I'm Too Dumb To Be A Christian...

[CatholicCrusader]

Oh, and if you are going to call black people African American, then I should be called "caucasian european american"...and you can't say "well their relatives are from Africa" because all of our relatives are from the Garden of Eden, I guess we're all "Middle Eastern Americans", huh?

God bless.

[Laudate_Dominum]

I haven't read the whole thread because I just wanted to say that I disagree with the first post.
The people who have had the deepest understanding of the things of God and of Christ are the simple and the humble saints like St. Francis. There are countless uneducated, simple lay people who through prayer and humility grew in the love of God and became saints. The earlier chapters of the Imitation of Christ talk about this.
I would rather be humble and ignorant of the things of this world, yet truly know Jesus Christ and His love and be set free from a multitude of opinions. Knowledge without love is nothing, and without love and humility one cannot approach the wisdom of God.

[Jake Huether]

[quote name='CatholicCrusader' date='Apr 2 2004, 03:33 AM'] Oh, and if you are going to call black people African American, then I should be called "caucasian european american"...and you can't say "well their relatives are from Africa" because all of our relatives are from the Garden of Eden, I guess we're all "Middle Eastern Americans", huh?

God bless. [/quote]
CC,

Your zeal is admirable. But you are totally missing the point.

We aren't saying that you should call their religion the Truth.

It's like, why can't you call a black person, a person. Do you NEED to say "black". You don't need to say African American either.


We all know what Protestantism is. We know what they reject, and what certain denominations accept.


Jesus flipped over tables when they were desicrating the Temple.

No non-Catholic here has "desicrated" Phatmass, so there is no reason to go flipping over tables or stamping out "heresy".


This IS a Catholic Phorum. Which everyone is aware of. If Bruce, or any non-Catholic, is here, they are here to learn and to dialogue.

There is a time for flipping tables, and oh, they have (we have had to give the boot to certain people who didn't respect the rules).

But now is not the time.


SHOW them that their religion is heretical. Don't tell them. Show them.

Telling someone that they are fat, if they are fat, is uncharitable. Telling someone who has a disfugured face that they are ugly, even though it may be true, is very uncharitable.


Jesus would agree that Protestantism is a heretical religion. But he wouldn't tell a person who was looking for the Truth to "leave your heretical religion".


Jesus never called a Pharisee a liar, that didn't already know he was a liar in his heart. The reason Jesus could call the Pharisee's vipers, etc. is because they knew that they were out to "get" Jesus!

But tell me, did Jesus tell Mary Magdalene, "stop being a filthy prostitute"? Or did he say, "sin no more"?

There are tacktfull ways of conveying the Truth.

You are becoming very defensive, and it would be a good thing to think about why?

And I don't know why you keep interjecting your opinion of pre / post Vatican II. That is quite uncharitable too. As if no one after Vatican II is truthfull or militant in regards to their faith. Mother Theresa was certainly pre Vatican II and post Vatican II. Can you show me any of her statements, pre Vatican II where she calls the Mustlims or Hindu's "heretical", where the statement is addressed to them.

God bless you, and may the peace of Christ fill your heart.

[cmotherofpirl]

For every hour you spend trying to "convert" people, spend an hour before the Blessed Sacrament discussing it with Jesus and praying for those people.

[Dave]

CatholicCrusader, it's possible to be right and yet drive someone further away from the truth. Do you want to lead people to the truth or drive them away from it? I know the answer to that question is the former. But consider the following ...

When Catholic missionaries have come to foreign lands and converted non-Christians, have they ever said, "Convert, you heathens!"? No!

When the apostles spread the Gospel, did they ever say, "Become Christians or go to hell!"? No!

[theculturewarrior]

Here we go...

Not just heresy but race too! As they say in Texas...YEEHAW! Edited April 2, 2004 by theculturewarrior

[mulls]

[quote name='CatholicCrusader' date='Apr 2 2004, 05:33 AM'] Oh, and if you are going to call black people African American, then I should be called "caucasian european american"...and you can't say "well their relatives are from Africa" because all of our relatives are from the Garden of Eden, I guess we're all "Middle Eastern Americans", huh?

God bless. [/quote]
THERE'S BLACK PEOPLE THAT DON'T HAVE ROOTS IN AFRICA, THAT'S WHY THERE MUST BE A DISTINCTION.







ignorance is bliss eh?

[Livin_the_MASS]

[quote name='Laudate_Dominum' date='Apr 2 2004, 08:56 AM']I haven't read the whole thread because I just wanted to say that I disagree with the first post.
The people who have had the deepest understanding of the things of God and of Christ are the simple and the humble saints like St. Francis. There are countless uneducated, simple lay people who through prayer and humility grew in the love of God and became saints. The earlier chapters of the Imitation of Christ talk about this.
I would rather be humble and ignorant of the things of this world, yet truly know Jesus Christ and His love and be set free from a multitude of opinions. Knowledge without love is nothing, and without love and humility one cannot approach the wisdom of God.[/quote]
Amen brother!

[Livin_the_MASS]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' date='Apr 2 2004, 09:34 AM'] For every hour you spend trying to "convert" people, spend an hour before the Blessed Sacrament discussing it with Jesus and praying for those people. [/quote]
Amen cmom!

[Sojourner]

If I may briefly interject on the racial terms conversation, journalistically speaking, "black" is the preferred term, according to the Associated Press Stylebook. We're only supposed to use "African-American" in quotations or in the names of organizations, or if it is the term individuals prefer to use to describe themselves. In those cases, we respect the wishes of those groups or individuals to choose this term as a descriptor of their heritage.

With that said, and getting back to the original post, I agree with Laudate as well. Except I did read the entire thread, and I think it's sad that it devolved the way it did.

Edited April 2, 2004 by Sojourner

[Winchester]

Actually, your complaint seems to be that you are too ignorant to be a Christian.

Really, though, I must recast your conclusion: You are too ignorant to succesfully defend your faith or condemn ours in the company you have chosen.

You are definitely not "dumb" (in the colloquial sense), because you have just shown a capable hand at deceptive rhetoric on par with some pursuers of government office.

[cmotherofpirl]

There is an excellent show currently showing on EWTN called [i]Search and Rescue.[/i] or you can just buy the book written by Patrick Madrid. It is a practical manual on how to evangelize other people.

And to get back to the original topic, Jesus said his yoke is easy and his burden light, and take up your cross and follow Him. It is easy and light if you have the obedience of faith. It can be a real cross, however, if you demand every little detail be explained to your satisfaction before you deign to agree with it. God does not demand intellectual understanding as a prerequisite for heaven. It is not mentioned in the Beatitudes or the command to love your neighbor.

One gift we all seem to forget to pray for is "fear of the Lord". This, of course, does not mean fear as in trembing and quaking, but in knowing your place in the scheme of things. The last chapters of the book of Job and Genesis 1 & 2 are good cures for this.
The test question at the gate of heaven will be "how well have you loved"?

Edited April 2, 2004 by cmotherofpirl

[CatholicCrusader]

Mulls,
the only thing you and i agree on (as far as i have seen) is that UConn is the best college basketball team.

[Bruce S]

[quote]There is an excellent show currently showing on EWTN called Search and Rescue. or you can just buy the bookwritten by Patrick Madrid. It is a practical manual on how to evangelize other people.
[/quote]

Or just go to the Mormon sites, they, better than just about any denomination are winning the door-to-door evangelizing wars. One need not AGREE with them, just study how they have perfected it.

As an aside, there are only 2.5 million Assembly of God members in the USA. Two years ago, when I joined the Holy Rollers Inc, they had a worldwide membership of 48 million, the just released survey now places worldwide membership at 54 million, mostly the growth is in Africa and Asia, and we are the ONLY group actually making headway in converting Muslims to any degree. That is an increase of 10% in two years, just about ALL from Evangelism. [now we have a long way to go to keep up with the RCCs 1 billion plus, I know, but trendlines are trendlines...]

[Brother Adam]

Bruce,

Pope John Paul II makes an excellent point about your comment in his book "Crossing the Threshold of Faith". Then again, it's not just a Catholic thing. It seems mainly Mormons and Baptists are concerned with numbers.

Numbers in themselves mean nothing.