I'm Concerned

[Robyn]

Yes as I said, I'm concerned...but before I go on, please don't take offense to this as it's not intended that way.

Basically, what I've noticed about this phorum is that many of the Catholic members write novel-length responses that are ridiculously long to read....and truthfully, I can't be bothered reading a whole novel of scripture after scripture after....etc....

and I find it a sad that people who want to model Christ and evangelise for the kingdom....put up their own barriers! Like for somebody who's never looked at a bible or been in a church, do you think they're gonna get all excited about these posts? ? ? (acknowledging the occasional exception).

I'm not focusing this on Catholics though coz I know it's not always that way B)

Well God bless you all and I pray the holy spirit opens your eyes more each day.

[Luke2219]

Yes, some of the responses are tedious, and I am also guilty of just scanning over them sometimes. I know you are not saying that you can't be bothered to read scripture, but that is what came out by your statement. I understand that the posts can be hard to get through sometimes, but you don't have to read them. You only need to read them if they are a response to one of your comments or if you want to respond to the post. If anything, this should at least help dispell the idea that Catholics are not Bible-believing Christians.

I don't think that they will get "people who have never been in a church" to "get all excited." But those post aren't addressed to that audience. They are responses to questions or arguments raised by others.

Sometimes we do fall into merely trying to win an argument, seeking vainglory, or trying to convert someone. These are never meant to be our goals, but sometimes that is what we end up doing. Our only intent is to proclaim the Truth. We should remain humble, and leave the converting up the Holy Spirt.

Thanks for being honest and fair.

[Robyn]

Thanks

I was thinking about Jesus' of way teaching the people...and he used short, simple parables the people related to. I think in terms of evangelising, we should use that example: short and simple. But with each other, I know that can be different.

[cmotherofpirl]

Many people accuse the church of being unbiblical. THey demand scripture references for everything, hence the long posts.

THese are certainly not barriers.

We all have different styles of response to variuos discussions.

Mine are usually short because I am very busy. If somebody else explains something better than I can ever hope to, I post it.

[cmotherofpirl]

Jesus could use basic parables because he was mostly talking to a jewish audience, or people who knew enough basic scriptures to understand exactly what He meant.

We don't have that luxury here. Our visitors range from pagans, to the totally unchurched, to people who think they know catholic doctrine, to faithful catholics.

We try to cover all bases in our responses.

[Dave]

Some topics are just not the kind of thing that can be adequately presented or explained in a few sentences. I don't mean to be harsh, but please have a little more patience when reading what we post. If you really want to learn, then it takes some effort on your part.

[Chrysologus]

I agree. The long posts don't seem to be very helpful, especially copy and pastes from apologetic sites. I've found people often react favorably to short, specific posts which answer questions about Catholicism in plain language without trying to present the whole faith or convert someone.

[Luke2219]

I agree. The long posts don't seem to be very helpful, especially copy and pastes from apologetic sites. I've found people often react favorably to short, specific posts which answer questions about Catholicism in plain language without trying to present the whole faith or convert someone.

I agree, I don't have a lot of time to read them either and short, specific post are more effective. But Dave is also right that some things can't be explained in a sound bite. If I'm really concerned about a topic, then I take the time to read it. Even if it is a copy/paste; why re-write something if it's already stated so well? I appreciate the work the people put in here to find answers or to write answers of their own, even if I don't have the time to benefit from them.

[Chrysologus]

If there's something good that's already been written, but it's long, I just link to it. People who really care about the issue will check out the link or at least bookmark it for later.

[dUSt]

I've always asked people to link to information that can be found online, as opposed to copying/pasting.

I agree that short, simple posts are more effective--not to mention--more like a real conversation. But, sometimes, the reply warrants a long response--especially when one is replying to multiple points or questions.