Winning Souls and/or Arguments? Are both possible?

"You can't handle the truth."

There is an interesting comment box conversation occurring at "And Sometimes Tea". The post was about another blog post at: Shirt of Flame. Now the conversation itself is interesting enough, but if you want to read those posts and discuss the specifics, you should do so at one of those blogs, to keep things organized.

The point of this post is based on something that someone commented on at AST. Romish Internet Graffiti aka Scottt W. replied to another comment (original comment in blue, Scott in red):

I do have a question for those of us who like to take up our verbal swords and join the lists for God. What if we win the jousting, but drive the defeated person from the church? It seems that Bishop Martino whom we conservative Catholics loved, drove my own daughter -not a very good Catholic, but she was going to mass-from the church by his extravagent [sic] behavior in Scranton.

"Win an argument, lose a soul" I believe is an old Dominican maxim, and one that is good as far as it goes. The problem is that we are in the age of sentimentality and false compassion. As such many of our Church leaders have been charitably evading the Truth in a manner of speaking, so that when a bishop like Martino comes along and gives it to us straight, we act like he's the bad guy when in fact the bad guys are the bishops with the attitude of "as long as it brings them in" which only means that no one should really get too concerned about reminding people into what exactly they are being brought. I don't believe any amount of typical "nuanced" and mushy emotional appeals could have persuaded Anne Rice to stay because in the end it was all about the right to deliberately kill innocent human beings. These are hard teachings, and attempts to make them palatable to worldly thinking only insults everyone concerned.

The original poster makes the point that sometimes arguing too strongly, the teachings of the faith, can drive some people away before they get a chance to understand the truth. This would especially be true if the methods used were themselves harsh and abrasive. The question then becomes in this situation, when do we then tell the truth to these people? The second commentator, Scott W. argues this point. There might be some people and some situations where no amount of "mushy emotional appeals" will capture the heart of a person and bring them into the truths of the Church.

hard teachings are supposed to be....hard

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What about these hard teachings? Again Scott W. says: "These are hard teachings, and attempts to make them palatable to worldly thinking only insults everyone concerned." I think he is right, sometimes there just isn't a nice and soft way to put things! I know Father Acervo has had that problem, and he is a priest that I would call the epitome of kind and charitable.

So when and how do we talk about hard things? What is our role as a Catholic? I have been called all sorts of names on this blog because I take up hard issues, and even some not so hard ones, and try and speak the truth. I am not always right, in all that I say on here, but I sure do my very best to remain loyal and faithful to the teachings and heart of the Church. I agree with Scott and others that there exists a false compassion in today's Church. Politeness does not equate necessarily to charity or kindness. Compassion and Love are not necessarily soft and gentle. I use this analogy all the time but, when our child is about to touch a hot stove we don't softly say, "No sweetie, please don't grab that, it might be really warm." We yell, "NO STOP! HOT! DONT TOUCH!!!!!" Gentleness, quietness, and softness are not in the equation. LOVE and GOODNESS are.

The Truth isn't always Safe, but it is always Good - Like Aslan

All these posts, and this discussion topic always make me think about a passage from the Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe:

“Is – is he a man?” asked Lucy.
“Aslan a man!” said Mr. Beaver sternly. “Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-beyond-the-Sea. Don’t you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion – the Lion, the great Lion.”
“Ooh!” said Susan, “I’d thought he was a man. Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
“That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver; “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”
“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King I tell you.”

The Truth isn't safe, it isn't soft, and it isn't always cuddly. But it is GOOD, it is TRUE. The truth is like the lion... wild, savage, and sometimes it consumes those who approach it without regard to its power, but in the end it is KING. We must be cautious when using it around those that are unaware of its might, but we can't always have them seeking safety. We must be willing to one day let the truth roam free, and at that point it is up to them.


Pope Benedict said shortly after becoming Pope that he foresaw the Church becoming smaller in number, but stronger. I think this was more of an observation than it was an aspirational goal. We have to accept this truth, and not necessarily seek it as an end, but accept it as a destination.

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