Why is Catholic Bashing soooo popular?

[sauce]

It takes maturity, maturity, maturity.

Life is full of trouble and just because you’re Catholic doesn’t mean you don’t fall down sometimes. If you’re grounded as a human being it is easier to try to follow Christ because the sacraments can be a great aid, in fact, are a great aid in doing that.

You will not allow yourself to be threatened by non-Catholics who spout religious objections. You’ll know deep down that you will not allow yourself to be robbed. We have to keep up with searching to understand on deeper levels. I always kept up. Read the saints.

We need to be open to the virtues. They eventually reveal character. There’s no replacement for that. I’m just sick and tired of all the ignorance that some non-Catholics love to hold on to.
I find that they don’t want to run deep…like Job. They don’t want to embrace suffering and learn from it. I got ridiculed once for even bringing up Job. (Like Jesus wouldn’t allow us to go through stuff.)

Remember, utopia isn’t down here.

 

[PJM]

Can someone tell me why it is other Christians who bash Catholics the most violently?
They say we are heretics, that the Pope is the Vicar of Satan, that we pray to the dead and that the Roman Catholic Church is dragging people to hell. Even engaging in simple dialogue is asking for insult- and plenty of them do come our way- from people professing their faith in Christ! Why do our brothers and sisters harbor the most acrimony and prejudices, worse than the atheists or agnostics?

Thanks, your asking “my question” better than I did.

Might it be that in there “heart of hearts” they know, but have not intellectualized that they don’t have THE truth and are seeking it by challanging our truth?

I mean after all, there can “only be a single truth on any given issue” otherwise there would be only your truth and my truth which = NO TRUTH!

I not a lack of charity from a great many brothers and sisters. Hmmm…

I heard on EWTN this week that “one can’t have truth without love, and love without truth is a lie”

"And the greatest of these is LOVE:thumbsup:

So what’s a Catholic to do:shrug:

God bless you,

PJM m.c.

BVM please lead us to your son Jesus!

 

[adelore]

Can someone tell me why it is other Christians who bash Catholics the most violently?
They say we are heretics, that the Pope is the Vicar of Satan, that we pray to the dead and that the Roman Catholic Church is dragging people to hell. Even engaging in simple dialogue is asking for insult- and plenty of them do come our way- from people professing their faith in Christ! Why do our brothers and sisters harbor the most acrimony and prejudices, worse than the atheists or agnostics?

I guess I really don’t worry when “other Christians” bash Catholics. I mean after all, look at all Jesus went through…and didn’t Jesus teach us that others hated him and they would hate us because of him? So when other Christains “bash” Catholics, I tend to pray for them, because they just don’t know the whole truth.

 

[Deacon_Ed_B]

I guess I really don’t worry when “other Christians” bash Catholics. I mean after all, look at all Jesus went through…and didn’t Jesus teach us that others hated him and they would hate us because of him? So when other Christains “bash” Catholics, I tend to pray for them, because they just don’t know the whole truth.

Excellent response.

 

[PJM]

With this idea in mind, could the Jewish religion look at Christians as a “splintered off” religion… like we look at the “Methodist”?

Isn’t the Jewish Faith the one that WAS when Christ made His appearance on earth? They go back thousands of years BC, while Christian (Catholic) goes back to 0-AD… or closer to 33-35 AD.

The difference is Jesus Christ, we have Him, We actually have Jesus really, Truly and Substanually Present to us: the very same Jesus your talking about!

We Believe He is the Son of God,
We Have His Church
We have His Bible
We have His Sacraments
We have His TRUTH…

Sadly they have none of the above:shrug:

Truth in God is Not the same as belief in the Trinity!

And because of this we are alot CLOSER to Salvation than they are

God bless,

PJM m.c.

BVM please lead us to your Son Jesus

 

[distracted]

The difference is Jesus Christ, we have Him, We actually have Jesus really, Truly and Substanually Present to us: the very same Jesus your talking about!

We Believe He is the Son of God,
We Have His Church
We have His Bible
We have His Sacraments
We have His TRUTH…

Sadly they have none of the above:shrug:

Truth in God is Not the same as belief in the Trinity!

And because of this we are alot CLOSER to Salvation than they are

God bless,

BVM please lead us to your Son Jesus

hopefully we are telling those who have none of it that they don’t have it… I feel uncomfortable sharing about the Real Presence sometimes because i don’t feel it will get the response it should… in other words, i feel that they will not have the reverence and awe of that that we Catholics do… Now that i think about it, that’s probably because they don’t readily believe in it as we do…

 

[catharina]

Anyone who has read more than a dozen post on ***CA Forum ***is aware of the intensity of “Catholic Bashing.”

Why do you think this is?

God bless,
PJM m.c.

Majority of CA posters are from United States.
Catholic-bashing is part of the national heritage.

 

[Phillipos]

hmm, because its releatively easy to bash something you don’t understand. I can’t remember how many times someone spoke about the immaculate conception thinking it was the virgin birth of Jesus. People don’t hate Catholocism because of what they know, they hate Catholocism because of what they think they know.

 

[grampben]

So this is where the non-catholic bashers (not non catholic-bashers) hang out.

 

[tobinatorstark]

Anyone who has read more than a dozen post on ***CA Forum ***is aware of the intensity of “Catholic Bashing.”

Why do you think this is?

God bless,
PJM m.c.

Plain and simple jealousy. They want something they don’t have.

 

[mystagogia]

It is only on these forums that I have found myself lashing out and bashing the bashers.

Never before have I EVER dared to act in this mannar - ever.

It is not elegant. It is not nice. I have always respected the other person’s views and vice versa.

Of course when one is talking anonymously one can afford to be a little bolder but does it need to be this way?

The truth is that since time immemorial Protestants have bashed Catholics - they are made that way. Heaps of books have been written attacking the Church. I challenged on another thread for someone to give the title of a single book written by a Catholic attacking, lieing and insulting Protestantism. I am not referring to books that might be defending the truth. No, one single book where Catholics have gone out their way (as do Protestants) to crush, destroy, attack Protestants.

Hey having said this I do love Protestants. They keep us on our toes. They make the most awsome converts. They are simply wonderful. I have even considered that maybe the H Spirit had a hand in it so that there is permanent tension. Tension is good for growth.

Maybe someone on this thread can answer that.

I’m a former Protestant who is transitioning to the Catholic faith (caught up in RCIA confusion atm). In my experience, Pope John Paul’s “Gospel of Life” ecumenical shot down like a lightning bolt in the Protestant community and established the Catholic church, once again, as a “rock”. A tremendous and untapped well of goodwill exists now between the Protestant and Catholic communities. Please, somebody, tap it!

Yes, there are Protestant movements who consider Catholicism to be akin with idolatry, but then there are Protestant movements who will levy the same charge regarding Southern Baptists. Hoisted on their own petard? Protestants have their own protestants these days, which would figure if you ask me.

The major attack on Catholicism is actually felt by Protestants, too. It is coming from the forces of secular humanism. Our culture sheds its girding in the traditional Judeo-Christian ethic by the day, while embracing an ever increasing faith in the capacity of man to work miracles.

Catholics, with the obvious symbol of the Pope with his flowing robes and funny hat, present an easy target for the political activists out to shape the kewl and with-it lifestyle of the future. Needless to say they do not see a place in there for Christianity, and taking down Catholics who are, like Madonna’s necklaces of old, the most prominent target of Christianity is just a no-brainer.

Rest assured, the cultural forces which mock and demean Catholics do the same with American Bible-Belter Protestants (and they actually do it to them with more efficiency).

 

[Salonika]

Cinette:

The truth is that since time immemorial Protestants have bashed Catholics - they are made that way.

Curious what you mean by “they are made that way”. Are you suggesting there is a gene that only Protestants have that makes them bash Catholics. Or are you suggesting they are trained how to do this?

Cinette:

Heaps of books have been written attacking the Church. I challenged on another thread for someone to give the title of a single book written by a Catholic attacking, lieing and insulting Protestantism. I am not referring to books that might be defending the truth. No, one single book where Catholics have gone out their way (as do Protestants) to crush, destroy, attack Protestants.

Just because no one has responded to your request for book titles does not mean their are not any.

Also if you look back into history think you will find that there are plenty of examples of crushing, destroying and attacking those of other religious persuasions by many groups some Christian some not.

Cinette:

Hey having said this I do love Protestants. They keep us on our toes. They make the most awsome converts. They are simply wonderful.

Does this include Protestants that do not convert?

 

[PJM]

hopefully we are telling those who have none of it that they don’t have it… I feel uncomfortable sharing about the Real Presence sometimes because i don’t feel it will get the response it should… in other words, i feel that they will not have the reverence and awe of that that we Catholics do… Now that i think about it, that’s probably because they don’t readily believe in it as we do…

My dear brother in Christ,

Thanks for your post!

Could you be a bit more specific on what you suggest I do or share, or not do and share. I’m alway’s looking way to improve my communication skills.

God bless you,

PJM m.c.

 

[distracted]

My dear brother in Christ,

Thanks for your post!

Could you be a bit more specific on what you suggest I do or share, or not do and share. I’m alway’s looking way to improve my communication skills.

God bless you,

PJM m.c.

I’m a sister in Christ…

anyway… i just made up my mind to tell people and let the Holy spirit speak trhough me… I haven’t told anyone lately… Oh, well, i guess i did… i sent info on the Real Presence in some letters i wrote… just a short note… saying that the scirptures are best when heard in the Real Presence in the Church, and something about their unique relationship with God being… dealt with there or whatever…

Jesus said he would never leave us nor forsake us, that he would be with us till the end (Mt 28:20)… so it stands to reason He would be the new Presence that fills the Ark (the Church)…

Why would God give the Jews his real presence (the Ark of the C)and then take such a thing away after Jesus…

I sometimes think that the Real Presence is the only thing that keeps my doubts about certain scriptural passages at bay…

 

[Michael_David]

My dear brother in Christ,

Thanks for your post!

Could you be a bit more specific on what you suggest I do or share, or not do and share. I’m alway’s looking way to improve my communication skills.

God bless you,

PJM m.c.

Yes, we Catholics seem to have something some other Religions would be happy to have, in the " Real Presence". However, those that do not know this, or have no clue of what we DO have and how we value/treat it, could abuse it while we watch. I am reminded of the parable of the pearls and the swine with reference to the Presence, but reminded of the parable of not hiding one’s light under a basket in my own encounters.

It seems two-fold in how we treat ‘this’ and how we treat ‘others’ so as not to appear to be ‘bragging’ to others we are trying to help/convert or simply within the family of Catholics we associate with in appearing “holier then tho” then the rest of His flock (which can cause internal divisions).

It comes back to the old adage “Know Thyself”. I have to know who/what I am, as well as Who/What He is.

 

[Stjudeprayforus]

Excellent response.

I agree… excellent post!

 

[PJM]

I’m a former Protestant who is transitioning to the Catholic faith (caught up in RCIA confusion atm). In my experience, Pope John Paul’s “Gospel of Life” ecumenical shot down like a lightning bolt in the Protestant community and established the Catholic church, once again, as a “rock”. A tremendous and untapped well of goodwill exists now between the Protestant and Catholic communities. Please, somebody, tap it!

Yes, there are Protestant movements who consider Catholicism to be akin with idolatry, but then there are Protestant movements who will levy the same charge regarding Southern Baptists. Hoisted on their own petard? Protestants have their own protestants these days, which would figure if you ask me.

The major attack on Catholicism is actually felt by Protestants, too. It is coming from the forces of secular humanism. Our culture sheds its girding in the traditional Judeo-Christian ethic by the day, while embracing an ever increasing faith in the capacity of man to work miracles.

Catholics, with the obvious symbol of the Pope with his flowing robes and funny hat, present an easy target for the political activists out to shape the kewl and with-it lifestyle of the future. Needless to say they do not see a place in there for Christianity, and taking down Catholics who are, like Madonna’s necklaces of old, the most prominent target of Christianity is just a no-brainer.

Rest assured, the cultural forces which mock and demean Catholics do the same with American Bible-Belter Protestants (and they actually do it to them with more efficiency).

As the author of this OP, I really appreciate your post.:tiphat:

The New’s about the Gospel of Life, is interesting because soooo many catholics, including some bishops, priest and religious still do not accept this message of Loving Hope.

What denominations do you think were positively effected?

 

[mystagogia]

As the author of this OP, I really appreciate your post.:tiphat:

The New’s about the Gospel of Life, is interesting because soooo many catholics, including some bishops, priest and religious still do not accept this message of Loving Hope.

What denominations do you think were positively effected?

I am a newcomer to Catholicism, at the time when Gospel of Life came out (1995) I was a Southern Baptist in a conservative, evangelical church. The encyclical enjoyed a tremendous reception there and our pastor encouraged everybody to read it, which I promptly did.

Major Protestant leaders of the day such as: Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Gary Bauer, and Pat Dobson all singled Pope John Paul II out for high praise on this and it was roundly considered by most everybody in the evangelical pro-life movement that the pope had really moved the ball on this in an inspiring way.

The Gospel of Life Ministries was formed as a response as a vehicle for Protestants and Catholics to work together for the pro-life cause with all the forementioned Protestant leaders signing on under Catholic leadership to advance this goal.

I think most Protestant churches of a conservative and pro-life bent are very warm to the encyclical. Regarding the “Purpose Driven” churches and the New Evangelicals, I’m not sure it so well received, although it is not received poorly.

Most Southern Baptist churches embrace it, as does the Baptist Press and Baylor University. Many Methodist, Presbyterian and Calvinist congregations do, if they are conservative in nature.

Lutherans and stripes of Anglicans, not so much.

Adventist, Pentacostal, and Brethren types are likely to favor it.

For myself I trace a direct line of causation from this encyclical to my decision to join the Roman Church. The Gospel of Life vs. Gospel of Death duality led me to consider similar themes people told me about in the Didache and the Epistle of Barnabas, and from there I got interested in the Church Fathers and so forth, and once you start going down that road it leads to Rome.

 

[LeroyCRHP]

I think it is the history of this country. Most early settlers were not Catholic. There were not that many Catholics until the big immigration of the mid/late 1800’s.

 

[PJM]

I am a newcomer to Catholicism, at the time when Gospel of Life came out (1995) I was a Southern Baptist in a conservative, evangelical church. The encyclical enjoyed a tremendous reception there and our pastor encouraged everybody to read it, which I promptly did.

Major Protestant leaders of the day such as: Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Gary Bauer, and Pat Dobson all singled Pope John Paul II out for high praise on this and it was roundly considered by most everybody in the evangelical pro-life movement that the pope had really moved the ball on this in an inspiring way.

The Gospel of Life Ministries was formed as a response as a vehicle for Protestants and Catholics to work together for the pro-life cause with all the forementioned Protestant leaders signing on under Catholic leadership to advance this goal.

I think most Protestant churches of a conservative and pro-life bent are very warm to the encyclical. Regarding the “Purpose Driven” churches and the New Evangelicals, I’m not sure it so well received, although it is not received poorly.

Most Southern Baptist churches embrace it, as does the Baptist Press and Baylor University. Many Methodist, Presbyterian and Calvinist congregations do, if they are conservative in nature.

Lutherans and stripes of Anglicans, not so much.

Adventist, Pentacostal, and Brethren types are likely to favor it.

For myself I trace a direct line of causation from this encyclical to my decision to join the Roman Church. The Gospel of Life vs. Gospel of Death duality led me to consider similar themes people told me about in the Didache and the Epistle of Barnabas, and from there I got interested in the Church Fathers and so forth, and once you start going down that road it leads to Rome.

Thank you my dear friend in Christ. Well done and appreciated.:clapping: