Someone I love claims to be an atheist. In our discussions about God, it is obvious to me that he is well-read in pro-atheist apologetics. It is clear where he looks for truth, and it isn’t in the Bible.
I would venture to say that one could find support for just about anything one wants to believe. (I considered listing all the crazy things people believe today, but you probably already know what many of them are.)
What you read and listen to (whether it is true or not) does have a tremendous influence on what you believe. That’s because human beings tend to go along with the crowd. Even science backs this up.
In his article, The Science Behind Why People Follow the Crowd, Henderson says, “One lesson from social psychology is the influence others have on us. Research shows we do not have as much control over our thoughts and behavior as we think.”
Research shows that people are greatly influenced by what those around them think and who they listen to.
But there is only one way to find truth and that is in God’s Word, the Bible. We don’t have to wonder if the beliefs put forth in our culture are true or not. God has given us His Word to teach us.
“Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.” 1 Corinthians 3:18-19 NIV
I am thankful that God has given us His precious Word. The longer I live, the more I understand how important it is to life and godliness. Have you ever, in your lifetime, seen such rampant deception as we see today?
“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” 1 Timothy 4:1-2 NIV
Reading and studying the Bible is a vital discipline for the follower of Christ. Do you consider yourself a mature Christian? Why? On what do you base your claim? One can only become a mature Christian by studying God’s Word. And that requires discipline. In other words, we have to discipline ourselves to study God’s Word.
The foremost of the disciplines is that involving the Word of God and constitutes the reading, study, memorization, and meditation of Scripture. If this discipline is neglected, no other effort to discipline ourselves will be successful because we simply do not have the power to overcome the resistance of the sin nature in which our new natures reside. Nor do we have the power to overcome the resistance of demonic influences whose aim is always to separate us from the only means of spiritual growth, the Word of God.“
GotQuestions.org (emphasis mine)
In these times, there is a great need for Christians to have discernment. Discernment comes from knowing God’s Word, the Bible. The more we study God’s Word, the more our ability to discern will grow and develop.
Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
The Science Behind Why People Follow the Crowd, Rob Henderson
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
RealChristianWomen.blog
Real Christian Women 
There is a lot of truth in what you have stated, Cindy. And, as you have indicated, there can be and are many factors involved. Pray for the friend that you love. Pray that God will help them to become willing to be willing to look, because I believe that faith is an act of one’s will and God can work with that. Ultimately, in the vast majority of cases, it is our will that determines where we look for answers and God can meet that challenge. I call them “time projects” and it may take a while, but don’t give up. I have some “time projects” on the go right now, as I am sure most of us do. Blessings, Cindy!
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Thanks for your encouraging words, Bruce. It reminds me of the parable of the persistent widow. “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” I will heed His words.
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I can often be talking to someone, and it isn’t long before I can discern whether their world view is biblical or not. It’s not that I’m judging them, but our view of life and life’s issues is either biblical or it isn’t, and it comes out in our speech and our beliefs. You’re so correct, Cindy, in saying that time in God’s Word is crucial in order to grow as a believer. Deception is everywhere and it’s easy to fall for it if we’re not properly grounded. Have a blessed weekend!
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Thank you for commenting. It’s true that we live in a time of great deception, but we don’t have to be deceived. What a precious gift – the Word of God! Blessings, Patty!
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This is a post close to many hearts Cindy; there are many believers who have unsaved friends and family, some of them self proclaimed athiests. You are right in that the Word of God is the main source of wisdom and salvation, but I would go a stage further and say that the Bible is effective first-hand, second-hand, third-hand etc. The living Word of God has many ways to get into people’s lives including through us. May we never tire of prayer for our loved ones sister!
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I hope that those who read this post also read the comments. Sometimes the comments are the best part! Thank you for your words of wisdom. Blessings, Alan!
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Thank you very much Cindy for today’s article. Yesterday in Bible study at my local church, we had an in-depth study of 1 Timothy chapter 4.
We all agreed there that to know the truth, we must all study the word of God. There’s no other way to get the truth.
The other portion that stuck to me is where Apostle Paul tells Timothy to stay at his post reading scripture (vs. 11-14 MSG) and how both him and those who hear him will experience salvation (vs. 16). May God help us to stay where He’s called us reading our Bibles daily and May people experience salvation through us.
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I am thankful to the Lord that this post ministered to you. I am reminded of the verse that says, “…let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Blessings, Funmi! Let your light shine, sister!
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Eric Metaxas book – Is Atheism Dead? might be a choice for your friend.
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I’ll check it out. Thanks!
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Cindy, love this post and I wholeheartedly agree with what you say. We have to read and study the word for ourselves. Praying diligently for those around us is vital. I was talking to God on how to reach a couple of people who live around me but do not know him and do not seem to be interested. was reminded gently by God during my time with him that intercession is at times more important than evangelism. It breaks through barriers, softens hearts. We are after all not fighting against flesh and blood but it is spiritual warfare indeed.
Blessings Cindy 💙
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Yes, we must not forget the power of prayer. My grandmother told me once that she prayed for me everyday, but she didn’t live to see the answers to those prayers. That is faith lived out. Thanks for commenting. You gave me something to think about. Many blessings, Manu!
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A good lesson to us all that we must be careful to surround ourselves with Truth, and not stray into darkness.
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Amen! There is a lot of deception in our world today. But God’s Word is a light for our path. Blessings, Kathy!
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We have a self-professed militantly atheist friend for whom we are praying fervently right now, and recently he reached out to us to see if we could link him to a counselor who deals with spiritual as well as other matters. Prayer works!
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That’s great news! Praying for someone who is an atheist can be discouraging when they dig their heels in and fight against the truth. Sometimes our prayers are answered, but we don’t get to see the results. How exciting that you are getting to see prayers answered! Blessings, Debi Sue!
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Little steps at a time … basically, he actually thanked us when we said we were praying for him. Progress.
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Absolutely! Praise the Lord!
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Yes, it’s important to immerse ourselves in the Word of God so thet we do not turn away from it. Good post.
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Thank you. Blessings!
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