What's the craziest Anti-Catholic whopper you've ever heard?

[tqualey]

Hi, Bona Fides,

Yes, all of these are quite sad - and when coming from supposedly educated people - people who are looked up to as leaders - this is the saddest comment of all.

But, let me address one item that you touched on…

It sounds to me like the followers of the reformers in conjunction with the secular governments must have gone way out of their way to very expertly initiate a smear campaign centuries ago and set in motion polemics to slander and vilify the Church that persist even to this day. But its more than mere ignorance - its evil incarnate trying to hide the truth through calumny and intrigue and physchology. It’s hard to believe that such ignorance can not only exist in this day and age but thrive and replicate itself.

BF

One really needs to forget things like all this technology that surrounds us and permeates our culture, forget about sending men and women into space and causing massive oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico - yes, just go back to Psychology 101 - most people are fearful, insecure and not well educated - some have all three limitations. Many will cling to things that reduce (or, at least appear to reduce) the anxiety created by these problems. Bashing the Church of Christ has a two fold benefit: it sooths the feeling of insecurity and is ‘rewarded’ by the Great Deceiver.

Whatever else may change, these elements of human nature have been with us since Original Sin.

God bless

 

[jmcrae]

I don’t know if this has been posted before but…

Someone said that Catholics worship priests.

That would be news to most priests, I think.

 

[Dranu]

Some Catholics here say that if you’re not Catholic, you’re going to hell, but that actually frighten me and shatter my belief. As I grow up I have seen lots and lots of people devote themselves to Christ, they love God, and they truly have faith in Him, who is our eternal Savior. I also have seen lots of Catholics that lack faith, who follow worldly temptations, whose desire to go church is somehow purge their sins and/or appear to be the righteous, most of their confessions only to get somekind of “sin-forgiveness formula” like how many “Our Father” or “Hail Mary” clean away their sins,yet they’re the ones that going to be saved rather than Protestant who had devoted his/her life to Christ and bring people to the Gospel? I’m sorry, I just can’t believe that. Many of my Catholic friends don’t believe that either, most of them believe both Protestants and Catholic are saved since both worship the same God, and the same Savior, they only believe that Protestants are lacking the fullness of Truth and Blessing in their lives.

I want to convert to Catholicism, but if this doctrine is true then it is frightening and it makes me feel like I don’t want to join the Church anymore.

No worries, the Catholic Church teaches much more in line with what Christ taught than some people (some of whom are or claim to be Catholic) will tell you. She neither teaches that all Protestants (or even non-Christians for that matter) are necessarily doomed nor that all who are visibly in the Church are necessarily saved. Here are some teachings of the Church from the Catechism:
Catechism of the Catholic Church with my comments underlined:

Part of837 …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. (Me/Dranu: my emphasis)’"

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." Those “who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in a certain, although imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church.” 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.”

Outside the Church there is no salvation

846 How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers?Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:
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.

847 This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church:
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. (Me/Dranu: I would note that one who might think they know Christ Church might not actually know and might not know through no fault of their own)

 

[Abeyta85]

Alright so I came across a conspiracy theorist in you tube, told me this…

“The New World Order, led by Pope Benedict XVI, is slowly collapsing the international economy and preparing for their one world currency, government, and religion. They are going to implement genocide on a scale never seen before. They will make slaves of the world’s population”

Yea, these people… I don’t even bother with.

 

[wisdomseeker]

I found that a lot of protestant “missionaries” were actually not being aimed at hard targets - Muslims, Pagans, Atheists - but at “sheep-stealing” soft targets such as Catholics. Catholic missionaries on the other hand are the ones who more often try to convert non-Christians. This is true historically also. Until Victorian times protestants rarely had missionaries at all.

On the main issue of whoppers against Catholicism, there are so many…

• Catholics are anti-women
• catholics are anti-science and progress
• Catholics killed x million witches
• Hitler was a “good Catholic”! pope Pius was his best buddy.
• Catholics attacked harmless Muslims etc in the crusades.
• Catholics said you could get to heaven by killing infidels
• Catholics invented slavery
• Inquisitions killed Millions (or even tens of thousands)
• Catholicism causes AIDS
• Catholics are more likely to be child abusers
• Catholics rewrote history to hide their crimes/their invention of the bible/the “fact” that Jesus was married etc. etc.
• Catholicism is a huge conspiracy to dominate the world/oppress women/suppress science/gather enormous riches for priests/eliminate sex/kill African catholics/etc. etc. (pick one or more)

that is funny!
everyone has something to say about the CC. you are right. good post.

 

[wisdomseeker]

In brasil for instance, pastors from certain faith groups have prohibit their people from watching tv. i think this is most about fear that the people might actually get educated.

 

[UnityofTrinity]

Most Protestants will sometimes use history to debate with a Catholic, for an example we might use the history of the Crusade, persecution of scientists and the witch burning to argue with the Church, while the fact we see is that Protestant churches are even more conservative and hostile toward things like science than the Catholic Church.

 

[tqualey]

Hi, UnityofTrinity,

I think you have made an excellent point. From my observations, those who want to debate history have an agenda they are addressing - as the debate goes forward, it begins to resemble an axe that they want to grind! For any part of Church History - or, the history of the world for that matter, anyone can isolate a particular item and say, “There it is!” But, reality is not nearly so clean and neat in almost all cases. For example, ten days ago we celebrated the 234th anniversay of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

And, while it is convenient to look at that particular date, and say, “There it is!” we learn knowing of the significance of that important date if we have no appreciation for the agonies that took place to get those men to sign the document on that hot July day in Philadelphia. And, about the events that lead up to them even getting together to discuss breaking the ties with England. Seriously, discussing history is not the same as focusing on one event - context enables understanding to develop roots.

Most Protestants will sometimes use history to debate with a Catholic, for an example we might use the history of the Crusade, persecution of scientists and the witch burning to argue with the Church, while the fact we see is that Protestant churches are even more conservative and hostile toward things like science than the Catholic Church.

These are the same guys who want ot say that the world was made in six 24-hour days because that is the way they read Genesis. Any other approach is an effort to deny God, place man on the same level as animals and our entire moral code will be that of lower life forms. Yet, somehow with all of the context and text of the New Testament, they claim that Christ did not really mean for people to eat His Flesh and drink His Blood for them to have life - even though that is what He said!

There really is no debate with someone like this.

God bless

 

[minkymurph]

I suspect that the problem is more that they’re NOT on drugs.

I luv this thread!

 

[minkymurph]

Most Protestants will sometimes use history to debate with a Catholic, for an example we might use the history of the Crusade, persecution of scientists and the witch burning to argue with the Church, while the fact we see is that Protestant churches are even more conservative and hostile toward things like science than the Catholic Church.

Fundamentalists aren’t exactly in tune with science; given they still go for the six creative days of Genesis being literal.

I can recall debating history with a fundamentalist friend of mine. I drew her attention to persecutions in Geneva and witch hunting by Calvinists in Scotland. After a long debate about which Church was worse she stated, ‘the Catholic Church did it first.’

Oh well then! As long as we did it first that makes it all right!

 

[Abeyta85]

Fundamentalists aren’t exactly in tune with science; given they still go for the six creative days of Genesis being literal.

I can recall debating history with a fundamentalist friend of mine. I drew her attention to persecutions in Geneva and witch hunting by Calvinists in Scotland. After a long debate about which Church was worse she stated, ‘the Catholic Church did it first.’

Oh well then! As long as we did it first that makes it all right!

Wow! That is amazing. I Run through youtube videos, and man, you see some of the craziest comments or videos about the Catholic Church!

 

[Prophesy]

I enjoyed the time that I was sitting in the break room at work and a girl said “You’re a Catholic right? So you think the world was 6,000 years old or something like that?”

It’s not Anti-Catholic in so as it is ignorant about the position of the majority of Catholics.

-Prophecy

(Cue rebuttal from indignant YECC?)

 

[minkymurph]

I enjoyed the time that I was sitting in the break room at work and a girl said “You’re a Catholic right? So you think the world was 6,000 years old or something like that?”

It’s not Anti-Catholic in so as it is ignorant about the position of the majority of Catholics.

-Prophecy

(Cue rebuttal from indignant YECC?)

Unfortuately some Catholics do land us in it. I heard a Catholic on a local radio programme supporting the views of a fundamentalist Christian concerning creation. Who was on the programme but Richard Dawkins who pointed out the Pope does not agree
with her.

Another friend of mine was told by a Catholic all Protestant’s go to hell. I don’t know if they actually meant that, or if they were winding him up.

A Protestant I used to work with challanged me on something a Priest said on the radio. I pointed out that he was entitled to a personal opinion and his personal opinion is not a Church teaching.

 

[Haggisman]

I won’t name the (Protestant) Scottish island I was on 20 years ago when I was asked this, but…

When I told some friends there that I was Catholic, they were shocked, and asked why we “sacrificed babies on the altar on Sundays?” I had to put them straight, nicely, and assure them that nothing could have been further from the truth! I don’t know who was filling their heads with that nonsense, but they actually believed them! Thankfully, I think I was able to convince them I was telling the truth.

 

[jimpres]

Wow never heard such stories about the Catholics. I must lead a sheltered life. It is amazing what people will believe regardless of the truth.

 

[JonathonofOhio]

I would like to hear some of your stories, so think of the most bizarre charge you’ve ever heard made against the Church and share it with the rest of us. Books, conversations, Internet, radio, anything is fair game.

Probably the funniest anti-catholic statement I have ever read was in Watch Tower Magazine published by the Jehovah Witnesses. They had a very nice article in there about Mary, which drew my attention because I was under the assumption that Jehovah Witnesses didn’t believe in the idea of honoring the Blessed Virgin. I was stunned as I read it, because it sounded like something the Catholic Church would publish! They were calling for their congregation to recognize and honor Mary. However, by the end of the article, the author (or the editor) must have sensed that the readers might think that they were aligning themselves with the Catholic Church, because they added something like “but we are not to worship Mary like the Catholic Church does.”

 

[tqualey]

Hi, Haggisman,

Weclome to CAF.

I had a chance to visit Scotland and saw some beautiful sights - there was even a sunny day when the flowers waited to bloom… Maybe the otherwise cold and wet environment has an impact on the thinking of the inhabitants…

In reading about all of the difficulties experience by Mary, Queen of Scots - especially from protestant leaders determined to see her removed from power - and them later removed from life - is it any wonder that stories about sacrificing babies on the altar got their start? I am delighted that your friends believed you … or, were at least polite enough to say they did. Such statements were made to your friends when they were children and repeated frequently. But, you know, even in ‘warm and sunny’ Texas - it is not free of hostility toward Catholics. Many protestants I have met have had a steady diet of the written material of Jack Chick and his anti-Catholic venom (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick_Tracts ) Amazing how these little ‘comic books’ of his can spread hatred and lies to so many.

God bless,

I won’t name the (Protestant) Scottish island I was on 20 years ago when I was asked this, but…

When I told some friends there that I was Catholic, they were shocked, and asked why we “sacrificed babies on the altar on Sundays?” I had to put them straight, nicely, and assure them that nothing could have been further from the truth! I don’t know who was filling their heads with that nonsense, but they actually believed them! Thankfully, I think I was able to convince them I was telling the truth.

 

[Prophesy]

Many protestants I have met have had a steady diet of the written material of Jack Chick and his anti-Catholic venom (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick_Tracts ) Amazing how these little ‘comic books’ of his can spread hatred and lies to so many.

God bless,

I was just thinking of Jack Chick, though I’ve only seen one person invoke a Chick Tract in an actual discussion. Not as common in Canada I guess.

-Prophecy

 

[duffyk4]

A guy at work yesterday tried telling me that all Catholics are brainwashed by the Vatican.

 

[UnityofTrinity]

One day when I was in my math class, my Episcopal(or was it Penecostal?) friend told me that one member of his church saw Mary in hell because she didn’t obey God when He told her to be a virgin all of her life. At that time, I was a Protestant, yet I have never believed that.