Ever Just Get Tired Of Debating Topics Here?

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At_Trent said:
I don’t see myself leaving CA, but I’m just losing interest in debating/arguing the same topics over and over.

I suppose others get tired of it too, as some of the regulars are seldom seen posting here lately.

Is it like everything else, you just get tired or need a break ?
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Tired and, at times, disillusioned. I could go anywhere on the internet if I what I wanted was an example of a lack of charity.

:sad_yes:
 
At_Trent said:
I don’t see myself leaving CA, but I’m just losing interest in debating/arguing the same topics over and over.

I suppose others get tired of it too, as some of the regulars are seldom seen posting here lately.

Is it like everything else, you just get tired or need a break ?
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Originally I was very frustrated because I was trying to learn the faith. And I would get some responses on posts that were more opinion but stated like fact…such as COTT vs CITH. I know…people have very strong opinions on them but it can lead some people astray or to be confused.

Also…when you are new or searching…most people don’t know what a traditional Catholic is. It’s interesting to me on this forum because people will say…why are you here? But they can’t agree on what a liberal Catholic would be… I myself am not sure where I would fall. I agree with the Catholic churches teaching…just not some of the opinions of those here regarding areas that the Church allows.

But, aren’t we here to learn? Or is it just supposed to be a big love fest…?
 
archangel04 said:
Two things
  1. Tired of the same people who will diagree with us on everything, just gets old so for all I care they can win the debate if it makes them feel better.
  2. People who don’t like to use the search button up on the top of the page. Not sure why, but the same topics always comes up, just use the search button!
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I get fed up with some of the debates mainly for the first reason. There seem to be some contributors who post messages for the sake of an arguement or just to be contentious, rather than to help the debate. Many people post threads because they want to find out about something or try top resolve an issue, but certain contributors get involved and seem to turn it sour, turning it into an argument, or disagreeing just for the sake of it.
 
Annabelle_Marie said:
Originally I was very frustrated because I was trying to learn the faith. And I would get some responses on posts that were more opinion but stated like fact…such as COTT vs CITH. I know…people have very strong opinions on them but it can lead some people astray or to be confused.

Also…when you are new or searching…most people don’t know what a traditional Catholic is. It’s interesting to me on this forum because people will say…why are you here? But they can’t agree on what a liberal Catholic would be… I myself am not sure where I would fall. I agree with the Catholic churches teaching…just not some of the opinions of those here regarding areas that the Church allows.

But, aren’t we here to learn? Or is it just supposed to be a big love fest…?
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I think that what we’re all saying is that we’re getting tired of arguing over the same points. People can just use the search and find the older threads on these points. It’s not that we want to deprive anyone of learning. For love of God, by all means, we should all keep learning.

When I was in graduate school we had the most wonderful discussion or debates. But none of us were trying to win. Our theology professors would throw something on the table and we had to state a hypothesis, then defend it. Everyone had to listen to your defense. Then they could ask questions.

Here was the fun part. You had to use the Socratic method. If you disagreed, you could not disagree with an assertion. You had to express your disagreement with a question that would lead the speaker to see the issue from a different perspective. It sounds more complicated than what it is. Rules for debating are always compllicted. But once you got into it, it was fun, helpful and the best part was that we gradually learned orthodox theology.

There was a brilliant Cardinal from Bavaria who directed a short course for us, two weeks, on Historial Theology. He would lead you to truth by asking you questions. Every statement that you made, with which he disagreed, he would answer with a simple question such as: “If A = B and B = C then sometimes A = C right?” The trap door was the word “sometimes”. He used questions to reflect what you were saying, instead of debating with you.

I heard he later went on to become pope. Nice man, very shy, and hated debates.

I think that what many of us are feeling is that many of these debates have lost the fun. They are bloody. Some people make it about winning, not about teasing the other person’s mind to reason his way to truth or teaching the other person how to love truth enough to want to find it.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
Well, i mentioned this forum to my parish priest and he told me directly that it is important for all catholics to know when the limit is reached or like he said:
  • It is not a good idea to act or behave more holy than the Pope himself!
He is of course right and we should have had in mind when it gets really hot and sour.
 
Padraig1972 said:
Well, i mentioned this forum to my parish priest and he told me directly that it is important for all catholics to know when the limit is reached or like he said:
  • It is not a good idea to act or behave more holy than the Pope himself!
He is of course right and we should have had in mind when it gets really hot and sour.
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I like your pastor. 👍

Wisdom is always so simple, isn’t it? :yup:

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
JReducation said:
I think that what we’re all saying is that we’re getting tired of arguing over the same points. People can just use the search and find the older threads on these points. It’s not that we want to deprive anyone of learning. For love of God, by all means, we should all keep learning.

I think that what many of us are feeling is that many of these debates have lost the fun. They are bloody. Some people make it about winning, not about teasing the other person’s mind to reason his way to truth or teaching the other person how to love truth enough to want to find it.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
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Bloody is right. I’ve been taken to task for responding to a post in the forumn just because I’ve said that I find my parish’s OF Mass to be very reverent.🤷
 
JReducation said:
Bold is mine.

This has always been one of my fears too. If I were courting a girl and everytime I met her family they were fighting, I would feel very uncomfortable and unsure about joining that family.

When a non Catholic sees Catholics going on and on about everything that the Catholic Church has done wrong and everything that the popes have not said, not done, should have done, should not have done and the literature tells me that Catholics acknowledge papal authority, even when he does not speak infallibly, it’s a very confusing picture. It raises real questions. Do these people really respect and love this man as their leader or is this just lip service that looks good in print, but is not practiced? I think it must be even more confusing when the pope comes to town and all the Catholics go “gaga” after ranting about everything he’s done wrong. We must look as if we’re one clown short of a circus.
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To start with, I doubt the same people who question the Pope´s decisions go “gaga” when he visits their country. Those who go “gaga” are most likely the “popolaters”, those who believe the Pope is some kind of demi-god, who is infallible in his every decision and his every word. Allow me to direct you to the quote in my signature. 😉
It would be nice to see Catholics say, “You know what? For all of our faults, Catholics are good people. Our clergy and religious do make great efforts to sort out the insanity of the world in which we live. Our laity are good parents and spouses. Like any other large family, we hve issues, but we have more strengths than weaknesses and more saints than sinners. I truly believe that this is true.”
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I see lay people, religious and clergy do amazing things for God and the Church, everyday. I’m in a very large archdiocese with about 300 priests and I don’t know how many deacons. We have about 100 religious brothers and about 200 religious sisters, at least one monastery of enclosed nuns and almost one million lay Catholics. The number of lose canons that I have seen during the nine-years that I’ve been here are four. Eccentrics, we have many. There are a few grumpies in there too. But when I stand back and look at the big picture, I see real human beings, with real human strengths and weaknesses.
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This is true. However, most people don´t debate stuff like who is the nicest priest they know. People debate issues that are controversial, which means that there is strong disagreement. For instance, when I read something about communion in the hand, it´s not just a matter of taste for me; it´s a big deal, and I can get worked up trying to explain why it shouldn´t be done. Of course, it´s better not to get worked up, to maintain my self-control. But if I didn´t care this would be a piece of cake, and I´d never get worked up.

When we talk about what´s wrong with the Church, it´s because we LOVE the Church. Let me give you a metaphore: when you grow up and begin to realize that your father is NOT a perfect, omniscient god, the more you love and respect him, the more his faults hurt you. The fact that you see his faults and sometimes try to point them out to him, does not mean that you reject him as your father. The catholics who recognize and oppose the Church´s many sins and who work for Her restoration are the ones who love Her most.
 
Annabelle_Marie said:
Bloody is right. I’ve been taken to task for responding to a post in the forumn just because I’ve said that I find my parish’s OF Mass to be very reverent.🤷
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Well, now, that is strange!

I have seen others taken to task for preferring the EF to the OF and called all sorts of names - thinking they are “holier than thou” being the most common. 🤷

Go figure…
 
Lormar said:
Well, now, that is strange!

I have seen others taken to task for preferring the EF to the OF and called all sorts of names - thinking they are “holier than thou” being the most common. 🤷

Go figure…
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You must not have been here long. Many times those who prefer the OF are decried as “modernists.” But history has shown that every time the vernacular is brought into the liturgy, controversy follows.
 
StTommyMore said:
You must not have been here long. Many times those who prefer the OF are decried as “modernists.” But history has shown that every time the vernacular is brought into the liturgy, controversy follows.
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Longer than you.
 
Lormar said:
Well, now, that is strange!

I have seen others taken to task for preferring the EF to the OF and called all sorts of names - thinking they are “holier than thou” being the most common. 🤷

Go figure…
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I have no problem with anyone who prefers the EF. I just wonder why most seem incapible of describing why they love the EF WITHOUT attacking the OF:shrug:

It’s like describing why I love my husband by comparing him to all my old boyfriends…😃
 
It is a shame that what was turning out to be a wonderful thread is takeing a fast slide downhill :(.
 
Didn’t this exchange, :coffeeread: for the most part, justify the OP’s point? :confused:
 
zab said:
It is a shame that what was turning out to be a wonderful thread is takeing a fast slide downhill :(.
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All it really takes is one person to play the “poor me” card, and things usually go south.
 
They should have been here yesterday, right StTommy?

And no, we are not the same person. 😃
 
JReducation said:
I ditto what has been said, but I also keep insisting in what I posted not too far above. You must have a sense of humor and you must treat people well.
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I really like this advice. That is the only thing that keeps me sane (here and in real life!): the ability to laugh, often at myself. 😛

Sometimes, when threads seem to be getting real intense, I try to break the tension with as many emoticons as I can. 🙂 🙂 🙂 Too bad CAF limits us to only 8 emoticons per post. 😦 😦 😦 😉 (and there’s my limit :P)

It used to bother me to see the same topics over and over again, but I don’t really mind so much anymore. Some people process things better by engaging in a conversation rather than simply reading through pages and pages of posts. Plus, I remember when I first got here, I couldn’t make heads or tails of the search feature. I’d try to search for a topic, and somehow the first page of results would have nothing to do with the topic I was really looking for.

In the case of newbies, I try to remind myself that they are entering CAF for the first time and do not carry the baggage of a thousand closed threads on the same topic. So I try my best not to foist the baggage upon them.
 
I usually learn something when I lurk on threads with people like Alexander Roman, JReducation, Marduk, and Patrick457 on them. Once it starts getting heated and going around in circles, I will quickly unsuscribe. So my thanks go out to all of you willing and able to respond to some of these threads. I wish I had the knowledge, diplomacy, and confidence to do the same.
 
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