Feel Like A Sheep Amongst Wolves!

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Salena

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I do feel like “a sheep among wolves” at times. Why?
  1. I live in the “bible-belt”
  2. My brother left the Church years ago and is now a "stay-home- sola-scriptura-Christian.
  3. My daughter left the Church last year and is now Episcopalian
  4. I found out last night that my sister is now a Baptist!! :crying: (she left the Church a few months ago largely due to my brother teaching her his interpretation of scripture)
    My question is this: I’m not much of a debater, but my sister and brother both are. I really don’t know how to handle this other than to pray! I need a crash course in apologetics. I come here as often as I can and I’m reading Karl Keating’s book “Catholisim and Fundamentalism,” but questions keep popping up that I don’t have an answer for. It’s like I’m getting a little here and there.
    Any advice???
 
Findnmway:
I do feel like “a sheep among wolves” at times. Why?
  1. I live in the “bible-belt”
  2. My brother left the Church years ago and is now a "stay-home- sola-scriptura-Christian.
  3. My daughter left the Church last year and is now Episcopalian
  4. I found out last night that my sister is now a Baptist!! :crying: (she left the Church a few months ago largely due to my brother teaching her his interpretation of scripture)
    My question is this: I’m not much of a debater, but my sister and brother both are. I really don’t know how to handle this other than to pray! I need a crash course in apologetics. I come here as often as I can and I’m reading Karl Keating’s book “Catholisim and Fundamentalism,” but questions keep popping up that I don’t have an answer for. It’s like I’m getting a little here and there.
    Any advice???
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me too! …especially in these forums!
 
Now, now, Space, the boxing ring is over in the Politics forum. 😃

Findnmway, I’d pray and be a living example of the faith. If you don’t want to debate, just ask them to leave you a list of their objections, then pop in here. 😉
 
you say you are not much of a debater, but your siblings are…i would then say, maybe you could ask them to read some of the books you are reading. in my experience, debaters love to read even the flip side of an argument. you could read it along with them. make it like a weekly conversation as the 3 of you work through the book. with your children it might be a little more difficult as they might see you as out of touch, but your siblings are peers and probably have more respect for your opinions and are more open to hearing them. i could be wrong as i am generalizing but it is just a suggestion. good luck
 
I came into the church this Easter. There were many helpful books that presented a systematic way to approach people one of them was the" Suprised By The Truth" series by Patrick Madrid. Also, Tim Staples book " Nuts and Bolts"
 
You could make a deal with them.

Ask them to understand your faith by reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church while offering to read their catechism (or official statement of teachings/beliefs) that they believe in.

Most non-Catholics, including almost all former Catholics, do not truly understand what the Church teaches. Most have not read the Catechism. Most have many misconceptions about the church. Getting them to read the Catechism might help them discover truths that they did not understand before and slowly bring them back (or into) the true Church.
 
Don’t debate then. Work at understanding your faith, and when they attack it, ask them to stop. ASk them if they understand anything about the fruits of the Christian spirit? If they can’t quote charity off the top of thier heads, then they are Christian in mind, not in heart. A true believer in Christ knows that love and respect are tantamount in importance when dealing with anyone. If you understand you fatih deeply, then when they attack it, you can simply say something to the effect of “Are you attacking my beliefs because they are wrong, or because you don’t understand them?” More likely than not, it will boil down to, they don’t understand Catholic theology. Because it is confusing to them, it must be wrong. But there is a difference between simplicity and depth. Catholicism is marvelously simple, but its theology is incredibly deep (that comes with 2,000 years of people who do nothing but think about the nature of God and our relationship to Him).
 
The first thing to realize when you are first starting out in apologetics is that you are not going to win any long-winded debates–at least at first. At this point it is necessary to keep the discussions short, limiting yourself to one challenge or question. If you don’t know the answer, tell them so, but offer to find out for them, then go and do so. That way you will inform them and your self at the same time. Stay calm and charitable at all times.

As you grow more informed, take the initiative to inform yourself further by reading basic apologetics materials so that you will gain the confidence to give ready answers. I would highly recommend the *Beginning Apologetics * series, available elsewhere in this web site. It is inexpensive, non-complicated, and helps you to answer most of the basic challenges you will get. Also, read the Scriptures for at least 30 minutes everyday. You don’t need to be an expert, but if you do not become at least familiar with them, you will have no credibility with your relatives.

One thing I’ve learned is that you don’t usually need to be able to give a long disertation to influence someones thinking. All it takes is to give them something that they’ve never thought of before.
 
Be the best Catholic you can possibly be; a good example is always better than a well laid argument.
 
This may be the best thing that happened to you. I dont want to make light of your situation but now you realize you need to be a more learned Catholic.

Your situation is similar to mine. It is a seperating the wheat from the chaff. You will become more knowledgable about your faith, its history, philosophy etc. With the guidance from the Holy Spirit you absolutely will become a better witness of the Faith. Maybe not to you family, that’s always a tough one, but to other lost and fallen away Catholics.

Make lemonade out of the lemons you have. You are about to begin a spiritual and intellectual journey that you never can exhaust.

Enjoy it.
 
Findnmway:
I sure wish you guys lived in my neighborhood :tiphat:
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It must be pretty rough to be a practicing Catholic in the “Bible Belt.” It was rough to be one in California where I grew up, but for different reasons.

Just stick to your guns, learn and love your Faith, and don’t get discouraged. You have lots of brothers and sisters who share your Faith and are here to help. 🙂
 
I kind of know how you feel. Right now I am the only practicing Catholic in my immediate family…However, my nephew married a lovely young woman from Columbia, and is considering the RCIA this year…

**It does get a little bit lonely…Especially when I have to attend Mass by myself. That’s the hardest thing for me…I miss having my husband by my side. **
 
Findnmway:
I do feel like “a sheep among wolves” at times. Why?
  1. I live in the “bible-belt”
  2. My brother left the Church years ago and is now a "stay-home- sola-scriptura-Christian.
  3. My daughter left the Church last year and is now Episcopalian
  4. I found out last night that my sister is now a Baptist!! :crying: (she left the Church a few months ago largely due to my brother teaching her his interpretation of scripture)
    My question is this: I’m not much of a debater, but my sister and brother both are. I really don’t know how to handle this other than to pray! I need a crash course in apologetics. I come here as often as I can and I’m reading Karl Keating’s book “Catholisim and Fundamentalism,” but questions keep popping up that I don’t have an answer for. It’s like I’m getting a little here and there.
    Any advice???
Click to expand...
1.Do you any local catholic apologist that is a better debater?
2. Would they be interested in coming on to a forum as this for answering their objections?
3.Keep reading and do not try to win arguments, but souls.
 
There is such an incredible need for teaching in the Church! I am a recent evangelical convert and I read my way into the Church over a 5+ year period. I am now teaching an Apologetics Bible study in my parish. We need more people to step up to the plate and do this.

THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THESE FORUMS THAT ARE VERY CAPABLE. THEY SHOULD (NO - MUST!) START APOLOGETICS BIBLE STUDIES IN THEIR PARISHES. IF YOU’RE NOT (AND IF YOU’RE CAPABLE) SHAME ON YOU! THE CHURCH NEEDS YOU. IT’S TIME TO UNSHEATH YOUR SWORDS FOR MOTHER CHURCH!

But Richard, in terms of relatives who are not Catholic, hone your skills on this topic and this topic only; did Christ establish only one Church and give it the authority to make binding decisions and promise to be with Her until the end of the age? Or did he establish many denominations with the authority to establish their own (and conflicting) creeds? The authority question is the hinge on which the door swings. Everything else is secondary.

God Bless,

Greg
 
These links may be of assistance to you.

Print pages 2-6 of this Concordance and keep the pages in your Bible. You never know when you may need them, and a computer is not vailable.
campbellcounty.com/~ourlady/documents/Apologetics%20Concordance,%20Biblical%20Support%20For%20Catholic%20Doctrines%20large%20text.pdf

angelfire.com/nj2/sacramentines/docindex.html

The wonderful Parish of St. Charles Borromeo, in Picayune, Mississippi have a fantastic web page!
scborromeo.org/index2.htm

be sure to check out their: “To Tell You The Truth” and “I’m Glad You Asked!”

Pope Fiction article by Patrick Madrid
envoymagazine.com/backissues/2.2/mar_apr98_coverstory.html

Mary as Queen of Heaven
home.nyc.rr.com/mysticalrose/marian9.html

Eucharist
campbellcounty.com/~ourlady/The%20Real%20Presence%20of%20Jesus%20Christ%20in%20the%20Sacrament%20of%20the%20Eucharist.htm
 
A very enjoyable way to learn some apologetic approaches is by acquiring a set of John Martignoni’s tapes. He’s incredibly knowledgeable and funmny, too. He’s on the EWTN answers show on Thursdays
Unfortunately, his web site is down for upgrading right now, but it should be up gain soon. Six of his tapes will be free.
There are many good Catholic apologists around, including the CA guys, but Martignoni lives in the Bible belt. Every one of his points is supported by Scripture.
And remember, apologetics is not about winning arguments, it’s planting seeds. The Holy Spirit does the watering and fertilizing.
His web site, when it come back up is
www.biblechristiansociety.com
Good luck and hang in. It’s fun to learn about the Catholic faIth, it’s sooo rich and deep.
God bless
 
Richard Lamb said:
1.Do you any local catholic apologist that is a better debater?
2. Would they be interested in coming on to a forum as this for answering their objections?
3.Keep reading and do not try to win arguments, but souls.
Click to expand...

Are you asking if I know any local apologist? Is so, then no. We don’t even have a Bible study and the Adult Ed. program is an embarassment. There are only two Catholic Church’s in my area and they are small, so there isn’t much to offer. There is a Protestant Church on every corner and that is no exggageration. No matter where you are in this town you will find one or two Protestant Church’s within walking distants. I guess that’s why so many here do leave the Church. It’s dfficult to be Catholic in a place like this.
That why I need all of you!
:love:
Thanks!
 
I think I’m in the bible belt as well. I live in eastern Kansas. And I’m the only catholic in my family because I converted from protestantism. I guess I’ve been lucky because no one in my family has made a big deal out of it. But I have still tried to get into apologetics.

My first efforts were a disaster. I had more zeal than knowledge. And I took things too personal. Actually, my apologetics were limited to discussion boards. Embarrassingly (if that’s even a word) I got kicked of one board because I couldn’t control my temper. Nor did I have much control over my tongue. See, I was once an army truck driver. I had learned to cuss with the best of them. And that stuff pops out at the most inopportune of times.
 
CD4 said:
I kind of know how you feel. Right now I am the only practicing Catholic in my immediate family…However, my nephew married a lovely young woman from Columbia, and is considering the RCIA this year…

**It does get a little bit lonely…Especially when I have to attend Mass by myself. That’s the hardest thing for me…I miss having my husband by my side. **
Click to expand...

Hang in there, CD4. My wife of 36 years was just received into the Church at the last Easter Vigil.

Actually, I know what you mean by “missing.” During Lent, the RCIA people left mass to go for instruction, and did it EVER feel lonely! Oh well, it was worth the few Sundays to see her received and confirmed at the Easter Vigil.

Blessings,

Gerry
 
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