What attracts Catholics to anti-Catholic forums?

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That makes sense, but couldn’t you do that at any Non-Catholic forum? Why go to one that’s anti-Catholic?
Why?

Faith and Wisdom
James 1:2 My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; 4 and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.

This may sound crazy but I find that discussing differences in beliefs allow me to learn more about my beliefs, and more solid in my faith, and I know I have taught people things they didn’t know before about what we believe and gave them a little different perspective about us. We aren’t people who just go to mass but don’t live out our faith outside the Church walls. There’s a lot of misconceptions about us and we have a lot to share…🙂
 
I’m hoping it’s not quite the same mentality that attracts people on facebook to groups they disagree with…
 
What do you mean by ‘to act lovingly’?
By not assuming that they are not the enemy.

By answering their charges with reason responses.

If they are antagonistic, don’t respond in kind.

It is would be especially hard for me to not get sarcastic.

Listen carefully with your heart. It is possible that Christ has brought this person to you for a reason. Sometimes when people are getting close to the truth themselves, they become afraid and angry. But, a gentle push may be all that is needed to turn them around.

However, if you are dealing with a person who just wants to hate, the best thing is to not engage at all. It is easy to get drawn into their hate.
 
We must vanquish the heretics.
That’s not a very Christian comment, quite uncharitable unless tongue-in-cheek, however, if the latter, still offensive to any non-Catholic Christian, and to right-thinking Catholics!

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
Who belongs to the Catholic Church?

836 "All men are called to this catholic unity of the People of God. . . . And to it, in different ways, belong or are ordered: the Catholic faithful, others who believe in Christ, and finally all mankind, called by God’s grace to salvation."320

837 "Fully incorporated into the society of the Church are those who, possessing the Spirit of Christ, accept all the means of salvation given to the Church together with her entire organization, and who - by the bonds constituted by the profession of faith, the sacraments, ecclesiastical government, and communion - are joined in the visible structure of the Church of Christ, who rules her through the Supreme Pontiff and the bishops. Even though incorporated into the Church, one who does not however persevere in charity is not saved. He remains indeed in the bosom of the Church, but ‘in body’ not ‘in heart.’"321

838 "The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the baptized who are honored by the name of Christian, but do not profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter."322 Those "who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in a certain, although imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church."323 With the Orthodox Churches, this communion is so profound "that it lacks little to attain the fullness that would permit a common celebration of the Lord’s Eucharist."324

The Church and non-Christians

839 "Those who have not yet received the Gospel are related to the People of God in various ways."325

The relationship of the Church with the Jewish People. When she delves into her own mystery, the Church, the People of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People,326 "the first to hear the Word of God."327 The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God’s revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews “belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ”,328 "for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable."329

840 And when one considers the future, God’s People of the Old Covenant and the new People of God tend towards similar goals: expectation of the coming (or the return) of the Messiah. But one awaits the return of the Messiah who died and rose from the dead and is recognized as Lord and Son of God; the other awaits the coming of a Messiah, whose features remain hidden till the end of time; and the latter waiting is accompanied by the drama of not knowing or of misunderstanding Christ Jesus.

846 How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers?335 Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:
Code:
Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.336
847 This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church:
Code:
Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation.337
848 "Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men."338
 
Meltzerboy is not a Catholic but he is certainly not anti-Catholic. He makes a great addition to our forum family. He respects our beliefs, he shares his when asked. He certainly knows a lot more about the Catholic Faith than your average Catholic. We are blessed to have him here.
I so agree with your post. Sometimes I come to this forum just to see if meltzerboy has posted anything because I learn so much from his posts. I also know that if I have any questions about the Jewish faith he will be glad to answer them. He also has great respect for everyone on this forum both Catholic and noncatholic.
 
I am not attracted to anti-Catholic sites so I cannot answer that one.

I am sure those sites exist, but I have no desire to visit them or seek them out.
 
I am not attracted to anti-Catholic sites so I cannot answer that one.

I am sure those sites exist, but I have no desire to visit them or seek them out.
This post says it perfectly.

My online movement is typically between 3 sites. 1 news, 1 sports, here.

Other than that, research searches when necessary, for the most part.
 
This post says it perfectly.

My online movement is typically between 3 sites. 1 news, 1 sports, here.

Other than that, research searches when necessary, for the most part.
👍 yep. except for the sports part, I agree.
 
The title pretty much speaks for itself, but please note that I’m not asking what *repels *Catholics from anti-Catholic forums.

Oh, and Protestants are welcome to answer too. (Just to be nice. :))
when you say anti-catholic forums, do you mean like this sub forum politely entitled “non-catholic religions” (i designate the difference between intent of the creator and majority use of the members)
 
when you say anti-catholic forums, do you mean like this sub forum politely entitled “non-catholic religions”
I’m familiar with the forum you mentioned, and I rather doubt you’ll find many anti-Catholic posts there what with it being a Catholic website! (Granted I most definitely haven’t read every single post on it. :))

But your post brings up another important aspect of the question: it could be asked about a portion of a forum – even, say, a single conversation – as opposed to an entire forum being anti-Catholic.
 
We are all called to evangelize but 1 Peter 3:15 is about having a response when asked why we have hope in the afterlife. It isn’t about going out to make converts.
Silly me… you’re right. I mean, it’s not like Jesus went out among the prostitutes and tax collectors or anything, or like they asked Him to explain why He believed in the afterlife or anything… 😉
 
Silly me… you’re right. I mean, it’s not like Jesus went out among the prostitutes and tax collectors or anything, or like they asked Him to explain why He believed in the afterlife or anything… 😉
And that’s exactly why we call the New Testament, the “Good News”!!
 
Silly me… you’re right. I mean, it’s not like Jesus went out among the prostitutes and tax collectors or anything, or like they asked Him to explain why He believed in the afterlife or anything… 😉
Jesus also owned nothing, had no home, and travelled from place to place (without vehicles) til he offered himself up for sacrifice. Let’s not say we’re meant to do exactly what Christ did, and then throw bits and pieces out because “it’s just not possible”

Every person has his or her own mission, yours or mine may not be to be an itinerant, penniless, homeless preacher. Perhaps we are meant to be fathers and husbands or mothers and wives and show the world who Jesus is through our lives.
 
I mean, really, I’m Catholic and will always be
I don’t think you can know that for sure. People convert all the time. It’s a bit like saying I’m married and I always will be. Everyone hopes that, and of course everyone will wish you the best on your wedding day and for many days after that, but come on. Everyone feels like they’re qualified to make this guarantee, but it’s quite evident that not everyone is qualified to make that guarantee. And it’s just as clear that for the most part, people don’t absolutely know which kind of person they are from the outset.

If you happen to be married, I wish you the best with both that and your faith. I wouldn’t put any guarantees on either of them though. What I don’t understand is why some people want to put a personal guarantee on something, and that is that. Isn’t it in your best interest to acknowledge the possibility that something can go very wrong and then make some moves to decrease that likelihood?

I’ll leave it at that. I may be reading too much into half a sentence.
 
I don’t think you can know that for sure. People convert all the time. It’s a bit like saying I’m married and I always will be. Everyone hopes that, and of course everyone will wish you the best on your wedding day and for many days after that, but come on. Everyone feels like they’re qualified to make this guarantee, but it’s quite evident that not everyone is qualified to make that guarantee. And it’s just as clear that for the most part, people don’t absolutely know which kind of person they are from the outset.

If you happen to be married, I wish you the best with both that and your faith. I wouldn’t put any guarantees on either of them though. What I don’t understand is why some people want to put a personal guarantee on something, and that is that. Isn’t it in your best interest to acknowledge the possibility that something can go very wrong and then make some moves to decrease that likelihood?

I’ll leave it at that. I may be reading too much into half a sentence.
Well since I know myself a bit better than you do, I can say I’ll be Catholic forever. As far as compared to marriage, well that is a silly anology. Since the continuance of my faith relies solely on my actions and no other person, then yes, I can guarantee I will be Catholic forever.
 
Jesus also owned nothing, had no home, and travelled from place to place (without vehicles) til he offered himself up for sacrifice. Let’s not say we’re meant to do exactly what Christ did, and then throw bits and pieces out because “it’s just not possible”

Every person has his or her own mission, yours or mine may not be to be an itinerant, penniless, homeless preacher. Perhaps we are meant to be fathers and husbands or mothers and wives and show the world who Jesus is through our lives.
We are meant to evangelize in both deeds and words. Some choose to evangelize by going on anti-Catholic forums, and that’s okay, some choose not to, and that’s okay too.

p.s. Gorgias is simply responding to someone who I believe was being critical towards those who CHOOSE to evangelize/convert others on such forums.
 
I don’t think you can know that for sure. People convert all the time. It’s a bit like saying I’m married and I always will be. Everyone hopes that, and of course everyone will wish you the best on your wedding day and for many days after that, but come on.
So maybe you’ll be Catholic one day! :eek:
 
Getting back to your original question, Horton (and thanking you belatedly for bringing it up)
I don’t know the answer to your question but I do have another question - Why does a non-Catholic (or anti-Catholic) participate in Catholic forums?
I’d have to give this two answers. The first is that not every Catholic forum is anti-Protestant. (Well, I like to think so anyhow. :cool: I’m guessing somewhere out there is someone reading this and thinking “Well, of course he would say that, he’s one of those Catholics.” :hmmm: :D)

But having gotten that out of the way, I am convinced that there are in fact many Protestants who are drawn to anti-Protestant forums, which I think is just as difficult to understand as Catholics who are drawn to anti-Catholic forums.
 
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