This is my second post. I want to use it to make some observations about apologetics. If you are not familiar with the term, here is the definition:
“Reasoned arguments or writings in justification of something, typically a theory or religious doctrine.”
Back in 2003, as I was going through the process to enter the Roman Catholic church, I was all about apologetics. This is a common phenomenon amongst candidates and catechumens. One example is John Cardinal Newman, who even wrote a famous work on doctrine called Apologia. Deciding to become Catholic is a very complex decision, and it involves a long process. There are many doctrinal obstacles and prejudices to work through. This is especially true when it comes to people who were Baptized in other Christian traditions. Bishop Fulton Sheen famously said—and I’m paraphrasing—“if Catholics believed half of what people say they believe, I’d be a Protestant too!” My point is simply that people new to Holy Mother Church tend to get really jazzed about apologetics. Cradle Catholics; not so much. The long path home starts with an inkling that one cannot immediately explain. Inklings lead to questions, and questions lead to research, and research leads to apologetics. Maybe in a future post, I’ll share the story of the moment that I realized that I was Roman Catholic, and no longer one trying to decide. This initial love affair with apologetics is further fueled by the fact that one’s Protestant friends and family often feel that one has a.) lost his mind, and b.) is spitting on the family tradition. Love usually wins out in the end, but a good grasp of some arguments that can demonstrate a credible thought process do much toward smoothing ruffled feathers. It is, too, an exciting time. Here meeting a Mother for the first time (Our Lady); there meeting new Aunts and Uncles (The Saints and Doctors of the Church), and experiencing new Sacraments and new aspects of prayer and spirituality. It can be heady stuff. Now you know where I was.
I’m not there anymore.
I picked this topic for one of my early blogs, because I want to lay the groundwork for what I want this site to be. Or, better stated, what I don’t want it to become. If you think Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians are not really Christians, that’s your right. In fact, it is your sacred right. If you think the Pope is the Anti-Christ and the Holy See is the Whore of Babylon, that is your belief and I’m not going to change your mind. I’m also not going to argue with you. I’m not going to gird my loins and dive into a lake of apologia to try and get you to change your views or understand my spiritual road. I don’t have time. We don’t have time. Christianity is under attack. I don’t need to enumerate examples of that to anyone who is still reading this post. Frankly, I’m not at a place in my journey where I’m qualified to engage in that level of rhetorical Theology. With the limited time I have left, I am compelled to pray, to study, to (small ‘p’) preach, and to serve the community to the best of my ability with the humble talents Grace provides. My prayer is that this blog will become a small Apostolate. I will not allow it to be a forum for debate. I will gladly answer to the best of my ability any honest questions about doctrine, but I’m not going to stop my travels to bicker or try to defend the Church, which can after 2000 years, stick up for itself, thank you very much. I put apologetics in my rear view mirror, and I am focused on looking through the windshield toward the horizon. I eschew defense, and seek for deeper ways to love.
Pray for me.
Vehicle Vespers 