[Mempho]

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Ok, so let's assume the following: you're a devout Christian, married, with one teenage child. And, free will exists.

Now...

You've raised your child in a Christian environment. Not an overwhelming one, but a good one nonetheless. You, your spouse and child have attended mass each Sunday for the past decade or more, and maybe there was a Bible study session or Sunday school every here and there.

Your sixteen year old child comes home from school one day with disturbing news: he has been thinking a lot lately, and has decided that he doesn't believe in Jesus, Heaven, Hell, or God.

You sit down and talk with him for a few hours, but unfortunately, the two of you seem to run into a logical wall. Your child is unconvinced, and furthermore expresses that he would no longer wish to go to Church with you and your spouse.

Your child has free will. The same free will that allows some atheists to come from Christian homes, and Christians to come from atheist homes. If free will exists, then attempts to steer your child into or out of Christianity should be useless. Obviously you want your child to believe, but he is a human being and will, ultimately, make up his own mind regardless of what happens.

What do you do?

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You have to let the child do what he wants. You can only pray and wait...attempts at persuasion are useless at some point.