Painter trying to convert me

[morostheos]

You should give him some free cds from catholicity, they have really good ones and you don't have to pay anything for them!

[morostheos]

[url="http://www.catholicity.com/maryfoundation/"]http://www.catholicity.com/maryfoundation/[/url]

[Laudate_Dominum]

send the guy my way.

I much prefer debating and/or discussing things in person over posting on the internet.

I blabbed for four hours when the Mormons came over, and I talked at a rapid pace. I was probably able to make twice as many points as I've ever made in all my debates on phatmass.

[Extra ecclesiam nulla salus]

cool

[Laudate_Dominum]

Ooo, I'm recalling some awesome experiences..

Once I stayed at this retreat place in Canada and I had a field day on the couple of non-Catholics who were there.

One was this new age guy who said he had come to instruct the priests on a concept of God that is superior to what the Catholic Church teaches. hehe The guy was soooo out in left field you wouldn't believe the half of it.
By providence I ended up having many many hours of time alone with this guy in which we just talked philosophy and theology relentlessly. It was truly awesome!
I don't know for sure if the man was converted, but by the time he left he was totally different. I was able to clear up dozens and dozens of misunderstandings of Catholic doctrine. It seemed like with this one fellow I was able to apply things from every single class I've ever taken in philosophy and theology. It was sweet.

Then there was this baptist fellow. We had one of the most grace-filled conversations I've ever experienced. We had a few short conversations on particular matters, but then we ended up staying up all night flipping through the Bible and discussing things. It rocked!
I really felt like some major things happened regarding the Eucharist and Our Lady, but the next day I was unsure where the guy stood with everything. To my surprise he approached me and said "my conscience is telling me that I'm Catholic. I know that Mary is my spiritual mother and that Jesus is present in the Eucharist". I can't explain how cool it was to have been an instrument in God's hands for bringing this fellow to His Church.

*sigh*

[Extra ecclesiam nulla salus]

thats cool. thats why i wanted to be a fuzzy bunny crusader

[Laudate_Dominum]

The sad part about both of those experiences is that the other Catholics were mostly wish-washy. For example when that Baptist fellow would say something critical of a Catholic belief (or just ask an honest question!!) they would say stuff like "it doesn't really matter, as long as you love Jesus", or "true, we believe different, but that's ok, God is in every religion". *barf*

But it was funny because I could tell that he was taking stabs at Catholicism because he was fishing. He wanted someone to explain why we believe the way we do. He had been sitting in on Masses and I think Christ was speaking to Him in the Eucharist so he was curious about Catholicism. Being "ecumenical" in the false sense is so dumb...

[Extra ecclesiam nulla salus]

a lot of catholics do that it really really pisses me off!!

thats my biggest pet peave.

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote name='Extra ecclesiam nulla salus' date='Sep 4 2005, 11:50 PM']a lot of catholics do that it really really pisses me off!!

thats my biggest pet peave.
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*emphatically nods*

[Sojourner]

[quote name='Laudate_Dominum' date='Sep 4 2005, 11:44 PM']The sad part about both of those experiences is that the other Catholics were mostly wish-washy.   For example when that Baptist fellow would say something critical of a Catholic belief (or just ask an honest question!!) they would say stuff like "it doesn't really matter, as long as you love Jesus", or "true, we believe different, but that's ok, God is in every religion". *barf*

But it was funny because I could tell that he was taking stabs at Catholicism because he was fishing. He wanted someone to explain why we believe the way we do. He had been sitting in on Masses and I think Christ was speaking to Him in the Eucharist so he was curious about Catholicism. Being "ecumenical" in the false sense is so dumb...
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I think people in general are wishy-washy on their faith. Most people aren't able to articulate the reasons behind the opinions they hold, which is kind of sad.

I've got two guy friends with whom I've had really in-depth discussions about my faith, and why I believe what I believe. One of them really isn't willing to have open, honest dialogue ... we're currently stuck on authority issues. He doesn't see anything in Christianity as being authorattative over his faith -- not the Bible, not the Church, nothing. It's all that little voice inside that he "knows" comes from God -- that will tell him what he's supposed to be doing. We've gone around and around about this, and I've come to the conclusion that his objections probably aren't really intellectual -- he's just masking deeper emotional issues with shoddy intellectual arguments.

Another friend is much more rational in his approach to faith, and we've actually developed a very good friendship that started with talking about faith. We go to lunch once or twice a week and spend an hour or so chatting about all kinds of stuff, that often includes our individual beliefs and how we see those beliefs playing out in our lives. I have high hopes for him. Someday, I could see him making the leap. But, it'll be a while yet, I think.