Let us just say that your experience is vastly different from mine. I have known many good Catholics who have a deep love of Jesus Christ. Where you see mere religion I often see a true faith and love of God. Their lack of ability to express themselves in proper theological terms should not be taken for a lack of the love of God that is in their hearts.
And like you, I could name a number of Evangelicals whose faith and love of God are merely superficial. I would suggest that you read some of the lives and writings of the saints to learn how deep the faith of Catholics can be. It is a shame that there are some Protestants who, unable to dispute the truth of the Catholic faith, resort to personal attacks and belittling the commitment of their fellow Christians.
Nobody here is belittling those Catholics who have a deep, abiding and genuine faith and love of Jesus Christ. Do you belittle the deep and abiding genuine faith of Protestants or former Catholic Evangelicals? There are plenty of threads posted by Catholics that dispute the truth of Protestantism or Evangelicalism and many that exalt former Protestants who convert to Catholicism. A few FRomans have even asserted that nobody who is an intellectual and knowledgeable theologian remains in Protestantism or ever leaves Catholicism. Should we just let that slide and not give an answer?
“I have known many good Catholics who have a deep love of Jesus Christ. Where you see mere religion I often see a true faith and love of God. Their lack of ability to express themselves in proper theological terms should not be taken for a lack of the love of God that is in their hearts.”
I believe this is true. Salvation does not come from love of God.
“And like you, I could name a number of Evangelicals whose faith and love of God are merely superficial.”
I agree 100%.
“I would suggest that you read some of the lives and writings of the saints to learn how deep the faith of Catholics can be.”
The issue is never about what is felt, though feelings and devotion are good. They never save and this is what Salvation is about. Giving eternal life to those who take the step of saving faith.
“It is a shame that there are some Protestants who, unable to dispute the truth of the Catholic faith, resort to personal attacks and belittling the commitment of their fellow Christians.”
I can only speak for me. I wish salvation for every single Catholic, Orthodox and every other churched person. I wish for none of them to be that close and not take the final step. This is not an attack. It is exactly what we are commanded to do.
Christ didn’t come to start a religion. He came to give eternal life. He came to seek and save sinners. He died for the ungodly. He came to sacrifice Himself because “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
He alone saves. It has nothing to do with which church someone attends. It has everything to do with whether or not they have entrusted themselves to the One who can and does save.
I am not referring to the speechless, but the typical RC apathy or antagonism (if you are a Prot.) to talk about Christ working in one's life, and conversion, what you see in the Bible, etc.
. I would suggest that you read some of the lives and writings of the saints to learn how deep the faith of Catholics can be
Which is often the other side of apathy. Cultic devotion to a church, Mary and even advocating torture of former RCs, etc.
It is a shame that there are some Protestants who, unable to dispute the truth of the Catholic faith, resort to personal attacks and belittling the commitment of their fellow Christians.
And where can you show that i was or am unable to dispute the truth of the Catholic faith? Go search. It is RCs who have resorted to personal attacks of me when the spurious nature of their polemic was exposed, by God's grace. It is a shame you must resort to this here.