Disagreement = Anti-Catholic?

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Singinbeauty

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I have a question for everyone here…

So many times on this board and others along with real life experiences I have found that whenever someone disagrees with the catholic church and it’s teachings they are automatically labelled as ‘anti-catholic’.

WHY IS THIS?

Just because they disagree doesn’t mean they are ANTI anything. It just means that they disagree. I may not agree with the catholic church but does that mean I am ANTI them? No. I do not think you are evil or that you deserve Hell or anything. Or that you are stupid. So why does it have to be this way?
 
Hello,

I can only speak for myself and say that I have not labeled anyone as anti-Catholic unless they profess that they hate the Church, purposely spread lies about the Church, etc.

Disagreements, presented in a respectful way, are another thing all together.

God bless.
 
I have heard it explained like this…

If said person arrived in heaven and God said to them, “You were right, and the Catholics were wrong. My justice is sure, but my mercy is infinite. What would you have me do with them?”
The non-anti-Catholic would reply, “Yes, Lord, even now at this late hour, if there is any way for them to be spared, let it be done.”

The Anti-Catholic’s response would be different.

God Bless,
RyanL
 
well, Catholics can be defensive… much like other groups…
especially religious groups… i’m defensive, and i’ve only
been Catholic a while… lol ( but not that defensive. )

🙂
 
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ElizabethAnne:
Hello,

I can only speak for myself and say that I have not labeled anyone as anti-Catholic unless they profess that they hate the Church, purposely spread lies about the Church, etc.

Disagreements, presented in a respectful way, are another thing all together.

God bless.
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Same with me. In the times we are living where there is so little tolerance for Catholicism or religion in general and even a strong hatred, I feel called to speak out but never in a mean spirited way.
Joey(name removed by moderator)
 
That leads to the interesting question of “Just what is anti-Catholicism?” In my opinion, it goes beyond simple disagreements that are discussed rationally and charitable discourse that is carried on in a spirit of good will without name-calling and assigning motives. Beyond that, I’ve adapted this list I found elsewhere:

Anti-Catholic themes may be loosely categorized as follows:

!. Attacking Catholicism as being un-Christian or a cult (in the pejorative and not the sociological sense);
  1. Ridiculing, distorting, mischaracterizing or obstinately misinterpreting Catholic doctrine or practice;
  2. Ascribing to the Catholic Church a sinister role in an anti-Christian or anti-American conspiracy;
  3. Distorting or taking out of context illegal or scandalous behavior (especially sexual misconduct) by Catholic clergy or laity.
Often you hear the hollow claim, “Oh I love Catholics, I just don’t think the Catholic Church is Christian.” Or “I think that Catholics can be Christians, but if they are, they won’t hold any distinctive Catholic beliefs.” :rolleyes: This is a little more subtle, but still anti-Catholic.

Anti-Catholicism can also come in the form of “When did you stop beating your wife” type questions – where the person is pretending to ask a sincere question, while that question is loaded with anti-Catholic innuendo. Examples we see in these forums are “Why does the Catholic Church add traditions of men to the Bible?”, “Why do Catholics worship Mary (or the Pope)?”, or “Why do Catholics think they can work their way to heaven?”
 
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RyanL:
I have heard it explained like this…

If said person arrived in heaven and God said to them, “You were right, and the Catholics were wrong. My justice is sure, but my mercy is infinite. What would you have me do with them?”
The non-anti-Catholic would reply, “Yes, Lord, even now at this late hour, if there is any way for them to be spared, let it be done.”

The Anti-Catholic’s response would be different.

God Bless,
RyanL
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What a wonderful way to explain it!
In response to the OP, you must remember that it is very difficult to determine a person’s tone when reading a post on the internet. I believe that if one is asking a legitimate question about a doctrine of the Catholic Church it can be done in a respectful manner. However, if one asks a question that begins by asking us why we are not based in the Bible, when historically it is obvious that there would not be a bound book known as the Bible if the Holy Scripture had first not been gathered together and legitimized by what is known as the Catholic Church it could be construed as an anti-Catholic position…or, it could be construed as posted by someone who has been raised to believe traditional, Protestant anti-Catholic beliefs.

As an example - recently a Baptist friend of mine said to me, "I did like that John Paul II. Whenever he would say something I would say, “yes, that’s Biblical”.

I replied, “Well, of course it was Biblical. Catholics gave the Bible to the world”.

He was insulted. And yet, he could not understand why his original statement could be construed as anti-Catholic…

Can you?
 
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Singinbeauty:
I have a question for everyone here…

So many times on this board and others along with real life experiences I have found that whenever someone disagrees with the catholic church and it’s teachings they are automatically labelled as ‘anti-catholic’.

WHY IS THIS?

Just because they disagree doesn’t mean they are ANTI anything. It just means that they disagree. I may not agree with the catholic church but does that mean I am ANTI them? No. I do not think you are evil or that you deserve Hell or anything. Or that you are stupid. So why does it have to be this way?
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Well, for the record I don’t think that you are anti Catholic, at least not from the post that I remember reading that you wrote.😃

There are some extreme fundamentalists who do not think that anyone that does not follow their beliefs is not a Christian. Sadly, these are the most vocal Protestants that some Catholics hear. This can make a person very defensive.
 
Matthew 12:30 - “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.”

This is why many would consider anyone who disagrees to be anti-Catholic.
 
I think Fidelis hit the nail on the head.

For example, on another Christian board a woman was railing on her Catholic mother and her sympathizers were consoling her and telling her how if one could choose between atheist and Catholic, they would want the family member to be an atheist (these people were mostly Lutherans with a Calvinist bent).

Also, using words like Popery, Papist, Romish, and Romanism makes you anti-Catholic.
 
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Lazerlike42:
Matthew 12:30 - “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.”

This is why many would consider anyone who disagrees to be anti-Catholic.
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Mark 9:
38 John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.”
39 But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me.
40"For he who is not against us is for us.”

someone having christian beliefs, but disagreeing on detail,
i don’t look on as anti-Catholic… unless they prove otherwise.

🙂
 
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Lazerlike42:
Matthew 12:30 - “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.”

This is why many would consider anyone who disagrees to be anti-Catholic.
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Well, even that assumes the intention is to oppose or to disrupt the will of God in Christ’s endeavors to bring all men to the Father, yes? And that is what we are talking about here–intent, not honest inquiry by those who have never learned what is and isn’t authentic Catholic teaching. Those who come with the agenda to “prove those Catholics wrong” probably do fall under the designation of those who oppose and who want to disrupt God’s will, but even most of these don’t understand that’s what they’re doing. So, I think we should follow Jesus’ example on the cross and pray: “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
 
A lot of times, a person who does not “feel” anti-Catholic, will frame what ought to be a question in the form of an assault:

Where in the Bible does it say to pray to the Saints?

A genuine inquirer might say: I know that Catholics pray to the Saints but that seems to detract from the worship we owe to God. Why do you do that?

Anti-C: You Catholics worship graven images.

Inquirer: Catholics have statues in churches. How do you reconcile that with the commandment not to worship graven images?

Anti-C: Where in the Bible does it say to confess your sins to a mere man?

Inquirer: Are there biblical grounds for confession as practiced by Catholics? Why do you do confess to a priest instead of just confessing directly to God?
 
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Singinbeauty:
I have a question for everyone here…

So many times on this board and others along with real life experiences I have found that whenever someone disagrees with the catholic church and it’s teachings they are automatically labelled as ‘anti-catholic’.

WHY IS THIS?

Just because they disagree doesn’t mean they are ANTI anything. It just means that they disagree. I may not agree with the catholic church but does that mean I am ANTI them? No. I do not think you are evil or that you deserve Hell or anything. Or that you are stupid. So why does it have to be this way?
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Hi Singin-

I disagree with your premise that anyone who disagrees with the Catholic Church gets labeled by Catholics on this forum as “anti-Catholic”. Of course it may happen sometimes, but I think it is the exception rather than the rule. I think the term “non-Catholic” is more appropriate and more commonly used.
So, in answer to your question, it does not have to be that way and it generally isn’t.

Phil
 
Not that many years ago, I would have wondered the same thing myself. Then I had a very interesting experience…
I was visiting a relative’s Baptist church for her son’s baptism. After the service, the pastor came up to me, and said I should consider being baptized myself.
I told him that I am baptized, and he said, “Oh they:eek: don’t baptize people in the Methodist church. They just sprinkle a little water on people and call it a baptism.”

Bestsmileys.com I had just had a stick, I could havehttp://bestsmileys.com/hitting/2.gif…

I now have a lot more sympathy for Catholics.

Disclaimer: I would like to point out that I only felt that way; I am not defending whacking pastors or anybody else…(😉 except of course, that guy…).
 
I really don’t understand things at times. I’ve known people 20 or more years and don’t know what Religion they are and really don’t care Why is it, not only in this forum but others, everyone seems to know each others Religion. Have I been missing out on something with the people i know? Just to fit in here should I ask everyone I know their Religion? Nah bad idea, sooner or later one, or more, would calmly bounce me off a wall. I can even imagine the comments when others hear of it. “That’s Dan for ya’ a brave guy, stupid, but brave” Dan
 
In my eyes an anti-Catholic is one who professes to be Christian but believes that Catholics are not. Also, someone is anti-Catholic if after having been explained the Catholic thought on the issue continues to tell us what we believe instead of accepting what we believe when we tell them.

There aren’t many people that I consider ‘truly’ anti-Catholic (a lot I just consider ignorant and stubborn). Usually I only leave that group to people who know what the Church teaches yet continue to label us as “pagan” or “idolaters” (people who continue to bear false witness on their brothers & sisters and profess to be Christian), etc.

Civil disagreement is fine.
 
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Singinbeauty:
I have a question for everyone here…

So many times on this board and others along with real life experiences I have found that whenever someone disagrees with the catholic church and it’s teachings they are automatically labelled as ‘anti-catholic’.

WHY IS THIS?

Just because they disagree doesn’t mean they are ANTI anything. It just means that they disagree. I may not agree with the catholic church but does that mean I am ANTI them? No. I do not think you are evil or that you deserve Hell or anything. Or that you are stupid. So why does it have to be this way?
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We don’t call everyone who dissagrees with us “anti-catholics” Take yourself for example you said while you don’t agree with us. you don’t hate us or think we’re evil. which is your right and i accept that.
Then you have a anti catholic. which is someone who spew lies about the church or its followers or insult anyone who choose to belong to that faith

so a quick summary you have.
dissagreers = they are fine they are making a choice that is totaly up to them and i wish them all the luck in the world
and then you have anti catholics= lying insecure cry babies.
who deep down have a very strong feeling that we are right, And they haven’t the courage to follow.
Or they are just too pig headed to admit they were wrong.
 
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Singinbeauty:
I have a question for everyone here…

So many times on this board and others along with real life experiences I have found that whenever someone disagrees with the catholic church and its teachings they are automatically labelled as ‘anti-catholic’.

WHY IS THIS?

Just because they disagree doesn’t mean they are ANTI anything. It just means that they disagree. I may not agree with the catholic church but does that mean I am ANTI them? No. I do not think you are evil or that you deserve Hell or anything. Or that you are stupid. So why does it have to be this way?
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On the one hand, there is sheer force of habit and experience. Note that negative reinforcement has a stronger effect: when a Catholic meets an anti-Catholic, that has a stronger effect than meeting a non-hostile non-Catholic. Thus, the suspicion grows that any non- is actually anti-.

On the other hand, there is the fact that disagreeing with a viewpoint does involve rejecting the verity (truth/accuracy) of that position: you are not a Catholic because you believe that the Catholic belief is wrong. If you believed that it was right, you would be Catholic. Perhaps you only believe that it is wrong in some small particular, and perhaps many Catholics might actually agree with you regarding that particular, but the rejection is still a rejection.
 
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Singinbeauty:
I have a question for everyone here…

So many times on this board and others along with real life experiences I have found that whenever someone disagrees with the catholic church and it’s teachings they are automatically labelled as ‘anti-catholic’.

WHY IS THIS?
Click to expand...
I have been posting here for quite awhile and I don’t see it the same way. Actually, when I joined these forums I wasn’t even Catholic yet and was very sensitive to posts that may have been negative towards non-Catholics.

For the most part these forums are very open to discussion/debate without resorting to rudeness and namecalling… but I do stay out of any political discussions, lol.😉

If someone has called you anti-Catholic and you didn’t deserve it, I am sorry. Just know that most of us (as shown by this thread) do not feel that way about people who disagree with our religion.

Malia
 
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