Help in defending St. Augustine

[CatholicHoser]

I’ve grown in my faith by leaps and bounds the last year and am aspiring to become a decent apologetic. I got a perfect chace to start defending- a friend of mine called St. Augustine a “paranoid schizophrenic”. Gee, I happen to believe St. Augustine was a great early Father of the Church. Since I’m new to defending the faith-- any advice?
-b

 

[Verbum]

Hi Cath__,

First ask your friend why he calls St. Augustine a “paranoid schizophrenic”. (I would be interested to know myself.) Then take it from there.

Verbum

 

[neophyte]

Usually my first impulse is to say something like “Since your first argument is a personal attack, can I assume that you don’t have any rational complaints against anything he wrote?”

Then I bite my tongue real hard, politely ask if he has any specific issues with something the person in question said, and then deal with them one at a time.

 

[Maranatha]

Secularists need to promote the misconception of a Dark Ages when there was no work on philosophy and morality that is of any worth. They write off almost all works from St. Augustine to St. Thomas Aquinas. Some of the work is truly genius. The irony is that they consider themselves open minded and tolerant.

 

[gardenswithkids]

CatholicHoser:

,.a friend of mine called St. Augustine a “paranoid schizophrenic”. Gee, I happen to believe St. Augustine was a great early Father of the Church.

My, your friend is judgemental to throw a mental illness diagnosis as an attack against the great people of history. Mental illness is a disease, not an insult. So, I’d go after your friend for his “insensitivity.” (I love hitting secularist with their own arguments.)

St. Augustine was one of the great early fathers and a Doctor of the Church. His words still speak volumes today, with such beautiful quotes as, “Our hearts are restless, until the rest in Thee.” St. Augustine found rest from his wilder youth by coming to know the Lord Jesus.

Request the intercession of the great St. Augustine and his mom, St. Monica. (Mothers always rush to the defense of their children.) And St. Ambrose who helped convert St. Augustine might know how to get to your friend’s restless heart too.

As an aspiring apologist, you need to know who your real friends are and ask for their help. St. Augustine, St. Monica and St. Ambrose, pray for us!