How should I approach this?

[John89]

So this guy I know, who really isn’t my friend claims that God came to him in a dream and told him to play professional football so that he could spread God’s word (this was about 4 yrs ago)… Just from hearing about that I already don’t pay too much attention to things he says.

Today I saw him for the first time in about a yr, (btw he is protestant) and he asked me if I would go to church with him because God told him to take all his friends to church because armageddon is almost here, and Christ will be here soon.

I’m confused when he says God talked to him, maybe he’s being fed all this from his pastor and is trying to spread it saying God told him? Maybe he’s just a liar?

What I need help with is on how i should approach him with Catholic faith. I gave him my number so I can start talking about the Catholic Church with him, how should i go about in doing this?

Thank you all very much and God Bless

 

[NCSue]

First off, let your life show your faith. (I think it was Francis of Assisi who said "Preach the Gospel. If necessary use words.)

Secondly, since you went with him to his church, perhaps you could ask him to explain why they did something or what they believe about such-and-so, then follow with what we do & believe.

Thirdly there’s a great book - Why Do Catholics Do That - by Kevin Orlin Johnson. If you can get the dialogue going, he may find it helps explain some of the things Catholics do that perplex Protestants. (It helped me when I converted.)

Good luck & God bless you!

 

[Peter_Dawson]

So this guy I know, who really isn’t my friend claims that God came to him in a dream and told him to play professional football so that he could spread God’s word (this was about 4 yrs ago)… Just from hearing about that I already don’t pay too much attention to things he says.

Today I saw him for the first time in about a yr, (btw he is protestant) and he asked me if I would go to church with him because God told him to take all his friends to church because armageddon is almost here, and Christ will be here soon.

I’m confused when he says God talked to him, maybe he’s being fed all this from his pastor and is trying to spread it saying God told him? Maybe he’s just a liar?

What I need help with is on how i should approach him with Catholic faith. I gave him my number so I can start talking about the Catholic Church with him, how should i go about in doing this?

Thank you all very much and God Bless

Well, I claim that Mary came to me in a dream, and I believe that the world will be ending in the not-too-distant future – so maybe we’re BOTH kooks!

In any event, make a trade with him – you will go to church once with him, if he goes to Church once with you.

Eat with him at a restaurant – but make a great big gawdy sign of the cross before Grace Before Meals. Then, enjoy talking to him about the subject.

I have Scriptural reasons for thinking the world is about to end. For example, Christ says that just before the end, we will see "the abominable destructive thing on holy ground, so that those in Judea should head for the hills. Well, Judea is where Israel first installed the rockets with nuclear warheads – the “abominable destructive thing on holy ground.” Get it?

 

[JRKH]

So this guy I know, who really isn’t my friend claims that God came to him in a dream and told him to play professional football so that he could spread God’s word (this was about 4 yrs ago)… Just from hearing about that I already don’t pay too much attention to things he says.

My first thought when reading this is -
Why would you necessarily doubt that God told him ot play football?
Just Wondering.
Secondly - Since below you say you just saw him for the first time in about a year, the question is, Does He play professional Football?
IN other words has he fulfilled God’s command to hIm?

Today I saw him for the first time in about a yr, (btw he is protestant) and he asked me if I would go to church with him because God told him to take all his friends to church because armageddon is almost here, and Christ will be here soon.

As others have said, tell him you will go to his Church if he will go to yours. Then see how the conversation unfolds.

I’m confused when he says God talked to him, maybe he’s being fed all this from his pastor and is trying to spread it saying God told him? Maybe he’s just a liar?

And maybe he is firmly convinced of this as truth.
And maybe God DID talk to him.
Who are we to say?

What I need help with is on how i should approach him with Catholic faith. I gave him my number so I can start talking about the Catholic Church with him, how should i go about in doing this?

Thank you all very much and God Bless

Natually, as others have already said, Live your Faith!! Devoutly and Lovingly!!
The first thing that must be answered is whether he is even interested in the Catholic faith. In other words would he listen to anything you have to say.
If not, then All you can do is try to engage him on his beliefs and counter with the teachings of the Church, the Catachism, The Church’s historical depth, and so forth.
Does He know that you are Catholic??
If so, then it would appear he still thinks you need to be “saved” and this will effect how the conversations will start and proceed.
Be willing to say “I don’t Know” fi you truly don’t know an answer. Then follow it with - “But I’ll find out and get back to you.” Then do so. This is very important.

I like the Idea of meeting in a resturant for discussion and praying before the meal, including a sign of the cross, a clear one, though not a “Gawdy” one.

May the Holy Spirit Guide you.

Peace
James

 

[Lampo]

So this guy I know, who really isn’t my friend claims that God came to him in a dream and told him to play professional football…

What NFL team does/did he play for?

Today I saw him for the first time in about a yr, (btw he is protestant) and he asked me if I would go to church with him because God told him to take all his friends to church because armageddon is almost here, and Christ will be here soon.

You could make a deal with him. You’ll go to his church once if he reads “Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth” then goes to Mass with you.

I’m confused when he says God talked to him, maybe he’s being fed all this from his pastor and is trying to spread it saying God told him? Maybe he’s just a liar?

It may be an actual dream he had. Not that God actually talked to him though.

What I need help with is on how i should approach him with Catholic faith. I gave him my number so I can start talking about the Catholic Church with him, how should i go about in doing this?

Invite him to dialogue with you via email and/or ask him to participate on these forums?

 

[Kay_Cee]

What I need help with is on how i should approach him with Catholic faith. I gave him my number so I can start talking about the Catholic Church with him, how should i go about in doing this?

Thank you all very much and God Bless

Since this is the type of help you’re asking for, I highly recommend the talks you can download for free here: biblechristiansociety.com/download especially the first one entitled “Apologetics for the Scripturally Challenged.” It is all about technique and strategy for talking to someone about the Catholic faith.

Hope this helps!

 

[jupitershane]

The book NCSue mentioned ‘Why Do Catholics Do That - by Kevin Orlin Johnson’ is really a great book, you should get a copy of it…google.com/cse?cx=015370965154551446593:c-6heqrjwqg&ie=UTF-8&q=Why+Do+Catholics+Do+That&sa=Search

 

[John89]

What NFL team does/did he play for?

See that’s the thing, he’s never played on any NFL team and currently doesn’t either, and its been yrs since he said God told him to, I think hes about 26 already… I’m not doubting that God could have spoken to him, but I don’t understand why God would and tell him to spread his faith when hes very anti-Catholic.

 

[JRKH]

See that’s the thing, he’s never played on any NFL team and currently doesn’t either, and its been yrs since he said God told him to, I think hes about 26 already… I’m not doubting that God could have spoken to him, but I don’t understand why God would and tell him to spread his faith when hes very anti-Catholic.

Well -
Since he is anti-catholic (though to what degree we don’t know) this will certainly effect how you approach things. It really makes it even more critical that you live your faith openly and diligently. Give him no room for finding fault with your conduct.
I still like the approach of, “I’ll go to yours if you go to mine” on the Church service. If he is anti-catholic he will likely not wish to set foot in a Catholic Church and that will settle that. Of course if he agrees and then fails got go to mass after you’ve gone to his service you will know the strength of his beliefs.
In general though you are going to just have to try and engage him in conversation about what he thinks the Catholic Church believes and then be prepared to give answers, or if you don’t have them readily, to find them. Use the Catachism along with scripture so that any answer you give is firmly based in documented teaching. That way if he says, “well so-and-so catholic told me this”, or " I know that Catholics believe (insert error here) you can respond with the actual teaching and let him know that whoever told him that is mistaken.

Naturally there are certain attitudes that are difficult to impossible to overcome so just do the best you can to soften him up and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.

Peace
James

 

[Philthy]

John89:

So this guy I know, who really isn’t my friend claims that God came to him in a dream and told him to play professional football so that he could spread God’s word (this was about 4 yrs ago)… Just from hearing about that I already don’t pay too much attention to things he says.

Not necessarily a bad approach

Today I saw him for the first time in about a yr, (btw he is protestant) and he asked me if I would go to church with him because God told him to take all his friends to church because armageddon is almost here, and Christ will be here soon.

Ask him how he knows it was God and not a satanic deception.
Ask him if God was any clearer about what He meant by “all his friends” because, honestly, you considered your relationship more of an acquaintance than a friendship. You havent been in contact for over a year, right?
Ask him if there was any other message other than “take all (your) friends to church” - that is not typical of a message from God. As Catholics we have several bonafide messages from God through people. The messages are pretty typical: repent and believe, pray and trust in God’s mercy. The messages from Fatima certainly included some discussion of the final times, but “tell your friends to go to church with you” was not the reaction God called for.

Secondly,
I’m confused when he says God talked to him, maybe he’s being fed all this from his pastor and is trying to spread it saying God told him? Maybe he’s just a liar?

Again, a little confirmation from him would be useful. God doesnt typically give important messages to people who are not worthy of repeating them with credibility. If you ask him politely - “Why should I believe you?” What does he say?

What I need help with is on how i should approach him with Catholic faith. I gave him my number so I can start talking about the Catholic Church with him, how should i go about in doing this?

Let him do the talking. If he is being misled or is genuinely confused it wont be long before he contradicts Scripture, himself and/or history. Pray for God’s wisdom and guidance in how you should handle this situation with love, wisdom and faithful courage.

Thank you all very much and God Bless

May God bless, protect and keep you

 

[NCSue]

Well -
Since he is anti-catholic (though to what degree we don’t know) this will certainly effect how you approach things.

I don’t think we can necessarily assume he’s anti-Catholic simply because he doesn’t belong to our Church. He may not have had the opportunity to learn, and he may simply prefer what is familiar and comfortable. We need to avoid adding to the division in the Body of Christ. I think if we assume “anti-” sentiment simply because a person isn’t Catholic, we may be going too far.

Peace.

 

[Mark77]

This is a great opportunity to evangelize and witness to him.

Most of the Protestants i know truly love Jesus and have been told misinformation, lies and false information about the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, most Catholics know little about the faith and often give a bad example that is used to discredit the Church.

Ask him if he really loves Jesus? He will surely say yes!

Then ask him if he would do anything for Jesus, even if it meant he would possibly have to sacrifice friends and family for Jesus? Again, he will say yes!

**Then ask him WHAT IF the Catholic Church is truly the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church that Jesus created to continue His teaching until He returns?
** He will deny it, stating the usual arguments, ie. apostasy …

Emphasize the fact that he must separate “the sinners in the Church” from the Truth of Jesus that is His Church! If we looked at the Apostles and Disciples who were taught by Jesus Himself, we see a traitor, we see denial and human failure, but the Truth that Jesus gives us through Sacred Scripture (which we would not have without the Catholic Church), through the Sacred Tradition as carried out through Apostolic Succession by His Apostles and their successors, our Bishops and Priests and through the Teaching of the Magisterium of the Church.

Keep coming back to the WHAT IF question! If Jesus really wanted him to be a part of His Catholic Church and he refused, wouldn’t he be denying the will of Jesus?

Unless you are a Scripture Scholar, do not get into a debate over various qoutes from Scripture. They are often taken out of context to ‘prove’ the false arguments that these people are taught with the best of intentions. Be patient, they are in love with Jesus but they are being taught these misinterpretations and they are very aggressive in their errors.

Do not be discouraged, he will not respond positively right away. It may take decades, but you can be a positive example and witness to him. Give him online resources like CA, “Pillar of Truth, Pillar of Faith” and The Coming home Network, (chnetwork.org/) Marcus Grodi’s apostolate for Protestant Clergy like himself that have converted and numerous other resources he can look at in private, away from the pressure of his peers to discover the Truth, the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth, the Catholic Church!!
**
“Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Mt 7:21).
**
**Remember, we are only tasked to spread the seeds of Truth, Jesus will take care of the rest!!! **

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, Ora Pro Nobis Peccatoribus!

mark

 

[JRKH]

I don’t think we can necessarily assume he’s anti-Catholic simply because he doesn’t belong to our Church. He may not have had the opportunity to learn, and he may simply prefer what is familiar and comfortable. We need to avoid adding to the division in the Body of Christ. I think if we assume “anti-” sentiment simply because a person isn’t Catholic, we may be going too far.

Peace.

I am only assuming he is anti-catholic because john said he was in the post that I was responding to.

Peace
James

 

[NCSue]

I am only assuming he is anti-catholic because john said he was in the post that I was responding to.

Peace
James

I must be looking at the wrong post, then, because I didn’t see that at all. Still don’t really.
Maybe I need to rub the sleepies out of my eyes!



Peace, and God bless you.

 

[JRKH]

I must be looking at the wrong post, then, because I didn’t see that at all. Still don’t really.
Maybe I need to rub the sleepies out of my eyes!



Peace, and God bless you.

**Originally Posted by John89 **
See that’s the thing, he’s never played on any NFL team and currently doesn’t either, and its been yrs since he said God told him to, I think hes about 26 already… I’m not doubting that God could have spoken to him, but I don’t understand why God would and tell him to spread his faith when hes very anti-Catholic.

This is Johns Post that where I got the statement.
I highlighted it for you.

Peace
James

 

[John89]

I remember the last time I saw him, he was going on a rant about how the Pope was nobody and how Catholics worship him. At the time I wasn’t really educated in the faith so I didn’t want to say anything until I learned about the faith more. I mean I knew what he was saying was absolutely false but really didn’t know how to defend the faith

Hey philthy thank you for posting, and also to everyone else, thank you !
The thing is i’ve never really spoke to him a lot, but I’m glad I bumped into him the other day and gave him my number, now im just waiting on his call. I do want to ask him why I should believe him and do want to hear what he has to say. I want to speak to him with love and try my best to answer his questions about the Faith.

He still says oh you’re Catholic? I’m Christian…
From him using that terminology it makes me wonder how much he actually knows about Christianity.

Thanks NCSue for recommending that book! I will check it out asap !
Anyone else recommed other things I could read to help prepare myself?

Thank you all once again!

 

[John89]

Does He know that you are Catholic??

I pretty sure he does, when I saw him about a yr ago he asked if I was Christian, and I said yep I’m a Catholic Chirstian and he just looked at me and stayed quiet lol

But yesterday when he saw me I was wearing my necklace with my big crucifix on it with all my saint medallions ! He kept glancing at it, so i’m pretty sure he knows for sure now, just in case he forgot lol

 

[NCSue]

**Originally Posted by John89 **
See that’s the thing, he’s never played on any NFL team and currently doesn’t either, and its been yrs since he said God told him to, I think hes about 26 already… I’m not doubting that God could have spoken to him, but I don’t understand why God would and tell him to spread his faith when hes very anti-Catholic.

This is Johns Post that where I got the statement.
I highlighted it for you.

Peace
James

Told you I was sleepy.
Good night!

 

[JRKH]

Don’t know if you have checked out here, but if you go to the top of the page and click on “Home” you can go to the library tab and find booklets and other apologetic materials that might help you prepare.

Patrick Madrid has a small book called “Answer Me This!” which is easy to carry around and answers some of the more common objections.

There is little doubt that he will come at you with verse after verse after verse from the Bible and I would be that we can pretty easily predict which ones. Perhaps it would be a good idea to carry a notepad with you so that, as things come up that you want to investigate you can write them down. Show him what you write so that you both agree on the issue, then get the answer and take it back to him.

Finally, I will suggest that the two of you say a prayer together before and after your discussions. Something along the lines of:
Heavenly Father, We thank you for this opportunity to share Your Love with each other. Send your Spirit to Guide our hearts and minds in your ways and with charity. In Christ’s name we ask this. Amen. (make the sign of the cross of course)

Just some thoughts

Peace
James