On This, We Agree

The latest issue of the anti-Catholic newsletter Proclaiming the Gospel arrived in my e-mail inbox this morning (I'm subscribed as an apologetics exercise -- it's easier to respond to the arguments of anti-Catholics on the spot if you know what their positions are beforehand).

I've mentioned my frustrating e-mail exchanges with professional anti-Catholic Mike Gendron before, but this time I have to give props to him. He said something with which I wholeheartedly agree:

Let us have a greater compassion for people committed to a religion without any real understanding of what the religion is about. For example, to be "committed to Roman Catholicism" simply because a person was born into a Catholic family is foolish. To be loyal to a religion without investigating its core doctrines and history, is complacent ignorance masquerading as faithfulness. People who follow religious leaders and rituals blindly are either too proud, too lazy or too intellectually dishonest to admit their lives are empty and too paralyzed by deceit to investigate the truth. They do not know why they believe what they do. They have blindly inherited someone else's tradition. Their religion determines their identity and they will defend it even if they are not actively involved in it. Their faith is so "personal" that they dare not speak of it to others?
(emphasis mine)

Amen, Mike. On this, we agree. I was complacent in the denomination of my birth until Collin told me his intention of converting to Catholicism. Once I started investigating the beliefs of my Lutheran faith, I found that they didn't stand up to rigorous intellectual scrutiny, or logic (and I found that the ELCA's beliefs on abortion were equally illogical and contradictory).

As a result, I converted too, and I found out that truly faithful, practicing Catholics didn't just blindly follow the Vatican but rather recognized that the teachings of their faith fit perfectly along a logical continuum. And now I'm always ready and eager to give a reason for the hope that is in me (1 Peter 3:15).

3 comments:

  1. As I always say, I'm don't believe in the teachings of the Church because I'm Catholic, but rather, I'm Catholic precisely because the Church dares to teach the Truth.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree, J! And I love Bethany's comment too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. YES!!! When I became Catholic I researched my arse off. I am Catholic BECAUSE I agree. And things I struggled with at first all melted away once I had a bigger understanding.

    It amazes me that people think Church teaching is so out there. Most doctrine is based on pure natural law. How is that not logical?

    ReplyDelete

Please be respectful and courteous, and I will reciprocate.

Note to commenters: sometimes long comments, or comments that contain links, are sent to the comment moderation folder (or sometimes the spam folder). If you comment and it doesn't show up right away, chances are it went to comment moderation or spam. Rather than re-posting your comment, please e-mail me and ask me to check these folders. Thanks!

Welcome to The Catholic Working Mother

Click here to order The Catholic Working Mom’s Guide to Life , released May 28, 2019 by Our Sunday Visitor Press. My blog,  The Catholic ...