Stones Cry Out

Rebuttal, Mr. G?

I was an athiest by age 15 and went through a brief 'village athiest' stage then. Thereafter my athiesm derived from two points of view: (1)no proof of God just as there was no proof of Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy (2) 'The Christians that I know are such jerks!'

Well, long story short -- I got to the point at age 26 where I needed a deliverer, and God showed up. It was seeing a direct miracle that convinced me of God's existence, and then meeting decent Christians that confirmed it.

So how do you witness to someone like Maher? Well, he's full of hate against religious people in general, but Christians in particular. Smile. Absorb his verbal blows. And most importantly, act in a moral and loving manner. Nothing hurts the cause of the Gospel more than corrupt or mean Christians.

Step 2: wait for God to show up in Maher's life. This is a factor that we cannot control, but we can rely upon God to love Maher and to reveal Himself to him.

Bill Maher said: "It's a shame that Christianity has gone so far from the teachings of Jesus. I don't know anyone less Jesus-like than most Christians."

What's sad is how right he is. Do you suppose knowing some Christians who aren't like that would influence him?

Bill Maher appears to have mistaken the abuse of the Gospel for the Gospel itself. It's a fairly easy copout to bunk Christianity based on experiences with people who do "un-Christian" things, and then label it Christianity.

Agreed,

Bill maher's comments border on the offensive.

Agreed,

Bill maher's comments border on the offensive.

I agree with John. Witness to Maher the same way you witness to everybody: Love God. Love people. Pray.

Honestly, I think the term "witness" has come to mean "convince", which is so far from the truth it's scary.

Adam's right. We can't convince people to become Christians, as William Fay has pointed out in his witnessing manual. We can present the Gospel message to people, serve as good examples, and wait upon the Holy Spirit to stir the souls of the lost.

Well one way to do it is to show him that the Western traditions of science were created in the Church. For example Galileo had a Jesuit colleague, Christoph Scheiner, who investigated sunspots (see Tres Epistolae de Maculis Solaribus Scriptae ad Marcum Welserum, 1/1612) another proof of heliocentrism. And Gregor Medel, puttering in the garden, independently provided the framework that buttresses our understanding genetics and thus evolution.

It is, of course, only the noisy and ignorant that insist that there is no global warming and evolution is a fraud. Thoughtful knoowledgeable and faith-filled people, such as John Margburger, the President's Science Advisor (see http://tinyurl.com/6slkw) and even the Pope could show Bill Maher that deep understanding of modern science and profound faith in a loving God can go hand in hand. You can't preach to a screamer by screaming. You've got to speak calmly and rationally in a quiet, persistent voice. You know, like Jesus's.

I still maintain that there are two issues here: 1) Maher's media personality and role model (whether we like it or not) with potential to drag others down with him; and 2) Maher as an individual who needs to be saved. I think the gospels show that Jesus had two different strategies for these different "people." One corporate, and one personal.

If we fail to make a public example of Maher the "personality," and fail to warn believers and seekers of the danger of his ideas, then we fail Christ. If we fail to treat Maher the "individual" with kindness and love, we fail Christ as well. Is there a way for us to do both?

One of Maher's problems is that he has fully absorbed the modern view of history, i.e. that it was all downhill until the enlightenment. That Christianity has started wars which wouldn't otherwise have started and that it led to a lot of witch burnings. There is a nugget of truth, but this view is about as well-rounded as the MSM view of abortion (which I believe Maher also shares). That is that to be pro-life is to be very close to picking up a rifle and shooting an abortionist.

The problem with Maher is that he's only heard one side -- the very worst side -- of the story. Can Christianity get a little love for ending slavery, not once but twice (once in the ancient and once in the modern world). How about ending infanticide? Orphanages? Hospitals? Public Schools? Kindergarten? Science itself, which even Nietzche said was a product of Christianity? Can we get a little love for those, Bill, you big dunce?

I aggree with Bill maher, you guys are brainwashed...

I agree with jeff and Maher.
Once the middle east the the most advanced place scientificall and technologically in the world but it lost that to western europe at the same time Islam arose. And trust me it will happen again in the west. Your either with science, logic and truth or your with religion, dogma and biggotism.
I'm not going to try and convert you because I think that is impeding on someones human rights and should be outlawed but I will warn you that no matter how blind you are to the fact they are there and that where your freedom stops is where another persons starts.

I can not express how bad I feel for all of you. You have been led down the slippery slope that is Christianity; I wish you could climb back up. Your god has NEVER show himself, no one with any clue about the travels of Jesus wrote the Bible, and for any Christian who wants to support a religion try becoming Jewish. The Jews don't believe their god had a son and are not cofused by the teachings of the Bible: they are not literal. If you have a shred of sanity, you will drop the falsity of religion and become an atheist. Atheists are not religious, they are irreligious. If you are convince in a god, try praying to Jesus sincerly to make a coin land on heads every time you flip it. Then take coin and flip it fifty times, if it lands on heads fifty times, you have converted me.

Christianity is a scam, as in any other religion.. They are KULTS,You are sheep. Only the weak minded and needy follow them.It doesnt make sense,, think about it. THINK I know you can do it!

To people outside of Christianity, Christians are the ONLY thing that represents Christianity. "Un-Christian things relabed Christianity" IS Christianity. There may be some pure form in your imagination, but in REALITY - Christianity IS all the horrible things you all represent it being. As long as Christianity justifies bad behavior, leaving Christians unaccountable to their neighbors, it will be perceived as contemptible.