Someone on youtube Wants to Discuss Catholicism; How do I Share?

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I’ve received a message from a poster on youtube. It was sent to me - not posted as a response to a video. The message is respectful and it says that the person (I think it is a “she”) would like to discuss Catholicism with me.

I know how important this is. I know that I have to do this. But I don’t want to make any mistakes (although I’m sure I will). I’m just a beginning apologist and very poorly catechized, my knowledge of Scripture is poor, I’ve never read the Bible from cover to cover. But I do know some things about Church teaching and I feel comfortable in discussing common misconceptions, like how Catholics worship Mary and pray to statues, etc. I’ve learned so much on CAF! And I am also blessed to know someone who is very knowledgeable on Church teaching because she has been studying it for about 15 years. I think I’ve now stumped her three times and I talk to her almost every day (and for hours on Sundays).

What I’m requesting is advice. Is there anything I should do and (maybe more importantly) is there anything I *shouldn’t *do? Maybe a seed has been planted in this person’s head or maybe I can help plant a seed there. Maybe, just maybe, this person will become a Catholic.

I don’t want to mess up. I want to share Church teaching and I want to do it charitably.

I can’t tell her “no.” I just can’t.:nope:

Any advice? Help? Ways to avoid falling into traps?

HELP!

Thank y’all in advance. I am excited and scared at the same time. In the last few days I have felt a calling to give my life to God’s people. For some reason I didn’t understand until God hit me in the head with a spiritual two-by-four. And then this youtube message appeared. I listened to Collin Raye’s rendition of the (well-known to everyone but me) hymn which has the following words:

"Who will bear My Light to them?
Whom shall I send?

Here I am, Lord.
Is it I, Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night…
I will go Lord, if You lead me.
I will hold Your people in my heart."

Please help me hold this child of God in my heart. Thank you.
 
LittleSoldier said:
I’ve received a message from a poster on youtube. It was sent to me - not posted as a response to a video. The message is respectful and it says that the person (I think it is a “she”) would like to discuss Catholicism with me.

I know how important this is. I know that I have to do this. But I don’t want to make any mistakes (although I’m sure I will). I’m just a beginning apologist and very poorly catechized, my knowledge of Scripture is poor, I’ve never read the Bible from cover to cover. But I do know some things about Church teaching and I feel comfortable in discussing common misconceptions, like how Catholics worship Mary and pray to statues, etc. I’ve learned so much on CAF! And I am also blessed to know someone who is very knowledgeable on Church teaching because she has been studying it for about 15 years. I think I’ve now stumped her three times and I talk to her almost every day (and for hours on Sundays).

What I’m requesting is advice. Is there anything I should do and (maybe more importantly) is there anything I *shouldn’t *do? Maybe a seed has been planted in this person’s head or maybe I can help plant a seed there. Maybe, just maybe, this person will become a Catholic.

I don’t want to mess up. I want to share Church teaching and I want to do it charitably.

I can’t tell her “no.” I just can’t.:nope:

Any advice? Help? Ways to avoid falling into traps?

HELP!

Thank y’all in advance. I am excited and scared at the same time. In the last few days I have felt a calling to give my life to God’s people. For some reason I didn’t understand until God hit me in the head with a spiritual two-by-four. And then this youtube message appeared. I listened to Collin Raye’s rendition of the (well-known to everyone but me) hymn which has the following words:

"Who will bear My Light to them?
Whom shall I send?

Here I am, Lord.
Is it I, Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night…
I will go Lord, if You lead me.
I will hold Your people in my heart."

Please help me hold this child of God in my heart. Thank you.
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If she asks something you are not sure about, maybe you could post it here and someone could help.
 
I would be wary of unsolicited messages from anyone on youtube. Things aren’t always what they seem.
 
LittleSoldier said:
I’ve received a message from a poster on youtube. It was sent to me - not posted as a response to a video. The message is respectful and it says that the person (I think it is a “she”) would like to discuss Catholicism with me.

I know how important this is. I know that I have to do this. But I don’t want to make any mistakes (although I’m sure I will). I’m just a beginning apologist and very poorly catechized, my knowledge of Scripture is poor, I’ve never read the Bible from cover to cover. But I do know some things about Church teaching and I feel comfortable in discussing common misconceptions, like how Catholics worship Mary and pray to statues, etc. I’ve learned so much on CAF! And I am also blessed to know someone who is very knowledgeable on Church teaching because she has been studying it for about 15 years. I think I’ve now stumped her three times and I talk to her almost every day (and for hours on Sundays).

What I’m requesting is advice. Is there anything I should do and (maybe more importantly) is there anything I *shouldn’t *do? Maybe a seed has been planted in this person’s head or maybe I can help plant a seed there. Maybe, just maybe, this person will become a Catholic.

I don’t want to mess up. I want to share Church teaching and I want to do it charitably.

I can’t tell her “no.” I just can’t.:nope:

Any advice? Help? Ways to avoid falling into traps?

HELP!

Thank y’all in advance. I am excited and scared at the same time. In the last few days I have felt a calling to give my life to God’s people. For some reason I didn’t understand until God hit me in the head with a spiritual two-by-four. And then this youtube message appeared. I listened to Collin Raye’s rendition of the (well-known to everyone but me) hymn which has the following words:

"Who will bear My Light to them?
Whom shall I send?

Here I am, Lord.
Is it I, Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night…
I will go Lord, if You lead me.
I will hold Your people in my heart."

Please help me hold this child of God in my heart. Thank you.
Click to expand...
You should approach this very cautiously since this could be a someone who is using this seemingly pleasant invitation to get you into a discussion in which he/she will prove extremely antagonistic toward Catholicism. IOW, what first seems an innocent request is can be an attempt to “enlighten” you about the “errors” of Catholicism. You should first determine if he/she has a genuine interest in the Church or is just looking for someone with whom to argue.
 
I would tread carefully. There are many fundamentalists who peruse the internet looking for Catholics to “save” (just as there are many Catholics who peruse the internet looking for fundamentalists to “save” :p). Often, they will initiate a dialogue with a non-threatening “I want to discuss Catholicism, is that okay?” Once you give the green light, then they drop a barrage of the usual anti-Catholic misinformation and before you realize what happened you find yourself simultaneously carrying on a couple dozen theological, point-for-point debates.

If someone is only interested in proselytizing, there’s often nothing you can say that will change their mind. Don’t be afraid to walk away from such an online exchange, particularly if (as you admit) your knowledge is still lacking.

Maybe that’s not what the person is doing. I’ve just had it happen too many times not to be suspicious. :o

If you do want to pursue a dialogue (which you certainly can if you feel so called), you always have CAF as a resource to turn to for help articulating any responses if you feel stumped. And, of course, don’t forget to pray for the person and for your conversation. Just take it one step at a time and never feel compelled to answer immediately. Draft a response, then sit on it and re-read it to make sure it says what you want it to.

One thing to keep in mind is that, often, someone with questions about the Catholic faith can get sidetracked with random, hyper-specific questions which are not really the crux of where their problem is. Spend time reflecting and praying about what their underlying issues may be. Of course, you don’t want to accuse them of having some different deeper issue because you could very well be wrong. But keep those things in mind when drafting replies and ask genty probing questions. For example, sometimes it is better to turn a question around and ask the person why this or that bothers them rather than trudging through medieval papal encyclicals for the perfect trump card to reduce them to silence.

Remember, real conversion isn’t obtained through debate and argumentation but through an encounter with Christ. They most effective means of evangelization is to genuinely love the person you are conversing with. If they can tell you genuinely love them, then you will earn the right to be heard.

That’s a whole lot of general info. Hopefully some of it helps. For all I know, the girl has some simple non-loaded question. 😛
 
Many of them are stealth Jehovah’s Witnesses, who are conditioned to be relentless in procuring converts. Happened even in an email circle that I participate in with other Catholics. JWs, in my experience, are insidious. In all my years of email use, a JW is the first and only person I have had to block.
 
LittleSoldier said:
I’ve received a message from a poster on youtube. It was sent to me - not posted as a response to a video. The message is respectful and it says that the person (I think it is a “she”) would like to discuss Catholicism with me.

I know how important this is. I know that I have to do this. But I don’t want to make any mistakes (although I’m sure I will). …
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Don’t drive yourself too crazy over this (a little crazy is OK ;)).
What I’m requesting is advice. Is there anything I should do and (maybe more importantly) is there anything I *shouldn’t *do? Maybe a seed has been planted in this person’s head or maybe I can help plant a seed there. Maybe, just maybe, this person will become a Catholic.
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First begin by asking what she’d like to know. Ask her where she is on her faith journey. Start with what she wants and why she’s curious 🙂

Of course, don’t share any personal or financial information - she maybe a spam bot or have ill intent 😦

On the off chance she turns out to be hostile (or a spammer), don’t be afraid to block or report her to Youtube. Its not your job to answer every mean thing thrown around the internet.
 
po18guy said:
Have this person sign up here. Do not contact them anywhere else.
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This. Youtube is rife with all sorts of nutcases and cult members. Just refer them here and let us rip them to shreds.

😉

Just kidding. Seriously, don’t get into apologetics with some random person from Youtube.
 
TheRealJuliane said:
This. Youtube is rife with all sorts of nutcases and cult members. Just refer them here and let us rip them to shreds.

😉

Just kidding. Seriously, don’t get into apologetics with some random person from Youtube.
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Well, their arguments, anyway… 🙂
 
Sorry if this post doesn’t address the OP directly, I think all the advice they need has already been given

I just wanted to say… that this clearly proves that religious interactions are VERY different online than they are offline (in the real world).

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=670873

This thread asks if religion is more important/ valuable online or offline, or if it is equally important/ valuable in both spheres. Many on the thread said it was equally so.

I myself don’t believe this. Simply because the dialogue and discourse over the internet is by nature inferior to face to face, in person sharing of faith. How successful can evangelism be online, when you oftentimes don’t even know if the person you’re talking to… as stated by the above posts in this thread, “someone to be wary about, who sends unsolicited messages, extremely antagonizing towards Catholics, a spammer, spam bot, have ill intent, a nutcase, or a cult member”

So… in my personal opinion, more people are always going to come to faith in evangelism offline. The internet is a good place to find resources and catechesis, but it’s always going to be much much less effective place for evangelism than in person.

Maybe people on that thread were ONLY thinking about religion on CAF. Because a lot of other forums and communities like youtube are no place to grow in faith.
 
po18guy said:
Many of them are stealth Jehovah’s Witnesses, who are conditioned to be relentless in procuring converts. Happened even in an email circle that I participate in with other Catholics. JWs, in my experience, are insidious. In all my years of email use, a JW is the first and only person I have had to block.
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Yikes!
 
Crescentinus said:
I sincerely hope that it is not a trap.
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On Youtube? Very likely, and I would not bother, actually. I’ve gotten into some very fruitless arguments against pro-aborts on Youtube. I think they about 12 years old, and very stupid.

:mad:
 
Thank you, everyone, for your responses. I’m aware (and a little afraid) that this might be a trap. In fact, I’m aware that there is a good chance it is a trap. But, just in case it isn’t, I feel that I must respond to this person. One thing I did to protect myself was to tell her that I have very limited time to respond to her. So I have days to think of responses.

The first question was the typical “Jesus is the one mediator” question, along with the old “praying to dead people.” I’ve asked her to define “one” as used in “one mediator.” I told her that first we need to be sure that we agree on our definitions. I’ve put off the rest of her question until we agree on definitions.

I like the idea of asking all of you about specific questions. As for “dead saints” there is no problem there as I have four Bible passages which show that the saints are not dead, that God is the God of the living, not the dead, and that the saints present bowls of incense to the Lord, which are their prayers. What in the world would the saints be praying for? They’re in Heaven! I doubt they are praying for themselves! There is only one reason I can think of and that is that they pray for us and present those prayers to God.

I know that in the Bible there is a passage which tell us to pray for each other. I don’t know the book or number but I can find it easily. Nowhere does it say that Jesus is the ONLY mediator. But I have to admit I’m a bit shaky on this as I’m probably dealing with someone who is sola scriptura.

I know that youtube is full of trolls. Right now I’m responding off and on to a person who has probably a dozens aliases. Most of his posts have been flagged as spam. He lies about me, tells others that I am telling people to worship Mary, etc., yada yada yada. Nothing new. The only reasons I am even responding to him is because it is teaching me charity and because someone might read my responses and wonder why this other poster is so mean and nasty but I’m not. His accusations are so ridiculous that they are a piece of cake to respond to.

I’ve also found that there are many Catholics on youtube who have produced videos (I’d like to but I don’t know how). I’ve seen some that have brought tears to my eyes. For a long time I didn’t think there were any Catholics on youtube besides me. Finding them has been comforting to me. Catholics are speaking out on youtube. I’m very happy about that.

As for youtube itself, I know it’s not really moderated and I have to be careful. If I am attacked by this poster I will simply put youtube on my junk list.

She hasn’t responded to my request to define “one” yet. I wonder if she will.
 
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