Replies

Excuse me, P-Marlowe, are you saying that HarleyD is not anti-Catholic?

Yes indeed, I am saying that, as I have known Harley for several years and I have yet to see him utter one ill word against Catholics. He does not agree with Catholic Doctrine, nor does he bow to Rome, but that does not make him "Anti-Catholic" any more than I am or any other Protestant is. I would suggest that there are a lot more Anti-Protestants that occupy these threads than Anti-Catholics, although I have seen some comments which could fall into the category of Anti-Catholic, I have never seen one from HarleyD.

Allow me to offer a little light then, P-Marlowe. God desires all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. God freely created man to share in His own Blessed Life. God loves all men, and draws close to man at all times. God takes no pleasure from the destruction of the wicked man, but rather He rejoices when man turns to Him and is saved.

I agree with much of that. Does that make me a Roman Catholic? Harley and I have our disagreements in regard to soteriology, but that does not make Harley an Anti-Marlowe nor am I Anti-Harley.

Unfortunately it is posts like yours on this thread that contribute to the rancor between Catholics and Protestants on these threads. You can't seem to simply disagree, you have to question the motives of those who disagree with you. Well in this case I can attest to the fact that Harley has no ill will towards Catholics and I am certain that it is his desire that Catholics come to the same knowledge of the Truth that results in saving faith that all members of the Body of Christ have or will come to.

Now if you can just begin to understand that criticism of Catholic History and doctrine is not "anti-Catholicism" then perhaps we can all have a cordial discussion here.

"Unfortunately it is posts like yours on this thread that contribute to the rancor between Catholics and Protestants on these threads."

Excuse me, P-Marlowe, I thought it was threads like this that contributed to the rancor between Protestants and Catholics. Would you care to explain to me exactly how it's my posts that are creating the rancor? Honest question, I don't like these fights at all, and welcome your suggestions. The last time I asked one of Harley's Calvinist mentors how these conversations could go better and be less hurtful, I was basically told to go and shove it. Then my faith was attacked. You can check it out on the "Medieval Mistakes" Thread.

"You can't seem to simply disagree, you have to question the motives of those who disagree with you."

On the contrary, I have agreed to disagree, and my faith has been attacked after I did so. These "history" threads are full of statements that assign sinister motives to Catholics, which you apparently feel comfortable with. Moreover, they are littered with disinformation about Catholic teaching and bizarre beliefs.

"Yes indeed, I am saying that, as I have known Harley for several years and I have yet to see him utter one ill word against Catholics."

P-Marlowe, would you care to guess how many posts against the Catholic Church Harley has made in the last 2 months? A couple? Five or ten? A few dozen? One-hundred? Five-hundred? What would you guess would be a ballpark figure?

Honest question, P-Marlowe, how would you feel about someone intentionally mis-representing your faith, and doing so for months on end, despite having been corrected on it? What if you thought that your faith was actually true, and that in misrepresenting it and maligning it, a person might potentially impede the path to salvation for others?

P-Marlowe, this I can tell you: the person in question does not believe what he himself writes, but he attacks and misrepresents the beliefs of others. Moreover, there is only one faith that traces it's roots to the time of the Apostles, and only one Faith that it absolutely consistent with Scripture. This faith is the faith which the person in question has chosen to attack.

"I agree with much of that."

That's well and good, P-Marlowe, but the point is that you said little light was being shed. You asked for it, and you got it. God desires that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. God loves all men, and draws close to them at all times, and God does not take pleasure in the destruction of the wicked man but rather desires that they turn from their wicked ways and be saved. As an important caveat, however, if the just man turns from the paths of Righteousness to evil, he risks the eternal wrath of God, despite having formerly been a righteous man. That is, if we become unfaithful, we too can be cut off.

By the way, P-Marlowe, I think that anti-Catholicism is something that you do not understand because you have not experienced it. I have had Protestant friends make statements such as, "it's no big deal, I don't see why people make such a big deal out of it." They stopped making those statements once they become Catholic. I will remind you, P-Marlowe, that the Ku Klux Klan is a Protestant organization that historically targeted three groups: African Americans, Jewish people, and Catholics. Anti-Catholicism is anything but benign, and not a matter of agreeing to disagree. If your experience of Protestantism is anything like mine, you simply take anti-Catholicism as a given within your religion. Anti-Catholicism is foundational to Protestantism, and this thread seeks to keep alive animosity toward Catholics and Catholicism. (Or do you see another motive at work here? If so, can you please point that out to me, and support it from the articles themselves? I'd love to see why, from your perspective, you feel these are loving articles about Catholics that improve relationships between Christians.)

P-Marlowe, I would rather see the level of religious discussion on this forum elevated, and there are people on all sides of the discussions who can contribute to much more more edifying and productive conversation. Threads like this, however, combined with a number of anti-Catholic posters, make their appeal to the lowest human sentiments: prejudice and bigotry. Until Protestants step in and 1) recognize anti-Cathoicism for what it is, and 2)Speak out against it, Catholics will be responsible for defending the faith against the mischaracterizations and attempts to portray Catholicism in the worst possible light.