Have you ever had to defend your faith?

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The place where I work is a veritable United Nations of religions. We have representatives there for strong Catholics, indifferent Catholics, Lutherans, Fundamentalists, Eastern Orthodox, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Agnostics, and Athiests. My Fundamentalist boss was debating the divinity of Christ with my Jehovah’s Witness co-worker. I was just listening in, minding my own business and not intending to enter into the debate when all of a sudden out of left field (probably because he saw me standing there) my boss throws out something about “well, those Catholics worship Mary” or something like that. At that point, I couldn’t not step in and try to correct him on it.
 
Have I ever had to defend the Faith Christ gave us? Like DAH!

Here are typical protestant questions I get all the time from my wife’s relatives and all her protestant friends (and mine too):

How can I believe Mary was a virgin? The Bible clearly gives the names of Jesus’ siblings and sons and daughters of Mary! (I call her Blessed Mary they do not, so much for them reading Luke chapter 1.)

How can you be Catholic? The Romans killed Jesus, they were Catholics!

Emporer Constitine was the first Poep and founded the Catholic Church in 313 A.D. Why be Catholic?
Martin Luther started the reformation and left the Roman Church. He was a wise and great man, why don’t I follow him?

How can saints hear your prayers, they’re not God and only God can do that.

How can you believe a cracker is the body of Christ?

How come you do everything the Pope tells you?

Jesus is risen from the dead, why do you keep him on the crucifix?

How come you haven’t accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and savior?

Why do I go around priests and let my kids around them? They’re just a bunch of child molesters.

Being celibate causes priests to do gay and become child molesters.

Why do I pray to Marry? We should only pray to God.

Why do I worship Marry equal to God?

Why do I count beads?

Why do I light candles?

Why do I knell to pray? Why do I knell and pray to statues?

Why do I worship graven images?

Catholics murdered 90 MILLION people in the Inquisition! How can you be a Catholic?

Catholics murdered Baptists from the time Christ founded the Baptist church in 33 A.D. Catholics killed 50 million Baptists in the Inquisition alone. How can you be Catholic?

Why are Catholics forbidden from reading the Bible?

Why did the Catholics add books to the Bible?

How come you don’t use the KJV Bible? God gave it to us.

Why do you have to work for salvation?

Why do Catholics believe they can work for salvation without faith?
Need I go on?
 
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Malachi4U:
Have I ever had to defend the Faith Christ gave us? Like DAH!

Here are typical protestant questions I get all the time from my wife’s relatives and all her protestant friends (and mine too):

How can I believe Mary was a virgin? The Bible clearly gives the names of Jesus’ siblings and sons and daughters of Mary! (I call her Blessed Mary they do not, so much for them reading Luke chapter 1.)

How can you be Catholic? The Romans killed Jesus, they were Catholics!

Emporer Constitine was the first Poep and founded the Catholic Church in 313 A.D. Why be Catholic?
Martin Luther started the reformation and left the Roman Church. He was a wise and great man, why don’t I follow him?

How can saints hear your prayers, they’re not God and only God can do that.

How can you believe a cracker is the body of Christ?

How come you do everything the Pope tells you?

Jesus is risen from the dead, why do you keep him on the crucifix?

How come you haven’t accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and savior?

Why do I go around priests and let my kids around them? They’re just a bunch of child molesters.

Being celibate causes priests to do gay and become child molesters.

Why do I pray to Marry? We should only pray to God.

Why do I worship Marry equal to God?

Why do I count beads?

Why do I light candles?

Why do I knell to pray? Why do I knell and pray to statues?

Why do I worship graven images?

Catholics murdered 90 MILLION people in the Inquisition! How can you be a Catholic?

Catholics murdered Baptists from the time Christ founded the Baptist church in 33 A.D. Catholics killed 50 million Baptists in the Inquisition alone. How can you be Catholic?

Why are Catholics forbidden from reading the Bible?

Why did the Catholics add books to the Bible?

How come you don’t use the KJV Bible? God gave it to us.

Why do you have to work for salvation?

Why do Catholics believe they can work for salvation without faith?
Need I go on?
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That post hits most all of the popular questions protestants ask. What answers have you found to each of these to be the most effective in discussion?

Thanks!
 
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tkdnick:
I think the most obvious would be the discussions I have had with some LDS friends of mine. They always ask their questions in a very polite way, but I am still forced to get the answers they need, and sadly, I have many times had to tell them “I don’t know, but let me find out and get back to you.” However, some GREAT good has come from it. Because of them, I am TRULY Catholic instead of just catholic. And I now love my faith where as as little as a year ago I didn’t hardly understand it.

I find it very rewarding and satisfying to explain my faith to other. I also find it EXTREMELY frustrating when it seems that it makes no progress. I obviously can’t tell if it is making a difference on the inside though.
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Tkd Nick,
(Osu! Remember I’m from a Japanese style! 👍 )

I’m really proud of you. I was the same way and didn’t really have a clue about the faith until I had to learn the answer to an attack that I flat KNEW was baloney. (With deep apologies for insulting baloney… 😃 ) It seems the more I learn the more beautiful and powerful it comes and the more I resist temptation and seek to love the Lord. I’m far from angelic :getholy:, but I give it my best shot and I know that I’m on my way to heaven because of the superabundance of God’s loving mercy and grace.

Like you I get frustrated that things that seem so clear to me seem so tough for some other folks, but the guys who have come into the faith through my “witness” have really been converted by the Holy Spirit. All I’ve done is supply decent answers and really bust my backside to live the way I know the Lord wants me to. One of the guys who gave me the hardest time 2 years ago is now himself on his way into the Church and in the process of explaining it all to his precious wife. He’s every bit as forthright about defending the faith as I was in his own way. Quite a character.

One of my favorite “weapons” is the Divine Mercy Chaplet. I will often pray it and offer it up for the people who are the hardest cases. Most times it works beautifully, which just shows that the Holy Spirit is busy and that humble prayer is our best weapon against the devil. I have no doubt that the Lord also uses those prayers to keep us living right so that we don’t disgrace the Gospel :eek:

Any way, keep on keepin’ on and remember that there have always been warriors among us. St. Francis of Assisi & St. Ignatius of Loyola were both soldiers at one point. As always, our warfare is spiritual.

Pax vobiscum.
 
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Mooseberry:
The place where I work is a veritable United Nations of religions. We have representatives there for strong Catholics, indifferent Catholics, Lutherans, Fundamentalists, Eastern Orthodox, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Agnostics, and Athiests. My Fundamentalist boss was debating the divinity of Christ with my Jehovah’s Witness co-worker. I was just listening in, minding my own business and not intending to enter into the debate when all of a sudden out of left field (probably because he saw me standing there) my boss throws out something about “well, those Catholics worship Mary” or something like that. At that point, I couldn’t not step in and try to correct him on it.
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Yeah its’ a super drag, and that is one of the all time biggest misconceptions I ever heard. In fact it’s THE reason that I began to dig into the faith again, because I knew it was so ludicrously wrong. In the final analysis I credit the Blessed Virgin for my return to the faith and I’m now a consecrated M.I. Her intervention is what really brought me home to her Son…just as He wanted.

God bless you Mooseberry and don’t let 'em get away with all that ignorance. 👍
 
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Jasonsttofa:
That post hits most all of the popular questions protestants ask. What answers have you found to each of these to be the most effective in discussion?

Thanks!
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Hi Jason!
There are TRUCKLOADS of killer great materials out there that help with these allegations and questions, though some like the murder of Baptists and such are so historically inaccurate that you often have to just tell 'em to prove it with a historical document to shut 'em up 'cos they can’t. It just plain didn’t happen. Of course lots of folks have selective memory loss about “the Know Nothings” here is this country.

Anyway as to sources:
This home page here at CA has great tracts that can be printed and used on a wide variety of topics and well as the articles in back issues of This Rock magazine. A little scanning will find lots of good help.

Also these sites:
catholicity.com/ Free Catholic audio recordings
catholicapologetics.com/ Absolutely some of the finest teaching booklets around, even offered here at CA. VERY reasonably priced and clear. I have 'em all!
saint-mike.org/cse/default.asp The Catholic Society of Evangelists. SUPER stuff. They have a terrific pocket reference book called “What Does Scripture Say?” and loads of very good and inexpensive materials. Tom Balboa is one of the nicest guys I’ve ever heard from.
grottopress.org/index.html Great Catholic comic tracts on different topics. Might wanna carry some in your pocket… 😉
catholicleague.org/ Sort of the ACLU of Catholicism for when it gets totally outta hand and has to go legal. These folks don’t play.
whostartedyourchurch.com/ the facts…just the facts. :rotfl:

There’s lots more but these will set you up for most situations and then these forums can help beyond that.
The Peace of the Lord be always with you.
 
Like you I get frustrated that things that seem so clear to me seem so tough for some other folks, but the guys who have come into the faith through my “witness” have really been converted by the Holy Spirit. All I’ve done is supply decent answers and really bust my backside to live the way I know the Lord wants me to. One of the guys who gave me the hardest time 2 years ago is now himself on his way into the Church and in the process of explaining it all to his precious wife. He’s every bit as forthright about defending the faith as I was in his own way. Quite a character.
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:bowdown: Well I must say that I am not where you are. I don’t know that anyone has come to the faith, or been strengthened by my witness. But hopefully someday…

Keep up the witness!!! We need all the good witnesses we can get!!!
One of my favorite “weapons” is the Divine Mercy Chaplet. I will often pray it and offer it up for the people who are the hardest cases. Most times it works beautifully, which just shows that the Holy Spirit is busy and that humble prayer is our best weapon against the devil. I have no doubt that the Lord also uses those prayers to keep us living right so that we don’t disgrace the Gospel :eek:
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I confess that I have no idea what the Divine Mercy Chaplet is. I have heard lots of people talk about it, but don’t actually know what it is…
 
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Jasonsttofa:
That post hits most all of the popular questions protestants ask. What answers have you found to each of these to be the most effective in discussion?

Thanks!
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Boy, I wish I could answer you with a short post but I can’t. Just read the various threads on this fourm and you’ll get answers to most of the questions I have been asked.

God bless,
 
Wow…seriously just reading the replies and the work Church Militant puts in this forum is amazing…thank you

Thanks for the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, I also knew slim about it.
 
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BloodandFire:
Wow…seriously just reading the replies and the work Church Militant puts in this forum is amazing…thank you

Thanks for the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, I also knew slim about it.
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The fact is, it’s mostly a love for the truth and digging up all the resources to help us share it. I believe that we have been blessed with really great sources to help us know, defend, and spread our faith and that if we’ll only live like we know we should and make use of the blessings that God has given us that the Holy Spirit will readily do the rest.

It’s funny. The other day I mentioned to a long time friend that I had returned to the faith and she was Like “You’re Catholic? I am thinking about becoming Catholic, but I don’t know if they’d want me.” I said "Are you kidding?’ and then went on to share with her some of what I’ve learned and how much of a difference it has made in my life. I have a packet of stuff to send her sitting on the table that will go out today. Including a tape and a CD as well as a print out of the Tract (from this site) on How To Become Catholic. I just figure that it’s the Holy Spirit supplying an opportunity to fish for souls. Who am I to hold back?
 
Church Militant:
Hi Jason!
There are TRUCKLOADS of killer great materials out there that help with these allegations and questions, though some like the murder of Baptists and such are so historically inaccurate that you often have to just tell 'em to prove it with a historical document to shut 'em up 'cos they can’t. It just plain didn’t happen. Of course lots of folks have selective memory loss about “the Know Nothings” here is this country.

Anyway as to sources:
This home page here at CA has great tracts that can be printed and used on a wide variety of topics and well as the articles in back issues of This Rock magazine. A little scanning will find lots of good help.

Also these sites:
catholicity.com/ Free Catholic audio recordings
catholicapologetics.com/ Absolutely some of the finest teaching booklets around, even offered here at CA. VERY reasonably priced and clear. I have 'em all!
saint-mike.org/cse/default.asp The Catholic Society of Evangelists. SUPER stuff. They have a terrific pocket reference book called “What Does Scripture Say?” and loads of very good and inexpensive materials. Tom Balboa is one of the nicest guys I’ve ever heard from.
grottopress.org/index.html Great Catholic comic tracts on different topics. Might wanna carry some in your pocket… 😉
catholicleague.org/ Sort of the ACLU of Catholicism for when it gets totally outta hand and has to go legal. These folks don’t play.
whostartedyourchurch.com/ the facts…just the facts. :rotfl:

There’s lots more but these will set you up for most situations and then these forums can help beyond that.
The Peace of the Lord be always with you.
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Well, I suppose that will keep me busy for a while! I just get all of those same questions asked relatively often and I don’t feel that I’m as proficient or as clear as I could be in my answers. Thanks!
 
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Jasonsttofa:
Well, I suppose that will keep me busy for a while! I just get all of those same questions asked relatively often and I don’t feel that I’m as proficient or as clear as I could be in my answers. Thanks!
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Just don’t get flustered. Tell 'em that you’re no theologian but you’ll dig up the answers to their questions. I strongly suggest that you sit down and write up a “testimony” of just why you love being Catholic and what all differences it’s made in your life.If ya get in a jam, e-mail me from this site and I’ll try to point you in the right direction. Just remember that there is nothing new they can come up with and we’ve faced it all before. The answers are out there somewhere. (LOL. Sounds like X-files…) 😉
 
I have never defended my faith anywhere near so often as I have offended it.
 
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tkdnick:
Thanks! I have heard this before, just didn’t know that’s what it was. So you have to say this prayer at 3 o’clock? Kinda hard for us working people.
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Naw Man…say that bad boy ANYTIME!
3pm is just the hour of Divine Mercy and God certainly understands us working folks.

There is a CD/audio tape available free from the Mary Foundation that has both on it. I carry it in my car and every time I have to go somewhere that will take 20-30 minutes I will pray along with it. (It would be nuts to risk tangling my rosary in the steering.) It’s part of the spiritual warfare that we wage for souls. Just like I’m sure someone did for us. 👍
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Yes, I’ve often had to defend my faith, and I often fail to. I especially remember my high school days, when I didn’t even know much about my Catholic faith, and I really humiliated myself quite a few times (some of them online) for making some very ridiculous (and theologically flawed) attempts at apologetics. Now that I’m a bit more knowledgeable, I still find it incredibly gut-wrenching to defend Catholicism, simply because many people just don’t want to listen to arguments (a problem that I noticed exists here, also).

I dunno, maybe I’m just a very ineffective debater. 😦
 
Francis Ocoma:
Yes, I’ve often had to defend my faith, and I often fail to. I especially remember my high school days, when I didn’t even know much about my Catholic faith, and I really humiliated myself quite a few times (some of them online) for making some very ridiculous (and theologically flawed) attempts at apologetics. Now that I’m a bit more knowledgeable, I still find it incredibly gut-wrenching to defend Catholicism, simply because many people just don’t want to listen to arguments (a problem that I noticed exists here, also).

I dunno, maybe I’m just a very ineffective debater. 😦
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Francis Ocoma!
Don’t feel like the Lone Ranger, okay? Most everyone gets tense when someone comes off with a contrary view, especially when it’s something as important as their religion. I get tense too, but I’ve learned a few tricks that help immensely to reduce the stress and make me more effective.
  1. Breathe deep and get control of your racing heart.
  2. Remember that the world won’t end if you prove not to be a “world-class” theologian and that the other guy isn’t one either, no matter what he says.
  3. Try to maintain a quiet tone and show consideration for the person even if they don’t do the same for you.
  4. Remember that you have no obligation to stand and take abuse, and that if the discussion becomes heated or too time consuming, (or the other guy just flat refuses to listen!) you have the right to withdraw. It’s not shameful, it’s just common sense and decency.
  5. People who are abusive and/or just want to needle you are not honestly inquiring and we have no obligation to speak to them. (I’ve simply refused to talk to guys, saying “Look, you don’t wanna go there because you aren’t really interested in the truth, you just wanna argue, and I’ve got better things to spend my time on. No offense.”
  6. Ignore wise cracks. Recognize them for what they are…cheap shots that don’t require a response. My favorite is to just sort of snicker at his line or say “Yeah, right…” and walk off.
  7. NEVER fail to pray for them. My personal favorite is the Divine Mercy Chaplet
  8. Keep learning and always stick to the facts. Also make the other guy do his homework by asking him to prove any allegations that he makes. This is especially good when they make false allegations about stuff that supposedly is said by the Pope, or that the CCC says a certain thing (most often pulled TOTALLY out of context!) , or that some weird stuff was done by some Catholics some place far far away in another galaxy. Most of the time it’s baloney and hearsay and they can’t prove beans. I had to call a buddy of mine on something that he said happened in South America that I knew violated real Catholic teaching. I just said, "so you believe this report that someone you don’t really know SAYS they heard about from someone else…Ever hear of “urban legends”?’ It was only then that he realized that he might’ve been lied to.
  9. Understand that there really are people who outright LIE about the Catholic Church. Jack Chick’s comics and tracts are straight LOADED with lies that make us all sound like we are head-spinning, demon posssessed, card carrying members of the Illuminati, and the great whore of Babylon. But none of it’s true…He and others get off on creating sensationalistic literature (that they SELL!) that wins a following among those who function on a comic book level and who will readily believe most anything they read. (UNLESS it’s Catholic…ya can’t read THAT stuff AT ALL! :rolleyes: When confronted by such lidicrous lies, call 'em on it. Tell 'em to show you the publication that it came from and then make 'em document that it really occurred somewhere. I’ve NEVER seen them be able to substantiate any of it, and I’m not surprised.
You’ll get better at it, and you probably already are better than you realize, but keep reading and studying and reading your Bible and praying and going to Mass…basically all that any good devout Catholic does 👍

(Gee I didn’t go into this to make a big, long post… 😃
Oh well maybe it’s from the Holy Spirit… 😉 )
 
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