Atheist Friend

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Untruth

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Hi there

A good friend of mine from school is an atheist and well as I myself am not the best Catholic in the world (with those familiar to my posts) I’m not sure whether that’s allowed. The kind of person I am, I accept whatever people want to do/be and I don’t ask them to change. The only thing that I’d really ask them to change is if they were doing something illegal or harmful to themselves physically. Should I no longer be his friend or should I try to make him believe? Is it wrong for me to just accept people as they are and not try to change them due to my beliefs?
 
I have friends who are non-believers, there’s nothing wrong with that. Don’t try to convert them by arguments. Be the best friend you can be, love them, pray for them, and be an example to them in your Catholic life style.
 
I don’t see anything wrong with just being his friend. It would be one thing if he had never heard of God or Jesus, but I’m sure he has 🙂 Just be a good friend and if he has any questions for you, answer them to the best of your ability.
 
OK thanks for the info. I never brought up religion as a topic because I know he doesn’t like talking about it, the only thing close to that was I wondered why he was an atheist. He didn’t really clarify, but maybe when I see him in class again I’ll ask.
 
“Preach the Gospel at all times; use words when necessary.” - St. Francis.

Don’t give up your friendship with him unless it is harmful to your Catholic faith. Just share your love for Christ through your actions and your personality. Don’t be afraid to stand for your faith as well.

God bless!
 
Untruth said:
Hi there

A good friend of mine from school is an atheist and well as I myself am not the best Catholic in the world (with those familiar to my posts) I’m not sure whether that’s allowed. The kind of person I am, I accept whatever people want to do/be and I don’t ask them to change. The only thing that I’d really ask them to change is if they were doing something illegal or harmful to themselves physically. Should I no longer be his friend or should I try to make him believe? Is it wrong for me to just accept people as they are and not try to change them due to my beliefs?
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As a baptized Catholic you are called to evangelize. That is at the heart and soul of the Church and we are the Church. Now, how you go about that is done on a case by case basis. There is a reason that you know that he is an atheist. He either mentioned it or refers to his belief in no God through conversation. We have to meet people where they are at but we cannot sit back and just let things be.

So the next time something comes up just ask him how he figures that there is so much order in the universe from the smallest atom to the entire cosmos. Speak to him on a level that allows him to take where he is and put one foot in front of the other. Preaching to him about the bible or God is useless because he is not there. You might ask him why recognizing beauty would have any bearing on our existence. Things like that. This does not have to be done soon or at one sitting but it needs to be inserted throughout your relationship with him.

And, yes, let him see you as a good example. But realize that for an atheist being good will not have him reflect on whether or not God exists. They have their own moral standards and goodness falls within that. So continue being his friend and just insert what I have mentioned when the appropriate time comes and let God do the rest.

We are called to bring people to God and just allowing him to stay in his position is not making things better for your friend. And as a friend we are called to make people better… teachccd
 
I know this is going to make ruffle some feathers when I point this out. Jesus’ commission to “go forth” was to the Apostles, not to the general public.

***The eleven disciples **went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. Then they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. 13 And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20)*Note that Matthew does not distinguish between Apostles and Disciples but often uses the phrase “The twelve” or eleven in this case. The many Evangelicals who know no other way to convert than to bash people over the head with Bible verses and the many admittedly well intentioned Catholics who can’t articulate the biblical, theological, or moral basis for much of what the Church teaches (let alone obey it) bear witness to the fact that that most of the laity is ill equipped to engage in active evangelization.

Even Saul the Pharisee was sent to training for several years before he was allowed to actively engage in evangelization. Look at the Jehovah’s Witnesses. They are quite good at evangelization - all are highly trained and they even sent out the special team of former Catholics to try to convert me.

*Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, (1 Peter 3:15)*For most people the verse above applies. it’s one thing to be prepared to explain why you have hope, to be ready to defend your faith when challenged and another to actively try to convert. Actively attempting to convert someone is spiritually intense, quite exhausting from a spiritual perspective. I would not try to “Make them believe” or attempt to actively convert them. The best thing that can happen is that you loose a friend.

Just be joyous and excited about your faith. Catholicism is awsome! People get all excited about sports teams or their favorite musicians and we have something far better.

-Tim-
 
TimothyH said:
I know this is going to make ruffle some feathers when I point this out. Jesus’ commission to “go forth” was to the Apostles, not to the general public.
***The eleven disciples ***went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. Then they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. 13 And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20)
Note that Matthew does not distinguish between Apostles and Disciples but often uses the phrase “The twelve” or eleven in this case. The many Evangelicals who know no other way to convert than to bash people over the head with Bible verses and the many admittedly well intentioned Catholics who can’t articulate the biblical, theological, or moral basis for much of what the Church teaches (let alone obey it) bear witness to the fact that that most of the laity is ill equipped to engage in active evangelization.

Even Saul the Pharisee was sent to training for several years before he was allowed to actively engage in evangelization. Look at the Jehovah’s Witnesses. They are quite good at evangelization - all are highly trained and they even sent out the special team of former Catholics to try to convert me.
Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, (1 Peter 3:15)
For most people the verse above applies. it’s one thing to be prepared to explain why you have hope, to be ready to defend your faith when challenged and another to actively try to convert. Actively attempting to convert someone is spiritually intense, quite exhausting from a spiritual perspective. I would not try to “Make them believe” or attempt to actively convert them. The best thing that can happen is that you loose a friend.

Just be joyous and excited about your faith. Catholicism is awsome! People get all excited about sports teams or their favorite musicians and we have something far better.

-Tim-
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So are you saying that the writings and intentions of our late Pope John Paul II and our current Pope to evangelize are in err? And what amount of education must one have to promote the faith? You really can’t ruffle my feathers since your post goes against the very mission of the Church. I agree that we need to educate our congragations but that should not put a damper on evangelizing in some way, shape, or form.

Are you seriously saying that the laity are not to evangelize? Really?
catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope_benedict_emphasizes_importance_of_evangelization/#
check this out: catholicnewsagency.com/document.php?n=166
 
It’s pretty clear that we laity have a commission to evangelize, albiet in a different way that clerics might evangelize.

And that evangelization, for the OP and his friend, may be just to be the best Catholic he can be, per St. Francis, and to pray for his conversion. It may be best to not push, sometimes the perception of being a “pushy religious” person turns people off. Only time, prayer and reflection will let you know what the best way to evangelize to your friend will be.

Rest assured, you will never be able to “make him believe”. You can only lead that horse to water. The Holy Spirit will persuade him to drink. 😉
 
Untruth said:
Hi there

A good friend of mine from school is an atheist and well as I myself am not the best Catholic in the world (with those familiar to my posts) I’m not sure whether that’s allowed. The kind of person I am, I accept whatever people want to do/be and I don’t ask them to change. The only thing that I’d really ask them to change is if they were doing something illegal or harmful to themselves physically. Should I no longer be his friend or should I try to make him believe? Is it wrong for me to just accept people as they are and not try to change them due to my beliefs?
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I am pretty sure that Jesus was only friends with other jews…
 
yea, i figured. but if someone is going to joke, they should at least respect common knowledge
 
Many of my friends are atheists.

Shunning non-believers only generates more hostility, which is something nobody wants. Also, atheism is not etched in stone, some may come back. Just be a good friend, and don’t drive him away by beating him over the head with a Bible. You have to let people come on their own.
 
Being friends with atheists is not a sin and who knows, your example might make an impression on him and get him to question his beliefs. That’s a good thing and you would thus do God’s work by living your faith and introducing it to non-believers. However, bear in mind that your friend probably has a degree of influence on you. It doesn’t have to be an aggressive type of atheist evangelising, but sometimes it is enough to be around non-believers for people to slowly start losing their faith. That happened to me when I was in college. I had several atheist friends who were nice people, tried to lead good lives just like everyone else. Their beliefs and morality were different from mine, which was not an issue at the beginning but it definitely started to errode my faith and the way I lived. We are not immune to the company we keep. It took me a long time to realise what happened and that my nice friends were a bad influence on me. Looking back, I understand I should have knows better, but I was young and just wanted to have cool friends and have fun.

So, no, your friendship is not a sin but keep in mind that the company you keep will influence you in one way or another. Whatever you do and whomever you hang out with, be careful to remain strong in faith.
 
Also, one thing Im notice about some atheists is that they lean more towards agnostic then full bent atheism. This could help out as he/she doesn’t rule anything out.
 
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