Sharing the faith verbally, how do you do it?

[NMHS]

First of all, I praise God for this forum that I am able to come and gain strength through the knowledge of my fellow christians.

How do you verbally share your faith in Jesus Christ? What has worked and what has not worked. Do you share your faith in Christ at work or after work? How has God lead you into evangelizing? When I was 16 I had a major conversion, (I had the awe experience, Praise God!), at that time God was telling me to go and tell people about Him. I try to do it physically but I lack in the verbal deparment. I do pray to God for help in this arena but I thought I would ask my fellow christians and pull from there experience. I feel I should be doing much more. I also feel its a leap of faith and listening to the leading of the Holy spirit. But then I sometimes thank I am not listening to the Holy Spirit and therefore I lack in this department. Thanks for your insight.

God Bless

 

[tkdnick]

I have found simply verbally sharing the faith is difficult. Most people have such strong opinions about their religion and the Catholic religion that they aren’t actually interested in hearing what we have to say. However, I make it a point to always attempt to answer people’s questions honestly. I also try to correct misconceptions whenever they come up.

In my experience actually living the faith is much more effective than sharing verbally. People pay much attention to our actions, words either support or detract from our actions. As St. Francis said “Preach the Gospel always and when necessary, use words.”

 

[Peter167]

In my experience actually living the faith is much more effective than sharing verbally.

I could not agree more with this statement.

My wife is a ‘theist’, we’ve been married a year, dating for 2 more besides. She will be going thru RCIA this fall. She volunteered for it. I never even asked her to.

She tells me that she sees my faith and wants that for herself and our children.

In my experience evangelization can’t be rushed, and IMO, in today’s world where Christianity has such a stigma, only after gaining the respect and admiration for the lifestyle you lead can you convincingly begin to talk to someone about why you live that way.

Maybe I’m interpreting my situation incorrectly, but thats what I think.

 

[tkdnick]

In my experience evangelization can’t be rushed, and IMO, in today’s world where Christianity has such a stigma, only after gaining the respect and admiration for the lifestyle you lead can you convincingly begin to talk to someone about why you live that way.

St. Josemaria Escriva talked about the evangelization of friendship as well. That being a real friend is a form of evangelization in and of itself (I’m paraphrasing).

 

[djeter]

First of all, I praise God for this forum that I am able to come and gain strength through the knowledge of my fellow christians.

How do you verbally share your faith in Jesus Christ? What has worked and what has not worked. Do you share your faith in Christ at work or after work? How has God lead you into evangelizing? When I was 16 I had a major conversion, (I had the awe experience, Praise God!), at that time God was telling me to go and tell people about Him. I try to do it physically but I lack in the verbal deparment. I do pray to God for help in this arena but I thought I would ask my fellow christians and pull from there experience. I feel I should be doing much more. I also feel its a leap of faith and listening to the leading of the Holy spirit. But then I sometimes thank I am not listening to the Holy Spirit and therefore I lack in this department. Thanks for your insight.

God Bless

In the midst of a post on Fr. John Cihuk’s best argument to make when persuading an atheist to reject antheism, he gives this advice:

“A consequence of Balthasar’s insight is that the divine love revealed on the Cross is meant to transform not just the non-believer but the apologist as well. He must also be marked by the Christform. As a believer, the apologist has been pulled by divine grace into the encounter of the form of Christ, and so his life must then take on the contours of the form. In this world, divine love is revealed in the suffering and death of the Son. For this reason the apologist can win a person to Christ and his Church only if he first loves that person and is willing to suffer, and even die, for him. The beauty of the apologist’s life will draw one to perceive God’s revelation. Listen to Penn talk about the gift of a book of Psalms.”

The Penn thing was something that someone on one of these forums had recommended. You can find the whole thing here:

payingattentiontothesky.com/2009/07/01/engaging-atheism/

If it were just verbal skills, we’d all sound like EWTN hosts. Happily that is not what is involved. Click the link on the Penn story and watch the youtube video. How much do you think he remembers what the guy said? Do you realize how little attention he paid to any of that? But what has shaken him? What has moved him? Your answer is there.

Regards

DJ

 

[musicality]

To everyone who thinks that this is tough, PLEASE think again…

I’ll give you a really simple example from this week:

I was with one of my co-workers who was raised catholic, but no longer attends church (unfortunately like many in my area). So, we were discussing marriage from a general perspective. At some point I mentioned that marriage is a one time shot.
So naturally she brought up how many people marry, divorce, and remarry. Then, I responded that I would never do that. She asked why, and I told her that it was because I was Catholic.
Soon enough we were discussing Catholic teaching on marriage, and then it moved to a discussion of what I suppose could be called the “hot topics” (homosexuality, pre-marital sex, hell, contraception, etc.).

What I’m getting at is the fact that your actions do speak loudly, but in this day and age, oftentimes a willingness to bring up religion in conversation speaks louder.
Anyone can do this, all it takes is a little confidence and a good knowledge of Catholic teaching. So, please, go out and start talking it up!

 

[Answersplease]

Share your Faith, but be prepared to withdraw quickly if things go wrong.

Cast not your pearls before swine, lest they turn around and trample you.

Don’t be drawn into a debate unless you know your Faith completely, many other religions are well versed in converting Catholics that are weak in their Faith.

---

“Look in the mirror, and behold, the work of our Lord’s hand.”

 

[fulbert4605]

i posted this in another evangelization thread but i feel it would fit here as well:

Above all, remember that you will be likely speaking to hearts that are harder than stone wherever you go. You can preach holy and just things to a stone till time’s end and not convert it. So also is the fate of those people whose hearts are so hardened. For those people whose hearts are harder than stone, you must pray that God might soften their hearts. And even for those whose hearts would convert were the right words or actions presented to them, pray that their hearts be made even softer yet so they may be able to make that leap toward the true Faith.

i believe the best evangelization consists of not only preaching holy and just things through the mouth and showing by example, but it should be paired with private prayer with the specific intention that God may soften the hearts of those of whom you will come in contact with.

For all of you shy people out there: even if you feel you are not able to overcome your shyness to speak out, you still have a role to play in evangelization. That is, praying that God may soften the hearts of men who are receiving God’s Truth through others. For specific hearts of stone or in general for hearts of stone. God might apply those prayers/sacrifices to where He feels need if you offer in the general sense.

 

[Micawber]

I think engaging a the average Atheist is comparatively easy. I say to them that “Atheism is actually a false category; one cannot, in fact, be an Atheist.” This really gets their goat.

They start into me, angrily. And then I ask, calmly, “what is the most important thing in your life?”

Answers either are or boil down to: my children, myself, my career, money, etc.

“Right, so actually you’re a theist. You’ve turned X (yourself, money, etc…) into a God. It rules your life in every way; you pay homage to it, etc. The only difference between you and me is that you are deceiving yourself into thinking that you don’t worship something above you, when you in fact do. Moreover, you’ve been tricked into worshipping idols - a practice you cannot rationally justify.”

 

[djeter]

Share your Faith, but be prepared to withdraw quickly if things go wrong.

Cast not your pearls before swine, lest they turn around and trample you.

Don’t be drawn into a debate unless you know your Faith completely, many other religions are well versed in converting Catholics that are weak in their Faith.

---

“Look in the mirror, and behold, the work of our Lord’s hand.”

I’ve recently been posting Catholic Teaching on Homosexuality. Whew – get ready for some serious blowback if you try this.

Some reflections here:

payingattentiontothesky.com/2009/07/09/undergoing-training-in-the-divine-school/

God bless

DJ

 

[djeter]

To everyone who thinks that this is tough, PLEASE think again…

I’ll give you a really simple example from this week:

I was with one of my co-workers who was raised catholic, but no longer attends church (unfortunately like many in my area). So, we were discussing marriage from a general perspective. At some point I mentioned that marriage is a one time shot.
So naturally she brought up how many people marry, divorce, and remarry. Then, I responded that I would never do that. She asked why, and I told her that it was because I was Catholic.
Soon enough we were discussing Catholic teaching on marriage, and then it moved to a discussion of what I suppose could be called the “hot topics” (homosexuality, pre-marital sex, hell, contraception, etc.).

What I’m getting at is the fact that your actions do speak loudly, but in this day and age, oftentimes a willingness to bring up religion in conversation speaks louder.
Anyone can do this, all it takes is a little confidence and a good knowledge of Catholic teaching. So, please, go out and start talking it up!

But if you do talk it up here is a good place to cut and paste stuff

on Homosexuality a report called “Causes of Homosexuality: A Christian Appraisal of the Data” by Andrew J. Sodergren, M.S., a scholar at John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family

payingattentiontothesky.com/causes-of-homosexuality-a-christian-appraisal-of-the-data/

– An essay is generated from four sources: Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, Kathleen Curran Sweeney, Robert P. George, M. Cathleen Kaveny and Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa:

payingattentiontothesky.com/2009/07/07/%e2%80%9cis-it-really-me-they-spite-is-it-not-in-fact-themselves-to-their-own-confusion%e2%80%9d/

George’s Book The Clash of Orthodoxies is a handbook to Catholic Social Issues.
payingattentiontothesky.com/reading-selections-from-%e2%80%9cthe-clash-of-orthodoxies%e2%80%9d-by-robert-p-george/

I use these constantly.

DJ

 

[prodigalson12]

You have to personalize it to the individual you are speaking to. For example, if I’m at a church and there is some dialog between myself and others and we get to discussion along the Holy Spirit, I share them my own personal experience with him, how he has revealed himself to me at an early age, we can chat about this in a safe enviroment and they tend to think, I really want that, which plants a seed.

When I’m with the more secular crowd, particularly ones that either do not understand the Catholic faith, or struggle with basic christianity, or God himself for that matter, I do not get into the cut and dry, advanced understandings and perspectives we as christians hold dear, they simply are not ready for that. I’ll tell them that God and his relationship is unique to the individual, that I cannot tell them who God is, it’s something they should explore within their own heart and their own understandings, if they ask for more, then I give that to them, but it’s all spoon fed, and yes, I will clear up misconceptions, many of which are in place with misguided christians trying to convey their own version of God, which often is false. If they want to know about the Christian perspective specifically, I’m very much here to share that element with them. What this does is keeps the door open, allows them to digest the very concept of God within their own limited confines, hopefully desiring more and coming to me or other Christians for a more in depth understanding. It is again planting a seed and it’s not trying to force them to think I’m thinking within some box, for too often those types face the fire and brimstone, guilt approach that the die hard’s tend to express, which in turn pushes them away from it.

 

[musicality]

You have to personalize it to the individual you are speaking to. For example, if I’m at a church and there is some dialog between myself and others and we get to discussion along the Holy Spirit, I share them my own personal experience with him, how he has revealed himself to me at an early age, we can chat about this in a safe enviroment and they tend to think, I really want that, which plants a seed.

When I’m with the more secular crowd, particularly ones that either do not understand the Catholic faith, or struggle with basic christianity, or God himself for that matter, I do not get into the cut and dry, advanced understandings and perspectives we as christians hold dear, they simply are not ready for that. I’ll tell them that God and his relationship is unique to the individual, that I cannot tell them who God is, it’s something they should explore within their own heart and their own understandings, if they ask for more, then I give that to them, but it’s all spoon fed, and yes, I will clear up misconceptions, many of which are in place with misguided christians trying to convey their own version of God, which often is false. If they want to know about the Christian perspective specifically, I’m very much here to share that element with them. What this does is keeps the door open, allows them to digest the very concept of God within their own limited confines, hopefully desiring more and coming to me or other Christians for a more in depth understanding. It is again planting a seed and it’s not trying to force them to think I’m thinking within some box, for too often those types face the fire and brimstone, guilt approach that the die hard’s tend to express, which in turn pushes them away from it.

Great advice–I completely agree!

 

[holy_moly]

First of all, I praise God for this forum that I am able to come and gain strength through the knowledge of my fellow christians.

How do you verbally share your faith in Jesus Christ? What has worked and what has not worked. Do you share your faith in Christ at work or after work? How has God lead you into evangelizing? When I was 16 I had a major conversion, (I had the awe experience, Praise God!), at that time God was telling me to go and tell people about Him. I try to do it physically but I lack in the verbal deparment. I do pray to God for help in this arena but I thought I would ask my fellow christians and pull from there experience. I feel I should be doing much more. I also feel its a leap of faith and listening to the leading of the Holy spirit. But then I sometimes thank I am not listening to the Holy Spirit and therefore I lack in this department. Thanks for your insight.

God Bless

Like others have said, live it- “they will know we are Christians by our love.” I think it was St Francis who said, “EVANGILIZE OFTEN… IF NECESSARY, USE WORDS”!

 

[Convert66]

Others have covered things quite well, I think. Something I would add is to really study the faith and know what you are attempting to share. That said, never be afraid to simply say, “I don’t know,” to a question when you don’t know the answer. Follow up, however, and search out a satisfactory reply. One more thing . . .listen well.

All my best . . .

 

[holy_moly]

Like others have said, live it- “they will know we are Christians by our love.” I think it was St Francis who said, “EVANGILIZE OFTEN… IF NECESSARY, USE WORDS”!

or was it “Preach the gospel often; if necessary, use words”? Yoy get the idea anyway.

 

[NMHS]

Everyone,

I have been busy so I have not been able to respond back to the thread I started. Thanks for all the great ideas, and insights. This will definatley open my mind to broader ways to share my faith as a Christian. God bless you guys, this is a great place to visit with other christians. Thanks! Caleb

 

[PJM]

=NMHS

How do you verbally share your faith in Jesus Christ? What has worked and what has not worked. Do you share your faith in Christ at work or after work? How has God lead you into evangelizing? When I was 16 I had a major conversion, (I had the awe experience, Praise God!), at that time God was telling me to go and tell people about Him. I try to do it physically but I lack in the verbal deparment. I do pray to God for help in this arena but I thought I would ask my fellow christians and pull from there experience. I feel I should be doing much more. I also feel its a leap of faith and listening to the leading of the Holy spirit. But then I sometimes thank I am not listening to the Holy Spirit and therefore I lack in this department. Thanks for your insight.

God Bless

***Be patient. The most important things you can do are to know well our Faith, what we believe and WHY, and then to live your life as an informed, practicing Roman Catholic for all to see.

Personally, I wait for others to ask me questions. Like you I work hard at knowing and living my faith. I have been involved in Catholic religious education for 15 years.

We must not “force” our beliefs on others. Yet we should be able to explain and when necessary defend THE FAITH!

If you feel you are called to something more, consider participation in your parish Bible study, volunteer as a CCD Teacher or assistant. But be sure you prepare yourself first by knowing and living our faith.***

Love and prayers,

 

[holy_moly]

***Be patient. The most important things you can do are to know well our Faith, what we believe and WHY, and then to live your life as an informed, practicing Roman Catholic for all to see.

Personally, I wait for others to ask me questions. Like you I work hard at knowing and living my faith. I have been involved in Catholic religious education for 15 years.

We must not “force” our beliefs on others. Yet we should be able to explain and when necessary defend THE FAITH!

If you feel you are called to something more, consider participation in your parish Bible study, volunteer as a CCD Teacher or assistant. But be sure you prepare yourself first by knowing and living our faith.***

Love and prayers,

I agree, anytime I’ve been the subject of someone’s ‘throat jambing faith indoctrination’, I’ve run real fast… in the opposite direction :frighten:

 

[musicality]

Others have covered things quite well, I think. Something I would add is to really study the faith and know what you are attempting to share. That said, never be afraid to simply say, “I don’t know,” to a question when you don’t know the answer. Follow up, however, and search out a satisfactory reply. One more thing . . .listen well.

All my best . . .

I couldn’t agree more… I’ve had to stop myself more than once and realize that I don’t have every answer. Thankfully there are places like CAF that we can turn to in order to find a better answer!

That last bit may be the most important–very few people want to be lectured on faith. Give them an opportunity to convey their view!