Over the years we have had discussions with a variety of unbelievers and people who claim to be Christian. They have not always gone well. We are not trying to evangelize these people but work hard to plant and water seeds in them.
Thus we cannot declare that we are having great evangelistic success. But there is one thing we have learned about unbelievers over, the years is that when they say the following:
If there is a God, he knows exactly what it would take for me to come to faith in Christ. Instead, God hides or sends people to evangelize me who seem capable of only spouting Evangelical talking points or cliches. I am more than willing to have honest, open discussions about Christianity, but Bible quotes, sermonettes, or cheap evangelism methods ain’t going to cut it. (BG Website)
They usually do not want an open-minded discussion. Their minds remain closed and they only want the believer to be open-minded to their views and points. if they want to have an open honest discussion, then the unbeliever cannot simply dismiss the points made by the believer.
Nor can they deny that God does not exist or trash the other person’s viewpoints. The other problem is that the unbeliever is also setting up the playing field. He wants the discussion to be his way, not in the manner that would facilitate an open and honest discussion.
While we agree that sermonettes and cheap evangelistic tricks do not help any constructive discussion with unbelievers. You cannot exclude what the person believes or his source. That is stacking the playing field in the unbelievers’ favor and helps him avoid the truth.
That specific unbeliever already knows that science, archaeology, and other secular topics do not cover, fully support, or provide the information he is willing to listen to. That means he only hears what he wants to hear and can freely remain in his unbelief without guilt.
Science and archaeology are limited fields and cannot prove the supernatural. They are not designed to prove the supernatural in a direct manner. o appeal to those two and similar research areas is only ensuring the unbeliever that he will not hear anything that will upset his belief system.
This is why we have stopped talking to many unbelievers. They just do not want to hear the truth and they want to shield themselves from what God has to say. A believer is not allowed to have an open and honest discussion because they are already forbidden to include what their belief is and where they came to that belief.
To be truly objective, the unbeliever has to be open to everything involved in the discussion and that includes quotes from the Bible. One cannot prove the Bible true without using bible verses as part of their examples and points.
Those Bible verses needed to present one’s point of view are backed up by both science and archaeology. Without that reference point, it is impossible to refute the arguments made by the unbeliever. One cannot appeal to both science and archaeology to prove a point if one cannot bring pertinent bible verses into the discussion.
While we will give him the benefit of the doubt in this case and conclude he meant just inserting verses like John 3:16 with no backup information. Too often people will throw in verses out of context for whatever reason they may have.
Believers should be like Paul in these cases when Acts 19:8 states
8 And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, having discussions and persuading them about the kingdom of God. (NASB)
or
Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. (NIV)
To be persuasive one must be properly educated in the ways of God, the Bible, and many other subjects. We just do not blindly go in there and rattle off bible verses expecting the unbeliever to see the error of their ways and convert on the spot.
The key word in that verse is ‘persuasively’ and that means you need to know what you are talking about. We made the mistake once of quoting Dr. John McCray’s book Archaeology and the New Testament.
Inside that book, he made reference to some microscopic etchings that were on some coins. When we used it in a discussion, we were raked over the coals because that information had been discredited and it was honestly discredited.
We wrote Dr. McCray about that topic and he apologized and gave us the reason why he included it. Before you speak you have to be careful and know all the facts before you get caught up in an embarrassing situation.
The other aspect of having an open and honest discussion with unbelievers is that they may take the opportunity to use the time to evangelize you and destroy your faith. You need to be careful as it has happened many times.
We watched a debate between Bart Ehrman and Dr. Craig Evans and Dr. Ehrman did not even try to debate the issues. He was trying to evangelize the audience. That was all he was doing throughout the debate.
You have to be careful and make sure you are spiritually protected before having a discussion with unbelievers. The unbeliever studies history, archaeology, science, and many other subjects. If you are not well-versed in those areas, you will have a difficult time in your discussions.
You also need to be well-versed in what the Bible says as unbelievers will twist those verses to mean what they want them to mean. Listen to what the Bible says as ALL unbelievers are part of the false teacher, the blind and deceived, and the lost crowd.
They do not have better information than you do so watch your step. Finally, do not expect conversions every time you have a discussion. Let God plant and water the seeds so that the next time you meet or some other Christian meets them, the harvest will be easier.
We are not all evangelists but we are all called to give an answer for why we believe. Proper preparation, the truth, and the help from God will win the day. You cannot be successful without God involved.
There is a wealth of instructions in the Bible for you to follow when you want to discuss with an unbeliever. Then stick to God’s playing field so the unbeliever does not have an advantage over you.
BG has our email address and if he has a list of questions he wants answered, then we would be happy to answer them for him. But we will not get involved in a discussion. He won’t like the answers but the truth is the truth and he does not have it anymore.
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