🎉🎉🎉Got my virtual ticket today! Wanted wholeheartedly to be in person and though, being apart of it virtually is just as important and will be rewarding . Thank you so much for making it happen. Yall be blessed ❤
Hey Ruslan, thanks for sharing this - I’ve been enjoying these Wes Huff/Daily Dose of Wisdom/Alex O’Connor clips… I recommend for you to check out Ray Comfort’s content re sharing the Gospel - the way he presents it is great. His channel is called Living Waters. Thanks bro, God bless.
@ very true, but we always have to have open arms to anyone on the other side. And let’s be honest he’s very respectful in his disagreement which I appreciate.
To be fair, most people he has conversations with are on the other side. His brand, content and platform cannot survive without the other side, particularly Christians, because he does not believe in God or anything; he only believes against other people’s beliefs.
Yeah he have so many opportunities but look like his main focus is to disproved the Bible almost constantly it’s up to him to accept the truth. At this point he is a stumping block for the gospel
@@sandras-p1r to be fair there are many religions in the world and he questions all of them, and that’s ok. He and Christians have something in common, we both believe all the other religions are wrong. The difference is Christian’s believe in Jesus and he does not. So let’s continue to help him on his journey toward understanding Christianity. Jesus died for him too.
I prefer to take the bible's word over a man's word. Faith is having confidence in something. You live out a certain way because of your belief programming. Someone who doesn't have faith in roller coasters will live that faith out by being too scared to go on them because at the end of the day even if they logically know its 99.9% safe they won't live it out to that certainty because they lack confidence in riding it. The bible does not teach christians to blindly believe, it teaches you to have a defense for what you believe. 1 Peter 3:15 "but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,'
@ Incorrect. Augustine was not saying to “blindly” believe, he was literally saying to believe the very words of Jesus Christ himself in Scripture. “You have heard what the Lord God, Jesus Christ, the Only Son of God, born of God the Father without any mother, and born of a Virgin mother without any human father, said, "I and My Father are One." Receive this, believe it in such a way that you may attain to understand it. For faith ought to go before understanding, that understanding may be the reward of faith.” -Augustine
@ Based on the context of the video it's clear that Alex does not even have the faith to even begin. No one is making the point that you need full understanding to start with. So it's a moot point to bring up Augustine's quote which makes the implication that Alex just needs to muster up a little faith and God will meet him. That's not how the bible teaches how faith works. Faith is a gift from God so that no one may boast Ephesians 2:8-9. God must intervene and you must be reborn again in the spirit, then you will have the faith to start with. All we can do is pray that it is in God's will that Alex will be saved.
@@Raz0rIG Augustine isn’t saying faith is “blind” or purely human effort. He believed faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9) and the starting point for understanding spiritual truths. He often cited verses like Isaiah 7:9 (“If you do not believe, you will not understand”) to emphasize that faith aligns our hearts and minds to receive divine truth. This doesn’t contradict the Bible’s call for a reasoned defense of faith (1 Peter 3:15); Augustine fully supported reasoning after faith is established. As for faith being God’s work, Augustine would agree entirely, he taught that God’s grace must first draw us (John 6:44) before we can have faith. What he’s addressing is the posture of belief: trusting God’s Word leads to deeper understanding, not the other way around. His point isn’t to suggest that we ignore evidence or logic but that our human intellect is insufficient on its own to grasp divine truths without God’s intervention. Belief is the doorway through which understanding follows.
Alex is proving Gods sovereignty, it’s not intellectual assent , God first must turn a heart of stone to a heart of flesh. Let’s pray that God transforms Alex and gives him the faith to trust in Christ.
I like how Alex understands to follow Christ it must be honest. I know we say to those oh just try it but if people don’t want it God won’t want them to force it however you can walk in a pace of i dont know if you exist God. I dont know anything but if you are there show something to Me. And you just see what happens. This is what I did. Because even if you don’t know you still have called on his name regardless of you fully believe it or not because we are only required a small amount and that grows.
Totally agree 👍 Without the Sovereignty of God over salvation no flesh will be saved! Romans 8:5-7 [5]For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. [6]For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, [7]because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 1 Corinthians 2:14 [14]But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
@@Kenpachi_White707We go to Him because He comes to us. We love Him because He first loved us. He’s the author and finisher of our faith. So yes we come to Him…. but not before He calls us and comes to us.
Agree with Alex’s response. The idea of being “socialised” into Christianity would seem off putting to an earnest and individualist truth seeker like Alex. The value of a Faith community will be much richer on the other side of his own encounter with Christ. Lord have mercy and grant him many years for repentance.
Kudos to Alex the cosmic sceptic for not screaming and being hysterical and Ruslan for keeping this all very respectful and keeping the conversation going ❤ ❤
Ruslan, your love for God and all His people is amazing. You are so kind and gentle to people even in conflict. Thank you for sharing this conversation.
It’s a heart issue. Leaves me thinking of the parable of the sower but seed has been flung and with that God is glorified🙌 Keep praying, keep sharing the Word and glorifying God🙌
Alex seems to be the stone. The seed hits it, and it does nothing. I tell people all the time there are people out there unfortunately that will not move. Pharoah saw the plages and could care less.
I noticed that when Ruslan asked him if he's tried praying "If you're real, reveal yourself to me," he responded "Oh sure, that's fine." But when Ruslan added "doing it as a practice," Alex changed the subject to not testing God by doing it publicly. Alex, I believe you are inches away from a personal revelation if you would meditate on that simple prayer for 5 minutes a day while making a conscious choice during that time to keep your heart open and to not let your analytical mind run defense. God bless you, brother.
It’s not a heart issue, it’s a brain issue. I was a Christian up until I turned 32, now an atheist. I prefer if Christianity were true, it’s more palatable to me. I just don’t think it’s true that’s why I’m no longer a Christian. Let me give an example to shed more light. I dread cancer, it terrifies me as it does to most people I guess. I’d prefer that cancer didn’t exist but I simply can’t choose to believe cancer doesn’t exist because of my preference for that.
I asked my atheist wife to go through the practices of being a Christian with an open heart even though she 100% doesn't believe. She went to Mass, prayed daily, and read scripture. While doing that, I prayed for Our Lady to show her the way. A few months went by and one night she had a genuine spiritual moment with God. She's now a believer and is getting baptized as a Catholic at this coming Easter vigil.
@@johnjames9359 So instead of praying to God the Father, or the Holy Spirit, you prayed to a human? As if she is omniscient and can hear your pray or has the ability to hear multiple prayers by people around the world. It is well, I pray Gods people come out of this modern day pagan hedonistic Catholicism.
@@AjibikeMartins prayer not in a sense of worship for worship is only reserved for God alone. but rather, it is understood as asking for their INTERCESSION similar to how one might ask a fellow Christian to pray on their behalf like what Ruslan did who ask for prayers from others to Alex. this practice is rooted in the Catholic understanding of the "communion of saints," the belief that all members of Christ's Church-those on earth, in purgatory, and in heaven-are united and can support one another in prayer. Catholics believe that Mary and the saints are alive in heaven and in communion with God. by asking for their intercession, Catholics seek their prayers to God on their behalf, much like asking a friend to pray for you. in fact the Bible supports intercessory prayer as stated in 1 Timothy 2:1-4 and James 5:16). Catholics extend this principle to include the saints in heaven, who are seen as even closer to God. yes Mary is not God or omniscient, but mary is not just and ordinary woman. even Mary intercedes with Jesus at the wedding in Cana, leading to His first miracle even though Jesus said that it not yet His time to do the miracle, but Mary intercedes with Jesus and then the miracle permitted in John 2:1-12. so those are the reason of why you can pray to Mary and the Saints but not in the form of worship but only intercession. and what are your basis for claiming that catholics are pagan? do you the disciples of Jesus are pagan? Coz they were the first catholoc. i mean you are claiming something here so i would assumed that you have a basis to support your claim??? coz if you have nothing, then you are just lying to yourself or being dishonest to your own self for making such claim even though you dont have any basis at all.
@@AjibikeMartins He isn't praying to Mary, but rather asking her to pray for him. God has given Mary the ability to hear our prayers. Are you limiting God's abilities?
Alex has more reverence about God than a lot of Christians, may the Spirit of God touch his heart, Lord please have mercy and show this transformation to the world. Praying for Alex. Amen
The key to saving faith is humility. We cannot have faith on our own. We must be humble and open. Then, the Lord plants the seed of faith and waters it.
Amen. Humility is the most foundational Christian virtue. It is the quality of character commanded in the first beatitude and describes the noble grace of Christ.
As a Christian, I honestly think I have more respect for Alex’s position far more than I would if he had taken up Ruslan’s proposal. I think Alex’s position is more intellectually honest, and has more integrity than the alternative. I don’t think “going through the motions” until it becomes a habit creates genuine faith. I think it genuinely requires a work of the Holy Spirit to remove his heart of stone and give him a heart of flesh before anything will come of it. Of course, I think God can - and does - meet people in those contexts. And I am convinced our faith is rational, and stands up to scrutiny. Of course He meets people going to church without fully believing it, or praying without necessarily being sure there’s anyone there to answer. Yes, he can change them there, but to me, the reason so many kids who grew up in church don’t stay the course is because they have learned to go through the motions, who do it for a time out of habit, but never have that heart change. I don’t think going through the motions is something that necessarily aids the Holy Spirit in changing a heart, and don’t think God is not powerful enough to overcome his objections without him doing anything like that. A sovereign God ordains both the ends and the means of salvation. And while I pray this conversation becomes part of the means for Alex, I am also not upset he stuck to his guns on this one.
Ruslan, the way in which you questioned Alex and spoke of faith was very wise. You cut straight to the heart of the matter, and I believe this is the best way to appeal to Atheists and Agnostics. This interaction revealed that Alex' issue with faith is not an intellectual issue, it is an issue of the heart.
You won't get through to alex that way. Not everyone has the same emotions, and alex certainly isn't going to make a choice to believe something. What I mean is, highly intelligent people are very aware of emotional decision making and avoid it. Usually this is a very good thing. Emotions will mislead you most of the time
Most of the decisions I make are intellectual first, especially the most important ones. So, the statement of "heart issue" contradicts how a lot of us perceive the world.
That is basically how I came back to Christ… I was practicing Buddhism.. I decided to just try going to church and try it again… it seemed like out of nowhere I was all of a sudden beginning to pray and started getting hungrier and hungrier for the word, haven’t turned back since. @ruslankd Thank you for presenting it like this to him!!!
Some people need the truth even if it means to look deep into both direction. I’m that kind of guy, to believe I need to explore everything and once the big picture is made I can finally decide where I put my energy. I don’t regret anything! Christ is our king, our light, our inconditionnal love. Jesus Loves you and cannot wait to build a relationship with you.
What a great example of two counter positions having an actual conversation about this. Fantastic example for us to follow when talking to others of different views. That being said, Alex to Christianity by 2026 I'm calling it now 🎉
@@matthewweimer5861 talk to m your pastor about this. Hopefully he will show you scriptures that prove none should take communion except for baptized believers who have prepared to consume the flesh and blood of our Judge, Christ, through prayer, repentance, and fasting.
At this point we should all just unite in prayer for the Holy Spirit to move … all it takes is a mustard seed of faith to move a mountain and I know I’ve got that so all of us together ….
The problem with that perspective is that any religion will say just try it and you can find people in all religions that will say that it was transformative…there is something here.
the same applies to ex christians, ex muslims, ex (insert religion).. many if not more say their life improved especially their mental health after leaving their religion
Heb 6:11 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
@ryandroppa6456 I know what you mean. I think Alex is exposed enough. For people who place greater value in feelings and experiences, I think it could be helpful in leading to a salvation.
@@mikevan1462Respectfully, that is a contradiction on its own. Statement like that contradicts how we operate in reality. It contradicts how we use knowledge instead of faith for everything.
I went to my local church as an atheist, and it was great. Super kind community, very welcoming and helpful, I enjoyed most of the sermons. I went there for almost a year, searching for God. I would have loved to have stayed a part of that community. Ultimately, I felt like an outsider, and it didn't affect my lack of faith. I decided it would be dishonest and frankly insulting to the community to continue going because I just couldn't seem to find faith.
I actually felt for Alex on this. He was very gracious in his rejection of this absurd idea. We need to just pray for Alex. He is a wonderfully intelligent young man who's in need of Christ, as do we all.
@johnjames9359 it's an effective way to make someone believe a thing, due to how they feel in said community. But it is not an effective way to come to the truth. If you practiced some other form of faith in earnesty, entered a community and prayed every day, chances are you'd become part of that faith.
Valiant effort. Seeking God is not just a practice of acts or exercises. The definition of love that stems from Christ the creator and savior stands mountains above every other false religion. He reaches for you, run to Him who made you.
Will see in 10 years if when life hits hard, if anything changes for Alex. Life has a way of pushing down hard on the hope that is within you. Will be praying for Alex for revelation.
@@pietermeyer9740 you are reinforcing the idea that religion only works on the vulnerable and weak minded. If something is historically true you should be able to discover it with a sound mind.
I was super pumped to see him go that route. I've long been one who presents the idea that faith and belief are two completely different things that arent even all that related. You can have shakey belief and choose to have strong faith and you can have strong belief and zero faith. Not sure why we've tied the two together. Probably blame Carl Sagan's pithy quote for that.
Augustine had this idea 1,700 years ago, “Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore do not seek to understand in order to believe, but believe that you may understand.”
In my opinion Ruslan does in this conversation for Alex O’Connor what Alex O’Connor did for Jordan Peterson. There’s a revealing of his heart here in a way that makes sense.
When I was going through my struggle of becoming a christian and I had no intellectual reasons to believe in the veracity of it, my attitude was 'man, if it's even remotely possible that Jesus died for me, then i cannot ignore it' - I was sick of humanity, but I also included myself in that. I watched world war 2 movies and I identified with the perpetrators... and so Jesus dying for all of this was a huuuge impact. The new birth, the new beginning. Also the lack of meaning in this world, lack of vindication for sufferring, it made me desperate
Bless you Alex, not many unbelievers out there who’re so humble and willing to talk. I personally hope you come to Christ, but God has made us all free to choose so no one can force you.
Some just don’t want to believe because they know what they will have to give up. “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 NLT
This is the most open non believer I have seen in a while. Pray people pray for Alex to have a glimpse of God that whets his spiritual appetite so he can start the GREAT ADVENTURE!❤🙏✝️
Interesting analogy. So just having the faith in the chicken and broccoli doesn’t change your body at all, but having the faith and then actually doing the work, eating the broccoli and chicken and lifting heavy things, THAT in fact does change you. I think you’re on the right track there.
Alex just made the best point for going to church and having Christian friends "The people you are with and the actions that you participate in just define the person you are. Show me your friends and I will show you the man. Brilliant!
@@BlueCoore being Catholic is someone who accepts the teachings and participates in the sacraments of the Catholic Church and believing that the Catholic Church is the one true church of Christ
@@BlueCoore what do you mean by accepting Jesus? Are you following his commandments? Are you showing true repentance on your sins when you fall? It's not just a declaration of "I believe in Jesus" and there you go, you're saved. It's a life long process. In the first 1000 years there was no infallible pope. Only a Bishop of rome who was a part of the orthodox church. So the apostolic catholic (which means universal) church is the orthodox church. You can read in Acts of the apostles that on the matter of whether or not gentiles should follow the law of Moses, it wasn't Peter who decided, but the council in Jerusalem (all of the apostles) who decided.
@@Jerome616 You're incredibly more insightful than 99% of the christians I've met. Instead of regurgitating what other people around them are saying, you actually understand the thought process behind it.
@@Jerome616 its not about what you like its about what is true. Why should a sinner get their own way when God is the one that is all powerful and all knowing and all good?
The important thing to understand is that God doesn't need anybody to argue for him to save a soul. Every individual ever born has an entirely unique relationship with God, and he reaches them in very different ways and in my experience, timing is everything. God is always ready and waiting for us, we just have to accept.
I wonder how many Christians here would be willing to do this or have done this for other religions, and I don't mean Abrahamic religions like Islam or Judaism, I mean even the non Abrahamic, like Shinto and Hindu, even Jainism, like how many Christians here are humble enough to do this for other religion, it also isn't a reliable way to know if something is true but I digress
That was effortless and beautifully done brother! That's my thing also. God, if you are real reveal yourself to me. That was my prayer. 5 days later first church service someone prophecied over me... Knowing it was God, and instantly healed from avid reflux through the laying on of hands the same night. To me it was the big reveal. 11 years ago. No turning back! Jesus is real! Common Alex! Pray it!
+all pray for Alex! He is like st. Augustin looking for the truth but is unable to find it. Very hard and dangerous road filled with sadness. I pray for him to become christian❤
Alex actually makes a good point here. I get what Russian is trying to do here, however I somewhat disagree with this from a Biblical perspective. Church is meant to be a communion of the saints, not an evangelizing hub. We come to Church to gather with fellow believers and THEN we GO and preach Christ crucified to the world. I think it’s very likely that what Ruslan is asking of Alex is probably the current state of 80% of the Christian church today. People “trying” to feel something. It’s more akin to a super fit person who has body dysmorphia than someone who actually likes the results of working out and eating right.
I went to my local church as an atheist, and it was great. Super kind community, very welcoming and helpful. I went there for almost a year, searching for God. I would have loved to have stayed a part of that community. Ultimately, I felt like an outsider, and it didn't affect my lack of faith. I decided it would be dishonest and frankly insulting to the community to continue going because I just couldn't seem to find faith.
Yeah I like Alex. Seems down to earth and whatever he believes fully, he’s going to be pretty powerfully invested and will inspire strength. Kudos to him for being open and good at communicating with anyone. Keep up the Good work everybody, it helps 🎉
"It’s impossible to please God without faith because the one who draws near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards people who try to find him." Hebrews 11:6 CEB
Can I get my fellow believers and brothers and sisters in Christ to bring up glory to God. My best friend has been atgeist/buddhist called me 2 nights ago confessing his faith and all the glory of god. So pray for him that his spirit does not burn out, nor does his vigor decrease. He has accepted Christ. Nobody around me believes but none of them have accepted Christ either. So pray for him do bot doubt and have belief that his conversion is true. We bible studied for an hour and a half unplanned. How does that happen without Gids plan?
A Catholic here, one thing i like about Alex is, his always respectable dispositions. Lord i pray you show him the path & grant him the utmost peace of mind 🙏🏿
Ruslan is a better Christian than I, and frankly open to guys like alex, who recently admitted to not treating other faiths the same because he see's us as a weak target. Mo hijab literally threatened Alex into submition, all we say is pray for Alex he knows to much to hide continuously from the light. That hirsi lady showed him pretty much the same. Will alex stand up to mo hijab, maybe on the next episode of bible trouble 😂😂😂
At this point, we need to only pray to God, that He will turn a heart of stone, into a heart of flesh and that He's gonna reveal His glory and love to him in a personal manner.
I love this! I love love how accurate Alex's questions are. How curiously open he is. he will remain in his honest search for truth with all of his awesome, intelligent thoughts to lead upon. That being said, Alex did say you should go to church and you should come to Christ because you want to. You should not put the Lord that God to the test, proving his knowledge of scripture and all I'll say is you don't got to put the Lord Thy God to the test to Have faith . Sometimes for the benefit of yourself and for the benefit of others around, you do what you don't want to do cuz you know it's the right thing to do.
Ruslan I wanted to sincerely thank you for this short little video I love hearing an honest talk that's non-combative about Christ to an atheist or someone who's struggling with believing in Christ the guy was genuine and very thoughtful in his responses and they are genuine and I appreciate it this little clip And good job shooting your shot Ruslan obviously the most special thing about Christianity is the fact that it deals with sin and the fact that we all have done it and we all have blood on our hands and there's only one way to shake that is to accept Christ as our savior the God man and the flesh and I wonder if a little bit more discussion around this aspect would be helpful
Great being introduced to Alex via Jubilee. And especially fascinating as I'm someone who witnesses to strangers sometimes including prayer with the laying on of hands.
It looks like Alex Athesims is slipping away. Now he is contemplating historical evidence of Jesus and Christians faith practices. Let us pray for this gentleman.
Ruslan, brother, compliments on the approach and delivery. You challenged him and educated him at the same time! Alex gave a good critique of the analogy but didn’t dismiss the actual point you were trying to make! All and all great convo
Alex has tried praying, gone to church, studied the Bible and history more than ANY of us, and it is extremely blasé and unfair to say he just isn’t trying hard enough to have “faith” and isn’t doing it properly. Like that’s so rude.
I was a Christian for many years. I used to simply accept what the Bible said. The Bible said it. I believed it. And that settled it. My whole life was wrapped up in God, the Bible, and the Church which I went to. After many years of being a serious Christian I became aware of serious and major problems about God and the Bible which I just could not overlook and in the end I could not believe any longer. Suffice it to say, Christian Apologetics, Calvinism, and Morality brought about the end of my Christian faith.
Take it from someone who rejected God my whole life, if it was a choice I would still be unforgiven and in prison... the Holy Spirit did something to me I could NEVER do for my self, not saying it isn't worth trying, just saying it's not something another man can do to us, but I love your passion my brother!
I believe it was mentioned in the bible itself that through divine intervention and miracles people will believe. The issue is that most people are just not experiencing that enough in this day and age. So doubt has increased in the population. We must become the miracle workers and pray for those who don’t believe to have a divine experience. It’s hard to doubt an experience.
Bro, you're just describing a spiritual process that applies to anything - yoga, meditation, sanctification - your process is just another cultures expression of God. You could swap out the christian disciplines for similar devotion to buddha and you'd see results (and probably more tangible ones). I appreciate you posing this question to him.
That's simply not how salvation works. It's not something we can trial run. Alex used our Scriptures accurately. We should not put God to the test. If you are not convinced that you stand condemned before God, then you can't trust in Jesus for taking the punishment for you. Unfortunately, Alex doesn't realize the former so he can't believe the latter.
This made me chuckle... in a good way. I'm protestant, but even I think Ruslan is missing the point of the heart of what Alex is saying. Ruslan isn't appealing to Alex's worldview and in turn doing more harm than good imo.
He actually COMMANDS us to put Him to the test; “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” Malachi 3:10
This is how we should have conversations with people that don’t agree with us. Could you imagine the next election cycle if we all followed this example? Great job on sharing the gospel!
"If you seek me you will find me if you seek me with all of your heart" But we also are told the kingdom starts as a mustard seed. That small act of "trying" is itself an act of faith, whether or not someone understands. This is why the Lord said to let the children come to him. Because you dont have to understand it. Love and be loved. Formation will come.
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It’s on my birthday 💛 praying / looking for a doggo sitter to be able to go 💃🏾🔥
So did your view of alex change at all from having a conversations with him?
🎉🎉🎉Got my virtual ticket today! Wanted wholeheartedly to be in person and though, being apart of it virtually is just as important and will be rewarding . Thank you so much for making it happen. Yall be blessed ❤
Hey Ruslan, thanks for sharing this - I’ve been enjoying these Wes Huff/Daily Dose of Wisdom/Alex O’Connor clips…
I recommend for you to check out Ray Comfort’s content re sharing the Gospel - the way he presents it is great. His channel is called Living Waters. Thanks bro, God bless.
Respect to Alex for always being willing to have a conversation with people on the other side.
He ain’t always gotta be on the other side 🤷♂️
@ very true, but we always have to have open arms to anyone on the other side. And let’s be honest he’s very respectful in his disagreement which I appreciate.
To be fair, most people he has conversations with are on the other side. His brand, content and platform cannot survive without the other side, particularly Christians, because he does not believe in God or anything; he only believes against other people’s beliefs.
Yeah he have so many opportunities but look like his main focus is to disproved the Bible almost constantly it’s up to him to accept the truth. At this point he is a stumping block for the gospel
@@sandras-p1r to be fair there are many religions in the world and he questions all of them, and that’s ok. He and Christians have something in common, we both believe all the other religions are wrong. The difference is Christian’s believe in Jesus and he does not. So let’s continue to help him on his journey toward understanding Christianity. Jesus died for him too.
“Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore do not seek to understand in order to believe, but believe that you may understand.” -Augustine
😮
I prefer to take the bible's word over a man's word. Faith is having confidence in something. You live out a certain way because of your belief programming. Someone who doesn't have faith in roller coasters will live that faith out by being too scared to go on them because at the end of the day even if they logically know its 99.9% safe they won't live it out to that certainty because they lack confidence in riding it.
The bible does not teach christians to blindly believe, it teaches you to have a defense for what you believe. 1 Peter 3:15 "but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,'
@ Incorrect. Augustine was not saying to “blindly” believe, he was literally saying to believe the very words of Jesus Christ himself in Scripture.
“You have heard what the Lord God, Jesus Christ, the Only Son of God, born of God the Father without any mother, and born of a Virgin mother without any human father, said, "I and My Father are One." Receive this, believe it in such a way that you may attain to understand it. For faith ought to go before understanding, that understanding may be the reward of faith.” -Augustine
@ Based on the context of the video it's clear that Alex does not even have the faith to even begin. No one is making the point that you need full understanding to start with. So it's a moot point to bring up Augustine's quote which makes the implication that Alex just needs to muster up a little faith and God will meet him. That's not how the bible teaches how faith works.
Faith is a gift from God so that no one may boast Ephesians 2:8-9. God must intervene and you must be reborn again in the spirit, then you will have the faith to start with. All we can do is pray that it is in God's will that Alex will be saved.
@@Raz0rIG Augustine isn’t saying faith is “blind” or purely human effort. He believed faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9) and the starting point for understanding spiritual truths. He often cited verses like Isaiah 7:9 (“If you do not believe, you will not understand”) to emphasize that faith aligns our hearts and minds to receive divine truth. This doesn’t contradict the Bible’s call for a reasoned defense of faith (1 Peter 3:15); Augustine fully supported reasoning after faith is established.
As for faith being God’s work, Augustine would agree entirely, he taught that God’s grace must first draw us (John 6:44) before we can have faith. What he’s addressing is the posture of belief: trusting God’s Word leads to deeper understanding, not the other way around. His point isn’t to suggest that we ignore evidence or logic but that our human intellect is insufficient on its own to grasp divine truths without God’s intervention. Belief is the doorway through which understanding follows.
Alex is proving Gods sovereignty, it’s not intellectual assent , God first must turn a heart of stone to a heart of flesh. Let’s pray that God transforms Alex and gives him the faith to trust in Christ.
I like how Alex understands to follow Christ it must be honest. I know we say to those oh just try it but if people don’t want it God won’t want them to force it however you can walk in a pace of i dont know if you exist God. I dont know anything but if you are there show something to Me. And you just see what happens. This is what I did. Because even if you don’t know you still have called on his name regardless of you fully believe it or not because we are only required a small amount and that grows.
Totally agree 👍 Without the Sovereignty of God over salvation no flesh will be saved!
Romans 8:5-7
[5]For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
[6]For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
[7]because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
1 Corinthians 2:14
[14]But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
So we don’t go to God he comes to us?
@Kenpachi_White707
You go to God in true faith but it is God's grace through His Spirit that draws you
@@Kenpachi_White707We go to Him because He comes to us. We love Him because He first loved us. He’s the author and finisher of our faith. So yes we come to Him…. but not before He calls us and comes to us.
Alex nailed it. Intent. Wholeheartedness is needed.
Agree with Alex’s response. The idea of being “socialised” into Christianity would seem off putting to an earnest and individualist truth seeker like Alex. The value of a Faith community will be much richer on the other side of his own encounter with Christ. Lord have mercy and grant him many years for repentance.
As a believer, I myself actually agree more with Alex's points here. Not his disbelief, but his logic.
Kudos to Alex the cosmic sceptic for not screaming and being hysterical and Ruslan for keeping this all very respectful and keeping the conversation going ❤ ❤
He's very intelligent and intellectually honest. He's so easy to listen to. I hope he can see the truth soon.
Peace is the standard, the starting block, the prerequisite
Why would he scream and be hysterical?
Ruslan, your love for God and all His people is amazing. You are so kind and gentle to people even in conflict. Thank you for sharing this conversation.
It’s a heart issue. Leaves me thinking of the parable of the sower but seed has been flung and with that God is glorified🙌
Keep praying, keep sharing the Word and glorifying God🙌
I agree!🎉
Yep
Alex seems to be the stone. The seed hits it, and it does nothing. I tell people all the time there are people out there unfortunately that will not move. Pharoah saw the plages and could care less.
I noticed that when Ruslan asked him if he's tried praying "If you're real, reveal yourself to me," he responded "Oh sure, that's fine." But when Ruslan added "doing it as a practice," Alex changed the subject to not testing God by doing it publicly. Alex, I believe you are inches away from a personal revelation if you would meditate on that simple prayer for 5 minutes a day while making a conscious choice during that time to keep your heart open and to not let your analytical mind run defense. God bless you, brother.
It’s not a heart issue, it’s a brain issue. I was a Christian up until I turned 32, now an atheist. I prefer if Christianity were true, it’s more palatable to me. I just don’t think it’s true that’s why I’m no longer a Christian. Let me give an example to shed more light. I dread cancer, it terrifies me as it does to most people I guess. I’d prefer that cancer didn’t exist but I simply can’t choose to believe cancer doesn’t exist because of my preference for that.
I asked my atheist wife to go through the practices of being a Christian with an open heart even though she 100% doesn't believe.
She went to Mass, prayed daily, and read scripture. While doing that, I prayed for Our Lady to show her the way.
A few months went by and one night she had a genuine spiritual moment with God. She's now a believer and is getting baptized as a Catholic at this coming Easter vigil.
@@johnjames9359 So instead of praying to God the Father, or the Holy Spirit, you prayed to a human? As if she is omniscient and can hear your pray or has the ability to hear multiple prayers by people around the world. It is well, I pray Gods people come out of this modern day pagan hedonistic Catholicism.
Praise God! I'll be praying for her.
@@AjibikeMartins catholics are still saved
@@AjibikeMartins prayer not in a sense of worship for worship is only reserved for God alone. but rather, it is understood as asking for their INTERCESSION similar to how one might ask a fellow Christian to pray on their behalf like what Ruslan did who ask for prayers from others to Alex. this practice is rooted in the Catholic understanding of the "communion of saints," the belief that all members of Christ's Church-those on earth, in purgatory, and in heaven-are united and can support one another in prayer.
Catholics believe that Mary and the saints are alive in heaven and in communion with God. by asking for their intercession, Catholics seek their prayers to God on their behalf, much like asking a friend to pray for you.
in fact the Bible supports intercessory prayer as stated in 1 Timothy 2:1-4 and James 5:16). Catholics extend this principle to include the saints in heaven, who are seen as even closer to God.
yes Mary is not God or omniscient, but mary is not just and ordinary woman. even Mary intercedes with Jesus at the wedding in Cana, leading to His first miracle even though Jesus said that it not yet His time to do the miracle, but Mary intercedes with Jesus and then the miracle permitted in John 2:1-12.
so those are the reason of why you can pray to Mary and the Saints but not in the form of worship but only intercession.
and what are your basis for claiming that catholics are pagan? do you the disciples of Jesus are pagan? Coz they were the first catholoc. i mean you are claiming something here so i would assumed that you have a basis to support your claim??? coz if you have nothing, then you are just lying to yourself or being dishonest to your own self for making such claim even though you dont have any basis at all.
@@AjibikeMartins He isn't praying to Mary, but rather asking her to pray for him. God has given Mary the ability to hear our prayers. Are you limiting God's abilities?
Alex actually deepened my faith in Christ with his perspective on devotion
Alex has more reverence about God than a lot of Christians, may the Spirit of God touch his heart, Lord please have mercy and show this transformation to the world. Praying for Alex. Amen
The key to saving faith is humility. We cannot have faith on our own. We must be humble and open. Then, the Lord plants the seed of faith and waters it.
Amen. Humility is the most foundational Christian virtue. It is the quality of character commanded in the first beatitude and describes the noble grace of Christ.
Humility is not required only faith is sufficient.
Ruslan stop interrupting
As a Christian, I honestly think I have more respect for Alex’s position far more than I would if he had taken up Ruslan’s proposal.
I think Alex’s position is more intellectually honest, and has more integrity than the alternative.
I don’t think “going through the motions” until it becomes a habit creates genuine faith. I think it genuinely requires a work of the Holy Spirit to remove his heart of stone and give him a heart of flesh before anything will come of it.
Of course, I think God can - and does - meet people in those contexts. And I am convinced our faith is rational, and stands up to scrutiny.
Of course He meets people going to church without fully believing it, or praying without necessarily being sure there’s anyone there to answer. Yes, he can change them there, but to me, the reason so many kids who grew up in church don’t stay the course is because they have learned to go through the motions, who do it for a time out of habit, but never have that heart change.
I don’t think going through the motions is something that necessarily aids the Holy Spirit in changing a heart, and don’t think God is not powerful enough to overcome his objections without him doing anything like that. A sovereign God ordains both the ends and the means of salvation. And while I pray this conversation becomes part of the means for Alex, I am also not upset he stuck to his guns on this one.
“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13
@japexican007 I also thought of this verse right away
Are you saying God the all powerful is playing hide and seek with mere humans?
@@everyoneroastedHow did u interpret this 😂
@@repererendam9351 don't ask me, ask all the diddy pastors because the bible is on their side 😛
Ruslan, the way in which you questioned Alex and spoke of faith was very wise. You cut straight to the heart of the matter, and I believe this is the best way to appeal to Atheists and Agnostics. This interaction revealed that Alex' issue with faith is not an intellectual issue, it is an issue of the heart.
You won't get through to alex that way. Not everyone has the same emotions, and alex certainly isn't going to make a choice to believe something.
What I mean is, highly intelligent people are very aware of emotional decision making and avoid it. Usually this is a very good thing. Emotions will mislead you most of the time
Most of the decisions I make are intellectual first, especially the most important ones. So, the statement of "heart issue" contradicts how a lot of us perceive the world.
The fact of wanting to appeal to agnostics and atheists is the issue in the first place. They don't want the truth.
"Heart" fallacies theist regularly reel out are abstract; just metaphor. The heart is a muscle that pumps blood around the body.
That is basically how I came back to Christ… I was practicing Buddhism.. I decided to just try going to church and try it again… it seemed like out of nowhere I was all of a sudden beginning to pray and started getting hungrier and hungrier for the word, haven’t turned back since. @ruslankd Thank you for presenting it like this to him!!!
Love this testimony
So you're on your 3rd religion?? Christian, Buddhist then back to Christian. Seems like you're susceptible to this type of stuff
Some people need the truth even if it means to look deep into both direction. I’m that kind of guy, to believe I need to explore everything and once the big picture is made I can finally decide where I put my energy. I don’t regret anything! Christ is our king, our light, our inconditionnal love. Jesus Loves you and cannot wait to build a relationship with you.
So basically, the tasting part was when you finally ate the word?
What a great example of two counter positions having an actual conversation about this. Fantastic example for us to follow when talking to others of different views. That being said, Alex to Christianity by 2026 I'm calling it now 🎉
@rangatank93. From your comment to God's ear. ;)
im willing to bet 10 grand that's not gonna happen
Please how ?
Am a born Christian and sometimes I feel so down 😭 of myself because of low finance but I still believe God😞
It's Elizabeth Ann Hanson doing she's changed my life. A BROKER- like her is what you need.
$356K monthly is something you should feel differently about....
Lovely! I enjoyed it like I enjoy a $100k monthly around the turn!!!
My church community actually asks if you don’t believe that you need Jesus please don’t take communion. I respect Alex’s take. I hope it changes.
Our church does same
Hope what changes?
@@matthewweimer5861 talk to m your pastor about this. Hopefully he will show you scriptures that prove none should take communion except for baptized believers who have prepared to consume the flesh and blood of our Judge, Christ, through prayer, repentance, and fasting.
I can see alex as more of a christian than most of the christians I know We will pray for you alex keep it up you will get there
he's not but i see what you mean, a lot of christians are living a double life just like muslims, like they are using religion for other purposes
This is obscenely arrogant, but you, ironically, won't understand why.
So that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom,but on God’s power.
1Cor2:5
At this point we should all just unite in prayer for the Holy Spirit to move … all it takes is a mustard seed of faith to move a mountain and I know I’ve got that so all of us together ….
Im truly praying for Alex’s conversion. God demonstrates everyday he can change any heart, even the hardest of hearts
The problem with that perspective is that any religion will say just try it and you can find people in all religions that will say that it was transformative…there is something here.
the same applies to ex christians, ex muslims, ex (insert religion).. many if not more say their life improved especially their mental health after leaving their religion
@ true…all this is anecdotal
As a Christian, I think Alex is right here. I'm not sure about this "practice it and see how you feel at the end" business. Seems contrary to faith.
Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;
Heb 6:11 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
I understand where you’re coming from but from a different perspective, exposure to Jesus , his word , and his followers wouldn’t hurt
@ryandroppa6456 I know what you mean. I think Alex is exposed enough. For people who place greater value in feelings and experiences, I think it could be helpful in leading to a salvation.
@@mikevan1462Respectfully, that is a contradiction on its own. Statement like that contradicts how we operate in reality. It contradicts how we use knowledge instead of faith for everything.
I went to my local church as an atheist, and it was great. Super kind community, very welcoming and helpful, I enjoyed most of the sermons. I went there for almost a year, searching for God. I would have loved to have stayed a part of that community.
Ultimately, I felt like an outsider, and it didn't affect my lack of faith. I decided it would be dishonest and frankly insulting to the community to continue going because I just couldn't seem to find faith.
I actually felt for Alex on this. He was very gracious in his rejection of this absurd idea.
We need to just pray for Alex. He is a wonderfully intelligent young man who's in need of Christ, as do we all.
It's not an absurd idea. It's exactly how my wife ended up converting to Christianity
I dont understand being 100% something if you haven’t 100% tried it yourself! Esp with all the evidence and testimonials from others
@johnjames9359 it's an effective way to make someone believe a thing, due to how they feel in said community. But it is not an effective way to come to the truth. If you practiced some other form of faith in earnesty, entered a community and prayed every day, chances are you'd become part of that faith.
@@Xoalifestylehave you 100% tried Scientology or Mormonism or Islam? Why not? Seems like a double standard.
@ I have 100% done the research for sureee
Valiant effort. Seeking God is not just a practice of acts or exercises. The definition of love that stems from Christ the creator and savior stands mountains above every other false religion. He reaches for you, run to Him who made you.
Will see in 10 years if when life hits hard, if anything changes for Alex.
Life has a way of pushing down hard on the hope that is within you.
Will be praying for Alex for revelation.
what if he never ever get converted to christianity?
@@wat4504he goes hell unfortunately
@@kabeperry6774 ridiculous concept
@@pietermeyer9740 you are reinforcing the idea that religion only works on the vulnerable and weak minded. If something is historically true you should be able to discover it with a sound mind.
@@bsedgal not at all
I first prayed without intellectual belief, because I momentarily spoke to God as a person. He accepted my apology and I felt it.
Ruslan, there will be many rewards in Heaven for you. You bless His heart.
I may be ignorant but I’ve never heard that faith argument, the action prior to belief idea. Good stuff.
I was super pumped to see him go that route. I've long been one who presents the idea that faith and belief are two completely different things that arent even all that related. You can have shakey belief and choose to have strong faith and you can have strong belief and zero faith. Not sure why we've tied the two together. Probably blame Carl Sagan's pithy quote for that.
Oh yeah. It can absolutely work. God shows up!
Augustine had this idea 1,700 years ago, “Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore do not seek to understand in order to believe, but believe that you may understand.”
I think C.S Lewis talks about it in Mere Christianity
Reaching out for an unknown light switch in a dark room.
In my opinion Ruslan does in this conversation for Alex O’Connor what Alex O’Connor did for Jordan Peterson. There’s a revealing of his heart here in a way that makes sense.
☀✝️ GOD PROTECTS US AGAINST EVIL AND TEMPTATIONS 💪🙏❤🕊
When I was going through my struggle of becoming a christian and I had no intellectual reasons to believe in the veracity of it, my attitude was 'man, if it's even remotely possible that Jesus died for me, then i cannot ignore it' - I was sick of humanity, but I also included myself in that. I watched world war 2 movies and I identified with the perpetrators... and so Jesus dying for all of this was a huuuge impact. The new birth, the new beginning. Also the lack of meaning in this world, lack of vindication for sufferring, it made me desperate
Bless you Alex, not many unbelievers out there who’re so humble and willing to talk. I personally hope you come to Christ, but God has made us all free to choose so no one can force you.
Awesome work, Ruslan. Much respect. Hopefully all these sorts of individuals will come swiftly to Wisdom with open hearts.
Some just don’t want to believe because they know what they will have to give up.
“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6 NLT
And some dont want to stop believing, even though they fear they have, for the same reason.
@@albino_penguin2268 and some cant believe its not butter
You planted a seed Ruslan! ❤
This is the most open non believer I have seen in a while. Pray people pray for Alex to have a glimpse of God that whets his spiritual appetite so he can start the GREAT ADVENTURE!❤🙏✝️
I don't think Alex understands how much more he understands then a lot of these Christians who aren't actually Christians. He's on his way.
Interesting analogy. So just having the faith in the chicken and broccoli doesn’t change your body at all, but having the faith and then actually doing the work, eating the broccoli and chicken and lifting heavy things, THAT in fact does change you. I think you’re on the right track there.
Alex just made the best point for going to church and having Christian friends "The people you are with and the actions that you participate in just define the person you are. Show me your friends and I will show you the man. Brilliant!
Keep praying for non believers that you can't reach, and keep preaching to those you can
I am a catholic and can say with enough confidence: praise our Lord Jesus Christ for his child Ruslan!!!
What does being catholic mean?
@@BlueCoore being Catholic is someone who accepts the teachings and participates in the sacraments of the Catholic Church and believing that the Catholic Church is the one true church of Christ
@@ukyboy4073 how does one’s soul gets saved?
If I never do any of those but accept Jesus, am I saved?
@@BlueCoore Why should I give a crap about your subjective opinion on what the bible means? You probably haven't even read it
@@BlueCoore what do you mean by accepting Jesus? Are you following his commandments? Are you showing true repentance on your sins when you fall?
It's not just a declaration of "I believe in Jesus" and there you go, you're saved. It's a life long process.
In the first 1000 years there was no infallible pope. Only a Bishop of rome who was a part of the orthodox church. So the apostolic catholic (which means universal) church is the orthodox church.
You can read in Acts of the apostles that on the matter of whether or not gentiles should follow the law of Moses, it wasn't Peter who decided, but the council in Jerusalem (all of the apostles) who decided.
Not surprised. This is like everyone of them. Heart issues. They dont like the God of bible. They want the god THEY want.
I'm a christian, but why would you assent to something you don't like/ think is moral?
@@Jerome616 You're incredibly more insightful than 99% of the christians I've met. Instead of regurgitating what other people around them are saying, you actually understand the thought process behind it.
@@Jerome616 its not about what you like its about what is true. Why should a sinner get their own way when God is the one that is all powerful and all knowing and all good?
That was amazing. Love and respect (and pray for) both you guys!
The important thing to understand is that God doesn't need anybody to argue for him to save a soul. Every individual ever born has an entirely unique relationship with God, and he reaches them in very different ways and in my experience, timing is everything. God is always ready and waiting for us, we just have to accept.
“Then Jesus told him, ‘You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.'”
Praying for you Alex that your spiritual eyes will be opened
Pascal enters the chat
I wonder how many Christians here would be willing to do this or have done this for other religions, and I don't mean Abrahamic religions like Islam or Judaism, I mean even the non Abrahamic, like Shinto and Hindu, even Jainism, like how many Christians here are humble enough to do this for other religion, it also isn't a reliable way to know if something is true but I digress
Christian here. And I love watching Alex. He needs to come join us already
That was awesome! Great job brother!
Big shout to Ruslan for dishing out The Gospel in this level. You got chops buddy. God Bless you and your family
That was effortless and beautifully done brother! That's my thing also. God, if you are real reveal yourself to me. That was my prayer. 5 days later first church service someone prophecied over me... Knowing it was God, and instantly healed from avid reflux through the laying on of hands the same night. To me it was the big reveal. 11 years ago. No turning back! Jesus is real! Common Alex! Pray it!
I like this guy! He’s so smart and respectful
+all pray for Alex! He is like st. Augustin looking for the truth but is unable to find it. Very hard and dangerous road filled with sadness. I pray for him to become christian❤
Alex actually makes a good point here. I get what Russian is trying to do here, however I somewhat disagree with this from a Biblical perspective. Church is meant to be a communion of the saints, not an evangelizing hub. We come to Church to gather with fellow believers and THEN we GO and preach Christ crucified to the world.
I think it’s very likely that what Ruslan is asking of Alex is probably the current state of 80% of the Christian church today. People “trying” to feel something. It’s more akin to a super fit person who has body dysmorphia than someone who actually likes the results of working out and eating right.
I went to my local church as an atheist, and it was great. Super kind community, very welcoming and helpful. I went there for almost a year, searching for God. I would have loved to have stayed a part of that community.
Ultimately, I felt like an outsider, and it didn't affect my lack of faith. I decided it would be dishonest and frankly insulting to the community to continue going because I just couldn't seem to find faith.
Yeah I like Alex. Seems down to earth and whatever he believes fully, he’s going to be pretty powerfully invested and will inspire strength. Kudos to him for being open and good at communicating with anyone. Keep up the Good work everybody, it helps 🎉
"It’s impossible to please God without faith because the one who draws near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards people who try to find him."
Hebrews 11:6 CEB
Can I get my fellow believers and brothers and sisters in Christ to bring up glory to God. My best friend has been atgeist/buddhist called me 2 nights ago confessing his faith and all the glory of god. So pray for him that his spirit does not burn out, nor does his vigor decrease. He has accepted Christ. Nobody around me believes but none of them have accepted Christ either. So pray for him do bot doubt and have belief that his conversion is true. We bible studied for an hour and a half unplanned. How does that happen without Gids plan?
God bless Ruslan for planting the seed
A Catholic here, one thing i like about Alex is, his always respectable dispositions. Lord i pray you show him the path & grant him the utmost peace of mind 🙏🏿
Ruslan is out of his depth here. He doesn’t realize that his shallow advice could be applied to any religion.
Ruslan is a better Christian than I, and frankly open to guys like alex, who recently admitted to not treating other faiths the same because he see's us as a weak target. Mo hijab literally threatened Alex into submition, all we say is pray for Alex he knows to much to hide continuously from the light. That hirsi lady showed him pretty much the same. Will alex stand up to mo hijab, maybe on the next episode of bible trouble 😂😂😂
At this point, we need to only pray to God, that He will turn a heart of stone, into a heart of flesh and that He's gonna reveal His glory and love to him in a personal manner.
God is clearly knocking on Alex’s heart bc he wouldn’t be having this interview with ruslan If he wasn’t trying to reveal himself to him.
He’s a student of philosophy and the Bible; this is his job.
I love this! I love love how accurate Alex's questions are. How curiously open he is. he will remain in his honest search for truth with all of his awesome, intelligent thoughts to lead upon. That being said, Alex did say you should go to church and you should come to Christ because you want to. You should not put the Lord that God to the test, proving his knowledge of scripture and all I'll say is you don't got to put the Lord Thy God to the test to Have faith . Sometimes for the benefit of yourself and for the benefit of others around, you do what you don't want to do cuz you know it's the right thing to do.
Ruslan I wanted to sincerely thank you for this short little video I love hearing an honest talk that's non-combative about Christ to an atheist or someone who's struggling with believing in Christ the guy was genuine and very thoughtful in his responses and they are genuine and I appreciate it this little clip
And good job shooting your shot Ruslan obviously the most special thing about Christianity is the fact that it deals with sin and the fact that we all have done it and we all have blood on our hands and there's only one way to shake that is to accept Christ as our savior the God man and the flesh and I wonder if a little bit more discussion around this aspect would be helpful
Great being introduced to Alex via Jubilee.
And especially fascinating as I'm someone who witnesses to strangers sometimes including prayer with the laying on of hands.
And by the way let me hold one of them bless god hoodies Ruslan 😂
God is SO GOOD! How does this all keep getting better????? 😭🙏🏾
Good example from Ruslan to approach the lost with love. I like Alex and I hope and pray he comes to Christ.
That first five minutes was 🔥
It looks like Alex Athesims is slipping away. Now he is contemplating historical evidence of Jesus and Christians faith practices. Let us pray for this gentleman.
Alex has a good intuition about offending God with false piety.
Ruslan, brother, compliments on the approach and delivery. You challenged him and educated him at the same time!
Alex gave a good critique of the analogy but didn’t dismiss the actual point you were trying to make!
All and all great convo
I hate these count downs 😂 love you Ruslan
Alex has tried praying, gone to church, studied the Bible and history more than ANY of us, and it is extremely blasé and unfair to say he just isn’t trying hard enough to have “faith” and isn’t doing it properly. Like that’s so rude.
“Way more than any of us” speak for yourself.
At the very least, more than Ruslan.
@@Cottagewitchcraftco no one comes to the lord unless they are called.
I was a Christian for many years. I used to simply accept what the Bible said. The Bible said it. I believed it. And that settled it. My whole life was wrapped up in God, the Bible, and the Church which I went to.
After many years of being a serious Christian I became aware of serious and major problems about God and the Bible which I just could not overlook and in the end I could not believe any longer. Suffice it to say, Christian Apologetics, Calvinism, and Morality brought about the end of my Christian faith.
I think Alex could not hide his irritability at Ruslan here.
Take it from someone who rejected God my whole life, if it was a choice I would still be unforgiven and in prison... the Holy Spirit did something to me I could NEVER do for my self, not saying it isn't worth trying, just saying it's not something another man can do to us, but I love your passion my brother!
I believe it was mentioned in the bible itself that through divine intervention and miracles people will believe. The issue is that most people are just not experiencing that enough in this day and age. So doubt has increased in the population. We must become the miracle workers and pray for those who don’t believe to have a divine experience. It’s hard to doubt an experience.
Bro, you're just describing a spiritual process that applies to anything - yoga, meditation, sanctification - your process is just another cultures expression of God. You could swap out the christian disciplines for similar devotion to buddha and you'd see results (and probably more tangible ones). I appreciate you posing this question to him.
Andrew Huberman took on this challenge and is now a believer. He's an extremely smart man also.
Alex conflates spiritual matters with intellectual ones. Faith and intellect aren’t the same thing.
Come on Ruslan, God called you for these 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Hoping and praying that Alex will take the leap into trust in Jesus.
Alex O'Connor went from talking to WLC and Ortlund to Ruslan.
That's simply not how salvation works. It's not something we can trial run. Alex used our Scriptures accurately. We should not put God to the test.
If you are not convinced that you stand condemned before God, then you can't trust in Jesus for taking the punishment for you.
Unfortunately, Alex doesn't realize the former so he can't believe the latter.
@@BrenanArntz spot on
It’s not that he doesn’t realize it, it’s that there’s no reason to believe it’s true.
@ We've got an evidence denier.
You gave him a great pitch, well done bro
Hey Ruslan. You should try the rosary on a daily basis, see how it changes your life.
This made me chuckle... in a good way. I'm protestant, but even I think Ruslan is missing the point of the heart of what Alex is saying. Ruslan isn't appealing to Alex's worldview and in turn doing more harm than good imo.
Faith is a choice. You just need to make a choice to believe
He actually COMMANDS us to put Him to the test; “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” Malachi 3:10
This is how we should have conversations with people that don’t agree with us. Could you imagine the next election cycle if we all followed this example? Great job on sharing the gospel!
"If you seek me you will find me if you seek me with all of your heart"
But we also are told the kingdom starts as a mustard seed.
That small act of "trying" is itself an act of faith, whether or not someone understands. This is why the Lord said to let the children come to him. Because you dont have to understand it.
Love and be loved.
Formation will come.
Love both of these men.