[annalex]

I also doubt that many here of any religious persuasion are likely to be converted by FR posts

Converted, no. Only God converts. Informed, very much so. If every anti-Catholic on FR learns what the Catholic and Orthodox Church teaches and why, and then decides to remain Protestant or Hindu or what have you, my work here will be done, and the work of the Holy Spirit will begin with them.

Many people here came out of these endless threads with a fairly clear picture of Catholicism, were compelled to study the Church fathers and the magisterial teaching, and understood why we reject the Reformation. This in turn works toward a greater unity of political conservatism across denominational lines. There could be no better testimony to the power of this forum than that.

[Kolokotronis]

"Many people here came out of these endless threads with a fairly clear picture of Catholicism, were compelled to study the Church fathers and the magisterial teaching, and understood why we reject the Reformation."

For us orthodox its been even more than that. Now the Protestants know we exist and understand that we are neither the "first Protestants" nor "Greek speaking Roman Catholics". One political result of this has been the overwhelming support here on FR over on the political side for the Serbs in the whole Kosovo mess, a support born not so much from a hatred of Clinton, but rather of a recognition of the Serbs as fellow Christians. But I will tell you what I think is the greatest result of these long discussions and that is what we Catholics and Orthodox have found out about each other, come to understand each other and the unity that has forged in most cases. Remember what it was like here just a couple of years ago? Ultimately, that particular unity, on a much larger scale than FR of course, may have a greater impact on the political/philosophical/cultural ends of this website than everything else.