Don’t. That’s the simplest possible answer. This subject came up the other night at the adult education class held in the library of my parish. We were discussing the story of Clovis, a Frankish king, who famously promised God that he would convert to his wife’s Catholic faith if he was victorious in battle against the Alemanni army. God granted him this petition, and Clovis followed through by being baptized. In response, several thousand of his troops followed him in baptism.
One of the class’s skeptics asked how real the conversions were for these several thousand men. Did they understand Christianity? Were they given any kind of catechesis? These are worthy questions, as even Billy Graham stated that only a certain percentage of people who went to the “altar” to be saved at his revivals retained the faith they’d experienced that day. There is a shared social contagion at such events, and if you add in the loyal nature of military men to their leaders, the social contagion might very well be even stronger than the average group emotional response.
The day before, I had watched (through a YouTube prompt) a Ray Comfort video, in which he preaches the gospel to Catholics and, in fact, I believe the video is called How to Evangelize to Catholics. I brought this up and got a few snorts of derision from the room full of cradle Catholics. But I gave them the sad truth: the Catholics whom Ray Comfort had evangelized seemed to know nothing of their faith. They couldn’t even tell him the meaning of the word Gospel. To this ignorant Catholic couple, the Gospel was something read at Mass. While this is true–the reading of one of the four testaments to the gospel happens at every Mass–the word means “good news.” This good news, obviously, refers to Christ coming to the world and laying down his life for mankind, and subsequently defeating death by rising again.
“Many Catholics are ignorant of their faith, even with ‘good catechesis’,” I said, as that was my only point in bringing up the video.
Several hands shot up around the room. At least three of these cradle Catholics had experienced the same kind of ignorance before they’d made the effort to defeat it through education they’d chosen to pursue of their own free will. While I’ve long honored the notion of catechism, as its aim is to ensure that young people (or old people) understand what it is they are saying “yes” to at their confirmation, too often it is done simply because parents or grandparents are putting the pressure on. I would guess that the vast majority of Catholic young people don’t attend religious education classes because they want to; they are going because their families expect them to. This leads to a situation where whatever education gained is lost through disinterest and no further seeking out of knowledge…until faced with a charismatic Protestant force like Ray Comfort.
On the other hand, it must be remembered that Protestants and Catholics speak a different language, and I don’t mean Latin vs English. I mean that they understand the gospel in a different way. You don’t have to understand that the word “gospel” is the good news of Christ coming to earth to save mankind; you simply have to understand that Christ did this. And I’m still willing to bet that most Catholics do indeed understand this. It’s hard to tell what Catholics do or don’t understand due to the fact that the Catholic spirit is so very different from the Protestant spirit. Protestants will wrangle over doctrine and argue every last syllable in their Bibles; most Catholics won’t do this. They are taught to respect their church authorities, and even if they do at some point decide to engage in their own studies of the Bible, learning about the apologists, Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic (e.g., the students in this adult education class), they will most likely still not argue with you. Therefore, when faced with a man such as Ray Comfort who has his own script down to a T, Catholics might appear ignorant and in need of true salvation. The way he talks to people reminds me of a lawyer in court who wants specific answers so that he can then continue with his script. In a courtroom, this is to subvert actual truth from emerging because it might interfere with the goal (conviction or acquittal). That might not be Mr. Comfort’s goal, but it is the inevitable result. Nobody watching the video will ever know what those Catholics actually know because they aren’t allowed to speak using their own language and understanding of Christianity. They are only allowed to answer Ray’s pointed questions.
The responses in the comments section revealed what Protestants believe about Catholics. I do shared ministry with Catholics, and it’s as if they don’t even open their Bibles… The comments like this are rife under Comfort’s videos when they are of his evangelizing Catholics. Of course, it might never occur to these people that Catholics are involved in ministries because they actually take their faith very seriously, but it’s a faith invested in ministry instead of arguments. And they might very well be trying to keep the peace with the Protestants they work alongside. They also might very well might be telling you in a nonconfrontational way to leave them alone. Truth be told, it’s actually galling to be literally living out your Christianity in the world and then to have other Christians try to evangelize you as if you weren’t.
That’s a real gripe, though, isn’t it–that Protestants believe they own the term “Christian”? It’s gotten to the point where Catholics won’t use the term at all, as they might come across as being Protestant instead of Catholic. The other week, we had a confirmation retreat in our parish hall. One of our volunteers, who has a learning disability but is always curious and earnest, reported to me that one of the young teenage students at the confirmation retreat had written on the question board: “What is the difference between a Catholic and a Christian?”
This volunteer asked me, “So what is the difference, she who knows everything?” (Yes, he does call me that. I’m good at fooling people.)
However, I did have an answer for him: “None. There is no difference. Catholics are the original Christians.” You might argue with that, and I encourage you to go right ahead. At the very least, I hope you’ll admit that Catholics called themselves Christians long, long before the Protestant Reformation came around.
I stick to my original answer above. It’s arrogance to believe that Catholics aren’t Christians and need to be evangelized. So, if you were looking for the simple answer to that question, you’ve come to the wrong place. As with any group of people who grow up in a traditional faith, there will be those who will reject their faith when they are at an age of accountability. It’s the reality of the seeds of the gospel scattered on different soils and landing places. Some fall on rocky ground. Some, surprisingly, lay fallow for years before the soil is ready for a little bud to emerge from the dirt. For the soil that is simply lying fallow, God will provide the means for its new growth. You might very well be the means for another person, whether they grew up Lutheran, Catholic, Quaker, or Southern Baptist, or even outside the church entirely. But I would encourage you not to assume without any knowledge that Catholics aren’t Christians and need you to bring them the Gospel. After all, they do indeed hear it weekly at Mass, and I don’t just mean the reading from one of the four testaments about Jesus. I mean they hear the entire gospel message spoken through the liturgy at every Mass.
Jill Domschot 
I was one of
those people who had been taught that Catholics weren’t Christians, but I know better now. Now I say that there are real and phony Christians in many different religions. That ecumenism that is so feared , I think it will bring together the two different groups and a new group of people will emerge. Those will be the people who truly know God. Not a merging of faiths, but the true believers finding each other. Like me and you. I have no doubt that you are a Christian.
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Thank you for saying so. And I agree–the invisible church is made up of all God’s people, and they do manage to find each other. It’s not ecumenism as much as it is God knowing who his sheep are and bringing them together for his purpose, which might involve just giving each other encouragement. I only reject the idea of ecumenism because there are some churches that are really off-base, even though there are sincere Christians to be found in them. By off-base, I don’t mean simple doctrinal disputes like dunking vs sprinkling, but big issues like ordaining practicing homosexuals as pastors.
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Totally agree. I just use that word ecumenism for lack of a better one .
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The umbrellas are too varied for me to really comment on. Well, I could comment but it likely wouldn’t be amenable here. I will say that evangelists are one obnoxious bunch. I don’t mean evangelicals necessarily; they are as varied as Catholics and Protestants. But evangelists. I have a hard spot for extroverted salesmen, and that’s all they are. The worst of them expect other Christians to be extroverted salesmen or we’ve something lacking. A strongly-worded phrase came to my mind just now about this topic, in the Twitter doomscroll I have in my head…and I don’t even have Twitter. I must end this comment now before it happens again.
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I would like to see this Twitter doomscroll. It sounds intriguing…
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Good stuff, Jill. I’ve been rather crushed by a lot of obnoxious street preachers and evangelists, of the Ray Comfort sort. (Don’t even get me started about the internet theobros and Calvinist cage stagers.) By “crushed” I mean I’m a friendly sort, often completely baffled as to why they are suddenly so hostile and screaming at me. I’ve finally come to the conclusion that they are just itching for a fight and seeking to be aggressive. “Evangelism” is like their sport of choice. It’s very weird and kind of creepy. Also, not really helpful when it comes to actual evangelism.
Of course Catholics are Christians! Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses sometimes give me pause, so I’m not going there. I’ll leave that for someone else to sort out. 🙂
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I suppose God uses all sorts to spread his kingdom, but street preachers can be a little off-putting, I agree.
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Certainly agree with much u say here- esp. the used car salesman approach by far too many, manipulating words and circumstances. However.
It is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE that all Catholics are Christian, as it is that ALL christians are not Christian. I’m pretty sure I have the backing of holy writ as well as everyday experience-
Else the word ‘ye must be born again,’ spoken not to infants but to mature people who can reason. Tradition is a strong force, and I’m reminded of mob bosses like the godfather……. while may make for good drama, is rather insulting to think unrepentant thugs have a seat at the great supper. Just sayin-
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Here, I’m going to quote myself because I didn’t mean to imply that all Catholics are Christians: “As with any group of people who grow up in a traditional faith, there will be those who will reject their faith when they are at an age of accountability. It’s the reality of the seeds of the gospel scattered on different soils and landing places. Some fall on rocky ground.” Of course, it’s equally true that many don’t outwardly reject, go to Mass, etc. but aren’t Christians in their hearts. My main point is that too often Protestants assume that Catholics aren’t Christians and must be evangelized, and it seems to be confirmed for them by Catholic ignorance. That’s a real thing, but my other point is that Catholics speak a different language than Protestants do, so they aren’t always ignorant. Some are just ignorant of Protestant catchwords and phrases.
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I was raised a Catholic. I attended catechism and went to church every Sunday. I even went to a Catholic school in the 5th and 6th grade. Unfortunately, the Catholic church does not do a good job of teaching the Gospel. Do Protestant churches? I think some do better than others.
Anyway, when I was 17 I decided I did not believe Christianity made any sense. So, I did not attend church until I was in my fifties. What happened? I was spending hours commuting to work in Washington DC traffic, and I needed something to distract me from road rage. So, I was listening to classics that I would otherwise never read, and the Bible was that.
After listening to the Bible, I decided it had to be true. I have been dumbfounded by that experience ever since then. It is really remarkable how so people think they know what the Bible is all about, but they have never actually read it. And I was one of those people.
Because I had been persuaded by the Bible, not a priest, I joined a Protestant church that taught a version of Reformed theology. R. C. Sproul (now deceased) taught something similar, and he was definitely a fan of John Calvin.
One thing to keep in mind is that Protestants are not unified. The Protestant label doesn’t actually mean much. Not Catholic is all it really means.
What unites Christians is that we all use the same Bible. That does not mean we all use the same translations or interpret the Bible the same way, of course. It means that our Bibles are all derived from translations of ancient Greek and Hebrew manuscripts. So, we all use virtually the same Bibles, and the books that Catholics added at the Council of Trent didn’t significantly change that.
Among Protestants, the Reformed probably have some of the most serious doctrinal disputes with Catholics, but most still consider Catholics to be Christians, if a bit wayward. We live in a world where divisions with beliefs that are clearly Non Christian have more significance. We have more in common with Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses than we do Atheists, Buddhists, Muslims, and so forth. So, I suspect divisions among Christians will matter less and less as time goes on.
If an evangelist has a choice between trying to convert a Catholic or a Muslim, the main reason he might go after the Catholic is that he thinks the Muslim is more likely to become violent. That is, he is a scaredy-cat.
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I think the desire to read the Bible has to be there for people. I felt guilty when I was young because I was a bookworm and basically read everything but the Bible. Guilt is not the same as hunger for God, though. When I was 22 or so I finally just sat down and read it all the way through. Then when I was homeschooling my children, we read a yearly Bible for several years in a row. This was because I didn’t generally agree with the spin on Christianity from the Abeka curriculum we used to use (not just anti Catholic, but also a little weird). I cherish those years, honestly. All Christians should read their Bibles, but sadly, most don’t. Or they only read the NT because the OT is too difficult. I see a lot more Catholics wanting to learn. There’s a reason Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Bible in a Year podcast went to #1 on Apple play when it first came out. Anyway, I find it bizarre when Catholics claim they had no idea they could just open up a Bible and read it. I think there are priests or catechists or both who discourage Bible reading, even though it’s not dogma. I think they are afraid of Catholics going the way of Sola Scriptura. Otoh, the parish I work at sells Bibles in the gift store. We also have boxes of Bibles to give away for free to anyone who asks for one. I was also given a Bible at my Confirmation. These days, I listen to the Bible in a year on the (Catholic) Amen app. The elderly parishioners still read the daily devotionals in the little paperbacks the church provides, which will go through most of the Bible in three years. We have so much access everywhere through FREE print, audio, and video.
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After I first read the Bible, I blamed the Catholic Church for not putting it front and center. Then I slowly came around to the fact I really had no one to blame except myself. I wanted an excuse, but I didn’t have one.
I had had a good upbringing. Whatever their faults, I knew my parents loved me. So, I had been given a great gift. I could choose where to plant myself and take root, and I knew where it would be best to plant myself.
Decades before I finally read the Bible I knew better than to accept the counsel of the wicked. The wicked counseled against the Bible, and I had listened.
The Catholic Church elevates church authority to the level of the Bible, and that is why I don’t attend a Catholic Church. Nevertheless, Catholics do not counsel against reading the Bible.
I had not read the Bible because much of the Bible is difficult. Trying to read the Bible from front to back is a mistake. It is better to read the easy parts first. Then the more difficult parts will make more sense.
Nevertheless, the first time I read the Bible I read it from front to back. I majored in science and engineering. When I make up my mind, I can work my way through a difficult book. I just didn’t want to read the Bible until I did. God knows why.
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I hate to make tired Catholic arguments, but I’m Catholic in part because of their emphasis on church authority. Jesus didn’t leave us an intact Bible printed out for us. In fact, when he referred to Scripture, he only referred to the Old Testament. Instead, he left us shepherds to guide us. Human beings will obviously let us down, as they are hirelings, but through the very mixed church history, the church has managed to compile and preserve Scripture and ward away the worst heresies.
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I am familiar with most of the arguments. The origin of the church canon probably provides the most logical argument. Why don’t I accept that argument? When I looked into the matter, I did not find much controversy over what belonged in the canon.
We do a poor job of selecting our own leaders. The Bible makes that emphatically clear. When the apostles tried to select a replacement for Judas Iscariot, Jesus selected Paul.
That said, are we supposed to respect church leaders? Yes. Do I respect the Pope? Yes, but I don’t think the Pope is infallible, not even with respect to church doctrine.
In some respect, every human institution is corrupt. The Catholic Church has been around for a remarkably long time, and I think the Catholic Church has done more good than harm. So, I am not against the Catholic Church. I just prefer a church that points to the Bible, not a church hierarchy, for its authority.
Am I trying to encourage you to leave the Catholic Church? No. If that is where you feel comfortable, that you are doing the right thing, then stick with it.
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I don’t think you could convince me to leave the Catholic church, even if you wanted to. I’ve been to enough Protestant churches to know they don’t compare to the Mass. Regardless, I appreciate talking to a Protestant who knows Catholic doctrine. So many Protestants are tilting at windmills when it comes to Catholic beliefs.
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