UNCHARITABLE? DIVISIVE? STRIDENT? Recovering the Art of Christian Polemics

Before going into battle we must be convinced our enemy is evil and is worth fighting and our cause worth fighting and dying for.

I am afraid our Bishops and Cardinals here in the West are not convinced of this and so are not prepared to pay the price for going to War against perversion.

 

But let's also remember:

 

Sometimes, the hardest road is the road of silence. Especially in the face of outright wickedness.

 

I find myself increasingly impressed by the saying of St. Francis of Assisi to the effect that we should preach always, sometimes with words. Given my hamfistedness in verbal exchanges, I take this to mean that I might hope to influence others through my actions, implying that those actions better be right and proper.

 

Sometimes when I am down town I see Protestant Evngelicals with Bill Boards announcing, 'The End if Nigh', or some other message. They go to some quite considerable trouble and invite ridicule to do this. The big question is , is God inviting asking them to do this? This of course is a matter of personal Spiritual Discernment for themselves, Hopefully they have asked this prayerful question before they even left their houses. What a huge pity to be going to so much effort if God did not want this.

It's the same for ourselves before embarking on any Apostolic Effort. We have to ask the simple question,

"Does God want this of me?'

So say I am in Church and I hear a priest proclaiming an obvious heresy. It is not simply a matter of jumping to our feet and crying out or even pulling the priest later. It is a question of going to the Lord in prayer and asking Him what He wants us to do. Maybe the Good Lord wants us simply to leave the Church. Maybe the Lord wants us to grin and bear it. Maybe He wants us to jump to our feet and make a protest.

Whatever. But it is up to God not up to us. We must ask Him. As the psalmist says:

Psalm 127:1

A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.

 

I suppose Protestant's too have a claim to understand 'the end is near'. But, what it means to them and what it means to us is two different things, or should be if they are looking for Jesus return in the flesh. Yet, it is clear we are in serious times, both within the world and the church. I can't even imagine what modern technology is coming up with next to bring minds and hearts even more into the world of the antichrist. I happen to agree with more than once prophecy that tells us the antichrist will rule the world, being able to buy and sell, via the microchip. This will bring about the end of the world as we know it very quickly when it takes place.

 

Sadly this may be true.

 

The Words,' The End is Near', were first spoken by the first Pope 2,000 years ago . So of course , being the Word of God they are true. I think that there is a difference not only between Protestants and Catholics on its application but between each of us.

It reminds me of dried soup. We have to mix it with the hot water of prayer to make it real. Certianly listening to recent Popes makes it a little more urgent, but then again Popes have often, from St Peter on down applied it directly to their own times.

I think the Early Christians often thought Jesus was coming any day now. Almost any moment

1 Peter 4:7

The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.

 

For me, I sense we are in this period, not only because we have our own eye's and ear's to see and hear what is being said both in the Church and in the world, but what weighs heavy on this period of history is the unprecedented amount of alleged Catholic prophecies taking place that seem to coincide with one an other on many points about this moment and what comes about soon after. Ofcourse this could go on for years, but then again maybe months before something huge takes place that crushes the way we have all lived. As Padre Pio said: pray, hope and don't worry.

 

It is difficult to tell. Some things are hidden even from the angels. But it fun guessing.

Protestant exegetes are interesting and so rational in reading the Signs. Pointers like the return of the Jews to Israel , the Gospel having been proclaimed to the Ends of the Earth and political circumstances are all taken as evidence.

My own guess ( and yes it is a guess) , drawing from Catholic Prophecy is that the End is many, many generations away. First we have to go through the fullness of the Tribulation (of which we are at only the start of the start) ; then the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart (which again will last generations) , then after this the Final Apostasy joined with the Coming of the Anti Christ and the Final Battle; Armageddon between good and evil.

What we are going through now is I think a shadow of the End Times; but only a shadow. We have had such fore shadowings before ; such as the Fall of the Roman Empire, The Dark Ages; the Black Plague, The Rise of Communism.

But that's just my guess.

 

I think it is a very, very natural thing for Christians to kinda write themselves into the script, we have been doing this for centuries...and when we do this we tend to write ourselves into the very last, most dramatic act.

 

This is pretty much my summation of what is coming as well and what approved Catholic prophecy seems to indicate will be the course of events. It seems we are not at the very End Times yet, but the "Beginning of Sorrows". I don't know the duration of the time periods and whether they will be many generations or just a short time, but the order of events you listed seems the best consensus.

 

Yes, what we are about to go through is like a mini End of Times; like a dress rehersal of the real thing.

I think one great sign of the end of times will be when bad men resemble the bad angels in that they do evil for the pure evils of it, for evil itself. A few do this now, like Satanists / Illuminati, but thankfully it is rare. You could call these people Black Saints. The Reverse of Good Saints.

When the World is full of Black Saints this will be a sure sign of the End.