I was a Protestant Christian from childhood well until 40+ years later. I get the Protestant position on many areas of Christianity.
Anti-Catholicism - It Exists - Matt Slick is only one of many examples:
Matt Slick is one of the key individual names that I came across as I began to research Catholicism. It didn't take me long to figure out that he had a lot of things wrong and that he cherry picks to attempt to make a point. His interpretations, in many instances, are just that: His interpretations. He is very anti-Catholic in my opinion. His tone is not as bad about Catholics as some I've seen. But he definitely is not a fan of Catholicism and sheds an inaccurate, negative light on Catholicism.
Matt Slick has written plenty about Catholicism as you can see here on his website. It's content like this that causes me to want to know more about Catholicism and to understand the REAL Catholic teachings/position. I want to DEFEND the Catholic faith from people like Matt Slick because it sickens me to see misuse of scripture and personal interpretation that is FALSE. FYI, I don't care if he has a radio show. That doesn't make him a guru of Catholicism.
Catholic Apologetics - It must exist because Catholics cannot just sit back:
John Martignoni is a Catholic Apologist that I have great respect for. The thing that I like about Catholic Apologists is that the foundation is on the position of the Catholic Church and not just a free for all, cherry picking a few scriptures to attempt to prove a point. It has been refreshing to see the depth that a Catholic Apologist like John, Dr. David Anders, Tim Staples, Steve Ray, Jimmy Akin, Trent Horn and others go to in order to establish a solid Catholic position. Over and over and over, I have found the Catholic position to be far better than the Matt Slick's of the anti-Catholic world.
I posted this a few weeks ago JOHN MARTIGNONI – APOLOGETICS FOR THE MASSES #319 – MATT SLICK’S FALSE TEACHINGS that you can reference to see my point. John has some new material out going head to head with Matt Slick again.
Deciding What To Believe:
Yes, all this can get confusing. You can take a position of "Who Cares?" - "Why bother?" I'll just believe that I believe and leave it at that. I can understand that position, but is it really the best position?
What if the apostle's and early Church fathers took that position? What if they didn't stand up for the faith and just let heresies be? No worries, why bother, that's fine if that group doesn't believe in the deity of Christ. What about Gnosticism, Montanism, Sabellianism, Arianism, Pelagianism, Nestorianism, Monophysitism and more that were popping up in the early centuries of Christianity? No worries, just let them be. We believe what we believe and there is no need to defend our faith? Really? Is that the best position to take?
One things for sure, NOT calling out the Matt Slick's of the world will not help Matt Slick potentially see the TRUTH ( all things are possible ) or those that are reading his incorrect Catholic position to further help create more anti-Catholics. It doesn't matter if Matt Slick uses the Bible, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Catholic documents, etc. etc. to prove his point because anyone can cherry pick almost anything to try and show a position that's not accurate.
Hey, Did you know that Catholicism is NOT Christian according to Matt Slick?
It's easy to just grab one line from anything ( religious or not ) that is out of context and not shown through the full light that it is meant to be shown. It's easy to create confusion that way which is how I have seen anti-Catholic after anti-Catholic attempt to make Catholicism look bad like the example below:
Are Roman Catholicism and Christianity the same thing? FIRST TWO SENTENCES: No, Roman Catholicism and Christianity are not the same thing. Christianity is properly defined by certain doctrines that are revealed in the Bible. ...... LAST PARAGRAPH: So, even though Roman Catholicism claims to be Christian and that it is the one true church, it violates the essentials of the Christian faith. It goes beyond what is written in God's word (1 Cor. 4:6). It denies the sole and true sovereignty of the living God by promoting prayer to and the worship of Mary. Also, it denies justification by faith alone in Christ alone. It is not a Christian church.
I am not going to go into an exegesis of 1 Corinthians 4:6 that Matt Slick uses, but it's not proving his point. It only further proves to me that the Matt Slick's of the world can cherry pick their way to almost anything. At the end of the day, Matt Slick may say, "THE BIBLE IS MY FOUNDATION." However, it's Matt Slick's cherry picking, personal interpretation of the Bible that does not hold water with me. I don't care who your are. Cherry picking scripture using your own private interpretation of scripture is of no value to me.
As long as GARBAGE like the content from Matt Slick exists, I will continue to defend the Catholic faith as long as I can. It's positions like this and many other non-Catholics that continue to cause issues in Christianity. It's people like Matt Slick that cause me to want to understand the Catholic position even more and I have yet to ( after hundreds of hours ) seen a Catholic position that causes me to want to take the stance of the Matt Slick's of the world.
Sadly, some Catholics who are weak in their faith may fall for the false writings of Matt Slick. Sadly, many protestants read what Matt Slick writes and take it as the Gospel truth because of all his cherry picking scripture quoting which they cannot see properly through their protestant lenses. Sadly, many who are already anti-Catholic probably use Matt Slick's false writings to argue with Catholics or talk about the Catholic faith in a negative way.
Sorry, Matt, Catholics are Christians and the Catholic Church is a Christian Church. Catholics believe in the EXACT same Jesus Christ as you do. 100% the same Jesus without exception. Catholics repent and turn to Christ. Catholics worship only Jesus and any that worship Mary are going CONTRARY to Catholic teaching. Yes, there will likely be Catholics that don't make it to heaven just like some of the pew warmers in Protestant churches. But faithful Catholics are just as Christian as you are.
Who are you to say who is Christian and who is not? Oh, I get it. It's because of your cherry picking, fallible, private interpretation of scripture that leads you down that path. Sorry, that doesn't work with me. You're just a man with an opinion. My faith and hope is in Jesus Christ.
Matt, you are a Christian correct? Because I could be judgmental and say that writing lies goes against the teaching of the Bible about lying. However, I'll leave you accountable to God for your false writings because it's not place to judge.
These are two articles that I found of Catholics defending the Catholic faith: Refuting Matt Slick's "Did the Roman Catholic Church Give Us the Bible?" ( Dave Manthei ) and "My PalTalk Runaround w Anti-Catholic Matt Slick (CARM)" ( Dave Armstrong - More Articles )
How Should Catholics Combat The Matt Slick's Of The World?
PRAY for starters. However, learning the Catholic faith better would be very helpful:
1) Get a copy of the Catechism of The Catholic Church ( use in conjunction with Bible )
2) Download the EWTN app for free and listen to AUDIO ON DEMAND ( Called to Communion with Dr. David Anders )
3) Spend time on Catholic.com - It's probably the single most helpful website for Catholics.
Hey, here's an idea: Start a Bible study group that dives into the anti-Catholic rhetoric of people like Matt Slick. In other words, break it down to see the real Catholic position and how the anti-Catholics twist what they say to make it work.
You DO NOT have to be a Catholic apologist. However, knowing your Catholic faith better is a good thing because someone may challenge you. If you don't know the answer, tell them you'll have to get back to them and do get back to them.
If you want to keep a conversation super simple, you can say, "I'm a Catholic Christian and I love and worship the same Jesus you do. Is it OK if we just leave it at that because I'm no theologian?" FYI, you may want to invite them to MASS.
