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Lady_Love
Guest
What do you think is the biggest “turn off” to those being evangelized?
What do you think is the biggest "turn off" to those being evangelized?
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GodsLittleChild
Guest
Well, it depends on what kind of evangelization you refer to.
If you mean “living” evangelization … one cannot wrong in this type of evangelization. However, the evil may despise you for doing good and appearing joyful.
If you mean verbal evangelization … I think that speaking with pride, and over-using one’s mouth would be a turn off to others, and it is something we should avoid. That is why St Francis says “Proclaim the Gospel, use words only if necessary.”
If you mean “living” evangelization … one cannot wrong in this type of evangelization. However, the evil may despise you for doing good and appearing joyful.
If you mean verbal evangelization … I think that speaking with pride, and over-using one’s mouth would be a turn off to others, and it is something we should avoid. That is why St Francis says “Proclaim the Gospel, use words only if necessary.”
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MirandaRiver
Guest
Personally its people who are humourless and can’t laugh about themselves. You can be devout and yet still be light hearted about the seriousness of things. It is a balance of love and joy, not severity and discipline which brings people into God’s love, so lets not be miserable and take one’s self too seriously.
Thats why I love Fr. Dave on Busted Halo, he laughs as much as he loves his faith…
Thats why I love Fr. Dave on Busted Halo, he laughs as much as he loves his faith…
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Monster_Simpson
Guest
Mentioning things that send you to hell (Roman Catholic point of view) that are socially acceptable in secular circles (that’s a right tongue twister! 
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Lady_Love
Guest
I like this one because I have a tendency to be too serious.
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stanczyk
Guest
I am confident that the biggest turn off to prospective converts is the time commitment involved. People are busy and joining the Church takes ages. With today’s fast paced lifestyle people have great difficulty with RCIA. It would be a great help to evangelization if the process was updated for the Internet age. A centralized, online RCIA option rather than parish based in person classes would be a huge boost for evangelization.
I don’t think people who resent the Chirch’s stance on moral issues are prospective converts, anyway, so I don’t see any problem with talking about hell.
I don’t think people who resent the Chirch’s stance on moral issues are prospective converts, anyway, so I don’t see any problem with talking about hell.
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Lady_Love
Guest
The only thing with internet RCIA is you lose the relationship aspect which is crucial in Christian spiritual development.
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stanczyk
Guest
People are too busy for RCIA precisely because of their human relationships. It is well intentioned but ultimately arrogant to think that people must be tethered to a parish to walk with Christ, especially in this day and age. It also neglects the very real human connections that are possible over the Internet.
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Seeker1961
Guest
I can tell you what turned me off. Self righteousness, excessive religiosity (which is very different from actual belief) and emphasizing the rules before sharing the love of Christ.
Most people being evangelized are like me, they have baggage they’re carrying around and in their hearts they believe that this baggage makes them unacceptable to God. They may display that feeling in different ways-but it’s under there. The most important tool in evangelization is our ability to show someone who believes in their heart that their sins have made God’s love unattainable that they are wrong.
Most people being evangelized are like me, they have baggage they’re carrying around and in their hearts they believe that this baggage makes them unacceptable to God. They may display that feeling in different ways-but it’s under there. The most important tool in evangelization is our ability to show someone who believes in their heart that their sins have made God’s love unattainable that they are wrong.
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Gods_Peace
Guest
You mean Gods point of view, because in reality and in all truth they will send you to hell.Mentioning things that send you to hell (Roman Catholic point of view) that are socially acceptable in secular circles (that’s a right tongue twister!
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CMatt25
Guest
The biggest turn-offs for me at least on this forum have been being told I can not consider myself Catholic even though the Catholic Church would say otherwise. In addition to being told I am a Protestant and a heretic on the way to hell.
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CMatt25
Guest
God’s POV for those placing faith in the Catholic Church as His sole voice on earth.
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Monster_Simpson
Guest
No because hell is quite a sinister subject with negative connotations so people will think of negative things linked to God rather than positive things, if you wan’t to talk about hell mention it when they’re faith is stronger.
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iloveangels
Guest
This is really important. You don’t want people to get the idea that they can go to church on the internet. On the other hand, it would be very useful to have the content of the course online with modules that you could go through, and then go to the meetings for the fellowship and discussion of the modules.
If the modules were written well, there could be a basic instructional thread people had to complete to get credit for the class, and then “excursions” or links for enrichment for those that need/want it because people differ so much in interest and ability level. This is really a good idea and could work very well–but only if used with a fellowship component running parallel to it, that people also have to attend to get credit for the experience.
These types of modules aren’t really all that difficult to prepare. Once the parish had the software it could be used for a lot of things. This could be really cost-effective and learning-effective at the same time. The only problem I can see with it is that some people aren’t very comfortable with technology, so you might have to allow for that in some parishes. You don’t want people left out when they want to participate.
However, even video classes would work well for the technology component of the series, and might leave fewer people out because just about everyone can do that now. That’s another option. For those few who have trouble with this, a cheap dvd/tv can be placed in a corner in the parish office area to play the series there with headphones. Easy peasy.
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TimothyH
Guest
People who do not practice what they preach.
Preaching poverty while drinking five dollar coffee, driving a big fancy car and going on expensive vacations.
Preaching love for neighbor while letting the 70 year old man down the street cut the lawn by himself or walking past the woman in a wheel chair as if she doesn’t even exist.
Preaching surrender to God while worrying every day about what will happen ten minutes from now and getting angry if the slightest thing doesn’t go your way.
Preaching forgiveness and forbearance while calling people idiots.
Preaching joy and love and peace, and then trying to shove religion down people’s throats or beating them over the head with the Bible.
*We have to act in such a way that others will be able to say, when they meet us: this man is a Christian, because he does not hate, because he is willing to understand, because he is not a fanatic, because he is willing to make sacrifices, because he shows that he is a man of peace, because he knows how to love.
- St. Josemaria Escriva, Christ is Passing by 122*
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iloveangels
Guest
Well, yes, it’s necessary to act like a Christian to preach Christianity. But it’s not sufficient. Meaning that there are many good pagans out there. Acting “nice” doesn’t equal being a Christian. Being a Christian is more than that.
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Kontrak
Guest
Very very profound. I hope I always remember this.
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LegoGE1947
Guest
Because for the most part Protestants (especially fundamentalists) don’t believe Catholics
are even Christian. I used to attend a real off-the-wall pentacostal group where the pastor actually said that 99% of the catholics he knew of will go to hell.
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iloveangels
Guest
BTW, I’m a convert. The Catholics who both know their faith and act on their faith are the most convincing and inspiring to converts, but they have to have both components:
a) knowing the content of the faith, ie. its teaching and Christian doctrine, and
b) living like a Christian, ie. acting on what they know on a daily basis with everyone.
There are a lot of Catholics who are crazy high-profile flops on not only one of these things, but both of them. I see it all the time. That’s the biggest turnoff. But messing up one of them pretty bad is turnoff enough to repel a potential convert.
a) knowing the content of the faith, ie. its teaching and Christian doctrine, and
b) living like a Christian, ie. acting on what they know on a daily basis with everyone.
There are a lot of Catholics who are crazy high-profile flops on not only one of these things, but both of them. I see it all the time. That’s the biggest turnoff. But messing up one of them pretty bad is turnoff enough to repel a potential convert.
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