that any decision regarding matters of the heart should be weighed cautiously and deliberately and while some things are only able to be felt not imparted scientifically (define LOVE for example...) not all things should this apply to.

Fact: "There are 2,000 prophecies that discuss past events and future prophecies in the Bible. Over 300 prophecies talk about Messianic Prophecies. The Messiah would have had 456 identifying characteristics; Jesus had them all. End time prophecies talk about Iran, Israel, Damascus Syria, Russia, And China. God gives warning of the coming New World Order and the coming antichrist's reign of terror. No other "religion" has specific, repeated, and unfailing fulfillment of predictions many years in advance of contingent events over which the predictor had no control. Buddha didn't rise from the dead, nor did Confucius, Mary or Zoroaster. Muhammad or Maitreya didn't fulfill detailed prophecy. Alexander the Great, nor did Joseph Smith raise the dead or heal the sick. There is far less reliable information written about t

about these "Gods", yet they are followed by millions...". They are also far more recent....

- *Jesus had to be born through a particular family line -(Chances without God) 10 To the 2nd Power (1 in 10,000) *Jesus would be Born in Bethlehem (1 Chance in 100,000) *Jesus would be a miracle worker (1 Chance in 100,000) *Jesus would present himself as a king on a donkey (1 Chance in 1,000,000) Jesus would be betrayed by a friend for 30 pieces of silver (1 Chance in 1,000,000) Jesus would be crucified (1 Chance in 1,000,000) *Jesus would present himself as king 173,880 days from the decree of Artaxerxes to rebuild Jerusalem (1 Chance in 1,000,000) = Total Probability without God 1 to 38th power (1 in 100 Billion, Billion, Billion Billion) In addition, Peter Stoner calculated that the chances of fulfilling just 48 prophecies are 1 chance in 10 to the 157th power. Yet Jesus Christ fulfilled over 300! - Affirmed by the American Scientific Affiliation Members

-Jesus DID NOT manipulate events to fulfill prophecy Such as The Place of the Messiah's birth (Micah 5:2). , The Date of the Messiah's birth (Daniel 9:25). Manner of birth of the Messiah (Isaiah 7:14), The Manner of death of the Messiah (Zechariah 12:10; Psalm 22:16 prophesied before the invention of crucifixion). , Piercing in side of that Messiah (Zechariah 12:10).The Details of the Burial of the Messiah(Isaiah 53:9).Executers dividing up Jesus' clothes after he died on the cross.

You indicated you would be happy with ONE prophecy... Pick which one you would like.... As to the disciples making things up or their having knowledge of the prophecies... Yes, given their backgrounds as being Jewish, some probably did have some background knowledge but does having background knowledge on a subject matter disqualify a person from being objective, critical or authoritative on a subject? The facts are, the same disciples that later wrote about him at the point of his death had abandoned him.

But consider this.... Jesus als

But consider this.... Jesus also made a prophecy that even many Christians overlook...
Luke 21:16 "But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death,
Mathew 10:21And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 22And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Keep in mind the section there NAME'S SAKE... The word name's indicates a singular possessive tone. What was his name? Jesus Christ... What were his followers called by the Romans first? CHRISTIANS... followers of Christ. Now consider the following extra-biblical source.

Cornelius Tacitus (55-120 AD), "the greatest historian" of ancient Rome:

"Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired. Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he

mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car. Hence, even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion; for it was not, as it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man's cruelty, that they were being destroyed."

These men and women were killed simply because they were Christians.. For HIS name's sake.. "Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of *****hatred against mankind*****."
Their crime? FIring the city? NO... Hatred against mankind... The very same charge rallied against Christians today. Christians are called intollerant.. WHY? Because we believe in absolutes. No follower of Christ would ever condone killing someone who rejected him. After all, it would run completely opposite to the very foundation upon which their faith was built.. Jesus Christ after all WAS put to death..

Now, back to the disciples for a moment. Let me ask anyone who has an open mind to examine this in a rationale way. The men who claimed to be his disciples openly admit to having abandoned him THEIR LEADER when he was taken by first the Jewish council and then later by the Romans to be crucified. In fact, one of his most vocal followers Peter even cursed him when put to the charge by bystanders as him having been a disciple. They go into HIDING for 3 days and it wasn't one of them that found the tomb empty IT WAS A WOMAN! I emphasize that not because of a downward looking attitude upon women today but the general rules concerning women put them in the same class as property in those days by nearly all nations. The Romans, the Jews... just about every culture at the time seriously took women for granted and for his resurrection to have been discovered by a woman and then written into scripture that way would have undermined the overall affect of the story to any

story to anyone it would later be told to in that day UNLESS IT REALLY HAPPENED THAT WAY! Let's face it, if you or I were writing a story about a great religous leader how many things would we have left out of the Bible? History was full of great writers even in that age and it would have been so much easier to have glossed over the details of so many scriptures and painted them in an easier to accept format if they were merely wanting to???? Increase converts? Wow, what a great idea. Let's go and follow a religion where the majority of the people who convert to it are either killed, beatened, disowned by their families or betrayed in one sense of the word or another? Oh sign me up!!! Oh can you hold my "I'm STUPID" sign.... It doesn't make sense if there wasn't truth to it. As for the disciples, can I PLEASE go and help start a Church based upon something we KNOW is a lie.... THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS... Just so I can be KILLED FOR DOING IT? These men didn't want to die for their faith initially. They admitted to being cowards and hiding in fear. What changed their minds, what changed their hearts to become the men who later gave their lives professing the very same Christ they didn't want anything to do with a short time earlier? THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS. They couldn't make this up or gloss over the details to make something that clearly DIDN'T happen look as though it did. Not when THOUSANDS of people at the time would have been knocking on their door telling them to get their story straight. Rome would have produced the body of Jesus if they had it. The guards who later said they fell asleep would have been put to death as punishment. Pilot would have lost his position as governor due to the potential revolution that Rome would have thought was going to come about due to the noise now being started by these pesky CHRISTIANS...

What about the proof of the resurrection?

"An Englishman, John Singleton Copley, better known as Lord Lyndhurst, is recognized as one

What about the proof of the resurrection?

"An Englishman, John Singleton Copley, better known as Lord Lyndhurst, is recognized as one of the greatest legal minds in British history. He was the solicitor-general of the British government, attorney-general of Great Britain, three times high chancellor of England, and elected as high steward of the University of Cambridge, thus holding in one lifetime the highest offices ever conferred upon a judge in Great Britain.

After Copley's death, some personal papers were discovered which contained his comments concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ in the light of legal evidence, and why he became a Christian: "I know pretty well what evidence is: and I tell you, such evidence as that for the resurrection has never broken down yet."

Dr. Simon Greenleaf was a famous Royall Professor of Law at Harvard University who was primarily responsible for Harvard's eminent position among law schools in the United States. Greenleaf produced a famous, three-volume work, A Treatise on the Law of Evidence, which is still considered one of the greatest authorities on the subject in the entire literature of legal procedure.

With a lawyer's skill, Greenleaf put his principles to work as he examined the historical evidence surrounding the resurrection of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Bible and other historical writings. After a very careful examination, he wrote a book entitled An Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists by the Rules of Evidence Administered in the Courts of Justice.

Also, the Lord Chief Justice of England, Lord Darling, once said that "no intelligent jury in the world could fail to bring in a verdict that the resurrection story is true."" -ForeRunner Magazine April 2008 source...

Both Jesus and the Resurrection story stand paramount to the Christian Faith and it is upon these pillars that Christianity has stood for 2000 years through persecution, wars (both physical and intellectual) as well as an all ou

(both physical and intellectual) as well as an all out open-season declared under Rome. It wasn't until Constatine adopted the "IF you can't beat em join em" approach that the physical persecution stopped and the watering down of the gospel began. Dare I say it was the birth of the State Sponsored Church. Regardless of that, the Church is not the people that go to buildings. It's not the building itself or even the popular ideals shared by many. THE CHURCH, the Body of Christ is any person who believes that Jesus Christ IS who he said he is. GOD. And for any one that comes to him and acknowledges him with a humble heart he will forgive their sins and open his arms to them. Now tell me, what's wrong with that? It's not about the do's and the donts... It's about you and he "reasoning together."

You asked for any believer in God... In my case; Father, Son and Holy Spirit... To tell you what would make them NO LONGER believe. I would require only ONE thing. The bones of Jesus. The Resurrection is so paramount to Christianity that IF you removed that one event the whole of the faith would eventually collapse. If Christ is not raised, your faith is worthless (1 Cor 15:14).

That's it. If you can show me HIS body that was nailed to a cross. Show me the marks in the skull made from the 2 inch thorns that ripped flesh from his head and were hit in place. The entry point where the spear pierced his side... If you can prove to me that Jesus was NOT raised from the dead then I will no longer believe. But I've tried to do that already.... You see, I understand what it means to be a skeptic because I'm as skeptical as they come. I know what it's like to question everything and I know that it's the way I was made and that the God that loves me made me in his image and gifted me with the desire to know things. So, it's ok to be skeptical. In the end, former atheists make better believers than those that were believers their entire lives because they not only know WHAT they believe

So, it's ok to be skeptical. In the end, former atheists make better believers than those that were believers their entire lives because they not only know WHAT they believe but WHY.... And that is sooooooo important.

My prayer is that you too will do as I have and weigh the evidence with an open mind and ask yourself is it POSSIBLE that what I've said is true? Is it POSSIBLE that tonight there's a God that Loved YOU so much he split heaven and Earth to make a way for you to be with HIM someday because he loved you more than anyone else ever could? You can't rationalize love. You can't quantify it and if you try to explain it to someone whose never felt it they wont a clue what it means but it is still real.... Jesus Loves You and through his grace so do I...