How to bring an agnostic to Christ

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Gregory7

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I have a sixteen year old nephew who says he is agnostic. I am trying to lead him to being a good christian. I have been giving him catholic reading material and praying for him. Does anyone have any advice to offer on this subject.
Thank you.
 
Gregory7 said:
I have a sixteen year old nephew who says he is agnostic. I am trying to lead him to being a good christian. I have been giving him catholic reading material and praying for him. Does anyone have any advice to offer on this subject.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Has he had any exposure to Christianity? Is he completely unchurched? Hey if he is saying he’s agnostic it means he hasn’t rule out God, he isn’t sure. That’s easier to work with than saying he’s an atheist.

Is there anyone he might admire - an older teenager, a youth leader - that can come alongside him and lead him into believing? Does he admire you that way? If so, you also need someone to mentor YOU as you try to help your nephew. Someone who is a good apologist. He can point you in the right direction.

Frankly, at first I would not stress the Catholic perspective. Go for the low hanging fruit and just show him Christ’s love and mercy. Of course we want him to fall down onto the Catholic side of things 🙂 but at first, it’s better to point him to Christ and then refine it from there. Do not preach at him or lecture him in any way. Be open to any of his questions and take each one seriously. If he starts exploring other religions, don’t panic, just keep reinforcing that other religions are mere shadows of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

Get everyone involved that you can, everyone solidly Christian or Catholic. Get him on a bunch of prayer lists too.

He’s probably a little too young for it, but Lee Strobel has a great book called “The Case for Christ.” He was an atheist when his wife found Christ, and he needed proof that Christ was real and really was the Son of God. So he went looking, and the book is the result of that search.

amazon.com/Case-Christ-Journalists-Personal-Investigation/dp/0310209307/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291417161&sr=1-1
 
Agnostics are more atheistic than confused, they just don’t want declare.

I would request that he verbalize his 3 top reasons why he is “confused/unbelieving”. You cannot begin a journey without the first step, and that first step is your cousins declaration of his primary reasons.

Research those reasons through this media as well as others and then provide him ONLY with the Strongest response to his weakest reason. If you can defeat just one of his three reasons, you put a crack in his philosophy of unbelief. Do not focus on all 3 at the same time. Chose the one that has the best and strongest response as a rebuttal.

If he refuses to acknowledge that his weakest reason is unsubstantiated against the rebuttal, then he is truly an atheist. He simply does not want to believe, versus not having sufficient evidence with which to believe.
 
Previous posts all bring up excellent threads. Should you find that he is more atheistic, then discuss what exactly that means.

Atheism, if lived authentically, is a tough road.

If the world is really just a dog eat dog struggle, then one had better be the biggest dog.

Is he man enough for that?

A hint: starting out as an agnostic is not a good beginning for an Obermensch.
 
Put another way, a Christian stuck in rush hour traffic has an opportunity to practice saintliness.

An atheist stuck in rush hour traffic is a joke.
 
TheRealJuliane said:
Has he had any exposure to Christianity? Is he completely unchurched? Hey if he is saying he’s agnostic it means he hasn’t rule out God, he isn’t sure. That’s easier to work with than saying he’s an atheist.

Is there anyone he might admire - an older teenager, a youth leader - that can come alongside him and lead him into believing? Does he admire you that way? If so, you also need someone to mentor YOU as you try to help your nephew. Someone who is a good apologist. He can point you in the right direction.

Frankly, at first I would not stress the Catholic perspective. Go for the low hanging fruit and just show him Christ’s love and mercy. Of course we want him to fall down onto the Catholic side of things 🙂 but at first, it’s better to point him to Christ and then refine it from there. Do not preach at him or lecture him in any way. Be open to any of his questions and take each one seriously. If he starts exploring other religions, don’t panic, just keep reinforcing that other religions are mere shadows of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

Get everyone involved that you can, everyone solidly Christian or Catholic. Get him on a bunch of prayer lists too.

He’s probably a little too young for it, but Lee Strobel has a great book called “The Case for Christ.” He was an atheist when his wife found Christ, and he needed proof that Christ was real and really was the Son of God. So he went looking, and the book is the result of that search.

amazon.com/Case-Christ-Journalists-Personal-Investigation/dp/0310209307/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291417161&sr=1-1
Click to expand...
I have allready ordered Lee Strobel’s book it is being delivered this week.

He has been dragged to church(born again type) many years by his mother who is very relegious but not a Roman Catholic she is something like a Jew for Jesus , she is celebrating Hanukah right now. So I think he is sort of rebelling. I think he admires me because I do nice things for him constantly that he does not expect. I also try to do my best to lead by example.

I will try to get him on some prayer lists , Thank you.
 
Julian0404 said:
Agnostics are more atheistic than confused, they just don’t want declare.

I would request that he verbalize his 3 top reasons why he is “confused/unbelieving”. You cannot begin a journey without the first step, and that first step is your cousins declaration of his primary reasons.

Research those reasons through this media as well as others and then provide him ONLY with the Strongest response to his weakest reason. If you can defeat just one of his three reasons, you put a crack in his philosophy of unbelief. Do not focus on all 3 at the same time. Chose the one that has the best and strongest response as a rebuttal.

If he refuses to acknowledge that his weakest reason is unsubstantiated against the rebuttal, then he is truly an atheist. He simply does not want to believe, versus not having sufficient evidence with which to believe.
Click to expand...
Thank you I will do that.
 
Warrenton said:
Previous posts all bring up excellent threads. Should you find that he is more atheistic, then discuss what exactly that means.

Atheism, if lived authentically, is a tough road.

If the world is really just a dog eat dog struggle, then one had better be the biggest dog.

Is he man enough for that?

A hint: starting out as an agnostic is not a good beginning for an Obermensch.
Click to expand...
He will end up Roman Catholic if it takes me 30 years. 😃

God Bless everyone who responded to my call for help.
 
Gregory7 said:
He will end up Roman Catholic if it takes me 30 years. 😃

God Bless everyone who responded to my call for help.
Click to expand...
I was basically an Agnostic for 47 years, and after receiving a ‘calling’ of the Holy Spirit, I finally found my self discerning Christianity and then the Catholic Church. I also read ‘A Case for Christ’ during my journey, and liked it very much!
 
One book I recommend for anybody to strengthen their and to get atheists and agnostics to look into the Church is Father Dubay’s Faith and Certitude.

As a former atheist, this is a great way to get him/her started in searching for truth. From personal experience, agnostics are a little harder to deal with than atheists but this will at least get him/her to start thinking a little more about stuff that completely transcends our senses.

Asking deeper questions is always a sure-fire way to get them started also. If they do not know on the spot, they will look.

Also, I am sure you already know this but if you are engaging in a philosophical/religious discussion, listening is the best way. If you find that it is getting heated, YOU must keep your “cool” (for lack of better words). When I was atheist, I hated when people just dismissed me and it caused me to be stubborn.

I hope this helps!
 
CalCatholic said:
I was basically an Agnostic for 47 years, and after receiving a ‘calling’ of the Holy Spirit, I finally found my self discerning Christianity and then the Catholic Church. I also read ‘A Case for Christ’ during my journey, and liked it very much!
Click to expand...
Thank you
 
GreggAlvarez said:
One book I recommend for anybody to strengthen their and to get atheists and agnostics to look into the Church is Father Dubay’s Faith and Certitude.

As a former atheist, this is a great way to get him/her started in searching for truth. From personal experience, agnostics are a little harder to deal with than atheists but this will at least get him/her to start thinking a little more about stuff that completely transcends our senses.

Asking deeper questions is always a sure-fire way to get them started also. If they do not know on the spot, they will look.

Also, I am sure you already know this but if you are engaging in a philosophical/religious discussion, listening is the best way. If you find that it is getting heated, YOU must keep your “cool” (for lack of better words). When I was atheist, I hated when people just dismissed me and it caused me to be stubborn.

I hope this helps!
Click to expand...
I am working on my listening skills, I always tell him I am going to just give him the arguments I believe are true and then it is his final decision. But I am not really being honest, because I will never give up on him.
 
Trying to convert someone? Really?! We have the decency to leave you alone. Please do the same to us.
 
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