Anti-Protestant bigotry has become too much here.

[Chancellare]

When I first cam to this forum, Non-Catholic religions was an interesting and fun place to be. I wasn’t here to convert anyone but to clear up misconceptions about protestants and I have always been willing to have my own misconceptions about Catholics cleared up. This used to result in lively interesting conversations that not only helped me learn to defend my faith but spurred on my own study of Scripture. To all of you who were in those conversations (Like Lak and MariaG and the protestants like AllForHim (sorry I didn’t name everyone)), I will miss you guys and for you I won’t delete. I’ll poke in now and then to check PMs.

Lately, it has been none of that. The forum has become, instead, a place for Catholics to put down people who are not Catholic and be rude. Therefore I have no reason to believe there is any point to continuing here while this is the way things are going to be. It is with a sad heart I leave.

I believe vindication would be clearer in your favor if you mention examples of “put-downs” or rudeness that made you conclude as such.

For example I would feel put-down if somebody calls CC “the Whore of Babylon”.

 

[Mannyfit75]

I too will miss reading your threads. Do not let other Catholics discourage. You are always welcome. This is a discussion forum, and we are here to see what we have in common ground.

I shall keep you in my prayers tonight. I shall say a Rosary for You, and the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

 

[evelynicholson]

It’s sad to see some of the responses eg tu quoques

There are some people who have no idea how to debate in a friendly way with words, who cannot agree to disagree. I was brought up a Protestant and was inexorably drawn to the Catholic Church but kindness and Charity are not only there in the Catholic Church. I recently posted on the ‘Will the Church be persecuted now’ on the Moral Theology site, explaining problems we are having here the the Uk and ventured to say we have to see the face of Christ in everyone even if we don;t like what they do,that cruelty is always wrong . I was accused by a few other Catholics of Whose side was I on? Stop p[laying word gamesobviously by a very angry young man I am not an overly sensitive person, but I was upset to be slapped down by someone like this, when I was actually defending the Church’s teaching. I think some people have more skills at debate, but it was really nasty and patronising and I thought about leaving myself.*Where charity and love are there is God and these nasty people spew hatred and cruelty .We form a community here and we should, at least love each other and try to get them to leave, if they can’t behave and thing about how they treat people. I really felt upset by it last night.

Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.
Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor.
Ne nos mente dividamur caveamus.
Cessent jurgia maligna, cessent lites.
Et in medio nostri sit Christus Deus.
Maundy Thursday liturgy) Where kindness and Love are, there is God.The Love of Christ brings us together in one…Let us take heed not to be divided in mind. Let there be an end to bitterness and quarrels, an end to strife. And in our midst be Christ our Lord . Amen

 

[jack_hawkins]

There are some people who have no idea how to debate in a friendly way with words, who cannot agree to disagree. I was brought up a Protestant and was inexorably drawn to the Catholic Church but kindness and Charity are not only there in the Catholic Church. I recently posted on the ‘Will the Church be persecuted now’ on the Moral Theology site, explaining problems we are having here the the Uk and ventured to say we have to see the face of Christ in everyone even if we don;t like what they do,that cruelty is always wrong . I was accused by a few other Catholics of Whose side was I on? Stop p[laying word gamesobviuously by a very angry young man I am not an overly sensitive person, but I was upset to be slapped down by someone like this, when I was defnding the Church’s teaching. I think some people have more skillsthan this, but it was really nasty and I have thought about leaving myself.*

Where charity and love are there is God and these nasty people spew hatred and cruelty .We form a community here and we should, at least love each other. I really felt upset by it last night.It’s disturbing isn’t it, to see how some people are doing the verbal equivalent of cutting off the High Priest’s servant’s ear, and can’t see what’s wrong with that!?
Sadly some people forget there is a person behind the screen-name.

 

[evelynicholson]

It’s disturbing isn’t it, to see how some people are doing the verbal equivalent of cutting off the High Priest’s servant’s ear, and can’t see what’s wrong with that!?
Sadly some people forget there is a person behind the screen-name.

Yes Jack, it really is very sad. Atleast we are sustained by the Holy Spirit and can be gentle with people.

 

[Scottgun]

firstly, you’re misquoting
secondly, you’re being wilfully blind IMO

It’s a straight cut-and-paste. How can it be a misquote? It’s not the whole quote I’ll grant, but the erroneous part.

Willifully blind? Evidence? Where can I get a magic 8-ball into the heart that you seem to posses? I freely accept that there are rude people on the forums (that doesn’t make them anti-Protestant btw, but I’ll save that for a debate about what that is). I am also the first to jump on Catholics who throw around the term ‘anti-Catholic’ too freely.

The whole point of my post is however badly treated she was, **(And I freely grant and believe her when she says that she was) **It does not justify making sweeping pronouncements on the whole forum Catholic population. She may not have meant that, but that is how it comes off. Being mindful of what we say is a two-way street.

 

[jack_hawkins]

It’s a straight cut-and-paste. How can it be a misquote? It’s not the whole quote I’ll grant, but the erroneous part.

Willifully blind? Evidence? Where can I get a magic 8-ball into the heart that you seem to posses? I freely accept that there are rude people on the forums (that doesn’t make them anti-Protestant btw, but I’ll save that for a debate about what that is). I am also the first to jump on Catholics who throw around the term ‘anti-Catholic’ too freely.

The whole point of my post is however badly treated she was, **(And I freely grant and believe her when she says that she was) **It does not justify making sweeping pronouncements on the whole forum Catholic population. She may not have meant that, but that is how it comes off. Being mindful of what we say is a two-way street.

the comment was never made about all of the fora, as you were stating
jumping on the complainer is not very charitable, and only adds fuel to the fire. try being a bit less defensive

 

[Scottgun]

the comment was never made about all of the fora, as you were stating
jumping on the complainer is not very charitable, and only adds fuel to the fire. try being a bit less defensive

Well, seeing as how the responses are largely about characterizing me, as opposed to interacting with my point, I guess I will have to let it pass. Peace.

 

[adrift]

the comment was never made about all of the fora, as you were stating
jumping on the complainer is not very charitable, and only adds fuel to the fire. try being a bit less defensive

The forum has become, instead, a place for Catholics to put down people who are not Catholic and be rude.

From reading her post I felt it meant the entire forum.
I don’t think he jumped on the OP. He merely raised legitimate questions. I have not read the OP’s other threads until this one and then I read a few and I could not understand this thread. There are a few who are rude and obnoxious. Some people attack the person instead of discussing the idea. Some see a disagreement with the idea as an attack on them. I ignore the attack ( not successfully sometimes) and try to answer as if there are no attacks. It would serve us better to know what was offensive. We might not even know we were offending.

 

[happygal]

As a protestant, i understand where Syele was coming along so far. I’m someone who ignore impolite pple very easily. But then again, some Catholic replies can be alittle too much to bear. Its not becoz there áren’t talking about the facts , but becoz they simply do not know how to deal with pple tactfully. Incorrect word uses to construct a sentense can spur a misunderstanding. Although many of us tends to speak (in this case is “reply”) what’s on our mind . But it is always good to think before you reply.

 

[jack_hawkins]

Well, seeing as how the responses are largely about characterizing me, as opposed to interacting with my point, I guess I will have to let it pass. Peace.

“interacting with my point”
I’ll let that pass

 

[thechrismyster]

just remember where you are.
an internet forum. a nameless, unaccountable world where truth is perceived and never true.

There are people on this board who are pretending to be Catholic, are Christian, pretending not to be, non-Catholic who are trying to smear Catholicism, Catholics who are poorly educated and ignorant of basic guidlines of human interaction and decency. The list of reasons why not to take too much to heart here goes on and on…

Never let the critics get to you. the man who steps into the arena to fight is always the winner, regardless of outcome.

Don’t take this place too seriously. it is, in the end… an internet forum.

 

[a_priori]

Don’t take this place too seriously. it is, in the end… an internet forum.

Very well said. I would also add don’t take yourself too seriously either.

 

[Wampa]

I can completely understand why Syele feels this way. She did overstate her impression, due to frustration, no doubt. She made a sweeping generalization. I think what she’s getting at is that, while of course there’s great and not-so-great posters (as in everything in life), the balance has tipped towards the bad, in her assessment.

Regardless, this is her opinion. It’s not a true or false statement. It’s the summation of her experiences here. Based on my reading, I agree with her. In fact, I’ve also been considering leaving due to it. Not that I can’t deal with it and ignore people, but it’s more along the lines of “we all only have so many hours in a day”. Is this the best way for us to spend our time? If we’re having uncharitable, unfruitful conversations, couldn’t those hours better be spent with our families or on other things of more significance? I guess that’s were I’m at. We each make our own decision on that and I can’t fault her for her decision.

BTW, since people want examples, I’ll give one:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=141315

The majority of the thread illustrates her point. If you want a concise example, read my posts #262 and #290.

 

[Church_Militant]

I just read through all the posts on this thread and I have some thoughts.

It has been my experience that there are rude people on just about every forum that has any substantial traffic. It comes with the internet.

We seem to have forgotten something that baby boomers heard often as kids.

“There are two things that you do not discuss in polite company. Politics and religion.”

Some people can’t handle it and would be better off following the above advice.

The NCR and Apologetics forums here at CAF are to a large extent debate forums and the moment you forget that is the very instant that it will come up and bark loudly and rudely in your face. Granted it is a religious forum and I believe that the Mods work hard to keep the foolishness down to a minimum, but by the same token, if someone sees a bad post and doesn’t use the Bad Post Report system (http://forums.catholic-questions.org/images/buttons_cak/report.gif) to alert the Mods, then complains that these forums are unfriendly, bigoted, or whatever then I have a problem being all that sympathetic. There are a whole host of stickies as well as the Forum Rules which are there to guide members as to what is acceptable and what is not and how to deal with things that are not. I wonder just how many of us have actually read these stickies like we are supposed to. In fact…we agreed to abide by them when we joined here at CAF…not knowing them seems unwise, y’know.

One thing that I seek to do in my debate posts is to stick to facts and logic, which are the things that are tangible and concrete. I rarely ever use the word heresy, but I’m not at all shy of the words error, errant, interpretation, rhetoric, propaganda, and such because they very often are accurate adjectives to describe points in the discussion/debate. That doesn’t mean the other guy is an idiot, it may just mean that he’s believed everything that some folks have taught him with a Bible in their hand. That I can understand because I’ve been there and done that, and lived to learn the error of those ways.

Frankly, I think that anyone who enters any internet forum expecting it to be all sweetness and light is in for getting their feelings hurt in short order, and even more so on any forum that specifies itself as a religious one. religious people can be some of the most self righteous and rude, nasty people I have ever interacted with online and I have made a personal goal of mine to endeavor to explain and defend my Catholic faith while avoiding that kind of posting. I’ve been on the receiving end a few times and it takes a great deal of self discipline not to respond in kind and I have those days when I offer an Act of Contrition for what I said to the screen that (by the Grace of God) didn’t convey to my keyboard, but I never want to drop to that lowest common denominator because I don’t see Jesus there.

That said, those who have seen me in debate know that I’m just like a K-mart radio… I don’t play, but hot as a debate may get, the facts are what is important, and the rest is in the hands of the Holy Spirit. The most capable apologist of all.
Pax domini sit semper vobiscum.

 

[kell0618]

Just my two cents…

I feel your frustration and I’m sorry. As mentioned, please keep in mind that this is an online forum. People are not necessarily as guarded as they would be in a face to face communication on the internet. Please realize that people have a way of attacking other people, irregardless of religious affiliation. I have been attacked by fellow ‘Catholics’ on various online forums, including this one.

My suggestion to you would be to just take a little break for as long as you need. Resist the temptation to check in for a week or so and renew your ‘batteries’. That method has saved my sanity time and again on other forums. Remember, those who attack you are hiding behind a computer screen and keyboard and would not behave that way if they were in the room with you. Anonymity is not necessarily a good thing.

God bless you,

Kelly

 

[Enoch]

I can completely understand why Syele feels this way. She did overstate her impression, due to frustration, no doubt. She made a sweeping generalization. I think what she’s getting at is that, while of course there’s great and not-so-great posters (as in everything in life), the balance has tipped towards the bad, in her assessment.

Regardless, this is her opinion. It’s not a true or false statement. It’s the summation of her experiences here. Based on my reading, I agree with her. In fact, I’ve also been considering leaving due to it. Not that I can’t deal with it and ignore people, but it’s more along the lines of “we all only have so many hours in a day”. Is this the best way for us to spend our time? If we’re having uncharitable, unfruitful conversations, couldn’t those hours better be spent with our families or on other things of more significance? I guess that’s were I’m at. We each make our own decision on that and I can’t fault her for her decision.

BTW, since people want examples, I’ll give one:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=141315

The majority of the thread illustrates her point. If you want a concise example, read my posts #262 and #290.

Based on what I’ve read, some of the most uncharitable and unchristian comments have come from YOU! #207
forums.catholic-questions.org/showpost.php?p=2050764&postcount=207

Perhaps it’s best you left the forums.

 

[Syele]

Based on what I’ve read, some of the most uncharitable and unchristian comments have come from YOU! #207
forums.catholic-questions.org/showpost.php?p=2050764&postcount=207

Perhaps it’s best you left the forums.

I don’t get it, why top a year old thread to questions someone who left the forums 4 months ago?

 

[Hisalone]

I don’t get it, why top a year old thread to questions someone who left the forums 4 months ago?

Talk about piling on!

 

[kalt]

When I first cam to this forum, Non-Catholic religions was an interesting and fun place to be. I wasn’t here to convert anyone but to clear up misconceptions about protestants and I have always been willing to have my own misconceptions about Catholics cleared up. This used to result in lively interesting conversations that not only helped me learn to defend my faith but spurred on my own study of Scripture. To all of you who were in those conversations (Like Lak and MariaG and the protestants like AllForHim (sorry I didn’t name everyone)), I will miss you guys and for you I won’t delete. I’ll poke in now and then to check PMs.

Lately, it has been none of that. The forum has become, instead, a place for Catholics to put down people who are not Catholic and be rude. Therefore I have no reason to believe there is any point to continuing here while this is the way things are going to be. It is with a sad heart I leave.

I’m new here, so I don’t know the history. I have to say, though, that the invective comes from both sides. Neither is innocent. I’ve seen horrible statements posted here.

Why are you all picking on each other? I posted that I don’t believe in the apparitions of Mary (I’m Catholic), and I was treated like I was doing something wrong! I didn’t bother to respond. Not worth it. So, Protestants, don’t feel bad. Catholics are bashed here when they don’t follow someones elses idea of what people should believe, too. Ridiculous.