12/12/2018 How to Talk with Fundamentalists Protestants ? (Part 2)
https://www.catholic.com/tract/how-to-talk-with-fundamentalistsThat fact is a powerful argument in support of the priesthood.
If writers living a few years after Christ mentioned the Real Presence (which they did),
That argues in favor of the Catholic interpretation of John 6.
And so on.
Don’t Confuse Terms
Know what Fundamentalists mean by particular terms.
You can waste much time by discussing two different things while using the same terminology.
Take faith.
To Catholics, faith is the acceptance of revealed truths (doctrines) on God’s word alone.
This is called theological or confessional faith.
But for Fundamentalists, faith is trust in Christ’s promises.
This is fiducial faith.
Tradition is another confusing term, as are inspiration and infallibility.
See what Fundamentalist writers mean by the terms;
Compare them with Catholic definitions.
If you don’t define terms clearly.
Fundamentalists will misunderstand your argument.
And don’t presume a question means what it seems to mean.
Find out what your opponents are trying to say.
Take time.
If the question refers to the Virgin Birth, make sure they don’t mean the birth of the Virgin.
Fundamentalists may say,
"Let’s start by admitting that the Bible is the sole rule of faith."
Translation:
"Let’s admit the Church has no authoritative role;
All answers to religious questions are to be found on the face of Scripture only."
Don’t agree to it.
It just begs the question, and it’s untrue.
As a counter, ask your opponents to try to prove that the Bible was intended to be the sole rule of faith.
The Bible makes no such claim—
In fact, it denies it
(1 Cor. 11:2, 2 Thess. 2:15, 2 Tim. 2:2, 2 Pet. 1:20, 3:15-16)—
But you have to know which verses to cite to prove it.
Discuss the history of the Bible.
You need to make plain it was the Church that formed the Bible.
Not the Bible that formed the Church.
Note, too, that the New Testament wasn’t designed as a catechism.
It was written to people who were already Christians,
So it couldn’t have been intended as the sole source of religious teaching.
In the early years, teaching was oral and was under the authority of the Church,
Which also decided which books belonged in the Bible and which did not.
Misunderstandings
Bishop Fulton Sheen once wrote that few Americans hate the Catholic Church.
But millions hate what they mistakenly think is the Catholic Church.
You need to show Fundamentalists what the Church really believes.
Take up a single topic at a time;
Look at it leisurely, from several angles;
And, don’t let the discussion wander to other topics or it will bog down and accomplish nothing.
Never presume Fundamentalists know what you mean even by what you think are simple terms like soul, revelation, or Mass.
If they did, they wouldn’t have such odd ideas of what the Church stands for.
You have to speak with them the way you would speak with uninstructed Catholics.
Remember, their knowledge of the Church is based almost entirely on what they have heard from the pulpit or in anti-Catholic tracts.
They are working in good faith,
But they have been misinformed.
Perhaps they should have done more homework, but the fault isn’t theirs completely.
They trust the sources they’ve had, but now they should be shown there is more to consider.
Remember, too, that the faith to believe is a gift.
Not a few converts to Catholicism have expressed that what drew them to the Church.
Was not primarily the strength of argument, scriptural proof,
Or one’s ability to articulate the faith, as important as those factors are.
What drew them were Catholics whose lives gave irresistible witness to the faith they professed.
"Reverence Christ as Lord.
Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you,
Yet do it with gentleness and reverence.”
(1 Pet. 3:15).
(End Part 2)
12/12/2018 How to Talk with Fundamentalists Protes... (