Catholic Answers to Protestant Questions

[Abiding_in_Love]

I just posted this to my blog. I hope that you (if you’re a Protestant reading this) or your Protestant friends and family find this helpful!

catholicverve.wordpress.com/2016/06/24/catholic-answers-to-protestant-questions/

 

[RPRPsych]

Excellent work!

However, if I may play Devil’s Advocate (it comes from being asked to be a proofreader, peer reviewer and examiner so often; sometimes my job is no fun at all… ), I’m a little concerned about the link to Fish Eaters.

Now, I have nothing against them personally, and I’m sure the folks who run that site are good, orthodox Catholics. A lot of the material on that site is certainly very good and spiritually enriching. However…

1. they do have a rather contemptuous attitude towards anything dated post 1962 A.D:

fisheaters.com/modernist2catholicdictionary.html

1. they link to the SSPX’s site (again, I have nothing against the SSPX, as did Popes Francis and Benedict; I am simply pointing out that a Protestant seeker may find the SSPX issue confusing)

sspxasia.com/Documents/Archbishop-Lefebvre/OpenLetterToConfusedCatholics/index.htm

1. they have a somewhat unhelpful view of what our relationship with the Jews and Judaism should be. This extends to recommending a book by a controversial psychologist, Kevin B. MacDonald:

fisheaters.com/jcintro.html

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_B._MacDonald (yes, I know Wikipedia isn’t a good source, but there are useful links there)

Is there any other site you could link to or recommend which would circumvent these problems?

 

[Vic_Taltrees_UK]

• It’s good to be wary of Judaising per se in Church proceedings
• All nations’ cultures, philosophies and economic enterprises have to a considerable extent done what MacDonald describes the Jews doing - Chinese, Americans, Dutch, English, Scots, Irish, Italians, Spaniards, you name it. (Not to mention that almost all nations have considerable Jewish admixture in our blood anyway, and the Jews likewise that of all other nations.)
• re traditions, I would additionally recommend Mt 28 where the making of disciples involves instructing in all that Jesus spent instructing His disciples in for 3 years, specifically in order that it be passed on (tradition = giving across). The New Testament can be zipped through in a few days and the Old in a couple of weeks, but not all that Jesus taught.
• re works and faith, I recently posted this and have also posted similarly on occasion:

quote

As regards faith and works. God doesn’t regard our prior works as deciding His willingness for us to be regenerated and for Jesus to come and indwell in us and for His Holy Spirit to start filling us for power for living out the fruits of the Spirit. (He has of course been working in us to lead us to this point as well.) This Catholics share with Protestants but it is commonly the Catholics that don’t explain it well or disbelieve it.

Where works come in is that He is henceforth looking for the talents to be traded profitably, for us to gain our crown by helping others gain a crown, to bring forward others’ spiritual gifts like the disciples brought forward the boy with the loaves and the fishes, to be keen that our fellow Christians (the widows and orphans) should be fed with Scriptures and supplications be made for their fruitfulness as well as the concretes in their lives. (There are many overlapping lists of gifts of the Holy Spirit in both Old and New Testaments as well as a list of the Fruits.) Sadly a lot of both Protestants and Catholics are confused about all this in my observation.

“Egg each other on to good works” and foremost to join in intercessions.

unquote

forums.catholic-questions.org/showpost.php?p=13995191&postcount=7

Praying being the main work of Christians because it shows God we care - that is what He will come looking for when He returns from the far country where He is. Faith and works go hand in hand with the gifts and fruits. The idea of catechumenate and ongoing conversion of heart and life and the relative variations in prior good conditioning in individuals’ lives come in in the context of these topics.

I think a blog like yours should take the plunge and steel Protestants to become bold explorers. 2016 is no time to be spoon feeding. Their discretion and initiative are developed by exercising. It is better to insert disclaimers stating your own nuancing of the Fish Eaters site statements regarding those points mentioned by RPRP (and to add additional links) than to risk stopping our dear Protestant enquirers meeting 80% baby for the sake of 20% bathwater.

Many Bible Christians secretly long to know more people with thirst for Scriptures beyond their existing community.

 

[RPRPsych]

• It’s good to be wary of Judaising per se in Church proceedings

This is absolutely correct. But if we read the Pauline Epistles, Saint Paul comes down strongly on Christians with Judaizing tendencies. He had more than sufficient cause to feel rancor against his former brethren, but he was respectful and even hopeful about them (Romans 11). My concern with Fish Eaters was not their criticism of Judaizing tendencies in Catholics (which I share - I have no truck with “Dual Covenant Theology”, as espoused by some Evangelicals), but their dabbling in Jewish conspiracy theories, which neither Christ, nor Paul, nor the Church Fathers ever did. (In fact, there is a Papal document from the Middle Ages which scoffs at the entire “Jews sacrificing Christian children” canard and debunks it.)

• All nations’ cultures, philosophies and economic enterprises have to a considerable extent done what MacDonald describes the Jews doing - Chinese, Americans, Dutch, English, Scots, Irish, Italians, Spaniards, you name it. (Not to mention that almost all nations have considerable Jewish admixture in our blood anyway, and the Jews likewise that of all other nations.)

Exactly. (Besides, if we subscribe to the official Church position of monogenism, we all have a common descent. )

• re traditions, I would additionally recommend Mt 28 where the making of disciples involves instructing in all that Jesus spent instructing His disciples in for 3 years, specifically in order that it be passed on (tradition = giving across). The New Testament can be zipped through in a few days and the Old in a couple of weeks, but not all that Jesus taught.

• re works and faith, I recently posted this and have also posted similarly on occasion:

Agreed fully. Works are the fruit of the grace we receive from God, not the condition for receiving grace. Where they “count” is that they reflect our disposition towards, and cooperation with, the grace we have received.

I think a blog like yours should take the plunge and steel Protestants to become bold explorers. 2016 is no time to be spoon feeding. Their discretion and initiative are developed by exercising. It is better to insert disclaimers stating your own nuancing of the Fish Eaters site statements regarding those points mentioned by RPRP (and to add additional links) than to risk stopping our dear Protestant enquirers meeting 80% baby for the sake of 20% bathwater.

Many Bible Christians secretly long to know more people with thirst for Scriptures beyond their existing community.

Well said! (Again, I have no personal animus towards Fish Eaters or the SSPX; as I have said, there is much profitable and authentic Catholic material available on their sites.)

 

[Abiding_in_Love]

Trust me, as a regular poster on Fish Eaters, there is nothing to be concerned about. You may see certain viewpoints you disagree with among the posters (sedevacantists, although these are rare, and sede discussions are only allowed in one subforum, SSPX supporters, etc). It’s a place for people who attend diocesan, indult, FSSP, ICK, etc Masses, all within diocesan borders, who believe Francis is the Pope, etc. If other people have other opinions or worship outside of diocesan structures, they are allowed to post and are treated hospitably, just like various groups are on this forum. As for a “contemptuous” attitude to anything after 1962, this isn’t the case. These are people who are often desperate to simply worship the way Catholics worshipped for many, many years and are not able to attend the Mass they prefer because it’s not offered anywhere near their location (which is my case, currently). They’re people who are trying to raise many children in the Faith and keep it instilled with them among clergy who want to tell the world that there are many salvific paths or other errors. They are simply trying to be Catholics. And the people I have met on Fish Eaters are among the most holy, orthodox, and devout I have ever met.

 

[RPRPsych]

Trust me, as a regular poster on Fish Eaters, there is nothing to be concerned about. You may see certain viewpoints you disagree with among the posters (sedevacantists, although these are rare, and sede discussions are only allowed in one subforum, SSPX supporters, etc). It’s a place for people who attend diocesan, indult, FSSP, ICK, etc Masses, all within diocesan borders, who believe Francis is the Pope, etc. If other people have other opinions or worship outside of diocesan structures, they are allowed to post and are treated hospitably, just like various groups are on this forum. As for a “contemptuous” attitude to anything after 1962, this isn’t the case. These are people who are often desperate to simply worship the way Catholics worshipped for many, many years and are not able to attend the Mass they prefer because it’s not offered anywhere near their location (which is my case, currently). They’re people who are trying to raise many children in the Faith and keep it instilled with them among clergy who want to tell the world that there are many salvific paths or other errors. They are simply trying to be Catholics. And the people I have met on Fish Eaters are among the most holy, orthodox, and devout I have ever met.

Fair enough, you clearly know more about the situation than us and have a handle on it. Again, great blog post!

 

[Abiding_in_Love]

Fair enough, you clearly know more about the situation than us and have a handle on it. Again, great blog post!

I appreciate your understanding. The owner of Fish Eaters is a great person and I feel the need to defend her and her website when she is being misunderstood. Thank you very much!