What Protestant's Call Idolatry, We Consider...

[jazzytakara]

Coming from a Protestant background, I have a few questions. Especially in regards to how to defend my choice to become Catholic to family members and friends. I was just wondering about how to defend my faith better when Catholic practices are being considered idolatry. I have a few people who claim relics, the rosary, 'bodies and body parts of saints', scapulars, and some Protestants even accuse the Eucharist as being idolatry (since they don't understand that the Eucharist is Christ). How can I explain the above things to protestant and agnostic friends and family members. This will also help my knowledge of Catholicism too, so I welcome as much information as possible. Thank you!

[Lil Red]

moving to open mic for more responses.

[cmotherofpirl]

Did you look thru the defense directory?

[jazzytakara]

Good idea!

Edited August 19, 2012 by jazzytakara

[MIKolbe]

[url="http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/links/"]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/links/[/url]

[jazzytakara]

Thank you. Does anyone have any advice for encounters such as theses. The majority of my family are very liberal protestants and agnostics, some are athiests...and its so difficult when it comes to defending my faith at times. Especially when some choose to use less than friendly words and methods so to speak...

[sixpence]

if you can't find what you are looking for in the directory, I am sure there are lots of people on here who can answer specific questions!
ALSO: Welcome to PM!!!

[jazzytakara]

I think one of the larger problems comes when the topic of the Holy Eucharist comes up. Some simply deny it because they find it hard to believe or they don't want to believe as it would challenge their views. It was one of the harder things for me to accept. Going from communion (as a symbol) once a month to the Eucharist is a big change, but one that now means so much for me . I'm taking RCIA this fall btw. I know my reasons, but my reasons at times are not good enough for others, thus why I was looking for some good resources and facts from others a bit more well versed than myself. I can deal with people telling me my infant baptism is invalid, by explaining about the signficance of confirmation reaffirming your parent's promise at baptism, but when it comes to accusations that the Rosary is idolturous my current knowledge leaves me grasping for straws so to speak.

And thanks =)

[sixpence]

The saying the rosary is not idolatry because we only worship God, not ANY other beings or objects. To us, asking the Virgin Mary to pray for us is not much different for asking a good friend to pray for us (except we believe she holds a special place with God, being the mother of Christ). We do not worship Mary, but honor her. Some protestants will argue that it is not ok to talk to "dead spirits" based on an Old Testament prohibition of necromancy; however, being Christian, we believe in Life after death, and that all those in heaven are part of the Body of Christ just as we are.

[Slappo]

One thing I love to use to explain the practice of venerating saints bodies and such is the writings of the Early Church Fathers. The writings of the Early Church Fathers are not typically shunned by Protestants as they don't really see the "early church" as being Catholic.

The martyrdom of St. Polycarp is a really good one as the Christians ask for his body after his martyrdom. His body is refused to them, but they come back later to collect his bones and venerate them. We aren't worshiping the body of the saint, we are recognizing that the saint is a holy person whose life we should try to emulate due to his heroic virtue. The relics are sacramentals in that they are an outward sign of grace. The relic isn't grace itself, it is a representation of God's grace, kind of like how Protestants use a cross as a reminder of Christ's resurrection. Protestants wouldn't say they worship the wood of the cross though.

[PhuturePriest]

Since everyone seems to have your questions handled, I will offer some advice when debating with family. Sometimes people just hate the Church and all they think it stands for - Remember Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen once said "Only a handful of people truly hate the Church, but there are millions of others who hate what they believe is the Church." - and nothing you will say is going to satisfy them. The only thing that will satisfy these people is renouncing your Faith and agreeing with them. These people are unfortunately extremely ignorant, and there is nothing you can do about it except pray. If you find certain family members coming after you about it all the time and no matter what you say nothing works, say that you would prefer to keep peace in the family or something else appropriate. Instead of debating, pray. Pray for their conversion and that the Lord will soften their heart enough to listen, because they are not in these debates to listen, they are in them to proclaim, and they do so with only a mouth and no ears.

You don't have to listen to my post, this is just what I would do. I hope it helps in some way.

Edited August 19, 2012 by FuturePriest387

[LittleWaySoul]

Welcome to PM! And welcome to the Catholic family! I'll try to help with some of these questions if I have time later on. In the meantime, I love FuturePriest's advice

[filius_angelorum]

These days, because I have had most of the old arguments with my Protestant friends, I tend to turn the question into a simple empirical one. "Ok, so you think that my relationship with Mary could distract me from Christ, but has that in fact happened? Has it EVER happened?" Then I think it's worth talking about some of the saints who have been especially devoted to Mary, like St. Louis de Montfort (though it is probably best not to discuss his books with them at this stage) or St. Bernard of Clairvaux or even some of St. Augustine's writings; read them some of their writings on Christ and ask, "Well, then, were these men distracted from Jesus because of their love for Mary?" As to the Rosary, explain to them the things on which we meditate while saying the Rosary and, again, ask "What about meditating on the Nativity, the Descent of the Holy Spirit, or the Transfiguration (Luminous Mysteries) is distracting us from Jesus?"

The scapular and relics are harder unless they read up on their Christian history. Still, you might point to this passage from the Book of Acts, chapter 19, verses 11 and 12. "And God wrought by the hand of Paul more than common miracles. So that even were brought from his body to the sick, handkerchiefs and aprons, and the diseases departed from them and the wicked spirits went out of them." Ask them what is the difference between these handkerchiefs and aprons and the relics of saints, or objects which have been blessed to strengthen the faith of those who wear them? If you can get them to accept the concept of sacramentals, it will be a huge sign of God's grace in their life.

[CatherineM]

When Jesus wanted to teach us about how we should live, he would use parables. When he wanted to teach a truth about himself, he would repeat himself over and over again, then step back and say take it or leave it. Read the sixth chapter of John, and you will never doubt the real presence.

[jazzytakara]

[quote name='CatherineM' timestamp='1345358070' post='2470043']
When Jesus wanted to teach us about how we should live, he would use parables. When he wanted to teach a truth about himself, he would repeat himself over and over again, then step back and say take it or leave it. Read the sixth chapter of John, and you will never doubt the real presence.
[/quote]

John 6 was the Gospel reading today!!