The Practicality of Evangelization/Apologetics

[scameter18]

I was not raised Catholic. Originally, I was an atheist, and I was raised in a home that either ignored God or followed him hypocritically, thus making me hate God and religion as a teenager. But, I then began studying philosophy and dedicated myself to removing as much personal bias as I could, in order to perceive the truth in its fullness. Of course, I did not and will never ever know the truth fully, but I did come to recognize the truth as the Catholic God. It was a long and arduous path, but I came to it through personal desire and very, very strenuous effort. I had built up sinful habits as an atheist, including while I pursued truth, and I tried as hard as I could to rationalize a way to continue doing them, even though I knew they were wrong. But my dedication to remove bias and pursue truth fully overtook me, and so I dedicated myself to God and holiness for Him.

This is, of course, not the exact way every convert comes to Christianity; everyone is different. But I’m sure that I experienced some of the same setbacks, joys, and desires as other converts, such as the passion for truth, the joy of finding it, and the stumbling block - and indeed, the torture - of sinful habits built up beforehand. But, as I said, the only reason I converted was because I wanted to. Eventually, my conversation came to a point: do I want to remain an atheist in my sin, or become a Catholic? In my study of philosophy, that was the point I came to: between absolute, agnostic doubt, and Catholicism. And I chose Catholicism, through personal effort and will. Yes, it was by the providence and grace of God. But God did not force it on me, or anyone else; I wanted it, as do all converts.

My point with this story is to ask a question: if the only way a person can be converted is their own desire, choice and effort, what is the point of evangelization and apologetics? After becoming Catholic, I performed some apologetics myself to atheists and Protestants, mostly online - and it was completely fruitless. I would use strong arguments, and sometimes they would even concede a point - only to reiterate it again later. As I talked to them, I knew that my rational arguments were useless. They knew they truth; their problem wasn’t ignorance. They just didn’t want to do it. They preferred sin, disobedience and the pseudo-freedom of rebelliousness from God. I see the point of apologetics to publish answers, to put the information out there for anyone who chooses to find it. And the “new evangelization” of Catholics making themselves more holy is wonderful. But I am questioning the apologetical evangelization by which one goes out to non-Catholics of any kind and attempts to use rational argument in the hope of converting them. To me, this seems impossible, with the only exception being if the person doesn’t know anything about Christianity beforehand. Because if they do know about it, they will have already formed an opinion beforehand, and have made their choice, so it is useless trying to force arguments on them.

I do not mean this to be a rant or harsh. I am just trying to work out this issue in myself, and thought this is the perfect place for reciprocal aid. Thank you all for your patience and assistance. God bless.

 

[Myqyl]

I feel your pain…

I’ve done e-pologetics on several (mainly non-Catholic Christian) forums and have seen the same thing you have… 1000 people talking, no one listening… But I still do it and I’ll tell you why…

I’m not trying to reach the folks that argue and never listen or concede the occasional point just to backslide on it next week. But I’ve discovered that there are a great many people that never post on those boards but spend a lot of time reading, praying and considering… I have my back and forth with the rabid anti-Catholic not in hopes that they will come to the faith, but in hopes that the people that AREN’T posting might be guided in their search for Truth.

… and I’ve gotten a couple of “behind the scenes” IMs and eMails from someone saying they would never post, but they want to thank me for helping them see the bigger picture.

To this end I would strongly suggest that anyone attempting to defend our Faith on these forums, please remember that the obnoxious rabid flamer you are conversing with is not your real target audience. Be kind and loving at all times… Don’t lose your temper with the flamers. They are only the wall you bounce ideas off of. Nothing will stick to them. But somewhere, someone is reading your exchange… Looking for Truth and looking for Christ. The “wall” you are talking to will show the depth of their faith by attacks… Show the depth of yours by Love.

Just my 2 cents

God bless and keep on keepin’ on

Mike

 

[Crown_of_Thorns]

The Emmanuel Community is a new kind of Community which has emerged in Europe out of France and whose primary charism is what I might call “overt evangelisation” - as opposed to everything else in our lives, which should really be evangelical also. St. Francis is reputed to have said “preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary use words.”

A priest from the Emmanuel Community was once asked about the fruits of their evangelisation work, particularly I think their work of street evangelisation. He said that they see as little of the fruit as they could without becoming proud, and just enough to stop them giving up. The point being that when we sow seeds in evangelisation, it may be that someone else reaps the harvest, but the sowing was necessary.

“Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” (John 4.37-38)

Sometimes the Lord lets us see what he is doing with us in the lives of others, but the bulk of what we do, we will find out when we meet him face to face. Remember, God can do more with our failures, than we could ever do without him with our greatest successes. As long as we are honestly and earnestly seeking after His will in our lives, it is not for us to worry unduly about the outcomes.

God Bless you in your endeavours to spread the truth.

Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with you.
Blessed art thou among women,
And Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.
Amen

 

[phoooiee]

I used to also be an atheist and there were definitely people who tried to convert me. All the people who did so in a kind and respectful way planted seeds in me that often did not sprout for years and years. Certainly the people who did this would have no idea that it had had an effect from the response I gave them at the time. This doesn’t mean there was no effect, however; only a delayed effect.

 

[philippaul]

“My point with this story is to ask a question: if the only way a person can be converted is their own desire, choice and effort, what is the point of evangelization and apologetics?”

This is one of many ways that people do come to the Lord. Some have an emotional understanding first, others like myself are more analytical – I required a good deal of studying before I could say ‘yes’ Roman Catholicism is indeed the authentic and genuine methodology of Christianity – some may need something to “happen”. So for me apologetics was important to bring me back. Some people have never heard the Gospel and hence the need for evangelization.

Also, evangelizing and giving apologetics is a mandate:

Matthew 28:19 “Go, therefore, 12 and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit,”

1 Peter 3:15 “…Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope”

Peace be with you!

 

[ttk5972]

I agree with the previous posts, but would like to add something else. While we are called to “go out and preach the Gospel,” I try to always be careful to discern whether I am preaching for myself or whether I am sharing my faith with someone God has put before me.

Recently I found a childhood friend on Facebook and found that she had become an atheist. I prayed about it for weeks before we met up in person. I asked God to give me a sign that He wanted me to use words to preach His Gospel, because I wanted to do only His will and not mine. When we met for dinner, I did not say one word to her about the fact that I had read on her profile that she was an atheist and I did not say one word about my faith, other than the crucifix around my neck. After spending 12 hours together, with me not saying one thing about my faith (believe me it was VERY hard for me,) she asked me if I was still Catholic and what I had given up for Lent. I told her and said nothing else, praying the entire time. She then told me that while she was an atheist, she admired people who were firm in their faith. She continued the conversation, making several other statements about believing in Science and being spiritual rather than religious and I answered with my beliefs on each. I did nothing more than answer her questions and state my beliefs while praying that I was saying what God wanted me to say. At the end of the conversation, she seemed flustered and said, “We probably just shouldn’t talk about this because we’re not going to agree.” I just calmly told her that it didn’t bother me that we disagreed, but that we didn’t have to talk about it. I have no idea what effect my words had on her, but I continue to pray for her every day.

I believe that we do need to be careful with evangelization, because many times it can come across as judgemental or accusatory. To me, true evangelization is sharing your faith with others by talking about what God means to you. This opens the door for questions and sharing which can include apologetics. We have to give milk to the young in faith so we don’t choke them with too many large bites at once.

I still remember several evangelical Christians I came into contact with when I was younger who ended up making me feel very uncomfortable and attacked. I never wanted to spend enough time with them to even hear them evangelize.

Just a thought!

 

[puzzleannie]

I
My point with this story is to ask a question: if the only way a person can be converted is their own desire, choice and effort, what is the point of evangelization and apologetics? After becoming Catholic, I performed some apologetics myself to atheists and Protestants, mostly online - and it was completely fruitless. I would use strong arguments, and sometimes they would even concede a point - only to reiterate it again later.

you are confusing 2 issues
in answer to your first question, what is the point, first as you say not everyone comes to the faith through a primarily intellectual process and act of will. Some come through profound conversion from sin, in response to the example of committed Christians, in direct encounter with Christ, through promptings of the Holy Spirit. All of these are probably active in some degree in every catechumen but everyone’s journey is different because everyone starts from a different point.

For those whose journey revolves around study, questioning, research, debate, reading etc., apologetics and active evangelization are essential. Otherwise how would the seeker ever find authentic answers and information? Who would explain puzzling even contractictory scripture passages and religious writings? Evangelization is even more important, because how else would the student connect the head knowledge with knowledge of the Person of Jesus Christ?

the other issue is your disappointment in the lack of results from your own attempts at apologetics and evangelization, which display a rather shallow understanding of what those minsitries entail. with spiritual maturity will come also a realization that the fruits of what we undertake in those endeavors are entirely derived from the Holy Spirit, not from our own talents.

 

[Sheeniac]

As a former atheist as well, (25 years), I found that apologetics helped me to become a better Catholic. The attacks on the faith are legion and can be found everywhere. Indeed, many Catholics attack the parts of the faith which are not to their liking. By learning the arguments I have grown in my faith, and hope to be able to mention counter arguments to other Catholics.

Scott Hahn’s writings helped to calm the intellectual concerns of being Catholic vs Prot vs a ‘non-aligned’ Christian.

 

[scameter18]

I agree with the previous posts, but would like to add something else. While we are called to “go out and preach the Gospel,” I try to always be careful to discern whether I am preaching for myself or whether I am sharing my faith with someone God has put before me.

Recently I found a childhood friend on Facebook and found that she had become an atheist. I prayed about it for weeks before we met up in person. I asked God to give me a sign that He wanted me to use words to preach His Gospel, because I wanted to do only His will and not mine. When we met for dinner, I did not say one word to her about the fact that I had read on her profile that she was an atheist and I did not say one word about my faith, other than the crucifix around my neck. After spending 12 hours together, with me not saying one thing about my faith (believe me it was VERY hard for me,) she asked me if I was still Catholic and what I had given up for Lent. I told her and said nothing else, praying the entire time. She then told me that while she was an atheist, she admired people who were firm in their faith. She continued the conversation, making several other statements about believing in Science and being spiritual rather than religious and I answered with my beliefs on each. I did nothing more than answer her questions and state my beliefs while praying that I was saying what God wanted me to say. At the end of the conversation, she seemed flustered and said, “We probably just shouldn’t talk about this because we’re not going to agree.” I just calmly told her that it didn’t bother me that we disagreed, but that we didn’t have to talk about it. I have no idea what effect my words had on her, but I continue to pray for her every day.

I believe that we do need to be careful with evangelization, because many times it can come across as judgemental or accusatory. To me, true evangelization is sharing your faith with others by talking about what God means to you. This opens the door for questions and sharing which can include apologetics. We have to give milk to the young in faith so we don’t choke them with too many large bites at once.

I still remember several evangelical Christians I came into contact with when I was younger who ended up making me feel very uncomfortable and attacked. I never wanted to spend enough time with them to even hear them evangelize.

Just a thought!

To me, this is the absolute best kind of evangelization/apologetics towards people who already know it. This, coupled with publishing books about apologetical topics just to put the information out there. It is gentle, but informative and firm in orthodoxy, as well as laiden with personal, loving concern for the other person, even if we don’t know them.

I didn’t mean to single out this post as if to say it is superior. All of the replies here have been great, as I have come to expect from this forum, and I very much appreciate all of them. I am trying to mature spiritually through cleansing and rebirth, still very much in the process of weeding out the habits I formed as an atheist (I’ve been a baptized Catholic now for about six months), and it is very hard, but I hope that those sufferings will increase my character and ultimately my love of God and neighbor. Thank you all again. God bless.