Someone please help me with this debate I'm in with these atheist fools
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I'm sorry bro I might have sounded like a jerk. To be honest the title of this thread is misleading because it was barely a debate. It was so short. They made jokes, I showed evidence, it ended. No one is commenting on that youtube thread anymore. With the help of people here on CC, the facts drove the atheists away.
I agree, we can't "prove" much of anything at all period. For example I can't "prove" my whole life wasn't just an illusion and I am really a battery in a machine slave matrix system. That said I think the evidence all point strait to Christ, and when "faith" is put in Him we are trusting Him fully with our whole life. Faith is NOT just believing blindly no matter what. I would also like to add that once you truly put your faith (I prefer using the word "trust") He then remakes you and fills you with His Spirit so called "proving it" to you personally. I think the truth of Christ is supported by ALL the evidence if you come at it from a neutral position, but I have to add, I NEVER saw ANY of this before I was regenerated and my eyes were opened. I am not trying to argue or start any kind of crazy debate, but this Idea of "you have to just believe no matter what", is false and a very dangerous position to answer the seeker or false convert with. I agree the is no "proof, but ALL the evidence points strait to Him.
Also Utah if I misunderstood exactly what you meant by "One needs faith, not proof." then I apologize in advance and still very much agree with not wasting a lot of time with people that are just there to mock. Like you said, give it a shot and if they wont hear it then move on to the next guy with dustless feet. Anyway brother I just felt led to put this out there and truly hope it doesn't come off offensive.
Also Utah if I misunderstood exactly what you meant by "One needs faith, not proof." then I apologize in advance and still very much agree with not wasting a lot of time with people that are just there to mock. Like you said, give it a shot and if they wont hear it then move on to the next guy with dustless feet. Anyway brother I just felt led to put this out there and truly hope it doesn't come off offensive.
It's all good brother, and welcome to the family. I am fairly a new Christian myself and I understand exactly how you feel, and just wanted to share a few things I have come to learn from His Spirit. The first point, and the biggest point I want to share is that faith in Christ is not an evidence problem for the atheist, they like to say, "if you show me evidence I would believe". I don't think anything could be further from the truth. Think about it, the 12 apostles walked with Jesus, they saw Him heal the sick, feed the hungry, walk on water, heck they saw Him raise people from the dead. They literally saw Him raise the dead back to life, yet in His hour of need were were they? All that "proof" and they were still fearful and ran off.
Our issue with Jesus is a heart issue, I honestly feel that all the creation debates, flood facts, and these "proofs" that God exist don't address the main issue, a heart of stone. Just in your walk with Him, watch and see if that is not the case. Good luck brother and it is awesome that you have such a fire burning for God right now. If I can ever be of any help at all please don't hesitate to hit me up.
Our issue with Jesus is a heart issue, I honestly feel that all the creation debates, flood facts, and these "proofs" that God exist don't address the main issue, a heart of stone. Just in your walk with Him, watch and see if that is not the case. Good luck brother and it is awesome that you have such a fire burning for God right now. If I can ever be of any help at all please don't hesitate to hit me up.
I appreciate your desire to defend your faith. I was exactly the same way when I was younger... I felt I HAD to "beat them down" with facts.. While having scriptural facts is a "must", the difficult lesson to learn is that we are not supposed to brow-beat someone into "understanding"....
It took me quite a few years to understand this whole passage of advice from Peter (a pretty belligerent fellow, himself).... the key is the last phrase....
1 Peter 3.... Other translations read "gentleness and respect".....
It took me quite a few years to understand this whole passage of advice from Peter (a pretty belligerent fellow, himself).... the key is the last phrase....
1 Peter 3.... Other translations read "gentleness and respect".....
Yes... they are that good. I honestly thought I should carry one around with me to remind myself... they are so full of facts, and great interviews with true "experts" in their fields of study, it's difficult to remember all the "details"
They are not "long" books, so they don't take a lot of time to read through... except for the going back time and again to re-read certain parts.
Good stuff.
They are not "long" books, so they don't take a lot of time to read through... except for the going back time and again to re-read certain parts.
Good stuff.
B
Here's a good read I've looked at, and I'd say quite the interesting little box that was discovered not long ago... 
Evidence for the existence of Jesus Christ has been discovered. And they are correct, at least perhaps up until the present. A recent incredible discovery may put to rest that criticism.
A secondary issue must first be considered. Is it reasonable to expect such artifacts or inscriptions? After all, the man Jesus was not a prominent governmental leader. He was essentially an itinerant preacher, with few possessions, and eventually suffered the death of a common outlaw. Would the Romans have recorded His life or death with an inscription or statue? Certainly not.
Actually, Jewish archaeological evidence of the entire period is rather sparse. There are the remains of large and extensive Roman cities, and adequate inscriptions of leaders, including Herod, Pilate and Festus. There are also influential Jews such as Caiaphas, but almost nothing can be found recording the lives of ordinary individuals. And remember that in A.D. 70 Jerusalem was totally destroyed by Titus. What may still exist is buried under the thriving modern city. Certainly the odds are against an artifact's survival.
The scarcity of archaeological artifacts can be contrasted, however, with the wealth of historical evidence for Christ. Soon the apostles had written letters detailing Christ's life and teachings, to be followed by the writings of Paul all widely copied and circulated, within the lifetime of eyewitnesses. The Roman historian Josephus mentioned Christ several times while relating noteworthy civic events, including the execution of one named "James, the brother of Jesus who was called the Christ/Messiah" referring evidently to Jesus' brother James, leader of the early church and author of the New Testament book bearing his name.
The new artifact is an ossuary, a medium-sized box in which human bones were placed for permanent burial after the flesh had all decayed away. This practice was employed for only a brief period of time from about B.C. 20 to A.D. 70. The box is made of a soft, chalky, limestone, common to the area. The contents have long since vanished.
Most remarkably, an inscription has been etched into the side which reads, "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus" in the Aramaic script of the time. Careful studies, including scrutiny under a scanning electron microscope show the inscription to be genuine. The patina, or oxidized surface equally covers both box and the interior of the etched letters. The recognized expert on such matters, Dr. Andre Lemaire, concludes: "I am pleased to report that in my judgment it is genuinely ancient and not a fake."
All three names used were common in that era, but seldom was the deceased's brother mentioned, unless that brother was noteworthy. To have all three listed, in correct Biblical relationship certainly supports the possibility of this being the ossuary of the Biblical James.
With or without the ossuary or other archeological evidence, we can still be confident that the events are true. The Christian faith is a reasonable faith, well grounded in the facts of history, and the Bible is an entirely accurate document. On its teachings we can base our lives and eternal destiny.
Evidence for the existence of Jesus Christ has been discovered. And they are correct, at least perhaps up until the present. A recent incredible discovery may put to rest that criticism.
A secondary issue must first be considered. Is it reasonable to expect such artifacts or inscriptions? After all, the man Jesus was not a prominent governmental leader. He was essentially an itinerant preacher, with few possessions, and eventually suffered the death of a common outlaw. Would the Romans have recorded His life or death with an inscription or statue? Certainly not.
Actually, Jewish archaeological evidence of the entire period is rather sparse. There are the remains of large and extensive Roman cities, and adequate inscriptions of leaders, including Herod, Pilate and Festus. There are also influential Jews such as Caiaphas, but almost nothing can be found recording the lives of ordinary individuals. And remember that in A.D. 70 Jerusalem was totally destroyed by Titus. What may still exist is buried under the thriving modern city. Certainly the odds are against an artifact's survival.
The scarcity of archaeological artifacts can be contrasted, however, with the wealth of historical evidence for Christ. Soon the apostles had written letters detailing Christ's life and teachings, to be followed by the writings of Paul all widely copied and circulated, within the lifetime of eyewitnesses. The Roman historian Josephus mentioned Christ several times while relating noteworthy civic events, including the execution of one named "James, the brother of Jesus who was called the Christ/Messiah" referring evidently to Jesus' brother James, leader of the early church and author of the New Testament book bearing his name.
The new artifact is an ossuary, a medium-sized box in which human bones were placed for permanent burial after the flesh had all decayed away. This practice was employed for only a brief period of time from about B.C. 20 to A.D. 70. The box is made of a soft, chalky, limestone, common to the area. The contents have long since vanished.
Most remarkably, an inscription has been etched into the side which reads, "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus" in the Aramaic script of the time. Careful studies, including scrutiny under a scanning electron microscope show the inscription to be genuine. The patina, or oxidized surface equally covers both box and the interior of the etched letters. The recognized expert on such matters, Dr. Andre Lemaire, concludes: "I am pleased to report that in my judgment it is genuinely ancient and not a fake."
All three names used were common in that era, but seldom was the deceased's brother mentioned, unless that brother was noteworthy. To have all three listed, in correct Biblical relationship certainly supports the possibility of this being the ossuary of the Biblical James.
With or without the ossuary or other archeological evidence, we can still be confident that the events are true. The Christian faith is a reasonable faith, well grounded in the facts of history, and the Bible is an entirely accurate document. On its teachings we can base our lives and eternal destiny.
I see much growth in your walk in the comments that you have made here. Remember what the Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, "And he hath said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Wherefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong". ESV
I was very polite with them on youtube. I didn't call them names or sound like I was trying to beat them down. The thread was just a few comments. Super short debate. They made a couple jokes, I shared evidence, they didn't respond. That was it. It pretty much went exactly how I wanted it to. The whole point of me doing this was not necessarily to change the mind of those atheists but to show others reading through the comments that there IS proof of Jesus and the bible really does back up its claims.
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I know the Holy Spirit has to work on a person in order to believe in God. Nothing I say will really change their mind. I doubt they ever looked at the evidence I shared anyway. The main reason I did all this was to show others in the comments that Christians have real proof of Jesus and things the bible talks about. And hey, if those atheists ever felt inclined to look deeper into the subject at least I provided some good links and info for them.
I'd want one to show my older brother. He seems to be having a hard time believing in God. I tell him about Jesus and how I've been under spiritual attack by demons before. He definitely believes we have souls and I told him that only God could have made his soul and I'm sure he agrees. He tried showing me this movie called "Sausage Party" which is the most atheist/anti-God movie I've ever seen. I'm guessing he was trying to open my mind up about my faith. I think he believes Jesus is God but he hates how Jesus convicts you of sin. My brother is a very sinful/prideful person and doesn't want to submit to God's commandments.
