Moderators,

i note the very lengthy diatribes against the catholic church that nolan posted recently. i also note that he didnt write them, he plaguerized them. (found via google search for an entire paragraph)

this constitutes a violation of forum rules, an infringement on the property rights of the authors (ie, sin of theft) and a useless spamming... somewhat reminiscent of good old jeannie if you ask me. i ask that these recent posts be deleted. further, nolan should read the rules of the forum, and understand that he is not allowed to proselytize against the catholic church here and that he will be held to that rule.

-- paul h (dontsendmemail@notanaddress.com), July 27, 2004

Answers

sorry, apparently ed found the plaguerized threads while i was gone, waiting for the server to be available to me again. thank you, moderators. can we please bump the rules thread and mandate that nolan read and abide by it if he wishes to continue posting here.

once that is done, i guess this thread can be deleted.

-- paul h (dontsendmemail@notanaddress.com), July 27, 2004.

The cut-and-paste posts have already been deleted, some by Ed and some by myself.

I was going to bump the RULES OF THE FORUM thread to the top for review, but found it had accumulated a lot of posts and is a very long thread. So instead I changed the name of that thread to "RULES OF THE FORUM 7/03", and I started a new thread called "RULES OF THE FORUM 7/04", which has the same initial message as the older thread. I encourage contributors to the forum, especially relatively new contribututors, to review this message.

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), July 27, 2004.

Dear Friends,

Shoot the messenger if you want, but only after you read and study the message.

The article is posted on the board, calls on you to ask yourself question...the answers that you find, will be through your own conviction, inspired by the Holy Spirit...not what i tell you, or any other protestant, or any church.

Rather examine the content of the writing...than slate the author. Brother Paul, states the forum, is a place for discussion for catholics. Why is the catholic church so afraid to engage in debate. It is obvious in debate, we would conflict in belief. eg, calling Mary, the mother of God.

The view is always different from top...

-- nolan (nolannaicker@webmail.co.za), July 28, 2004.

What would be the point of the Church Christ founded, the Church which He promised the Holy Spirit would guide to all truth, the Church which alone holds the power of binding and loosing and the keys to the kingdom, which has remained constant and true in its doctrinal teaching for 2,000 years, "debating" with members of an unauthorized manmade modern tradition made up of thousands of conflicting sects which can't even agree with one another on what is true and what isn't? The mission of the Church is to authoritatively preach the fullness of truth, not to "debate" with those who reject the truth.

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), July 28, 2004.

Nolan,

It would be better if you used your own words. It would then be more like discussing something with an actual person rather than a term paper. Also sometimes it seemed like you looked at a thread, and then posted an article that somewhat vaguely fit. It had a very peculiar "feel" to it.

-- Jim (furst@flash.net), July 28, 2004.

nolan,

every day i debate my religion. we catholics recieve religious attacks from about every corner and every facet of the world. this forum is where i come to DISCUSS my faith with other catholics to develop a deeper understanding of my religion. i dont want to come here and listen to more useless diatribe from anti catholic fundamentalist bigots... especially ones who plagerize the works of others.

simply put, abide by the rules, or the moderators are eventually going to ask you to leave the forum. if you believe for one second that anything you can try to 'teach' us here isnt something i've heard before (and more than once) i assure you that you are very wrong, and your posts are becoming very tiresome. you wouldnt be the first fundamentalist banned for failing repeatedly to follow the rules of our forum... and you wouldnt be the last either.

-- paul h (dontsendmemail@notanaddress.com), July 28, 2004.

Nolan, I would venture to guess that the vast majority if not all of the Catholics here have heard this stuff before. We know what we believe and why. And even if we don't, the answers are out there. Frankly, people here have gotten tired of defending our faith to some of the Protestants who come, who don't really seem open to learning and only wish to attack it.

Don't believe for a minute that you can "enlighten" any of us as to something that we don't know. The Catholic faith is often misunderstood and attacked on that basis, because people don't bother to find out the truth behind what they're attacking. Our faith really makes sense as a whole -- all the pieces fit together and have Scriptural support. Pray to God for wisdom to see that.

I have been on a long journey for Truth, that ended with God leading me to join the Catholic faith. I was raised attending Evangelical churches, and see Catholicism as a kind of completion of my faith. Most of my Protestant friends think I am crazy or confused or deceived. While they respect my decision, it is often questioned and challenged. You are definitely not the first one to raise questions to me about the legitimacy and Truth of my faith. (I agree with paul h's comment that we are continually targeted.)

The devil knows that the Church is powerful, and constantly seeks to bring Her down, using any instrument available to do so (the media, schools, other churches or religions, etc). But Jesus promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church (Mt. 16:18), so we live in that hope.

So if you're genuinely interested in finding out more about what Catholics really believe (rather than what you think we might say, or what Protestant objectors claim we believe and why), a great place to start would be the following:

Catholic Answers

Catholic Outlook

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Read over these websites if you genuinely want to learn more. Then if you have questions about something, come back and ask us, in a respectful manner. There is a reason for every teaching, because the Catholic Church is the original Christian Church, begun by Jesus Christ. God guides the Church so that it teaches nothing in its doctrine that is in error. Thus, there is a reason behind everything if you look for it.

God bless you in your search. I will pray for you.

-- Emily ("jesusfollower7@yahoo.com), July 28, 2004.

Emily,

I can relate to your comment that "Most of my Protestant friends think I am crazy or confused or deceived. While they respect my decision, it is often questioned and challenged. You are definitely not the first one to raise questions to me about the legitimacy and Truth of my faith."

I experience this even with my non- practicing Catholic friends who just think my devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and other means of devotion (weekday mass attendance, scapulars etc.) are signs that I have become a bit too religious and un-balanced.

It is a pity we need to defend ourselves in a forum such as this.

May God pour His blessings abundantly on the faithful.

(I emailed you. Hope I can help).

Jennifer

-- Jennifer (jrabs@jrabs.com), July 28, 2004.