Why the non catholic evangelization letters are always soooooooo long

[miguel_delgado]

Hi guys:
i found that the evangelzation to catholics from other religion have these thinks in common:

1.-they are most of the time soooo long, like they want to bomb us with soooo many subjects.
2.- they always said they love us, but between the lines they are saying “you’re going to hell”
3.-why we (catholics) use love to evangelize (mostly) and they fear???
4.- why the same old yada,yada,yada (mary worshipers, call no one father etc. etc. etc) we already hear that ones.
5.- they want us to listen to them but they never listen to us.

one last thing: you all know the phrase “catholics are idol worshipers because they have statues in there churches” right, well if we take this literally then the whole world is idol worshipping, here is why:

1.-Americans have the Lincoln memorial (they are worshiping lincoln)
2.-In Irak a lot of Saddam Hussein fell (they were worshiping him)
3.- in Disneyland its a statue of Walt and Mickey and the whole world loves MM (are we all worshiping the mouse)???
4.- In the chanell TBN (TRINITY BRODCASTING NETWORK) The pastor kneel in pray in front of the camera, so he was worshiping the camera or the cameraman
5.- when i kneel in my bed to pray i am worshiping my bed???
6.- AMERICAN IDOL: need i said more.

Please guys do a little research.

 

[snowman10]

You are forgetting the one thing it seems many Protestants make into an idol:

The Bible

instead of it being a finger pointing to God, it becomes their God.

I always use this as an example:

When a child is small and you want them to look at something, you point at the object. The child however does not understand the concept of pointing at something to direct attention to it, so the child focuses on the arm, hand, and finger of the one pointing. This is how some Protestants view the Bible. The Bible is only a finger pointing to God. The same goes for the Catholic Church, it is here to tell the Gospel of Jesus Christ, help lead all men and women home to Heaven, and to promote Truth. The Church is the Church of Christ…the visible, authoritative institution…that He promised us, He did not promise us a book. Also, the Bible does lead those to the Church as well., if read correctly.

I hope this helps!

DU

 

[Cubsfan]

miguel delgado:

Hi guys:
i found that the evangelzation to catholics from other religion have these thinks in common:

1.-they are most of the time soooo long, like they want to bomb us with soooo many subjects.
2.- they always said they love us, but between the lines they are saying “you’re going to hell”
3.-why we (catholics) use love to evangelize (mostly) and they fear???
4.- why the same old yada,yada,yada (mary worshipers, call no one father etc. etc. etc) we already hear that ones.
5.- they want us to listen to them but they never listen to us.

one last thing: you all know the phrase “catholics are idol worshipers because they have statues in there churches” right, well if we take this literally then the whole world is idol worshipping, here is why:

1.-Americans have the Lincoln memorial (they are worshiping lincoln)
2.-In Irak a lot of Saddam Hussein fell (they were worshiping him)
3.- in Disneyland its a statue of Walt and Mickey and the whole world loves MM (are we all worshiping the mouse)???
4.- In the chanell TBN (TRINITY BRODCASTING NETWORK) The pastor kneel in pray in front of the camera, so he was worshiping the camera or the cameraman
5.- when i kneel in my bed to pray i am worshiping my bed???
6.- AMERICAN IDOL: need i said more.

Please guys do a little research.

I think we can call this the kitchen sink approach to evangilazation or better yet the blunderbuss approach. I think the idea is to throw out so many charges against catholicism that at least one or two may peak the interest of the reader. When you have the truth on your side you do not have to resort to these sorts of stunts.

 

[deb1]

One common approach that drives me up the wall is taking the verses in the bible out of context to make a point. I don’t think that most Protestants do this to be dishonest, most are just quotting some preacher that they heard in their church or read on the internet. But there are a few, that seem so bent on persuading you that Catholisim is wrong-I think that this is a pride thing-that they will completly ignore the surronding text. Not only is this annoying on a personal level but it shows disrespectful to the very book that they are supposed to hold in such high regard.

 

[reen12]

Oh, gawd! If I hear one more Catholic attribute

“pride” to those who have problems with RC doctrine,
I may take up Buddhism in self-defense.

Substitute “intellectual and spiritual integrity” for
“pride” and dialog may be more fruitful.

An individual may be ‘mistaken’ in his/her belief,
but,* logically*, that does not *imply *‘pride.’

Just a thought,
reen12

“God’s Freelance”

 

[Catholic_Dude]

miguel delgado:

6.- AMERICAN IDOL: need i said more.

Please guys do a little research.

Miguel,
Thanks for this one. Its so true that its gotten crazy, the average person brushes off the term, but is like the emperor’s new clothes, it says the word IDOL and they dont see any thing wrong with that. But if we have a statue to remember a saint or something we are the bad guys. From the name of that show its pretty clear whos worshipping what.

Thanks for that list.

 

[J.W.B]

I’m so sorry, but the common claims made by protestants (like I myself used to make when I was one) are so ridiculous and childish. "Oh you people worship Mary, you worship saints and pieces of metal, oh Christ image should not be on the cross, the Pope as a unified leader (or dictator as they see it but never understand that the Pope is the servant of the servants) is wrong, etc. And then there is all of the anti-scientific Protestants who think they know more than life long scientists. No means to offend here but seriously, grow up guys!

 

[stargazer257]

deb1:

But there are a few, that seem so bent on persuading you that Catholisim is wrong-I think that this is a pride thing-that they will completly ignore the surronding text. Not only is this annoying on a personal level but it shows disrespectful to the very book that they are supposed to hold in such high regard.

I think you hit on a fine point when you mentioned pride. In my discussions with several non-Catholics, some are willing to discuss their faith and when presented with the truth (that is, more than just selected verses) it causes them to ponder. As Catholics, that is what we are supposed to to do, spread the truth, the truth about the Church Christ established.

However, some dig in their heels, spout the latest made-up defense, and won’t listen to what is being said in defense. Instead of listening, they are planning on what to say next (that is not the definition of communication/dialogue, by the way). Human pride is their undoing, as it apparently won’t let them even consider an interpretation other than their own (or their pastor’s). These few (note I said a few) have been taught that Catholic’s are not Christian, the Pope is the anti-Christ, etc. and they believe that if they even consider what a Catholic has to say, even a knowledgable Catholic, then they are abandoning their fellowship with their fellow brothers. These people need our prayers, as they have a significant human barrier to break through.

Bury your pride. Jesus did.

 

[Milliardo]

I have this thing about them saying they love us and yet say at the same time, “You Catholics are going to hell”. Almost like they really don’t mean they love us. And yes, the other double speak: they want us to listen but they’re not willing to listen themselves. There are those who do, though, and are not out for war. But there are those who have nothing but pure hate.

 

[WynCatholic]

stargazer257:

These few (note I said a few) have been taught that Catholic’s are not Christian, the Pope is the anti-Christ, etc. and they believe that if they even consider what a Catholic has to say, even a knowledgable Catholic, then they are abandoning their fellowship with their fellow brothers. These people need our prayers, as they have a significant human barrier to break through.

Bury your pride. Jesus did

That’s where I was.From a long line of anti-catholic preachers and pastors. God didn’t let me meet any devout Catholics until His time… I saw the pattern of the infinite personal God working incarnationally… I was fairly vibrating with Love for God, aware of my calling to, in every action of my life, continue the saving work of Jesus & to be Gods’ goodness and kindness that leads to repentance to every one I met. This Biblical theology didn’t fit in with with my evangelical training. I had nowhere to go.
My first Mass was on Mary’s birthday. By the end of the next week I had nowhere to go but follow the truth. I might be too old and too new to become a priest, but I wouldn’t change my path for anything.

 

[slinky1882]

Cubsfan:

I think we can call this the kitchen sink approach to evangilazation or better yet the blunderbuss approach. I think the idea is to throw out so many charges against catholicism that at least one or two may peak the interest of the reader. When you have the truth on your side you do not have to resort to these sorts of stunts.

Definately have experienced the bombardment approach often combined with the moving target. As soon as you address one point, they’re busy flipping to another part of the Bible, or in the case of a letter, they have moved on to the next topic. Although, the process is a great exercise in patience .

I once had the fortune of being on the opposite end. I was visiting my fiance and her family and was on a small jet from a regional airport. The college student beside me was attending the local independent baptist affiliated college. We started talking and he pulled out his Bible on hearing I was Catholic. At which point, I pulled out my Bible (RSV-Ignatius for travel size and you should have seen the look on his face). The discussion lasted an hour and a half, the duration of the flight. By the end, he was confused as I brought in history and Oral Tradition as well, and he asked me to read the whole Bible saying I was taking verses out of context which went against everything he had done for the dialouge. That was a new one for me. Thanks and God Bless.

 

[ames61]

slinky1882:

Definately have experienced the bombardment approach often combined with the moving target. As soon as you address one point, they’re busy flipping to another part of the Bible, or in the case of a letter, they have moved on to the next topic. Although, the process is a great exercise in patience .

My priest suggests calling them on that. When they drop a quote, say “Okay lets stick with that, lets read the whole chapter or book and make sure we take it in context”, “lets see where else that topic is addressed” etc.

Love that you dug in for the long haul with this person.

amy

 

[Scott_Waddell]

miguel delgado:

Hi guys:
i found that the evangelzation to catholics from other religion have these thinks in common:

1.-they are most of the time soooo long, like they want to bomb us with soooo many subjects.

Like others here said, death by information overload.

2.- they always said they love us, but between the lines they are saying “you’re going to hell”

Sometimes they say it directly. In this case, what I would do is thank them for their concern for your soul, but that their reasoning does not support such a conclusion, and then feed them back the objection somehow (that Sola Scriptura is man-made tradition of the kind condemned in Scripture, etc.)

3.-why we (catholics) use love to evangelize (mostly) and they fear???

I don’t know, but I have to try really hard to quash the desire to dish out smart-alec one liners. I often fail at this.

4.- why the same old yada,yada,yada (mary worshipers, call no one father etc. etc. etc) we already hear that ones.

The anti-Catholic playbook rarely changes because it can be effective against a poorly instructed Catholic. Like someone else said, it’s the blunderbuss approach.

5.- they want us to listen to them but they never listen to us.

That often cuts both ways, but I do see a prevalence of anti-Catholics posting sermons, ignoring rebuttals and continuing with the sermon.

Scott

 

[deb1]

There was an interesting story this morning on the Carpenter’s workshop on EWTN. A policeman had converted to Protestanism and wanted to eventually become a pastor. His new partner was a Catholic. THe Protestant decided, of course, to convert his misguided Catholic partner. THe two began to have friendly but sometimes ‘heated’ conversations. Guess what? After four and a half years the Protestant became Catholic! I just thought that for all those involved in frustrating conversations with Protestants this was an encouraging story.

 

[Malachi4U]

snowman10:

…The Bible

instead of it being a finger pointing to God, it becomes their God…

Great point!

But how sad too, to miss-self-interpret it when ever they feel like it. It sure makes theology esay when you do whatever makes you feel good regardless what Jesus taught us.

 

[gardenswithkids]

2.- they always said they love us, but between the lines they are saying “you’re going to hell”

I try to give the benefit of the doubt to anti-Catholic evangelizers, Some (wrongly) believe that all Catholics are going to hell, and therefore feel complelled to try to get us away from the church they think is leading us to hell. This really can be driven by a love of sinners. When we present truths of the Catholic faith, some continue to hold onto their false belief that all Catholics are going to hell and therefore fight all the harder. They may not listen to Catholics because they fear if they listen to the Catholic Church they are listening to Satan. Poor misguided fools.

I agree that pride can often be a motivator for some people in these discussions. They may find pride in bringing people to Jesus. And they are so sure that they are right about the Catholic Church, their pride keeps them from finding the Church that Jesus established for them. I also fight with my pride when I’m in these discussions, so it’s not just them. Religious discussions should always be motivated by love of God and neighbor, but our fallen human nature can corrupt even our most noble efforts.

After the discussion is over, I think the most loving thing we can do is pray for them. God knows how to reach them; I don’t.