Why do Protestants like to argue so much?

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Heather914

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I just don’t understand it. Go to any Catholic website, or Youtube, and there will always be someone telling Catholics how wrong they are. It’s like some of them are constantly trying to start an argument. I don’t go to Protestant sites or videos and try to pick a fight. It can be really tiresome at times.
 
I don’t go looking to pick fights, but I’m not going to be a wallflower anymore; when I see people attacking the Church, I’ll take them on. And I’m going to use their own tactics against them, because it drives them absolutely nuts to have their own attacks turned against them.

Example: When some nasty anti-Catholic insists that Jesus didn’t want us to follow any Church, I just point them to Matthew 16:18 and Matthew 18:17, then suggest they should start reading the Bible instead of worshiping it. For some reason, they don’t like that one.

As for the OP, many Protestants are willing to go along to get along and aren’t interested in fighting; they are great to have discussions with, because they aren’t shutting down any dissent from their pre-existing opinions. Those ones, I have no problem with and get along fine with. But the others…

My admittedly amateur opinion is that many of them have invested themselves totally in what they think the Bible means, and they simply can’t accept the notion that they could be wrong. And so whenever they see anything that challenges that world-view, they lash out, much like liberals after November 8th last year. Some of them are honestly trying to save souls (in their own misguided way), but a lot of them just want to vent their hatred of anything Catholic. Many of them are ex-Catholics themselves, trying to justify their apostasy.

There’s not much you can do to persuade them that they are wrong; you’d have an easier time convincing a Muslim or Jew to eat a ham sandwich. So for my part, I just have fun with them, turning their own arguments against them and dropping barrels of scriptural references that explicitly deny whatever they are claiming. If you do it right, it can be very entertaining; I actually got one of them so discombobulated that he finally made the claim that some of the Scriptures are NOT actually inspired (he couldn’t handle Peter’s statement that Baptism saves us, so clearly it wasn’t inspired).
 
Borealis said:
I don’t go looking to pick fights, but I’m not going to be a wallflower anymore; when I see people attacking the Church, I’ll take them on. And I’m going to use their own tactics against them, because it drives them absolutely nuts to have their own attacks turned against them.

Example: When some nasty anti-Catholic insists that Jesus didn’t want us to follow any Church, I just point them to Matthew 16:18 and Matthew 18:17, then suggest they should start reading the Bible instead of worshiping it. For some reason, they don’t like that one.

As for the OP, many Protestants are willing to go along to get along and aren’t interested in fighting; they are great to have discussions with, because they aren’t shutting down any dissent from their pre-existing opinions. Those ones, I have no problem with and get along fine with. But the others…

My admittedly amateur opinion is that many of them have invested themselves totally in what they think the Bible means, and they simply can’t accept the notion that they could be wrong. And so whenever they see anything that challenges that world-view, they lash out, much like liberals after November 8th last year. Some of them are honestly trying to save souls (in their own misguided way), but a lot of them just want to vent their hatred of anything Catholic. Many of them are ex-Catholics themselves, trying to justify their apostasy.

There’s not much you can do to persuade them that they are wrong; you’d have an easier time convincing a Muslim or Jew to eat a ham sandwich. So for my part, I just have fun with them, turning their own arguments against them and dropping barrels of scriptural references that explicitly deny whatever they are claiming. If you do it right, it can be very entertaining; I actually got one of them so discombobulated that he finally made the claim that some of the Scriptures are NOT actually inspired (he couldn’t handle Peter’s statement that Baptism saves us, so clearly it wasn’t inspired).
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That ^^^^

Unfortunately they cant see that their bible interpretation is different than other people’s and that they must be wrong somewhere along the line. They read this passage and think they have a infallible interpretation .
John 16:1321st Century King James Version (KJ21)
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13 However when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth; for He shall not speak from Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak; and He will show you things to come.
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Now that is not everybody on that side. The protestants on ***this site ***are more reasonable. the ones the op refers to are fundamentalists. In my experience you are better off not even talking to them about theology as they tend to be irrational. If you do engage, then stay in prayer.
 
There are keyboard warriors for every belief. Staying respectful, charitable and polite will always win. Generalisations of any group never help dialogue to spread, and I mean no disrespect with this, but there are Catholics who are extremely willing to tell Protestants how wrong they are as well. I try to remember that behind every computer screen there is either a person or a troll. The former is worth engaging in; there is no point wasting energy on the latter.

Lou
 
Heather914 said:
I just don’t understand it. Go to any Catholic website, or Youtube, and there will always be someone telling Catholics how wrong they are. It’s like some of them are constantly trying to start an argument. I don’t go to Protestant sites or videos and try to pick a fight. It can be really tiresome at times.
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I would dispute your assertion… but then I might be viewed as a Protestant arguing with you on a Catholic website telling you how wrong you are 🤷
 
Padres1969 said:
I would dispute your assertion… but then I might be viewed as a Protestant arguing with you on a Catholic website telling you how wrong you are 🤷
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As Lenten_Ashes pointed out, Protestants on this site are generally more well-behaved, which is appreciated. Try Breitbart once in a while; there are some rabid people who post the nastiest stuff whenever anything is mentioned about the Church.
 
I’m not so sure that they do, generally speaking. I know often when I read posts from Catholics on CAF, I’m just knocked to the floor by how different they are from anything I hear at Church. Mightn’t it be similar with Protestants – I.e. that Protestant arguophiles come out of the woodwork and have a field day on the internet?
 
Yes, I wasn’t referring to the Protestants here (sorry y’all!) Just the ones on Youtube, Facebook, etc. The ones who only want to start and argument
 
As a former protestant (of several varieties) I’ll say that many protestants are woefully ignorant of theology and terribly unsure in their faith because of it. In Protestantism, especially the denominations that profess both sola scriptura and continual personal revelation, there is no higher authority than the Bible and no explanations of the Bible above one’s own. That’s why protestants are always seeking; they are constantly seeking a new teaching, a new Bible translation, a new Bible commentary, a new pastor, a new church. At the same time, they believe in the Great Commission: Christ’s command to be fishers of men. They feel the need to save anyone around them. It’s like standing in a leaky raft and throwing life rings to everyone around you.

That’s why they get so frustrated to hear that they’re wrong. They already KNOW that their way is the best way, and they’re here to SAVE YOU, DANGIT!!

There are protestants who are less like this, either because they are better educated in their denominational doctrine (ie. Methodist, Presbyterian), they don’t care (ie. Disciples of Christ), or they don’t want YOUR ilk in heaven with them (ie. independent and primitive Baptist).

Being protestant is absolute hell on earth. I actually got so fed up with it that I told God “Either LEAD me to a full understanding of faith or I will quit trying.” Eight months later I was confirmed, and I’ve never experienced more joy and peace.
 
One once told me, “why should I let you live a lie! .” I smiled and said we’ll see soon enough.
 
Brassring said:
Being protestant is absolute hell on earth. I actually got so fed up with it that I told God “Either LEAD me to a full understanding of faith or I will quit trying.” Eight months later I was confirmed, and I’ve never experienced more joy and peace.
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You never really understand why Catholics tell people “welcome home” whenever someone converts…until you are the one converting. Then you get it and wish it happened a long time ago.
 
Lenten_ashes said:
You never really understand why Catholics tell people “welcome home” whenever someone converts…until you are the one converting. Then you get it and wish it happened a long time ago.
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All of my extended family are still protestant (for the time being). They all claim they’re “very happy”. They’ve all changed churches at least once in the last year. I point out to them that they are so happy with their churches that they regularly abandon them to find a new one, and they look at me like I’ve got three heads. They don’t even KNOW they are miserable, because they’ve got nothing to compare it to.
 
Brassring said:
All of my extended family are still protestant (for the time being). They all claim they’re “very happy”. They’ve all changed churches at least once in the last year. I point out to them that they are so happy with their churches that they regularly abandon them to find a new one, and they look at me like I’ve got three heads. They don’t even KNOW they are miserable, because they’ve got nothing to compare it to.
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Exactly.
 
Brassring said:
All of my extended family are still protestant (for the time being). They all claim they’re “very happy”. They’ve all changed churches at least once in the last year. I point out to them that they are so happy with their churches that they regularly abandon them to find a new one, and they look at me like I’ve got three heads. They don’t even KNOW they are miserable, because they’ve got nothing to compare it to.
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Even as a member of a church a Catholic would consider a Protestant I have to agree with your last. I never understand the compunction to church hop in that way that many non-denominational Protestants in particular do. My cousin is that way. He’s been to no less than 5 churches in the last 5 years and regularly floats between 3 presently.
 
Padres1969 said:
Even as a member of a church a Catholic would consider a Protestant I have to agree with your last. I never understand the compunction to church hop in that way that many non-denominational Protestants in particular do. My cousin is that way. He’s been to no less than 5 churches in the last 5 years and regularly floats between 3 presently.
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He can’t find his home.
 
Not all Protestants like to argue. I’ve been married to a Protestant for 22 years and we were friends for 10 years before getting married. We were married in the Catholic Church and sometimes he will come to church with me or even say a prayer or two but he does not want to convert at this time. He has never argued with me about religion. Actually we don’t argue much in general. When we do it tends to be some bickering over how a chore was done, rather than some big religion/ politics philosophy dispute. (I note that in addition to being different religions we’re also lifelong registered members of opposing political parties.)

Our personalities and family backgrounds are such that we just don’t enjoy arguing. I personally see little point in arguing unless it’s an organized debate or something in the legal context. Arguing with random strangers on the Internet or with people at work rarely convinces anyone and is ultimately a non-productive activity. I like to hear other people’s side and I tell mine and maybe we each point out a few things and then agree to disagree. Unless you’re on the debate team or the legal team, it’s not a “contest” that someone must “win”.

I’m willing to bet these people who love arguing just have the personalities that enjoy arguing and “winning” and thinking themselves superior because they “won” or pointed out someone else’s “mistake”. I have met quite a few Catholics who act that way too as well as Protestants, non-Christians, and non-believers.
 
Heather914 said:
I just don’t understand it. Go to any Catholic website, or Youtube, and there will always be someone telling Catholics how wrong they are. It’s like some of them are constantly trying to start an argument. I don’t go to Protestant sites or videos and try to pick a fight. It can be really tiresome at times.
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I would stop visiting these media source since they are a distraction and time will allow these feelings to subside and become distant. Being there doesn’t seem to be making you happy.
 
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