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Protestant Myth #1: Democracy and Liberty

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MYTH #1: The Protestant Reformation Birthed Democracy and Liberty. THE PROPAGANDA SPIN: Luther and Calvin awakened the conscience of man, liberating Europe from monarchy and tyranny. CATHOLIC REALITY:      The main problem here is it just is not true. There is a half truth, in that the Reformation pushed people away from The Church, so they could, "do their own thing."      But one cannot say that the movement singlehandedly made democracy and liberty the new standard. Quite the opposite, in fact - as we shall see. 🟦 The Catholic Defense of Ordered Freedom     It should be recognized that Catholic theology recognizes both the dignity of the individual and the authority of the common good. This never has changed as a source of doctrine, despite the occasional human 'bad actor' in the mix. Gaudium et Spes teaches that true liberty is “freedom from slavery to sin and to self.” (GS §17).     The Church has upheld subsidiarity long befo...
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What About Works?

One of the most common accusations Catholics will hear from anti-Catholic Protestants goes like this: "Catholics aren't saved." Or... "You Catholics believe you earn your way to heaven." "You trust your works - instead of Jesus." "Only faith saves."     A nti-Catholic make these claims so often, in fact, that they assume they're true. It's the fallacy of bandwagon logic..., that is, if enough people tell themselves something long enough, they call it true.And if you're an anti-Catholic reading this, it probably sounds familiar.      But here's the question: have they ever bothered to ask Catholics what Catholics actually say about it – what THEY believe? And if so, do they accept it?     Y ou see, they are outside the Church, either unwittingly, or deliberately.      They've heard many things 2nd or 3rd hand ABOUT Catholicism, for a long time, from enemies and opponents of Catholicism...and there are many of t...
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Evil vs. Good

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  Scripture and Reflection: The Illusion of Evil and the Peace of the Righteous In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. First Reading Micah 2:1–5 "Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil upon their beds! When the morning dawns, they accomplish it because it is in the power of their hand. They covet fields and seize them; houses, and take them away. They oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance. Therefore thus says the Lord: 'Behold, I am devising against this family a disaster from which you cannot remove your necks; and you shall no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity... When the Lord again apportions the land among His people, they shall have no share in it.'" The Word of the Lord. Key Points God sees injustice even when people appear to prosper. Evil begins in the heart before it becomes an action. Those who exploit others may seem powerful, but God's justice is ce...
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Defend The Faith

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What To Do With People Attacking Your Faith How Catholics should Respond to Common Protestant Obstructions "There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be." - Bishop Fulton J. Sheen Dear brothers and sisters in Christ....      The above image and quote by Fulton Sheen highlights something every Catholic will encounter at some point: Catholic prejudice. If youre Catholic, you can expect to be assailed sooner or later by non-Catholics for your faith, and about The Church. It has been that way for a very long time, in fact, since the Protestant reformation. That movement started with anti-Catholic belligerence and it has not abated in the 500 years since. It is THEIR reaction to US, however; keep that in mind as we go along.     And h ere's what you have to remember... very often, if not most of the time, non-Catholics are ...
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