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<\/a><\/p>\nThis week, Jen of Conversion Diary (the gracious host of this blog carnival) wrote a piece for her new gig at the National Catholic Register<\/em>\u00a0called \u201cThe Catholic\u2019s Guide to Atheists<\/a>.\u201d \u00a0A recent convert to Catholicism, Jen tried to debunk some misconceptions many Catholics has about atheists. \u00a0In this week\u2019s Quick Takes, I\u2019ll try to return the favor. \u00a0Corrections and quibbles welcome! \u00a0And if you\u2019ve got a frequently made mistake that rankles, post it in the comments and I might add it as a bonus take.<\/p>\n Christian is not a Synonym for Evangelical<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n This is the most common problem I see around the atheist blogosphere. \u00a0As an American, most of my political and scientific disputes are with evangelicals, so, all else equal, they\u2019re the group I\u2019m most prepared to scrap with. \u00a0Some atheist blogs flatly declare that they\u2019ve made deconverting evangelicals<\/a> their focus, but plenty of other atheist blogs end up with a similar tone.<\/p>\n And all those folks run into trouble when they end up talking to non-evangelicals. \u00a0In fact, pretty much all the quick takes below follow from this misconception.<\/p>\n Catholics are not Biblical\u00a0Literalists<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n One of the entries on Jen\u2019s list of mistakes was \u201cThey [Atheists] Find the Bible Persuasive\u201d and I was tempted to steal the same heading for my list. \u00a0Not that Catholics don\u2019t believe the Bible to be true, but they usually don\u2019t find it to be true in the same way that atheists are used to arguing about.<\/p>\n Plenty of atheists use genocides or strange laws<\/a> from the Old Testament as an opening gambit when confronting Catholics. \u00a0Trouble is, not all Catholics think that the Old Testament stories are entirely historical documents and most don\u2019t believe that present day Christians are bound by all Talmudic laws. \u00a0The sacrifice of Jesus Christ changed the rules.<\/p>\n Before you pull out your list of bizarre bible verses<\/a>, ask the Catholics you\u2019re talking to about how <\/em>they interpret different parts of the bible. \u00a0Ask them how they know which standard is appropriate for which text. \u00a0There are plenty of interesting and convincing arguments to have about how to study the bible before you try any\u00a0exegesis. \u00a0And having that deeper discussion will probably \u00a0lead you into one of the next two problems.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Edited to add: this section clears up a myth, but doesn\u2019t do much to clarify the truth. \u00a0I\u2019d appreciate help from practicing Christians willing to discuss their approach to bible study. \u00a0See this invitation for guest posts<\/a>!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Not all Catholics were well catechized<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re used to debating\/discussing religion with evangelicals who cram bible passages and spend their spring break trying to convert heathens like you \u2014 evangelicals who seem to have spent their whole lives learning to pick a fight with you, plenty of Catholics are going to disappoint you.<\/p>\n Catholic religious education is extremely variable, and plenty of parishes didn\u2019t put a high premium of lay understanding before Vatican II. \u00a0My dad was raised Catholic, and what he mainly remembers from the Latin masses he attended was \u201ca lot of chanting.\u201d<\/p>\n Some Catholics flat out do not know enough about their religion to answer your questions (even if you\u2019ve steered clear of the bad ones in this list) or to debate you. \u00a0Sorry you\u2019re disappointed, but don\u2019t try to pick a fight anyway. \u00a0Believe me, other Catholics are way more saddened by this than you are. \u00a0And don\u2019t get cocky either until you see the next mistake.<\/p>\n Catholicism has had a lot of whip-smart apologists<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Any argument about religion feels a little like an exercise in arrogance. \u00a0The frustrating truth is that there have been plenty of extremely smart people on both sides who haven\u2019t manages to convince each other. \u00a0When you dredge up biblical contradictions or strange, current practices, you\u2019re going to find the other side has a reasonable explanation.<\/p>\n Even if you\u2019re sure Christianity is false, this shouldn\u2019t be\u00a0surprising. \u00a0Do you really believe that for 2000 years no one else has found the flaw you\u2019ve noticed, or if they have, they\u2019ve all just stuck their metaphorical fingers in their ears while singing LA LA LA I CAN\u2019T HEAR YOU! <\/em>\u00a0You\u2019re not likely to find an easy gotcha.<\/p>\n In both the hypothetical world where Christianity is true and the one where it is false, you should expect there to be at least a reasonable-on-the-surface explanation for any obvious problem about a religion, so there\u2019s actually no way to check which world you\u2019re in on that basis.<\/p>\n Try listening to the explanation with an open mind. \u00a0Try explaining that you would expect some level of explanation for any difficult belief, so the fact of a plausible sounding explanation doesn\u2019t compel you to believe. \u00a0 Ask the person you\u2019re talking to what s\/he thinks should tip the balance.<\/p>\n (And spend a little time thinking about whether there\u2019s any<\/em>\u00a0level of evidence you\u2019d accept. \u00a0Some atheists say there\u2019s no evidence that could convince them<\/a>. \u00a0If you\u2019re one of these, at least do your interlocutor the courtesy of telling them before they get too invested. \u00a0And remember how frustrated we feel when a Christian says that to us).<\/p>\n Catholics aren\u2019t excited that you\u2019re going to Hell\u00a0<\/em><\/strong> You will rarely find a Catholic with the same grim delight in your fate that you\u2019re liable to find in a lot of the blood and brimstone sects of the evangelical elect (and you won\u2019t find it in all evangelical circles either).<\/p>\n Catholics don\u2019t take the only-path-to-salvation-is-through-US position that is common among born-again evangelicals. \u00a0The usual phrase is \u201cWe know where the Church is, but we aren\u2019t sure where it isn\u2019t.\u201d \u00a0That\u2019s not to say they wouldn\u2019t prefer you convert, because the chance that you\u2019ve accepted Christ\u2019s love in your own secret way is a little slim to stake a soul on, but you shouldn\u2019t try to pick a fight about the justice of damnation. \u00a0Plenty of Christians have a reasonable level of epistemological modesty about how exactly God is going to sort it all out.<\/p>\n (There\u2019s an interesting range of opinions from different theological backgrounds on Alex Knapp\u2019s post \u201cThe Problem of Devil<\/a>\u201c)<\/p>\n The Pope does not decide as many things as you\u2019d think<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Papal\u00a0infallibility\u00a0is weird, but mostly irrelevant to any disagreement that you\u2019d ever have with a Catholic. \u00a0Infallibility is invoked only rarely and is meant for only a certain range of theological problems. \u00a0This explanation is solid and\u00a0understandable<\/a>, so take a skim, especially if you think the pope issues specific yes or no rulings on the suitability of every possible sex act within marriage. (Hint, he doesn\u2019t)<\/p>\n Bishops\u2019 mitres are not concealing their secret reptile fangs with which they plan to eat your children<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n You might think this one is unnecessary to include, but then you haven\u2019t seen this anti-Catholic cartoon by Thomas Nast.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/-H7-MLYTVFr8\/TYL9hwl3HBI\/AAAAAAAABU4\/KDu7BYiOj6M\/s200\/bible+2.jpg\")
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\n(and they may not be sure that\u2019s where you\u2019re going)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/-wdD-sxJlQfM\/TYL-VPLB9fI\/AAAAAAAABVA\/i_8ZVhDdMFA\/s320\/burning+man.jpg\")
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