Say something like, "When we are confronted with the issue of death, it can often make us think about the issues of God, and about our own eternal salvation. Do you ever think about God? Do you consider yourself to be a good person?" Then gently take him through the Law.
If there is any offence, apologize and change the subject. But more than likely you will find that by talking about his personal salvation, it will be like a complete subject change, and therefore there wont be offensive.
If he is bitter at God and that is hindering him from opening his heart, gently let them know that many people have suffered terrible losses in this life, and they have let that suffering bring them to the Cross, and consequently to everlasting life. An analogy that may be helpful is to say that if someone offers to lift you out of quicksand, don't let the fact that you don't like the color of their skin or you can't understand why they are wearing certain clothes, etc., stop you from giving your hand to your rescuer. God offers to lift us out of the quicksand of death itself. Tell him: "Let Him pull you out, and once you are saved, ask your questions. If you don't get an answer in this life, you are guaranteed to get one in the next."
Dan J on 18 Feb 10"Links updated May 2009 αμαθεστατε και κακε, αφες τον παλαιον, μη μεταποιει (Fool and knave, can't you leave the old reading alone and not alter it!) -The complaint of a scribe, written in the margin of Codex Vaticanus at Heb. 1:3. Greek Texts Online * bibelwissenschaft.de. Website of the German Bible Society. Full text of the Nestle-Aland edition of the Greek New Testament, and the Septuagint of Rahlfs. * The Online Parallel Bible Project. By John Isett. Full text of several editions of the Greek NT, including an interlinear Westcott-Hort with parsing and a concordance. Also has the full text of the Septuagint. * The Unbound Bible. At Biola University. The Greek New Testament in four different editions. Uses the "symbol" font that comes with Windows so that everyone can see the Greek. At this site you can also search the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate and several English translations. The Greek texts (in unicode characters) can also be downloaded in zipped archive format. * The Online Greek Bible. A very pleasantly designed site that presents the Nestle-Aland (26) Greek text in a variety of font options, including the Symbol font (already installed on your machine with Windows). Click on any word to see it parsed and defined. The search function is very sophisticated. * Greek New Testament. By Tony Fisher. The Nestle-Aland (26) Greek New Testament in searchable images. No need for Greek fonts on your machine. Search for words by base or inflected form, and by tense, voice and mood. Also here. * Olive Tree Greek New Testament. Search four different editions of the Greek New Testament: 1991 Byzantine Greek Text; Westcott and Hort; Stephens 1550, and Scrivener's 1894 Textus Receptus. Also has interlinears and texts with grammatical tags. * Greek New Testament Editions in downloadable zipped files (you will need an unzip utility to open them) provided by Vincent Broman. Includ
