A short apology guaranteed to improve your chances of evangelizing Catholics (written by a Catholic)

tldr version; To any would be evangelists, Catholics will not listen to you if you can't be bothered to understand Church history and beliefs. You will never be able to give a satisfactory answer using the bible alone. Therefore you have an obligation to educate yourself on these matters if you truly believe their eternal salvation is in Jepardy.

This is my first post, so please be kind.

I was inspired to write this after watching apologetics videos on youtube.com. I was taken aback by how many negative and down right hateful anti-catholic comments followed every video. What inspired me the most was the fact that one hundred percent (not an exaggeration) of the comments I read do not contain any sort of thoughtful argument whatsoever. Most follow the same formula of "THE CATHOLIC TEACHING ON X IS WRONG BECAUSE THE BIBLE SAYS Y!" Or, "THE POPE IS THE ANTICHRIST AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS THE WHORE OF BABYLON! JESUS IS LORD!" followed by many verses with emphasis added using capslock naturally. Now anyone who knows a little about philosophy and proper argumentation will see right away that this is circular reasoning. This is a logical fallacy and all the caps in the world won't change that. Well, I felt compelled to respond to some of these in hopes that maybe I could clear up some confusion for those who truly want to know. What I found was the most astounding thing of all. Again, one hundred percent of people who responded to me made it crystal clear that they didn't have the slightest idea what they were talking about! Apparently, not a single one of them could be bothered to even watch the videos they were commenting on! I'm writing this for all of you would be evangelists. I am inviting you to take a step back and reevaluate what you think you know objectively. If the truth is on your side there's no need to hide. The worse that can happen is you will have an easier time converting the Catholics in your life.

The first thing you should know is that every single Catholic teaching can be traced all the way back to the first century. Before a doctrine is defined, the evidence must show that it has been believed "ubique, semper, et ab omnibus" which means everywhere, always, and by all. You see, the Catholic sacred tradition was handed down from the apostles to the bishops. Part of this tradition was written down and became what we now know as the New Testament. For four hundred years the sacred oral tradition (the part that didn't get written down) was the word of God before the scriptures were complete! Saint Paul even commands us to cling to the traditions handed down both written and spoken. The final word in Saint John's gospel tells us that it would be virtually impossible to write down everything Jesus said and did. This is very important to wrap your minds around as you will see.

Do you ever ask yourself why all those bible verses you quote which seem to cement your position beyond the shadow of a doubt don't have any affect on the (knowledgeable) Catholic? I mean, proof of your perspective is right there in black and white! How can we be so blinded by the pope to where we won't accept the plain truth in our own bible? The reason is because we understand the bible on a much deeper level than you possible can. We see the big picture surrounding every verse where you only see what is written filtered through modern day sensibilities with no historical context. This is not a boast or an insult. Many of you will never accept this but, interpreting the bible on your own without the Sacred oral tradition to fill in the gaps will always result in an incomplete if not completely false understanding of what the verses truly mean. Whether or not you believe this is irrelevant. What's important is that we believe it, and we can quote just as many verses (if not more) as you can to support our position. In a nutshell, if you truly believe that Catholics are in error and in danger of hell, then you have an obligation to educate yourself in the Catholic faith. How can you expect us to accept your views and get saved when you can't be bothered to be prepared with an explanation of why ours are wrong that doesn't regress to the level of dueling verses? Incidentally, the only character in the bible that I know of who forms his entire argument with bible quotes alone is Satan in the dessert. Jesus doesn't give him any deeper understanding since that would be the ultimate casting of pearls before swine. No, Jesus just quotes scripture right back at him. Round and round it goes for fourty days and nights. In the end the devil is still the devil while the Lord is exhausted and just wants a glass of water and a fallafle. Sound familiar? Chew on that for a while.

Now that you have a (little bit) more complete understanding of the Catholic mind, ask yourself how it came to be that Christianity would spread across the known world virtually over night with teachings that are polar opposite to what had been accepted as truth previously. During the first four hundred years Christians didn't even have a New Testament(https://www.catholic.com/qa/was-the-canon-of-scripture-determined-before-the-church-councils-that-decided-it). Also, even if the bible was complete from the beginning, a bible would cost more than most folks would earn in three years. For the sake of argument, lets say that Jesus provided enough bibles for all to possess one before he ascended. It still wouldn't have changed anything once you consider the fact that literacy wasn't common until well into the 20th century. How do you explain the conversion of the known world using the bible alone when most people throughout history were not capable of reading it? You all have your work cut out for you, but I can point you to a good starting place.

To begin getting to the bottom of this mess, you needn't look any further than your very own church. Make an appointment so you have the pastor's undivided attention. Ask him why he doesn't offer comprehensive church history lessons on Wednesday evenings or in Sunday school. Don't let him shine you on with the old "because the bible is all that matters now." This answer is unacceptable since knowledge of Church history (or lack thereof) is what will often determine whether the Catholic will take anything you have to say under consideration. Make him elaborate. Ask him how much he, himself knows about the 1500 years before Martin Luther. Ask him how the bible was compiled, and what was the criteria for whether or not a writing would be declared inspired. Ask him who made the final decision as to whether a writing would be scripture or not. Ask him by what authority did Martin Luther decide seven books didn't belong after 1000 years. Ask him why you should believe his interpretations over pastor Bob up the street. In other words, ask the hard questions. If you are correct, and all Catholics are being deceived by the devil, I'd sure appreciate it if someone would explain to me why. Unfortunately, "because the bible says" is never an acceptable answer to someone who doesn't already believe in Sola Scriptura. That pesky fallacious logic will get you tuned out every time.

I invite you to consider these things objectively. I would never ask anyone to just take what I have to say at face value. My feelings don't get hurt when people disagree with me. Look it up for yourself. You're going to believe what you want to believe. At least make it an informed decision. After all, why should anyone pay any mind to someone who can't even be bothered to google?