Ping!
Patrick Coffin’s ‘Catholic Answers Live’ is a great program. Listen to the podcast anytime:
http://www.catholic.com/radio/calendar
I’m a Protestant but I’m starting to think a government almost totally comprised of conservative Catholics might be a good thing for a couple of decades.
Pray for our Evangelists. They have a very tough job.
And according to reports from the field I’ve gotten from Brazil and from Africa, the New Roman Missal has just made it a whole lot tougher.
Over the years of Catholic apologetics here at FR I have developed a few rules.
1. Identify areas of agreement first. For example, most Protestants love the Scripture and know the importance of personal faith. Point out that on these we are in complete agreement.
2. In disputes with the Protestants, know the scripture and argue from scripture. It is pointless for example, to appeal to the authority of Luther or Calvin, no matter how Catholic they sounded at times. Conversely, with an Orthodox the early Church fathers are the authority without which scriptural arguments don’t work.
3. However, in the same dispute, make sure the Catholic doctrine is clearly stated. For example, the Catholic doctrine on salvation outside the Catholic Church is very complex. Do not simplify it, but explain it. Cite the Catechism or the patristic teaching to explain the Catholic doctrine, but use exclusively the scripture and logic to defend it, and explain your methods to the opponent.
4. Force staying on topic. If the dispute is about veneration of saints, dispute veneration of saints. Refuse discussing priesthood or the Eucharist before the discussion on the original topic is exhausted. Remember, your opponent does not want to really argue any particular point: he wants to create an impression of winning the argument. Also, when the opponent repeats the points already refuted, do not refute them again but point to the original refutation.
5. Go on the offensive soon. Usually, the Catholic doctrines are attacked from a presumption that itself needs destroying. For example, if the attack is from the concept that the Bible must authorize every aspect of religious life, point out that the concept is itself unbiblical and ask to substantiate it from the Bible. Always examine Protestant scriptural prooftexts in context and in the light of the other scripture. They never say what the Protestant spin on them says.
6. Have confidence. We have the Holy Scripture, the history and the divine authority. The critics of Catholicism don’t.
7. Acts and statements of many individual Catholics are indefensible, so don’t defend them. Defend your faith, not everyone who goes by being Catholic. The real enemy is the one inside the Church.