Catholics: what religion has been the most offensive towards you?

Question

honestly the people who were mostly offensive towards me when finding oout i was a Catholic were born again Christians. how about you?

in my previous question i said someone called me "the whore of Bbabylon" well it was a born again who did that...i'm not saying all of them are against Catholics, but the ones i've meet....

Gypsy, and your religion would be???

Answer 1

My conversion to Catholicism cost me a lifelong, very close and precious friendship because my fundamentalist friend believed everything she had been told about the Church and refused to listen when I attempted to show her where she'd been misinformed.

She wasn't the first or the last "born-again" to do this, by any means.

And yet most of the members of my extended family, all evangelicals of one denomination or another, are supportive and accepting -- after I addressed some of their concerns.

I've been treated rudely by some born-agains on the basis of my faith; yet I have worked side-by-side with others (including an entire church basement full of Baptist women as I helped prepare "care packages" for our deployed troops) and been embraced as a sister in Christ.

The difference seems to boil down to either fear (and those who have something to gain by promoting fear of Catholicism, of the type seen in Chick tracts), or personal vendetta. In either case, their state of ignorance about the Church is willful. It means much more to them to hold onto and nurture their prejudice than admit that the Church may be right about even one thing -- because that would mean a major upheaval in their own beliefs as that one thing leads to others.

When the more strident anti-Catholics among them get carried away with their vitriol, I do call them on it. For the genuinely confused and misinformed, I explain things as best as I can. And I pray for them all to find their way "home".

Answer 2

I've heard similar from Baptists, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc. I don't see it as a mark of their religion as a whole, just a few of their followers that for whatever reason have the wrong idea. I've talked to some non-Catholic friends that actually grew up believing that Catholics had a full bar in church, or that we really do make blood sacrifices at the altar.
I never pay any heed to any of it, and was never once offended. They're misinformed. I actually found it somewhat humorous. Those are the people that I always invite to Mass on Sunday, so they can see what we really are about, and show them that in the end we believe the same thing.

Answer 3

I take little offense at many of them. For the most part I think they are just repeating the same thing they heard from someone, who heard it from someone, ad nauseum.

What bothers me is their inability to come up with a valid complaint - You worship Mary and statues, You added to the Bible, You changed the 10 commandments, Yadda Yadda Yadda.

What I do find offensive - even sad - the that ones own family turns against them.

I have several Southern Baptists in my family that will not answer my emails, letters, or phone calls, because I became Catholic (of course they don't have the descency to tell me - I hear it from someone else). My sister can not seem to call without saying "I pray that you will accept Jesus as your Personal Lord and Savior." or "I pray that one day you will see that the Catholic Church is the Whore in Revelations and leave the Church."

To be honest, I have gotten more respect from Atheists than I have from many in my own family. But hey, that is the way it goes. Jesus said that many will hate us because of Him. I can live with that. I know I have the fullness of the Truth and Teaching of Jesus.

And as accepting Jesus. . . Every day of my life starts out with accepting Him into my life and inviting His will to be done, not mine.

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam -- For the Greater Glory of God.

Answer 4

The crazy people with the pamphlets who are always at the fair or the circus are the ones who are the most offensive to me. That and some of the "sow of babylon pope worshippers are going to hell" types from YA. ;-)

I find that most people I know who are not Catholic have a "live and let live" attitude about my church. If they are from a Protestant denomination here, they tend to think of Catholics as just another denomination. If they are Jews, they tend to think of us as not as bad as the televangelist types. If they are Muslims, they tend to be more comfortable around us, since (if they were not born here) there is usually a Catholic minority they are familiar with back in their own country. Atheists tend to acknowledge we're a bit more intellectual and not as wingnutty as some of the groups they worry most about.

I think - just because half the Canadian population is Catholic - we don't have as much anti-Catholic bigotry up here.

Answer 5

It's not that it's offensive..........rather ignorance of the Catholic faith.

Especially when questions are repeatedly asked.
Also claims on who are Christians.
And of course, remarks that imply "that's not in the Bible". They don't understand there was no defined canon of "Sacred Scripture" aside from the Old Testament; there was no "New Testament"; there was only Tradition and non-canonical books and letters.

And the most important is what the Church teaches about the Sacrifice of the Mass and about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist:




But I also see very knowledgeable and respectful answers from Atheists and other faiths.

So for the offensives ones, I just ignore their rudeness and disrespect.
I don't walk in their shoes.

Answer 6

i'm an ex-Catholic, in order that which you be responsive to the place i'm coming from. i think of Islam is a stupid faith, merely like Christianity, with a holy e book that announces further stupid issues. (i've got examine the two the Qu'ran and the Bible.) OTOH, no, i do on no account see all or maximum Muslims as extremists or terrorists; I comprehend it extremely is a tiny minority, and is a bigger minority in Islam purely by way the Western powers have thrown their weight around in the middle East provided that international conflict I. maximum Muslims i've got met have been lifelike, personable persons. in actuality, proportionately, the Muslims i've got met have probable been extra lifelike than the Christians i've got usual.

Answer 7

I am not Catholic, but I can tell you that in my experience, I have seem Catholics condemned more by other Christians than any other group.

When I consider that Constantine was the first one to really organize Christianity, I get the feeling that it is a facet of rebelling against the leader. That original Christian church seems to be the seeds of modern day Catholicism and the schisms from inside the church seem to create more animosity than what could be perceived as the ravings of the misinformed followers of other religions.

Peace!

Answer 8

I had a couple come to my door once who were Pentecostal. They were handing out fliers about their church and were inviting people to join on Sunday. The lady asked me if I went to church and then asked which church I attended, when I told her I was Catholic. She snatched the fliers out of my hand gave me a look like I had the plague and then turned around and walked off.

But of course I've also had a "ex-friend" who is southern baptist who doesn't like Catholics. She kept trying to tell me I was going to hell. And my husbands family is United Methodist and they weren't happy at all when we converted. They never said anything hateful just gave us the silent treatment.

As far as on yahoo Atheist tend to be the most harsh but they don't discriminate, they are equal religion haters and don't narrow it down to domination.

But out of all the religions I've noticed the Jehovah Witness who come by my neighborhood every weekend are the most friendly. I've told them I was Catholic and they were like Oh, okay, well can I still read you this scripture out of the bible? I'm like why not. They read a story out of the bible, tell me to have a blessed day, and leave.

Answer 9

If by "offensive" you mean causing offense, I don't take any offense at any of them. What they don't know is usually not their fault, and if we pray for them they may yet attain the fullness of truth and come home to the Church Christ founded for them, as many thousands do every year. But, if by "offensive" you mean "attacking", as "on the offensive", then 7th Day Adventists are probably at the top of the list. Most of the truly absurd accusations brought against the Catholic Church can be traced to their publications.

Answer 10

The born again Fundamentalist/Evangelical Protestants are the ones who have been the most offensive. Way more so then any Atheist, Agnostic, or ever any religion such as Pagans can ever be.