"Well... at least you're going somewhere"

[ericka1701]

I live in East TN, and the question “Where do you go to church?” comes up quite frequently for me (I don’t usually ask others where they go to church, because most people around here to attend somewhere… but I get asked the question quite often). Most of the times, though, I get a reply similar to the title of the thread, and I honestly don’t know how to respond… Would they be happier if I were practicing witchcraft or performing animal sacrifices? I almost can say yes, because of the body language that comes along with the response. I fear that some are close to a stroke from the stress of talking to such an “unclean” person.

How do YOU respond to “I guess it’s better than not going to church at all” sentiment?

Sorry if not in the right place, but I guess this is a part of defending the faith.

 

[rstegeman]

Nicely ask what exactly they mean by those statements. See if they can give you any specifics as to their objection of the Catholic Church. Once you have the specifics, you can engage each one and educate them on the true nature of our Church. A good opportunity to possibly change their horribly skewed view of us.

 

[First_of_9]

I live in East TN, and the question “Where do you go to church?” comes up quite frequently for me (I don’t usually ask others where they go to church, because most people around here to attend somewhere… but I get asked the question quite often). Most of the times, though, I get a reply similar to the title of the thread, and I honestly don’t know how to respond… Would they be happier if I were practicing witchcraft or performing animal sacrifices? I almost can say yes, because of the body language that comes along with the response. I fear that some are close to a stroke from the stress of talking to such an “unclean” person.

How do YOU respond to “I guess it’s better than not going to church at all” sentiment?

Sorry if not in the right place, but I guess this is a part of defending the faith.

I’d ask them the same question and then give them the same answer. I grew up among way too many people with this same attitude and found discussion, in 99% of the cases, was fruitless.

 

[SingleMomMonica]

I live in East TN, and the question “Where do you go to church?” comes up quite frequently for me (I don’t usually ask others where they go to church, because most people around here to attend somewhere… but I get asked the question quite often). Most of the times, though, I get a reply similar to the title of the thread, and I honestly don’t know how to respond… Would they be happier if I were practicing witchcraft or performing animal sacrifices? I almost can say yes, because of the body language that comes along with the response. I fear that some are close to a stroke from the stress of talking to such an “unclean” person.

How do YOU respond to “I guess it’s better than not going to church at all” sentiment?

Sorry if not in the right place, but I guess this is a part of defending the faith.

There are many different ways this can be addressed. I suppose it all depends on how well you know the person and in what context.

If you just met the person at a park and who knows if you’ll meet again, maybe just act surprised and say, “Wow! Your response to my answer seems pretty rude. What church do you go to that teaches that it being rude is appropriate behavior for a Christian?” Say it with smiles and continue to be completely friendly. But perhaps this response may shock them into realizing that their response was completely inappropriate and they’ll stop doing that to you and other Catholics.

If you have a business contact that you can not allow them to take anything the wrong way and be offended by your own offense at what they just said to you, then maybe just say, “The way you’re responding is almost as if it’s a bad thing. Has anyone from my Church ever offended you personally?” If they say, yes… then you can respond, “I am so sorry for your experience and I apologize on his/her behalf.” If they say, no… they you can respond by saying, “Really, then why the negative response?” this can lead to an open discussion of what issues they personally have with the Catholic Church which can and should be addressed one at a time. If at any time, he or she throws more than one issue at you in any one conversation, just say “Let’s just stay with this topic today due to our time limitations here at the office.” or something along those lines. If they bring up a subject you don’t know about, just tell them that you’re not sure and will do some research so we can discuss it next time.

Just some ideas.

 

[DavidFilmer]

How do YOU respond to “I guess it’s better than not going to church at all” sentiment?

I converted to the Faith while living in North Carolina (the least-Catholic state in the Union), so I know what you’re talking about.

Your tagline identifies you as a convert also (wecome!), so maybe you can handle it like I did.

When someone asked me where I go to church, I replied, “Well, I used to go to church, but I converted to the Catholic Faith .”

This is shocking, but in a different way. For one thing, you would be surprised how many southern protestants are completely unaware that people convert TO the Catholic Church. They’ve never heard of anyone doing so (but they probably know folks who have gone the other way).

So, in shock and disbelief, they may blurt out “why???” - which gives you the chance to at least say something nice about the Church (and they may have never heard *anyone *say *anything *nice about the Catholic Church). And maybe this will lead to further discussion (or maybe not, but you still had the chance to witness for the Church a little - maybe you “planted a seed”).

At the very least, it establishes you as someone who has committed to the Church out of your own free will, instead of some “cradle Catholic” who was “duped” by his parents and has never given it a critical thought (which is how Catholics are often perceived in the South).

 

[foundthelight]

I attend St. Peter’s RC Church and you know what?! We saved a Baptist last week!
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I was responsible for a manufacturing plant in Arlington, TN, just out side of Memphis. Our Plant Engineer, a member of Bellevue Baptist Church, once made a similar comment about saving a Methodist. I ran into this attitude all across the South. If you are not a Baptist you are going to heck.

 

[linuxgeek71]

I live in East TN, and the question “Where do you go to church?” comes up quite frequently for me (I don’t usually ask others where they go to church, because most people around here to attend somewhere… but I get asked the question quite often). Most of the times, though, I get a reply similar to the title of the thread, and I honestly don’t know how to respond… Would they be happier if I were practicing witchcraft or performing animal sacrifices? I almost can say yes, because of the body language that comes along with the response. I fear that some are close to a stroke from the stress of talking to such an “unclean” person.

How do YOU respond to “I guess it’s better than not going to church at all” sentiment?

Sorry if not in the right place, but I guess this is a part of defending the faith.

I’m from East TN as well, so I know how you feel. More often than not it is better to let it go. If it is someone you don’t know well you aren’t going to convince them anyway. If it is someone you are friends with then maybe you should engage the argument. The most important thing though is don’t lose your temper. If you do, you’ve lost the argument, and the Church has lost a convert. I find praying the Rosary before I know I could be in those situations helps.

 

[Simon_X]

I converted to the Faith while living in North Carolina (the least-Catholic state in the Union), so I know what you’re talking about.

Your tagline identifies you as a convert also (wecome!), so maybe you can handle it like I did.

When someone asked me where I go to church, I replied, “Well, I used to go to church, but I converted to the Catholic Faith .”

This is shocking, but in a different way. For one thing, you would be surprised how many southern protestants are completely unaware that people convert TO the Catholic Church. They’ve never heard of anyone doing so (but they probably know folks who have gone the other way).

So, in shock and disbelief, they may blurt out “why???” - which gives you the chance to at least say something nice about the Church (and they may have never heard *anyone *say *anything *nice about the Catholic Church). And maybe this will lead to further discussion (or maybe not, but you still had the chance to witness for the Church a little - maybe you “planted a seed”).

At the very least, it establishes you as someone who has committed to the Church out of your own free will, instead of some “cradle Catholic” who was “duped” by his parents and has never given it a critical thought (which is how Catholics are often perceived in the South).

Wow…I love David’s response. Takes care of answering the question and then opening up the door to explaining our faith.

 

[MarcoPolo]

I also like David’s response, or I might just say, “There’s no place else I wanna be!”

 

[ericka1701]

Thanks so much for everyones’ responses! I now feel a little more prepared for the next time the question comes up (which it probably will sometime in the next week… and definately next fall when I go back to college).

David, I especially like your response (like a few other of the posters do), because it is a very charitible response (unlike a few responses I’ve wanted to say… I’m just glad I was shocked into mostly silence), and yet it leaves the door open for further conversation if the other party is interested. I also like your tagline.

Monica, I really like your responses, too, especially apologizing for any hurts that might have come from a fellow Catholic. Also, again, it leaves it the topic open to be revisited in the future.

Linux, I’ve come to realize that there is probably nothing that I can do to directly bring those I don’t know well into the Church, but I wanted to find a good response to try to plant a few seeds to overcome the misconceptions about Catholicism that is so rampant in this area. I feel if I can clear up one misconception, then maybe, just maybe, the other person will start questioning… “Well, if Preacher Billy at Independent Missionary Primative Baptist Church got this wrong, what else is he wrong about?”… in my experience, that’s a dangerous question as it has been the question that’s started many a conversion (including mine)…

Again, thanks to everyone for their tips and suggestions… I pray that I become like Johnny Appleseed…

Ericka

 

[VociMike]

I attend St. Peter’s RC Church and you know what?! We saved a Baptist last week!

I was thinking something along the lines of “Well, we’re all going to be Catholic in heaven, so I thought I’d get a head start.”

But more seriously, the response “I used to be Baptist/whatever, but I converted to the Catholic Church” is a great one, and sure to make an impression.