Discipling an Atheist... Help!

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BrookeNicoleGri

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Hi!
My name is Brooke and one of my close friends, Aubri, started becoming incredibly interested in my faith so we started talking and I read her a few verses and I could tell she was confused and had many questions so I offered meeting sometime and breaking down some verses and doing a bible study together. Without any hesitation, she agreed. So we met up and did a bible study/disciple meeting and it went really well. She told me she wants to do it again, which makes me incredibly happy and I want to approach this right so if anybody has any strong connection with a certain verse that someone who’s questioning religions would find helpful or any verse that might give her hope or a foundation to begin her relationship with God, please let me know. Thank you all so much, God bless!
 
Rom 8:28: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Prov 3:5: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

Prov 3:6: in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Rom 12:2: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
 
“Faith then cometh by hearing; and hearing by the word of Christ.” Rom 10:17

“And in that day I will make a covenant with them, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of the air, and with the creeping things of the earth: and I will destroy the bow, and the sword, and war out of the land: and I will make them sleep secure. And I will espouse thee to me for ever: and I will espouse thee to me in justice, and judgment, and in mercy, and in commiserations. And I will espouse thee to me in faith: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.” Hos 2:18-20

“‘I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him that I languish with love.’ What manner of one is thy beloved of the beloved, O thou most beautiful among women? What manner of one is thy beloved, that thou hast so adjured us? ‘My beloved is white and ruddy, chosen out of thousands.’” Song 5:8-10
 
First of all, no matter what happens with this, I’d like to congratulate you on what you’ve been doing! :)👍:yup::bounce::clapping:

In the future, eventually, if she wants even more, you can tell her about the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). I used to think RCIA was only for people who had already converted to Catholicism, but someone on the forum explained that it is for converts. However, it is also for people who haven’t yet converted but are looking for more information on the faith.

Here’s more on RCIA
usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/who-we-teach/rite-of-christian-initiation-of-adults/index.cfm
Good luck!

I’ll close with a prayer!

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blest is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
 
If she ever decided to go to RCIA and continue with it, maybe you could be her sponsor! 🙂
 
I have been tutoring literacy to adults, and this may be a different approach. I got a children’s illustrated Bible to read to any interested in learning about the faith.

I started with one. We started at page 1, creation. I began asking her what she already knew. She already knew about Cain and Abel, Noah. So, next time, God willing, we are going to go to something that’s new for her.

I actually enjoy the children’s Bible, because it keeps it simple, has color pictures, is more or less a summary.

So, I flipped through, showed her a picture of an elderly couple with a baby. I asked, “Do you know who Isaac was?” She said “no”. I said, “Do you know who Abraham was?”

We can cover, in a relatively short time a lot of ground that way. There are children’s Bibles which aren’t so childish, and I’ve found myself, as an adult, am able to learn from, and enjoy, them.

That might help with her confusion.

I’d start at the beginning, creation…the Fall of Adam and Eve…paradise lost…Cain and Abel, Noah, the Tower of Babel…Abraham, Isaac, Jacob…Job,…and go all the way through to Christ. That way, with some background and foundation to back it, it will make so much more sense.

However, to do this, in a regular Bible, while possible, would be much more time consuming, and she might lose interest before getting through it.

The children’s Bibles hit all the highlights, keep it simple. When one wants more detail, there’s always the regular Bible, right?

Your local public library should have some, and then you can take it from there.
 
:rotfl:
Thanks!

Well, with today’s society, time is also a huge factor with virtually everybody!
Often, we have to get to the “bottom line” and fast, I find this to have been an acceptable approach, and I think others in the family are also listening while we’re doing this!

I will turn 50 next year, and even I LOVE children’s Bibles! They’re so cute! Well, some are more serious, some even very humorous! 😉
 
Hi Brooke and Welcome to Catholic Answers!

This likely will be ‘too much’ for her, but you might enjoy it. You can book mark it for yourself when you have time…

ewtn.com/vondemand/audio/seriessearchprog.asp?seriesID=-306548622

Are you familiar with how Jesus is foreshadowed in the Old Testament? There are many examples to give which I personally find fascinating.
Moses parting the Red Sea and the people crossing on dry land. Jesus went down to the dead after His crucifixion and took all the righteous to heaven, and something similar will happen when He comes again in glory to judge the living and the dead.

There are many, and if you think that would be a possible way to pursue with your friend, start another thread and ask for examples of Jesus being foreshadowed in the Old Testament.

God bless and strengthen you both in the faith.
 
Another way to teach could be using videos to supplement your Bible readings, say. Like, “The 10 Commandments” would be a good video to use, in my opinion, at some point in your studies.
 
ClearWater said:
Another way to teach could be using videos to supplement your Bible readings, say. Like, “The 10 Commandments” would be a good video to use in my opinion at some point in your studies.
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I LOVED watching The 10 Commandments growing up!
Much foreshadowing of Christ in there too.
 
In my family, we grew up on those movies…“The 10 Commandments”, “Jesus of Nazareth”, “The Robe”, “Barrabas”, “Ben-Hur”…and ones on the lives of the saints…which isn’t the Bible, I know, but goes with Catholicism…on St. Joan of Arc…Lourdes…Fatima…etc.

I have also seen videos on Abraham…David.

I even bought one children’s video, once…forget the name…had this kind of clay animation…or not clay…something else…about Jesus’ life.

When one’s a teacher, it’s perfectly okay and good to use whatever visual aids you can get your hands on! Further, experts believe we remember better the more senses we involve in learning…sight…sound…etc. This also can make the learning different, more interesting and even fun.
 
Look over especially (but not exclusively) the religious section of your public library. I’m a crazy nut, so I’d look over the children’s and adults’ sections…books, videos, and everything, and then see if anything was there that would be of help.

Oh, and if you ever have questions, the reference librarians can be VERY helpful. Well, they are trained to know how to find all kinds of information. It used to be I tried to find everything myself. There’s nothing wrong with that, but later, you can explain your situation, and they probably would have even more ideas, yet.
 
ClearWater said:
First of all, no matter what happens with this, I’d like to congratulate you on what you’ve been doing! :)👍:yup::bounce::clapping:

In the future, eventually, if she wants even more, you can tell her about the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). I used to think RCIA was only for people who had already converted to Catholicism, but someone on the forum explained that it is for converts. However, it is also for people who haven’t yet converted but are looking for more information on the faith.

Here’s more on RCIA
usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/who-we-teach/rite-of-christian-initiation-of-adults/index.cfm
Good luck!

I’ll close with a prayer!

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blest is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
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Thank you 🙂 and I would love to see her go through RCIA, my dad actually did that! Only problem is we’re 16 and her mom is heavily atheist so we kind of have to do it in secrecy.
 
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