If God does not answer prayers should the religious powers-that-be shut down the churches?

I think when Christians pray for atheists they mean they would like the Holy Spirit to open the atheists  hearts to the presence of the Lord and become Christian but i've never heard of that happening.  All they ever get is more atheists 

Start here with the this link; then find the atheists that became Catholic priests by searching with Google.

https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/blog/why-atheists-change-their-mind-8-common-factors/4729/


This post was edited by tom jackson at January 27, 2019 10:09 PM MST

The article concludes with "therefore there must be a God" -lacking evidence to say "there IS a God"

I have experienced some sorts of 'miracles' at various times during my lifetime -last time was 3 years ago when I started having chest pain.  MRI scan found no cause for chest pain but did detect a 1st stage cancer in my lung -removed and am still cancer free. Chest pain determined to be muscle cramp. Besides various 'miracles' I lived with a ghost in a room I rented one time. Landlady said ghost began its existence after a guy committed suicide in the room. In the place where I live now stuff  (small items) have totally disappeared and on one occasion reappeared right in plain sight. Mysterious. 
I can believe in some sort of force(s) in existence but not convinced of a God or gods. I would be dishonest to say "I believe in God".


This post was edited by Kittigate at January 28, 2019 7:20 AM MST

The point of giving you the link was to point out that your comment that "all they ever get was more atheists" was patently untrue.

Ok and when you pray for rain and get rain is also untrue. 

Please paste a comment that is properly punctuated so that I have at least some idea of what you are trying to say. 

When God in his great wisdom does not answer prayers he should give an explanation why instead of keeping us in the dark and thinking 'the Lord works in mysterious ways' or something. 'Course that is if he even does exist at all
Nobody likes being left in the dark and confused. This post was edited by Kittigate at April 24, 2019 10:26 AM MDT

Being left in the dark and confused frequently leads to certain realizations about what exists that would otherwise be unknown.

Growth occurs in the most unexpected places.

And wouldn't His "giving an explanation for not answering" be itself an answer.

You want absolute certainty about His existence before you make a decision.

Unfortunately, the price of truth is your certitude.

Hi Kittigate

another comment addressed to me that I've only just now seen

"All they ever get is more atheists" well that could be because after "the Holy Spirit ... open the atheists  hearts to the presence of the Lord" the atheists tend to open the Bible to check up what the Holy Spirit told them. Opening the Bible to check up on Christian claims is often like opening a door to confirmation of atheism.

Well, it is true that no Christian Church that uses only the bible does not have the fullness of the revelation that God has given mankind.

Those who use only the bible to seek all the truth about the Christian God are doomed to at least partial failure. 

Biblical exegesis absent the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the 3rd person in the Abrahamic God, is unable to tap the richness of the Tradition God has continued to reveal his nature and existence.

Satan still exists and is actively trying to impede the spread of the truth.

Hi Tom

Someone forgot to tell Jesus the Christ that "the Holy Spirit, [is the] the 3rd person in the Abrahamic God" It was thus not his fault that the great Rabbi or teacher failed to tell his followers about it. 

Come to think of it, the Holy Spirit forgot to inspire all the forty or so authors of the Bible about the three-way split personalities of the Abrahamic God. Some souls tried to put right that omission in 1 John 5:7 and succeeded for many centuries but the scriptural insertion got thrown out recently as a fabrication know as the Johannine Comma. What was that you said? - "Satan still exists and is actively trying to impede the spread of the truth."