Your friend may belong to one of the more fundamental Christian faiths that think one must accept their version of Christianity in order to be saved in the hereafter. With that in mind, here is the way I handle this sort of thing:
1. I try to remind myself that my friend is not doing this in order to be a pain in my ass. Rather, he honestly thinks he is doing something in my best interests. That helps me curb the urge to punch him in the mouth.
2. I tell him I am not interested, but thanks for the invite. Period. I offer no explanations, no rationalizations, and no excuses of having somewhere else to be. If he presses for details, I tell him that is a private matter and I do not wish to discuss it with him.
3. If he insists on continuing this type of behavior, then I tell him that I expect him to respect my right to my own beliefs, just as I respect his right to hold whatever beliefs his heart tells him is true. And if he cannot respect my rights as I respect his, then we don't need to hang out. |