may i get advice please? if not, that's fine God bless you

[elizabethtebazile]

ok so i'm 16 right and my family isn't very religious (but very spiritual) expect for my grandmothers (God rest their souls), grandfather and granduncle who are (/were) very devout catholics. so clearly not a very religious upbringing except for when i had sometimes gone to church with my grandparents and granduncle (before he moved). even then i had to beg my mom to go. i didn't really know what i believed in because my mom always wanted to keep those conversations about God limited, she didn't want my grandparents talking about it with me. the most i had ever learned about God was in history class last school year when were learning about Jesus, and the information that i learned was the only thing that was keeping me from being an atheist just last summer after i was being mocked and told that God doesn't exist. so basically i was agnostic, and really sad because i thought that it was all a lie. i was kind of like "just because Jesus existed and was crucified and resurrected, that's evidence for Jesus, not God" (i had never read the Bible a day in my life) but more recently like last in november i started getting into christian apologetics and learning what christians believe and why and the arguments for God and i'm back to being catholic (no hate please) and i'm trying to be more devout but it's hard when my family is very against that, even to my grandfather who's very devout and never misses mass and does the 3PM prayer and says grace and prays in the morning, in the night, he fasts, reads his Bible, he's very devout (my granduncle too) and my aunt is very critical of him for it. but he's also teaching me more about our faith and why we believe and why it's good to live for God. though i already know, i'm fine with him telling me again. he's teaching me more about the divine mercy prayer and how to pray to the rosary and things like that. so to get to the point, i have a 10 year old brother. the same way i was raised, where the conversations about God were limited and not religiously, that's how my mom is raising him too. sometime last week he told my 15 year old brother some very, very, very bad things while they were arguing. it was so bad that i had suggested that he come with my grandfather and i to church to ask God for forgiveness. he agrees, then the day comes for us to go. he seems excited, he wants to go and ask for forgiveness. he's never been to a church, but he did say they're beautiful buildings so he wanted to see one. see, he's excited and willing to go! even though my grandfather was a bit hesitant because admittedly my brother has an issue with staying still, he also suggested that he come with us and ask for God's forgiveness for the bad things he said. so then comes 4PM, we're going to the 4:30PM mass. then comes my aunt and my mom, they come to my brother saying things like "do you really wanna go?", "it's an hour long, are you sure?", "you're gonna have to sit, stand, kneel, and pray, are you sure?", "you can't have your phone!", "it's gonna be really loud!", "it's kind of boring", and then ultimately, "you really shouldn't go!". and they try to tell him that as long as he says sorry to my brother and he forgives him, that's all that matters. me and my grandfather are like what? so then my aunt says that he didn't say those things to God so God then doesn't care and would rather be confused if he asked Him for forgiveness, but he needed to apologize to my brother and ask for his forgiveness. what? so then even though he said he really wanted to go, there they had convinced him to not go! i asked him why and he said what really made him not want to go was how long it was and the fact that he couldn't use his phone. so then i tell him that God literally died such a terrible, painful, slow death for so many days just to save us, and you can't give Him an hour of your time? then he's like wow, he never knew that. he asked me more about, like who did it and stuff. then he completely misunderstood what i said and tells his friend (whom he was on the phone with) that pontius pilate not only crucified Jesus, but God too, so they not only did it too His son, but 2023 years ago they did it to Him too. what?? that wasn't what i said at all, so i tried to explain more. i tried to explain to him about the Trinity, and he also doesn't know about this. he also doesn't know that Jesus is God, he thinks that Jesus was God's son who had been crucified and that was all. he knows nothing about the teachings of Jesus or the Bible or anything. which i'm not judging him, because at a time i didn't know either. but he wants to learn more about it and just as i'm trying to explain more, my mom comes in saying "that's enough, go with your grandfather," with a very nasty tone. so then i come back from church and my brother asks me how was it, that he really wanted to go. i tell him about it but i also feel really bad because i remember it was like that for me when i didn't know anything about God, but at least i was able to go to church! i've been thinking that i really wanna teach my brother more about God and christianity, like i really wanna show him the same christian apologetic videos that made me believe in God again and choose to live by Him. i know i should also ask my grandfather and granduncle about this, but what i fear is that my mother won't want him learning about it or that his attention span won't let him learn it. i'm treading on thin ice with my mother btw, she's barely tolerant and far from accepting of my devoutness. like the other members of my family believes in God but not in a Biblical way, like in a spiritual way and they like zodiac signs and palm readings and things like that. so she doesn't believe in the Bible or being devout or living by God. so while i wanna teach him about this stuff, i also fear it'll cause my brother to be on thin ice with my mother as well, or also make myself even more on thin ice with her. it really took a long time to even convince her to let me start going to church with my grandfather again, i don't want her to like think she has to say no again and make me stop being like devout or something. i don't know. i also feel like it isn't my place to teach him anything, like who am i? i'm no expert, and i'm also still learning. so should i teach my brother more about this stuff or do i just let him be? advice would be appreciated. God bless you all.

 

[timothyu]

Have you considered talking about what really matters? Ask if he knows how to solve all the problems in the world asseen on the news etc. (or even at home) Then show the wisdom in loving all as self including enemies. This is not wisdom from man biut from God. It is a seed to sow (and that is all we are to do.. sow something that peeks interest in digging deeper). No need to go all religious on anyone. God is more interested in us living by His ideals than living by the self serving selfish ways man creates to suit our own will. It is everyone's self-interest that ruins it for others. These are the teachings of Jesus and His rebellious counter-culture ministry. Learn why man's ways that we take for granted are contrary to God's ways and it opens doors (especially to thought). The idea is to create interest, not brainwash.

 

[HTacianas]

ok so i'm 16 right and my family isn't very religious (but very spiritual) expect for my grandmothers (God rest their souls), grandfather and granduncle who are (/were) very devout catholics. so clearly not a very religious upbringing except for when i had sometimes gone to church with my grandparents and granduncle (before he moved). even then i had to beg my mom to go. i didn't really know what i believed in because my mom always wanted to keep those conversations about God limited, she didn't want my grandparents talking about it with me. the most i had ever learned about God was in history class last school year when were learning about Jesus, and the information that i learned was the only thing that was keeping me from being an atheist just last summer after i was being mocked and told that God doesn't exist. so basically i was agnostic, and really sad because i thought that it was all a lie. i was kind of like "just because Jesus existed and was crucified and resurrected, that's evidence for Jesus, not God" (i had never read the Bible a day in my life) but more recently like last in november i started getting into christian apologetics and learning what christians believe and why and the arguments for God and i'm back to being catholic (no hate please) and i'm trying to be more devout but it's hard when my family is very against that, even to my grandfather who's very devout and never misses mass and does the 3PM prayer and says grace and prays in the morning, in the night, he fasts, reads his Bible, he's very devout (my granduncle too) and my aunt is very critical of him for it. but he's also teaching me more about our faith and why we believe and why it's good to live for God. though i already know, i'm fine with him telling me again. he's teaching me more about the divine mercy prayer and how to pray to the rosary and things like that. so to get to the point, i have a 10 year old brother. the same way i was raised, where the conversations about God were limited and not religiously, that's how my mom is raising him too. sometime last week he told my 15 year old brother some very, very, very bad things while they were arguing. it was so bad that i had suggested that he come with my grandfather and i to church to ask God for forgiveness. he agrees, then the day comes for us to go. he seems excited, he wants to go and ask for forgiveness. he's never been to a church, but he did say they're beautiful buildings so he wanted to see one. see, he's excited and willing to go! even though my grandfather was a bit hesitant because admittedly my brother has an issue with staying still, he also suggested that he come with us and ask for God's forgiveness for the bad things he said. so then comes 4PM, we're going to the 4:30PM mass. then comes my aunt and my mom, they come to my brother saying things like "do you really wanna go?", "it's an hour long, are you sure?", "you're gonna have to sit, stand, kneel, and pray, are you sure?", "you can't have your phone!", "it's gonna be really loud!", "it's kind of boring", and then ultimately, "you really shouldn't go!". and they try to tell him that as long as he says sorry to my brother and he forgives him, that's all that matters. me and my grandfather are like what? so then my aunt says that he didn't say those things to God so God then doesn't care and would rather be confused if he asked Him for forgiveness, but he needed to apologize to my brother and ask for his forgiveness. what? so then even though he said he really wanted to go, there they had convinced him to not go! i asked him why and he said what really made him not want to go was how long it was and the fact that he couldn't use his phone. so then i tell him that God literally died such a terrible, painful, slow death for so many days just to save us, and you can't give Him an hour of your time? then he's like wow, he never knew that. he asked me more about, like who did it and stuff. then he completely misunderstood what i said and tells his friend (whom he was on the phone with) that pontius pilate not only crucified Jesus, but God too, so they not only did it too His son, but 2023 years ago they did it to Him too. what?? that wasn't what i said at all, so i tried to explain more. i tried to explain to him about the Trinity, and he also doesn't know about this. he also doesn't know that Jesus is God, he thinks that Jesus was God's son who had been crucified and that was all. he knows nothing about the teachings of Jesus or the Bible or anything. which i'm not judging him, because at a time i didn't know either. but he wants to learn more about it and just as i'm trying to explain more, my mom comes in saying "that's enough, go with your grandfather," with a very nasty tone. so then i come back from church and my brother asks me how was it, that he really wanted to go. i tell him about it but i also feel really bad because i remember it was like that for me when i didn't know anything about God, but at least i was able to go to church! i've been thinking that i really wanna teach my brother more about God and christianity, like i really wanna show him the same christian apologetic videos that made me believe in God again and choose to live by Him. i know i should also ask my grandfather and granduncle about this, but what i fear is that my mother won't want him learning about it or that his attention span won't let him learn it. i'm treading on thin ice with my mother btw, she's barely tolerant and far from accepting of my devoutness. like the other members of my family believes in God but not in a Biblical way, like in a spiritual way and they like zodiac signs and palm readings and things like that. so she doesn't believe in the Bible or being devout or living by God. so while i wanna teach him about this stuff, i also fear it'll cause my brother to be on thin ice with my mother as well, or also make myself even more on thin ice with her. it really took a long time to even convince her to let me start going to church with my grandfather again, i don't want her to like think she has to say no again and make me stop being like devout or something. i don't know. i also feel like it isn't my place to teach him anything, like who am i? i'm no expert, and i'm also still learning. so should i teach my brother more about this stuff or do i just let him be? advice would be appreciated. God bless you all.

You should keep going to mass with you grandfather and -for the time being- leave your little brother out of it. Just for now. Wait for your brother to ask what you did at mass, and only briefly tell him about it. We sometimes get impatient and want to say everything all at once and we come off as ranting. Go slow. Things will progress soon enough.

 

[HopeinHim98]

ok so i'm 16 right and my family isn't very religious (but very spiritual) expect for my grandmothers (God rest their souls), grandfather and granduncle who are (/were) very devout catholics. so clearly not a very religious upbringing except for when i had sometimes gone to church with my grandparents and granduncle (before he moved). even then i had to beg my mom to go. i didn't really know what i believed in because my mom always wanted to keep those conversations about God limited, she didn't want my grandparents talking about it with me. the most i had ever learned about God was in history class last school year when were learning about Jesus, and the information that i learned was the only thing that was keeping me from being an atheist just last summer after i was being mocked and told that God doesn't exist. so basically i was agnostic, and really sad because i thought that it was all a lie. i was kind of like "just because Jesus existed and was crucified and resurrected, that's evidence for Jesus, not God" (i had never read the Bible a day in my life) but more recently like last in november i started getting into christian apologetics and learning what christians believe and why and the arguments for God and i'm back to being catholic (no hate please) and i'm trying to be more devout but it's hard when my family is very against that, even to my grandfather who's very devout and never misses mass and does the 3PM prayer and says grace and prays in the morning, in the night, he fasts, reads his Bible, he's very devout (my granduncle too) and my aunt is very critical of him for it. but he's also teaching me more about our faith and why we believe and why it's good to live for God. though i already know, i'm fine with him telling me again. he's teaching me more about the divine mercy prayer and how to pray to the rosary and things like that. so to get to the point, i have a 10 year old brother. the same way i was raised, where the conversations about God were limited and not religiously, that's how my mom is raising him too. sometime last week he told my 15 year old brother some very, very, very bad things while they were arguing. it was so bad that i had suggested that he come with my grandfather and i to church to ask God for forgiveness. he agrees, then the day comes for us to go. he seems excited, he wants to go and ask for forgiveness. he's never been to a church, but he did say they're beautiful buildings so he wanted to see one. see, he's excited and willing to go! even though my grandfather was a bit hesitant because admittedly my brother has an issue with staying still, he also suggested that he come with us and ask for God's forgiveness for the bad things he said. so then comes 4PM, we're going to the 4:30PM mass. then comes my aunt and my mom, they come to my brother saying things like "do you really wanna go?", "it's an hour long, are you sure?", "you're gonna have to sit, stand, kneel, and pray, are you sure?", "you can't have your phone!", "it's gonna be really loud!", "it's kind of boring", and then ultimately, "you really shouldn't go!". and they try to tell him that as long as he says sorry to my brother and he forgives him, that's all that matters. me and my grandfather are like what? so then my aunt says that he didn't say those things to God so God then doesn't care and would rather be confused if he asked Him for forgiveness, but he needed to apologize to my brother and ask for his forgiveness. what? so then even though he said he really wanted to go, there they had convinced him to not go! i asked him why and he said what really made him not want to go was how long it was and the fact that he couldn't use his phone. so then i tell him that God literally died such a terrible, painful, slow death for so many days just to save us, and you can't give Him an hour of your time? then he's like wow, he never knew that. he asked me more about, like who did it and stuff. then he completely misunderstood what i said and tells his friend (whom he was on the phone with) that pontius pilate not only crucified Jesus, but God too, so they not only did it too His son, but 2023 years ago they did it to Him too. what?? that wasn't what i said at all, so i tried to explain more. i tried to explain to him about the Trinity, and he also doesn't know about this. he also doesn't know that Jesus is God, he thinks that Jesus was God's son who had been crucified and that was all. he knows nothing about the teachings of Jesus or the Bible or anything. which i'm not judging him, because at a time i didn't know either. but he wants to learn more about it and just as i'm trying to explain more, my mom comes in saying "that's enough, go with your grandfather," with a very nasty tone. so then i come back from church and my brother asks me how was it, that he really wanted to go. i tell him about it but i also feel really bad because i remember it was like that for me when i didn't know anything about God, but at least i was able to go to church! i've been thinking that i really wanna teach my brother more about God and christianity, like i really wanna show him the same christian apologetic videos that made me believe in God again and choose to live by Him. i know i should also ask my grandfather and granduncle about this, but what i fear is that my mother won't want him learning about it or that his attention span won't let him learn it. i'm treading on thin ice with my mother btw, she's barely tolerant and far from accepting of my devoutness. like the other members of my family believes in God but not in a Biblical way, like in a spiritual way and they like zodiac signs and palm readings and things like that. so she doesn't believe in the Bible or being devout or living by God. so while i wanna teach him about this stuff, i also fear it'll cause my brother to be on thin ice with my mother as well, or also make myself even more on thin ice with her. it really took a long time to even convince her to let me start going to church with my grandfather again, i don't want her to like think she has to say no again and make me stop being like devout or something. i don't know. i also feel like it isn't my place to teach him anything, like who am i? i'm no expert, and i'm also still learning. so should i teach my brother more about this stuff or do i just let him be? advice would be appreciated. God bless you all.

Hey. My heart really goes out to you. I really think the Lord is drawing you and it's so wonderful when I see young people interested in the things of the Lord.

No hate intended here AT ALL, but I don't believe you're going to find what you need spiritually from the Catholic church. I know God can can meet you where you are and you were doing the best you knew. But you won't find the true Gospel there. I'd really encourage you to look up Living Waters/Ray Comfort on youtube. He interviews people, many times young people, and tells them the TRUE Gospel. They're very interesting!

As for your brother, try to be a good big sister and pray for him. And share truth with him as much as you can. Just make SURE what you share with him is from the Bible.

I'm gonna be praying for you. Seek the Lord earnestly in the scriptures. Please look up the youtube channel I mentioned! And pray!

 

[YeshuaFollower]

I have a few questions, what parts of the bible did you read? all or just some parts?

Hello Elizabeth,
What is important is that you learn what it is to be a christian from the bible directly not from church( too may different ones having different teachings), internet ( a lot of bad info there) or other people ( a lot of people are mistaken) it is the first step. Go at the source it is a must, the bible is not so complicated that you cannot understand on your own. What is important is to learn what Christ did and why, what was his mission here etc.. the first 4 epistles, Matthew, john, mark and like will set you on the right path. Then i suggest the first 5 books of the old testament, learn about the law ( 10 commandments) given to moses.
whatever happens , in case of doubt, always refer to the words of Jesus the son of GOD and you will be fine,

May the living GOD bless you!

1Pe 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and beready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

1Pe 3:16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.

1Pe 3:17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

JFF

 

[timothyu]

Perhaps if you like to binge watch together, there is always the Chosen to catch interest. A seed. Again, we can only sow seeds. It is not up to us to make them grow or determine how they grow.

 

[HopeinHim98]

I have a few questions, what parts of the bible did you read? all or just some parts?

Hello Elizabeth,
What is important is that you learn what it is to be a christian from the bible directly not from church( too may different ones having different teachings), internet ( a lot of bad info there) or other people ( a lot of people are mistaken) it is the first step. Go at the source it is a must, the bible is not so complicated that you cannot understand on your own. What is important is to learn what Christ did and why, what was his mission here etc.. the first 4 epistles, Matthew, john, mark and like will set you on the right path. Then i suggest the first 5 books of the old testament, learn about the law ( 10 commandments) given to moses.
whatever happens , in case of doubt, always refer to the words of Jesus the son of GOD and you will be fine,

May the living GOD bless you!

1Pe 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and beready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

1Pe 3:16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.

1Pe 3:17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

JFF

I agree with you. She should go to the Bible and to the Lord in prayer first and foremost.

 

[elizabethtebazile]

Have you considered talking about what really matters? Ask if he knows how to solve all the problems in the world asseen on the news etc. (or even at home) Then show the wisdom in loving all as self including enemies. This is not wisdom from man biut from God. It is a seed to sow (and that is all we are to do.. sow something that peeks interest in digging deeper). No need to go all religious on anyone. God is more interested in us living by His ideals than living by the self serving selfish ways man creates to suit our own will. It is everyone's self-interest that ruins it for others. These are the teachings of Jesus and His rebellious counter-culture ministry. Learn why man's ways that we take for granted are contrary to God's ways and it opens doors (especially to thought). The idea is to create interest, not brainwash.

uh sorry if this came across to you as me wanting to "brainwash" my brother, but that's far from what i said. my point was that i wanted to teach him things about the faith but wasn't sure if it's my place to do so. i guess from your comment you're saying it's not & rather self serving & selfish? not sure how & i don't completely understand your point, but okay maybe you're right. I'll just stay out of it then

 

[elizabethtebazile]

I have a few questions, what parts of the bible did you read? all or just some parts?

Hello Elizabeth,
What is important is that you learn what it is to be a christian from the bible directly not from church( too may different ones having different teachings), internet ( a lot of bad info there) or other people ( a lot of people are mistaken) it is the first step. Go at the source it is a must, the bible is not so complicated that you cannot understand on your own. What is important is to learn what Christ did and why, what was his mission here etc.. the first 4 epistles, Matthew, john, mark and like will set you on the right path. Then i suggest the first 5 books of the old testament, learn about the law ( 10 commandments) given to moses.
whatever happens , in case of doubt, always refer to the words of Jesus the son of GOD and you will be fine,

May the living GOD bless you!

1Pe 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and beready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

1Pe 3:16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.

1Pe 3:17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

JFF

i don't have an entire Bible, just a new testament book that i read daily. as i said, my mother barely tolerates it and she doesn't want me having a Bible, anyway, so that's the best i physically can have, i guess? the most i can probably do to really read the full Bible is ask my grandfather to borrow his or search it up online (which i should do). as for learning from the internet, it was at a time i didn't fully believe & was looking for any proof/evidence & found apologetic sources that got me out of agnosticism. obviously i wouldn't take everything they say as true, but God bless them bc they provided compelling arguments that helped convince me God is real. ofc it's thanks to God that i'm christian, but people help. isn't that what sharing the Gospel is?

 

[Lost Witness]

i don't have an entire Bible, just a new testament book that i read daily. as i said, my mother barely tolerates it and she doesn't want me having a Bible, anyway, so that's the best i physically can have, i guess? the most i can probably do to really read the full Bible is ask my grandfather to borrow his or search it up online (which i should do). as for learning from the internet, it was at a time i didn't fully believe & was looking for any proof/evidence & found apologetic sources that got me out of agnosticism. obviously i wouldn't take everything they say as true, but God bless them bc they provided compelling arguments that helped convince me God is real. ofc it's thanks to God that i'm christian, but people help. isn't that what sharing the Gospel is?

Download the YouVersion bible application if you got a cellphone

 

[timothyu]

uh sorry if this came across to you as me wanting to "brainwash" my brother

No sorry didn't mean that at all. Not you. I'm saying better to get him interested by being a friend and asking what he thinks of the world, chatting about what God is, or watching that show about Him above, before someone else insists the only way is forced entry into a religion so he can follow someone else's rules (brainwashing). Seeking God is not a matter of joining a religion but of pursuing knowledge in who He is and what He represents, and that requires an open mind and often many dead ends.. It's a life long pursuit and should be free of being just another brick in the wall if you know what that means . But do as you will. He may or may not be interested but at least you gave it a shot. You have no idea when or if he might click. But better to chat about it than throw him into the system.

 

[YeshuaFollower]

i don't have an entire Bible, just a new testament book that i read daily. as i said, my mother barely tolerates it and she doesn't want me having a Bible, anyway, so that's the best i physically can have, i guess? the most i can probably do to really read the full Bible is ask my grandfather to borrow his or search it up online (which i should do). as for learning from the internet, it was at a time i didn't fully believe & was looking for any proof/evidence & found apologetic sources that got me out of agnosticism. obviously i wouldn't take everything they say as true, but God bless them bc they provided compelling arguments that helped convince me God is real. ofc it's thanks to God that i'm christian, but people help. isn't that what sharing the Gospel is?

Hello friend in Christ, here is a link for the first book of the bible, the web site is free and easy to figure out, i selected the new king James version which is a good one see the link below;

Genesis 1 NKJV

I read again your initial post and i do not know why your mother is against having a bible, can you ask her why? there must be a reason. if she says no respect her wishes you would still have access to the internet bible.

As for devotion, it is not where you pray ( church or in the quiet space of your room) or at what specific times during the day you have to pray this is not true devotion. Also Reciting repetitive prayers ( rosary) is not something GOD wants;

from Matthew chap 6
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

True devotion is much simpler than that, learn the teachings of Jesus and do what he says this is true devotion.

Trust in your father in heaven , he is the one calling you from above, he loves you and is always there for you, love him with all your might.

as for your brother he is a bit young for now but if he is curious then instruct him with basic teachings appropriate for his age.

Be Blessed.

JFF

 

[FutureAndAHope]

ok so i'm 16 right and my family isn't very religious (but very spiritual) expect for my grandmothers (God rest their souls), grandfather and granduncle who are (/were) very devout catholics. so clearly not a very religious upbringing except for when i had sometimes gone to church with my grandparents and granduncle (before he moved). even then i had to beg my mom to go. i didn't really know what i believed in because my mom always wanted to keep those conversations about God limited, she didn't want my grandparents talking about it with me. the most i had ever learned about God was in history class last school year when were learning about Jesus, and the information that i learned was the only thing that was keeping me from being an atheist just last summer after i was being mocked and told that God doesn't exist. so basically i was agnostic, and really sad because i thought that it was all a lie. i was kind of like "just because Jesus existed and was crucified and resurrected, that's evidence for Jesus, not God" (i had never read the Bible a day in my life) but more recently like last in november i started getting into christian apologetics and learning what christians believe and why and the arguments for God and i'm back to being catholic (no hate please) and i'm trying to be more devout but it's hard when my family is very against that, even to my grandfather who's very devout and never misses mass and does the 3PM prayer and says grace and prays in the morning, in the night, he fasts, reads his Bible, he's very devout (my granduncle too) and my aunt is very critical of him for it. but he's also teaching me more about our faith and why we believe and why it's good to live for God. though i already know, i'm fine with him telling me again. he's teaching me more about the divine mercy prayer and how to pray to the rosary and things like that. so to get to the point, i have a 10 year old brother. the same way i was raised, where the conversations about God were limited and not religiously, that's how my mom is raising him too. sometime last week he told my 15 year old brother some very, very, very bad things while they were arguing. it was so bad that i had suggested that he come with my grandfather and i to church to ask God for forgiveness. he agrees, then the day comes for us to go. he seems excited, he wants to go and ask for forgiveness. he's never been to a church, but he did say they're beautiful buildings so he wanted to see one. see, he's excited and willing to go! even though my grandfather was a bit hesitant because admittedly my brother has an issue with staying still, he also suggested that he come with us and ask for God's forgiveness for the bad things he said. so then comes 4PM, we're going to the 4:30PM mass. then comes my aunt and my mom, they come to my brother saying things like "do you really wanna go?", "it's an hour long, are you sure?", "you're gonna have to sit, stand, kneel, and pray, are you sure?", "you can't have your phone!", "it's gonna be really loud!", "it's kind of boring", and then ultimately, "you really shouldn't go!". and they try to tell him that as long as he says sorry to my brother and he forgives him, that's all that matters. me and my grandfather are like what? so then my aunt says that he didn't say those things to God so God then doesn't care and would rather be confused if he asked Him for forgiveness, but he needed to apologize to my brother and ask for his forgiveness. what? so then even though he said he really wanted to go, there they had convinced him to not go! i asked him why and he said what really made him not want to go was how long it was and the fact that he couldn't use his phone. so then i tell him that God literally died such a terrible, painful, slow death for so many days just to save us, and you can't give Him an hour of your time? then he's like wow, he never knew that. he asked me more about, like who did it and stuff. then he completely misunderstood what i said and tells his friend (whom he was on the phone with) that pontius pilate not only crucified Jesus, but God too, so they not only did it too His son, but 2023 years ago they did it to Him too. what?? that wasn't what i said at all, so i tried to explain more. i tried to explain to him about the Trinity, and he also doesn't know about this. he also doesn't know that Jesus is God, he thinks that Jesus was God's son who had been crucified and that was all. he knows nothing about the teachings of Jesus or the Bible or anything. which i'm not judging him, because at a time i didn't know either. but he wants to learn more about it and just as i'm trying to explain more, my mom comes in saying "that's enough, go with your grandfather," with a very nasty tone. so then i come back from church and my brother asks me how was it, that he really wanted to go. i tell him about it but i also feel really bad because i remember it was like that for me when i didn't know anything about God, but at least i was able to go to church! i've been thinking that i really wanna teach my brother more about God and christianity, like i really wanna show him the same christian apologetic videos that made me believe in God again and choose to live by Him. i know i should also ask my grandfather and granduncle about this, but what i fear is that my mother won't want him learning about it or that his attention span won't let him learn it. i'm treading on thin ice with my mother btw, she's barely tolerant and far from accepting of my devoutness. like the other members of my family believes in God but not in a Biblical way, like in a spiritual way and they like zodiac signs and palm readings and things like that. so she doesn't believe in the Bible or being devout or living by God. so while i wanna teach him about this stuff, i also fear it'll cause my brother to be on thin ice with my mother as well, or also make myself even more on thin ice with her. it really took a long time to even convince her to let me start going to church with my grandfather again, i don't want her to like think she has to say no again and make me stop being like devout or something. i don't know. i also feel like it isn't my place to teach him anything, like who am i? i'm no expert, and i'm also still learning. so should i teach my brother more about this stuff or do i just let him be? advice would be appreciated. God bless you all.

I would say keep trying to share with your brother, as you have the opportunity. Don't let the fear of what people may say, or do stop you.

 

[Diamond7]

so should i teach my brother more about this stuff or do i just let him be?

Of course you should teach him everything you can ever chance you get. They may not understand at the time, but the day will come when it will all sink in and they will have the opportunity to come to a saving knowledge of the truth. Our whole life maybe for us to decide if we are for God or against God. If God is good, then why would we not want to be good and why would we not want to treat people in a loving way to the best of our ability?