About a "Friend" from School

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Hello everyone =) Nice to see people here at CAF once again.

Okay so here is my situation. I have this “friend”, I put it in quotes because he’s well, more of an aquaintance, and hes a good guy and everything and we talk a lot before class starts. We’re different pretty much in every way but there’s one difference I want to take a closer look at…

We were talking politics one day (we have after all, political science class together) and somehow religion came into the conversation. He is atheist/agnostic, and generally dislikes religion, and tends to think of religious people as “ignorant”, though he admits that despite my Catholic faith, he finds me quite intelligent. Of course, he rolled his eyes when he found out what my faith was.

I prayed for him, one night, I almost didn’t because I thought there was almost no chance. That he would see the light and convert? I kept thinking “he’s not gonna do that”. But nonetheless I prayed.

Talking to him some more I have gathered that he dislikes religion for a number of reasons, one, he gets his information largely from Zeitgeist, which is entertaining but about as accurate as the Da Vinci code…(you see where I’m going with this). Second, he thinks it “breeds ignorance”, “provides no eviedence of God”, and so fourth, which leads me to suspect he listens to Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins a lot. (I know their subject matter well, and he’s pretty much just paraphrasing it)

The question is, should I try to “convert” this guy? And if I could. how do i go about doing it? If i started burying him in tracts in a manner that an Evangelical would that would ensure that we wouldn’t talk again… on the other hand, I’m thinking that if i get to know him better, I could help assess where his presumptions come from. He seems to think that you cannot be churched (especially in a Catholic setting) and still be intellectual. Apparently he has never heard of the “Catholic Intellectual Tradition”! Also, I get straight As in school, play on the tennis team, play violin in an orchestra and read 10 books a month! And I love my faith, and Ive never felt that I’m ignorant (other than that I realise there is much I don’t know, which isnt true ignorance).

I thought eventually I could just politely ask him to listen to a speech by Peter Kreeft or Scott Hahn.

He really is a good guy, just misguided.

Please advise, brothers and sisters in Christ

God Bless.
 
Pray, pray, pray!
I have some friends like that - one in particular, who rather than being indifferent to religion, is open to discussing it, but always takes the opposing side. I think those kind of people are more likely to convert, but I’m afraid I don’t have any special tips to help with his conversion. I think it would be healthy for both of you to keep discussing religion regularly though, so he has it on his mind.
My friend hasn’t converted yet and I’ve been praying for him for a good few years now - St Monica had to wait much longer to see her son St Augustine baptised!
I’ll keep you and your friend in my prayers.
God bless:)
 
I used to be like your friend (except probably a million times worse).

In the course of my excessive internet ramblings, I’ve noticed two kinds of anti-theists. You’ve got your reductionist pals who view God solely as an explanation for creation and thus find him unnecessary; and you’ve got your anti-theists who rely on numerous nonsensical conspiracy theories which tell them Christianity has wronged the world… somehow.

It’s hard to deal with either using logic and reason. It leads to an endless debate that goes on until someone gets tired of talking. Prayer is probably the best bet, but be mindful to challenge those assertions which history and common sense prove to be false.
 
As others have said, Pray - and keep on praying.
Also demonstrate to him that there is at least one truly happy and truly intelligent Christian around.

The other thing I think you could do is to “peck away” at his prejudices (sp?) for instance. “Religion breeds ignorance”, or “religious people are ignorant”. Introduce him to Thomas Aquanis, or Francis deSales, or Fulton Sheen or Chesterton ( a really good one) or Newman or some other brilliant christian authors.

Talk to him about how the Church, far from disliking learning, actually has always supported and promoted learning and the sciences. How in the Dark ages, it was the monks who preserved what ancient learning was saved. etc.

You will, I am sure, find many ways to educate this person on how he has seriously misjudged the positive effects and absolute need for faith and for God in the History of Man.

No great insights above, but I hope some encourgament.

Peace
James
 
Only the Holy Spirit can convert this guy, but you are doing a good job helping Him! Bombarding him with Catholic stuff, to prove it is right, is probably only going to turn him off even more, in the end. Right now he just needs someone non-threatening to talk to and give him ideas to think about, that he has never thought about before. I would continue to pray for him and just be there. You should check out Tim Staples story, he met a fellow Marine who led him to the Church, just from (sometimes knock down) conversations and discussions. They are still good friends today.
 
One little thing you could tell him is that, in addition to what everyone else has said, why should the Church try to prove God exists to its followers? It’s all a matter of faith, not shunning reason. 😉

Also, you could give him this quote:
"The late Canadian ambassador to Yugoslavia, Count Ignatieff always attended divine services at the small Russian Orthodox Church in Belgrade. His secretary told us this story. Ambassador Ignatieff once excused himself from a reception at President Tito’s residence in order to attend the vigil on the eve of a feastday. President Tito asked Mr. Ignatieff, “‘You are an intelligent man, Mr. Ignatieff. Why do you attend church?’” Mr. Ignatieff replied, “‘Because I am an intelligent man.’”
Click to expand...
^I believe that sums it up excellently; the Church also teaches that reason and faith never really contradict, as they’re both gifts to us from God.

And, building on with what JRKH has said about intelligent Christians, you can also include Gregor Mendel; a Catholic monk, yet the father of genetic science.

Peace and God Bless, keep up the effort, and it’ll pay off! Just need to get your approach right, and from what I can see, you’re getting that done nicely. 😉 Good luck!
 
In addition to the great advice provided already, I encourage you to do as St Francis did:

“Proclaim the Gospel boldly and when necessary, use words.” Your example of virtue and steadfastness will guide your friend more than your evangelization ever could.

Keep praying for your friend, but most of all pray for your protection and the fortitude to be the best possible example of Christian virtue for your friend. Your soul will be tried in many ways, and you will need God’s grace to see you through.

God bless you and your friend!
 
callmecharles said:
I used to be like your friend (except probably a million times worse).

In the course of my excessive internet ramblings, I’ve noticed two kinds of anti-theists. You’ve got your reductionist pals who view God solely as an explanation for creation and thus find him unnecessary; and you’ve got your anti-theists who rely on numerous nonsensical conspiracy theories which tell them Christianity has wronged the world… somehow.

It’s hard to deal with either using logic and reason. It leads to an endless debate that goes on until someone gets tired of talking. Prayer is probably the best bet, but be mindful to challenge those assertions which history and common sense prove to be false.
Click to expand...
There’s only one problem with the second type of anti-theist (Atheist). They’re not true Atheists. They only disbelieve in God because of their experience with Christianity. They haven’t explored other Theistic religions in most cases. So yeah, the idea that Christianity somehow wronged the world is a very stupid reason to be an Atheist. Another, far more stupid, reason to be an Atheist is the idea that the Bible is full of contradictions. It’s not. It is inerrant. The Church has said so and I believe it. There are no contradictions in the Bible, only verses taken out of context and twisted into something they don’t actually mean or say. Also, there are Atheists out there who definitely are not true Atheists because they do believe in God (they won’t admit to it) but they believe He somehow wronged the world by punishing the world and people in various times in history.
 
I believe you are describing a so-called “angstheist”. There are atheists who disbelieve in God and think anyone that believes is an utter idiot and simpleton, and should either seek counseling or be “deprogrammed”.

That being said, there certainly are those who reject religion because of a very bad prior experience whilst they were believers. They are to be pitied, not shunned; prayed for, not ridiculed.
 
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