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purplebear
Member
| Joined: | Sat May 12th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 4 |
| First Name: | Cindy | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Catholic |
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Posted: Sat May 12th, 2007 01:53 pm |
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Greetings and Blessings to all,
I am a stay at home mom of three who is also a homeschooler. Aparently, I also have a big mouth. About a year ago, a friend who is a Regular Baptist Minister challanged me to show him "free will" in the bible. Not having a clue how to do it, I turned to CHN and printed off some articles for him to read. Snice then, he has made a couple of off handed comments here and there about Catholic doctrine. I answer quickly, simply and then move on. Well . . . his wife who is also a dear friend, e-mailed me with great concern for my salvation. She had found a website that is designed by a former Catholic who's current mission is to save all Catholics from the "false gospel of grace" that he thinks the Church teaches. She had me check out the website and challenged me to answer a bunch of questions regarding my salvation and what we believed. I did check out the website. It is seething with hatred for the Catholic Church. I explained to my friends that the website did not reflect true Catholic teaching, and have been in dialog with them about what the Church really teaches. Here's where my big mouth got me in trouble. I e-mailed the person responsible for the website and asked him to serve the Lord in truth, and stop Catholic bashing. Now I am in dialog with him. At first it seemed pretty simple . . . yes we believe this, no we don't teach that, this is what we really say and here it is from scripture . . . I have been charitable, but direct and firm in redirecting his misunderstandings. I noticed that in my last correspondance with him, he didn't actually address my point which was that scripture can't be in conflict, and it isn't in Catholic teaching, that's why we understand there to be more than justification by faith alone and once saved always saved. What he did do was answer a rhetorical question implying that I misinterpereted the bible to prove my justification by works theology. I reminded him that was not our position, questioned his authority to interpret any better and pointed to the the authority of the apostles and took that all the way down to today's teachings. So far I have been blessed with resources like fabulous introductions and footnotes in my Catholic bible, CCC, Catholic Answers, Bible Christian Society, and EWTN. However, his challenge to my authority to interpret scripture left me feeling like David facing Goliath. I need more direction from those that are better skilled at evangelizing to Clergy.
In both cases, I have an opportunity to plant seeds (even if they are merely seeds of doubt in their own theologies), that can either grow less hatred against the Catholic Church, ore even love for the Catholic Church. My greatest fear is that in my apologetics I misrepresent Church teaching and make the situations worse.
Thank you for all thoughts and help,
Blessings,
Cindy
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Br_Carlo
Member
| Joined: | Mon Oct 9th, 2006 |
| Location: | Tyler, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 150 |
| First Name: | Br_Carlo (Vince Brach) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Presbyterian, Episcopalian, CATHOLIC |
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Posted: Sat May 12th, 2007 02:13 pm |
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| God's peace. It sounds to me like you're doing just fine! I, and I'm sure others who read your note, will be praying for you and for your intentions. Blessings, ~Br_Carlo~
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CajunRick
Network Helper
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 5079 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Sat May 12th, 2007 02:54 pm |
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purplebear wrote: Greetings and Blessings to all,
And to you as well. Welcome to the Coming Home Network. I'm glad we've been able to help you in the past, and hope we can continue to do so. Remember the words of our beloved Bishop Fulton Sheen: "There are not a hundred people who hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they think the Catholic Church to be."
Those who hate the Church are either misinformed, or mislead by Satan. Don't be afraid to ask which they are when they refuse to answer your questions, or answer a question with a question, or accuse you of misrepresenting Church teaching.
You named some good sites, but you missed a few. One of my favorites for answering "anti-Catholic propaganda" is ScriptureCatholic and a favorite resource of mine is the Faith Facts at Catholics United for the Faith. Bible Truth for Baptists is a good site as well, as is Catholic Bridge and OnceCatholic, a site directed at those who have left the Church.
As for his question about your authority to interpret scripture, that's a great opening! You are as qualified as he is. That's why you turn to the Church, because you're not competent to interpret scripture on your own. We are blessed with the Magisterium of the Church (as expressed in the CCC and other documents) to guide us. Where is his guidance? If he says it is from the Holy Spirit, then he is admitting that he is no more competent than you, because the Holy Spirit inspires you as well.
A favorite tactic is to pick out one point you make and harp on it, ignoring everything else. Don't let him do it. He will pick your weakest point, perhaps one you understand completely but didn't explain very well.
And sometimes the easiest answer is the one that will throw them the biggest curve. My favorite is "Why do you pray to dead saints?" My answer is simple: "We don't." They will hem and haw and remind me of our prayers to the saints, at which point I'll say "Jesus came to bring eternal life. We pray to live saints, in this life and the next."
On Justification, you might want to read the Joint Declaration on Justification between the Catholic Church and the World Lutheran Federation, which was also recently accepted by the United Methodist Church.
Remember, Cindy, the Truth is on your side. Let us know if we can help, and welcome again to the Coming Home Network.
____________________
Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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Jackie
Member
| Joined: | Sat May 12th, 2007 |
| Location: | Jersey Shore, New Jersey USA |
| Posts: | 114 |
| First Name: | Jackie | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Cradle Catholic |
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Posted: Sat May 12th, 2007 09:54 pm |
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I am praying for you as well Cindy. I also have a few friends who are pastors of "Bible believing" churches n my area and they also challenge my faith as a Catholic. CHN is a wonderful resource for both of us. You sound strong sister,so hang in there.
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