Expert: Marco - 2/10/2010

Question
Hello. I am curious about the obligation of parents to teenage children once parents convert. I have been catholic all along but the Wife is not and never has been. She is now converting from another Christian religion. Now the problem. The kids (hers from aprevious marriage) ARE REFUSING. The oldest one said NO FXXXING WAY IN HELL!!! My wife wants me to use force in converting the kids as well. They are happy in their religion and I feel this would cause resentment. My oldest stepson has threatened to sabatoge the whole thing (He says he will cause a riot at the vigil if he has to in order to prevent having to join the church). He is 16 and now driving and the wife wants to take stuff away if he refuses. I feel that maybe we should just lay off. She does not want me talking to the church about this.

My feeling is I DONT WANT THE KIDS IN THE CHURCH IF THEY ARE SO UNHAPPY ABOUT IT. PERIOD. I am sore no priest in this country wants unwilling people to join even if their parents do. This stepson has already thrown a few violent fits and at one point tried to hit his mother and I had to pull him off. He was a happy kid until this happened and he even has said he wished his mom was dead. He has threatened to go with his dad or grandparents if she continues. He told me either she lay off or someone will be hurt both physically and mentally. WE NEED ADVISE  

Are we obligated to force any kids to conversion? Someone at EWTN says WE ARE AT ALL COSTS. I dont buy it. But thewife feels the family should stick together.

Answer
Dear Jack,

I think it absolutely absurd to force any kids to conversion.
Conversion can be only a free personal choice.

I think parents should try to discuss with kids about religion issues, try to understand the reasons why they refuse to believe and try to convince them.
Anyway parents must avoid to insist too much, and try to discuss these issues only when the kids are interested to do so.

Your brother in Christ,

Marco.

PS I think that faith cannot come only from logic, because to have faith in God means to trust and love God.
I think however that logics and science prove the existence of our soul and the existence of  God and that there are many rational arguments strongly supporting the christian faith.
The explanation of these aguments is rather long and Allexperts allows only to give short answers. You can find such arguments  in the following site

http://xoomer.alice.it/fedeescienza/englishnf.html

where  I analyse the incongruencies of the materialistic conception of the mind, on the basis of our present scientific knowledges about brain and matter.
This analysis points out how the laws of physics  prove that the   brain cannot generate consciousness, which existence implies  the presence in man of a unbiological/unmaterial element. The problem of consciousness is then strictly connected to the one of the existence of the soul and, consequently, the existence of God.
In the first article entitled “Mind and brain...” you can find a general discussion of the mind and brain problem from a scientific point of view.
In the second article entitled “Scientific contraddictions in materialism”
you  can find an explanation of the fundamental inconsistencies of  the  typical arguments used by materialists, such as the concept of emergent, macroscopic or holist property, complexity, information, etc.
In the section called “FAQ: answers to  visitors' questions” you can find the answer to many typical questions, such as "Are there any scientifically proved miracles?", "Does the existence of the universe imply the existence of God?", "Can science explain God?", "Can science establish which is the true religion?", "Can science explain consciousness in the future?", and many others.