Are Catholics Chicken or Something?

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Somebody asked me this when I was an atheist.

My response was a confused “Saved from what?”.

I was not familiar with this type of talk. I thought they were talking about some kind of supermarket deal.

The talk ended about me going to hell.

That put me off religion for a long time.
 
People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.
 
Lee1 said:
Every time my priest dismisses me with the words “go and spread the Gospel of the Lord” I feel inadequate.
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Actually this is not a bad place to start. When we are weak, He is strong, so we can glory in our weaknesses. When we are aware of our inadequacy, we are more likely to trust in His.
Lee1 said:
I’d love to spread the gospel of the Lord but I would find it excruciatingly difficult.
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Everyone is called differently, and given different gifts.

" Now concerning spiritual gifts brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed… Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. …All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses…God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? (I. Cor.12)

What matters is that you open yourself to be moved by the Spirit through the gifts He has given you. As you move though life in the power of the Holy Spirit, your life will naturally evangelize.
 
In a lot of countries, a stranger approaching you wanting to talk means someone trying to scam you.

This type of cold call evangelization will be met with suspicion.

Having lived in Asia, this is very often the case.
 
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Catholics do not generally do this because even those who know the faith well do not know how to articulate the gospel message to others. In addition to this it is not a one time thing that ends with a sinner’s prayer as many street preachers. Once you even get the converesation started, if they end up believing and wanting, you then get to explain that they have to get baptized and in order to do that they need to take RCIA classes for the better part of a year.

That all said, we do need to do it when the time is right. We need to be open to the Holy Spirit and when we see people in need, suffering, etc., it may be that we are called to engage.

The power to convert people is in the message itself, not in the person who proclaims it. It is not on us to “convert” it is on us to be the conduit for the message. I recommend Jeff Cavin’s book, The Activated Disciple. It goes along with an 8 session course he teaches in Minneapolis. In it is a section on how to proclaim the gospel message to others, broken down into steps…
  1. God loves you and has a plan for your life.
  2. Sin destroys that plan.
  3. Jesus Christ died to save you.
  4. Repent and believe the gospel.
  5. Be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit
  6. Abide in Christ, and His body, the Church.
  7. Go make disciples.
 
Yes, that can be an act of mercy and brotherly charity.

This kind of ministry requires a willingness to suffer with Jesus. Its intimidating because it confronts people’s hearts.
 
Thank you, @guanophore! I’ve only ever been buttonholed twice like that by a stranger in a public place, and both times it was by Hare Krishnas. (Remember those? It was a long time ago!) However, those verses from the Epistles will be useful on another website where I get into conversation with Calvinists and other Evangelicals from time to time.
 
This forum right here is an opportunity for us to witness our faith in a way that is not going to impose on or be offputting to anyone. People are here reading and posting because they choose to be here, because they have an interest. And they don’t have to worry that a stranger coming up to them on the street is some nut who is going to start chastising them or hit them up for money.
 
I totally agree with that.
It’s a great opportunity for all of us and so often we can also help those who are temporarily feeling strained by the world too.

We are also not encumbered by distance or how we look etc, just our words to use as best we can.
 
A lot of people around you know that you are Catholic right?

If you conduct yourself well by practicing the virtues, being humble, and exhibiting the fruits of the Spirit, your life and how you live it will evangelize for you.

For a former atheist like me, it was the Christians who I observed who lived their lives with a quiet and humble holiness who drew me to the Church. They succeeded where a lot of street preachers did not.
 
I think that Catholics & Protestants have their own ways of approaching evangelization.

From my own experience as a former Protestant, Protestants tend to be more open - even “in-your-face” at times about it (even hellfire-&-brimstonish), while Catholics don’t necessarily approach people about it, being more about being a living witness of their faith.

Some Protestant apologists like Ravi Zacharias are more approachable, trying to dialogue with people in academia who might not otherwise hear about Christ in a way that they understand.
 
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While that may be good, the best answer is a personal expression of faith.

I wouldn’t reach for my phone to show an article. I’d convey my faith in Jesus.

Btw guanophore, I believe you would Express your faith awsome! You are perhaps my most appreciated Catholic CAF poster! 🙂
 
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On the general matter of evangelizing, I think this is one area where some evangelicals have it a lot easier. I follow a social media page of a guy who is a pretty devout Christian whose life was saved from addiction and depression by him turning to Christ. Since then he’s made significant efforts to witness and live his faith. He’s not Catholic.

Recently he made a post saying that so many people are held back spiritually because they don’t take the simple, easy step of just accepting Jesus as their personal savior and that’s all it takes (according to this guy)…“no religion necessary”, just accept Jesus, and probably also start reading the Bible on your own. He got lots of Amens from his followers, many of whom, not being Catholics, also have been posting disparaging things about the Church scandals, which they know about only from newspaper stories and “Spotlight” as they are mostly not Catholic so don’t know any of the background or the steps the Church has taken to address the problems.

As a Catholic, I can’t so easily witness for my Church without having to also explain you need a religion, you need to follow a fairly complex set of Church rules, and then there are all the thorny issues of scandals and “difficult” Church teachings that appear in the newspapers. It’s not just a case of “give your life to Jesus and read the Gospels.” It would be a much more complicated discussion.
 
I agree. But he is also right. Start with accepting the Gospel in your heart. What I dont agree with him, is saying that is not religion in itself! Lol

Believing in the Gospel and following it, IS religious.
 
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Yeah, I’m fine with his Jesus message. His audience is primarily stoners, bikers and musicians, many of them are very happy to give their lives to Jesus. But start telling them they need to attend Mass every Sunday, quit fornication and maybe lay down their joints and it would be a different story. I figure people should be encouraged to take the steps they can take.
 
Yes. And receiving Baptism is directly related to accepting Jesus.

Criticizing the rest of the Catholic faith is not. 🙂
 
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Capta(name removed by moderator)rudeman said:
One could easily say that the streetside form of evangelization is useless and not taken seriously in today’s world.
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One could easily say that direct sales is useless and not taken seriously in today’s world.

And yet, many make their living as salespeople… 😉

(Edited to add: and, if you want to put it in Wall-Street-ese, then I think the case can be made that their intent is more in line with a desire to follow Jesus’ command to go and do marketing (umm… I mean, go and make disciples), than it is in the success rate of the effort…)
 
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Sophie111 said:
This well intended nonsense could only make some sense in mid/south America perhaps?
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Right. 'Cause nowhere else in the world do people stand on streetcorners and pass out leaflets, or gather signatures for petitions, or ask people to consider a particular point of view. :roll_eyes:

I suspect that only when the topic is belief in Christianity does it get labeled “well intended nonsense”… 🤔
 
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