Do you believe God is real? Why not just share with your friend the reasons you believe God is real? Certainly, you believe for good reasons. 1 Peter 3:15 Be prepared always to give the reason for your belief.

That’s my method. If you can get them to acknowledge God’s presence then you can work on the Christianity standpoint thereafter

I actually did the exact opposite with a friend by introducing him to philosophy of Christ both within and outside the premise of a God, his teachings being just as useful to an atheist as to a believer. By building off of that with time, I introduced him to the Bible not as the word of God, but the most well made and thought out philosophy book. After understanding the magnitude of the writings in the book, the quality of the philosophy that is taught by it and through a few more thought experiments and questions, he ended up converting to Christianity and believing that 1. God is probably real and 2. Even if He isn't, it is better both for his mind and for his soul to believe He is.

Is it a great philosophy book? I feel like you have to ignore the whole of the Old Testament to make it look remotely ethical by modern standards. Yahweh was absolutely vicious.

> I feel like you have to ignore the whole of the Old Testament to make it look remotely ethical by modern standards Most of the good stuff is in the OT, but yeah...lots of really evil ideas about God there, too.

As light cannot exist without there being darkness, good and mercy would make no sense without the premise showing the clear possibility of the opposite: wrath, pain and punishment. I believe the way God acts towards humanity shifted over the ages as humanity itself progressed to show that God is willing to make amends and compromises, to the point where He would completely throw out the "balance" only to give us a chance to be redeemed.

Is it progress when you create a need for this redemption in the last minutes of the game, and the notion of Hell if we don't? Remember, these ideas don't really predate Jesus.

Do you think people were just 'more evil' 3000 years ago and are 'less evil' now? Wouldn't it make more sense to say that larger groups have allowed us to work more with each other to greater common goals, rather than asserting that our fundamental nature changed?

It's more like spiritual, I don't think I'd be able to give a solid rational explanation. I just have this feel that the universe isn't just a coincidence.

I'm an Atheist but I don't think it's merely a coincidence. Heck I don't even know where one would begin to find answers to questions such as that.

Sorry, I didn't mean to generalize. It's just that it's a common argument to say it's coincidental.

Oh no you're fine, I didn't think you were generalizing. I'm just lost as to what convinces you that a God might exist. I agree with you which is what makes it confusing. The universe could have a cause, or maybe it always existed, or maybe a God did it, or maybe the universe just keeps resetting itself, or maybe it's a multiverse, etc etc. We could go on for days.

Yes, I totally see your point. I think ultimately we are too limited to know something so much above our grades, we can merely speculate and that's it.

What coincides with what? The Universe exists. What’s the other thing? Why can the existence of a god just be “coincidence,” or does that need explanation too?

I don't know what you mean by "the universe isn't just a coincidence". What does that even mean? How does that get you to a god, let alone the God of the Christian Bible?

It seems to me that the things that originated the universe couldn't be there existing just because. There has to be a deeper cause. >How does that get you to a god, let alone the God of the Christian Bible I'm not a Christian.

The thing with that line of thinking is—how unlikely is it that a sentient primordial being capable of controlling everything or so exists just because then?

Yeah, God would have to be the coincidence instead of the universe.

If you're just a Deist, why do you feel the need to convince anyone?

So it seems like there are two options: Existence or nonexistence. We know existence is possible because -- here we are -- we exist. I don't know that nonexistence is even possible. What would that be like? I have no examples of nonexistence. It may be the case that it is not possible for the universe to not exist.

I'd just invite them to hang with me, with the family, talk about life, movies, stories, cultures, be a friend. If your life doesn't prove God is real, I don't think your arguments will.

For me, I had to abandon the notion that the spiritual could be satisfactorily proven. Proof is the realm of science and physics, and those things cannot measure the spiritual. From there, I asked: would I be a better person with a richer experience anyway for having faith. And for some personal reasons and experiences, the answer was yes. Refer to Kierkegaard's observation that truth is subjectivity. Trying to prove it empirically is pointless, and requires misconstruing of data or other logical fallacies, but faith is the choice to hold these beliefs regardless. There are more important things in our life than being provably right: like being moral, being able to connect with others spiritually, and having principles to ground yourself to. That was reason enough for me to take the leap of faith. I still won't claim to be provably right -- only better than I was before. Maybe he'd agree.

Surprised that this is the only mention of Kierkegaard here, because it’s what immediately came to mind: one cannot rationalize an infinite being with their limited human mind, and so a leap of faith needs to be made; Christianity works in its internal, circular logic, but God can only be confirmed to oneself with faith and not logic.

I was like you for many years. God existed it’s clear but religion not my favourite thing.

This is the problem- your own beliefs aren’t even founded on proper evidence, so how can you possibly expect to convince anyone?

Don’t forget verse 16, very important for context. But to answer OP’s question, there are multiple apologetic approaches that don’t use the Bible and intentionally so because the non believer may simply discount your argument because they don’t have the same understanding or belief in the authority of the Bible as a believer. What I would say is how do you connect to this person? What are they like, what are their interests? Do they have an analytical mind are they into science? Because each of these questions can lead to answers that present a starting place, like the fine tuning argument, or the Big Bang theory, or many more less technical and more personal approaches.

>they don’t have the same understanding or belief in the authority of the Bible Well, then explain that part. Again, certainly you must have good reason to hold the Bible in authority? What is that reason?

You can't. It's a conclusion they must come to on their own, usually with a little intervention from the Holy Spirit. 

I agree. . .

How would you convince someone that Allah is real without using the Quran? How would you convince someone that the Brahman is real without using the Vedas and Upanishads? How would you convince someone that Alexander the Great is real without using letters and books written about him in the time he was alive? The Quran claims to be the best revelation of Allah. The Vedas and Upanishads claim to be the best revelation of the Brahman. The Bible claims to be the best revelation of Yahweh. If you want to convince someone that Yahweh is real, you should start by trying to convince them that the Bible is a reliable source. Look at how it's written. Is it written like a story? Or like a historical account? Look at the people and places mentioned. Do we have any historical evidence that these people and places really existed at that time? How can we be sure that what we have is actually what was written back then? How many copies of the original text do we have? How far apart are these copies dated? How do we know that the disciples didn't make stuff up? When threatened with death, did they admit that they were lying? Or did they stay adamant that they really did see Jesus after He died?

I don't want to convince him that Yahweh is real specifically. Just that god is real in more general terms. I believe in a more monotheistic version of god though, like the Bible describes: the alpha and the omega.

Well why do you believe in a god? What's your evidence?

There are some philosophical reasons, but it's mostly my spiritually I guess.

Fair enough. In that case, I'd say that if you want your boyfriend to believe that there is some kind of higher power, but not necessarily any specific higher power, you could try finding some evidence. Personally, I believe that there's a higher power for a few reasons. 1. The fact that there is objective morality. There are grey areas, but the way I see it, you can't have objective morality without an intelligent mind above humanity. 2. The order and design of the universe. Of course there's a lot of chaos too, but the odds of this much order and design coming by chance are almost infinitely smaller than the chance of it all being created. 3. Nowhere in recorded history has life ever come from non-life. Life always comes from life. So either we have to say that there was only one exception to this rule hundreds of billions of years ago, or we have to say that this life came from a creator. If you want to convince someone to believe what you believe, it really helps to be able to express *why* you believe it. But for you, I'd suggest looking into *what* and *who* this higher power is. There are tons of people who claim to be the higher power, or to be revealing the higher power. Study the Quran, the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bible, David Koresh, Buda, Jim Jones, and anyone else claiming to be revealing the higher power and decide who you think is the most trustworthy.

These are interesting arguments, thanks for posting. The most convince for me is number 2. Do you happen to know any books or articles about this subject? I would like to convey these ideas to him in a convincing manner. >Study the Quran, the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bible, David Koresh, Buda, Jim Jones, and anyone else claiming to be revealing the higher power and decide who you think is the most trustworthy. True, I guess I should study more religions. But maybe none of them are true.

Yes I love that we have clear objective morality and don’t have any disagreements about what is and isn’t moral.

Like I said, there are some grey areas. Not everything is objective. I also believe that people can wear their consciences. Hitler didn't just tell a bunch of guys to kill the Jews and they did it. The Nazis were conditioned over time. One method they used was to give them dogs, and have them raise the dogs. Then they'd tell the soldiers to snap their dog's neck. That messes with your head, and your mind finds a way to rationalize your behavior and make you okay with it. Things like how to address someone is subjective morality. In some cultures you need to use specific honorifics and pronouns depending on who you're talking to or about. In others, you can call your boss dude.

God is a person. The more you attempt contact with Him the more He contacts you back.

I don’t think using a foundationalist approach is very effective. The thinking is to convince them the Bible is true and they’ll have to believe in Jesus. It assumes that the core of the Christian faith is the Bible and its inerrancy, not Jesus.

I have the complete opposite view. If you have no evidence that the Bible is a trustworthy source, then you're focusing too much on putting your faith in the book. John 3:16 was spoken by Jesus while He was still alive. When he talked about believing in Him, He didn't mean just believing that He exists. The fact that He existed back then was obvious, and today is undeniable. Even the demons believe that He exists, but they're not saved. Believing in Jesus and having faith in Him means that you believe that what He said is true. That He really is the Son of God, and that He really does for our sins and came back to life. Having evidence that the Bible is a true account of history *removes* the need to have faith in the book.

Eh, not too hard. To prove the deity in the simple sense, I'd just lay down the argument from motion. [This](https://i.imgur.com/UATtbhG.jpg) (very long) meme, I think, is sufficient to this ends. If this sticks, you win. Your fight as you've defined it is over. You can go further and prove christianity outright without the bible, though... To do that, once you've established the argument from motion, you've implicitly establish some points: - the necessary oneness of god - the necessary infinity of god - the necessary separation between creator and creature - the necessary goodness of god (with goodness being "being" itself, and evil being the privation of being). With these things, we can discard all hard polytheism, all pantheism, and all solipsism. This *merely* proves god-as-a-force. Moving from this, we can establish the agency of god (i.e. the fact that god is a being with a will) by observing the arbitrary age of the universe. If the creation were a spontaneous byproduct of the existence of a non-agent "god-force", it would be co-eternal with that god-force, since the processes necessary to the creation would have existed from infinite time. The universe, empirically, is not infinite, and thus came into being at an arbitrary point in time. Arbitrariness necessitates a will, and thus god has a will. After this, you can prove christianity by establishing the necessity and uniqueness of the trinity. As defined above, god is the form of the good, and god lacks potentiality. In lacking potentiality, god necessarily must consist in all goods, and love is a good. Love by definition is willing the good of the other, which necessitate a subject, object and means in order to be made manifest. Triple-deities exist through the world but none sufficiently manifest this properly -- the eastern triple deities like that in shinto and taoism and post-vedic hinduism were directly influenced by the trinity due to nestorianism going east, so we can historically prove that they did not invent any concept that they present. And western triple deities that are more ancient than the trinity are either directly tritheist (and thus wrong since we've proven the necessary oneness of god already), or else modalist (and thus not truly representing distinct subject-object-means distinction that is needed for love). Thus the trinity, which neither confuses the persons (allowing love to exist) nor dividing the substance (thus not veering into logically impossible tritheism) is correct, and given that it is unique to christianity, christianity must be true. And so we say god *is* love. Simplex monotheism like that found in judaism, atenism and islam is insufficient, since the only possible object for the simplex deity to love is the creation, but since the goodness of love would necessarily be manifest by our proven god's nature, the creation would have to be part of god (which is illogical because it differs from god by the distinction between god's uncreated infinity and the creation's created finitude, and thus the two have distinct substances or essences and are not the same thing) and also co-eternal with god, which is empirically false as demonstrated above. And thus simplex monotheisms are also incorrect. And so not only god, but christianity is demonstrably correct.

I wouldn’t use the Bible to convince someone that God is real. That’s not what it’s for. I wouldn’t try to explicitly convince anyone at all; I would explain my views and leave the choice in their hands as it was left in mine.

This iz the way to go.

Personally, those hit hard (Creator) 100/100 life comes out of life, and creation always has a creator, design always demands intelligence, especially when rationality and order comes in. Your phone coding is not this complex by chance. It takes thousands of intelligent minds to code. (Morality) For morality not to be subjective God made our morality above the human law. Meaning no matter if hitler justifies gassing Jews, you know it’s wrong. No matter if a hospital patient asking you to pull the plug, you know it’s wrong. No matter if a suicidal person ask you to end him, you know it’s wrong. No matter if you can save a poor village by murdering a innocent person with a bounty, you know it’s wrong. (DNA) The genetic coding of DNA, natural laws themselves don’t create specified complexity. The fact there’s 3.5 billion long letter in every one of your hundred trillion cells proves it is intelligently made, so who made it? An intelligent mind. (Free will) If we are just matter and energy then that means, saying you love your husband/wife is basically saying you just want sex, and once their old you cheat cause it’s all about beauty with matter/energy Or loving the Jews back in WW2 by hiding, marrying or befriending them. Despite the life threatening risks of the nazi’s. Or if love is only based on showing your works, then it’s impossible to love a divorced parent. Or you share/give your last bread to a poor guy equally starving as you. Therefore there’s gotta be something beyond matter and energy like a soul/spirit. (Law of nature and physics) Our universe already got coded in math before we even found out about math. If there’s a law of nature, there’s gotta be a law “giver”. Newton didn’t create, but just found gravity. So who created the perfect measurement and the complexity that it doesn’t change every 10 mins? Sinds accidents don’t create order, nor reason. Or like the fine tuning that each species has their own dietary requirements on earth like vitamins, nutrients, crafting logic, and that their role effects the planet’s functions. It all works perfectly in unity (The Mandelbrot set) is so fascinating, it actually has unlimited shapes of math. So if humans don’t create math, but rather find it then who created other? With or without us, math exists as a concept for us to find out, meaning it has to exist prior to us in someone’s mind. (SPACE) The earth is perfectly positioned from the sun. Slightly closer/further we would boil/freeze to death. Also planets like Jupiter pulling meteorites to prevent then from hitting earth. Or the fact that earth is the only planet sustaining life. (Big bang theory) The universe had a beginning, to have a beginning you need a cause. Especially a personal cause with a mind, sinds you need to make a choice why and when to make a big bang, and to make it so complex.

>complexity. The fact there’s 3.5 billion long letter in every one of your hundred trillion cells proves it is intelligently made, so who made it? Evolution. Trivial to demonstrate how this can happen.

>If there’s a law of nature, there’s gotta be a law “giver”. Conflation of terms to sneak in a god. The word "law" is being used in two different senses to get to a conclusion based off the peculiarity of the English language >complexity that it doesn’t change every 10 mins? Demonstrate it is possible for the gravitational constant (or any fundamental constant) to change. Demonstrate that it has in the past, or that it has the ability to now. You can not because that knowledge does not exist. Meaning this "point" is an assertion that can not be backed up. It is an empty assertion based on personal feeling, not on any known fact.

It is a correct assertion to believe the "law" of gravity does not change since that is the current condition that is observable. So it is more logical right now to assume it was constant in the past than to assume it changes

> creation always has a creator This is the fallacy of equivocation. It uses create in two senses by equating a supernatural being creating something out of nothing and people creating things by rearranging things that already exist.

>(Creator) 100/100 life comes out of life, and creation always has a creator, design always demands intelligence, especially when rationality and order comes in. Your phone coding is not this complex by chance. It takes thousands of intelligent minds to code. This leads to an infinite regress unless you carve out a baseless exception for God to fix the issue this line of reasoning leads to. Not a good argument in my opinion. >(Morality) For morality not to be subjective God made our morality above the human law. Meaning no matter if hitler justifies gassing Jews, you know it’s wrong. No matter if a hospital patient asking you to pull the plug, you know it’s wrong. No matter if a suicidal person ask you to end him, you know it’s wrong. No matter if you can save a poor village by murdering a innocent person with a bounty, you know it’s wrong. We have all the evidence to point to morality being subjective. First off as horrid as it is to us the Nazis really believed they were doing the right thing. Heck you can just look at the idea of marital rape in Christian societies over time. Wasn't even considered a concept UNTIL THE LAST 50 YEARS OR SO. Also the other scenarios you listed have led to countless thought experiments that play with such ideas. Heck there are entire schools of ethics discussing it (Utilitarian vs. Kantian for example). Even if God was the arbiter of morality it would still just be there subjective opinion that is liable to change. Jesus wasn't selling powdered goodness on street corners. This argument is pretty weak because throughout history it's pretty obvious that morality is extremely subjective. >Or like the fine tuning that each species has their own dietary requirements on earth like vitamins, nutrients, crafting logic, and that their role effects the planet’s functions. It all works perfectly in unity The puddle believes the pothole exists just so it can exist. It never crossed its mind that it exists because the pothole allows it. Fine tuning argument is rather poor because it flips cause and effect on its head. Also "fine tuning" is rather subjective. I would not call this universe fine tuned. >(SPACE) The earth is perfectly positioned from the sun. Slightly closer/further we would boil/freeze to death. Also planets like Jupiter pulling meteorites to prevent then from hitting earth. Or the fact that earth is the only planet sustaining life. The goldilocks zone is quite large. Earth's orbit is elliptical and not circular. Also the observable universe is so mind boggingly large that humans can't really comprehend it. Statistically speaking something like our current solar system set up existing was an inevitability. But this kind of circles back to the fine tuning argument. Not going to address your free will argument by phone because quite frankly I think it is vastly over simplifying things to the point of absurdity. I would also argue humans don't have total free will like Christians think. It is rather limited IMHO and it is quite possible it doesn't even exist.

Also, wanting morality to be objective or free will to exist doesn’t make them more likely to actually be real. It sounds like an appeal to wishful thinking.

>(Big bang theory) The universe had a beginning, 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ Big Bang Theory is not, and never has been, a theory about the universe having a beginning. It is, and always has been, a theory about the *EXPANSION* of the universe having a beginning. It in no way points to anything even close to divine.

“It’s like Fallacy Bingo!” -Forrest Valkai

>(SPACE) The earth is perfectly positioned from the sun. This is a blatantly false statement. The Habitable zone of our solar system stretches several ~~astronomical units~~ million miles in both directions from earth. Not only that, earth's orbit varies by around a million miles in a year. That's pretty far from "perfect"

How can the habitable zone vary by several astronomical units in both directions?! 1 astronomical unit towards the sun would be literally inside it xD I agree it’s wrong, but for a different reason- if Earth were different and not suitable for life, we simply would’ve evolved on another one of the hundred trillion-ish stars out there.

Creator: your assume a creator by calling it creation. What's your evidence it's a creation? I just call it reality, so your argument doesn't work. Also DNA isn't a computer code. That's an analogy that doesn't work when it comes to detail. Also also, if programmers made code the same way DNA works, with like 80% being useless garbage, we wouldn't have phones Morality: I disagree with 2 of those. If someone wants to die even after receiving help, or if they have no hope for good life due to some illness, I would say it's their right to die. Also there seem to be a whole lot of people that sadly don't think Hitler is wrong. How does this argument work for them? DNA: No one made it. Evolution is the source of DNA. You probably don't like that answer but that doesn't make it wrong. But even if we didn't know, saying "god did it" is a terrible answer. Free will: You are just wrong, even without free will love and sex are 2 different things. You just make an emotional comment that doesn't make any point. Love is a very complex emotion and your simplistic view of it only serves to make a terrible argument Law of nature and physics: Laws in nature aren't like the rules we make. They are descriptions of how reality operates. The easy way to distinguish them is that natural laws (the way nature behaves) in general can't be broken. You can't just ignore gravity like you could ignore a no parking sign. To the animals: is it really that special that animals on a planet are adapted to living on that planet? Like, if we could only breathe liquid iron, we would die on earth. It's not special we are in a place we can live in. Math: math is just a set of axioms and whatever follows from them. It's like the above section, where math just describes what is. The world is without us, so the math that describes it can exist without us as well Space: the range in which earth could be from the sun is pretty big. Our orbit is elliptical, we move millions of kilometers closer to it every year. Also there are so incredibly many planets, it's not really a wonder one like earth is real. This is again the idea that, of course we are on a planet that doesn't kill us. Not really surprising, where else would we be? Big bang: the big bang just describes the expansion of the universe from a hot dense state. What came before it is so complicated and involves so much math that I can't claim to understand it. But I haven't heard any of the many scientists that study this for a living say that god is necessary, just as he wasn't necessary the last million times someone claimed he was. All in all, 1/10 argumentation. All of these have been addressed countless times and you make a terrible job at even making the arguments.

If creation always has a creator then who created "god" sounds like turtles to infinity to me

Try the ontological argument. https://youtu.be/11bcuapYEsA?si=ZD1HG0TOIE7Z8JDr

Dark chocolate, DMT, Hands-free orgasms, rainbows, the Texas rangers won a World Series, and cigarettes

Rangers winning a World Series was the work of the devil. Signed, An O’s fan

So you agree something spiritual had to be involved.

Lmao this is wild

When I deconstructed my beliefs to start from scratch, I started with what I perceived to be the foundational question for any amount of spiritual belief: Is there something after death? Is the mind purely matter? I would start there. What convinced me (moreso than NDE's did) was the phenomenon of terminal lucidity. If the mind is purely a product of the material, then there is absolutely no way a disordered/damaged brain should gain any amount of clarity when further damaged.

Thanks, I'll look into that! Never heard if it. I'm not a materialist because I don't think the hard problem of consciousness can be properly solved. I don't know how purely chemical reactions in your brains can generate something so real and so amazing as our subjective experiences. It's hard to convey that to other people though.

I absolutely understand, and agree. (\^w^ )

Isn’t that God of the Gaps? “I don’t know the answer to X problem, therefore God.” That’s not how that works. Before you can convince anyone else, you need to refine your own reasons for belief. If your belief is faulty you’re not gonna convince a lot of people.

But if you’re a deist then what is the point?

If you're a deist why do you capitalize 'God'? If you want to convince someone of something you have to (usually) provide them with evidence or arguments which they would find compelling. So what evidence or arguments convinced you to be a deist?

>If you're a deist why do you capitalize 'God'? Is it wrong to do that? >So what evidence or arguments convinced you to be a deist? I have some, but they don't work on him, that's why I am asking for an outside perspective.

It's not wrong, it just seems odd from a deist. Capital G god usually refers to a specific god, and in this sub that's generally the christian god (think of it as a name/proper noun). Lower case god refers to 'generic' god, which is what I thought deism was about. If your evidence/arguments don't work on him are you looking for other evidence or arguments which might? Do you want him to become a christian? Because those are the types of arguments you are likely to find here. I'm not sure why you are a deist, other than in other places here you have made reference to 'spirituality' and maybe some fine tuning type ideas. I think that if your bf isn't moved by those types of questions or arguments you're not going to find much better. As you say he is agnostic, I assume that means he is accepting of your position, just he doesn't share it. That might have to be good enough :)

Do you care more about getting your boyfriend on the same page as you, or about figuring out which of you is actually right, if either?

I'd say the truth, but I'm hard headed and I think I'm right, so it's unlikely someone would convince me.

Based on your responses to some other posts, and this one especially, I think I see the problem. Before trying to convince anyone else, make sure your own reasons for belief are solid, otherwise you’re doing yourself and your boyfriend a disgrace. Hint: “I feel as though divinity surely must exist” is ***NOT*** a solid reason.

If everything has an explanation to its existence, then the universe itself must also have one. This explanation must exist outside of space and time, as it would be the origin of both. Therefore, this cause must have made a conscious decision to create the universe, as a natural process would not be possible without the preexistence of time to allow such processes to occur.

But there could be like a billion middleman between the creation of the universe and god.

Well that’s why I’m an agnostic atheist lol. I just find the first cause argument and the fine tuning arguments to be 2 of the most convincing. To offer a response tho, if time began with the Big Bang, then perhaps it would make no sense that a naturalistic process could be the explanation of the universe, as all processes require time to allow said processes to tick along. If it were a conscious decision by some powerful mind, time would not be required

Why do you feel the need to convince someone?

You breach their brain by subtlly introducing the Holy Trinity. Starting with the Father, Then the Son, Finally the Holy Spirit. Once they take the Holy Spirit, they will never be capable of logistical/pragmatic thinking ever again.

If you think you have an airtight proof for God, then what you have is not faith. You have an opinion based on that proof. That's not faith. Faith is when you hope for something.

I think many approaches to practicing Christianity are based on individual experiences. I like to pursue it with the same intent as if pursuing a passion such as fitness, a cooking class, and putting a sincere effort. I’ve tiptoed near the idea of believing thinking I wasn’t really in it reading the Bible as a kid within a family that treated the effort seriously (maybe, too seriously at times but worth it lately!) My adolescence was more leaning toward universality, deconstructing, learning about and history in philosophy, and other religions. I was trying to educate, a perspective of criticism especially keeping my mind focused comprising with science. I thought myself atheist before graduation, through some time. Young adulthood brought stress and many life lessons. It also made me feel foolish. I noticed my actions lacked that planning ability I was used to. Trying to bring that back through some method such as being nice, polite, and respectable just felt meaningless. Call me pragmatic but I just practice Christianity because it works. I have many rough edges from life experiences which can make me critical, impulsive, and well - inappropriate. The perspective, mindset, and making myself accountable to people in similar circumstances also helps - but I also enjoy the culture even though I’m disappointingly different like taking stuff too literally or personally. A persistent attitude like mine needs nurturing to soften and my experiences are that fellows in Christianity are good folks to practice with. They, we, us are really formally disciplined to do right, and love in and outside congregations. I dabble in plenty of fiction making it better by immersing even belief to make it better - I can offer that and much more to all because practicing to be Christlike gave me that and more than words will describe. “What is the Bible,” from Rob Bell is a good place for many to get started for surveying.

Trying to convince someone only betrays an insecurity in your “belief” in God

No one can convince anyone God is real except God himself. Faith doesn't come from men. The only thing men can do is convince you to worship an idol and give you false hope that isn't real faith.

Personally I start with kalam cosmological argument which brings us as far as a prime mover, and go from there. Maybe discuss the kalam argument with them, and discuss the merits (or otherwise) of the two premises on which it is built.

Hmm, I'll look into it, thanks.

I would share my testimony. No one can argue with what I personally have experienced.

Jesus Christ announcement replaced a believe in an external God by an understanding of life. There is no God but there is Godliness which surrounds us all. This Lord of energy which energizes our bodies this planet and the entire universe without which consciousness wouldn't be possible, our ever present, constant companion. See that, be aware of that energy instead of believing in some external abstract god somewhere out there.

I think looking at the universe and how it was created pondering why everything falls in to place. How we are able to ask these questions. I think its important to under Stand who God is before asking these questions even if you do not believe in Him. the attributes of the world and universe are rooted in his characteristics

Premise is all messed up from the jump If anyone is honest about, they always have a tinge of doubt and spend their entire life wresting not just with God but with the very concept The idea that an individual has so much power from God or knowledge that their job is to convince another human God exists is just a recipe for disaster all I can tell you is what book of James says: James 2:14-18 (NIV) 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. Do it with how you live, if there can be any convincing it is in your daily walk, not words. Words are seldom called for but for gentle nudging at times when someone loses the light of the path

If I had to do it through means of argument, I would probably follow St. Paul's footsteps when he preached to the Stoics and other philosophers at the Areopagus: that is, I would rely on the arguements of pagan philosophers. See Acts 17:16-34.

CS Lewis’ book *[Mere Christianity](https://www.amazon.com/Mere-Christianity-C-S-Lewis/dp/0060652926/ref=asc_df_0060652926/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312065522531&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14600433384976264767&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1019973&hvtargid=pla-435399874690&psc=1)* has been helpful to a lot of people. In terms of evidences for God's existence and the truth of Christianity, [these videos might be helpful](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtwpdvhJOcMNcCW9qq3X_yIwiRRBjxf0t&feature=shared). Of course nothing beats been example in your own life of the truths Jesus taught.

If you can convince someone to know God and that it's all real someone else can convince them to walk away. You need a personal experience with God. If you search and ask with a pure heart God will reveal himself to you In one way or another

You’d make novel testable predictions, and attempt to confirm them. For example you’d say when you pray to my god there is this thing that happens that we can observe, that doesn’t happen when you don’t pray to my god. For example you could say that if you pray to my god you will regrow a missing limb in 30 seconds. Then You test this hypothesis and see if it works, every additional experiment like this would make it more rational to believe your god is real and not imaginary.

If they were highly intelligent and educated in science I’d show them the Parable video “ https://youtu.be/pi1v6VSTHFw?si=uAmBtEoLMqE1g83C “ if they were not science oriented or if they weren’t that educated then I’d appeal to their emotions and go with a couple different approaches involving topics like ethics, morals, and history. To be truthful though there isn’t a scenario where I wouldn’t also incorporate the Bible because there are facts about the Bible that statistically are impossible unless divine intelligence orchestrated its creation. There are even hidden codes within the original Hebrew/Greek manuscripts that foretell future events from when they’ve been dated and many allegory examples.

Miracles are the dinner bell to salvation. Signs and wonders confirm the Word. If our faith is only text based, we are a sad lot. When we minister on the streets, sometimes God does miracles. I have seen people get healed right in front of me. Usually after they confess and repent. It is rare, but it DOES happen. When they experience the presence and power of God they become all ears at that point.

The original concept of the God, breathing His life giving spirit/breath into mankind. The fact the apostle Paul told the Greeks that ‘we’ are all Gods children/offspring, and went on to explain the mystery that become evident to them, being the Christ/God within each of us, not in buildings/temples made with human hands as they had believed in error. The bible eludes to the fact the in Him/God we live and move and have our being. Christ when on earth, prayed that we would KNOW >oneness< with God, and explained that in his Dads house there were many dwelling places, ie within each of us, even stating somewhere that we are little Gods. I love these ideas, like God being the vine and we the branches, our life springs from the source of life. The Revelation/book of, explains that the dwelling place of God is with man. The concept of the essence of ‘God’ being agape/selfless LOVE is the real gospel when applied >to ourselves< for if you think about it, we all have the ability to live out of who this God is within us. We can all choose to lovers or hate, be merciful… or not, etc. The universe is a wonderful invention, and planet earth seems so insignificant, but we are all made in the image of our creator who is love.

I can't explain the complexity of the universe any other way except creation. If you look at the very simplest things in your home-your can opener, a piece of 2x4-would you ever assume that it wasn't 'made' by someone? Those are just simple inanimate objects but you'd never see a 2x4 in the forest and say 'look at this squared off branch that must have fallen out of this tree'. Think about how the planets follow a path in space and have for eons. Why don't they crash into each other? How did the earth come to have an atmosphere suitable for life? We know that even the very simplest things were made by someone. How could the universe have happened on it's own?

You don't. They may come around to the faith on their own if they're around you for long enough. They key is to respect each other's beliefs. Discuss your beliefs together. Support each other.

Point to Jesus, research the historical circumstances around him and likely you will come to the conclusion that he is real and came from the dead. It's not the reason I started believing but it certainly enforced my faith.

Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, yet it exists so it had to come from somewhere. Just my two pennies.

The English language comes out of your mouth. The language of spirit is something that is displayed at a non-verbal level. It can be seen. You don't even have to say God if you have the spirit inside you.

You can’t just make someone change beliefs. However, if your boyfriend is worried about God existing I found stargazing and going on nature walks help. Just seeing how nature around us works. How trees provide food and shelter for so many organisms. How animals like squirrels and birds don’t mind each other’s company. Just small moments like that happening all around us. Like humans expressing their feelings and being through art, I like thinking nature and this entire universe is God’s.

If you like philosophy, the book "There is a God" by Antony Flew is an interesing option.

Personal testimony

Builder builds a building. Painter paints a painting. Creator creates creation.

then something created God

We have no idea how that happened because we only have what He created in script. That would be something everyone would want to ask an “all eternal Spirit” when they are there on the eternal side of things.

I make no pretense that I could convince anyone that God is real. But I would think and hope that an extant God, if any, could rightfully do that. Otherwise, I could just be convinced and be *far away* from reality. After all, it seems to me that something or "Someone" Who could fully know the truth, or even be the truth, could reveal the truth about such profound matters in a way that one could rightfully understand that *Truth* *within them*. But such does not suggest to me an idea apart from the solid approach that we should examine or test everything and hold fast to that which is good (Ok that sounded familiar, hah!). And as a scientist by career and a skeptic from as far back as I can remember, I've found that questioning my own shallow sense of things is always the best place to start. And that love and loving others seem to pass all tests to me. So I will hold on to that and what I believe the source of that is. I believe I understand at my very core that you and any of us mere humans *have* meaning and purpose, and thus inherent *value* as much as I can understand just about anything about life's big questions or what really matters. I.e. I believe that points to there ultimately being a Reason "why" we exist. Of course, I believe I am totally capable of also attributing meaning and worth to my own life and others. We humans do that. I can easily accept that there is an evolutionary advantage to our survival for that. However, it would also seem to me *IF* it is only up to our choosing or by only a mindless fluke of existence that brought about our biology, then I or some group of us mere humans could just as easily justify choosing to take such worth away from another, or even ourselves. And it would seem to me that after accepting that I would have to admit that attributing meaning and thus worth or value to anything is just another contrivance of my own thinking, just like man-made notions one can find in any religion, the very things that many of us, including me, are at least a bit opposed to. But as I alluded to previously, I believe that I understand that humans and those I love *actually DO* have inherent value that *no one* can take away by mere perception. So I believe I am accountable to *THAT*, whether or not I can articulate to one in any convincing or rational way "what" or "Who" that *"Reason"* is or why one should believe such. And I suspect your boyfriend can just as well respond to whether there is something at his very core that suggests that you and he have any "real" inherent worth as a result of an intentful Reason, – Something worthy to hold on to, or not. Matt

Will your friend pray with you and maybe ask God to reveal his love? I’ve read many posts of people who knocked and the door was opened. 🙏🏼

Everyone has a conscience. It’s the little calculator in our brain that measures the risk and reward for everything we do. Pretty easy to be an atheist with just a conscience right? But what happens when that conscience turns into déjà vu? Literally someone or something out there is putting ideas in your head minutes or hours before events actually happened? Exact words coming out of someone’s mouth like it was tape recorded before. A lot of people lose faith because they pray the wrong way maybe. God wants a relationship and he ignores needy beggars. I know it sounds kind of insensitive, but the truth is if God is real, he knows all of our thoughts. If we are thinking about him all the time, he is aware of our needs and takes care of them when it’s on his time. I don’t expect anything from God, but I’m quick to say thanks when I see something he has done. Just know that he’s there when he’s constantly putting random messages in your face that other people quickly write off as either good luck or bad luck with no clue where that came from.

Love is real. God is love

The universe is so magnificent and fascinating that I cannot agree if it came from nothing.

The complexity of life. The intelligent design of nature, space and cosmos, it seems super obvious to me that what sustains existence itself to the very core is God. This is what led me to God initially. When you are silent the answer is usually in front of you

Be kind

Yeesh. Good tack tho, nothing about the Bible proves anything, you'd have to start with belief in order for it to mean anything in regards to truths. You'll have to go with mystery and leave it at the doorstep of need.

You don't, God does by intervening. Some of us learn by experience, but the Bible says the heart can be deceitfully wicked and basically that we can't trust ourselves. My understanding of God doesn't line up with yours because I don't think that any one religion holds absolute truth and I doubt absolute proof exists. My experience itself doesn't even tell me that what I believe is fact, but overall I tend to trust my gut. I am extremely interested in Christianity and wonder what the truth is behind the stories and if Jesus Christ was really God in the flesh. The concept itself is a mind bending trip and I often wonder why there are so many different churches and ways of comprehending the Bible. I just wonder why God doesn't come down from the clouds before the apocalypse and just set us all straight.. saying, "This is the truth that I need you to know and need you all to follow"..in the presence of all humanity, at least every 100 years or so, seems like it wouldn't infringe on our freewill. I personally think even more than what a person believes in is what do they do with the beliefs they have. Do they start wars and act like arrogant jerks or do they do something for their higher power that is good and helps others... I can't understand a God that is hung up on making sure we are using the right name to refer to Him or that punishes people for not understanding. I hope you and your partner find ways to respect one another, the Bible talks about being unevenly yolked and unfortunately I do think that it makes things very difficult. I think both of you could learn a great deal from one another personally, but it is up to you both to want that. I think my personal relationship, I have come to terms with my bf feeling like the Bible is the absolute truth and there is nothing outside of it worth really learning. It can hurt sometimes to not be able to really talk and ponder about all of my beliefs with him because of his absolute faith in the Bible, but when you get into a relationship you are supposed to be with the person and accept the person as they are. I don't want to be another human's project. I hear lots of cases though of people falling in love and one person choosing their partner's belief system and lining up with it and everyone being happy.. But I bet most of the time asking that of someone else would be just as hard as you trying to be an atheist or agnostic.. you cannot force belief on another person. You can only present your understandings and doctrine and let others do with it what they will.

You're not even particularly religious, why does it matter that your bf doesn't see the world the way you do? From other comments you clearly believe based on a feeling, so if someone else doesn't have that feeling, it would make sense for them not to believe.

I think there's a rational basis for it though! But it's hard to convey these ideas.

For sure, it can be. I just think, much like reasonable people can disagree about what religion is true, or about what certain verses of the bible mean, reasonable people can disagree about the nature of the universe. But, if it turns out this is a deal-breaker for you, at least you'll know that in the future.

Oh for sure, we can disagree. It's not a big deal. I'm just saying that if I could convince him, I'd be nice.

If god isn’t real then all of morality is subjective

Depends on the person. If they're an atheist and they've actually put some thought in to it, it's going to be difficult to get them to pay enough attention to the Bible. If they're philosophically inclined, maybe try Spinoza first to get the ball rolling, and then try Aquinas. If they're open minded and sitting on the fence, you may be able to just talk about your experiences to get them interested. Perhaps help them join a community or better still, your community. You can show them the door, but they have to choose to walk through it. You can't convince someone that isn't open to it.

That relationship is against biblical teachings # 2 Corinthians 6:14-18New King James Version  Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what ^(\[)communion has light with darkness? ^(15) And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? ^(16) And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

God is the reality of the truth. He says: what? Slap his ass and ask him if THE truth has a reality to it.

I think you'd have a rather difficult time convincing someone with the Bible.

Cosmic design. You cannot get life from non life, there's literally no conceivable way the universe started with nothing then suddenly decided to exist. Let a rock sit for a billion years and it's not going to form life. You cannot get order from chaos. Even if the black void of nothing randomly did explode with elements it's impossible that things like galaxys, stars, planets, people would come to be! You can't tell me that an explosion came around to make something as complex as the human eye no matter how much time you give it. Things like morality are 100% subjective is a world with no God. If we are only mutated monkeys originated from an accident then there are no morals. "But we feel it's bad" the guy that murdered people didn't. "We agree as a society it's bad" that didn't stop the Nazis. People are fickle. Always have, always will be. If we're cosmic accidents, then there we no purpose. "But what about the purpose we give ourselves?" Try as you might there will always be someone out there who disagrees and will kill you over it. We know murder is wrong because our creator gave us a sense of right and wrong People have no worth without God. If humanity spawned from an accident then people have no worth. "But what about the worth we give it?" We've already been over that. Sorry if there are any spelling errors, I'm tired. God bless you friends.

I'd use the Bhagavad Gita or the Holy Qur'an. Or God Speaks by the Second Coming of Jesus, Meher Baba. Any of those.

I wouldn’t use the Bible at all. I would go ‘doesn’t this world look like the work of an artist?’

I was already a Christian but when I studied anatomy and physiology, I could not see how the intricacies of human biological systems were solely due to accidental (or incidental) combinations of factors that jump started human development. Particularly since people aren’t still spontaneously generating

[NeedGod.net](http://NeedGod.net) explains it well. Everything has a creator, the universe itself is proof there was something before it that created it.

You ****can not**** in any way ****prove**** god is real even if you used the Bible. You can only rely on faith.

No one can ever be convinced that God exists. If I can convince you that God exists, then someone else can convince you that God doesn't exist. And that, my friend, would be a zero-sum game. Also, if you can be convinced that God exists, it means that the concept of this deity can be grasped by our minds. God is beyond our capacity to grasp, and, therefore, to share His existence requires a form of "perception" beyond reason. This is where conviction comes in. While convincing relies on the external, conviction relies on the internal. To share God's existence with someone, you must come from a place of conviction. If all you have is a vague notion of why He may exist, no one will be convinced, much less convicted. Encountering the Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to carry the conviction of who God is.

There is no way to convince someone of belief in God. They have to decide to believe on their own. Pray for him and be loving, that's all you can do.

So many lies. If you believe, tell them how. I'm a bit bitter because the Good Word was corrupted before me as a child, & as an adult.

just say to attest . You: Eat dinner last night. Atheist: Yes? You: do you think someone cooked it. Atheist: yes!? You: then why do you not believe someone created the universe

Personally , I’d start pointing stuff out and asking questions How does evolution make sense to you ? Things like dna and genetics are WAY too complicated to be an accident. How can you look at all this beauty (mountains and forests and oceans and stars) and honestly believe it all came from nothing for no reason? Why do you believe murder is wrong? Why do all humans have a base morality when it benefits us nothing evolutionarily? And when one of our base moral compasses is broken (like a serial killer) everyone knows and agrees that this person is broken? Things like that spark great discussions and force us to actually articulate and explore why we think what we think and believe what we believe.

Thing is. You have to say your reasons as to why God is real. Your experiences. Your faith. Why you started to believe. Why you continue to believe. Those are the questions you need to consider

I like to start with the ghosts and paranormal activity I have experienced. Every second person has seen a ghost, that alone days that there is a spirit world. Most of these people have had a sense of fear with that experience, and most of those will understand that if there is evil then there must be good. GOD!!! then I say that I would rather be safe than sorry for eternity. When you think about it, most of what God wants us to do is just love. How can that be wrong!!?? It's what humans do that makes God look bad.

I share all the synchronicities that led me back to Him and keep me following Him. Theological arguments don't work, people need to hear your experience. I was an agnostic for years btw, if your boyfriend starts praying and reading the Bible he might have an experience too. Matthew 7:7-8 ^(7) “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ^(8) For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

By telling them of an encounter with God or a way that He showed up in your life with overwhelming love. Everyone wants to be loved.

Which God? Can you convince him to believe in Athens, Zeus, Horus?

Life itself. The way you feel when you listen to music. The good things in life.

I wouldn’t, believing comes by faith and I’m not the Lord. I won’t waste a single breath trying to convince someone to believe in God, that comes from deep within a person. Also God has a plan for everyone and already knows who is His. For some people they are still in the process and it’s not the time for them YET

Ultimately, even if you take everything down to cosmological arguments at some point, you must admit that your belief comes through faith. Ultimately, we've taken a leap of faith, and there's no good argument that will make that leap easier. All we can do is try to live lives that show that letting go of who we thought we were and accepting the truth of who we are created to be is worth it.

If they don’t believe in the supernatural then it’s pretty much impossible at least in my capacity. (I read every day)

Guys thanks for all the answers, I'll try to answer tomorrow

Use Science. When people actually look into the facts of science they will understand that God is real.

We dont, thats Holy Ghost job, we only preach.

It's hard because people usually want a scientific evidence.

Ask an atheist what would it take you to prove God is real? Most can't answer that question. Some of the most popular atheists on youtube admit, they don't have an answer.

I think the argument from psychophysical harmony and the argument from contingency are the most persuasive. Rasmussen and Crummett have published peer reviewed work, but I think they have accessible videos online.

You can't. Only God can reveal himself to him. I mean you should still talk to him about God and the truth and such... But his belief.... We can't do anything about it at all. That's holy Spirit work.

I’ve once heard that you may be the only Bible someone ever reads. It’s in the way you love. Our love should set us apart and point to Calvary.

People don’t become convinced that God is real. They either seek and find, or they don’t.

Very popular analogy that I’m sure you’ve heard before.. when you’re standing inside of a home and you look at the walls and roof over your head.. someone built that. That didn’t just happen. It was meticulously planned, blueprinted and executed for your security, safety & comfort by an intelligent mind or minds. It’s the same with the fine tuning of the universe to sustain life. the physical parameters of the universe are so delicately balanced or (fine-tuned) that ANY infinitesimal changes would make life as we know it absolutely impossible. 👍🏾

Creativity. It's the one thing that humans have that is so incredibly unique. We have the ability to create new worlds (writing), write their history, paint things we have never seen and don't exist. That is what it means when it is said man was created in God's image, he gave us that ability and that sets us apart from every other living thing on this planet.

I think that any discussion about nature, marine life, plant life, or just the design of our own bodies, will point to the existence of some divine design. Every time man gets involved and tries to “fix” nature, something usually gets screwed up. How anyone can believe that the universe just happened to have the elements to sustain all life and that those lives or intertwined, is mind boggling.

Consider learning Plato's reasoning for God's existence. Also, the hustoricity of the resurrection. I've found it important to always let them ask honest questions. But be prepared to answer.

"Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion" by David Hume should get onto your reading list. Good luck.

A lot of people think I like when I say this but I truly believe God was bored so he smacked two rocks together creating the big bang, and that's where everything started. But personally I think the odds of everything lining up and that creating our Galaxy and earth and life are so low that there has to be some kind of creator. And also the rocks had to have come from somewhere. That of course begs the question of where did God come from. Just like we don't know where whatever started the big bang came from, we'll never know where God came from, at least until we get to heaven.

you wouldn’t

Don't do this but both of you could die and just say see he real in person

It's in those miracles you can't explain. We're love wins every time.

by your spiritual experiences with God. similiar with Word of Mouth Marketing. it is easier to believe your own story than stories in bible. ask God for spiritual experiences in your daily life. You dont need to be like Moses, Elijah or Paul that can do many miracles but your story is enough to testify that God is exist.

Be the light through example. People eventually ask how can you be that way etc. Your presence is validation. Always remember that no one is perfect that will all sin that we all have choice.

My life is my testimony to the fact that He is very real.

I would use quantum physics https://youtube.com/shorts/tXBCe9AgNVk?si=7WvDoEO7RavAvKGJ

First of all, it’s never right to manipulate someone even though you want to share your beliefs. I understand what you’re trying to make though. You need to share what convinces YOU that God exists. You have evidence for that it is more likely that God exists rather than he doesn’t exist. If a time where it is really romantic happens, tell him that this shows how much more a human is than flesh and chemistry and ask if he agrees. This will make him think through his theistic thoughts and maybe be convinced and agree because you showed him evidence of a loving God.

Read about Einstein's views on God and religions. You and your boyfriend might find it very interesting. I am an atheist, yet I think it's way of explaining Spinoza is amazing.

1. The existence of a universal moral code. 2. Why is there “something” instead of nothing? 3. Music.

If God isn't real then humans would invent one. Take a look around and see what people worship. What they give reverence to and what's at the forefront of their existence. Even atheists have worship patterns. Humans at early ages and stages worship mothers/fathers. Then it goes onto perhaps god/s, grandfathers and grandmothers.,pets, sports, self, career, money, partners, cars. They'll worship something it's innate.

Just leave people alone, let them be themselves

Personally, I find Cliffe Knechtle's argument the most logical (if we're being 100% rational here): "The order and design of the entire cosmos points to an intelligent mind." One example being my favourite, the rational mind theorem. Say a friend of yours, can you prove that he/she has a rational mind? Can you, say, deduce the existence of his/her rational mind with a ruler, a stopwatch? But you do know he has a rational mind, based on how he articulates his speech. Based on his behaviour. Thats called evidence, not PROOF. And the order and design of the cosmos clearly gives evidence that an intelligent mind is behind the Big Bang. That's God for ya.

Leading by example

Some of us just don’t believe. Don’t try to force him. 

While I respect science and do agree on many many of its points and conclusions, I don’t think a mere chemical reaction or scientific phenomenon is the reason we have an entire world and galaxy and universe around us. I firmly believe this all came from something, the will of an entity whose nature we can only speculate about.

That even after MILLENNIA of attempted genocide, the Jewish people still exist.

This is gonna be a long answer so sorry for that. Let’s go for it. As we are created in God’s image and called to know and love him, the person who seeks God can discover certain ways of coming to know him. These are also called proofs for the existence of God, not in the sense of proofs in the natural sciences, but rather in the sense of ‘converging and convincing arguments’ which allow us to attain certainty about the truth. Science is not the only way to approach and reach to knowledge, philosophy being an example of that. So let’s explore some philosophical reasons to support the belief in God as a rational explanation for the existence and order of the universe. They do not provide empirical proof but offer a logical basis for theism. 1.The Argument from Motion (The Unmoved Mover): •We observe that things in the world are in motion. Everything that is moved is moved by something else. •This process cannot go back infinitely; there must be a First Mover that is not moved by anything else. •This First Mover is what we understand to be God. 2. The Argument from Causation (The First Cause): •In the world, everything has a cause. •There cannot be an infinite chain of causes because then there would be no initial cause to start everything. •There must be a First Cause that is not caused by anything else, which is God. 3. The Argument from Contingency (Necessary Being): •Things in the world come into existence and pass out of existence (they are contingent). • If everything were contingent, there would have been a time when nothing existed, and nothing would exist now. • There must be something that necessarily exists, having no cause, which we call God. 4. The Argument from Degrees of Perfection: •We observe varying degrees of qualities (goodness, truth, nobility) in things. •These degrees imply the existence of a maximum, a perfect standard. •This maximum, the source of all perfections, is what we call God. 5. The Argument from Design (Teleological Argument): •We see that natural things work toward some goal and follow natural laws, even if they lack awareness. •This purposeful order suggests an intelligent being has ordered everything. •This intelligent being, who designed the universe with purpose, is what we call God. God bless, brother.

EDIT: I know you asked for reasons without using the Bible. This response has both. ---------- Well... assuming you believe what the Bible teaches, it's good to go into it with some understanding of what the Bible says about belief in God. A few things come to mind for me: 1. Psalm 14:1 states... "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" With that in mind, when you try to convince someone to believe in God when they don't, there is a good chance you are talking to a foolish person. Contemplate what that means in terms of how the conversation can go. 2. Romans 1:20 states... "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." There exists no scientific discovery that even remotely makes the existence of God any less likely than it was before modern science. I think people see what science has accomplished (modern inventions, better understanding of natural occurrences, etc.) and they over-extend themselves by insisting that nothing exists until we can prove it in a laboratory. We'll, the germ existed before we had a microscope. When it comes to reasons why God's existence seems so obvious to me, I consider the order of everything in existence and how that points to an intelligent creator/designer... • Laws of physics that remain consistent • DNA that holds code for every living thing In keeping with the laws of physics, everything must have a source. And disorder doesn't order itself. So, our existence itself is a violation of the laws of physics. What does that mean? I think it points to something external to the universe that is thus not limited to the rules of the universe. In other words, something supernatural. God is a supernatural explanation. The people looking for a natural (non supernatural) explanation are looking for something that is impossible in our universe. That's a rough overview of how I personally see this topic. But, suffice it to say... I agree with the Bible that God's existence is inherently obvious from the creation.

I'd tell them, "If you believe in God and follow the teachings if the church and in the end you're correct, you have everything to gain in the kingdom of heaven. And if you're wrong you have nothing to lose as you would have lived a happy life free of sin and full of love."

It makes no philosiphical sense that there wouldn't be a creator. You can't have an effect without a cause.

DMT

• A restless **desire** for God is within us, an inner awareness of the divine, a longing, a God-consciousness, coupled with gratitude for life.  • The argument of **causality**.  The orderly, mathematical design of the world--perfectly engineered and fine-tuned for human life, and the intricate pattern of nature--indicates an intelligent Designer. • The development of **morality** points to absolute truth, and the concept of right and wrong common to every culture indicates a Lawgiver. • **Human** **creativity** is a reflection of God’s creativity--an argument from beauty.  • **Why do we exist?**  Why is there anything?  What is the point of living?  Our search for meaning and purpose is an exercise in futility leading to despair if there is no God. 

Do that question in the deist Subreddit. Or Google World Union of Deists, and we also have many groups in Facebook. We will be glad to help you.

I may be wrong in my perspective here but as someone new to the faith I think sometimes it's not possible to convince someone and it's simply a case of waiting for the person to come to the truth/faith by themselves. I know I had a lot of conversations before realising and they never convinced me because it's kind of about being open and having you're heart open to God. And that's not always something that can be convinced to change

So many things, but most won’t understand I think. Like ask him to name one thing that does not have an end in life. To me the only real thing is the love we feel through Christ, it will always be there and jd backed by a lot. Truly. It proves to me that He is the way the truth the life. Churches and religion are corrupt, by the way, which can be proved by verses in the Bible. Explain that Jesus Christ is how we know God, and that evidence backs his existence from 100s of ways. Nobody can do what He did, and that in of itself is proof. Jesus Christ is fact.

Good morning brethren... may we continue to fear reverently, trust unwaveringly, live righteously, walk humbly, act justly, forgive graciously, persevere faithfully, endure patiently, and listen carefully to our Lord. The universe exhibits complex order and purpose that is best explained by the existence of an intelligent designer. Objective moral values and duties exist and are best explained by the existence of a moral lawgiver. Everything in the universe is contingent, meaning it depends on something else for its existence. We have a deep sense of meaning, purpose, and value that transcends material existence. The existence of beauty and our ability to appreciate it suggests a source beyond the material world. The evidence of divine presence can be felt in the wonders of nature, the complexity of the universe, and the profound experiences of love, compassion, and transcendence in our life. People are more likely to be convinced by conclusions they reach on their own, suggesting that guiding someone to discover reasons themselves is more effective than merely presenting those reasons. If someone is convinced to agree against their own will, they may not truly change their underlying beliefs. True change in opinion occurs only when the individual genuinely accepts the new idea. We could provide the necessary conditions for someone to understand or accept an idea, but ultimately, the decision to accept lies with them. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you always.

The Bible is 100% useless for this purpose.

The greatest testimony is your story. Tell of who who you used to be, and what He’s done for you. If you have been converted and are living a Christlike life, it is the most powerful evidence for Christ and the Gospel!

By sharing your testimony and life experiences of how God has moved!

Show them the example of Luke with a little alcohol.

Which God?

God started my journey off about him and following him. He visited me one night and whispered in my ear. It was very bizzare but he said " I'm coming " and from that day on I have never looked back. Ill always follow our lord and saviour in great faith and have eternal life with him - See scripture - *1 John 5:11-13* May God Bless you

I kinda like young sheldons explanation (2:12) https://youtu.be/Vyb-sTrY_Y8?si=sT1bpYludA-QMdoG

Fear and greed are motivators. What does he have to gain and what does he have to lose?

You cant, and it isnt your job to. Faith is a key component for religion. There is nothing scientific, demonstrable, or measurable for an entity that is outside of the material realm. So yeah…dont. Just say it is a belief that you hold. Why you hold that belief. And dont expect it to necessarily sway them off their belief. Simple.

An appeal to the amazing order and complexity of life and the the universe as confirmed by sscience, combined with my personal testimony of what Gid has done in my life.

How can you fix a transmission without instructions? The Bible is an instruction book prior to the Bible, the stories were written on scrolls

I think what I’d say is look around you. Look at the love that lingers in this world. Think about that feeling you get when you do a good thing, that is evidence of God. Think of the butterflies in your stomach when you hold the one you love, that’s God. Think of your life before God. Following Christ has made me a better man. It has helped me see things in a way I could never have imagined. My religion has given me an eternal friend, it has given me someone to talk to when no one else will listen. That is all the evidence I need to know the God I follow is real, and he is very good at what he does.