Posted on 11/26/2001 2:49:05 AM PST by Brian Kopp DPM
Rhetorical Questions to myself and other Catholic Apologists here:
After reading numerous threads of what I term the "Freeper Wars," I'm going to state an assumption (which might well be terribly wrong) then ask a few rhetorical questions.
If a "Freeper Wars" thread (you know the type, starts out as a thread of interest to Catholic freepers, then turns into the standard anti-Catholic posts with attempts to defend the faith by the regular Catholic Apologists here) is several days old and several hundred posts long, the "undecided" will be few.
Your apologetics are not intended to convert those whose hearts and minds are closed (although, by the Grace of God it does indeed happen). They are intended to illuminate the intellect and soul of those still open to Truth, and still willing to learn. I doubt that many of those make it to that point in threads here, i.e., when threads are 200 to 300 posts or longer, several days old, etc.
Therefore, your time is being spent only on those you are directly responding to, when they do their own self search.
Is that an effective use of your time and talent? Or would prayer, not words, be more effective at this point? Are we trying to win souls, or points of debate?
Just a few thoughts I ask myself constantly on these types of threads, i.e., where is my time better spent, reading to my kids and spending time with my spouse, or trying to convert those late on a thread whose minds and hearts are hardened? Are there enough lurkers late in a thread to make it worth the amount of time and intense effort to defend the faith that these threads usually entail late in their usual progression?
This "NON-catholic" has been told nothing.. what I know is from both from experience and reading. And BTW..sin is 'rooted' in the Bible as well.
Not much better, lumping muslims in with Christians and Jews.
The muslims that drove the planes into the two towers were true to their faith.
No, I'm not prejudiced or anything. Prejudice is typically based on ignorance. I used to be ignorant.
I remember as a youngster, someone asked me if I was Christian. I said, "No. I'm a Catholic."
Since that time, I came to know what catholics were told to believe, and beyond that, came to read the Bible. I didn't know how prohpetic I was, in my ignorance...
Like I posted earlier:
"The only thing that is important is my relationship with Jesus Christ, everthing else is just people stuff.
I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins, and believe that Jesus christ is my Lord anbd Saviour and is the ONLY way to salvation.
What else is there, really? Do you mean I am not doing it right?
Not trying to be a smart-ass, but what would you suggest?
It is one thing to identify the problem, quite another to suggest a solution or alternative.
I am too!
I am not Roman Catholic. But that sentence (repeating the first clause from at least one other post) is self-evidently tripe. When you use the phrase "repented of our catholic [sic] religion", you are definitely trying to pick a fight. An explicit and deliberate insult tells me about your "Christianity".
What church do you attend? I want to avoid it like the plague it is (explicit and deliberate insult).
Apparently you missed the part of Vatican II that said that Protestants cannot be saved (though pagans can; they're invincibly ignorant) unless they acknowledge the Pope's authority. And WE'RE putting YOU down?
I'll lift you up in prayer, because you sound like you really need it.
Yeah, I really missed that part...please provide a citation to the relevant Vatican II document.
You spend a fair bit of time starting bait threads about catholic apoliegetics and then whining because Christians point out the false doctrines of your cult. Why not just start a idolatry discussion group on e.w.t.n then you won't be bothered with the truth?
What was that you were saying about baiting?
LOL
Who is our enemy?
...
Not Muslims, who are often more loyal to their half-Christ than we are to our whole Christ, who often live more godly lives following their fallible scriptures and their fallible prophet than we do following our infallible scriptures and our infallible prophet.
The same is true of the Mormons and the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Quakers.
If they're spreading a false Gospel, they're enemies of Christ trying to blind their audience. The other thread was posted 09/10. In order to have a "truce", all sides have to lay down their arms. Are you willing to stop defending catholicism?
Having a common enemy does not make us allies.
As a protestant Christian who was educated in a Catholic school and has kept up with the teachings of the Church I categorically assert that Catholics are Christian. There may be Catholic practices in which I would not wish to partake, and there may be practices of Catholics with which I disagree, but the theology of the Roman Catholic Church has no more problems with it than the theology of the Presbyterians or Episcopalians or many independent Charismatic churches I have attended. We all see through the glass darkly and we all make mistakes. But if you put your trust in Jesus you are Christian.
Shalom.
I would disagree with that. They were radical, misguided fundamentalists, the muslim version of the type of domestic terrorists that kill abortion doctors and bomb their clinics.
Not that I support abortion - I don't - but neither do I advocate violence, other than war and/or self-defense.
Then you fail to comprehend the nature, depth and breadth of the battle being waged. You will not win the battle without your Christian allies, specifically those Christians in the Catholic Church (as well as the Orthodox.) And no, I will not stop defending my faith, because fools will not heed Peter Kreeft's Godly wisdom and stop attacking it.
The most frustrating aspect in fighting the war Kreeft examines is when the fool next to you turns his gun on you instead of the common enemy. For in so doing he fights in reality for the enemy, whether he realize it or admit it or not. As far as the false gospels of the Mormons or the JW's. God will sort that out. All we can do is witness to the Truth and let the Holy Spirit handle the rest. If one lumps Catholicism in with Mormonism and JWism, one neither understands Catholicism nor the Gospel. (See ArGee's excellent comments above, #154.)
I am not "doggedly following you" I am responding to the popaganda and false doctrine you're trying to shovel. FR IS a discussion website. Remember?
You STILL haven't ever shown me where Jesus or any of the Apostles taught anyone to "venerate" images. Actually, when I showed you ALL of the verses in both the Old and New Testaments you cried to one of the system moderators that the TRUTH was spam and got him to delete my post because you couldn't honestly respond to defend your cult.
I've been praying for you too, unfortunately God has his limits and the following pretty well describes rome.
ROMANS 1:16 ¶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
ROMANS 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
ROMANS 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
ROMANS 1:19 ¶ Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed [it] unto them.
ROMANS 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
ROMANS 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
ROMANS 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
ROMANS 1:23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
ROMANS 1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
ROMANS 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
ROMANS 1:26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
ROMANS 1:27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
ROMANS 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
ROMANS 1:29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
ROMANS 1:30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
ROMANS 1:31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
ROMANS 1:32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
As I said, my intent is not to be argumentative; but I have noticed the tendency here on FR to call Catholicism a denomination--that is something which I think the Church itself would frown upon. I found an article a while ago in First Things discussing this subject, if you are interested.
Welcome to Free Republic, a conservative DISCUSSION website. From time to time homosexuals and lefties show up here trying to promote their perversion and throwing fits when anyone points out their error, people like proud2brc are just more of the same sort of thing.
Oh, by the way, jumping threads (like you are doing here) is just as much an offense against the FR guidelines as posting a 7646 word spam to a thread. Even scripture quotes can indeed be used as spam, to purposely take up bandwidth, purposely make a thread too long to load, and purposely substitute for valid,reasoned,rational thought, especially when they fail to support your position.
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