Traps, lies, and deceptions

[cestusdei]

I teach apologetics to all my seniors. However, many of them are so infected with the viruses in our culture that it glances right off. But I won’t quit.

I haven’t seen Catholics use traps and lies. We are upfront about who we are. I have passed out tracts, but not on their church property. We did a fair booth. They were very unhappy. Sort of thought we were poaching on their territory. It drove them nuts to see people walking by wearing rosaries and scapulars. Hee hee, but fun for us.

 

[Peace-bwu]

bengal_fan:

this thread is just as “hate-filled” as all the things you are complaining about. i will not be back to see you spew your hate on me, but i appreciate that you all think you are doing God’s will just like all the rest of the others you are complaining about. if you have truth (which i do believe is only to be found in Christianity and the fullness of that truth is to be found in the catholic church) you have an obligation to share it. these people think they have truth and they care enough about humanity to not stay silent about it. oh what we can learn from their passion.

I don’t really see how this thread is hate-filled. I did, however, think the awful jack chick booklet someone put in my 4yr old daughter’s trick or treat bag, with a terminally ill girl’s father burning in hell at the end, pretty hate-filled. That was a trick if I ever saw one. Yes, we have an obligation to share our faith, this thread is attempting to sort out methods of sharing faith which we find insulting, or unchristian, so we won’t ever repeat them. I think this is a helpful reality check for those of us who feel called to apologetics to trust in the Holy Sprit to convert people, instead of using these tactless tactics.:bounce:
Peace BWU

 

[Peace-bwu]

Matt16_18:

Ahh… Hopetalk.org has a link that says Send your prayer request to the Voice of Prophecy , and when you click on it, you are sent to a page that again asks you to Send your prayer request to the Voice of Prophecy. That page that asks for your name address, email, etc. No clue as to what denomination Hopetalk.org is affiliated with until you click on “Home Button” on this page. That links you to a page that invites you to “Join us at the World Famous Crystal Cathedral”. When you click on the “About Us/Mission” button on that page you are led to this site: The Voice of Prophecy.

Why does is say “Join us at the world famous Crystal Cathedral?” Isn’t that where the Robert Schuler show takes place? What denomination is he affiliated with anyway, is he affiliiated with Seventh Day Adventist???

 

[HagiaSophia]

hermit:

It amazes me how many catholics express their ignorance with great confidence. The main doctrines misunderstood by catholics are the immaculate conception and papal infallibility.

I’ve got to add one - the way the Holy Spirit guides the church. I am constantly amazed at how Catholics describe this. In some posts it sounds as if every bishop upon arising has a dove sitting on his shoulder as he moves through the day and again with regard to claims about Vatican II - drives me wild sometimes.

 

[Toni]

I have several experiences in this so will give a few areas that I saw these traps used.

I have a Blessed Virgin statue in my yard, one summer I was having a garage sale. Someone came and put all kinds of Baptist literature around the tables! Was I surprised when I was cleaning the tables at the end of the sale.

My son was in school with a mormon and he invited him to his birthday party. Well wasn’t I surprised when on Sunday at breakfast he had a new chain with his initial and a new book of mormon. In which his friend wrote read this chapter (he stated some chapter) if you get a warm feeling you know its true. Also at the party the father of this young man sat down and spoke to my son aabout how we pray to the pope etc. Luckily he had enough formation at the time to answer the questions. But it continued with the mother sending in cookies for him at school. Finally I was forced to looking into this religion to give him the truth about it. UGH!

The mormons in the early years would come to my house a couple of times a week. But I was so busy telling them all about Catholicism that I never listened to a word they would say. Since St. Francis is also in my yard I would tell them about the stigmata etc. A lot of basics also of our faith.:yup:

I have seen in protestant home schooling clubs many Catholics taken from the church. They simply find the one weak link and pull them slowly away from there faith.
One women who attended the church down the road would have a Saturday evening party to break bread and drink wine. Interestingly enough, she left the true presence to entertain and act like Christ.:tsktsk:

I could go on for days between Mormons, Protestants, and the Jehovah’s witnesses. I looked at it this way I don’t bother you and tell you how wrong your faith is so why bother me.:banghead:

 

[Cat]

I don’t blame you for being “afraid” that your children will be seduced to the Dark Side of Christianity–Protestantism.

But they’ve got nothing on you! What are you worried about?

I’ve been Protestant for the first 46 years of my life! It’s nothing compared with Catholicism. Catholics live in a castle, Protestants live in a tent.

So they have a few rock bands? So get some Catholic rock bands! There’s nothing in the Bible or Catechism against it! Our Catholic Church Lifeteen Mass is PACKED on Sunday evening–mainly teens, but quite a few adults as well, who like the rock music.

So the Protestant Youth Group is cool and the Catholic Youth Meeting is yawn? Well, change that! Get some parent youth sponsors and get moving and do some cool things! Don’t wait for the Protestants to capture their interest!

Our Catholic Church somehow attracts hundreds of kids to their various youth meetings. And the teens seem to be extremely nice; I know a few of them, and I’ve met others in passing, and they are great kids.

Our Church even advertises concerts and activities by other Christian groups who are NOT Catholic. I think that is so cool, and what a witness to Protestants when a group of on-fire-for-the-Lord Catholic Christian kids shows up!

If you have taught your children well, I don’t think they’ll be seduced. I could be wrong, but I don’t think the Protestants have anything. The one thing the Protestants might have is someone of the opposite sex to get interested in, and I realize that this is scary. You really want your kids to date Catholics, I’m sure, and the idea of them hooking up with a Baptist or AGer is very scary.

HOWEVER–the best way to create desire for something is to forbid it. We all know that when you go on a diet, everything looks good, even things like pickled pigs feet and Twinkies (together even!).

So allow things. Ease up on the boundaries, and you will find that the kids themselves will figure out that Protestants don’t have much to offer. And all you can do is pray that God will lead them to a person that will be a blessing to their faith rather than a hindrance. If you forbid relationships, teenagers dig in their heels and become even more determined to be in love with the wrong person.

One of the things that I would suggest, but I’m new enough that I don’t know if Catholic Churches ever do this. Invite ex-Protestants who have converted to Catholicism to come to Youth Meetings and give a talk. I would be very HAPPY to talk to youth about just what Protestantism is all about, and I think after hearing me talk, they will never be interested. I don’t want to sound like a braggert about my own speaking abilities, but I do have a list of 17 “problems” with Protestantism that other Protestants have a difficult time answering.

Another thing that might be possible is to do a panel discussion with spouses who are both Catholic and spouses who have “mixed marriages.” It would be good for the teens to be able to hear first hand about the difficulties of being married to someone from a different church.

Kids will listen to anyone except their parents, right?

Again, I am new to Catholicism and certainly don’t know it all. But I do know that godly Catholics that I knew when I was a teenager helped me to be “ready” to convert to Catholicism when the time came. If I had never met any “Christian” Catholics, I probably would have been a lot less willing to even consider Catholicism.

 

[RNRobert]

cestusdei:

I despise the use of “tricks” to get converts. Always distrust those who don’t fess up about their affiliation or deceive you into coming to a program. Jesus didn’t lie to get disciples.

I agree! Several years ago, when I had become a Christian but was looking for a church, I came across a pamphlet entitled “National Sunday Law” which depicted the Catholic Church as the Whore of Babylon and had and offer to send for a book which showed which church was the ‘true church.’ I sent off for it and received one of Ellen White’s books. In the back there was a card you could send off if you wanted to talk to a Seventh Day Adventist. Anyhow, I read part of the book until I got to the part where they talked about William Miller (a 19th century false prophet who proclaimed that Jesus would return in 1843, and then in 1844; the SDAs were started by some of his followers). Their credibility went out the window at this point and I threw the books out, I should have known better than to listen to a group that won’t introduce itself up front. Heck, the JWs have more integrity than that…

 

[cestusdei]

I have heard horror stories of Christians living in Utah. Clergy not being served at local stores, kids ridiculed in class, constant pressure.

PS: Haggia, I don’t think you understand infallibility.

 

[HagiaSophia]

cestusdei:

PS: Haggia, I don’t think you understand infallibility.

I understand infallibility all right. That’s not what my post referred to.