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Whenever I read Catholic apologists, I’m fascinated by the near-total absence of robust exegetical arguments.

As attested to on these very threads. Of the Roman Catholics I've encountered on FR, there has only been one Roman Catholic poster who was close to being a good debater.

The articles Roman Catholics link to on catholicanswers.com have some of the weakest apologetics I've seen.

This is due in part to a lack of understanding that only Scripture is inspired and is to be the source of truth for the believer in Christ.

One of the biggest issues I've notice amongst our Roman Catholic posters is the lack of understanding on how to interpret the Bible in context. It seems many are bereft of Biblical knowledge. I know when I've tried to introduce this concept of context it has seemed to be alien to many Roman Catholics.

And when confronted with inspired Scripture that clearly contradicts their positions on the various topics the Roman Catholic often retreats to the cries of the "magisterium" told us so it's ok.

The other problem for the Roman Catholic, and in fairness many non-Roman Catholics, is a lack of knowledge of the original languages used to write the Scriptures. Without that the exegesis, though it can be performed, is short changed.

“One of the biggest issues I’ve notice amongst our Roman Catholic posters is the lack of understanding on how to interpret the Bible in context.”

True. But in all fairness, I recall when I was younger, in the ‘50s and ‘60s, the R.C. families I knew said their church forbade them from reading the Bible. (I don’t think it’s that way any more.)

My dad was a pastor in a small town, and was friendly with the Catholic priest down the street. Once he asked the priest why that was. The response was basically, “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. WE will tell you what to think and believe.” If members read/knew the Truth, it would be dangerous.

One of the biggest issues I’ve notice amongst our Roman Catholic posters is the lack of understanding on how to interpret the Bible in context. It seems many are bereft of Biblical knowledge. I know when I’ve tried to introduce this concept of context it has seemed to be alien to many Roman Catholics.

Sadly it is true of many including P. I was told by one young enthusiast here on FR that “I would be pleasantly surprised that there is nothing about forgiveness of sin in the New Testament.” When challenged on the Lords prayer (forgive us our sins, as we forgive others), the response was, “that is just something we say.”

And to be honest, I was a similar young enthusiast at one time, until someone took the time to challenge me with Gods word...………………………..

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The excuses for not knowing the original languages are growing thinner and thinner. Even if you might not be fluent in them, there are myriad Internet resources dedicated to parsing and studying the Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic.

What would have taken our fathers hours of study and a pile of books can be done for us with a few clicks.

In not every case, but in most cases, not studying the original languages is coming more and more down to refusal to do so rather than inability.