Posted on 11/11/2015 2:09:40 PM PST by NYer
Some Catholics get apoplectic about apologetics. They argue with atheists and pick fights with Protestants. They not only need to win, they want to bash the enemy. Valiant warriors for Catholic truth, they shout down the unbelievers and shoot Bible verses back and forth like gunslingers in a shootout. As veteran apologist Patrick Madrid has observed, “They end up winning an argument but losing a soul.â€
“Apologetics†is the attempt as St. Peter advised, “to be ready at all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have within you†(1 Peter 3:15). To give that answer, one must first gather the information and study hard to understand and master the content. Secondly, one has to identify the person asking the questions.
For apologetics to be an effective part of the New Evangelization the right tone must be established between the Catholic and the inquirer. I often get e-mails from Protestants or atheists who are trying to pick a fight. I have learned to never take the bait. Instead I thank them for the e-mail and explain that I don’t argue with people, but if they have questions about the Catholic faith I’ll take all the time in the world to answer them to the best of my ability.
The approach is never to prove another person wrong, but always to connect with what is good about their belief. Everyone longs for truth, beauty and goodness. That’s the way we’re wired. Therefore, no matter what a person’s religion or belief system, there is some good within it. If there weren’t, they would not be so committed to it. The effective apologist therefore looks for what is beautiful, good and true in his sparring partner’s belief system and connects with that, affirms it and builds on it.
This principle is established in a document, Nostra Aetate, the Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, which was published 50 years ago this month.
“The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth that enlightens all men.â€
Catholics are called to recognize the goodness, truth and beauty that is present among those who are followers of Jesus Christ despite their separation from the Catholic faith. The Catechism teaches, “One cannot charge with the sin of the separation those who at present are born into these communities [that resulted from such separation] and in them are brought up in the faith of Christ, and the Catholic Church accepts them with respect and affection as brothers. … All who have been justified by faith in baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers in the Lord by the children of the Catholic Church†[para. 818].
The effective Catholic apologist therefore builds on the positive aspects of other religions, other Christian groups and even on the humanitarian values espoused by atheists. Does this mean evangelization is unnecessary? No. As soon as church documents affirm the presence of goodness, truth and beauty in other religions, they also call for Catholics to be tireless in their efforts to share the fullness of God’s love and life, which is available only within the Catholic faith.
This is done most effectively by combining intellectual arguments and positive answers with real human examples of living faith. Why I’m Catholic is a great website that publishes genuine conversion stories, while the Eternal Word Television Network provides a huge online compilation of biographies of saints. The best “answer to the hope that lies within us†is therefore a combination of reasonable arguments, compassionate answers and the dynamic evidence of lives transformed by the power of God alive in the world today.
Resources:
Training for apologists is available in recognized college courses and informally through personal study. Excellent books, audio and visual materials are available from Catholic publishers, but some of the best resources are available online. Famous Christian and theist apologist William Lane Craig runs the Reasonable Faith website for example, while new-media expert Brandon Vogt provides an internet forum for conversations with atheists and agnostics at Strange Notions. Anglican Wycliffe Hall runs a smart website called Oxford Center for Christian Apologetics, while Catholic writer and blogger Dave Armstrong maintains a huge site called Biblical Evidence for Catholicism, which is full of resources specifically for dialogue between Protestants and Catholics.
I remeber reading that one right here on FR
Scientists can certainly determine that something happened at Fatima.
I don’t see any one denying that.
What is the issue is the source of the apparition.
It leads away from Christ, is all Mary focused, hence it’s demonic.
Satan can do wonders and what we consider miraculous things, just as pharaoh’s magicians did in copying the first few of. God’s miraculous judgments on Egypt.
In your OPINION. It has drawn many people to a true devotion to CHRIST and hence it can't be demonic. but don't let the truth get in the way of a honest to goodness real hatred.
Mine too.
I don’t belong to any organized religion... or church organization either. I’m a follower of Jesus Christ. He is my church.
AMEN!
Thank you. God bless you, Jim.
Have you checked the CCC lately?
Is that not dogma?
Here......
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p123a9p6.htm
Number 964, where the terms are used.
So then, again, the CCC is not dogma for Catholics?
You really need to quit playing chess.
You are so cute when you think you are speaking intelligently.
Why thank you!
Drawn people to Christ?
And. you know that how?
The whole focus of Fatima is Mary.
The apparition claimed it wanted devotion to the immaculate heart of Mary. That is leading away from Christ, hence demonic.
Devotion should be to Jesus alone.
IN YOUR OPINION! And we have seen how often that is wrong.
Here......
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p123a9p6.htm
Number 964, where the terms are used.
So then, again, the CCC is not dogma for Catholics?
Two of the three terms are used.
The term Co-Redemptrix is not used and has never formed part of the dogma of the Church. There have been efforts over the centuries to include this term as dogma; recent high level comments have not been encouraging.
Mediatrix and Advocate are part of the dogma. The following definition for Mediator/Mediatrix can be found in the Glossary of the CCC.
MEDIATOR/MEDIATRIX: One who links or reconciles separate or opposing parties. Thus Jesus Christ is the “one mediator between God and the human race” (1 Tm 2:5). Through his sacrificial offering he has become high priest and unique mediator who has gained for us access to God’s saving grace for humanity. Moreover, Mary too is sometimes called Mediatrix in virtue of her cooperation in the saving mission of Christ, who alone is the unique mediator between God and humanity (618, 1544; cf. 970).
Peace,
Rich
Thanks for yet another example of how Jim wants us to NOT talk to each other.
To quote your defacto leader: "I see that someone is projecting."
Nice!
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