{"id":43214,"date":"2014-07-13T19:29:00","date_gmt":"2014-07-14T00:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=43214"},"modified":"2022-02-15T19:34:52","modified_gmt":"2022-02-16T01:34:52","slug":"how-do-i-convince-my-atheistic-dad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-convince-my-atheistic-dad\/","title":{"rendered":"How do I convince my atheistic dad?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

Hi Jeffrey,<\/p>\n

I have a question in regards to my father:<\/p>\n

My dad is a good man. He provides for me and my family (divorced from my mom for years now) and he never hesitates to help us when needed. My dad however does not believe in God. One statement he likes to use is “If there is a God, why are there thousands of kids dying in Africa every day.” He’s also very disrupted of the world’s monetary system and how big corporations control most of the world’s wealth, basically the corruption of government and democracy, etc.<\/p>\n

I do, however, agree with him on some of these bases. Then he gets into the discussion of religion and states that religion is another form of control or slavery, just like money. These conversations typically happen between my mom and dad while I overhear them talking on the phone sometimes. It’s a normal conversation and my dad always brings up Christianity with my mom and he tries to change her way of thinking.<\/p>\n

My mom is a believer and defends God as we should, but my dad always rejects, and well he just won’t accept that God does indeed exist because of all the death, poverty, and famine in the world. I know we can’t force him to change his way of thinking but we as Christians should always be ready to defend God in all circumstances right?<\/p>\n

I pray for my dad that he opens his heart and mind (He calls us closed-minded!). He’s always looking for information that disproves the existence of God. At one point in his life, he wasn’t like this. He never really spoke about God but it’s as if he hates him. I think this change occurred when he lost his house 2-3 years ago I’m not sure though. I strongly think that my Dad does in fact believe in God but something is preventing him from accepting.<\/p>\n

I’m asking for any advice you may have regarding my and my mom’s defense of God toward my dad. I know that Jesus said that one who blasphemes the Holy Spirit isn’t likely to repent but I love my father\u00a0very much\u00a0and I strongly pray for him.<\/p>\n

If you want to know, The Zeitgeist movement (not sure if you’ve heard of it) is what got my dad “hooked” on the worlds problem and his unbelief towards God.<\/p>\n

Thank you for your help and support.<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

Your dad believes that the only way God could exist is if His creation had no ability to make independent choices — no free will. See: Why Do Bad Things Happen?<\/a><\/p>\n

No reply will ever be good enough for your dad because he chooses not to believe. This isn’t a matter that he doesn’t see some critical evidence. I suspect he sees it quite clearly, but rejects it and searches out reasons to justify his rejection.<\/p>\n

Just point out the flaw in his argument and then go on living for Christ. Perhaps one day he will change his mind.<\/p>\n\t

Response:<\/h2>\n

I understand. I had a big cry before going to bed praying that my dad finds his way to Christ. I can only pray that he accepts to believe. Thanks for the reply and God bless.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: Hi Jeffrey, I have a question in regards to my father: My dad is a good man. He provides for me and my family (divorced from my mom for years now) and he never hesitates to help us when needed. My dad however does not believe in God. One statement he likes to use…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[184,1509],"class_list":["post-43214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-atheism","tag-parents"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":31497,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-father-is-abusive-and-im-afraid-to-leave-my-mother-to-go-to-college-what-should-i-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":43214,"position":0},"title":"My father is abusive and I’m afraid to leave my mother to go to college. 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My dad said I'll go to college when he decides and in the meantime, he will probably want me to study at home to earn a medical coding\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37017,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-honor-my-dad-when-he-wont-talk-to-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":43214,"position":3},"title":"How do I honor my dad when he won’t talk to me?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My dad and I were always close when I was little. I was a daddy's girl even though he lived in another state. I lived with my mom and only saw him during the summer. We drifted apart when he got married, and I stopped visiting him when I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43257,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-help-my-mother-who-is-being-abused-by-my-father\/","url_meta":{"origin":43214,"position":4},"title":"How do I help my mother who is being abused by my father?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello sir, I am 23 and recently finished my schooling. My dad denies Christ, but my mom is a believer. My dad is short-tempered. From the beginning, my mom was treated by him as a servant. He used to beat her, use abusive words over her -- sometimes in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":64103,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-moms-legacy\/","url_meta":{"origin":43214,"position":5},"title":"My Mom’s Legacy","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 17, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeremy Dehut I've been reflecting on Mom's legacy. God has used her and Dad in incredible ways. Both of my parents came from broken homes where sin, abuse, alcohol, and other addiction was common. 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