Debating With Militant Atheists

[Mark of the Cross]

[quote name='Hasan' timestamp='1345593986' post='2471575']
I'm actually pretty full.
[/quote]
Full of what?


and I bet you'd look awsome in a dress and outside of teh prison

[quote name='Anomaly' timestamp='1345595142' post='2471593']
The only love is real love from real people. Santa doesn't really love good little children.
[/quote]
How do you know?






[quote name='r2Dtoo' timestamp='1345595621' post='2471594']
The Tooth Fairy does give you real money, however.
[/quote]

Mine was a louse bag! And the fairies at the bottom of the garden brought a tribe of black birds armed with garden rakes to scratch all the plants out and leave them on teh path.

Edited August 22, 2012 by Mark of the Cross

[stevil]

Going into conversation with the intent to convert someone is disrespectful, IMHO.
It isn't really conversation, it is you promoting yourself as "teacher" and delegating your victim as "student".
But it only happens the other way around. There can only be a "teacher" if a person decides first to be a "student"

Also, in my experience, most people switch off if the conversation isn't two way, isn't exploration from both sides. If you pretend to be explorative, then the conversation becomes demeaning.

[Mark of the Cross]

[quote name='stevil' timestamp='1346961365' post='2479466']
Going into conversation with the intent to convert someone is disrespectful, IMHO.
It isn't really conversation, it is you promoting yourself as "teacher" and delegating your victim as "student".
But it only happens the other way around. There can only be a "teacher" if a person decides first to be a "student"

Also, in my experience, most people switch off if the conversation isn't two way, isn't exploration from both sides. If you pretend to be explorative, then the conversation becomes demeaning.
[/quote]
Myself and Catholic friends don't believe that we convert people. Jesus is the one who calls his sheep. Our prayer before our RCIA meetings went something like. 'Lord it is your call they answering please help us to make them feel welcome and be a comforting guide in their search, answering their questions with respect.' That's why I would never go door knocking or bring religion into a conversation outside of my Catholic friends. My athio/agnostic friends know that I am a devout Christian. On occasion they may ask something, but generally I respect peoples privacy and only discuss religion in appropriate places such as here. I also don't like the idea of teacher/student. Non of us know it all, so we are all students. So it's more a matter of sharing our faith which is what I do here. Anomaly says he's an atheist, but quite possibly could have a greater knowledge of the Church doctrine than me. To be quite honest I have not read the entire Bible nor much of the catechism. Generally when I do a search I find that it teaches what I expect it would. I have always maintained that PM for me is more about learning than teaching.

[Anomaly]

[quote name='Mark of the Cross']To be quite honest I have not read the entire Bible nor much of the catechism. Generally when I do a search I find that it teaches what I expect it would. I have always maintained that PM for me is more about learning than teaching.
[/quote]Selective reading to find what you want is pretty common. When I taught CCD and Confirmation classes I was continuously. Surprised by what people believed and found excerpts in the Catechism and Bible. Same thing for many Christians. I don't know enough about other religions to make a call. Theology and philosophy conversations are usually more enlightening with a full glass and an empty plate.

[Mark of the Cross]

[quote name='Anomaly' timestamp='1346979515' post='2479594']
Selective reading to find what you want is pretty common. When I taught CCD and Confirmation classes I was continuously. Surprised by what people believed and found excerpts in the Catechism and Bible. Same thing for many Christians. I don't know enough about other religions to make a call. Theology and philosophy conversations are usually more enlightening with a full glass and an empty plate.
[/quote]
Self doubt is a frequent visitor to my mind and my main reason for haunting forums I suppose. Rather than starting the church of MotCism I'm quite happy to let you tell me how far off you think I am and if there is merit in what you say I will take it on board. That's what the debates are all about. And I wasn't referring to complex and difficult to understand things. To give an example :-when I first came to PM a lot of people would for no apparent reason start anti Muslim threads. I felt that this was wrong and vigorously defended. Things like that almost put me off being a Catholic. Not to mention events in my own parish! But then I discovered that the CCC was on my side. Like you I am not only just surprised but even horrified at what many people believe.
BTW I think accusing me of selective reading to prove my point is a little harsh. I always try to look at things with an open mind looking for as much evidence as possible and pray for guidance to true understanding.

Edited September 9, 2012 by Mark of the Cross

[emmaberry]

I am of the Franciscan spirituality and choose to preach the Gospel using words only when necessary, because otherwise I can really mess things up.

I used to debate with atheists and general 'non-believers'. It only took a couple years of this in high school to realize that I am an arrogant narcissist, and by the end of the debate all I (and usually the other person as well) cared about was proving that [i][b]I[/b][/i] was right. However, I do applaud devoted Catholic apologists who debate not for themselves but for the greater glory of God.

Not only am I aware that debates feed my ego, but they also just make me [i]angry[/i]. I am convinced that the life of prayer and sacrifice I am called to will do heaps more good for atheists than any of my ego-inflated 'debates' would have.

Again, not to discount all of you who take the time to debate with atheists. We each have our gifts to bring about the greater glory of God. The problem occurs when people who do not have the gift of bringing about conversion of hearts by debating do it anyway because they want to convince everyone that [b]they[/b] are right...not for God's glory but their own.

Edited September 11, 2012 by emmaberry