Protestants with Southern Accents

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Xenon-135

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I have a tremendous struggle discussing apologetics with protestants who brandish characteristically southern accents and get loud and vibrant. It makes me wanna assault them; immediately.

I am listening to this guy from the Church of Christ named David Brown. He makes me want to smash his face and squelch that redneck, smart aleck, ignorant anti-Catholic fodder.

Why do they always have to raise thier voices? Is it to summon some kind of vocal authority or is it for intimidation? I think its intimidating and I resort to force to curtail such measures.

What does one have to do to tame this instinct? It seems just obvious and natural to take an aggressive approach to a person whose accents and attributes appear to be violent and abrasive.

I think a good ol’ head butt would be my most likely choice, as I don’t really want to hurt anyone, but I do need to level the playing field and address that vocal chasm.

What can you all suggest? Everytime I hear these folks preach I keep thinking of the old plantation owners in the deep south and how they were slave masters. I can’t help but remenisce of how they used the “Good Book” to justify their enslavement of men for profit and gain.

Will I ever be able to have a reasonable discussion with these folks?
 
Well, when you have to deal with patients who have dementia, it helps to remind yourself when they are abusive that it is the illness talking. Maybe that will help… the guy undoubtedly thinks he’s shouting for Jesus. Recognize that, and you might recognize that all the nasty stuff is the illness talking.

The other thing to consider is that there are problems that are not in your ability to address. If God didn’t give you what it takes to meet this man in love and to truly witness your faith in action as well as in word, then just don’t go there until He does. I’m sure He’ll find plenty of other things for you to do… like pray for your separated brother, whom God loves very much.
 
Let’s not get into stereotypes! I think that Southern accents are very beautiful and expressive, compared to the rather lifeless accents of some Yankees. A good ol’ fire and brimstone Southern Baptist sermon is incomplete without the accent. So, let’s give credit where credit’s due: Southern accents are great for preaching!

Obviously, the solution to confronting a Southern anti-Catholic is to get a Southern Catholic. The two can duke each other out, real gentleman-like.

The Augustinian
 
There are many Catholics in Louisiana especially in the New Orleans area. Not all southerners are fundies.

John Martignoni a catholic apologist has real heavy southern accent he’s from alabama sounds like no other catholic speaker I know of,
biblechristiansociety.com/default.asp
that’s his website he can get some free tapes form him.
I think he’s great. But I think I know what you mean. I like southern accents its the yelling and sceaming and Bible thumping that they teach you at Bob Jones University that I could do without. I think the requirements for graduattion include the following courses;
Whore of Babylon 101
Rapture 202
Scream like your posessed 150
Speaking in Tongues 100
Lorraine Bettner 300
Dave Hunt 101
Jack Chick 150
Faith Healing 400
Post Graduate offerings
Pope is anti-christ
ash wednesday ashmark is the mark of the beast
How the apostles gave us the King James Bible in Leather
 
I’m a Southern Catholic. 👍 I love my Northern friends that have moved into my community buttttttttt!

When we do the Rosary after daily Mass everyday, I have jokingly said that we need to put the Southerns on one side and the Northerns on the other. They talk to fast 😛 :eek:

If God wanted us all to sound the same, He would have made us ALL Southerns 😛 😃

I hope ya’ll know i’m just joshing ya 😛 😃 👍
 
I am a Southener and I have to agree with the first poster. I don’t mind the more educated or ‘finessed’ southern accents but something about those hellfire and brimstome preachers just set me off. It pushes my buttons because I used to have to sit in the audience and have to take all that…so it does not leave a good memory. When I became an adult I walked away from it…but sometimes my mother will put in a tape of a ‘yelling’ preacher. I just have to leave the room. She and my brother have it in their heads that I leave because I can’t abide ‘sound’ or ‘good’ preaching. I don’t consider it good…I never have. Its not even a ‘good’ style of public speaking.

They do tend to raise their voice…but remember the normally do that when they are on the defensive. That means you are getting to them. I guess they think that if they get loud you will become intimdaded by the force of their personality that you will give up. They are used to having the final say…of having the people in their congregation listen to them and agree (they are in fact…little popes in their church).Then when you refuse to back down they get even louder they feel the threat, even when they have nothing to say. Don’t be harsh, don’t yell back. Be firm and speak the truth in love.

The southern preachers I consider good are the Southern Black preachers but unfortunately with most of the time you just get caught up in the charisma of the person and don’t pay attention to what they are actually saying…I’m afraid I’m guilty of that.

dream wanderer
 
well, I’ll be waitin’ for 'em.

They will approach me again, I’m sure. I won’t seek any of them out, but one of the people from thier guild will surely make the terrible mistake of trying to prostelytize me.
 
i live in texas, and grew up in EAST texas, where the Bible thumping comes naturally. i detest the ‘preacher voice’ that so many baptists (and other prots) get when they start preaching. i hear it most often when they want to say something that sounds ridiculous. they use it for emphasis, to drive their point home. they don’t mean it as an offensive thing, at least most of the folks i know. they’re just trying to be ‘spiritual’.

like has been mentioned, just keep speaking to them (IF you keep speaking to them. usually when they turn on the preacher voice, they’re not listening) in a calm, natural voice, and they’ll either give up or listen. probably give up. 🙂
 
What you describe is annoying. But as a number of posts have said it is a cultural thing–that is the culture in certain southern churches (usually, fundamentalist and/or evangelical). I have as much trouble with the patronizing, condescending, unctuous, but even-tempered, “I-know-better-than-you-misguided-Catholics” attitude. I suspect that what we are reacting to is not really the delivery (how loud or the tone of voice) but the attitude behind it which usually is that the Protestant is right and Catholics are wrong and that’s all there is to it (in their mind)!
 
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Xenon-135:
I have a tremendous struggle discussing apologetics with protestants who brandish characteristically southern accents and get loud and vibrant. It makes me wanna assault them; immediately.

I am listening to this guy from the Church of Christ named David Brown. He makes me want to smash his face and squelch that redneck, smart aleck, ignorant anti-Catholic fodder.

Why do they always have to raise thier voices? Is it to summon some kind of vocal authority or is it for intimidation? I think its intimidating and I resort to force to curtail such measures.

What does one have to do to tame this instinct? It seems just obvious and natural to take an aggressive approach to a person whose accents and attributes appear to be violent and abrasive.

I think a good ol’ head butt would be my most likely choice, as I don’t really want to hurt anyone, but I do need to level the playing field and address that vocal chasm.

What can you all suggest? Everytime I hear these folks preach I keep thinking of the old plantation owners in the deep south and how they were slave masters. I can’t help but remenisce of how they used the “Good Book” to justify their enslavement of men for profit and gain.

Will I ever be able to have a reasonable discussion with these folks?
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I hope you are joking about your violent tendencies. If not, I suggest you read my signature…
 
Ahimsaman,

Thre is no jest here. Such matters have always been a cross for me to bear as well as anger, lust, and hate.

You can take a family outta the Highland, but you can’t really take the Highland out of them. I don’t exactly like having such reactive inclinations; it often results in ways that I had rather it not. This is why I don’t own a handgun. I would rather apply a minor amount of sensibile restraint than a maximum amount of prision sentence.
 
I must admit that I have had the same stereotype about southern accents. Right now I am visting relatives in Virginia and I am surrounded with them. But I am surprised, there does not seem to be many anti-catholics here, maybe I’m not far enough into the south. I have walked through the grocery store wearing my crucifix and I have not been called an idolatler yet, I am impressed. I have been bracing myself for it though. At the Catholic church here though, many people have southern accents, and I think the rosary sounds very nice with the southern accent. There’s a lot of love in their voices.
 
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Xenon-135:
Ahimsaman,

Thre is no jest here. Such matters have always been a cross for me to bear as well as anger, lust, and hate.

You can take a family outta the Highland, but you can’t really take the Highland out of them. I don’t exactly like having such reactive inclinations; it often results in ways that I had rather it not. This is why I don’t own a handgun. I would rather apply a minor amount of sensibile restraint than a maximum amount of prision sentence.
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I admire your honesty.

I was born and raised in Tennessee till 26, moved to Georgia for several years and now have ended up in Iowa. That said, I know what you’re talking about when it comes to getting loud. I grew up in protestant churches with loud preaching and have listened to preachers get really ugly and loud about Catholicism. I start RCIA in a couple weeks - converting to the true faith.

Ignorance plays a huge part in this. But, also most are simply passionate about their beliefs. Obviously, you can’t fit all southern fundamentalists into one neat little box. Pentecostals are generally more vocal and loud and anti-catholic than say, a Lutheran.

I could reverse this and say that northern folks get on my nerves because of their demeaning words and speed-speech. 🙂
I live in Iowa where there is no accent. Lucky me.

Hang in there. Count to ten. Count sheep. Walk away. Sorry, the best I could come up with.

God bless…
 
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Maccabees:
I like southern accents its the yelling and sceaming and Bible thumping that they teach you at Bob Jones University that I could do without. I think the requirements for graduattion include the following courses;
Whore of Babylon 101
Rapture 202
Scream like your posessed 150
Speaking in Tongues 100
Lorraine Bettner 300
Dave Hunt 101
Jack Chick 150
Faith Healing 400
Post Graduate offerings
Pope is anti-christ
ash wednesday ashmark is the mark of the beast
How the apostles gave us the King James Bible in Leather
Click to expand...
Hey! you left out “Synagogue of Satan” on the post-graduate list! (Do I have to go to confession now?)
 
You need to don your Ulysses S. Grant t-shirt when engaging in these arguments.

Seriously, regional accents are quickly disappearing due to sociological changes (children being raised by tv as latch-key kids is a large part of it, IMO). Where they exist as thick accents they are affectations. There is a socio-political dimension to this. It is not uncommon to hear non-Southern accents in many regions of the South, especially among the upper classes, while at the same time hearing Southern accents in Northern areas which tend to be rural and lower class, and identifying with Southern culture (e.g., certain areas of Southern Pennsylvania, Southern Ohio, lower parts of Illinois, Western and rural Maryland, etc.). You will see Confederate flags in lower-class areas of Pennsylvania, Ohio, etc. So it is not some much a regional phenomenon as it is a cultural and class phenomenon (i.e., not so much Southern as redneck).
 
Well…I have always been a litle against the grain, so my post might not jive well with most here but…

I FEEL YA!!!

Ive often wanted to beat on the type of people youre describing, with a vengeance.

I dont think youre speaking of normal southern accents…I think I know what you mean, its that fake-sounding,blood curdling DRAWL
that reeks of ignorance and KJV Onlyism…

“Weeeee take the BIBLE litrul…”
 
The Old Road:
You need to don your Ulysses S. Grant t-shirt when engaging in these arguments.

Seriously, regional accents are quickly disappearing due to sociological changes (children being raised by tv as latch-key kids is a large part of it, IMO). Where they exist as thick accents they are affectations. There is a socio-political dimension to this. It is not uncommon to hear non-Southern accents in many regions of the South, especially among the upper classes, while at the same time hearing Southern accents in Northern areas which tend to be rural and lower class, and identifying with Southern culture (e.g., certain areas of Southern Pennsylvania, Southern Ohio, lower parts of Illinois, Western and rural Maryland, etc.). You will see Confederate flags in lower-class areas of Pennsylvania, Ohio, etc. So it is not some much a regional phenomenon as it is a cultural and class phenomenon (i.e., not so much Southern as redneck).
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I wouldn’t go into a “classes” mode with this. Preposterous.
 
What are you waiting for? Just smack him! (lol, just kidding) 😃

There’s nothing wrong with being intimidating in an argument, but there are different ways of being intimidating. The first way is the way you mentioned most southern protestants are about theological debates. The second way is to be knowledgeable about Scripture, Catholic Church teaching, Protestant church teachings, and Christian history. People who are agressive in the first way probably have NEVER won EVEN ONE argument, but they may have offended and appalled people to the point that they don’t want to speak to them a million times! The only way to win an argument is to be intimidating the second way. To have knowledge, not a big mouth.
 
The Old Road:
Or just refer to what Bill Maher said recently:

“Look, let’s be candid, the South is the dumbest part of the country.”
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That was pretty Politically Incorrect…I love it :dancing:
 
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