theism

by Madeline Twooney

I have been a Christian for almost 10 years; however, my friends don’t know Jesus. This hasn’t affected our friendship negatively, though it is on my heart that my friends know the joy of being in a loving relationship with our Savior.

The Great Commission instructs us to spread the gospel and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:16-20). Thus, in the past, l have given testimonies to my friends of God’s goodness or even just straight up talked to them about the Bible. However, this has only deterred them from wanting to know God. So, instead, l started to pray for my friends.

Do you too, have friends who don’t want to know God?

Here are 9 issues of faith your friends might struggle with and prayers you can pray over them:

1. “Does God even exist?”

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” (Psalm 19:1)

One afternoon, one of my oldest friends asked me this question completely out of the blue.

Convincing a friend of God’s existence is not an easy task considering that science, society, and even their own intellect try to convince them otherwise.

Prayer

Sovereign Lord,

We thank You that at the beginning You spoke into the darkness and created heaven and earth. If all creation responds to Your voice, if the winds move and the mountains shake at Your command, how can we doubt that You are the Creator, the ruler of all?

Thank you for the life of my friend. Please open his eyes, Lord, that he may see Your presence, just like You opened the eyes of Elisha’s servant and he saw the hills covered by horses and chariots of heavenly fire.

Help my friend to see what l see when l look upon Your face, precious Lord, for You are worthy to be honored.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

2. “I don’t want to be accountable to God.”

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

I have a good friend who claims to be an atheist. In reality, she acknowledges that God exists—she just doesn’t like Him.

My friend believes that God wants to judge her lifestyle and take away the freedoms she enjoys, so she shuts down at any mention of Him.

Prayer

Precious Father,

l commit my friend into Your hands. I stand in the gap for her and ask for forgiveness on her behalf as she denies You and all that You have done for her in her life.

Lord, please help my friend to see that true freedom comes from the bond price that Your precious son Jesus Christ paid for our sins. Help her to see this truth, for the truth will set her free.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

3. “When l see proof that God exists, then l’ll believe in Him.”

“For we live by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)

A former colleague of mine has traveled to many countries. He believes in the beauty of experiencing new cultures and learning new traditions because he has seen the existence and value of these things on his travels.

However, he will only believe in God once he has seen proof that He exists.

Prayer

Almighty God,

Thank you that You are faithful and that we see Your faithfulness when we step out, believing in You, Your mercy, and wonders.

Lord, l bring my friend before you. Please give him the sight to see Your goodness in the land of the living—not with physical eyes, but with eyes of faith.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

4. “I was a Christian, but l’m not anymore.”

”So, he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20)

When l first came to Christ 10 years ago, a colleague of mine guided me in my initial days as a Christian. However, a few years later, my friend stopped going to church. Additionally, any attempts l made to talk with her about God were met with disinterest. To this day, I still don’t know why.

Prayer

Merciful Lord and Savior,

We thank You that You never loosen Your hold on us, no matter what we are going through, for You are always faithful, even when we are not.

As You know Lord, my friend has decided that she doesn’t want to walk with You anymore. I pray that this change of heart is temporary and that like the prodigal son, she will make her way back home to You, where You will welcome her back with open arms.

We thank You that with You we will always find grace. And, that we will always belong to You, and You to us.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

5. “A Christian hurt me and now l don’t trust God.”

“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)

A few years ago, my friend received the information that a colleague of his, who is a Christian, had said negative things about his struggle with alcohol.

Understandably, my friend was very hurt by this news. He associated his colleague’s judgment with God’s view of him and it affected his ability to trust God.

Prayer

God of compassion,

Thank you that where we are imperfect, You are perfect. Forgive us when we don’t behave in the shadow of Your image; help us to forgive each other in such situations, as Christ forgave us.

Lord, thank you that You see my friend’s hurt and that You wipe away his tears. Help him to forgive those who have hurt him and learn to trust in You.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

6. ”God doesn’t help me with my problems; why should l follow Him?”

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By James Bishop

Philosopher Edward Feser perhaps has one of the most well articulated and detailed testimonies I recall having read (which at this point is quite a few). Feser is a professional philosopher after all, so it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. Nonetheless, in this short post I have attempted to summarize Feser’s journey while also attempting to outline some of the key moments that had taken place within it. I am confident that this summarized testimony will be helpful to those who don’t necessarily have the time to read through the 7000 word testimony on Feser’s own website. However, I do encourage reading the full testimony for there is much in the details not included here.

As a way of biography, Feser is a well-known philosopher in the profession having penned numerous academic articles on several subjects ranging from the philosophy of mind to metaphysics. He is the Associate Professor of Philosophy at Pasadena City College, previously a Visiting Assistant Professor at Loyola Marymount University, and a Visiting Scholar at the Social Philosophy and Policy Center. He has authored numerous books including Aquinas, Five Proofs of the Existence of God, Scholastic Metaphysics: A Contemporary Introduction, and The Last Superstition: A Refutation of the New Atheism. Feser was also once an atheist naturalist until he converted to Christianity.

Feser explains that he was a convinced atheist naturalist for a period of 10 years in the 1990s and that his transition away from it “was no single event, but a gradual transformation.” He was brought up Catholic but ultimately lost his faith while a teenager around the age of 13 or 14. His atheism stayed with him well into his university years as a passionate philosophy student. While at university he discovered a new interest in existentialism and existentialist philosophers, particularly Soren Kierkegaard. This interest led him to discover other existentialists such as Friedrich Nietzsche and Walter Kaufmann of whom he both appreciated but especially Kaufmann in particular. In the more modern philosophical climate, the atheist analytic philosopher J. L. Mackie proved appealing to Feser, and he considered Mackie’s book The Miracle of Theism to be a solid piece of philosophical work. Feser remarks that Mackie’s book was “intellectually serious, which is more than can be said for anything written by a “New Atheist.”” Philosopher Kai Nielsen would also appeal on issues of morality and religion. According to Feser,

What really impressed me was the evidentialist challenge to religious belief. If God really exists there should be solid arguments to that effect, and there just aren’t, or so I then supposed… Atheism was like belief in a spherical earth — something everyone in possession of the relevant facts knows to be true, and therefore not worth getting too worked up over or devoting too much philosophical attention to.

However, when he examined analytic philosophy in some more detail during the course of his studies it would, before long, bring his “youthful atheism down to earth.” The genesis of Feser’s transition away from atheism came about when he first began to look into the philosophy of language and logic. Over the several following years, during which he weighed information and arguments presented in his course materials, he reasoned that the existing naturalistic accounts of language and meaning failed to satisfy,

I already knew from the lay of the land in the philosophy of language and philosophy of mind that the standard naturalist approaches had no solid intellectual foundation, and themselves rested as much on fashion as on anything else.

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9 Prayers for When Your Friends Don’t Want to Know God

1. “Does God even exist?”

2. “I don’t want to be accountable to God.”

3. “When l see proof that God exists, then l’ll believe in Him.”

4. “I was a Christian, but l’m not anymore.”

5. “A Christian hurt me and now l don’t trust God.”

6. ”God doesn’t help me with my problems; why should l follow Him?”

Former Atheist & Philosophy Professor Edward Feser On How Studying Philosophy Convinced Him of God’s Existence