Atheist friends

[Maria1993]

Hey everyone, I hope you are having a great day…or morning where I’m from!
I post on here often because the people here are very trustworthy… I really enjoy your (name removed by moderator)uts.

As the title says, I have a couple of atheist friends. And from what I know, there parents are Christians, and one of the parents according to my friend freaked out when she found out my friend was atheist, so I assume she is Christian. Forgive me if this is wrong. I don’t see them often anymore, as I have graduated high school last year, and they still are there…2 of them… and one in college here in town…Last night I found a prayer I could do for their conversions called the Divine Mercy Conversion Prayer…( does anyone have any testimonies for it?) And I prayed it for them.

And for some reason I’ve been feeling guilty. I am fairly scruple-y though. I just got done from an experience from that if any of you read my posts…but I have felt guilty I guess? For not converting them. And just last night I had a dream of one of them, crying because of something… and I explained to her that she was confused… and I was talking about Jesus of Nazareth and Mary Magdalen.

I awoke, and was quite confused. I feel like it’s mandatory that I preach to them…but I feel I’m not ready for that yet, as I am still trying to improve my faith myself. But I do pray for them a rosary and now Divine Mercy Conversion… but I feel like if I don’t, I will be guilty, and I get Bible verses that almost seem to guilt or condemn me saying I am "ashamed of the Son of Man ", I am not, I am proud of my faith. But this sort of robs me of my peace and I sorry if I am doing the right thing.

I also sometimes feel like I have to tell cashiers at places God Bless You. I have no problem saying that, but not everyone shares the same views as us, what I anger one one day? I don’t want to,lol.

So am I doing right by praying for them, I rarely see them… and Ive only seen two of them at a concert the same day,and the other I haven’t seen in moooonths. I don’t see them anymore…
And I feel relieved for having written this.

 

[Myqyl]

My opinions are often wrong… That said, here they are

If you are worried that you are praying for them “behind their back” instead of preaching to their faces, I can suggest a simple solution. Send them an e-mail saying “I know your an Atheist right now, but would you be offended if i prayed for you and your conversion?”… This kills 2 birds with one stone… You’re not praying behind their back anymore, and you’ve just preached to them (or at least let them know you think they are missing something)

About saying God Bless you to cashiers… Go for it… You are the customer, and thus, always right. Anyone that doesn’t share your faith will likely just say “Bye now” while you could very well make someones day or possibly get them thinking and save their soul… No downside here…

God bless

 

[kch86]

You are certainly right in praying for them. Prayer often does more for conversion than the spoken word because it opens one up to receiving truth.

You don’t have to preach and scream and shout to try and convert them as a means of defending the faith. If you’re too pushy, you can cause someone to close their heart even further. Just make sure you are ready to give sensible answers should they ask you questions and if you do not know, tell them that you will find out and then diligently follow up on that.

“Do not cast your pearls before swine,” said Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. That means, if somebody’s heart is not open to receiving truth, they will not accept your pearls of wisdom anyway. That’s why prayer is a great thing that you are doing, because it opens up the heart.

And do not worry if you do not see the effects of your prayer. God may leave their conversion until later and keep it secret from you so that you do not become proud of your good deeds.

You do not have to feel guilty. You are doing a great deal for them.

I also sometimes feel like I have to tell cashiers at places God Bless You. I have no problem saying that, but not everyone shares the same views as us, what I anger one one day? I don’t want to,lol.

You don’t have to say that, but it does no harm. If someone gets offended, just say, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

 

[Listerine_Phone]

You don’t have to preach and scream and shout to try and convert them as a means of defending the faith. If you’re too pushy, you can cause someone to close their heart even further. Just make sure you are ready to give sensible answers should they ask you questions and if you do not know, tell them that you will find out and then diligently follow up on that.

“Do not cast your pearls before swine,” said Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. That means, if somebody’s heart is not open to receiving truth, they will not accept your pearls of wisdom anyway. That’s why prayer is a great thing that you are doing, because it opens up the heart.

I can’t agree with this enough. There is nothing you can do to force their heart open. You have to wait for them to open their own heart.

 

[Serious]

Many a times I have been told by posters that they will pray for me, even though I am an evil atheist, an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. I always took it as an act of kindness and good will, so I thanked them for it.

By the way, my heart is simply an organ pumping blood, and I hope it will not be “opened” - especially not by a sharp knife. My mind is open, however… and it is willing to accept both the good will and the good arguments if and when they are forthcoming. I appreciate the good will (which is abundant), and I miss the good arguments (which never happen). Can’t win’em all I guess.

 

[kch86]

Many a times I have been told by posters that they will pray for me, even though I am an evil atheist, an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. I always took it as an act of kindness and good will, so I thanked them for it.

Being an atheist doesn’t make you evil. If you’re an abomination, I am the abominable snowman.

By the way, my heart is simply an organ pumping blood, and I hope it will not be “opened” - especially not by a sharp knife. My mind is open, however… and it is willing to accept both the good will and the good arguments if and when they are forthcoming. I appreciate the good will (which is abundant), and I miss the good arguments (which never happen). Can’t win’em all I guess.

Well, “heart” is just a metaphor for the same.

 

[Armor_of_Light]

Many a times I have been told by posters that they will pray for me, even though I am an evil atheist, an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. I always took it as an act of kindness and good will, so I thanked them for it.

By the way, my heart is simply an organ pumping blood, and I hope it will not be “opened” - especially not by a sharp knife. My mind is open, however… and it is willing to accept both the good will and the good arguments if and when they are forthcoming. I appreciate the good will (which is abundant), and I miss the good arguments (which never happen). Can’t win’em all I guess.

Hello-

A question for you if you don’t mind…

I have a childhood friend who is now embracing atheism. I’d like to ask him, but have not done so yet.

Why? Why atheism? Why not God?

Since there is no ‘proof’ of Gods existence, there is no ‘proof’ of his non-existence either. So…Why? If there is a God and you reject him in this life, the the penalty is pretty severe, and if there is no God and we are all fools, then we lived our lives better because of our belief in nothing and, well…there y’go. No harm done. So my question remains.

Why?

The whole ‘if God exists then why is there pain and evil in the world?’ question has been answered already.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen said something like:

“Atheists usually want God not to exist fo a reason” Sounds logical to me…

Thanks in advance for your comments.

 

[kch86]

Why? Why atheism? Why not God

Well, Archbishop Fulton Sheen had a point. But there is a chance your friend may be sincere and if he truly cannot find reason to believe in God, he cannot in good faith affirm the existence of something he doesn’t believe in.

Atheism is more varied than Protestantism, and every atheist is different, so we just can’t generalise.

 

[saveusfromhell]

“Win an argument and lose a soul.”
– Bishop Fulton Sheen

“Love without truth would be blind; truth without love would be like ‘a clanging cymbal.’”
– Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Homily

"Preach the gospel at all times, and, when necessary, use words."
– St. Francis (attributed)

“You know well enough that our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them.”
– St. Therese of Lisieux

“Though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could move mountains, but have not charity, I am nothing… Love does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil… Love bears all things … endures all things. So faith, hope, charity abide, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”
– St. Paul (1 Cor. 13:2, 5, 7, 14)

“Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence.”
– St. Peter (1 Pet. 3:15; RSV-CE)

 

[kch86]

“Win an argument and lose a soul.”
– Bishop Fulton Sheen

An incredibly wise man, this Fulton Sheen.

 

[Armor_of_Light]

Well, Archbishop Fulton Sheen had a point. But there is a chance your friend may be sincere and if he truly cannot find reason to believe in God, he cannot in good faith affirm the existence of something he doesn’t believe in.

Atheism is more varied than Protestantism, and every atheist is different, so we just can’t generalise.

Yes…good point. Do you mind if I ask you about your reasoning? There must be some common elements with like-minded people.

Also, just a side point illustrating some logic.
I think an awful lot (if not most) people do believe in things that cannot be proven like life on other planets, ghosts, faster than light travel, etc…maybe just my ‘Star Trek’ geek coming out to play, but you see where this question leads.

Thanks

 

[kch86]

Yes…good point. Do you mind if I ask you about your reasoning?

Well, I was a fairly sincere atheist. I didn’t believe in God, I didn’t see any reason to believe in Him. In my case, there wasn’t any reason for rejecting God other than there being a lack of convincing evidence to support His existence. Unlike some atheists, I didn’t have an axe to grind with God.

I held objective truth in very high esteem, however, and would find myself massively in conflict with New Agey atheists who believed in ghosts and paranormal activity and such like and considered them to be immature and more stupid than Christians.

Actually, I didn’t consider all Christians to be stupid or Christianity to be stupid in general, and would sometimes defend it against other atheists, but because of the high value I placed on truth, I would still oppose it because I believed Christianity to be contrary to truth.

I think the majority of atheists embrace mainstream cultural ideas, but I wasn’t one of those, so I can only testify to the fact that atheism is very diverse, but I can’t give you an insight into the mind of the more mainstream atheist.

 

[Armor_of_Light]

Well, I was a fairly sincere atheist. I didn’t believe in God, I didn’t see any reason to believe in Him. I held objective truth in very high esteem, however, and would find myself massively in conflict with New Agey atheists who believed in ghosts and paranormal activity and such like and considered them to be immature and more stupid than Christians.

Actually, I didn’t consider all Christians to be stupid or Christianity to be stupid in general, and would sometimes defend it against other atheists, but because of the high value I placed on truth, I would still oppose it because I believed Christianity to be contrary to truth.

I think the majority of atheists embrace mainstream cultural ideas, but I wasn’t one of those, so I can only testify to the fact that atheism is very diverse, but I can’t give you an insight into the mind of the more mainstream atheist.

Gotcha…Thanks for entertaining my questions. I will pray for you, and all atheists tonight at adoration I agree that professing Chritianity does not remove stupidity.

 

[MindOverMatter2]

I once had a friend. She was my only friend. She thought that she could confide in me about her beliefs. I suppose she thought that I would respect and tolerate her differing world-view precisely because we were friends.

Bad move.

Nervously she proceeded to tell me that she didn’t believe in God.

As soon as she said that I screwed up my face in a rage, tore my shirt, and began thumping my chest with my fists. She fell to the floor in shock, paralysed with fear. I then looked in to her eyes, vexed with anger, and said “Burn in hell you witch!!! You are an abomination!!!”

She let out a huge scream, and before my very eyes she turned into ash.

Now I have no friends; and she was the only women that was vaguely attracted to me.

The moral of the story? Well…there is no moral to the story except that friendship is sometimes more important than agreement in belief. We live in the information age. Everybody in the western world has heard about Christianity to some degree. If somebody truly wants to have faith and learn about it, they will either ask you, or they will google it. You can usually tell when somebody is an atheist out of ignorance, or an atheist because they are committed to that ideology. Most of the time, people don’t believe in God because they don’t want to believe in God. Sometimes the best example is not preaching but rather living the faith.

Pray for your friends and make it clear to your friends that you are a Catholic. Respect that they have differing beliefs and points of view by not questioning their intelligence and honesty. Perhaps they have already looked at the possibility of God, and at this point in time they are not ready for belief. Give them the benefit of the doubt. You don’t have to preach to them. You will find that if they really do want to believe, they will ask you questions, in which case it will be your duty to teach them. Until then, keep it friendly.

 

[Serious]

Hello-

A question for you if you don’t mind…

I have a childhood friend who is now embracing atheism. I’d like to ask him, but have not done so yet.

Why? Why atheism? Why not God?

Simple. I used to be a believer (not Catholic, but still ) and then I lost it. When I looked around the world, I saw no rhyme or reason to think that there is a deity overseeing us. And especially not a “benevolent or loving one”. I would not dare to say that there is no “deist type of God” out there… but the Christian God is nonsense.

Since there is no ‘proof’ of Gods existence, there is no ‘proof’ of his non-existence either. So…Why?

There is no “proof” of Zeus and there is no “proof” that there is no Zeus. That is not a good reason to believe that Zeus is real.

If there is a God and you reject him in this life, the the penalty is pretty severe, and if there is no God and we are all fools, then we lived our lives better because of our belief in nothing and, well…there y’go. No harm done. So my question remains.

You made a mistke here. I do not “reject” God. I cannot emphasize this enough: “I DO NOT REJECT GOD”. I simply do not believe that that God exists. Please, I implore you, think it over. The lack of belief is not the same as rejection. Only a believer could reject God.

The whole ‘if God exists then why is there pain and evil in the world?’ question has been answered already.

No, it has never been answered. All the answers presented so far are inadequate.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen said something like:

“Atheists usually want God not to exist fo a reason” Sounds logical to me…

Except I would be happy if there would be a God. I would love to see my parents again. I would love to get answers to many questions.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

You are most welcome.

 

[Myqyl]

Many a times I have been told by posters that they will pray for me, even though I am an evil atheist, an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. I always took it as an act of kindness and good will, so I thanked them for it.

By the way, my heart is simply an organ pumping blood, and I hope it will not be “opened” - especially not by a sharp knife. My mind is open, however… and it is willing to accept both the good will and the good arguments if and when they are forthcoming. I appreciate the good will (which is abundant), and I miss the good arguments (which never happen). Can’t win’em all I guess.

LoL! I always enjoy your posts…

But you should realise by now that we don’t pray for you “even though” you are an evil athiest and an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. We pray for you “BECAUSE” you are an evil athiest and an abomination (Yes I’m kidding)

May God bless and guide you on your journey

 

[TheTrueCentrist]

The atheist opinion of prayer is neatly summed up in this graphic. I doubt your friends would be more offended by your prayer than they would be if you just told them “I would rather that you be Christian.”

 

[Armor_of_Light]

Simple. I used to be a believer (not Catholic, but still ) and then I lost it. When I looked around the world, I saw no rhyme or reason to think that there is a deity overseeing us. And especially not a “benevolent or loving one”. I would not dare to say that there is no “deist type of God” out there… but the Christian God is nonsense.

If you seek God, you WILL find him. How did you ‘lose it’? Was it a gradual process? When did it start (what age, station in life, etc…) God does not cause pain, nor does God control our fate. That is why we (and we alone as humans) have our free will. Pain and suffering is of human origin. If there was ‘proof’ of God’s existence, like empirical data i/e water boils at 212 degrees, then we would be compelled to believe against our will. The fact that we are created with free will is actually one clue of God’s existence.

There is no “proof” of Zeus and there is no “proof” that there is no Zeus. That is not a good reason to believe that Zeus is real.

I’m not an expert on mythological figures, but I’m guessing Zeus and the rest of the Greek & Roman gods evolved over time with stories, finally culminating in their worship? So, we probably do not and cannot attribute their origins to literature or authors…again, sorry I’m not that well versed in mythology.

You made a mistke here. I do not “reject” God. I cannot emphasize this enough: “I DO NOT REJECT GOD”. I simply do not believe that that God exists. Please, I implore you, think it over. The lack of belief is not the same as rejection. Only a believer could reject God.

“I simply do not believe that that God exists.” may not be a rejection, but is not your statement “I used to be a believer (not Catholic, but still ) and then I lost it.” a rejection? Challenged? yes. Lost? no.

No, it has never been answered. All the answers presented so far are inadequate.

Inadequate for you…admittedly sometimes tough to understand for the whole of humanity throughout time. What answers have you been getting to this question? Maybe they were not adequate…The church’s answer is the best answer we can give. The fact is, we will not fully understand God on this earth…we are not meant to.

Except I would be happy if there would be a God. I would love to see my parents again. I would love to get answers to many questions.

The answers await you, should you be open to them. That is a promise from Christ.

You are most welcome.

 

[Credo_in_Deum]

Hey everyone, I hope you are having a great day…or morning where I’m from!
I post on here often because the people here are very trustworthy… I really enjoy your (name removed by moderator)uts.

As the title says, I have a couple of atheist friends. And from what I know, there parents are Christians, and one of the parents according to my friend freaked out when she found out my friend was atheist, so I assume she is Christian. Forgive me if this is wrong. I don’t see them often anymore, as I have graduated high school last year, and they still are there…2 of them… and one in college here in town…Last night I found a prayer I could do for their conversions called the Divine Mercy Conversion Prayer…( does anyone have any testimonies for it?) And I prayed it for them.

And for some reason I’ve been feeling guilty. I am fairly scruple-y though. I just got done from an experience from that if any of you read my posts…but I have felt guilty I guess? For not converting them. And just last night I had a dream of one of them, crying because of something… and I explained to her that she was confused… and I was talking about Jesus of Nazareth and Mary Magdalen.

I awoke, and was quite confused. I feel like it’s mandatory that I preach to them…but I feel I’m not ready for that yet, as I am still trying to improve my faith myself. But I do pray for them a rosary and now Divine Mercy Conversion… but I feel like if I don’t, I will be guilty, and I get Bible verses that almost seem to guilt or condemn me saying I am "ashamed of the Son of Man ", I am not, I am proud of my faith. But this sort of robs me of my peace and I sorry if I am doing the right thing.

I also sometimes feel like I have to tell cashiers at places God Bless You. I have no problem saying that, but not everyone shares the same views as us, what I anger one one day? I don’t want to,lol.

So am I doing right by praying for them, I rarely see them… and Ive only seen two of them at a concert the same day,and the other I haven’t seen in moooonths. I don’t see them anymore…
And I feel relieved for having written this.

As Christ said we must remove the beam from our own eye before trying to remove the speck from our brothers. None of us have the power to convert people or change people’s minds; only God can give the grace for these things and all we can do is cooperate with God’s grace and live our faith. Part of living our faith is praying of the conversion of sinners (regardless of if they are believers or unbelievers). Don’t get discouraged when people get offended by you when you live your faith. It is unrealistic to think you will be able to make everyone happy; even Christ stepped on people’s toes, not because He was mean but because His light revealed their darkness.

You must come to understand that by choosing to follow Christ you choose willfully to endure a Passion for the conversion of sinners and for the salvation of your soul. Part of this Passion is being hated by the very people you love and have said love you.

[bibledrb]John 15:16-19[/bibledrb]

Lastly I wanted to share a prayer that I have said for a friend’s conversion which has, through the grace of God, bring about the conversion of my friend. Before I say this prayer I ask Our Blessed Mother to rush my petition to Jesus.

**Prayer of Consecration to the Sacred Heart **

Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race,look down upon us, humbly prostrate before Your altar.We are Yours and Yours we wish to be;but to be more surely united with You, behold each one of usfreely consecrates himself today to Your most Sacred Heart.Many, indeed, have never known You;many too, despising Your precepts, have rejected You.Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus,and draw them to Your Sacred Heart.Be You King, O Lord,not only of the faithful who have never forsaken You,but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned You;grant that they may quickly return to Your Father’s house,lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.Be You King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions,or whom discord keeps aloof,and call them back to the harbour of truth and unity of faith,so that soon there may be but one flock and one shepherd.Be You King also of all those who sitin the ancient superstition of the Gentiles,and refuse not to deliver them out of darknessinto the light and kingdom of God.Grant, O Lord, to Your Church,assurance of freedom and immunity from harm;give peace and order to all nations,and make the Earth resound from pole to pole with one cryraise to the divine Heart that wrought our salvation;to it be glory and honour forever. Amen.

 

[Serious]

If you seek God, you WILL find him.

When? Open ended promises are not accepted. How long do I have to wait until I will “find” God?

If there was ‘proof’ of God’s existence, like empirical data i/e water boils at 212 degrees, then we would be compelled to believe against our will.

Belief is not volitional. If I would know positively that God exists, I would still not be “forced” to love God, so my free will would not be violated.

“I simply do not believe that that God exists.” may not be a rejection, but is not your statement “I used to be a believer (not Catholic, but still ) and then I lost it.” a rejection? Challenged? yes. Lost? no.

I reject what people say about God. It is not the same as rejecting God. The difference is not semantics.

Inadequate for you…admittedly sometimes tough to understand for the whole of humanity throughout time. What answers have you been getting to this question?

Theree different answers. I could go into details.

The answers await you, should you be open to them. That is a promise from Christ.

He also promised that if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can tell that mountain: “go over there” and the mountain will “go”. When did that happen?