Atheists: What could Christians do to convince you to be more open to Jesus?

Quite simply: don't be dogmatic.

Well, you'd have to have some actual evidence, for starters. Objective, verifiable evidence, not "testimony" and heresay. It's not Christian hypocrisy or pushiness that "turns us away" from Christianity, it's the fact that there is no supporting evidence indicating its veracity. To claim that it's just because some (many) Christians are obnoxious jerks about their religion is rather insulting to most of us, you know.

See, there isn't any contemporary historical evidence your Jesus was a real person. The stories about him weren't written until decades later by people who weren't there, none of the historians in and around Jerusalem at the time (nor the Romans, nor the Jews) ever mentioned him, and the stories bear far too much resemblance to older solar deity myths to be taken at face value.

There are also a host of inaccuracies and historical impossibilities in the bible itself, and no evidence that your god exists at all.

Therefore, until one of you can provide some evidence or even make a decent argument that isn't based on logical fallacy and the need to just "have faith"- we simply can't take you seriously. And if you're honest with yourself, in our position- would you?

As a sidenote- we'd really just prefer it if you kept your beliefs to yourself. Most of us don't care what you believe- it's the fact that you push it on others that is the problem, and into our laws, schools, and government. That affects us every day, and we aren't too happy about it.

I appreciate your thoughtfulness and civility - your approach to this is commendable, it really is. But honestly? I would need to see some compelling evidence. Words alone just don't do it - yours is an extraordinary claim, and therefore some extraordinary evidence would be required to back it up.

Until then, there won't be any realistic grounds to accept that your religion - which contradicts much of what we now know regarding the workings of the universe and the history of our planet - is the correct one.

Prove prayer works.

There have been scientific studies into the power of prayer-- and it doesn't work!!

I'm not talking about praying for yourself and then you get healthy faster-- that has been proven to be effective as a placebo affect. Actually, Jehovah's Witnesses tend to heal faster than regular people.... but that's prayer for yourself.

What about prayer for events or people who have no knowledge that you are praying for them?

Yeah, that doesn't work.

If you want atheists to take metaphysical stuff seriously.... it's got to work!

Provide some evidence your claimed god-thing exists, your claimed magic jesus existed and did any of the things the stories claim, etc.

You'll understand, I'm sure, if I don't sit around holding my breath waiting for such evidence, since believers have been trying to provide it for 1900+ years now and have never managed to...

Look, if you want to believe in magic jesus because it comforts you or makes you happy, great. Enjoy. Just keep it to yourself. Keep it out of the laws of countries, stop trying to teach it as fact in public schools, stop taking away the civil rights of other people over it, and stop starting wars over it. And please, stop trying to tell everyone else about it -- we've heard the magic jesus stories, thousands of times. We find them ridiculous, and there's no evidence to show them correct. They don't get any more plausible by repeating them.

Peace.

Want some good advice: atheists hate when Christians try to convince them. So don't try it. Seriously.

Show God.

Or show a real miracle that truly defies logic.

The Bible writes a lot about the latter, so it shouldn't even be so hard according to it.

No chance.

Can you honestly watch all these videos and not at least wonder?

So the vids below talk about Paul's version

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL49F0E043B36...

I'd sell out for a new car

I'm very open to Jesus. I'm not open to Christians. (But they don't know anything about Jesus!)

So you would like us to be more open to a dead man?