... As a convert , I've occasionally looked at the Protestant church, and I find that anti-Catholicism is still rampant. Not only are there the secular humanists who criticze us for our attempts at moral guidance, there are Protestant preachers who think they're right and everone else is wrong. Then I find various preachers get really mean about their views towards Catholics, and manage to make Martin Luther look like a petulant child. Some are so hateful towards the Church, that it's very tempting to hate them back. But no. Instead, I what Mr. T said in Rocky III, "I don't hate him, I pity the fool!" Towards those supposed Christians who spew such hatred against Catholics, the only proper Christian attitude should be pity, since hatred is only self-destructive. So here are a list of such fools.
Fools to be Pitied
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-Jack Chick: This cartoonist loves to libel the Church in his so-called Chick's Tracts.
It would be exhausting to list all his factual errors, lies, and occasional blasphemies. Here's a link to a rebuttal. (http://www.catholic.com/library/sr_chick_tracts_p1.asp)- Fred Phelps: Leader of the Westboro Baptist Church; see this wikipedia article to see their/his views (http://en.wikipedia.or/wiki/Racial_and_Political_Stances_of_Westboro_Baptist_Church) He calls us mean, despite the fact that he severely beat his children, was such a
despicable lawyer that he was disbarred, and is so generally hateful that even conservative Baptist churches denounce him. Oh, yeah, and he has the awful taste of having his little hate rallies at the funerals of soldiers killed in action, because he preaches that soldiers killed are God's punishment on America for not burning homosexuals at the stake. For him, compassion is something that occurs to other people; I like to call those other people Christians.-Texe Marrs: Preacher and conspiracy theorist who is both anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic.
-Tony Alamo: Just look at his webpage on the Catholic Church. http://www.alamoministries.com/content/english/antichrist_lit_.htm If it doesn't just make
you laugh, it'll make you spit blood. But then, just look at his criminal record. The first time I wrote this, he was already busted for tax evasion (for which he blames the Vatican; seriously, the Holy See has better things to do than deal with you, Tony). But now, he has been convicted on charges of sex abuse! (Alamo guilt of sex Crimes)Long story shortened, he's not a man to take seriously. He changed his name to "Tony Alamo", for pete's sake!
Then there are the Bob Jones', Jimmy Swaggart, and other evangelists, whose hypocrisies are so infamous it isn't worth mentioning.
Just remember, however virulent they might get, they are, above all, just fools that few people
take that seriously. I remember an episode of MASH, where the camp's chaplain Father Mulcahy says, "We're all God's children. Some of us are more childish than others." Very true, and all we can do is pray that they grow up.And so, I'll end this posting with a Mr. T-esque remark.
"I pity the fool who attacks the Catholic Church"
