Belief in God is a matter of FAITH. Some have it and some don't. You can not imbue another with FAITH, he must find it on his own...or not, as his ego dictates.
I am not a Catholic; consequently you haven't seen me often, if ever, on the type of threads you refer to here, although I have "dipped into" most of them just to see if there's anything different going on. Generally speaking, there isn't.
I am a Protestant, in fact, an "old-line" Protestant, and one who respects and admires the work of such Biblical scholars as Raymond E. Brown, S.S.; Joseph A. Fitzmyer, S.J.; and Roland E. Murphy, O.Carm., who together edited The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, which has a place in my "at hand" library next to my computer.
I would offer a couple of points for you to consider while you ponder the efficacy of your recent work here at FR:
One is the point of view held by the late Presbyterian evangelical (back when evangelical meant evangelical) Billy Sunday, who once said, "Once you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, all other theology is gravy; you've already got the biscuit." In my view, this is a quote that deserves more than a little serious thought by Catholics and Protestants alike.
The other point was one held and put in practice by two prominent Protestants, one an Anglican, the other a Presbyterian, who believed that in this post-modern age it was no longer possible to talk to the "average man" in Biblical or theological terms. They believed this because they recognized the fact that so few are being raised today with any religious background that to "talk Bible" to them is to speak in a foreign tongue. They advocated finding common ground with the other fellow, and speaking to him in his language. They both believed that if put into practice faithfully, their methodology would eventually lead the other fellow to ask for some Scriptural backup.
These two men were C.S. Lewis and Francis A. Schaeffer, whose works may be fairly judged by their achievements. I highly recommend the study of their methods to every faithful Christian, regardless of polity or ecclesiology.
Try 9104. That's where the Neverending Story is at this time.
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?
Probably not very effective, but it sure has helped me understand my faith even more. Of course prayer is always the first step. If we try to take on the hard of heart ourselves, we'll fail miserably. But if we rely on the Spirit to guide our thoughts and our words, there's no doubt that even the hardest heart can be softened.
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?
My family time is just that. I don't FReep in the evenings and very rarely do I get online on the weekends. Time with your wife and kids should always come before time online. Yes, there are lurkers that can be enlightened and we should do our part to see that they do not fall for the tactics of the anti-Catholic (I'm speaking of the more rabid of them, btw). If we remained silent, the CC would be losing members at a more rapid pace that the present time and numbers would actually be decreasing instead of increasing.
Some of you people really do need to put your bibles down for a few moments, remove the nails from your cabin doors, and go out for a walk.
I wade through only small bites of the threads you refer to.
I want to take the opportunity to state one opinion, and I will try to keep it brief.
I am a conservative Christian. Non-Catholic. I and we have liturgical and canonical differences with Catholicism.
We worship the same God. (That part goes for Jews, too.)
My Catholic brothers and sisters follow Jesus.
Now:
Jews and Christians have lots more important things to spend time on when it comes to apologetics or just simply faith.
First, the postmodernist left assaults us on all fronts. One day, they go after the Baptists. Next day, the Catholics. Then the Jews.
All that is Judeo-Christian is under attack. Our adversary in the USA is not other Godly people who don't believe as we do. It is the politically correct movement that seeks to destroy us and all that this nation and this civilization was founded upon.
Secondly, there is the pagan world outside. A few billion heathen who worship idols and nature and incense and Lord-knows-what-else are out there, and they'd love to destroy the West and all things Judeo-Christian. In fact, their hatred and vows of violence are set forth clearly in their texts and their liturgy.
When we have firmly reasserted the fact that this nation was founded as a CHRISTIAN nation, and when the P.C. crowd and postmodernists are defeated in the arena of the minds of men, THEN we can examine OUR differences.
As Franklin Graham noted, we---Jews and Christians---worship the same God. The true God.
IMO, the real question is, "Can you tell from what someone has written whether they still have an open mind?"
I think most people don't have an open mind when they jump into a bashing thread, neither the defenders nor the attackers. I tend to avoid them, although sometimes I will chastise a fellow Protestant who has clearly listened to propaganda without attempting to truly understand the Catholic expression of our faith.
Shalom.
That's a personal, prudential decision.
I tend to do this in those "nothing else to do" times or when I feel like watching some tele-garbage.
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?
It's very well worth it. There is no better way to evangelize. Why? Here are some reasons that I've come up with:
1) There is time to think over points of contention between replies, unlike real-time real life.
2) People can express their true feelings regarding the Church, things that they wouldn't feel comfortable speaking with you about in person.
3) People are exposed to Catholic arguments here that they would never otherwise hear. When was the last time you visited a non-Catholic apologetics web-site?
Also, I've begun to create a library of my answers to FAQ's saved with HTML coding. It should speed up future replies.
Right now, I'm responding to errors regarding Church teachings and allegations against the Church on various threads, not always devoted specifically to religious issues, in an effort to reach others.
Each of our posts is a rain drop, and given time, all of these drops can break a dam.
Not Catholic, but the question is nevertheless relevant. I find there is time to do all of the above. I spend time with family and friends, and stay anxiously engaged in life away from FR too.
Whether someone is "converted" or not by anything posted at FR I don't worry about any longer. A person who is "converted" by the words of another person isn't really converted at all. A person is only truly converted by the Spirit of God, and that is in God's hands.
I am as likely to post here to take a stand against evil as I am for any other reason. There is a virtue in shining a bright light on dark deeds and ideas. In this late stage of our nation's descent into the abyss of socialist-cum-libertarian selfishness, moral relativism, and nanny government intrusiveness, strong words of warning and alarm are patently appropriate.
But have at it!
I think focussing on the faults of institutions and individuals can blind people to the good they may have done, but the good may be more important. All institutions and individuals are faulty or sinful, but some have done a lot of good and that's not easy in this world.
Being on a Catholic-bashing thread is sorta like when you are watching the Jerry Springer show. You just know that somebody is gonna sucker punch somebody at any minute.
Our spiritual beliefs are not readily amenable to "debate" or the simple power of logic and discussion. Neither is an internet conversation the ideal medium for evangelism. Much of the power of personal communication does not translate across a CRT and the experiential aspects of spirituality are not often shared here with each other. Instead there are attempts to logically argue the distinguishing points of one's religious preference to another and about the only "example" of how one really leads their life that becomes apparent is how one conducts themselves in the process of the debate. I find none of this particularly powerful for evangelism or apologetics.
After initially participating in those type of discussions, I have essentially taken to answering questions for people that have honest ones and to posting things to share with other Catholics.
I have learned quite a bit here through some of these threads but nothing that would change my beliefs or faith.
American by birth, Catholic by the grace of God! Every day I thank Him for the Church. What a joy.
I dont consider myself an apologist but I like to throw my 2 cents in once in awhile. I figure that people walked away from Jesus, rejecting His message, so they certainly are not going to listen to me. I often wonder if its worth talking about too, but I've decided it is. I've had a few people convert and join the Church, what a great feeling.
I've learned alot too, especially from catholic FReepers here.
Best wishes, Cap'n.
Is that a fair characterization? Actually isn't it a little manipulative to state it in such a way as to sound like the one who is unfairly attacked? Don't we post these things for one reason only, and that is to start discussion knowing that we will have peers and opponents? This sounds like a creatively worded whine to me.