My father in-law is as anti-Catholic as the late Jack Chick

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Hi everyone, I’ve been posting about how my parents in-law have been somewhat hostile to our Catholic faith and it seems to be getting worse. Last night my wife came back from her parents’ place and she shared with me a list of things they now believe about the Catholic Church:
  • The Jesuits control just about everything (the President of the USA included) and are the cause of many evil events including the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and JFK.
  • Pope Clement the XIV was poisoned and killed by Jesuits.
  • Popes regard themselves as equal to God.
  • The Catholic Church condemned people from reading the Bible in order to control/manipulate them.
*Catholic Bibles can’t be trusted because they deliberately distort the meaning of the texts to fit Catholic doctrine.

Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this level of confusion? I suspect that if we were to give him a book or even just an article defending the Catholic faith that he’d dismiss it as Catholic propaganda. They are otherwise very kind to our family but as soon as the topic of Catholicism comes up there’s just no way of having a dialogue. He’s also very assertive, “this is the way it is because this is the way it is, and that’s that!”

Other than praying an kindness, any suggestions?
 
Well of the five criticisms given here, points 1 and 2 are just conspiracy theories and are just nonsense to be dismissed. The best response would be to ask for evidence of these assertions. Point 3 will require some education on the nature of the papacy to understand, and the complexities of the doctrine of infallibility can appear rightly or wrongly to place the pope on the same level as God especially to someone who does not appreciate the complexities of the issue. Point four is a difficult one as historically it may have had some truth to it, but the simply answer is that today there are four readings of the Bible at Mass and private study is encouraged. Dei Verbum provides more details on this. As to point five, some Catholic Bible translations are regarded by some with a certain amount of justification as being poor translations, but if anything the protestant New International Version is the translation more than any other that pushes a doctrinal agenda.
 
Moneyball said:
Hi everyone, I’ve been posting about how my parents in-law have been somewhat hostile to our Catholic faith and it seems to be getting worse. Last night my wife came back from her parents’ place and she shared with me a list of things they now believe about the Catholic Church:
  • The Jesuits control just about everything (the President of the USA included) and are the cause of many evil events including the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and JFK.
  • Pope Clement the XIV was poisoned and killed by Jesuits.
  • Popes regard themselves as equal to God.
  • The Catholic Church condemned people from reading the Bible in order to control/manipulate them.
*Catholic Bibles can’t be trusted because they deliberately distort the meaning of the texts to fit Catholic doctrine.

Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this level of confusion? I suspect that if we were to give him a book or even just an article defending the Catholic faith that he’d dismiss it as Catholic propaganda. They are otherwise very kind to our family but as soon as the topic of Catholicism comes up there’s just no way of having a dialogue. He’s also very assertive, “this is the way it is because this is the way it is, and that’s that!”

Other than praying an kindness, any suggestions?
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They are the ones doing the assertions so ask them for proof.

Start with the last point.

Ask them how the original Greek texts were distorted in the making of the Catholic bibles.
 
Moneyball said:
Hi everyone, I’ve been posting about how my parents in-law have been somewhat hostile to our Catholic faith and it seems to be getting worse. Last night my wife came back from her parents’ place and she shared with me a list of things they now believe about the Catholic Church:
  • The Jesuits control just about everything (the President of the USA included) and are the cause of many evil events including the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and JFK.
  • Pope Clement the XIV was poisoned and killed by Jesuits.
  • Popes regard themselves as equal to God.
  • The Catholic Church condemned people from reading the Bible in order to control/manipulate them.
*Catholic Bibles can’t be trusted because they deliberately distort the meaning of the texts to fit Catholic doctrine.

Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this level of confusion? I suspect that if we were to give him a book or even just an article defending the Catholic faith that he’d dismiss it as Catholic propaganda. They are otherwise very kind to our family but as soon as the topic of Catholicism comes up there’s just no way of having a dialogue. He’s also very assertive, “this is the way it is because this is the way it is, and that’s that!”

Other than praying an kindness, any suggestions?
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“I’m sorry you feel that way, dad.”

Less seriously, if the Jesuits ran everything, woldn’t things look TOTALLY different in the US? For starters, basketball (not football) would be the American game and Georgetown would not be ranked #20 by US News in their college rankings (and definitely not behind #15 Notre Dame).

colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities

Plus, there would be way more Jesuits than there are and they wouldn’t have any problem with vocations. The Jesuits have lost 70% of their numbers since 1970.

thecatholicthing.org/2016/02/04/trends-in-male-religious-life/

Plus, Catholics wouldn’t ever have trouble with religious liberty issues like the ACA.

I wouldn’t bring any of this up, but it is seriously funny!

Again, more seriously, this could be a sign of mental deterioration, so keep an eye out for any other signs of low-functioning.
 
Realistically - you can’t argue with someone like that. It’s not going to work. “Well that’s interesting. So how’s Aunt May doing?” is probably your best response. Just be a good loving person and don’t engage.
 
DarkLight said:
Realistically - you can’t argue with someone like that. It’s not going to work. “Well that’s interesting. So how’s Aunt May doing?” is probably your best response. Just be a good loving person and don’t engage.
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Yes, this.

I think ignoring it and changing the subject is the best plan.

Mary.
 
There are conspiracy websites devoted to just Jesuit conspiracies. Crazy stuff. Unclear why the Jebbies would kill the first Catholic president. Surprised that he didn’t bring up how the Jesuits also sank the Titanic - that’s out there, too. The election of Pope Francis seems to have breathed new life into the Jesuit conspiracy industry.
 
I’m in a similar situation with my IL’s. I’ve learned the only thing you can do is to love them regardless. They aren’t going to change, their hatred is irrational and it’s not going to respond to rationality. Just love them regardless and put any junk in the trash can where it belongs.
 
Moneyball said:
Hi everyone, I’ve been posting about how my parents in-law have been somewhat hostile to our Catholic faith and it seems to be getting worse. Last night my wife came back from her parents’ place and she shared with me a list of things they now believe about the Catholic Church:
  • The Jesuits control just about everything (the President of the USA included) and are the cause of many evil events including the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and JFK.
  • Pope Clement the XIV was poisoned and killed by Jesuits.
  • Popes regard themselves as equal to God.
  • The Catholic Church condemned people from reading the Bible in order to control/manipulate them.
*Catholic Bibles can’t be trusted because they deliberately distort the meaning of the texts to fit Catholic doctrine.

Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this level of confusion? I suspect that if we were to give him a book or even just an article defending the Catholic faith that he’d dismiss it as Catholic propaganda. They are otherwise very kind to our family but as soon as the topic of Catholicism comes up there’s just no way of having a dialogue. He’s also very assertive, “this is the way it is because this is the way it is, and that’s that!”

Other than praying an kindness, any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Tell him he’s right, and he better wise up or the Jesuits will be on to him and he’ll be in an world of trouble. They’d swap out his Bible for a Catholic one, secretly loaded with extra books, if they’d rig the election, and install and Pope and then kill him - imagine what they’d do to you. 😃

Then, when he’s sleeping, switch all his Bibles with Catholic ones and lock his TV on to EWTN.
 
I think I’d stick with “I’ve known enough Jesuits to know that if they had any secrets, some of them would be whistle-blowing about it. Really–what organization have you ever been in that could keep secrets like this? And you think some core group that has been running everything are in control of *this *Pope? Have you listened to him? It doesn’t even make sense. And the last one? The one before that? Someone has been pulling your leg.”

After that, though, let it go.
 
SyroMalankara said:
Tell him he’s right, and he better wise up or the Jesuits will be on to him and he’ll be in an world of trouble. They’d swap out his Bible for a Catholic one, secretly loaded with extra books, if they’d rig the election, and install and Pope and then kill him - imagine what they’d do to you. 😃

Then, when he’s sleeping, switch all his Bibles with Catholic ones and lock his TV on to EWTN.
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I think that’s the best plan
 
Thank you all for your replies. What concerns me the most is how fast they have changed… their reasons for not being Catholic was more related to things like praying to the saints and Marian doctrines, now it’s about grand conspiracy theories.

My mother in law is not aggressive at all in her approach, but my father in law often argues from authority. He points to the fact that he was raised Catholic and that he fully understands Catholic doctrine (implying that we don’t) so therefore we have nothing to teach him… as stated earlier whenever my wife corrects him on something his last resort is to dismiss her sources as Catholic propaganda, even when her sources are non-Catholic.

It’s really quite sad because although we disagreed on doctrinal stuff we could still have fruitful discussions about our faith and our love for Christ… now that they’ve bought into these conspiracy theories it’s becoming more and more difficult.
 
If this is a sudden change, there may be some sort of health issue.

Are they seeing the doctor?
Moneyball said:
Thank you all for your replies. What concerns me the most is how fast they have changed… their reasons for not being Catholic was more related to things like praying to the saints and Marian doctrines, now it’s about grand conspiracy theories.

My mother in law is not aggressive at all in her approach, but my father in law often argues from authority. He points to the fact that he was raised Catholic and that he fully understands Catholic doctrine (implying that we don’t) so therefore we have nothing to teach him… as stated earlier whenever my wife corrects him on something his last resort is to dismiss her sources as Catholic propaganda, even when her sources are non-Catholic.

It’s really quite sad because although we disagreed on doctrinal stuff we could still have fruitful discussions about our faith and our love for Christ… now that they’ve bought into these conspiracy theories it’s becoming more and more difficult.
Click to expand...
 
Sarcelle said:
They are the ones doing the assertions so ask them for proof.

Start with the last point.

Ask them how the original Greek texts were distorted in the making of the Catholic bibles.
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One of his arguments is that the KJV accurately describes Mary as the biological mother of several children. When we tell him that the greek word for brother (referring to James the “brother” of Jesus) is a broad term which includes cousins, he just dismisses it and says that we’ve been decieved by the Catholic Church.🤷
 
Tim_D said:
Then don’t even try. Should the topic come up, change the subject or don’t even participate.
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I can’t really change the subject because he sometimes goes on half hour rants.:o
 
@Xiantippe

I have no reason to think they are mentally ill. Both parents are on board with this stuff and they are otherwise very reasonable people. Also, they’re just in their late 50’s.
 
Moneyball said:
I can’t really change the subject because he sometimes goes on half hour rants.:o
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Then perhaps you can look at your watch and say, “oh, is that the time?” and excuse yourself. People like that love to hear themselves talk. If you don’t give him an audience, then perhaps he will get the picture???
 
Moneyball said:
Hi everyone, I’ve been posting about how my parents in-law have been somewhat hostile to our Catholic faith and it seems to be getting worse. Last night my wife came back from her parents’ place and she shared with me a list of things they now believe about the Catholic Church:
  • The Jesuits control just about everything (the President of the USA included) and are the cause of many evil events including the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and JFK.
  • Pope Clement the XIV was poisoned and killed by Jesuits.
  • Popes regard themselves as equal to God.
  • The Catholic Church condemned people from reading the Bible in order to control/manipulate them.
*Catholic Bibles can’t be trusted because they deliberately distort the meaning of the texts to fit Catholic doctrine.

Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this level of confusion? I suspect that if we were to give him a book or even just an article defending the Catholic faith that he’d dismiss it as Catholic propaganda. They are otherwise very kind to our family but as soon as the topic of Catholicism comes up there’s just no way of having a dialogue. He’s also very assertive, “this is the way it is because this is the way it is, and that’s that!”

Other than praying an kindness, any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Allow me to address each of these criticism individually.
  1. The jesuits were not behind those event. Why would they kill the only catholic president?
  2. Once again, why would jesuits kill the pope? It just doesn’t make sense.
  3. They do not see themselves absent equal to god. They aren’t modern day versions of the pharaohs, they see themselves as very below god and servants of him. That said, not ALL popes of the past have been the most humble…
  4. If the church in the past prohibited or discouraged anybody from reading the holy scriptures it was likely so they wouldn’t come up with 1,000+ different interpretations of each verse, breaking the church and creating hundreds of different versions of christianity. Which eventually happened regardless.
  5. With the exception of the inclusion of the deuterocanonical books I see little to no difference between protestant and catholic bibles.
 
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