What attracts Catholics to anti-Catholic forums?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Peter_J
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
I often wonder who they are trying to prove to that the Catholic Church is wrong - us or themselves ?
 
I am not attracted to non-Catholic or anti-Catholic forums at all. I read enough Catholic bashing and criticizing in the comments section of many of the News articles I read, especially if they have anything to do with the pope. I rarely read where a Catholic is telling them their wrong about their idea of Catholic beliefs. Sad.

I think the question could be asked: Why do people come on Catholic Answers ‘claiming’ to be Catholic or ‘claiming’ to want to be Catholic when it appears very obvious (at least to me) they are not? Or even claiming to be Christian when they certainly don’t appear to be? I mean do they really think none of us have them pegged?

I have a niece I get to interact with, when I come to my vacation house, who sometimes gets on my phone and reads the topics I’ve bookmarked, she Laughs and giggles at what she calls the absurdity of some of the posters who she thinks actually believe they’ve fooled several people, she says “their too involved in their deceit to ‘get it’ that the real Catholics don’t really buy it.” She says the real Catholics know they are phonies just like I do. I guess she laughs at how ridiculous they are but at the same time is saddened anyone would go to those lengths. I am too.
 
estesbob said:
I often wonder who they are trying to prove to that the Catholic Church is wrong - us or themselves ?
Click to expand...
Me too. While it is my hope & prayer that everyone comes to the truth of the Catholic Church I’m not going to be very effective by going to a protestant or non-Christian forum, insult their participants and then ask them to believe me when I tell them they are wrong, can’t know their own mind, and can’t “guarantee” they will always be whatever faith they are.

IMHO - Many non-Catholics who do participate here on CAF are probably questioning their faith, although this is not true for all. Those who are more antagonistic are most likely the least sure in their faith.
 
estesbob said:
I often wonder who they are trying to prove to that the Catholic Church is wrong - us or themselves ?
Click to expand...
👍 God willing, they will see the love and inclusiveness within our Christian brothers and sisters of the Catholic faith and desire to know the Truth.
 
Durnford said:
We have to engage in spiritual warfare with these people
To remain silent is also a sin
Click to expand...
Like Timothy said, there is a difference between having a defence ready and looking for or creating opportunities for debate. It’s kind of like the difference between self-defence and vigilantism. There is not usually any good reason to post on anti-Catholic boards.
 
I think we should try to avoid both extremes. In my own experience on Internet discussion forums, I have met some posters that I definitely wouldn’t choose as a dialogue partner, but I wouldn’t say “vanquish them” either.
 
Faithful_Seeker said:
I am not attracted to non-Catholic or anti-Catholic forums at all. I read enough Catholic bashing and criticizing in the comments section of many of the News articles I read, especially if they have anything to do with the pope. I rarely read where a Catholic is telling them their wrong about their idea of Catholic beliefs. Sad.

I think the question could be asked: Why do people come on Catholic Answers ‘claiming’ to be Catholic or ‘claiming’ to want to be Catholic when it appears very obvious (at least to me) they are not? Or even claiming to be Christian when they certainly don’t appear to be? I mean do they really think none of us have them pegged?

I have a niece I get to interact with, when I come to my vacation house, who sometimes gets on my phone and reads the topics I’ve bookmarked, she Laughs and giggles at what she calls the absurdity of some of the posters who she thinks actually believe they’ve fooled several people, she says “their too involved in their deceit to ‘get it’ that the real Catholics don’t really buy it.” She says the real Catholics know they are phonies just like I do. I guess she laughs at how ridiculous they are but at the same time is saddened anyone would go to those lengths. I am too.
Click to expand...
I just encountered one such poster who just got banned.
 
josie_L said:
I just encountered one such poster who just got banned.
Click to expand...
For the most part I enjoy reading the opinions of everyone on here and skip over the ones who don’t seem interested in anyone having an opinion other than themselves. I’ve seen that sort of thing on threads I’ve never commented on. Thankfully I haven’t seen too many that do that. Though I have read a couple and wondered whether they were simply trolls or how they were being allowed to continue. But I’ve mostly seen remarkable patience from those whose opinions and knowledge I’ve valued for a very long time.

I pray for all those who act as guides for all of us or share bits and pieces of their stories with a warm heart. I recognize goodness when I read it and I can recognize ill will or evil when I read it also. Many prayers for all.

There are times when I wish some of the well versed people I read on here would post on the news articles comments when our church is getting bashed by serious anti-Catholics but in all honesty, it might not make a lot of difference with those folks. But we can have hope.
I’ve heard a lot criticism since I became Catholic in 1983 and I’ve found its all based on wrong understanding or no understanding of what we believe or practice. I’ve gotten better at explaining our beliefs thanks to many posters on here and I’m so grateful for that.
 
estesbob said:
I often wonder who they are trying to prove to that the Catholic Church is wrong - us or themselves ?
Click to expand...
I miss read the heading! I thought we are talking about non-Catholics coming to Catholic forms
 
Horton said:
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 understand there may be non-Catholics seeking answers regarding Catholicism or are answering a nudge from the Holy Spirit but the ones I question are the ones who come to Catholic forums and attempt to tell us what we believe.

I mean, really, I’m Catholic and will always be, so I don’t go to other faith’s forums to tell them what they believe.
Click to expand...
I posted on that once down in one of the other forums.

I understand, and fully support, that there are people who have sincere questions about the Faith and come here to ask them. And whether it’s openly stated or not, it’s pretty obvious that this forum attracts a lot of people who aren’t Catholic, but you can sort of see it from where they are. I.e., conservative Anglicans, Lutherans and the Orthodox who come here as they’re near fellow travelers and don’t have a big forum of their own.

But there are also those on some threads who are outright anti Catholics or anti religion in general and who can get very aggressive in their posts and disrupt them to the point that the threads no longer serve their original purpose and the posters probably have given up on them. I don’t quite get that, or perhaps I don’t get why we allow that to occur to the extent we do. I suspect those people are here, however, as their open disdain expresses a deep down knowledge that we’re right, and they wish we weren’t, or are fighting the call in their hearts and heads.
 
estesbob said:
I miss read the heading! I thought we are talking about non-Catholics coming to Catholic forms
Click to expand...
Oh I C. (I scratched my head for a sec when I read “I often wonder who they are trying to prove to that the Catholic Church is wrong - us or themselves ?” … then I figured that “they” referred to the anti-Catholic forums. :))

But really, given all the interesting responses here, I’ve thought about starting another thread, with the word “Catholic” in the question changed to “Protestant”. :cool:
 
Faithful_Seeker said:
For the most part I enjoy reading the opinions of everyone on here and skip over the ones who don’t seem interested in anyone having an opinion other than themselves.
Click to expand...
I think that’s a great idea in principle, (and a good “compromise”, if that isn’t a dirty word, for anyone who’s on-the-fence between joining a forum and not joining); but unfortunately internet discussion forums are often treated as all-or-nothing propositions: that is to say, it is often assumed that you either read a thread in its entirety or not at all.
 
jaimeleglise said:
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.
Click to expand...
I personally am a BIG fan of Meltzerboy, myself. 😃
 
We should just burn them at the stake
It is better for them to suffer brief bodily torment in this world than everlasting spiritual pain in the next.
 
Peter_J said:
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. :))
Click to expand...
I confess that I do visit anti-Catholic forums once in a blue moon.
Mostly for the elaborate conspiracy theories that abound. I am curious to see what new theory comes up.
 
Peter_J said:
Oh I C. (I scratched my head for a sec when I read “I often wonder who they are trying to prove to that the Catholic Church is wrong - us or themselves ?” … then I figured that “they” referred to the anti-Catholic forums. :))

But really, given all the interesting responses here, I’ve thought about starting another thread, with the word “Catholic” in the question changed to “Protestant”. :cool:
Click to expand...
I would be interested in seeing those answers!
 
Sarcelle said:
I confess that I do visit anti-Catholic forums once in a blue moon.
Mostly for the elaborate conspiracy theories that abound. I am curious to see what new theory comes up.
Click to expand...
I don’t even know any anti-Catholic sites or how to find them. I hope they are not very hateful.
 
Peter_J said:
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. :))
Click to expand...
Sometimes…if you catch me on the right day and the right time, debating people like that CAN be rather fun. I don’t go to those forums anymore, but I wait until they come here. Like a cat playing with her food, I play with their logic until they self-destruct or the mod makes them go away.
Had a Rad-trad here last week we were having a good time with.
😃
 
Faithful_Seeker said:
I am not attracted to non-Catholic or anti-Catholic forums at all. I read enough Catholic bashing and criticizing in the comments section of many of the News articles I read, especially if they have anything to do with the pope. I rarely read where a Catholic is telling them their wrong about their idea of Catholic beliefs. Sad.

I think the question could be asked: Why do people come on Catholic Answers ‘claiming’ to be Catholic or ‘claiming’ to want to be Catholic when it appears very obvious (at least to me) they are not? Or even claiming to be Christian when they certainly don’t appear to be? I mean do they really think none of us have them pegged?

I have a niece I get to interact with, when I come to my vacation house, who sometimes gets on my phone and reads the topics I’ve bookmarked, she Laughs and giggles at what she calls the absurdity of some of the posters who she thinks actually believe they’ve fooled several people, she says “their too involved in their deceit to ‘get it’ that the real Catholics don’t really buy it.” She says the real Catholics know they are phonies just like I do. I guess she laughs at how ridiculous they are but at the same time is saddened anyone would go to those lengths. I am too.
Click to expand...
I’ve been a lurker for quite awhile, just “signed up’ last week. Not all non-Catholic” posters have a beef, some of us want to understand Catholic belief and enjoy discussions with others.

I’ve ID’d a few here who are like a shark around blood…they go for the throat and will “correct”, none to charitable nor are they tactful. In reading the Forum rules i,m puzzled as to why they still have accounts? I often ignore the threads they participate in…

And the opposite is also true, these posters aRe a pleasure to read, so pleasurable I can recite a verse " you almost persuade me to be_______" the info they share is informative and pleasurable in its delivery,
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top