Sometimes apologists make it seem like there are easy, pat answers when there really are not. Protestants, cafe Catholics, and others have a radically different philosophy, view of history, and perception of the Church, so arguments that convince us Catholics won’t necessarily convince them.
After spending a lot of time on this forum, I have come to the conclusion that the vast amount of argument that goes on on here is useless, counterproductive, or sinful. I think this forum can be useful for passing on information, but as far as getting involved in protracted arguments with either cafe Catholics or Protestants, it’s a waste of time IMO, and I won’t do it anymore. The faith is meant to be lived, not to be argued about. We are far more likely to have an impact on the lives of our friends, family members, and cohorts than we are to have an impact on the lives of anonymous posters here.
Still, we as Catholics have a obligation to know our faith and to give a reason for our hope, as St Peter says. We can do that as charitably as possible without getting into heated arguments which in the long run do more damage than good.
As far as Mark Shea, he’s one of my favorite apologists. His books By What Authority and Making Senses of Scripture are great. He also has a wonderful article about Mary in Crisis Magazine, and I heard he has a book about Marian devotion coming out soon.
mark-shea.com/mother.html
