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  • #852
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Hi all,
    Just signed on…I’m a 38 yr old father of six, living in the great state of Maine. I’ve been involved in Catholic apologetics for almost ten years now, and have participated in a number of public, formal debates with anti-Catholics/former-Catholics in ME & CT (I debated Bill Jackson in CT, in 2001…it was like arguing theology with my grandfather!).
    I currently run http://www.marysmantle.org, an online apostolate of Patty Bonds (convert to Catholicism & sister of James White), and am an online apologist for http://www.ctkguild.com.
    That’s it in a nutshell!
    God Bless,
    Cathman

    #2994
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Welcome to the site Cathman. I look forward to your responses and or questions. I find myself liking apologetics more and more. Two of my sources of information are this site and Relevant Radio.

    #2995
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Thanks for the welcome, Pam!
    God Bless,
    Cathman

    #2996

    Welcome to the site Cathman. I got started in apologetics as well, but recently I have been trying to move away from that and more into connecting the faith with everyday life experience instead of proving the faith.

    So, what got you interested in apologetics in the first place?

    #2998
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I still have not found a way to pull myself back from apologetics. I think I am addicted. :shock: <img decoding=” title=”Smile” />

    Nice to have you and thanks for the sites.

    #3000
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Here are the links again. A bit of extra punctuation got into the other ones.

    [url:h1uw07gx]http://www.marysmantle.org[/url:h1uw07gx]

    [url:h1uw07gx]http://www.ctkguild.com[/url:h1uw07gx]

    #3002
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    [quote:nvzawn2n]Welcome to the site Cathman. I got started in apologetics as well, but recently I have been trying to move away from that and more into connecting the faith with everyday life experience instead of proving the faith.

    So, what got you interested in apologetics in the first place?[/quote:nvzawn2n]

    Hi Jon,
    Thanks for the welcome!
    I can understand where you’re coming from, with respect to attempting to achieve a proper balance between actively living the faith & proving the faith. Yet I think a balance can be achieved; perhaps it’s something as simple as knowing which battles to choose, when to engage someone in a forceful discussion, or when to back off and let God work in those ways known only to Him…in a word, we must both know and love Him, in order to “[i:nvzawn2n]Be ready always with an answer to everyone who asks a reason for the hope that is in you. Yet do so with gentleness and fear, having a good conscience, so that wherein they speak in disparagement of you they who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame[/i:nvzawn2n]” (1 Peter 3:16, 17).
    I actually became involved in apologetics about a year after coming back into the Church; I’d been sharing my re-discovered faith with my younger brother (two years younger), who’d shown somewhat of an interest in at least speaking with my priest…yet he soon married his then girlfriend, a fallen-away Jehova’s Witness, who quickly *regained* her faith & got her clutches into my brother. My pastor made it very clear to me that I had an obligation to save my brother; so, I began studying Watchtower theology, visiting Kingdom Halls, engaging JW’s in informal discussions/debates on their theology, all the while attempting to learn it all myself & grow in my own faith. It was a struggle, but it was well worth it!
    That’s really it in a nutshell…however, if you happen to have some back issues of This Rock magazine, published by Catholic Answers, you can read my conversion story in the April 2002 issue (“Up from the Desolate Pit”, This Rock Magazine, April 2002, pgs. 34-36).
    Hey, thanks for letting me bend your ear:)
    God Bless,
    Cathman

    #3003
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    [quote:gibfv4gt]I still have not found a way to pull myself back from apologetics. I think I am addicted. :shock: <img decoding=” title=”Smile” />

    Nice to have you and thanks for the sites.[/quote:gibfv4gt]

    Hi Benedict,
    Warm welcomes all around…a guy could get used to this:)
    Yea, I know what you mean…there’s a running joke among my apologetics cronies: if Cathman’s late for supper, he’s either at the Kingdom Hall, the Mormon church, or the Baptist church down the street…don’t wait up:)
    I have a very patient wife:)
    God Bless,
    Cathman

    #3005

    [quote:2whwmlvx]I can understand where you’re coming from, with respect to attempting to achieve a proper balance between actively living the faith & proving the faith. Yet I think a balance can be achieved; perhaps it’s something as simple as knowing which battles to choose, when to engage someone in a forceful discussion, or when to back off and let God work in those ways known only to Him…in a word, we must both know and love Him, in order to “[i:2whwmlvx]Be ready always with an answer to everyone who asks a reason for the hope that is in you. Yet do so with gentleness and fear, having a good conscience, so that wherein they speak in disparagement of you they who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame[/i:2whwmlvx]” (1 Peter 3:16, 17).[/quote:2whwmlvx]

    Oh yeah, I totally understand what you’re saying. <img decoding=” title=”Smile” /> I wasn’t trying to say that a balance cannot be acheived, but merely on what I am focusing on. I think if I had not gotten involved in apologetics to begin with I wouldn’t be able to put my faith into perspective in everyday life.

    I have nothing against apologetics, I still read them all the time. Sometimes though, I think the debates people have are more for the people that are just watching and listening than for the people actually involved in them. In my experience neither party is willing to budge too much (and rightly so that the Catholics don’t) so it just ends up getting nasty (the reason for the [b:2whwmlvx]no debate[/b:2whwmlvx] rule on this board).

    Anyway, that’s an interesting story you have because I got involved in a kind of similar way, but it was that I was dating someone who was Evangelical. So then I delved deeply into the faith courtesy of some notable apologists and gained a better foothold on what we believe. Reading those apologists was kind of a doorway for me to really understand the Catechism and Church documents.

    I’ll be sure to try and pick up an old copy of [i:2whwmlvx]This Rock[/i:2whwmlvx] if I can find one and read your story. <img decoding=” title=”Smile” />

    P.S. Feel free to take our little survey (takes 10 seconds or less): http://www.aboutcatholics.com/community … .php?t=301

    #3007
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I have nothing against apologetics, I still read them all the time. Sometimes though, I think the debates people have are more for the people that are just watching and listening than for the people actually involved in them. In my experience neither party is willing to budge too much (and rightly so that the Catholics don’t) so it just ends up getting nasty (the reason for the [b:yrhl41y2]no debate[/b:yrhl41y2] rule on this board).

    Hi Jon,
    That’s really a good point, and one not lost (hopefully) on those who engage in public debate. I know from my own experience that when I debate, I am firmly set in my position, and I know my opponent is the same; therefore, debating, for me, is, as you wrote, more for those in attendance…but that’s actually a good thing, because many, if not all, of those in attendance might never actually get the chance to hear the Catholic position on a given subject otherwise; more often than not, they’ll take their minister’s word on the subject as gospel, and simply assume that the Catholic position is wrong. Public debate gives ample time to both sides, without interruption…at least, that’s how it works in my debates:)
    Good talking to you…I’ll write more when I’ve had some sleep:)
    Peace,
    Cathman

    #3013

    [quote:12hhoevz]debating, for me, is, as you wrote, more for those in attendance…but that’s actually a good thing, because many, if not all, of those in attendance might never actually get the chance to hear the Catholic position on a given subject otherwise[/quote:12hhoevz]

    Absolutely. <img decoding=” title=”Very Happy” /> In fact, if it hadn’t been for those online debates then I wouldn’t have learned all that I know about our faith. I am thankful for that dialogue.

    So, Cathman, do you do many face to face debates or is it mostly online? I’ve always found online to be kind of tough because you may write something and think that the other party will understand, but then it gets taken totally the wrong way sometimes. And then face to face – that’s a whole ‘nother ball game. :shock:

    #3015
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    [quote:3joappxo][quote:3joappxo]debating, for me, is, as you wrote, more for those in attendance…but that’s actually a good thing, because many, if not all, of those in attendance might never actually get the chance to hear the Catholic position on a given subject otherwise[/quote:3joappxo]

    Absolutely. <img decoding=” title=”Very Happy” /> In fact, if it hadn’t been for those online debates then I wouldn’t have learned all that I know about our faith. I am thankful for that dialogue.

    So, Cathman, do you do many face to face debates or is it mostly online? I’ve always found online to be kind of tough because you may write something and think that the other party will understand, but then it gets taken totally the wrong way sometimes. And then face to face – that’s a whole ‘nother ball game. :shock:[/quote:3joappxo]

    Hi Jon,
    I’ve done five or six formal, face to face public debates (with a moderator, audience, taped, etc), and only one online debate…there are obviously pros and cons associated for each; for example, in a public, face to face debate, you often don’t have the convience of searching through your resources looking for that *killer* quote, as you do in an online, written debate; the flip side of this is that in public debates, your enthusiasm and zeal for the faith can be projected to the audience, in a way that is not possible in a written forum.
    And you’re right: misunderstandings can crop up in a written debate, and while you can correct them in an addendum, this lacks the spontenaity the public forum accords you…and then there’s the Q & A session of a public debate, which is, for me, my favorite part of any debate (as strange as that might sound)…in the Q & A session, you never really know what you’re going to have thrown at you; there’s an excitement there that draws you, and the feeling that you’re doing good for God’s people, as well as for those who are searching.
    Gotta run, lots of yardwork to do:)
    Looking forward to more discussions.
    God Bless,
    Cathman

    #3029

    Were any of these debates recorded (whether audio or audio/video)?

    #3030
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    If Cathman is Bill Rutland, there is an audio debate on the Eucharist here[/url:3cabk0dd].

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