Hello fellow followers of Christ

Hello all! I am excited to become a part of this forum and I look forward to reading and taking part in as much discussion as I can.
Cliff Notes:
I'm 38, parents divorced when I was 3 and was then raised by my mom as a catholic/ baptist/ Christian/ non-denominational. I have an older sister, older brother and older half-brother. I remember when I was very young my mom teaching me the rosary, reciting my Our Fathers and Hail Mary's as we moved through the beads. My grandma, is Hispanic and was brought up catholic, shes 99 now, but I'm almost positive this is where, at least how I remember, I was introduced to the catholic church. Throughout the years my mom struggled with churches and all of the denominations and, while I lived with her, went through quite A few of them. I prayed nearly everyday when I was younger and my prayers were always answered. I always sensed Christ and his presence in my heart, but around the age of 16 or 17 I started to backslide. I stopped praying to him, I listened to the people around me, whom I truly respected and thought very highly of, explain to me why they don't believe in God or that we were all created by him. Some of the most educated people I know, including and most influential, my own brother, would offer explanations and theory's, all of which seemed to make sense, of why people believed in God. They would try to poke holes in The Bible, while offering scientific and philosophic evidence for why God is a silly idea, and that those who believed in Him were somehow of a lower intellect/ class or something. This was huge for me. I really really looked up to, respected, and love my brother, and of all the members of my fractured family, and the turmoil we all went through in the years following my parents divorce, he was by far the one I was closest to and loved the most. I listened to him, and, around 16 or 17. I was brought back to Christ by my wife a couple of years ago, and lately my relationship with Jesus Christ and my wife has been growing exponentially stronger, much stronger than it ever has. While I always knew in my heart Christ was indeed very real, and that he loved me, I have never had a relationship with him and I now feel it growing stronger everyday. He fills my heart with His love and His presence within me is amazing.
I still love my brother more than I can possibly describe and I always will, however he is a complete atheist. He is (in a sense) smart, reads almost everything, nearly completed his PHD in Geophysics at SMU, but became a stay at home dad upon his wife's graduating from law school. He thinks he is too smart to believe in God it seems. This has been weighing very heavily on my heart, and more so lately. I think about it in the morning, throughout the day and at night before bed. It brings me to tears. I hate the idea of spending eternity without him in Gods Kingdom. I don't know what to do or say to him. He has always looked to me as inferior to him in knowledge, politics, etc.., as in his eyes I am still just his little brother, and there is nothing I could know more about than he.
Lately I have been studying up more on the bible and its prophecies, listening to Christian apologetics, trying to learn as much as I can as fast as I can. I want to talk to him but I will need to be armed with counter arguments.
Can anyone offer any advice on how to approach him about this. It's something we just don't talk about anymore. Any help is appreciated, God bless you all.

chevyontheriver said:

I think your grandmother was on to something. Your wife too. Both of them are blessings for you. I imagine your grandmother has prayed long and hard for you and continues to pray long and hard for your brother. I think that is the way to go, that and him knowing that you love him as deeply as you do. My own brother ridicules the faith with regularity. He thinks much like your brother does. I deal with it in small doses. He says his thing and I do my best to counter it. Thing is, after trying to understand him, I can see the prejudice that goes into his opinions. And so I know better what to say. So, do try hard to understand your brother, what pushed him to his present situation. The reasoning against the faith is ALWAYS flawed. It's just a matter of understanding the flaw. And then loving him as you patiently expose the flaws.

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THank you, It is how I feel as well. There is so much wrong with everything he can tell me. I pray God gives me the words I need to light that fire inside of him.

Brotherly Spirit said:

Hello Josh S., thanks for your introduction. It's clear you have struggled with your faith, but you're strong in it. It's a smart idea to inform yourself (something I need to do too), just remember the best example is yourself in life showing what you believe.

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Thank you, we are trying to do that as well. I think leading by example is very important as well. It is going to be quite the task but I believe Christ will work through me to help show him the light.