Non-Catholics on the CA Forum

[RNRobert]

I’ve been participating on this forum off and on for four years, and one thing that has always puzzled me is the number of non-Catholics on this forum. Many of course, are in the process of converting to Catholicism, or are thinking about it, or are simply curious as to what the Catholic Church teaches, and that is a good thing. But what really surprises me are the number of people active on this forum who have no interest in the Catholic faith or are downright hostile to it.
I recall reading a post by one Protestant Christian (I believe a member of the Reformed Church) who proudly declared, “I’ll never swim the Tiber.” Fine and dandy, but then why are you wasting your time here? I myself will never swim the Elbe, or the Rhone, or the Thamaes, or convert to some non-Christian religion, but I have better things to do with my life than troll non-Catholic boards and tell them why they’re wrong (I probably spend too much time HERE as it is ).
So, if these people are that against the Catholic Church, then why do they come (before I became Catholic I wouldn’t have been caught dead on a Catholic forum)? Are they hoping to “rescue” us from the “Whore of Babylon?”

 

[Muslim_Woman]

Salaam/peace

… simply curious as to what the Catholic Church teaches, and that is a good thing.

yap , I came here with that intention; now I am toooo busy in fighting with some Christians…no time to talk to Catholics …too bad

Are they hoping to “rescue” us from the “Whore of Babylon?”

don’t know what is it . May be , u can take a chance to save us - the lost souls

 

[RNRobert]

don’t know what is it . May be , u can take a chance to save us - the lost souls

Some Protestant Christians refer to the Catholic Church as the ‘Whore of Babylon’ (the term comes from the book of Revelation in the New Testament). Many non-Catholic Christians believe that the Catholic Church is some sort of evil organization (Protestant minister Charles Spurgeon called it the ‘masterpiece of Satan’) that people need to be ‘rescued from.’

 

[churchcamefirst]

And Jack Chick, that anti-Catholic bigot who hates us just as well. Well, there are over 1.5 Billion Catholics for a reason, we are still the leading religion in the world, and still growing strong.
If Catholicism is wrong my non-Catholic brothers and sisters, why all the fuss?
Remember Jesus saying that they will hate you because of me, it is obvious he is speaking about the Catholic church and it’s members.

 

[RC_Matt]

I’ve been participating on this forum off and on for four years, and one thing that has always puzzled me is the number of non-Catholics on this forum. Many of course, are in the process of converting to Catholicism, or are thinking about it, or are simply curious as to what the Catholic Church teaches, and that is a good thing. But what really surprises me are the number of people active on this forum who have no interest in the Catholic faith or are downright hostile to it.
I recall reading a post by one Protestant Christian (I believe a member of the Reformed Church) who proudly declared, “I’ll never swim the Tiber.” Fine and dandy, but then why are you wasting your time here? I myself will never swim the Elbe, or the Rhone, or the Thamaes, or convert to some non-Christian religion, but I have better things to do with my life than troll non-Catholic boards and tell them why they’re wrong (I probably spend too much time HERE as it is ).
So, if these people are that against the Catholic Church, then why do they come (before I became Catholic I wouldn’t have been caught dead on a Catholic forum)? Are they hoping to “rescue” us from the “Whore of Babylon?”

It is kind of an interesting phenomenon; there seem to be two broad categories. I’ve noticed that some of them, like Mormons, come here to do missionary work. With them, the product they’re selling is so easily debunked that most don’t last too long once they start learning things they don’t want to know. Some Calvinists come here to do the same thing, to “save” us from the whore of Babylon. Personally, I think their time would be better spent just handing out Chick Tracts in a supermarket parking lot. Then there are some other regulars who are former Catholics and just come here to snark. That’s one category, “the negatives;” but they do prove a valuable service. In rebutting those types of posts, knowledgeable Catholics publicly disseminate much useful information that other Catholics, particularly casual lurkers, may have forgotten or never known.

It speaks well of Catholic Answers that bands of tolerance are very wide. If you posted some of the material that they post here on one of their boards, you’d be banned in a heartbeat!

The other broad category seems to be comprised of those who genuinely come here to learn about the Catholic Church from Catholics and rationally discuss topics of mutual concern and interest. I’ve learned a lot from some of those folks, particularly from a couple of non-Catholic clergy, and their posts reflect very well on them and on their faith communities.

 

[RNRobert]

And Jack Chick, that anti-Catholic bigot who hates us just as well. Well, there are over 1.5 Billion Catholics for a reason, we are still the leading religion in the world, and still growing strong.
If Catholicism is wrong my non-Catholic brothers and sisters, why all the fuss?
Remember Jesus saying that they will hate you because of me, it is obvious he is speaking about the Catholic church and it’s members.

Jesus said that a servant is not greater than his master. If Jesus was accused of being in in league with demons (Matthew 9:34; Matthew 12:34, Mark 3:22), then it shouldn’t surpise us when his Church is accused of the same thing.
Bishop Fulton Sheen wrote:

If I were not a Catholic, and were looking for the true Church in the world today, I would look for the one Church which did not get along well with the world; in other words, I would look for the Church which the world hates. My reason for doing this would be, that if Christ is in any one of the churches in the world today, He must still be hated as He was when He was on earth in the flesh. If you would find Christ today, then find the Church that does not get along with the world. Look for the Church that is hated by the world, as Christ was hated by the world. Look for the Church that is accused of being behind the times, as Our Lord was accused of being ignorant and having never learned. Look for the church which men sneer at as being socially inferior, as they sneered at Our Lord because he came from Nazareth. Look for the Church which is accused of having a devil, as Our Lord was accused of being possessed by Beelzebub, the Prince of the devils. Look for the Church which, in seasons of bigotry, men say must be destroyed in the name of God as men crucified Christ and thought they had done a service to God. Look for the Church which the world rejects because it claims it is infallible, as Pilate rejected Christ because He called Himself the Truth. Look for the Church that is rejected by the world as Our Lord was rejected by men. Look for the Church which amid the confusion of conflicting opinions, its members love as they love Christ, and respect its Voice as the very voice of its Founder, and the suspicion will grow, that if the Church is unpopular with the spirit of the world, then it is unworldly, and if it is unworldly, it is other-worldly, Since it is other-worldly it is infinitely loved and infinitely hated as was Christ Himself. But only that which is divine infinitely hated and infinitely loved. Therefore the Church is Divine.

 

[tGette]

Jesus said that a servant is not greater than his master. If Jesus was accused of being in in league with demons (Matthew 9:34; Matthew 12:34, Mark 3:22), then it shouldn’t surpise us when his Church is accused of the same thing.
Bishop Fulton Sheen wrote:

Quote:
If I were not a Catholic, and were looking for the true Church in the world today, I would look for the one Church which did not get along well with the world; in other words, I would look for the Church which the world hates. My reason for doing this would be, that if Christ is in any one of the churches in the world today, He must still be hated as He was when He was on earth in the flesh. If you would find Christ today, then find the Church that does not get along with the world. Look for the Church that is hated by the world, as Christ was hated by the world. Look for the Church that is accused of being behind the times, as Our Lord was accused of being ignorant and having never learned. Look for the church which men sneer at as being socially inferior, as they sneered at Our Lord because he came from Nazareth. Look for the Church which is accused of having a devil, as Our Lord was accused of being possessed by Beelzebub, the Prince of the devils.

I actually wanted to start a thread on this. I had this same thought…praise God for the work He has done through Fulton J. Sheen!

Here is my similar thought:

Of all the Non-Catholic Christian churches and faithful, etc. What one thing (besides Christ) do they have in common?

Well…they all certainly disagree with each other on certain issues or they would not be divided.
So…what…besides Jesus…do they have in common?
**
They all think the Catholic Church is gravely wrong!**

Now some will say this is a gross over-generalization, but rightly so!

Some will say they are not anti-Catholic…and I truly believe that…but if you are NOT Catholic you are "anti"Catholic in some sense. Either you are nescient to the differences of all the Christian churches, therefore you just go to the church you were brought up in (which is fine)…OR…you are not part of the Catholic Church because you disagree with Her about something.

 

[reen12]

I’ve been participating on this forum off and on for four years, and one thing that has always puzzled me is the number of non-Catholics on this forum. Many of course, are in the process of converting to Catholicism, or are thinking about it, or are simply curious as to what the Catholic Church teaches, and that is a good thing. But what really surprises me are the number of people active on this forum who have no interest in the Catholic faith or are downright hostile to it.
I recall reading a post by one Protestant Christian (I believe a member of the Reformed Church) who proudly declared, “I’ll never swim the Tiber.” Fine and dandy, but then why are you wasting your time here? I myself will never swim the Elbe, or the Rhone, or the Thamaes, or convert to some non-Christian religion, but I have better things to do with my life than troll non-Catholic boards and tell them why they’re wrong (I probably spend too much time HERE as it is ).
So, if these people are that against the Catholic Church, then why do they come (before I became Catholic I wouldn’t have been caught dead on a Catholic forum)? Are they hoping to “rescue” us from the “Whore of Babylon?”

Christianity is a prosyletizing faith. It seeks converts.

If a given Christian holds that a particular denomination
of Christianity teaches error…and therefore removes
those members from true teaching - in re Jesus…what to do?

Does this not eventuate in ------> given members, of one denomination,
trying to reach out to given members of another Christian church?

---

Proclaiming Jesus is held to be a work of charity,
as well as obedience to the command of Jesus.

If one is truly convinced that the Jesus of scripture is not
reflected by the earliest Churches, it is an act of Christian charity,
to point to error taught.

I would think that Catholics would welcome the opportunity
to engage the faith beliefs of others.

The title, of this particular forum, might read:

Considering converting to Catholicism?
Or: Any questions, vis a vis Catholic doctrine/dogmas?

It is not so titled. “Non-Catholic Religions” is the title assigned.

I find the following of interest: esp. posts # 3 and # 4.

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=162027

reen12 :tiphat:

 

[tGette]

Christianity is a prosyletizing faith. It seeks converts.

If a given Christian holds that a particular denomination
of Christianity teaches error…and therefore removes
those members from true teaching - in re Jesus…what to do?

Does this not eventuate in ------> given members, of one denomination,
trying to reach out to given members of another Christian church?

---

Proclaiming Jesus is held to be a work of charity,
as well as obedience to the command of Jesus.

If one is truly convinced that the Jesus of scripture is not
reflected by the earliest Churches, it is an act of Christian charity,
to point to error taught.

I would think that Catholics would welcome the opportunity
to engage the faith beliefs of others.

reen12 :tiphat:

Excellent point…especially that Catholics SHOULD welcome opportunity to engage the faith belief of others. It is only out of respect that we know what others believe.

Also I wanted to have the little guy tipping his hat in one of my posts!

Peace!

 

[RNRobert]

Excellent point…especially that Catholics SHOULD welcome opportunity to engage the faith belief of others. It is only out of respect that we know what others believe.

True, but it seems there are many here whose only desire is to attack the Catholic Church.

 

[tGette]

True, but it seems there are many here whose only desire is to attack the Catholic Church.

Touché!

 

[Mannyfit75]

Most NCC (Protestants) do attack the Church here. It’s also in the secular society. Even from Caferia Catholics.

 

[reen12]

Excellent point…especially that Catholics SHOULD welcome opportunity to engage the faith belief of others. It is only out of respect that we know what others believe.

Also I wanted to have the little guy tipping his hat in one of my posts!

Peace!

I learned this, over 50 years ago.
Truth is that which expresses reality -
in this instance, theological reality.

While no longer a Catholic apologist [which I was, for decades]
I have great respect for those individuals who can clearly state
the bases of their own beliefs, in charity.

Would that I would always do the same.

http://bestsmileys.com/sad/4.gif

reen12

 

[LutheranDK]

Remember Jesus saying that they will hate you because of me, it is obvious he is speaking about the Catholic church and it’s members.

No, it is obvious that He is speaking of the Church Catholic and it’s members.

I’ll leave you to ponder that statement, and try to bet with myself how long it’ll take you to find out what I meant by that.
Hint: What I call “the Church Catholic” and what you call “the Catholic Church” is not the same thing.

 

[tGette]

No, it is obvious that He is speaking of the Church Catholic and it’s members.

I’ll leave you to ponder that statement, and try to bet with myself how long it’ll take you to find out what I meant by that.
Hint: What I call “the Church Catholic” and what you call “the Catholic Church” is not the same thing.

You kinda ruined it with the hint!

 

[LutheranDK]

Jesus said that a servant is not greater than his master. If Jesus was accused of being in in league with demons (Matthew 9:34; Matthew 12:34, Mark 3:22), then it shouldn’t surpise us when his Church is accused of the same thing.
Bishop Fulton Sheen wrote:

“…Look for the church which men sneer at as being socially inferior, as they sneered at Our Lord because he came from Nazareth. Look for the Church which is accused of having a devil, as Our Lord was accused of being possessed by Beelzebub, the Prince of the devils. Look for the Church which, in seasons of bigotry, men say must be destroyed in the name of God as men crucified Christ and thought they had done a service to God…”

Oh, like the Lutheran Church has been accused of by a certain other denomination so many times? As the Lutheran Church has been attempted destroyed, its members martyred, etc?

This is a so-called “non-argument”, which only RCs can accept, because they already believe in what it’s trying to prove. And lo and behold: Our dear old friend “circular reasoning”

 

[churchcamefirst]

No, it is obvious that He is speaking of the Church Catholic and it’s members.

I’ll leave you to ponder that statement, and try to bet with myself how long it’ll take you to find out what I meant by that.
Hint: What I call “the Church Catholic” and what you call “the Catholic Church” is not the same thing.

Yea, because when Jesus said “universal”, he meant that for Lutherans…NOT.

 

[a_cermak]

I post because I am a former Catholic and to be honest, I find it disheartening the form of Catholicism that seems to be prevalent on these boards. The Catholicism I remember fondly was a rational faith that used reason rather than warring with reason. It was a compassionate religion that offered forgiveness and non-judgementalism rather than insisting on adminishing the sinner. It was a religion that was agnostic as to political party, not carrying water for the GOP. This form of Catholicism I believe to be in error and nihilistic as it seems to seek so hard to be uncharitable that it ever shrinks. And, to be honest, it does not seem to be the faith of Benedict XVI.

 

[churchcamefirst]

I post because I am a former Catholic and to be honest, I find it disheartening the form of Catholicism that seems to be prevalent on these boards. The Catholicism I remember fondly was a rational faith that used reason rather than warring with reason. It was a compassionate religion that offered forgiveness and non-judgementalism rather than insisting on adminishing the sinner. It was a religion that was agnostic as to political party, not carrying water for the GOP. This form of Catholicism I believe to be in error and nihilistic as it seems to seek so hard to be uncharitable that it ever shrinks. And, to be honest, it does not seem to be the faith of Benedict XVI.

That is because you are Jewish and are not in touch with Catholic bashing. Catholics can no longer sit on the sidelines while others bash us to pieces. At least not this one. As St. Paul said “I AM WHAT I AM”.

 

[LutheranDK]

Yea, because when Jesus said “universal”, he meant that for Lutherans…NOT.

Ok…it seems you didn’t have the ability to figure out the answer, as you think that I meant the Lutheran church…I’ll then degrade myself enough to once again explain what I have explained a thousand times already:

The Church Catholic is not = what is called in here “the Catholic Church”. The Catholic Church is the largest branch on the tree that is Christendom, not the tree itself. Jesus was referring to ALL those who believe in His name, who are ALL persecuted and hated for His name’s sake. ALL Christians - ALL! Not just those of any one denomination, but ALL. I don’t know if I’ve said “ALL” enough times to make my point, but I hope so.
“Universal” means just that: Universal! Not “part of the Roman-Catholic Church”.