. . .
I don't deny that they're Christian but I can "fault" them (especially Fundamentalists) because I sense that they do not understand (or even want to understand) my faith. I think they're willing to tolerate it as long as it doesn't intrude too much on their lives. I think they think that we're a convenient ally in their culture wars. But in my experience fundamentalists have a deep seated dislike of catholics. For example, a Baptist friend of mine gave me a book about demon possession. It was published by the Jack Chick people and said that in order to fight against "demonic possession" people needed to get rid of anything associated with Roman Catholicism. They are innundated with these kinds of messages. How can it not affect them?
Responsio:
Many of your comments are correct on the surface, but I feel I have to balance them somewhat. I have been treated as a RC both well and not so well by some So. Baptists. My experiences with them, other Baptists, and other Evangelicals and Fundamentalists are in no way representative of a valid statistical sample. Nevertheless, I doubt that most So. Baptists with even a modicum of intelligence and intellectual honesty would support Jack Chick. Of course you will always find some who will fall for the Jack Chick garbage.
Second, my mother is a long term survivor of breast cancer. Her doctor discovered it in 1980, she had a modified radical mastectomy of one breast, and underwent chemotherapy. Her oncologist took her off chemo shortly thereafter because she reacted so poorly to it. The chemo was administered to her due to statistical reasons according to what my mother told me. It was not worth the risk to keep her on it.
Every three months my mother and father would travel from Alabama (where they are retired) to Roswell Memorial in Buffalo, NY for her scans. She had one confirmed metastasis (bone deterioration in her sternum) that they "nuked." The doctors called it an "cancerous embryonic antigen." The radiotherapy worked. She later had a spot on her spine so they "nuked" it but it was unlikely to be cancer as the spot was still there after radiation treatments. It was probably rheumatism or arthritis. Of course the spot could never be biopsied because it was in her spine.
My mother volunteered for the local public library which was not supported with taxpayer funds. Donations and grants kept the library going. The woman with whom my mother worked was a So. Baptist. Every time my mother and father would travel to Buffalo, this woman, during Sunday worship, would get her ENTIRE CONGREGATION to pray for my mother by name! Eventually the quarterly trips became semiannual . . . then annual . . . then not necessary. My mother is now seen by a local oncologist in Pensacola, FL who has also agreed to serve as her primary care physician. She is clear of cancer so far! During her last trip to Roswell Memorial in Buffalo, her physician told her that he didn't think that she would survive this long.
I believe in the power of prayer. My mother is alive today by God's Will that must surely have operated through skilled physicians, my mother's zest for life, and the prayers of some good Christians. As a Christian I KNOW that God's Will will be done. His Will is irresistible, though not in the Calvinist sense. Pharoah and Nebuchadnezzar did God's Will even when they intended to do otherwise. I will be forever greatful to that congregation of So. Baptists for praying for my mother. So I tend to give the Baptists a "pass" when it comes to subjects about Protestants vs. Catholics.
BTW, my mother's friend has since reposed in the Lord. May God grant her eternal life in the Beatific Vision.
Yes, I know there are a lot of Protestants that are a pain in ######. So are a lot of Orthodox! And even more Catholics are that way too! We have done much for which to beg the Lord's forgiveness, and not just during the Great Lent either!
May you have a blessed Lent and please remember my mother and her deceased friend in your prayers.
Pax Domini Sit Semper Vobiscum,
Jim C.
