My name is Christopher, and I'm an apologetoholic

[Matt16_18]

montanaman:

I was thinking that I think talking with Protestants is making me crazy …

All non-Catholics live in spiritual bondage.

Successful apologetics requires more than the presentation of rational arguments, it requires prayer, fasting and all the other weapons of spiritual warfare.When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private, “Why could we not drive it out?” He said to them, “This kind can only come out through prayer and fasting.”
Mark 9:27-28

“We war not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness in high places"
Eph. 6-12As a Catholic that is fully initiated in the true faith, you have a share in the authority of Jesus, and you possess spiritual authority over Protestants that are bound by the doctrines of men and demons. Claim your authority in Christ, and bind the demonic spirits that hold your adversaries in bondage before you engage in apologetics.[Jesus] rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again.”
Mark 9:25

 

[montanaman]

Matt16_18:

All non-Catholics live in spiritual bondage.

Successful apologetics requires more than the presentation of rational arguments, it requires prayer, fasting and all the other weapons of spiritual warfare.When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private, “Why could we not drive it out?” He said to them, “This kind can only come out through prayer and fasting.”
Mark 9:27-28

“We war not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness in high places"
Eph. 6-12As a Catholic that is fully initiated in the true faith, you have a share in the authority of Jesus, and you possess spiritual authority over Protestants that are bound by the doctrines of men and demons. Claim your authority in Christ, and bind the demonic spirits that hold your adversaries in bondage before you engage in apologetics.[Jesus] rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again.”
Mark 9:25

Wow. Not much ambiguity here. Good points, though.

 

[montanaman]

I really should start a thread for the most lunatic arguments we’ve ever heard.

Here’s the latest from a Church of God member. He was ejected from Israel after being suspected of being part of a plot to blow up the Al Aqsa mosque.

Pope to sweep Europe off it’s feet?

"“Pope Hopes Trip to Germany Spurs Faith” ought to alarm everybody who dares to disagree with the bloody Catholic Church! Both the Bible and history testify against the Babylonian Mystery religion masquerading as Christian, exposing its origins with the Samaritan sorcerer Simon Magus, not the Jew Simon Peter.

Simon Magus, first pagan pope, mesmerized the masses with his dark powers they wrongly assumed were from God (Acts 8:9-11). Now this German pope, of Nazi background, claims “Providence wanted my first trip abroad to take me to Germany.”

Why Germany? Didn’t Hitler also claim that Providence had chosen him to lead Germany? Are we about to see an unholy collaboration between the Catholic Church and Germany surface that has been germinating since the fall of the Third Reich?

Will the idea of reviving the unholy Roman Empire of the German Nation be the engine that drives Europe over the nuclear precipice in seeking to conquer and convert others to the Vatican’s views and brand those unwilling to get swept away with “Christian” emperor worship as heretics and condemn countries with the Jesuit attitude of “destroy the body to save the soul?” Does this hard-line pope have it in mind to mark some for destruction who get in the way of his counterfeit kingdom of God?"

 

[Matt16_18]

montanaman:

I took a break from the Protest Warrior forum because it was making me into a bitter, cynical elitest.

A sure sign that you need to take a break.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
1Cor 13:1-2

 

[legeorge]

I feel your pain, brother. I purposely try not to tangle with too many protestants unless pushed into a situation, as I am still rather new at this. But my biggest problem right now is some SSPXers who come to the prayer group I attend in front of the abortion clinic. They are really tough. And this… :banghead:…is how I feel after talking with them. So far, I haven’t been uncharitable to them, but I know it’s time to leave when the pressure starts rising. I usually tell them I’ll read their material and look into their claims, and get back to them next time. It is **so ** exhausting. And the fact that I like and respect these people makes it even more frustrating. I guess the only comfort I can offer is the knowledge that you are not alone!! Thank goodness we have each other to lean on! Thank you all on these forums for being a wonderful support system! I love you guys. :bowdown2: (Sorry for the sentimentality. I had an emotional weekend! )

 

[montanaman]

legeorge:

I feel your pain, brother. I purposely try not to tangle with too many protestants unless pushed into a situation, as I am still rather new at this. But my biggest problem right now is some SSPXers who come to the prayer group I attend in front of the abortion clinic. They are really tough. And this… :banghead:…is how I feel after talking with them. So far, I haven’t been uncharitable to them, but I know it’s time to leave when the pressure starts rising. I usually tell them I’ll read their material and look into their claims, and get back to them next time. It is **so ** exhausting. And the fact that I like and respect these people makes it even more frustrating. I guess the only comfort I can offer is the knowledge that you are not alone!! Thank goodness we have each other to lean on! Thank you all on these forums for being a wonderful support system! I love you guys. :bowdown2: (Sorry for the sentimentality. I had an emotional weekend! )

Speaking of the SSPXers, I think it’s high time we lift the ban on talking about that. I have almost no experience with them, and the one time I tangled with one, my (behind) was handed to me by a 16 year old kid. This is THE Catholic brain trust online, and I don’t see why we’re not arming ourselves to fight this heresy. And that raises another point–I feel like a hypocrite because I’m betraying my basic intellectual principles here. At this point I’m only taking it for granted that they’re schismatic. I just can’t prove it. So what does that say about me?

If it’s a complicated issue, fine. But I fail to see how it could be any more complicated than trying to explain the Assumption or the Communion of Saints. Now, I feel ZERO temptation to “Traditionalism,” but intellectually speaking, I think we should be able to debunk it if it really is a false ideology.

[/rant]

On another note (the point of this thread), thank God for the CA website and forum. You’re right–this is a wonderful support system.

 

[legeorge]

montanaman:

Speaking of the SSPXers, I think it’s high time we lift the ban on talking about that. I have almost no experience with them, and the one time I tangled with one, my (behind) was handed to me by a 16 year old kid. This is THE Catholic brain trust online, and I don’t see why we’re not arming ourselves to fight this heresy. And that raises another point–I feel like a hypocrite because I’m betraying my basic intellectual principles here. At this point I’m only taking it for granted that they’re schismatic. I just can’t prove it. So what does that say about me?

If it’s a complicated issue, fine. But I fail to see how it could be any more complicated than trying to explain the Assumption or the Communion of Saints. Now, I feel ZERO temptation to “Traditionalism,” but intellectually speaking, I think we should be able to debunk it if it really is a false ideology.

[/rant]

On another note (the point of this thread), thank God for the CA website and forum. You’re right–this is a wonderful support system.

Oh thank you for understanding! I get so frustrated sometimes and this is the place I come to for all my catholic answers. I do wish I could get some help on this one! But I understand the policy.

 

[Kristina_P]

montanaman:

Anyway, I don’t think I can hold off the temptation much longer to just wash my hands of Protestants and be done with them.

If you’re any good at apologetics, please don’t. There are many rational, well-meaning Protestants out there that just need to be told about what Catholics really believe. The only reason I’m now investigating the Church and Her claims is that I stumbled upon the CA site and started reading the articles and asking questions on the forums. Start conversations with non-Catholics. Ask them questions about what they believe, and get them to ask you questions. If they don’t let you speak, if they’re constantly attacking you, if they persist in spouting lies about the Church, then stop talking about it with * those particular Protestants*, and just live your testimony with them.

 

[scylla]

Thank you Kristina, sometimes it is hard after so many accusations of going to hell and then not listening to any discussion it gets hard to stay on some of the forums out there. I am on break here from another forum where they started changing my posts to their point of view or just to remove Catholic explanation.
I do know of one other forum, that is Evangelical Christian and very charitable in its mods and posters. The only problem is the traffic is virtually nil. There are so little posters there it is much more convenient to post here.
www.thechristiandefense.com is the place, it is pretty good.

God Bless
Scylla

 

[Alma]

Montanaman:

Seems like you need a to stick your head out of the water, take a deep breath :yawn: and enjoy some fresh air for a while, but I bet it won’t take too long till you dive in again.
You see…it is inevitable when you’re in love with the Lord…

Remember Jeremiah?

“You have seduced me, Yahweh,
and I have let myself be seduced;
you have overpowered me: you were the stronger.
I am a laughing-stock all day long,
they all make fun of me…
I would say to myself, ‘I will not think about him,
I will not speak in his name any more’,
but then there seemed to be a fire burning in my heart,
imprisoned in my bones.
The effort to restrain it wearied me,
I could not do it…” (Jer 20, 7.9)



Alma

 

[In_Petto]

Kristina P.:

If you’re any good at apologetics, please don’t. There are many rational, well-meaning Protestants out there that just need to be told about what Catholics really believe. The only reason I’m now investigating the Church and Her claims is that I stumbled upon the CA site and started reading the articles and asking questions on the forums. Start conversations with non-Catholics. Ask them questions about what they believe, and get them to ask you questions. If they don’t let you speak, if they’re constantly attacking you, if they persist in spouting lies about the Church, then stop talking about it with * those particular Protestants*, and just live your testimony with them.

That’s a nice and encouraging note, Kristina. Let me explain to you about my friend, Montanaman.

He knows a lot about the Church, faith, Christian history, apologetics etc etc. When he says he is losing his cool, he loses his cool his own way–he blows off steam somewhere other than where he is doing his apologetic work. Despite what he says here about it, he almost always treats people with respect and courtesy and when he doesn’t, it’s because he’s been pushed and pushed and lied about and misquoted. Then, when he does get mad or upset, you would hardly notice unless he’s pointed it out.

This is in contrast to myself who gets mad much more easily and too easily mocks and slams his antagonists than this “gentleman apologist” of ours.
Montanaman is a good, smart, humble worker for The Lord. He’s a good man----he’ll keep at it.

 

[montanaman]

In Petto:

That’s a nice and encouraging note, Kristina. Let me explain to you about my friend, Montanaman.

He knows a lot about the Church, faith, Christian history, apologetics etc etc. When he says he is losing his cool, he loses his cool his own way–he blows off steam somewhere other than where he is doing his apologetic work. Despite what he says here about it, he almost always treats people with respect and courtesy and when he doesn’t, it’s because he’s been pushed and pushed and lied about and misquoted. Then, when he does get mad or upset, you would hardly notice unless he’s pointed it out.

This is in contrast to myself who gets mad much more easily and too easily mocks and slams his antagonists than this “gentleman apologist” of ours.
Montanaman is a good, smart, humble worker for The Lord. He’s a good man----he’ll keep at it.

Thanks, man. That would go up in my cubicle if it didn’t betray my activities online.

One reason I felt that it was okay to move on from PW for a while is because you, “In Petto/ This_Rock” seem to have a much more thorough mastery of things like Church history and scripture. You usually spent time researching, if necessary, and really thinking about your posts. Maybe it was the new-guy thing, but it was nice to see someone post who spent a little time in hopes of making a difference. Then again, I guess it didn’t take too long for you to realize your best efforts can be dismissed by such comments as “Who CARES what some weak sister holly roler tipe a million years ago said? It’s about THE BIBLE!”

On that note, because I must hate myself, I responded to a post at Bibleforums.org called “A pope-free pulpit.” The original thread starter asked why there was such animosity toward Catholics there (he wasn’t one). I responded that it wasn’t so much animosity as it was polite condescension, and a few other non-offensive things.

Those posts were promptly deleted and the thread closed.



Last night I had an excellent time at Theology on Tap in a little Irish pub. Wall-to-wall Catholics, and the priest was awesome. Spot-on theology of the body stuff delivered with humor without diluting the message. Ah, Roma…

 

[gr8full]

Hi there MM,

I just wanted to let you know that it’s not always the answers to arguments that help open our (protestant) eyes. I was first intrigued and drawn to the Church by a dear friend who is Catholic. Her life was/is a testimony to me. The first sincere Catholic I have ever known. She was patient in answering my questions. She was also great about directing me toward books. Now, as I stated in another thread I am looking into an RCIA class. And, I’d like to add that there are so many out there defending their beliefs because they are really just trying to convince themselves. If they are not truly open to the Church and have a desire to know the truth, then no matter what you say they will disagree. You never know MM, you may reach more people by just living your life and being faithful in your daily walk than you ever could by answering any argument on a forum.

 

[montanaman]

More from Fantasyland. An actual dialogue between me and a Protestant:

Me:

Originally Posted by Pax_Vobiscum
Well said. A TOTAL condemnation of Chick is probably unwarranted. However, when he intentionally oversimplifies about Catholicism, or misrepresents, or lies, he more than crosses the line. Nobody’s perfect, but he’s been in the business long enough that he knows what he’s doing regarding Catholicism. Perhaps that’s why his theology is limited to comic books–the perfect medium for fantasy.

Protestant

So you’re saying that God’s Holy Word is fantasy?

 

[In_Petto]

Me:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pax_Vobiscum
Well said. A TOTAL condemnation of Chick is probably unwarranted. However, when he intentionally oversimplifies about Catholicism, or misrepresents, or lies, he more than crosses the line. Nobody’s perfect, but he’s been in the business long enough that he knows what he’s doing regarding Catholicism. Perhaps that’s why his theology is limited to comic books–the perfect medium for fantasy.

Protestant
Quote:
So you’re saying that God’s Holy Word is fantasy?

__________________ :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

At least he didn’t paste five out of context verses to back up Chick!! What am I saying? That was probably in his next post!!

haha!! hang in there, MM!! I need a big break myself. I was starting to go :whacky: with all that stuff.