Question from an Atheist.

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Permalink Reply by ribbon on April 10, 2013 at 12:34pm

Roy, I was glad to see you back in the forums. I appreciate everything I get to read on AAG. I am slow to learn but I still sooooooooo  like it when people like you ,Tammy Amanda LT Carla Char DV and others take time in these forums to teach what they know. I mean no disrespect to you when I said what I did.

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Permalink Reply by ribbon on April 10, 2013 at 12:38pm

I have a loved one who doesn't want to listen when I mention God. He claims to be atheist and I know him well enough to know that no matter what he isn't going to listen to anything I say. I do want ti believe that there are folks like Carla out there who love the Lord and who will take the time to respond to the unbelievers unbelief comments.

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Permalink Reply by Carla on April 10, 2013 at 2:04pm

Thanks Janie.

 

I know the Lord sends people in my husbands life to talk to him.  I'm not the right one to talk to Craig, but someone else will be.

 

When I witness I learn soooo much.  It causes me to dig deeper in to the scriptures, and it also puts me in a really uncomfortable position to try to see things from the atheists perspective.  I try to have an understanding of where they are coming from.  It takes a lot of prayer and reading God's Word to not respond 'in the flesh' but rather always in the opposite spirit.  They mock, demean and ridicule believers all the time.  But that's nothing compared to what other believers all around the world are going through.

 

As a side note, I have had two people on facebook for sure 'block' me as a friend... I'm not sure if that is because of Holy Spirit conviction or I did something to upset them... Anyway.. Yes I do have a heart for the atheist.  God's Word is true, and God is who He says He is.  The more I talk to people who don't know Him the stronger my faith gets.  :-)

But.. It's important to know when to step away from conversations.  We're not to throw our pearls to swine or they will turn and attack us ...And they do, I've lived it first hand.

 

Bless you, Carla

Permalink Reply by Tammy on April 10, 2013 at 5:12pm

Is your husband not a Christian Carla?

Permalink Reply by Carla on April 10, 2013 at 7:00pm

Tammy, he calls himself an atheist.  I guess that explains my heart to evangelize atheists.

Permalink Reply by Amanda on April 10, 2013 at 1:25pm

Janie, I’m sure Roy will clarify for us what he meant. It’s so easy to misinterpret what someone is saying but instead of attacking the person’s character based on our perception of what is being said (perception can be distorted) we could always say something like “What I understand you to mean is…Is that correct?”

In Romans 10 Paul says, 16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”[h] 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

So we keep preaching the message of faith that Paul talked about in Romans 10:8. We keep them engaged for as long as we can, for as long as they are asking questions. The saddest part is that some people choose not to remain teachable. That has nothing to do with the preacher or teacher. “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” If people have ears to hear you can be sure that the Father is drawing them towards the light. Jesus is the light of the world. The message of faith is sown in the heart and faith is planted in the heart. Atheists do not understand it and the evil one snatches it away from them. We pray for them to see the light.

Matthew 13
New International Version (NIV)
The Parable of the Sower
13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

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Permalink Reply by Tammy on April 10, 2013 at 5:06pm

Janie,

To know Roy is to know humility. Roy wasn't laughing at them. Those are the words he used but I seen it in such a different light. I think he found it kinda cute & snickered. Roy would never laugh at his kids & degrade them in the slightest. I know he can defend himself but I just wanted to interject this. He's is a great encourager & as Amanda said a very very kind gentlemen who would never berate anyone. Just wanted to share who he is & how his statements were misunderstood. 

A teacher call me stupid back in the day, I wouldn't have said anything. If I had the same personality then that I do now, I bet she would never say I was stupid again. I'd show her stupid.

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Permalink Reply by Tammy on April 10, 2013 at 5:09pm

Now I see where you now understand what he meant. 

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Permalink Reply by RoyW on April 10, 2013 at 6:37pm

Wow! Thank you, Taminator. Wednesdays are my busiest days. I have a full schedule plus preach a chapel service. I tried to squeeze a comment in but I had many kids demanding my attention today for help and I could not comment at all. I was surprised when I started reading the reactions this evening. I am very grateful for all the kind remarks.

A teacher should never ever make a child feel stupid. That can have an extremely damaging effect on a child. Some children do feel stupid. I have a girl in one of my classes that will openly say she is stupid. I work very hard against that. No child should feel that way. However, I did have a laugh by your last statement.

Roy

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Permalink Reply by Amanda on April 10, 2013 at 5:58pm

Tam, Roy is a very kind and caring individual and I am privileged to be called his friend. There is nothing self righteous or condescending in Roy and to clarify my posts, when I mentioned that perception can be distorted and projection, what I mean is that it is very easy for us to mistakenly see in others something that they are not even guilty of, or if they are, then it is to a much smaller degree and so minute that others don't even notice it in the person but we are noticing it ourselves because we are over sensitive about it and the real issue is that those things are probably things that we project onto others because we don't want to accept that they are true about ourselves. I've learned that this is true for me anyway. And when my emotional reactions to other people are causing me to lash out at them, or feel the need to get defensive, then, for me, it is a way of learning the parts about myself that I don't know about or want to accept but need changing.

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Permalink Reply by RoyW on April 10, 2013 at 6:24pm

Thank you, Amanda. The laughing was certainly not against the children but as a parent that knows the child will eventually get it. It is a joyous laugh. The children often ask me why I am laughing. I tell them that is because they bring so much joy to the world. However, I must admit that sometimes I am not laughing. Today, a child told me that my decision was the dumbest thing she had ever heard. At that moment I was not laughing. But now, I am laughing at myself. Kids are wonderful and I am grateful to have had over thirty years teaching them. I work very hard not to make any of them feel stupid. The other day I had a girl in Algebra II struggle to get a concept. I said to her that she wasn't seeing the whole picture. I told her to look in the book and try to see the whole picture. (This really happened.) She looked into the book and then looked back at me just as serious as she could be and said to me, "Pastor Wilson, where is the picture"? Well, I must admit that the entire class had a big laugh. She is a beautiful girl with blond hair. The boys had a great time with that one. By the way, she is getting an "A" in the class. She is one of the hardest working student that I have ever had. She does not have a grade lower than an "A" in her  entire school years. I doubt if many here remember Art Linkletter's show called "Kids Say the Darndest Things." I live that every day. There are very few days  that these kids don't give me a good laugh. They are all wonderful.

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Permalink Reply by Amanda on April 10, 2013 at 6:32pm

Lol, Roy.
My own son has said some pretty funny things, too, over the years. When he was in third grade he made a mother's day card for me out of construction paper and laminated it. He wrote, Happy Mother's Day. God bless you and all mothers. And inside was written, Coupon good for Peace and Quite/24 hours. I think he meant quiet but it didn't last quite 24 minutes -- the peace. :)

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