People that talk bad about the Church

[HNA444]

Lots of people, whether Catholic or not, seem to have bad things to say about the church, and it offends me. I know of some Catholic people who say that the Catholic churches in my community are just after money, and than the other day a Catholic person was asked me if i was a “very religious person”, and I responded “well, what is a very religious person?” and he said following the bible. And, I said yes and also the church teaching. He questioned me by saying “where does the church teachings come from?” (I also had this discussion with another Catholic person who said the same thing). He went on to ask "what is in the church teaching that is not in the bible, and I was no exactly positive about my answer but I said confession. He said that confession is a way for the church to control or have power. I was offended, and asked why they would feel the need to control or have power, and he didn’t have a direct answer. Anyway, can any of you tell me how I could respond to people who say such things about the church and it’s teachings? Thank you

 

[cmforte]

Lots of people, whether Catholic or not, seem to have bad things to say about the church, and it offends me. I know of some Catholic people who say that the Catholic churches in my community are just after money, and than the other day a Catholic person was asked me if i was a “very religious person”, and I responded “well, what is a very religious person?” and he said following the bible. And, I said yes and also the church teaching. He questioned me by saying “where does the church teachings come from?” (I also had this discussion with another Catholic person who said the same thing). He went on to ask "what is in the church teaching that is not in the bible, and I was no exactly positive about my answer but I said confession. He said that confession is a way for the church to control or have power. I was offended, and asked why they would feel the need to control or have power, and he didn’t have a direct answer. Anyway, can any of you tell me how I could respond to people who say such things about the church and it’s teachings? Thank you

Why respond? I just pity those people and pray for them. You know the truth, you have the truth. Truth doesn’t always need to defend itself. It is what it is. Be content with it. That’s just my take.

-Chris

 

[FKhiva]

Attacks always come irrespective of whether your church is on the right track or not. Secondly, not all “attacks” or tests are necessarily unfounded.
I suggest that you always remain calm when people do that to you. The key thing to defend is the truth as stated in the Bible, not the church or its doctrine. To do this, you need to read and study the Bible yourself so that you understand what the message is.

We tend to rely too much on the priests, hence many things have been changed and distorted right under our noses purely due to our ignorrance. So, when it so happens that people ask us some unsettling questions, we become uncomfortable, purely because we are not fit and prepared in the Word to answer or defend our faith (not the church).

My point is that, it is a well-known fact that most churches mix their doctrines with circular and pagan traditions and so can never be pure and free from defilement. To prevent members from discovering this fraud and start asking questions, they discourage reading the Bible or contacting people outside the church, except focussing on locally designed material specifically prepared to indoctrinate and control them. In some respects, some members do discover these by chance and start asking questions.

By this, I don’t mean or suggest at all that the people that confronted you were necessarily genuine and serious about what they asked. So, please always ask yourself whether or not what you hear is true and don’t worry about defending the church (the priests get paid to do exactly that).

 

[Flavius_Aetius]

We tend to rely too much on the priests, hence many things have been changed and distorted right under our noses purely due to our ignorrance. So, when it so happens that people ask us some unsettling questions, we become uncomfortable, purely because we are not fit and prepared in the Word to answer or defend our faith (not the church).

My point is that, it is a well-known fact that most churches mix their doctrines with circular and pagan traditions and so can never be pure and free from defilement. To prevent members from discovering this fraud and start asking questions, they discourage reading the Bible or contacting people outside the church, except focussing on locally designed material specifically prepared to indoctrinate and control them. In some respects, some members do discover these by chance and start asking questions.

From the look of it; you seem to be one of those very people who claim Catholics are little more than an invention of the Roman government that was corrupted by pagan influences as you said. In any case learning Sola Scriptura is not going to help the OP in dealing with these kinds of people. While reading the Bible is important, it is equally important to study the doctrine established by the Church; especially when the ignorant or spiteful attack the Church.

 

[Saburo]

My point is that, it is a well-known fact that most churches mix their doctrines with circular and pagan traditions and so can never be pure and free from defilement. To prevent members from discovering this fraud and start asking questions, they discourage reading the Bible or contacting people outside the church, except focussing on locally designed material specifically prepared to indoctrinate and control them.

You are clearly not familiar with the Catholic Church at all. I am not even aware of many Protestant churches which discourage reading the Bible. You seem to be describing a cult, of which there are several, but they hardly qualify as “most churches.”

 

[Bezant]

Lots of people, whether Catholic or not, seem to have bad things to say about the church, and it offends me.

Hello,

While there’s definitely legitimate criticism of the way the Church handles things, most of the criticism I hear comes from ignorance or bigotry.

i know of some Catholic people who say that the Catholic churches in my community are just after money…

This is a really stupid argument, going back to the classic “gaudy popery” stereotype of the Church, and I’m vexed at how often it comes up. It’s almost always a bigoted argument.

Are those parishes dwindling or having financial troubles in your community? Find out, and use that information as a counter.

…and than the other day a Catholic person was asked me if i was a “very religious person”, and I responded “well, what is a very religious person?” and he said following the bible. And, I said yes and also the church teaching. He questioned me by saying “where does the church teachings come from?” (I also had this discussion with another Catholic person who said the same thing).
He went on to ask "what is in the church teaching that is not in the bible, and I was no exactly positive about my answer but I said confession. He said that confession is a way for the church to control or have power. I was offended, and asked why they would feel the need to control or have power, and he didn’t have a direct answer. Anyway, can any of you tell me how I could respond to people who say such things about the church and it’s teachings? Thank you

The best way to respond to those sorts of questions is to be well-informed on the Church’s positions.

Your response to him on the confession question was great, putting the burden of proof back on his ridiculous claim.

You could also entertain his claim and disprove it. Even if the Church has great influence over confession, it does not have total control over salvation and forgiveness of sins.

First of all, confession and absolution of sins, or the Sacrament of Penance are two related but seperate different things. You can confess to anyone (not necessarily a priest), but you can only recieve absolution from the priest.

Secondly, the Church only teaches that the Sacrament of Penance is the only ordinary way to forgive sins. That is to say there are other ways to forgive sins, including confessing to God in private (although this is not the ordinary, “assured” way).

Thirdly, even going the ordinary route to forgive sins through the Sacrament of Penance, a pentinent must be sincere. If he’s not sincerely remorseful, is the Church really controlling him? No.

Fourthly, ultimate salvation comes through God’s judgement (and control), not the Church’s.

 

[HNA444]

Thanks everyone, for your responses! I agree with what everyone is saying, and I know I should educate myself more about the church teachings.

Also important that I should have mentioned: this person who I was discussing this topic with, said that he likes to figure things out and “prove”. So, I said that the whole point in being Catholic is to have faith. The fact that he likes to prove things tells me that he doesn’t have faith.

 

[ahs]

Thanks everyone, for your responses! I agree with what everyone is saying, and I know I should educate myself more about the church teachings.

Also important that I should have mentioned: this person who I was discussing this topic with, said that he likes to figure things out and “prove”. So, I said that the whole point in being Catholic is to have faith. The fact that he likes to prove things tells me that he doesn’t have faith.

One of my favorite things to tell people in these situations (mainly because it is the truth) is: “I don’t have the full answer to that, but I will find it for you and give it to you, so that you know you are getting the real truth and not just my opinions.”

Doing something like that lets the person know that you care about their questions, that you care enough to give tehm the right answer, and gives you time to research and find the real answer, whether it be from the Bible or from the Catechism.

Confession is actually in Scriptures, and the explanation in the Catechism will help you to explain that. You can also find articles already written on this very site (Catholic Answers) in the “Faith” tab.

 

[fred_conty]

Cmforte you posted "a Catholic person was asked me if i was a “very religious person”.

I would reply, “The only two very religious people in the whole wide world are you and me.
And sometimes I have serious doubts about you.”

 

[razredge]

The fact that he likes to prove things tells me that he doesn’t have faith.

No since faith cannot settle arguments, only reason can. So it would be pointless for him to prove things to you on the basis of his faith.