The hardest to evangelize

[josephback]

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the hardest people to evangelize are those who share an evangelist mindset. By this I mean that they are sure they are right and when you try to evangelize they evangelize you! I had this experience the other day.

It’s very frustrating since in the case I know of the person opposes the Catholic Church and its teachings (Confession, purgatory, etc) but thinks they’re going to heaven. “I’m so glad we’re ready”, they said. How can you tell such a person that they most likely are NOT ready. The only thing I can think of is to pray.

We all generally think we’re going to heaven, but the Bible says that very few will actually make it. It’s frustrating when you can’t get somebody to think about the possibility of hell. For this reason I detest false religion. It innoculates people to the Truth. Grrrr!!!

 

[Barbkw]

I understand why you wrote it, but can a religion be “false” if they believe in Jesus Christ?

Evangelicals are often pro life, pro family, pro children, pro marriage, etc.

 

[Scoobyshme]

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the hardest people to evangelize are those who share an evangelist mindset. By this I mean that they are sure they are right and when you try to evangelize they evangelize you! I had this experience the other day.

It’s very frustrating since in the case I know of the person opposes the Catholic Church and its teachings (Confession, purgatory, etc) but thinks they’re going to heaven. “I’m so glad we’re ready”, they said. How can you tell such a person that they most likely are NOT ready. The only thing I can think of is to pray.

We all generally think we’re going to heaven, but the Bible says that very few will actually make it. It’s frustrating when you can’t get somebody to think about the possibility of hell. For this reason I detest false religion. It innoculates people to the Truth. Grrrr!!!

Well, Joseph, keep in mind that we’re just working in the Lord’s “Garden of Souls.” We plow, we plant, we weed, we water. It is for Him to say when and if any of them get harvested. And, we need not worry about it. Many times, we plant the seeds of faith, not to see any fruit this side of heaven.

Pope John Paul II said that we are not to try to correct every error we run across, because if we did, we’d never finish. We are, however, to spread the fullness of Christ’s truth, because when we do, His grace accompanies the action, and when that soul is going to require the grace of conversion, it will be there, available, for him.

 

[Scoobyshme]

I understand why you wrote it, but can a religion be “false” if they believe in Jesus Christ?

Evangelicals are often pro life, pro family, pro children, pro marriage, etc.

Well, BarbW, I think a religion can be false if it teaches heresy.

Consider Gal. 1:8, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach (to you) a gospel other than the one that we preached to you, let that one be accursed!”

Teaching something heretical makes them false. Whether they knowingly do so or not, is another topic. But, the truths of Christ are an integrated whole. We see this in other areas, too. For example, in mathematics. If I said I loved mathematics. I loved subtraction, multiplication, division, factoring, fractions, etc. But, I had a little problem with addition. I didn’t really believe in addition. I thought it was wrong. What would I have? Nothing! Why? Because without addition, you can’t do the rest. Similarly, with the Deposit of Faith given the Apostles by Christ, and passed on to the Church through the Apostles’ successors, the bishops, it is an integrated whole. Take out one doctrine, and a case can be made to make the others fall like dominoes. It’s an integrated whole. Take it all or leave it all.

A better example may be if I offered you a glass of the finest wine. Would you drink it. Sure, maybe. But what if I put a spoonful of sewerage in it and mixed it up. Would you drink it then? No way, Jose! Why? Because it would be a glass of sewerage.

 

[Barbkw]

IMO, the hardest to talk with about the faith - are the fallen away Catholics.

 

[josephback]

I understand why you wrote it, but can a religion be “false” if they believe in Jesus Christ?

Evangelicals are often pro life, pro family, pro children, pro marriage, etc.

Evangelicals have a lot of good things going for them as you mentioned. A religion is false though if it contradicts or opposes the Truth. I know reams of people who think they’re going to heaven, but deny basic Christian teaching. Heck, we all think we’re going to heaven, it’s a psychological necessity. It’s just frustrating and can make a person cynical. The numbers are just so vast. I should have made the post that I really dislike false religion and how it traps people. What can a person do?..(hint: pray!) It’s kinda hard when you don’t see results.

 

[josephback]

Well, Joseph, keep in mind that we’re just working in the Lord’s “Garden of Souls.” We plow, we plant, we weed, we water. It is for Him to say when and if any of them get harvested. And, we need not worry about it. Many times, we plant the seeds of faith, not to see any fruit this side of heaven.

I know. I guess that’s all we can do is plant and pray.

 

[josephback]

IMO, the hardest to talk with about the faith - are the fallen away Catholics.

Sometimes. It depends whether they’re searching for Truth and open to it.

 

[Barbkw]

Evangelicals have a lot of good things going for them as you mentioned. A religion is false though if it contradicts or opposes the Truth.

It’s more charitable to say that the Church has the fullness of Truth. Evangelicals also have the Truth of Christ in their worship. As do other denominations.

Certainly, you wouldn’t outright tell a person in a protestant denomination that they believe a “false” religion.

Because in their opinion, we Catholics are following a “false” religion.

After that, it’s just a bunch of head butting and low blows.

 

[Robertanthony]

IMO, the hardest to talk with about the faith - are the fallen away Catholics.

It’s more charitable to say that the Church has the fullness of Truth. Evangelicals also have the Truth of Christ in their worship. As do other denominations.

Certainly, you wouldn’t outright tell a person in a protestant denomination that they believe a “false” religion.

Because in their opinion, we Catholics are following a “false” religion.

After that, it’s just a bunch of head butting and low blows.

Right on both counts. As for your 1st statement, I can vouch for that: where I live just a couple of decades ago the vast majority was Church-going Catholics, now for a mass reversion God would have to repeat what he did to Saul on the road to Damascus. Most people here will roll their eyes, laugh sardonically, or get angry if you mention anything pertaining to the Church.

 

[wed2catholic]

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the hardest people to evangelize are those who share an evangelist mindset. By this I mean that they are sure they are right and when you try to evangelize they evangelize you! I had this experience the other day.

It’s very frustrating since in the case I know of the person opposes the Catholic Church and its teachings (Confession, purgatory, etc) but thinks they’re going to heaven. “I’m so glad we’re ready”, they said. How can you tell such a person that they most likely are NOT ready. The only thing I can think of is to pray.

We all generally think we’re going to heaven, but the Bible says that very few will actually make it. It’s frustrating when you can’t get somebody to think about the possibility of hell. For this reason I detest false religion. It innoculates people to the Truth. Grrrr!!!

Yes, speaking from experience, I think this is true. I come from a Fundamentalist evangelical background, and my trying to learn about Catholicism has been very hard. I think this is because Evangelicals are very grounded in their own faith. They are taught it from the time they can talk, and they know it. They are also not really exposed to any other denominations (except from their biased-against-those-denominations lessons), and they are taught that those denominations–especially Catholic–are all wrong and that they should never follow them or seriously investigate them. I did not even know, as a Fundamentalist, that I was following a person’s or group of people’s ideas. I thought those teachings were straight from God. Also, evangelical denominations’ teachings are the most unlike Catholic than any other mainline denomination. They do not have sacraments, infant baptism, liturgy, etc. . . Catholicism is a foreign concept to evangelicals. I speak from my own experience, of course. . .not from anyone else’s.

 

[vince2paul]

IMO, the hardest to talk with about the faith - are the fallen away Catholics.

if I may add:

the hardest to talk with about the faith - are the fallen away Catholics who do not care about the faith. When you talk, they won’t agree or argue. They might just nod to please you, so that they could get rid of you asap.