Posted on 07/27/2005 4:36:36 PM PDT by jec1ny
Yep, avoiding eternal damnation is a pretty strong motivator.
There is only one reason to accept the Catholic faith, because it is true.
Different things work for different people.
The things you mention work with different people. The Church had more than 140,000 converts per year prior to 1965, so the "old apologetic" as out of favor as it is, is still quite effective. The things you mention, while the heart of our religion, are still peripheral to the average non-Catholic or even lukewarm Catholic.
Fr. Feeney and the St. Benedict Center, I would be willing to bet, had more converts than any one organization or even parish, in the history of the Church.
Outside the Church, there is no salvation.
The problem is that most every religion and denomination says that. If they don't, they have no business setting out their stall.
The point the good Father is making, is how do we present that Catholic truth and draw people to it? Just shout louder than the other churches the message of "hellfire and damnation"? I don't think so. It's by portraying the beauty of the Mass, the Sacraments and other devotions.
"In-your-face" polemics is fine for defending the faith from those who wish to deny its truths but for attracting new converts, forget it. The saying of St. Francis de Sales that "a spoonful of honey attracts more flies than a barrell full of vinegar" is relevant here.
Who is arguing to do that?
Darn if that isn't the most common-sense thing this Catholic has heard all day. :)
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