Question that I can't find an answer to!

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Flower45

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Hi I have a huge question! I ran into a Jehovah witness the other day and she was trying to get me to attend a bible group with her. I kindly said no and stood my ground and than she asked me a question that I simply do not know. She asked “if the bible states that there is to be no advertising in or outside the church why do the Catholic Church’s have bulletins advertising buisness.” I did not for one know that was in the bible I am new to reading the bible and if it is I didn’t know what to respond. Does anyone know if this is true and if so than are we doing wrong by having those bulletins in our church?
 
There should be no buying or selling in the sanctuary space. It’s a holy place and should be reserved for prayer and worship.

Having bullitins with advertizers is not against these. These are generally businesses that support your parish in some way.

We’re doing nothing wrong.

God bless
 
Bulletin advertisements simply pay for the bulletins. Without them there’d be no bulletin.

Your situation sounds better than the last time a Jehovah’s witness bothered me. I was awkwardly reaching into my car with my legs and backside hanging out the driver’s seat when she asked if I wanted a copy of her “Watchtower” magazine. Danged woman made me ruin my vintage lamp shades. :mad: I basically said “never” and jokingly offered her a copy of the '62 Missal I had in my back seat. She said “I already have a Catholic Bible.” I said it wasn’t a Bible and she precoded to tell me she only needed a Bible. I then shouted to her as she was walking away to read the book of John as to why we need the Mass. She walked back over and went on to say the Church was founded by Constantine :rolleyes: to which I replied it was divinely founded by Christ. She then walked away. Oh how I wish I knew what I know now about the LDS and their early history. I feel bad for the poor brainwashed woman.
 
Bulletin advertisements simply pay for the bulletins. Without them there’d be no bulletin.

Your situation sounds better than the last time a Jehovah’s witness bothered me. I was awkwardly reaching into my car with my legs hanging out the driver’s door when she asked if I wanted a copy of her “Watchtower” magazine. Danged woman made me ruin my vintage lamp shades. :mad: I basically said “never” and jokingly offered her my copy of the '62 Missal I had in my back seat. She said “I already have a Catholic Bible.” I said it wasn’t a Bible and she proceeded to tell me she only needed a Bible. I then shouted to her as she was walking away to read the book of John as to why we need the Mass. She walked back over and went on to say the Church was founded by Constantine :rolleyes: to which I replied it was divinely founded by Christ. She then walked away. It was a bit more heated than it probably sounds. Oh how I wish I knew then what I know now about the LDS and their early history. I feel bad for those poor brainwashed cult members.
 
Flower45 said:
She asked “if the bible states that there is to be no advertising in or outside the church why do the Catholic Church’s have bulletins advertising buisness.”
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Perhaps she was referring to Jesus’ outburst against the moneychangers in the temple? I’ve never seen anything in the Bible that says “no advertising in church”.

If that was her take, then it’s an inaccurate interpretation of the passage. Jesus wasn’t angry that they were selling, per se – after all, if the Mosaic law requires animal sacrifice, then they were providing a service by selling animals there. However, His ire was directed primarily at the moneychangers (and, by their association with them, at those who benefited from the moneychangers’ business). They allowed only a particular currency to be used to purchase animals for sacrifice; and, if you didn’t have the currency (or were a local, and had the opportunity to get this currency elsewhere), then you had to get your own money exchanged into the appropriate currency. When doing this, the moneychangers essentially extorted out-of-town Jews, giving them a poor exchange rate that cheated them out of their money. That blatant money grab, right at the threshold of the sanctuary, was what angered Jesus. It’s not that they conducted business, it’s that they were a “den of thieves” in His father’s house…
are we doing wrong by having those bulletins in our church?
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No, we are not.
 
ServusHumilis said:
Bulletin advertisements simply pay for the bulletins. Without them there’d be no bulletin.

Your situation sounds better than the last time a Jehovah’s witness bothered me. I was awkwardly reaching into my car with my legs hanging out the driver’s door when she asked if I wanted a copy of her “Watchtower” magazine. Danged woman made me ruin my vintage lamp shades. :mad: I basically said “never” and jokingly offered her my copy of the '62 Missal I had in my back seat. She said “I already have a Catholic Bible.” I said it wasn’t a Bible and she proceeded to tell me she only needed a Bible. I then shouted to her as she was walking away to read the book of John as to why we need the Mass. She walked back over and went on to say the Church was founded by Constantine :rolleyes: to which I replied it was divinely founded by Christ. She then walked away. It was a bit more heated than it probably sounds. Oh how I wish I knew then what I know now about the LDS and their early history. I feel bad for those poor brainwashed cult members.
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:rotfl:
 
Thank you so much everyone! all of this was very enlightening and I hope that if I run into them again I should be a bit more prepared! I felt like I wasn’t a true catholic when they asked me this and I take my religion very seriously so I was offended that she would even look down on my religion! I’m glad all you had enlightening info. It helped!
God bless you all and happy new year!
 
You know this really just shows how delusional their theology is, if they even have a systematic theology. It shows they simply grasp at straws to try to trip up Catholics.

As other posters have pointed out, this is a nonsense argument! I too am guessing she was referring to Christs outrage at the commercialism at the Temple. The Jews at that time and place were turning the Temple into a “sacrifice swap meet” where Jews could by small animals and other “sacramentals” for temple worship by selling all these goods right in the temple grounds! Thus , instead of the Temple just being the tabernacle of the Lord, it was also commercial center.

Is this really what is going on with a bulletin? Of course not! Its like saying that there is a party in the vestibule whenever the bulletin announces the Parish Carnival or Dream Cuisine! Its such an absolutely absurd argument that it shows they’ll use anything simply to trip you up!

Whenever you are approached by people like this, just stay calm in the confidence that the Catholic Church has faced EVERY challenge you’ll ever hear and better yet, has a strong and convincing argument for every one! Ask them to clarify exactly what they are speaking about! In your case you didnt ask her to clarify what she was talking about by the supposed prohibition against advertising at Church. She may not even know, It may have been the JW marching orders of the day without providing the troops all the details! But if you arent clear, make them clarify what they are talking about, where exactly they are quoting from or what supposed Catholic teaching they are referring to. Lots of time non Catholics accuse Catholics of believing things that simply arent true! Make them specify exactly what teaching they are referring to and where that can be found in Catholic Tradition ie, Bible, Catechism, Early Fathers, Encyclicals etc. .

Too many ex Catholics have left the Church because some JW or Mormon or Evangelical told the Catholic they were violating the teachings of Christ because they had a bulletin sitting in the back of the Church or some other ludicrous argument like that, and the ex Catholic never bothered to investigate! So Im commending you for asking!! And just remember to stay confident, and if you cant answer a question , just tell them youre not exactly sure but will get back to them. God bless, and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too!
 
Thank you Robert for all of that information! It makes me happy to know that they try to throw things like this at everyone just to see how we handle their criticism. Can I ask you where in the bible it has that passage you spoke about? I would really love to read it to know more about the bible. Like I said I’m new at reading the bible and any passages of the bible that you refer me to I definitely will look into!
 
Mt 21:12, Mk 11:15, Lk 19:45 and Jn 2:13. The account is in all 4 gospels. 🙂
 
Your Welcome, Flower.

A wonderful bible to have in your bookcase is the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. It covers the new testament and really has a lot of neat indexes and cross references that are really great for those who dont know the bible very well (such as me). If you can afford one it is worth the money.
 
Dee burk God works in mysterious ways, I was actually just looking for a bible online to purchase and was so confused as to which one I should get. I will definately look to see if they have that one. If I have money for junk food every week I’m pretty sure I can cut out for a bible in the mean time.
Thanks for your advice!
 
=Flower45;12612178]Hi I have a huge question! I ran into a Jehovah witness the other day and she was trying to get me to attend a bible group with her. I kindly said no and stood my ground and than she asked me a question that I simply do not know. She asked “if the bible states that there is to be no advertising in or outside the church why do the Catholic Church’s have bulletins advertising buisness.” I did not for one know that was in the bible I am new to reading the bible and if it is I didn’t know what to respond. Does anyone know if this is true and if so than are we doing wrong by having those bulletins in our church?
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🙂 When-ever encountering such claims; first ask for proof of what they are saying.

Having read the bible multiple times I can’t even conceive of how this distorted message got out?

In my many talks with them it never came up:shrug:

Pray much for yourself and them.

Thanks for asking,

Patrick

.
 
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