Would I be out of line?

[perfectpeach]

I married into a largely catholic family. I’ve been married for 3 years now and have just recently made the huge conversion and though I am unsure about most things in life, this is one of the best decisions I have made!!

Anyways, my 20 yr old brother in law has recently “converted” to being a baptist. I think he is doing it to please his girlfriend. They have been dating for 4 years and recently broke up for a period of time. When they got back together, he lost his Catholic faith.

I don’t think it has anything to do with the fact that there is something about the Church he no longer believes in or that the baptist church has some sort of truth he is looking for… I sincerely think it is to please his girlfriend.

We are fairly close and have had no problems discussing important issues in the past… I was just wondering if I would be out of line if I were to talk to him about this… maybe see what the reason is…try and convince him to make his journey back home (and bring his gf too!)

 

[Crepusculum]

That doesn’t sound out of line at all. Remember that this kind of discussion must be handled gently and with love and you’ll do fine. Your weakness is your strength - you have known life outside the Church and can relate to him on that level, but it can be used against you if he feels cornered. Think of it like dialogues with smokers about their health - if you have never smoked they will retreat, saying “you don’t know how hard it is”. If you used to smoke, and stopped, he will retreat and call you a hippocrite in the process. Never mind the inconsistency in the two defences.

Best of luck in your endeavour, let us know how you get on

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

I don’t think you’d be out of line at all. You might base the discussion on your own conversion and the blessings you’ve found and ask him to tell you more about his own faith journey. Listen to him with love and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance in how to respond.