How To Explain God To An Unbeliever
Two people can be looking at the exact same situation, yet see two completely different things.
Since creating a relationship with Christ, I have realized I see him in everything whereas I used to see him in literally nothing. This is why talking to a nonbeliever can feel like talking to someone in a language you don’t speak. Right next to each other yet can’t understand each other at all.
You both think the other is completely wrong! So, that leaves us with a significant question,
How Do You Explain God To An Unbeliever?
First, it takes humbleness and patience. You have to look at it from their perspective.
Instead of thinking about the situation from the perspective of “I’m just trying to win this argument because I know I’m right,” go into the conversation as a teaching moment for both of you.
Genuinely try to see what they see. This is especially important if the person is coming from a place of hurt or feelings of betrayal from God or the church.
Ask yourself, “was I once them?” “If I was in their situation, who’s to say I wouldn’t act/think the exact same way?”
Remember, you are not above an atheist or someone of a different believer in any way, shape or form. That’s the literal opposite of what the gospel teaches.
John 1:8 “Let him who is without sin be the first among you to cast a stone upon her”
None of us can throw a stone.
Stop thinking you’re there to prove someone wrong, in fact, stop thinking you’re there to save them. You can’t do anything. God does.
The best you can do is plant a seed and know you have done your part, but never go into the conversation/debate from a place of ego.
Chances are, you were once them. And even if you haven’t been, you have failed/sinned just as many times as they have.
Choose compassion and love over ego. “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” Ephesians 4:32
Next step. “God is Good!” is not good enough.
Although one of my favorite simple quotes, and very true, using that as an argument with an atheist will most likely get you nowhere. Why? Because understanding God’s goodness is the last step. You have to prove He’s actually there first. also, an atheist believes life is random and meaningless, they see sick children, poverty, crime, etc. and have been through their own trauma. Why would they ever believe that statement right off the bat.
You must use valid, thorough arguments. Something that is backed up by evidence and not shoving “God loves you!” in their face every five seconds.
If you’re anything like me, you had to be convinced of God’s existence- I didn’t just blindly follow religion because I grew up in the church and my mom said so.
I needed my own path backed up by logical reasoning and proof.
How did I get that? and how can I (and you) share it with others?
I learned.
I encourage you to learn as much as possible about the existence and character of God in order to be prepared for any atheist’s argument. They have some good ones, so really taking the time to learn apologetics is necessary.
Reading authors of classical texts like C.S Lewis, St. Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas can help give you other people’s perspectives and a more well-rounded understanding of Christianity throughout time.
As well as doing research from trusted sources such as The Bible (duh), but also websites such as
How do we know we can trust the Bible? | Reformed Theological Seminary
What Is Christianity?: An Introduction to the Christian Religion on JSTOR
The most basic apologetics are
The Existence of God
Teleological Argument – In basic terms, the argument that things are too complex and perfect for them to be random (things that science can’t necessarily explain, such as the big why questions (why do we have emotions))
Cosmological Argument – The argument that anything that is created must have a creator (a building cannot be built without a builder, neither can we).
Ontological Argument – The argument that the fact we exist and can perceive of a perfect being even though we ourselves are imperfect, proves there must be a perfect being.
There are also many more, which can be found here.
The Problem of Pain
C.S Lewis has a whole book on this, literally called The Problem of Pain.
This is basically the argument that if pain exists, an all loving, all powerful God must not exist.
This is false. In fact, the existence of pain and suffering only further proves God existence.
God gave us free will. We have the choice to choose good or evil. If God stopped everyone from causing other people harm, we wouldn’t really have free will at all. That covers man-made pain in basic terms. We cannot blame God for the actions of man. Also, if God stepped in for every horrible action being done, there would be no question of his existence. Everyone would just be able to say: He’s real! He saved me! If everything was perfect all of the time, would we really be choosing him at all? Or would we just be idolizing the thing that saved us from pain without any real thought?
The point of God is to love and trust him even at your lowest points. You don’t truly love something if you only love it when it’s treating you well.
This sort of covers the other pain- natural disasters, genetic disorders, etc. But to further dive into this, we can also answer this with the fact we don’t know everything. God has a plan greater than we can imagine or comprehend. This argument is not as strong because it definitely doesn’t feel consolidating or like a satisfying ending. To read more about the problem of pain, read here. and C.S Lewis books.
Why Christianity over another religion?
Whose to say this God is the “right” one? Whose to say there’s only one?
Here is great source to explain why Christianity over other religions.
This should be the least of your worries; the focus should be on God not religion. Religion divides, Jesus unites.
After you learn stronger arguments than just “God is Good!”, you can then move incorporate it into
Your Testimony
Your testimony is extremely important. Make sure you can articulate your story well with as many engaging details as possible.
After you’ve shared your testimony, talk a little about the gospel. Share the good news!
What do they believe in?
Nothing? This one may be a bit more difficult. Ask them to think about a time where something miraculous happened with little to no explanation. Or a time when something worked out so perfectly. Or ask them to think about how uncomprehensive the complexity of our universe is. Fingerprints, snowflakes, making an entire functioning human in nine months, animal instinct. The list goes on. Although there is so much evil in the world, think about how much perfection there is. How? This will create an engaging conversation.
Spirituality? manifesting? crystals? angel numbers? “The universe has a plan for you” mentality? Typically, these are the types of people that think God is extremely illogical. If you come across these types of people, ask them: “How different are they? How different is manifesting from prayer? Crystals from the cross? Universe Vs. God? They are doing the same thing, just with a different idea at the top.
Prayer
After they understand more about not only God, but you, ask them if it’s okay for you to pray for them. Explain even if prayer does nothing it can’t possibly hurt so what’s to lose?
During this entire process, or just at any point because you are bound to meet unbelievers, pray for guidance. Pray for God to lead the conversation. Pray for opportunities to share the good news. Pray for the strength to speak your heart in a group of atheists. Pray that all people eventually find Jesus. Pray to plant as many seeds as possible. Pray to make Heaven Full.
It’s also crucial to have a community around you keeping you accountable to grow in your faith and share it with others. Find online communities, on-campus groups, people at work, in classes etc. Pray to find your people!
In this post, I talked all about how to explain God to an unbeliever and how to properly equip yourself with arguments.
Struggling yourself to build a relationship with God? Read here.
Similar Reads:
How To Build A Relationship With God | From Addict To “Jesus Freak”- My Story – FaithFinance&Fitness
This post was written by: Ava Rose
