Help with Faith

[drounse]

Hi my name is David, I’m 17, im sorry if im posting in the wrong place.
I was raised Catholic, still am, my whole family is Catholic except for my dad who is now atheist. I dont think im losing my faith, but i dont want to over time. Ive looked up to my dad my whole life and with being atheist seems like such a jab to me, and it hurts. I hate his disrespect for the Church, and all of the other stuff atheist say, but he almost seems not genuinely atheist. He always asks those questions like, “where do you think I’ll go?”, and he always seems to tell my family we are bad Catholics, especially my mom and I, if we miss Church, or we sin, it really drives me nuts. Also, he thinks hes superior in intellegence because hes atheist, but i view no one as being more intellegent becuase of their choice in religion, but to me it seems atheist all have the same arguements and quote famous atheists like Chris Hitchens and Richard Dawkins, that doesnt seem very “free thinking” to me. But if anyone has any advice or any words of hope, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[edward_george]

First things first, pray pray pray. The best way to change anyone’s heart–yours or his or anyone else’s–is to pray. Pray for faith, pray for the strengthening of your faith, pray that he will find it. Just pray.

Second, it’s good that you pick up on some of the things that are at work here, namely that the quoting of Dawkins et al. is not “free-thinking.” Indeed, atheists are not free-thinkers, for they are not free to think there is a God, if they wish to remain atheists, that is. I would recommend checking out some of the resources Dr. Peter Kreeft has to offer on his website www.peterkreeft.com; he has some excellent articles about the existence of God and how to counter certain atheist arguments.

I hope this gives you somewhat of a start, and know that you are in my prayers.

-ACEGC

 

[Gods_Peace]

I can feel your pain with the atheist superiority syndrome. It is usually caused by pride. I would rebuke him charitably. It does get really annoying after a while, especially when they start getting rough. Treat him with love though. I’m thankful God has given me his Holy Spirit, which he will send to you if you pray for him, who speaks for me when I defend the truth. If you already have the gift of the Holy Spirit, then preserve it with your life. I still need to work on my boldness, if you guys could pray for me it would be much appreciated.

 

[drounse]

Thank you, i just joined these forums and i can already feel my faith deepening

 

[Trebor135]

Thank you, i just joined these forums and i can already feel my faith deepening

Great. Also, check out Glenn Miller’s Christian ThinkTank–it contains an enormous amount of material defending the Christian faith (from an evangelical Protestant perspective, so he believes in penal substitution and symbolic communion).

 

[snarflemike]

Hi my name is David, I’m 17, im sorry if im posting in the wrong place.
I was raised Catholic, still am, my whole family is Catholic except for my dad who is now atheist. I dont think im losing my faith, but i dont want to over time. Ive looked up to my dad my whole life and with being atheist seems like such a jab to me, and it hurts. I hate his disrespect for the Church, and all of the other stuff atheist say, but he almost seems not genuinely atheist. He always asks those questions like, “where do you think I’ll go?”, and he always seems to tell my family we are bad Catholics, especially my mom and I, if we miss Church, or we sin, it really drives me nuts. Also, he thinks hes superior in intellegence because hes atheist, but i view no one as being more intellegent becuase of their choice in religion, but to me it seems atheist all have the same arguements and quote famous atheists like Chris Hitchens and Richard Dawkins, that doesnt seem very “free thinking” to me. But if anyone has any advice or any words of hope, it would be greatly appreciated.

Hi and welcome, David.

Lucky for you, you belong to a faith that is infinitely deep and an infinite source of answers and riches. No matter how far you burrow down into Catholicism there will be more to discover, more to learn, more grace to be had. So just be an active Catholic, in every sense, and I don’t see how you can be in danger of losing your faith. Study the faith and live the faith. Read the writings of the saints, there is a vast store of wealth in them. And follow in the footsteps of Christ, as guided by His Church.

Don’t be angry at your dad (easier said than done, I know). Live your faith and be a witness to him. Make him want what you have. Perhaps God has ordained that you will bring him back into the Church, as my wife did to be, to my eternal thanks and her eternal honor.

 

[James224]

Hi my name is David, I’m 17, im sorry if im posting in the wrong place.
I was raised Catholic, still am, my whole family is Catholic except for my dad who is now atheist. I dont think im losing my faith, but i dont want to over time. Ive looked up to my dad my whole life and with being atheist seems like such a jab to me, and it hurts. I hate his disrespect for the Church, and all of the other stuff atheist say, but he almost seems not genuinely atheist. He always asks those questions like, “where do you think I’ll go?”, and he always seems to tell my family we are bad Catholics, especially my mom and I, if we miss Church, or we sin, it really drives me nuts. Also, he thinks hes superior in intellegence because hes atheist, but i view no one as being more intellegent becuase of their choice in religion, but to me it seems atheist all have the same arguements and quote famous atheists like Chris Hitchens and Richard Dawkins, that doesnt seem very “free thinking” to me. But if anyone has any advice or any words of hope, it would be greatly appreciated.

You could learn a little Catholic Philosophy (Edward Feser’s book The Last Superstition would be a good start) so you could ask him questions instead of him asking all the questions. For example, if he says he believes in evolution and that everything happens by chance, ask him to explain free will. Say something like: “If I stole something from you and you caught me, would you be mad?” If he says yes, I would say that he shouldn’t be because the cells and neurons in my brain moved my body to steal from you! lol You could say we are all evolving differently. You could challenge him to explain why there is suffering in the world. This is what they always ask us. Let him explain. Once he explains, do a little study to find the answer. That’s what I would do. Use these arguments to inspire you to learn more. That’s what an apologist does. Also, don’t underestimate prayer and a good example.