How does one evangelise effectively?

[levi86]

If a Catholic was to sit down with a Protestant for a, or a series of, sincere theological discussions is there a recommended way of approaching the discussion from square one?

Are there any particular topics one should begin with? Or particular methods that should be used?

Any thoughts?

 

[Malcolm_McLean]

If a Catholic was to sit down with a Protestant for a, or a series of, sincere theological discussions is there a recommended way of approaching the discussion from square one?

Are there any particular topics one should begin with? Or particular methods that should be used?

Any thoughts?

No. Sales techniques debase serious religious discussions.

There are many flavours of Protestant, and there are many reasons for wanting to discuss things.

Basically the case against Protestantism is that times have moved on since the sixteenth century. The reformers’ demands were driven by a desire for cheap religion which has now been granted.
So for instance there is no longer a real divide on Purgatory. It is purely a hangover from the days when chantries were sitting on huge wodges of assets. Ditto saints - medieval barons didn’t mind giving free beer to the peasants on any excuse, because their assets were in inalienable land. A merchant however couldn’t afford to do this. On sola scriptura - now everyone not only has abible, they also have Internet connections like this one giving access to experts on interpretation, as well as a lot of idiots and amateurs. The crisis about cheap printing is over, the crisis about cheap apologetics is about to begin.

Once you can put Protestantism in historical context, you will be able to move forwards.

The important is not to win every argument, but to try to get to the truth.

 

[Maranatha]

As perviously said, you have to approach each person as an individual. There are so many protestent beliefs, you can’t approch them all the same way.

Can you give us some information. Is the person Evangelical, Fundamental or “Main Stream?”

Depending on the person some initial key questions:

1. Who started your church? (Bring up the historical context mentioned earlier?)
2. How do you determine which books are in the Bible? (The Catholic Church determined which books are in the Bible. If they accept that then they have to accept the authority of the Church)
3. Can the Holy Spirit lead one person to truth and another person to error? This touches on the fact that there are 9According to the World Church Encyclopedia) over 30,000 protestant churches. They differ on major theological points. Which one is right?
4. What is the pillar and foundation of truth? Many 'Bible Only" protestants will reply - The Bible is. The Bible says the Church is (1 Tim 3:15)
5. A “faith alone” Christian will say that they are saved as soon as they accept Jesus as their lord and Savior but the only place in the Bible that “faith alone” is mentioned is James 2:24: You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone."
6. When did the Catholic Church “go wrong?” Ask him to research the early Christian communities and describe which Church do they resemble.

You can build on this foundation but after you get more information on what the person believes.

 

[Roman_Catholic_1]

If a Catholic was to sit down with a Protestant for a, or a series of, sincere theological discussions is there a recommended way of approaching the discussion from square one?

Charitably. Don’t speak to win the argument rather try to explain and inform. Also remember to chose your words wisely since Catholics and Protestants appear to have a different vocabulary. Rather your talking with an evangelical or a Fundamentalist is going to have a big impact on your discussions. Can you fill us in on this persons denomination? If you are dealing with a Fundamentalist, Catholic Answers has a good tract on how to talk to them here: catholic.com/library/How_to_Talk_with_Fundamentalist.asp

Are there any particular topics one should begin with? Or particular methods that should be used?

Authority. I would start with the Bible alone argument. Once that is out of the way you can move on from there. If you don’t get this out of the way, the argument will always fall back to a, “thats not in the Bible” argument. So to avoid that, start there. By the way there are a lot of good tracts and books on this subject.

Any thoughts?

Remember the biggest witness to the faith is yourself. Don’t aim to make people look like fools. Also have a good understanding and knowledge of the Bible. Most protestants are going to assume you wont.

God Bless

 

[scylla]

Let me echo another poster with a stress on Charity.

And now you cannot just attack their beliefs, putting someone on the defensive just puts up barriers.
Look at how much patriotism came up after September 11th, most of those people did not pay any attention to their patriotic beliefs until Sept11th came about, then all the Flags came out.

It is the same thing with a Protestant that one is talking to, even if you completely prove beyond a doubt that he is holding to heretical beliefs you will get no-where if you attack his person or something he identifies with. He will claim that the Bible says that we are saved by Faith Alone and claim it even if you prove him wrong. You will make him dig his heels in and then go on a mission to prove Catholicism wrong.
If he is more honest than most people (Catholic and non-catholic) he might become Catholic if he meets the right Catholics and people who are able to answer.

Most of the time you will just make a more hardened Protestant.

Evangelizing or Apologetics is serious stuff, you are representing Jesus’s Church and you must use tact. We all mess up but we must be willing to stand up and give it an good militant effort.

I prefer to subtly try and steer people toward truth and many times I mess up. It is easier to just talk than debate, let people open up and discuss what they really feel, this is much more effective than just debating.

God Bless
Scylla

 

[Della]

Along with the good advise you’ve gotten I’d like to add that you don’t have to pursue people to evangelize.

First of all live your Catholic faith before everyone, then they’ll know you are sincere.

So that, when they come to you with questions they will know that even if you don’t have a pat answer you are open to helping them find the truth more than you are in scoring points or winning arguments.

And be a friend not an opponent. Be there to help them where they are. And ask them to explain to you what it is they are having a hard time understanding, or what issues they have and why, and then listen to them.

And lastly, but most importantly, pray for them. Not just that they will “get it” but pray for their needs and their families, etc. Nothing opens ours hearts to others better than praying for them.

As I’ve written many times before: “Apologetics isn’t about winning arguments–it’s about winning souls.” Remember that and you will have an easier time of it.

 

[Maranatha]

Also, suggest you start the conversion with prayer. Remember, protestants are our separated brothers and sisters in Christ.

Start the conversation by listing al the things you agree on. One God, Trinity, Jesus is Lord, etc. You’ll find that the things that you agree on are some of the central and core beliefs.

 

[Liberian]

Levi86,

There are two things to remember when trying to evangelize.

(1) Only the Holy Spirit can convince somebody to join the Catholic Church. You can’t, and I can’t.

(2) Any attempt at evangelism begins with an implicit (sometimes an explicit) put-down: “My church is better than your church.” Of course our Church is better than their church, but it is hardly diplomatic to say so.

• Liberian

 

[Steadfast_love]

As a former Protestant myself here is my suggestion: watch out for pride.

If you don’t know the answer, say “I don’t know.” The very best thing about the CC is that it has the truth. Lean on that truth and don’t tell fibs.

Don’t whitewash the truth. Sometimes they won’t like what you have to say but just grin and bear it. If you whitewash it, then you’re agreeing with their premise that the CC would be better if only it looked more like a protestant church.

Don’t be a star. They might convert because of you if you are a bona fide saint but otherwise you’re just there as a go between for the H.S.

Don’t fight their church. They’ll return the favor and they’ll win because they have the media and less history on their side. Becides God HAS been good to them – trying to convince them otherwise is a lie. A better option is to show them where they are in step with the CC. The “under God” clause in the pledge of allegence works good here in America and also serves as a wonderful foil against anti-democracy charges.

Don’t be afraid to get dirty When conversation turns to the naughty bits of the Church, don’t chicken out. Stay in there and argue that the church should be judged fairly. Clearly present the Catholic sense of right and wrong. Don’t let them believe that Catholic morality is: Catholics can do no wrong. (That’s the default Protestant belief of Catholic morality by the way.)

When the Spirit moves them, don’t interupt! You don’t have to have the last word on everything. Similarly when they outgrow you, let them go. Help them find the books or people they need to continue their journey.

Confused? Ask them to paraphrase what verses mean to them. Some verses have aquired extra significance that a Catholic or Protestant may be unaware of. Being “born again,” or founding the church on Peter for example.

Fighting? Try to say “Here is what the church teaches” and “Here is how we read this verse” instead of insisting that it’s the right way. By doing so you can turn the conversation from confrontation to exploration.

Arguing endlessly about a greek root word? Don’t get bogged down. Conceed the point for arguements sake and play devil’s advocate with parables.

Lastly, don’t give up.

Oh, one more thing – judgements like: “you’re too sinful to acknowledge that the Catholic church is right!” or “You’re stupid and you’re gonna STAY stupid until the Holy Spirit sets you streight” count as giving up.

 

[Steadfast_love]

And also, read this. It has lots of Protestant questions that you may not be familiar with.

kofc.org/un/rc/en/publications/cis/publications/veritas/Veritas_CIS390.pdf

 

[Liberian]

Amen, amen, and amen!

• Liberian

 

[littleone]

If a Catholic was to sit down with a Protestant for a, or a series of, sincere theological discussions is there a recommended way of approaching the discussion from square one?

Are there any particular topics one should begin with? Or particular methods that should be used?

Any thoughts?

You mention theological, so I guess the first point would be ,how much knowledge you would have of firstly;
1 The bible, best to have a Gatholic bible.
2 The Catholic issues in the bible, being open to other thought as well
3 recognition of why Jesus said our ways are not HIs ways and how that
relates to biblical principles
4 being able to take sections of the bible contextually and contentually and
relate to issues you might be asked.
5 be able to disern where the person is comming from and their reasoning
6 have the ability to invite the Holy Spirit to help you so it is not your will but
God’s will being done
7 another gift is knowledge of the word, which helps imencly.
8 be ready to seek iinformation rather than have an answer that you are not sure of.

These may help you, but remember it is always better to have little to say but some to share, know when it is better not to relate verbly, but be able to to use wisdome and listen. It is better to listen with the heart based on how Jesus would relate rather than our own assumptions pressumptions, at times it is better to allow a person to have their thought rather than cause an arguement through using scripture to prove a point.

This may help a little
God less

 

[jmm08]

I’m a fairly recent convert.

Years ago, I comingled with Catholics when I sang in the Catholic Choir in college. I had found out that signing up for the chapel choir was an easy way for me to get my humanities electives. And I think I signed up for the Catholic chapel choir mainly because they had better music.

Now years later, I have been through RCIA.

Maybe there wasn’t much anybody could have told me back then. I wasn’t ready. I remember at least once where I expressed to somebody great disbelief in indulgences and purgatory.

However, I think it is very likely that Father May (the choir director) prayed for me. And after signing up for RCIA I began to pray for Father May because he had died about eight years before.

So I really think the first step in evangelism is prayer. And genuine caring.

I recall something I learned as a Protestant years ago:

“Success in witnessing is sharing Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, and leaving the results to God.”

Maybe this is true. Whoever prayed for me in the Catholic Choir back then never saw any results in terms of me changing. But many years later, I am changing.

 

[Denise_R]

Maybe this is true. Whoever prayed for me in the Catholic Choir back then never saw any results in terms of me changing. But many years later, I am changing.

There are many people who unknowingly played a role in my reversion back to the Catholic Church. Some were non-Catholics and even anti-Catholics who compelled me to find the truth by living out their faith.

The truth is the truth and if one is really seeking the Truth then the Holy Spirit will lead them home.

I pray for fallen-away Catholic family members all the time but know that if I try to convince them to return they would resist more than ever. Prayer is all I can do; but a friend or aquaintence of theirs or a situation or something they receive on their e-mail may be the one to spark them in their journey home.

I know this isn’t what the OP was asking for but it’s worth mentioning.

 

[littleone]

There are many people who unknowingly played a role in my reversion back to the Catholic Church. Some were non-Catholics and even anti-Catholics who compelled me to find the truth by living out their faith.

The truth is the truth and if one is really seeking the Truth then the Holy Spirit will lead them home.

I pray for fallen-away Catholic family members all the time but know that if I try to convince them to return they would resist more than ever. Prayer is all I can do; but a friend or aquaintence of theirs or a situation or something they receive on their e-mail may be the one to spark them in their journey home.

I know this isn’t what the OP was asking for but it’s worth mentioning.

I have some other points in evangelisation but I highly commend your spiritual relationship GOd bless.
Wayne.