Good morning minister,<\/p>\n
It’s a beautiful morning here. I want to first express my appreciation for the good work you are doing and pray that God blesses and supports you as you help many growing Christians know God’s will.<\/p>\n
I am a nursing student, and in my school, we have only three Christians (members of the church of Christ). I usually feel sorry for my mates who aren’t Christians and would really love for them to obey God but I don’t know how to start or on what topic to begin.<\/p>\n
Anytime I interact and want to introduce a religious topic of discussion, I find it difficult to bring up a topic that’s less ambiguous and precise.<\/p>\n
I need help on how to begin these conversations and what topics are going to be icebreakers.<\/p>\n
Usually, I ask and listen to their religious beliefs and practices in their various denominations but I find it difficult to go on from there and make it not look like an argument. I don’t mind arguing but many times it makes them defensive and not objective or willing to listen.<\/p>\n
Also, my mates here are so religious but not according to knowledge. They find the idea of one church ridiculous and they misinterpret it to mean that all denominations are all one under God since they serve “one God”. Please help me. I love my mates a lot and would love to do something about it.<\/p>\n\t
A simple way is to ask questions, as you have already begun to do so. Pick something you’ve recently read and ask them a question about the reading. “I was reading I Corinthians last night and Paul said there was to be no division. What do you think about that?” This would be an interesting discussion if you have friends with differing religious beliefs. “Why do you teach X while so-in-so teaches Y?” Look for points in the discussion where you can point out a verse in the Bible that shows something different in their beliefs.<\/p>\n
Approaching it this way doesn’t come across as challenging since you asked them for their thoughts. Pointing out a passage shows that you have been listening to what they have said.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Good morning minister, It’s a beautiful morning here. I want to first express my appreciation for the good work you are doing and pray that God blesses and supports you as you help many growing Christians know God’s will. I am a nursing student, and in my school, we have only three Christians (members…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[451],"class_list":["post-60759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":41728,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-matthew-617-tell-us-to-anoint-ourselves\/","url_meta":{"origin":60759,"position":0},"title":"Doesn’t Matthew 6:17 tell us to anoint ourselves?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 27, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I am a member of the church in Indiana. This morning, I was studying fasting, and like always, I drifted off into another topic (I'm sure this happens to you and many Christians). That's one reason why God's Word is so good: You can never have enough. As\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":46799,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-song-leaders-can-pick-good-hymns\/","url_meta":{"origin":60759,"position":1},"title":"How Song Leaders Can Pick Good Hymns","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford via\u00a0His Excellent Word Over the past month or two, I've heard from a few people who were wondering why I was writing so much about good and bad hymns. What's the take-home? What's the so-what? I have an extremely strong view of congregational autonomy, so I'm\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":68049,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-help-new-christians-start-their-journey\/","url_meta":{"origin":60759,"position":2},"title":"How do I help new Christians start their journey?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 14, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello brother, Two of my friends were baptized less than two weeks ago. I want to help them along this journey.\u00a0Are there any tips you can give me about how to help these new Christians? Answer: \"By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we\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":38941,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-solve-the-religious-differences-in-a-serious-love-relationship\/","url_meta":{"origin":60759,"position":3},"title":"How do I solve the religious differences in a serious love relationship?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How can I solve the religious difference in a very serious love relationship? I met a girl who has a boyfriend at work. After we became good friends we both fell in love. She realized that she didn't love her former boyfriend, quit the relationship, and continued with me.\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":18047,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/instruments-of-music-in-worship\/","url_meta":{"origin":60759,"position":4},"title":"Instruments of Music in Worship","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford I think the use of musical instruments in our assemblies is a worthwhile subject for a couple of different reasons. First, it\u2019s something that stands out about our services as compared to church services elsewhere. Visitors to our assemblies are nearly guaranteed to notice that we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/organ-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":59222,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/religion-and-war\/","url_meta":{"origin":60759,"position":5},"title":"Religion and War","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 16, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer \"If religion is so great, why are religions responsible for so much war?\" First, this type of statement assumes that all religions are essentially the same. They aren't. Some religions actively teach peace. Biblical Christianity (not the perverted forms) is one of them. 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