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The objective of a Christian when dealing with anyone who has left the Christian faith is to win him back. Winning arguments, scoring points, even just making a good point, is never the objective. You may need to stand on principle occasionally, but those times are going to be few and far between, if ever. Not nearly as often as many people think. Standing on principle means refusing to engage in seances, for instance. There is no principle that says: “Everyone who comes to my house needs to be reminded every ten minutes that I’m a Christian.” Or: “I am obligated to dispute and disprove every statement I hear that is incompatible with my faith.”

I don’t believe that straying Christians are often won back to the faith by their relatives’ making a display of anxiety about eternal damnation. “A God who is just itching to send me to hell-—a religion that is making my family miserable with anxiety-—Oh, boy! That’s attractive!”

Pray for her faithfully. Do not remind her you are praying for her. If you are, she will know. Telling her you are praying for her will undo the benefit of lots of prayers.

The most powerful incentive for anyone to return to the truth is when his life is not working. If your life IS working, she will see the difference. Let her ask questions and share her doubts. If she has become confident that doing so will NEVER occasion a dispute or a lecture, she will do it. The safer and more peaceful your home is, in every possible way, the more you are succeeding.