Defending The Catholic Faith

[Selah]

I recently joined a forum for christians, predominatly teens. On this forum, I have read thread after thread after thread that just shows a lack of understanding of the Catholic faith. I also saw there were Catholics (And one eastern orthodox!) there helping them to understand the Faith as well. What I though was, well, why not help them out?

So, I joined. And...I have to say, I'm a little nervous. i'm not very good at debate...could you guys say a prayer for me that God helps me deliver this message in charity and in a way they will understand?

Thanks

Ida

[CatherineM]

Prayers, you bet. Try to keep to subjects that you feel confident in. You never want to appear to be defensive. Don't quote from things like the CCC that Protestants don't believe in, instead quote from the bible, or early church fathers. Make sure you have a good bible commentary/index handy.

[TeresaBenedicta]

Which one, if you don't mind me asking? (You could PM it to me, if you'd rather...)

I used to do one. Let me just say that it can get exhausting. It's important to know when to stop, when it has become pointless. Sometimes it's best, on those types of forums, to simply clarify what Catholics really believe, rather than debate until you're red in the face about what the Truth is.

[Selah]

It's this one: [url="http://www.christianteenforums.com"]http://www.christianteenforums.com[/url]

I've known about it for a while. I kind of felt like God was leading me to join, but I dilly dallied for a while

[TeresaBenedicta]

[quote name='Selah' post='1614551' date='Jul 31 2008, 10:57 PM']It's this one: [url="http://www.christianteenforums.com"]http://www.christianteenforums.com[/url]

I've known about it for a while. I kind of felt like God was leading me to join, but I dilly dallied for a while [/quote]

Haha, looks like a decent site. Hmm. Maybe I'll join you in the Catholic-force representatives over there.

[Selah]

yay!

[TeresaBenedicta]

Woah! I thought the forum looked familiar... I'm apparentally a member there! Oops, I forgot about it, lol! VeritasAmor is my s/n.

[Selah]

lol now I don't feel so alone...that's awesome

[TeresaBenedicta]

[quote name='Selah' post='1614581' date='Jul 31 2008, 11:13 PM']lol now I don't feel so alone...that's awesome [/quote]

LOL, now I'm going to have to catch up on all I missed. I don't think I'd logged in since January!

[SisterAli]

I'll be joining you as well :-) A good way to evangelize!

God Bless!

[Vincent Vega]

I'm comin' too!

[geetarplayer]

Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est.

-Mark

[lilac_angel]

This is tempting, I might have to see what it's all about... even though I'm not a teen... hmmm =\... I wonder if people actually can be converted via forums... i've been told that it's often quite unfruitful... but maybe they were just biased...

[goldenchild17]

[quote name='lilac_angel' post='1614814' date='Jul 31 2008, 11:43 PM']This is tempting, I might have to see what it's all about... even though I'm not a teen... hmmm =\... I wonder if people actually can be converted via forums... i've been told that it's often quite unfruitful... but maybe they were just biased...[/quote]
It usually (in my and others experiences) doesn't do hardly any good with the person you are debating because a lot of the time if someone is debating an issue there is too much emotion tied up to it. But a lot of the time other people who are just reading the debate can look at it more objectively.

I haven't the time to do it much anymore right now, but it's definitely a useful thing to do if you can dedicate yourself to being on regularly.

Edited August 1, 2008 by goldenchild17

[Justin86]

If you choose to do something like that the most important thing to remember is that you're not trying to convince the person you are debating with. He or she has more than likely already made up their mind that they are against the Catholic faith, and you probably won't even be able to ever convince them that the Church doesn't usually teach what they're saying (ie works alone saves us, Mary is God, Catholics reject the Bible, etc.).

However, individuals who happen to stumble on their forums and and don't have any real knowledge of the Catholic faith will be more open to you. These are the people you are at least trying to convince to not believe what the person you are debating with is saying about the Catholic Church, if not trying to actually convert. They may never post, and themselves ask questions, but don't worry you're sowing the seeds nonetheless. God is with you.