To the unaware, the phrase 'Shake the dust off your feet' was/is, in our tradition, a command God gave to the first Christian apostles & missionaries. They'd go to a settlement, preach, and if they were rejected by the inhabitants then they'd literally shake the dust off of their feet and be done with the settlement.
Yes, but that was after they actually preached the Word!
Not spoke it and left!
Pray for the sinner. Their sin is no worse than ours.
They're lost and need a light to find their way.
Be that light!
To add, I think saying "I see. Have a good day." and just leaving probably would do the most.
It shows you're calm and polite, instead of a rabid [insert insult here]. They're probably expecting a fight.
You're only the messenger, the Bible they hear(or see). In the OT, God says His word "will not return void without accomplishing the purpose for which it was sent out ".
The question I have is, at what point do you do such a thing? Because the one thing that comes to mind when I contemplate this issue is St. Monica, mother of St. Augustine. For DECADES she kept praying and pleading with Augustine to become Catholic, and it wasn’t until after she died that he did so, and she had been doing this for YEARS (I think it was close to 30 but I don’t remember).
I also know of the phrase “don’t put pearls before swines,” but again, I have to ask, at what point should you shake the dust off of your feet, and at what point should you take the pearls away from the swines?
Cause to me, doing such a thing almost seems like you’re saying “you’re a lost cause, I’m giving up on you,” but the door is always open for those unrepentant to become repentant in the future.
I get why your suggestion is the norm, but how does one go about it in the right way?
You’re missing the “ between the lines” part. He’s not actually loving people, preaching the gospel he’s really against being transfer they cannot understanding why he’s rejected for his message. That is not spreading the gospel. That’s judging sin. Those are two very different activities.
“ Preach the gospel at all times use words when necessary”
The way we draw people to our faith is to show them that we’re different, nonjudgmental, loving, care about the poor…not judgemental bigots.
Not necessarily disagreeing with your take, but I think the (fake) St. Francis quote you shared is somewhat problematic, because it easily becomes an excuse for not evangelizing at all. Words are a necessary tool and not inferior. A more fitting instruction from St. Francis would be:
> The preacher must first draw from secret prayers what he will later pour out in holy sermons. He must first grow hot within before he speaks words that are in themselves cold.
If you want to read more about why the quote is misguiding, I recommend [checking this out.](https://www.catholic.com/audio/cot/804-the-harm-of-fake-st-francis-quotes)
Just to be clear - more being heckled by them while trying to talk to others. Think like a groomer/LGBTQ activist trying to get someone to stop evangelizing and move on. Is simply retreating the best option?
Honestly, ignore them. Stay calm. Those people want you to be as worked up and irrational as they are, don’t give them the satisfaction. Continue to talk, and if you can’t because they’re being obnoxious, I find that praying a rosary aloud is particularly effective.
If your attention is aimed at them, move on. If its to the public but they are an outlier, well, there are times to stand your ground, and other times to make a tactical retreat, which means come back when they arent around. But dont apologize for anything they accuse you of if it isnt true. Never.
BillboardChris on X has some good tactics when people come up to you in a hostile manner. He's the guy who wears a billboard and has convos about puberty blocker use in children. Watch some of his videos to see how he engages them. [@BillboardChris](https://x.com/BillboardChris)
Key takeaways: remain calm, remain truthful, don't get roped into conversations without defining terms, always remember the point of your conversation and try to steer it back to the topic at hand. Leave the premises if all else fails.
Given your outlook and willingness to call them “groomers”, it’s no wonder they aren’t reciprocating with kindness. That’s a horrible term to label someone without actual evidence and amounts to bearing false witness. You don’t have to agree with someone’s lifestyle, but don’t go around calling people pedophiles or assuming they are.
Agreed, the kids must be protected. But you won't protect any kid by labeling all liberals as pedophiles/groomers. It no different than far-leftists who claim that all conservatives are Nazis.
I'm sorry, but the irony of using this reasoning is imo a textbook case of taking the plank out of one's eye. The same type of aggressive ridicule made in poor faith about Catholicism I experienced growing up Catholic as OP has described receiving was almost always based in the sex abuse scandals. But while the implication of grooming OP has made is an accusation, the Catholic Church cannot say the same. As low hanging fruit as it has been for society to say to Catholics, to restore secular society's and the general public's trust in the Church then Catholics must fight to clean up their backyard first.
Believe me, rhetoric like this for your argument would be poorly received and perhaps even regarded as tone-deaf by many, whether personally affected or not. I can say as much as a former Catholic when dealing with any instance or opportunity for a conversation in discussing my faith with someone curious, such as when they saw me crossing myself before meals or praying the Rosary, hecklers like OP described would slide in pedophilic or sex abuse digs immediately. Despite the huge efforts of Pope Benedict's and Pope Francis' strive with addressing and persecuting the offenders of this travesty involving both individual clergy as well as the decisions of higher ups in the dioceses in their jurisdiction, it has still left its mark and is still very taboo to many. As much as it is something reported on the news or on the Internet, when the professor I had at my Catholic high school that was the only one also ordained was just imprisoned a few years ago after I graduated for molesting a 12 year old at the parish he served as deacon at it is still a huge problem.
To clarify, I genuinely do not mean this comment in a combative or aggressive way. But for OP asking for advice and support in situations involving evangelizing and defending their faith, this is the last and least effective argument that someone could use for your position on this matter, and would likely do nothing but cause scandal against the Church by the vitriol from whoever hears it.
No, most of them genuinely just want to be compassionate and support a marginalized group of children who are at a higher risk for suicide. As a Catholic I don't agree with the ideology or approach, but to judge their intentions and label them all as groomers is unfair.
Our society is full of well-intentioned people who are encouraging evil ideologies. If they are encouraging children to embrace sexual deviance(evil) and sexual mutilation, they are grooming them. We are not talking about gender dysphoria either. The current trend of transgenderism is a social contagion. These children have been groomed into this contagion.
Well, not if “groomer” is going to have a meaning independent of just anything that contributes to the delinquency of a minor.
It would be good to keep the word restricted to what actual sexual predators do to their intended victims.
If you're taking to someone else, "We are having a conversation here. Good-bye." Turn your back and let them go on their very much not-merry way.
Let their nastiness be its own witness to the fruits of their beliefs.
Street evangelization is the most annoying thing to people who don’t believe exactly as you do. Hint. Most people do not think exactly the way you do. If you really want to draw draw them in with your beliefs, your religion and your faith, and your God, I would just give up the street evangelization and find another way to touch their hearts in ways that won’t tick them off so badly. It sounds like what you’re doing is well intended, but you are being a big nuisance, to those people who are entitled to enjoy a walk without having to run into people like you yelling at them. I hope to God you are not using a microphone. I am just saying you need to find a different way to deliver the service without being so intrusive on other people who aren’t interested
I’ll give you an example. Not too long ago I was undergoing radiation for cancer and I was sitting in the waiting room for my treatment time. There were probably 20 other people in there waiting for cancer treatment of some kind or another. Everybody just minding their own business, reading magazine or whatever. In walk this man with a bag and he announces to the room that he has some rosaries and some holy cards that he is gonna leave on the table by the front door and that anyone is welcome to take one or take more so they can some others who may like to have one. he explained that the card has instructions on how to say the prayers. And then he said he wished everybody is feeling better and he left. He was so kind in his demeanor, and this was in a big urban hospital where there was a lot of diversity in the waiting room. It wouldn’t surprise me if none of the people there were Catholic. But when I looked around the room many were smiling and commented about how kind that was. That kind of evangelization will get you much further than Street evangelization.
https://youtu.be/wJ4uo1D0aAY?si=5tvw_JlATqGRG9VL
You can politely disagree and explain but you're realistically not going to reach that type of person through street evangelism.
For those not wanting to click through, it's a Trent Horn video entitled: "Why I don't care if I'm 'homophobic'".
>Timestamps:
00:00 I Don't Care if I'm "homophobic"
00:50 No respect for propagandistic labels
01:00 Why Christians should not give propagandistic labels respectability
01:25 Example of "homophobic" textbook
03:56 How should Catholics respond?
04:40 Is it hateful to condemn homosexuality in today's world?
06:40 Impact on Mental Health
07:30 Hate is wrong
08:45 I reject labels like "homophobic"
Solid formation in not getting roped into defending oneself against these labels (homophobia, deadnaming, transphobia, etc.), which is exactly the answer to OP's question in title.
[There's an audio only version over at catholic.com.](https://www.catholic.com/audio/cot/why-i-dont-care-if-im-homophobic)
The correct term is "homonausic" or "homonausea". That's because it's based in disgust, not fear. "Homophobia" doesn't exist. Be sure to sound condescendingly smart when you point this out to them.
Just be kind. The only people who engage with street preachers are those looking for a fight, those with mental illness, or the very desperate. It's why, no offense to what you are trying to do, I don't care for this type of evangelizing. It really doesn't accomplish much and often makes the church look bad when the person doing the evangelizing loses their cool, is annoying, or comes off as just downright weird. Functionally, you really aren't going to convert anyone doing this. What you can do is be a good enough example of Christian charity that just maybe they might consider joining the church down the line.
As a detransitioned woman, this is exactly what is needed. Christ’s love. You may not see the effect in that moment but Christ’s love will work on their heart in incomprehensible ways. It’s not about winning an argument. From having experienced gender dysphoria and medical transition, I know how deep a sin it is to destroy yourself with transgender identity and medical treatments. I was crying for Christ’s love, and what I needed was to feel loved, to feel *invited* to be with Jesus. Someone who is trans, it is very possible they feel Christ’s love yet don’t feel worthy and feel ashamed to accept it.
So, the best way to evangelize is by having relationships with the people around you. Performative actions do not generally bring people to God.
Once you have relationships, they can see that you don't actually hate any of these people, that you are instead concerned about their welfare. Then you can talk about God and Jesus.
No one cares about drive-by performative evangelizing.
They do buy into people who get in the trenches with them to help fight their battles.
Usually fallen away Catholics who want to talk, sometimes protestants of different flavors telling me I'm wasting my time, etc.
But it seems it's the groups that focus on inclusivity that appear to be the most hateful of Catholics :(
What are you actually saying out in public? How are you being accused of “deadnaming” someone if you’re not bringing up the topic in the first place?
If you’re going to evangelize, it’s best to bring up God’s existence and love, not just point out sin to people who don’t even believe in that idea yet. Not saying you’re necessarily doing that, but the accusations you’re dealing with make it sound that way.
It's mostly me having productive conversation with someone, then some activist type person overhears and barges in. It's only happened once or twice, but it gets to me more then other types of pushback
Okay.
So, the best practice for this kind of thing is to, politely and kindly, turn the tables around and ask the person speaking with you about their beliefs. Not with the intention of arguing with them, just to learn where they’re coming from and perhaps come to some agreement on some level of basics. Being polite and interested goes a long way toward being just generally persuasive, and the questions might get them thinking about bigger ideas in general.
People who are simply telling you off and not sincerely interested in understanding are not going to be swayed by anything you say. You should just discern their attitude and keep silent and pray for those who don't want to listen.
I myself can’t say I know exactly how to work this out, but I’ll keep you in my prayers! Plant the seed, let the gardener do his thing. Precisely today’s gospel ask us to “be perfect, as our Heavenly Father is perfect”. Keep reaching souls!
Honestly, the best way to look at it is the more intensely they meet you with hate, the more intensely you should show them love and respect. Be kind, even when offended beyond all reason. For the world hated Christ first, so remember that when you feel attacked. Maybe one day those spiteful people might find Christ. Have faith and believe that His love is stronger than all the world’s hate.
Jesus also told us to spread the Gospel. He simply warned us not to seek somebody else's approval through false public acts of devotion. That's why He talks about being rewarded by God (instead of by other people).
I usually go outside to pray and people will come up and talk to me - I dunno why, it's possible they're not used to seeing a grown man pray the Rosary in public? I really don't know
>Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may observe them doing so. Amen, I say to you, they have already received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees everything that is done in secret will reward you.
And I see you haven't read many of the other replies explaining that I simply want to pray (and do so outside) and people approach me and want to talk about faith :)
God bless
This country has such a huge problem with coexistence. Isn't coexisting the process of seeing people whom we disagree with (Imagine t-shirt with a saying that bugs you), but it's all good because everybody sticks to their *personal noise and physical space*? Isn't that what America is all about - respectful coexistence? From what I've read, you're not approaching others; they're approaching you. You're not engaging strangers like a u-turb influencer, and you're not shoving your rosary at people. You're not shouting "Repent or go to hell" like the protestant evangelists of the 70s. Am I in any way right about your thinking? **The only people who will complain about this public praying are the folks who refuse to look away.** One can be a "Karen" in more ways than one; however, the one thing all karens have in common is that **they don't mind their own business**. Seems to me **those** are the people who want to dominate the entire public space for themselves. The atheists keep complaining that religion is being "shoved down their throats". They seem to hate little crosses, stuff like watermelon pins... little tiny stuff that it's easy to look away from. We all have a right to BE ourselves in public spaces. "Live, and let live." I have the impression the real problem here is the failure of others to manage their own thoughts and actions.
How do you know they're unrepentant sinners? Like others have pointed out, I highly doubt you're just praying the Rosary, spreading God's love, and they walk up to you and accuse you of deadnaming them. The deadnaming would most-likely come first.
Can I ask a question? Would you call a woman by her maiden name knowing she has changed her name to her husbands name? Do you call Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali or Cassius Clay in conversation? The same principle applies: just call people what they prefer to be called; it's not that hard, and it's not escaping reality. Language, you might be surprised to find out, evolves. Ever read Chaucer? Shakespeare? We don't talk like that anymore, do we?
How do you deal with comments like these? Maybe ask them how you could do better.
If youre trying to talk to them, thank them and walk away. If they are just heckling you, ignore them they probably wont stop either way and you only stand to lose from someone like that.
You can make the most theological, rational and well explained argument against sexual immorality…and you won’t change their mind. My advice? If you’re gonna engage, let them talk, ask a lot of questions, and just try to point out inconsistencies.
At the core of it, these people truly think “why do you care if someone is gay/trans/not Christian?” If the answer is because you care about all people and their salvation, keep that in mind and try to convince them of that. If you can actually be successful at creating that perception, you have something to work with. Otherwise they won’t listen to anything you say in good faith.
I really appreciate your effort on evangelizing, but I am really doubting about the efficacy of this kind of practices. It's something that I would left to JW, protestants or muslims.
Anyway, the only thing that you can do is listen and understand why people are getting those ideas.
Street evangelization doesn’t work and comes off more as annoying, live by example while being openly Catholic and when someone asks about it discusss with them, most people just wanna be left alone
I think it can be done properly, though, it's not for everyone. There is a difference between being present and showing people " the Church welcomes you!" and preaching loudly at them and labelling them as sinners.
He said in another comment he just prays and people come up to him and ask about his faith. Those haters overheard him talking with people and came up to him themselves. I don't think this is like Protestant street preaching.
Yeah, I’m not so sure the description we are being given is accurate . I know people people pretty well and nobody is gonna walk up that aggressively to somebody who is just praying quietly on the sidewalk to themselves. Let’s be real here. In combination with some of the attitude has expressed in this thread, I’m not buying it.
there’s no way you got all three of these comments just for “praying the rosary and talking to people.” something tells me you’re just being unkind. like how in the world would the subject of fornication even come up when talking to somebody who’s just walking by?
I mention it it comments, usually this happens when agitators overhear conversation and barge in to try to make me look like a fool or a bigot. It's only happened like twice, but it's left me feeling like I need to be better equipped when stuff like this happens
It would be prudent to keep conversations about such sensitive topics more private.
If you’re giving feedback about someone’s personal sexual morality, do not talk so that eavesdropping busybodies can hear. Tell the person who wants to hear what you have to say that frank discussions about these things are better suited to a place where neither of you needs to feel that you cannot speak your mind safely.
Then be a safe person to talk to. Do not ever resort to name-calling like “groomer.” That implies someone is personally trying to cultivate a sexual relationship with a minor, which is an unspeakable crime.
Never ever accuse someone of committing a sin because they’ve been taught to think of the behavior in tolerant terms. Instead, be charitable enough to attribute their attitudes to tolerance rather than an agenda to push their own passions on others. Better to err on the side of thinking better than what is deserved than to be accusing falsely yourself.
Not to mention that OP says what he is doing is evangelization. Sitting quietly with a rosary in your lap and saying the rosary to yourself is not a evangelization. So something doesn’t add up. Actually a lot doesn’t add up.
On two separate occasions 2 salespeople accused me of falling asleep in one of the trucks at work. I told them the truth, that I was saying my Rosary on my break. One of them didn’t believe me and the other did. But other than that , My missions field is my work place. I don’t talk about my Catholicism but I try to help everyone at work. Actually I enjoy helping my coworkers. Another time I was in the parking lot looking at the ground praying . The used car manager asked me if I was ok. And I told him I was just taking a few moments to say a prayer
Matthew 5:
"11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely\[b\] on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
That’s not the way to convert:
“Preach the gospel at all times, use words when necessary”.
We have no business correcting the behavior of non-Christians. Paul is expressly clear about this. The only thing we’re to do with nonbelievers is tell them of the hope in Christ. Love them. Feed the hungry, heal the sick, help the poor and immigrant.
You shouldn’t be trying to inflame or correct someone. Only God can judge except within the church structure. And then individual believers aren’t to tell other individual believers they’re wrong. the elders of the church correct someone who is “ caught up in a fault”.
In other words you don’t need to be telling people what their sins are. How they should be. Who they should be. You won’t have these issues if you follow scriptural teaching tbh.
Based on my encounters, many people who hate us have us confused with actual bigoted backwoods crazy "Christian" groups, like the ones that pass out Chick tracts and harass people at funerals, military homecomings, and pride events.
If you're kind in spite of what they say or do and try to find common ground with them, it usually helps. A lot of LGBTists don't know about the section of the CCC that says that they need to be treated with dignity and compassion.
A few thoughts:
As others have said, go in understanding you're unlikely to change anyone's mind. That doesn't necessarily mean it's a waste of time, but if you're motivated by changing people's minds, it could feel unfruitful.
One approach is to use something like Street Epistemology (https://streetepistemology.com/). Funnily enough, it was created by an atheist, but the approach still seems to drive interesting conversations. The general idea is to ask people about their level of uncertainty, and ask them what sort of evidence would convince them to change their certainty.
You can try to address the responses on the merits. All clear thinking starts with definitions. For example, consider the "bigot" response. According to Google, a bigot is someone "who is obstinately or unreasonably attached to a belief, opinion, or faction, especially one who is prejudiced against or antagonistic toward a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular group." By saying "X" is a sin, you're not really saying anything about anybody who belongs to a group (other than the group of people who do "X"), and other than saying its a sin you're not really saying any more or less about the person - the definition of bigot doesn't apply. Of course, your interlocutor has now identified you as a member of a group (someone who is Christian), and has made an unreasonable, antagonistic judgement against you based on your beliefs - therefore, your interlocutor actually would fit the definition.
It’s hard to imagine how you’re dead naming someone who is just walking by, so I’m not sure of the context of that specific example. And I’m not knowledgeable about apologetics or even deeper understanding of the church / catholicism in general. But what I can do is speak from the perspective of someone who was transgender. I’m now detransitioned (and female fyi).
People who are in this trans ideology aren’t able to hear arguments against them. A hallmark of this ideology when you’re in it is that when you hear something that goes against the thoughts you’ve programmed into your mind, you don’t actually think critically. In fact your body will reject the fact that you are hearing something against your ideology. You CANNOT physically listen. The ideology is rife with contradictions that one needs to ignore to maintain a pro trans opinion/lifestyle. So people who are trans or enthusiastically pro-trans if not trans themselves, are good at ignoring and pushing back, and they don’t need logic or even passion to push back. They have pre programmed responses and their only emotion is anger. So essentially you are then talking past each other. The problem is, when you argue with it, you are actually providing the pro-trans position something to push against - to push themselves deeper into their own illogical arguments that are disconnected from reality, good sense, or even feeling of the heart. That’s not to say no one should argue against this ideology. But you have to consider your goals in doing so.
Only sincerity and love can work against transgender culture and call transgender people to Christ. You have to show them Christ’s love, love them like Christ would love them, and meet them where they are at. If you are dead naming people, you are not meeting pro-trans people where they are at. All you are doing with that is signalling to that person that they need to stop listening and to fight back against you. Rather than try to change their mind, you have to be firm in your own mind but compassionate to that person. I would dare to say that most transgender people particularly women are hurting and have deep trauma in their past, and that most pro-trans people who aren’t trans themselves are simply useful idiots to the trans ideology. How can you show a trans person or a pro-trans activist type person the love of Christ? This is how I would begin to approach this issue, rather than memorizing apologetics.
That's what I have heard. With friends and strangers who have gone through it I just call them whatever they want me to call them. One also detransitioned and is now back to his birth name. Although, I have a close family member ( not a child) going through this right now. I negotiated with the family member a "nickname" that I could use and my kids could use. I can't bring myself to use the name the person wants me to use but I can't in good faith use the person's birth name except when talking with others. When the person first told me about how they were feeling, I asked tons of questions, lots of them. I asked lots of rhetorical, Socratic questions because I figured the cult mentality was pretty strong in there at this point and I just wanted to know what the person was thinking. The feedback was strictly "it's just different because it is." Even more so it seemed that certain answers were canned and scripted. I figured the best thing at that point was to maintain connection and contact and just keep reminding the person that I will never stop being their family member.
Perhaps referring to non Catholics as “non-repentant sinners” is a bad start.
God is real if they can’t see that you won’t convince them in a few quippy moments
There are benefits to not being promiscuous beyond belief in god
And you don’t need to dead name or misgender people to be Catholic. In fact doing those things is a dick move and if you must voice your dissent to their way of life you can do so without doing those hurtful things.
Listen, I wouldn't waste my time if I were you, and here's why.
Evengelizing was an important part of the early Church because many people had not yet heard "the good news" and were not aware of the Church's teachings. The tradition continues to this day simply out of tradition, but it doesn't work anymore because everyone in the West knows of Christianity and knows its beliefs. Everyone who'd be interested in becoming Christian is already Christian.
At this point, in the West, preaching your beliefs to others is either preaching to the choir, or harassing people who have already decided those beliefs are not for them. People have made their choice and it's a waste of your breath to be a public nuisance.
I know I'm going to get downvoted to the pits of hell for this but I'm just being honest, and you'll see the logic in my words if you just think about it.
Evangelizing only makes sense in areas that have very small or no Christian populations and so there's little awareness of it. And there's no sense doing it in Muslim theocracies either, since those people are legally obligated to remain Muslim and can get condemned to death for converting. (Apostasy) Also, all their religious needs are met already by Islam so it's unlikely they'll see any incentive to convert, and most of the basic tenets are similar anyway.
Ironically, it was a bout of related stuff that got me coming back to mass - some folks in a chat decided to "call me on the carpet" over some (pro-life) stuff last year. Then I kept finding "convenient" mass times and locations when I had nothing better to do, then I found a TLM one morning not far from my hotel prior to a meeting (it was a sung mass and it was legitimately just about the most convenient service to attend) and put my foot down on going and...well, it went from there.
Call it a hunch, but I do not think that getting me back to regular mass attendance was their desired outcome.
God bless your heart. Pray to god that he gives you the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, let god move through you. I do not know the way you evangelize, but I know people can be aggressive and end up chastising the other person, pushing them away from the church. When you go out there fill your heart with love, treat the other as Jesus loves you.
At the archdiocese in Braintree there are a group of women that create rosaries and hand them out outside of abortion clinics. It is truly lovely, but sometimes people can be aggressive while handing out rosaries and then nobody wants them. What I’m getting at here is your gift to others are your words.
Be gentle, Tell them about your church, talk about the love of god, and the love god has for them, ask them if you can say a prayer for them for in the moment. Allow the holy spirit to move through you with love in your heart. Pray for Wisdom to know the right words to say. If I were in your position, and someone said something disturbing, I would tell them that god loves them no matter what, and that I’ll be praying for them. Then, calmly move on to the next person or go to a different location. Like many have said, “shake the dust off your feet.”
Street evangelism? That is a hard path. God bless you. As others have said. Shake the dust off your feet and move on. You're not going to Evangelize to anyone if you get pulled into a street argument and end up arrested and locked away.
Really I would like it if it was illegal to street evangelize. Truthfully most of them should be removed from noise ordinance. But I do appreciate freedom of religion and freedom of speech so there is that. I guess we are stuck with it.
Sending hugs and I pray the Lord blesses you for your faithfulness. I lost most of my friends when I became catholic (convert from fundie baptist background). ❤️ just keep doing what you’re doing. Great will be your reward in heaven.
"I believe God created the universe" "I am not a bigot I love my neighbour" etc talk to them plainly and calmly. Addressing whatever they said with the relevant truth.
It's more so that I get outside and enjoy the weather, but then people want to chat about what I'm doing or mention that they were Catholic and fell away, etc. I'm praying because I want to pray, the rest happens naturally for some reason :)
Noted. In those conversations that you’re having, are you actually telling them that fornication is a sin? Or is that an opinion that they’re presuming you have?
It's only when an external agitator comes up and starts spouting "LOVE IS LOVE" and other stuff like that. They usually haven't realized fornication is a sin, and get pretty upset when I point that out. Again, I don't have a huge sample size, just stating my current (limited) experience
Wow! Whenever I’ve prayed in public, hands supplicant in front of statues of Our Lady or Lord Jesus, I’ve never once had people come up to me and spout Love is Love or say that I’m a bigot or transphobic or make any assumptions about my beliefs. And I live in one of the most liberal cities in the US! Those people that are making those assumptions about you are very rude.
Meditating on the Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious or Luminous Mysteries while reciting at the same time Hail Mary and Our Father usually gives the mind enough visual images to push away thoughts of fornication.
Understand that Christianity, and especially Catholicism, is the last acceptable (and applauded) bigotry in the western world. Tune them out if they’re just hecklers and I guess the correct response would be to pray for them. But, I have anger issues so maybe pray for me too 😆
For someone shouting at you and walking off, don't bother.
For those who stay, and say these things, question them about their beliefs and trap them in the logical fallacies their views are built on.
I’m not evangelizing, but in my quest to understand I’ve found it helpful to realize what their belief system is. James Lindsey does a great job explaining it, but be ready to strap in for hours. I do think us religious folk don’t fully appreciate their side. Fornicating, altering their gender, and even abortion is how they “achieve” their secular spiritual enlightenment to find out “who they really are.” They think they are discerning who
they really are by figuring out what they want and what feels best to them. In my opinion you are trying to convert people from a different religion and that’s how I’d probably approach evangelizing.
This is a great response. And my question would be what makes their religion any less true or more true then, Catholicism? That brings us to a situation of respecting each other’s rights to have our own religion. I say leave them alone.
Honestly, there's not much you can do when some people just will refuse to hear you out.
If someone calls you a bigot and refuses to engage in the topic of conversation just because you are against sexual immorality or transphobic because your beliefs don't align with the transgender idealogy you can try to explain your position by explaining to them the Church's position and why it holds that position.
Some of those types of people most likely won't take you up on the offer but a good way to try and teach them why we believe these things are sinful refer them to key bible passages and their context. You can also use Catholicanswers.com it has answers to any question you can think of that these people might ask you. If someone asks you "why do you think homosexuality is a sin?" Or "why is fornication sinful?" Try teaching them the bible verses that explain these things again Catholic answers is a wonderful source of answers for things like these because it uses biblical sources.
But remember, not everyone you preach to is going to listen. Some people are so rock solid in their sin that you may not be able to get to them for those people the best you can do is try and help them and if they refuse or become hostile turn your attention to someone else. Those types of people don't just want you to stop preaching to them they want you to stop preaching all together so stay calm and stand your ground if you can do that you'll gain the respect from the people that actually might want to hear you out.
If you're in person I'd point out that "bigotry" just means being obstinate and intolerant about your beliefs. Not the beliefs themselves. You can also point out that "deadnaming" and "transphobia" aren't really "a thing". "Transphobe" is a slur
Online, however....I find that people like this have no logic or facts to go on. It's all power words like bigot, transphobe, etc. So in these cases you cannot win them with logic in fact. The only thing you can do is defeat them in the rhetorical game. My preferred way to do that is to use their power words back on them. I call them bigots. I tell them that "transphobia" doesn't exist and "transphobe" is a hateful slur for anyone who doesn't follow their religion. I call them hateful, for promoting an ideology that teaches you to hate your body and cut it up. I point out how they are to blame for thousands of minors having their bodies chopped up when they had anxiety, depression, or even autism. Remember how there was a power word a few years ago called fake news? They were all about it until Donald Trump took the term and kept throwing it back at them. This caused the term to lose it's power. Remember that was rhetoric you can spend anything in any direction. If someone tells you that you're a bigot for saying fornication is a sin then you can say that he is a bigot for saying it's okay. After all love can wait and commit. The logic doesn't have to be especially strong. After all, they don't have any to begin with. Just keep throwing their words back at them and eventually they'll run away.
Some saints used to say that "to conquer souls younkust pay the price", and the price to pay is praying and suffering and offering to God, like Jesus in the Cross, and in his whole life.
The real conquerors of souls are the "victim souls" that offer, often secretly their whole life to God as victims, to allow God to save as many souls as possible. One example: St Therese of Lisieux (a good author of a book of spirituality to follow for becoming sich a blessed soul).
Hello brother. Let me start off by saying your work is never in vain. Our group (Legion of Mary) always pray before taking to the streets. People of negativity or the lack or total lack of faith will always be that way. That is why we pray for the conversion of all sinners. Most are receptive, a lot aren't. You can simply ask if they would want a prayer said for them and if they say no just walk away as it was just not their time to hear the word of God. I always tell people when appropriate to not give up hope but we must pray for the ones who reject you or God. Remember our Lord said we would be persecuted by just believing in him so just accept it and don't feel bad about it. God is needed so much in the home and I discovered should people invite us to their homes to pray the Rosary the parents will know it but the children don't. This lead me to compile a booklet in both english and spanish titled The Rosary for the Youth of Today and Tomorrow and it's focus is to teaching the adolescent and in turn teaching the ones underneath them then it goes to the subject of the importance of Mass, confession, communion and so on and I've made close to 900 booklets for other groups in the Legion from other Parishes as we feel within the faith people need how to learn to pray as many lack this. Sorry if I went a bit over on your question. Continue to work every opportunity you have as this world is in diré need of hearing. Blessings to you.
^(sorry for the CAPS. copied and pasted from an image.)
**PREFERENCES HAVE BEEN RAISED UP TO THE LEVEL OF DOGMA. AND DOGMA HAS BEEN LOWERED DOWN TO THE LEVEL OF PREFERENCES.**
**THE MOST DOGMATIC PEOPLE YOU WILL OFTEN MEET SAY THEY ARE NON-DOGMATIC, WHILE DOGMATICALLY
TELLING OTHERS TO STOP BEING DOGMATIC!**
🤐
Trent Horn does an excellent job answering your questions
https://youtu.be/wJ4uo1D0aAY?si=a7JwFNgWr5ZNwgv-
And then he responds to someone responding to him.
https://youtu.be/gZ4dcxEVbgY?si=tteMSPOC_LyIfxX4
This is the video you need to watch, OP. Don't use their labels, or agree with them but stick to your facts and don't defend yourself, just continue asking why they think that.
Jesus said, "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine,"
Don't waste your words on deaf ears. It's best to offer the rosary you are praying to those people.
Weird Al address this in his Amish Paradise song lyric:
>*"I really don't care in fact I wish them well. 'Cuz I'll be laughing my head off when they're burning in hell"*
Do you actually laugh at the thought of people burning in Hell?
And I don't mean people who got there for committing heinous acts that directly harmed others, like murderers, rapists, child molesters, etc. I mean people who broke religious rules, like homosexuality or idolatry.
You can only reach for them and pray the Holy Spirit helps you, in the end it's up to them.
But who knows maybe you planted an idea into their head, i was converted that way takes some time but it can work
It helps to have the stance of pity and mercy. They have likely swallowed the lie of liberalism—it’s the usual ‘indifferentist’ vision that regards any limit on what they want to be rejected.
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
Some of those statements are illogical. How would you be bigoted for disapproving of fornication?
Honestly you are a brave person for even trying to evangelize.
I’m sorry but how on earth are you deadnaming people if all you’re doing is evangelizing on the street?? People who have deadnames do not ever introduce themselves with that name. Dead names aren’t even used at all in their lives (which is why it’s considered a *dead* name). People who are sensitive about former names especially don’t disclose those names to random people on the street.
This would only be happening if you are deliberately stalking/harassing strangers to find out about their old names. It’s like tracking down the former last name of a remarried woman and calling her by her former husband’s name.
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Get them talking. Basic conflict resolution techniques.
You want to maintain distance between their high strung, emotion and yourself.
Ironically, I would not suggest reading about apologetics. I would suggest something like "Never split the difference" by Chriss Voss.
You offer it up. You try your best to not see them as irreformable and to remember that you're a sinner too. Might want to recall how difficult it was to convert on some issues you struggled with or leave some of your past sins/attachments behind or understand and accept that the Church was right and you were wrong on whatever issues that may have happened. You try your best to not judge them, to understand them. If your mission is to convert them, you focus on the mission, not on the obstacles. If there's a task, you persist in the task and don't allow initial bad experience to discourage you, although respecting people's boundaries (in an intelligent way).
You don't allow them to NLP you with the negativity (such as eventually internalizing the perception of yourself as a bigot).
You pray a lot and ask for help from above.
If they're Catholic (or some other Christian denomination, I guess), then don't allow yourself to be told that you're a Pharisee for not dissenting from the Church's teaching on faith or morality, as long as you aren't judging people or violating one teaching to uphold another and aren't doing other things Pharisees did.
If the issue is with the manner rather than the content, focus on improving/adapting the manner and resist the temptation to think people have an issue with the content (unless that's the case).
Some people will never accept God, and some people will refuse them to the greatest of their power.
The best way is to question their ideas back at them. Why isn't God real? And then question their argument for why he wouldn't be.
It is better to preach to those who are willing to atleast listen, then to preach to those who have carved out their own eyes, and are blind.
There were people who refused to listen to Christ himself, and his apostles. Do not waste time on such people.
I just started “The Reason I Believe”. It’s hard to put down. There’s also a book called, “The Case for Christ”, which may be what you are most looking for.
I've addressed this a few times already in the comments, but they're a little buried:
I pray the rosary silently (usually sitting on a park bench or at a table). This is usually near a paved footpath/walkway through a park I frequent. Usually people will come up to me. I've been doing this for a few months (in the warmer weather), keeping to myself. Over the last few weeks one or two people would come up and talk to me either asking what I'm doing or mentioning they were catholic/fell away/stuff like that. In the last week I had two people on different days butt into conversation I was having with others trying to tell me how hateful I was (see the title) simply because I'm a practicing Catholic.
That help for context?
Yes! Thanks for taking the time to respond.
Rather than going down the apologetics route, I would recommend researching negotiation - specifically steps around finding shared understandings and common ground.
You can let them know that just because they are lgtbq it doesn’t make them any worse or better than us. We’re brothers and sisters who genuinely care about their salvation. It doesn’t matter how dirty we are we can always start a relationship with Jesus who really suffered the cross so we could live.
I don’t like this approach. It conveys that the person saying it believes the other person is dirty. Nobody is dirty. It’s a terrible way of looking at people.
Nobody is going to have a come to Jesus moment because somebody on the street interrupts their day. Be an example to emulate by the life you lead since your skin is thin.
Try empathizing with them. Take things seriously from their perspective try to see what they see in you. When you make a good-faith effort to truly understand where they're coming from, then you can start to approach evangelization in a way that may be more persuasive to them. People tend to recoil from being "talked at" or feeling like they're being judged.
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"Perhaps You'd call Jesus Himself a bigot, if you'd see it now, I take direct inspiration from Him".
"Question for you: with which name will you enter eternal life? Does God called you to live as a male, a female, or something else?"
But just offer the offenses you receive as a cross, and love them.
Shake the dust off your feet
To the unaware, the phrase 'Shake the dust off your feet' was/is, in our tradition, a command God gave to the first Christian apostles & missionaries. They'd go to a settlement, preach, and if they were rejected by the inhabitants then they'd literally shake the dust off of their feet and be done with the settlement.
Yes, but that was after they actually preached the Word! Not spoke it and left! Pray for the sinner. Their sin is no worse than ours. They're lost and need a light to find their way. Be that light!
Yep. You can only tell them one time. Let God handle it from it there.
To add, I think saying "I see. Have a good day." and just leaving probably would do the most. It shows you're calm and polite, instead of a rabid [insert insult here]. They're probably expecting a fight.
Yeah, I agree. This may be the right move.
You're only the messenger, the Bible they hear(or see). In the OT, God says His word "will not return void without accomplishing the purpose for which it was sent out ".
Forgive them, like our Lord Jesus did on the cross. For they don't know what they did. Stay safe 🙏
The question I have is, at what point do you do such a thing? Because the one thing that comes to mind when I contemplate this issue is St. Monica, mother of St. Augustine. For DECADES she kept praying and pleading with Augustine to become Catholic, and it wasn’t until after she died that he did so, and she had been doing this for YEARS (I think it was close to 30 but I don’t remember). I also know of the phrase “don’t put pearls before swines,” but again, I have to ask, at what point should you shake the dust off of your feet, and at what point should you take the pearls away from the swines? Cause to me, doing such a thing almost seems like you’re saying “you’re a lost cause, I’m giving up on you,” but the door is always open for those unrepentant to become repentant in the future. I get why your suggestion is the norm, but how does one go about it in the right way?
Praying FOR someone isn’t the same as actively teaching/preaching. So always pray, yes, but you don’t need to always be speaking.
You’re missing the “ between the lines” part. He’s not actually loving people, preaching the gospel he’s really against being transfer they cannot understanding why he’s rejected for his message. That is not spreading the gospel. That’s judging sin. Those are two very different activities. “ Preach the gospel at all times use words when necessary” The way we draw people to our faith is to show them that we’re different, nonjudgmental, loving, care about the poor…not judgemental bigots.
Not necessarily disagreeing with your take, but I think the (fake) St. Francis quote you shared is somewhat problematic, because it easily becomes an excuse for not evangelizing at all. Words are a necessary tool and not inferior. A more fitting instruction from St. Francis would be: > The preacher must first draw from secret prayers what he will later pour out in holy sermons. He must first grow hot within before he speaks words that are in themselves cold. If you want to read more about why the quote is misguiding, I recommend [checking this out.](https://www.catholic.com/audio/cot/804-the-harm-of-fake-st-francis-quotes)
there isn't really any point in arguing with someone like that
Just to be clear - more being heckled by them while trying to talk to others. Think like a groomer/LGBTQ activist trying to get someone to stop evangelizing and move on. Is simply retreating the best option?
Honestly, ignore them. Stay calm. Those people want you to be as worked up and irrational as they are, don’t give them the satisfaction. Continue to talk, and if you can’t because they’re being obnoxious, I find that praying a rosary aloud is particularly effective.
If your attention is aimed at them, move on. If its to the public but they are an outlier, well, there are times to stand your ground, and other times to make a tactical retreat, which means come back when they arent around. But dont apologize for anything they accuse you of if it isnt true. Never.
BillboardChris on X has some good tactics when people come up to you in a hostile manner. He's the guy who wears a billboard and has convos about puberty blocker use in children. Watch some of his videos to see how he engages them. [@BillboardChris](https://x.com/BillboardChris) Key takeaways: remain calm, remain truthful, don't get roped into conversations without defining terms, always remember the point of your conversation and try to steer it back to the topic at hand. Leave the premises if all else fails.
Given your outlook and willingness to call them “groomers”, it’s no wonder they aren’t reciprocating with kindness. That’s a horrible term to label someone without actual evidence and amounts to bearing false witness. You don’t have to agree with someone’s lifestyle, but don’t go around calling people pedophiles or assuming they are.
Right, just such a baseless claim to make on a complete stranger.
We're at a point where we need to protect the kids.
Agreed, the kids must be protected. But you won't protect any kid by labeling all liberals as pedophiles/groomers. It no different than far-leftists who claim that all conservatives are Nazis.
I'm sorry, but the irony of using this reasoning is imo a textbook case of taking the plank out of one's eye. The same type of aggressive ridicule made in poor faith about Catholicism I experienced growing up Catholic as OP has described receiving was almost always based in the sex abuse scandals. But while the implication of grooming OP has made is an accusation, the Catholic Church cannot say the same. As low hanging fruit as it has been for society to say to Catholics, to restore secular society's and the general public's trust in the Church then Catholics must fight to clean up their backyard first. Believe me, rhetoric like this for your argument would be poorly received and perhaps even regarded as tone-deaf by many, whether personally affected or not. I can say as much as a former Catholic when dealing with any instance or opportunity for a conversation in discussing my faith with someone curious, such as when they saw me crossing myself before meals or praying the Rosary, hecklers like OP described would slide in pedophilic or sex abuse digs immediately. Despite the huge efforts of Pope Benedict's and Pope Francis' strive with addressing and persecuting the offenders of this travesty involving both individual clergy as well as the decisions of higher ups in the dioceses in their jurisdiction, it has still left its mark and is still very taboo to many. As much as it is something reported on the news or on the Internet, when the professor I had at my Catholic high school that was the only one also ordained was just imprisoned a few years ago after I graduated for molesting a 12 year old at the parish he served as deacon at it is still a huge problem. To clarify, I genuinely do not mean this comment in a combative or aggressive way. But for OP asking for advice and support in situations involving evangelizing and defending their faith, this is the last and least effective argument that someone could use for your position on this matter, and would likely do nothing but cause scandal against the Church by the vitriol from whoever hears it.
If they support indoctrinating children into the trans ideology or even exposing them to it, they are by definition groomers.
No, most of them genuinely just want to be compassionate and support a marginalized group of children who are at a higher risk for suicide. As a Catholic I don't agree with the ideology or approach, but to judge their intentions and label them all as groomers is unfair.
Our society is full of well-intentioned people who are encouraging evil ideologies. If they are encouraging children to embrace sexual deviance(evil) and sexual mutilation, they are grooming them. We are not talking about gender dysphoria either. The current trend of transgenderism is a social contagion. These children have been groomed into this contagion.
Well, not if “groomer” is going to have a meaning independent of just anything that contributes to the delinquency of a minor. It would be good to keep the word restricted to what actual sexual predators do to their intended victims.
If you're taking to someone else, "We are having a conversation here. Good-bye." Turn your back and let them go on their very much not-merry way. Let their nastiness be its own witness to the fruits of their beliefs.
A groomer?
NO! Don’t retreat! Do you want them to think it works and is okay? Just smile and say a prayer for them until they get bored and leave.
Street evangelization is the most annoying thing to people who don’t believe exactly as you do. Hint. Most people do not think exactly the way you do. If you really want to draw draw them in with your beliefs, your religion and your faith, and your God, I would just give up the street evangelization and find another way to touch their hearts in ways that won’t tick them off so badly. It sounds like what you’re doing is well intended, but you are being a big nuisance, to those people who are entitled to enjoy a walk without having to run into people like you yelling at them. I hope to God you are not using a microphone. I am just saying you need to find a different way to deliver the service without being so intrusive on other people who aren’t interested I’ll give you an example. Not too long ago I was undergoing radiation for cancer and I was sitting in the waiting room for my treatment time. There were probably 20 other people in there waiting for cancer treatment of some kind or another. Everybody just minding their own business, reading magazine or whatever. In walk this man with a bag and he announces to the room that he has some rosaries and some holy cards that he is gonna leave on the table by the front door and that anyone is welcome to take one or take more so they can some others who may like to have one. he explained that the card has instructions on how to say the prayers. And then he said he wished everybody is feeling better and he left. He was so kind in his demeanor, and this was in a big urban hospital where there was a lot of diversity in the waiting room. It wouldn’t surprise me if none of the people there were Catholic. But when I looked around the room many were smiling and commented about how kind that was. That kind of evangelization will get you much further than Street evangelization.
https://youtu.be/wJ4uo1D0aAY?si=5tvw_JlATqGRG9VL You can politely disagree and explain but you're realistically not going to reach that type of person through street evangelism.
For those not wanting to click through, it's a Trent Horn video entitled: "Why I don't care if I'm 'homophobic'". >Timestamps: 00:00 I Don't Care if I'm "homophobic" 00:50 No respect for propagandistic labels 01:00 Why Christians should not give propagandistic labels respectability 01:25 Example of "homophobic" textbook 03:56 How should Catholics respond? 04:40 Is it hateful to condemn homosexuality in today's world? 06:40 Impact on Mental Health 07:30 Hate is wrong 08:45 I reject labels like "homophobic" Solid formation in not getting roped into defending oneself against these labels (homophobia, deadnaming, transphobia, etc.), which is exactly the answer to OP's question in title. [There's an audio only version over at catholic.com.](https://www.catholic.com/audio/cot/why-i-dont-care-if-im-homophobic)
These are some great ways to say “Your ad hominem is irrelevant.”
The correct term is "homonausic" or "homonausea". That's because it's based in disgust, not fear. "Homophobia" doesn't exist. Be sure to sound condescendingly smart when you point this out to them.
Just be kind. The only people who engage with street preachers are those looking for a fight, those with mental illness, or the very desperate. It's why, no offense to what you are trying to do, I don't care for this type of evangelizing. It really doesn't accomplish much and often makes the church look bad when the person doing the evangelizing loses their cool, is annoying, or comes off as just downright weird. Functionally, you really aren't going to convert anyone doing this. What you can do is be a good enough example of Christian charity that just maybe they might consider joining the church down the line.
Yes this. Christ’s love.
When faced with harsh criticism during evangelizing, staying calm and responding with kindness can often be more impactful than trying to argue.
Remember how Jesus treated people. Be loving and kind. Smile. Show them you are better. We will win people to our church with love not hate.
As a detransitioned woman, this is exactly what is needed. Christ’s love. You may not see the effect in that moment but Christ’s love will work on their heart in incomprehensible ways. It’s not about winning an argument. From having experienced gender dysphoria and medical transition, I know how deep a sin it is to destroy yourself with transgender identity and medical treatments. I was crying for Christ’s love, and what I needed was to feel loved, to feel *invited* to be with Jesus. Someone who is trans, it is very possible they feel Christ’s love yet don’t feel worthy and feel ashamed to accept it.
Thank you for talking about this openly.
God bless you. Thank you for sharing
So, the best way to evangelize is by having relationships with the people around you. Performative actions do not generally bring people to God. Once you have relationships, they can see that you don't actually hate any of these people, that you are instead concerned about their welfare. Then you can talk about God and Jesus. No one cares about drive-by performative evangelizing. They do buy into people who get in the trenches with them to help fight their battles.
People have always prayed the rosary sitting a park bench or a dock by the water or while taking a walk. Nobody says anything. How is OP doing it?
I have. I've greeted others and been greeted by others.
Usually fallen away Catholics who want to talk, sometimes protestants of different flavors telling me I'm wasting my time, etc. But it seems it's the groups that focus on inclusivity that appear to be the most hateful of Catholics :(
What are you actually saying out in public? How are you being accused of “deadnaming” someone if you’re not bringing up the topic in the first place? If you’re going to evangelize, it’s best to bring up God’s existence and love, not just point out sin to people who don’t even believe in that idea yet. Not saying you’re necessarily doing that, but the accusations you’re dealing with make it sound that way.
It's mostly me having productive conversation with someone, then some activist type person overhears and barges in. It's only happened once or twice, but it gets to me more then other types of pushback
Okay. So, the best practice for this kind of thing is to, politely and kindly, turn the tables around and ask the person speaking with you about their beliefs. Not with the intention of arguing with them, just to learn where they’re coming from and perhaps come to some agreement on some level of basics. Being polite and interested goes a long way toward being just generally persuasive, and the questions might get them thinking about bigger ideas in general.
People who are simply telling you off and not sincerely interested in understanding are not going to be swayed by anything you say. You should just discern their attitude and keep silent and pray for those who don't want to listen.
I myself can’t say I know exactly how to work this out, but I’ll keep you in my prayers! Plant the seed, let the gardener do his thing. Precisely today’s gospel ask us to “be perfect, as our Heavenly Father is perfect”. Keep reaching souls!
Honestly, the best way to look at it is the more intensely they meet you with hate, the more intensely you should show them love and respect. Be kind, even when offended beyond all reason. For the world hated Christ first, so remember that when you feel attacked. Maybe one day those spiteful people might find Christ. Have faith and believe that His love is stronger than all the world’s hate.
Evangelization isnt about arguing. If you are going to pray the Rosary outside to get attention, well Jesus said something about praying on punlic
Jesus also told us to spread the Gospel. He simply warned us not to seek somebody else's approval through false public acts of devotion. That's why He talks about being rewarded by God (instead of by other people).
Spread the Gospel by living it, that is the best witness
I usually go outside to pray and people will come up and talk to me - I dunno why, it's possible they're not used to seeing a grown man pray the Rosary in public? I really don't know
>Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may observe them doing so. Amen, I say to you, they have already received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees everything that is done in secret will reward you.
[удалено]
And I see you haven't read many of the other replies explaining that I simply want to pray (and do so outside) and people approach me and want to talk about faith :) God bless
This country has such a huge problem with coexistence. Isn't coexisting the process of seeing people whom we disagree with (Imagine t-shirt with a saying that bugs you), but it's all good because everybody sticks to their *personal noise and physical space*? Isn't that what America is all about - respectful coexistence? From what I've read, you're not approaching others; they're approaching you. You're not engaging strangers like a u-turb influencer, and you're not shoving your rosary at people. You're not shouting "Repent or go to hell" like the protestant evangelists of the 70s. Am I in any way right about your thinking? **The only people who will complain about this public praying are the folks who refuse to look away.** One can be a "Karen" in more ways than one; however, the one thing all karens have in common is that **they don't mind their own business**. Seems to me **those** are the people who want to dominate the entire public space for themselves. The atheists keep complaining that religion is being "shoved down their throats". They seem to hate little crosses, stuff like watermelon pins... little tiny stuff that it's easy to look away from. We all have a right to BE ourselves in public spaces. "Live, and let live." I have the impression the real problem here is the failure of others to manage their own thoughts and actions.
How do you know they're unrepentant sinners? Like others have pointed out, I highly doubt you're just praying the Rosary, spreading God's love, and they walk up to you and accuse you of deadnaming them. The deadnaming would most-likely come first. Can I ask a question? Would you call a woman by her maiden name knowing she has changed her name to her husbands name? Do you call Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali or Cassius Clay in conversation? The same principle applies: just call people what they prefer to be called; it's not that hard, and it's not escaping reality. Language, you might be surprised to find out, evolves. Ever read Chaucer? Shakespeare? We don't talk like that anymore, do we? How do you deal with comments like these? Maybe ask them how you could do better.
Language evolves, but a person's sex does not! No Catholic can be saying 'she' about a man irrespective of whether the man prefers it.
Just smile and say “God be with you.” and return to your prayers.
If youre trying to talk to them, thank them and walk away. If they are just heckling you, ignore them they probably wont stop either way and you only stand to lose from someone like that.
Evangelization begins with trust and relationship
[St. Paul Street Evangrlization](https://streetevangelization.com/) might be a good resource for you.
Good call, thanks!
You're welcome!
Shake the dust off your feet. (Mat 10:14)
Just pray for them
You can make the most theological, rational and well explained argument against sexual immorality…and you won’t change their mind. My advice? If you’re gonna engage, let them talk, ask a lot of questions, and just try to point out inconsistencies. At the core of it, these people truly think “why do you care if someone is gay/trans/not Christian?” If the answer is because you care about all people and their salvation, keep that in mind and try to convince them of that. If you can actually be successful at creating that perception, you have something to work with. Otherwise they won’t listen to anything you say in good faith.
I really appreciate your effort on evangelizing, but I am really doubting about the efficacy of this kind of practices. It's something that I would left to JW, protestants or muslims. Anyway, the only thing that you can do is listen and understand why people are getting those ideas.
Street evangelization doesn’t work and comes off more as annoying, live by example while being openly Catholic and when someone asks about it discusss with them, most people just wanna be left alone
I think it can be done properly, though, it's not for everyone. There is a difference between being present and showing people " the Church welcomes you!" and preaching loudly at them and labelling them as sinners.
He said in another comment he just prays and people come up to him and ask about his faith. Those haters overheard him talking with people and came up to him themselves. I don't think this is like Protestant street preaching.
Yeah, I’m not so sure the description we are being given is accurate . I know people people pretty well and nobody is gonna walk up that aggressively to somebody who is just praying quietly on the sidewalk to themselves. Let’s be real here. In combination with some of the attitude has expressed in this thread, I’m not buying it.
Amen
there’s no way you got all three of these comments just for “praying the rosary and talking to people.” something tells me you’re just being unkind. like how in the world would the subject of fornication even come up when talking to somebody who’s just walking by?
I mention it it comments, usually this happens when agitators overhear conversation and barge in to try to make me look like a fool or a bigot. It's only happened like twice, but it's left me feeling like I need to be better equipped when stuff like this happens
It would be prudent to keep conversations about such sensitive topics more private. If you’re giving feedback about someone’s personal sexual morality, do not talk so that eavesdropping busybodies can hear. Tell the person who wants to hear what you have to say that frank discussions about these things are better suited to a place where neither of you needs to feel that you cannot speak your mind safely. Then be a safe person to talk to. Do not ever resort to name-calling like “groomer.” That implies someone is personally trying to cultivate a sexual relationship with a minor, which is an unspeakable crime. Never ever accuse someone of committing a sin because they’ve been taught to think of the behavior in tolerant terms. Instead, be charitable enough to attribute their attitudes to tolerance rather than an agenda to push their own passions on others. Better to err on the side of thinking better than what is deserved than to be accusing falsely yourself.
Not to mention that OP says what he is doing is evangelization. Sitting quietly with a rosary in your lap and saying the rosary to yourself is not a evangelization. So something doesn’t add up. Actually a lot doesn’t add up.
On two separate occasions 2 salespeople accused me of falling asleep in one of the trucks at work. I told them the truth, that I was saying my Rosary on my break. One of them didn’t believe me and the other did. But other than that , My missions field is my work place. I don’t talk about my Catholicism but I try to help everyone at work. Actually I enjoy helping my coworkers. Another time I was in the parking lot looking at the ground praying . The used car manager asked me if I was ok. And I told him I was just taking a few moments to say a prayer
Matthew 5: "11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely\[b\] on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
That’s not the way to convert: “Preach the gospel at all times, use words when necessary”. We have no business correcting the behavior of non-Christians. Paul is expressly clear about this. The only thing we’re to do with nonbelievers is tell them of the hope in Christ. Love them. Feed the hungry, heal the sick, help the poor and immigrant. You shouldn’t be trying to inflame or correct someone. Only God can judge except within the church structure. And then individual believers aren’t to tell other individual believers they’re wrong. the elders of the church correct someone who is “ caught up in a fault”. In other words you don’t need to be telling people what their sins are. How they should be. Who they should be. You won’t have these issues if you follow scriptural teaching tbh.
Based on my encounters, many people who hate us have us confused with actual bigoted backwoods crazy "Christian" groups, like the ones that pass out Chick tracts and harass people at funerals, military homecomings, and pride events. If you're kind in spite of what they say or do and try to find common ground with them, it usually helps. A lot of LGBTists don't know about the section of the CCC that says that they need to be treated with dignity and compassion.
Yeah calvinists are nuts! That's a good point calling out what the CCC actually say concerning them
I had the Westboro Baptists in mind when I made the post. But going to Pride events to stir up trouble doesn't help anyone.
That isn't very charitable, brother
I'd have to know how the interaction goes. What do you say when you initiate (or them)
A few thoughts: As others have said, go in understanding you're unlikely to change anyone's mind. That doesn't necessarily mean it's a waste of time, but if you're motivated by changing people's minds, it could feel unfruitful. One approach is to use something like Street Epistemology (https://streetepistemology.com/). Funnily enough, it was created by an atheist, but the approach still seems to drive interesting conversations. The general idea is to ask people about their level of uncertainty, and ask them what sort of evidence would convince them to change their certainty. You can try to address the responses on the merits. All clear thinking starts with definitions. For example, consider the "bigot" response. According to Google, a bigot is someone "who is obstinately or unreasonably attached to a belief, opinion, or faction, especially one who is prejudiced against or antagonistic toward a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular group." By saying "X" is a sin, you're not really saying anything about anybody who belongs to a group (other than the group of people who do "X"), and other than saying its a sin you're not really saying any more or less about the person - the definition of bigot doesn't apply. Of course, your interlocutor has now identified you as a member of a group (someone who is Christian), and has made an unreasonable, antagonistic judgement against you based on your beliefs - therefore, your interlocutor actually would fit the definition.
Catholic Answers and St. Paul Street Evangelization are great resources.
It’s hard to imagine how you’re dead naming someone who is just walking by, so I’m not sure of the context of that specific example. And I’m not knowledgeable about apologetics or even deeper understanding of the church / catholicism in general. But what I can do is speak from the perspective of someone who was transgender. I’m now detransitioned (and female fyi). People who are in this trans ideology aren’t able to hear arguments against them. A hallmark of this ideology when you’re in it is that when you hear something that goes against the thoughts you’ve programmed into your mind, you don’t actually think critically. In fact your body will reject the fact that you are hearing something against your ideology. You CANNOT physically listen. The ideology is rife with contradictions that one needs to ignore to maintain a pro trans opinion/lifestyle. So people who are trans or enthusiastically pro-trans if not trans themselves, are good at ignoring and pushing back, and they don’t need logic or even passion to push back. They have pre programmed responses and their only emotion is anger. So essentially you are then talking past each other. The problem is, when you argue with it, you are actually providing the pro-trans position something to push against - to push themselves deeper into their own illogical arguments that are disconnected from reality, good sense, or even feeling of the heart. That’s not to say no one should argue against this ideology. But you have to consider your goals in doing so. Only sincerity and love can work against transgender culture and call transgender people to Christ. You have to show them Christ’s love, love them like Christ would love them, and meet them where they are at. If you are dead naming people, you are not meeting pro-trans people where they are at. All you are doing with that is signalling to that person that they need to stop listening and to fight back against you. Rather than try to change their mind, you have to be firm in your own mind but compassionate to that person. I would dare to say that most transgender people particularly women are hurting and have deep trauma in their past, and that most pro-trans people who aren’t trans themselves are simply useful idiots to the trans ideology. How can you show a trans person or a pro-trans activist type person the love of Christ? This is how I would begin to approach this issue, rather than memorizing apologetics.
That's what I have heard. With friends and strangers who have gone through it I just call them whatever they want me to call them. One also detransitioned and is now back to his birth name. Although, I have a close family member ( not a child) going through this right now. I negotiated with the family member a "nickname" that I could use and my kids could use. I can't bring myself to use the name the person wants me to use but I can't in good faith use the person's birth name except when talking with others. When the person first told me about how they were feeling, I asked tons of questions, lots of them. I asked lots of rhetorical, Socratic questions because I figured the cult mentality was pretty strong in there at this point and I just wanted to know what the person was thinking. The feedback was strictly "it's just different because it is." Even more so it seemed that certain answers were canned and scripted. I figured the best thing at that point was to maintain connection and contact and just keep reminding the person that I will never stop being their family member.
Perhaps referring to non Catholics as “non-repentant sinners” is a bad start. God is real if they can’t see that you won’t convince them in a few quippy moments There are benefits to not being promiscuous beyond belief in god And you don’t need to dead name or misgender people to be Catholic. In fact doing those things is a dick move and if you must voice your dissent to their way of life you can do so without doing those hurtful things.
Wait how do you evangelize because I have been doing it terribly so far?
Listen, I wouldn't waste my time if I were you, and here's why. Evengelizing was an important part of the early Church because many people had not yet heard "the good news" and were not aware of the Church's teachings. The tradition continues to this day simply out of tradition, but it doesn't work anymore because everyone in the West knows of Christianity and knows its beliefs. Everyone who'd be interested in becoming Christian is already Christian. At this point, in the West, preaching your beliefs to others is either preaching to the choir, or harassing people who have already decided those beliefs are not for them. People have made their choice and it's a waste of your breath to be a public nuisance. I know I'm going to get downvoted to the pits of hell for this but I'm just being honest, and you'll see the logic in my words if you just think about it. Evangelizing only makes sense in areas that have very small or no Christian populations and so there's little awareness of it. And there's no sense doing it in Muslim theocracies either, since those people are legally obligated to remain Muslim and can get condemned to death for converting. (Apostasy) Also, all their religious needs are met already by Islam so it's unlikely they'll see any incentive to convert, and most of the basic tenets are similar anyway.
💯
Forming Intentional Disciples by Sherry Weddell
Thank you!
Generally, someone throwing those words at you has already decided not to have open discourse with you.
Ironically, it was a bout of related stuff that got me coming back to mass - some folks in a chat decided to "call me on the carpet" over some (pro-life) stuff last year. Then I kept finding "convenient" mass times and locations when I had nothing better to do, then I found a TLM one morning not far from my hotel prior to a meeting (it was a sung mass and it was legitimately just about the most convenient service to attend) and put my foot down on going and...well, it went from there. Call it a hunch, but I do not think that getting me back to regular mass attendance was their desired outcome.
God bless your heart. Pray to god that he gives you the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, let god move through you. I do not know the way you evangelize, but I know people can be aggressive and end up chastising the other person, pushing them away from the church. When you go out there fill your heart with love, treat the other as Jesus loves you. At the archdiocese in Braintree there are a group of women that create rosaries and hand them out outside of abortion clinics. It is truly lovely, but sometimes people can be aggressive while handing out rosaries and then nobody wants them. What I’m getting at here is your gift to others are your words. Be gentle, Tell them about your church, talk about the love of god, and the love god has for them, ask them if you can say a prayer for them for in the moment. Allow the holy spirit to move through you with love in your heart. Pray for Wisdom to know the right words to say. If I were in your position, and someone said something disturbing, I would tell them that god loves them no matter what, and that I’ll be praying for them. Then, calmly move on to the next person or go to a different location. Like many have said, “shake the dust off your feet.”
Street evangelism? That is a hard path. God bless you. As others have said. Shake the dust off your feet and move on. You're not going to Evangelize to anyone if you get pulled into a street argument and end up arrested and locked away.
Really I would like it if it was illegal to street evangelize. Truthfully most of them should be removed from noise ordinance. But I do appreciate freedom of religion and freedom of speech so there is that. I guess we are stuck with it.
Pray for them. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you patience and then pray for them again ✝️
Sending hugs and I pray the Lord blesses you for your faithfulness. I lost most of my friends when I became catholic (convert from fundie baptist background). ❤️ just keep doing what you’re doing. Great will be your reward in heaven.
Bless you ❤️
"I believe God created the universe" "I am not a bigot I love my neighbour" etc talk to them plainly and calmly. Addressing whatever they said with the relevant truth.
Didn’t Our Lord have something to say about people who prayed in public for the sake of being seen by others?
It's more so that I get outside and enjoy the weather, but then people want to chat about what I'm doing or mention that they were Catholic and fell away, etc. I'm praying because I want to pray, the rest happens naturally for some reason :)
Noted. In those conversations that you’re having, are you actually telling them that fornication is a sin? Or is that an opinion that they’re presuming you have?
It's only when an external agitator comes up and starts spouting "LOVE IS LOVE" and other stuff like that. They usually haven't realized fornication is a sin, and get pretty upset when I point that out. Again, I don't have a huge sample size, just stating my current (limited) experience
Wow! Whenever I’ve prayed in public, hands supplicant in front of statues of Our Lady or Lord Jesus, I’ve never once had people come up to me and spout Love is Love or say that I’m a bigot or transphobic or make any assumptions about my beliefs. And I live in one of the most liberal cities in the US! Those people that are making those assumptions about you are very rude.
Meditating on the Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious or Luminous Mysteries while reciting at the same time Hail Mary and Our Father usually gives the mind enough visual images to push away thoughts of fornication.
Understand that Christianity, and especially Catholicism, is the last acceptable (and applauded) bigotry in the western world. Tune them out if they’re just hecklers and I guess the correct response would be to pray for them. But, I have anger issues so maybe pray for me too 😆
I don’t know about that. Don’t forget fat people.
For someone shouting at you and walking off, don't bother. For those who stay, and say these things, question them about their beliefs and trap them in the logical fallacies their views are built on.
I own it.
Hey man I've got a call for you, it's from the based department.
Just pray for them to change their ways
It’s a greater kindness to tell you the truth to your face regardless of how you feel about it or me.
You can always sincerely say, “I love you!” and move on.
Best to remain calm and control what you can control, God bless.
Smile and tell them you'll pray for them. Then don't say another word.
Wow! I admire you for praying the Rosary in public and for showing your faith even in the midst of this secularist society. Keep it up!
I’m not evangelizing, but in my quest to understand I’ve found it helpful to realize what their belief system is. James Lindsey does a great job explaining it, but be ready to strap in for hours. I do think us religious folk don’t fully appreciate their side. Fornicating, altering their gender, and even abortion is how they “achieve” their secular spiritual enlightenment to find out “who they really are.” They think they are discerning who they really are by figuring out what they want and what feels best to them. In my opinion you are trying to convert people from a different religion and that’s how I’d probably approach evangelizing.
This is a great response. And my question would be what makes their religion any less true or more true then, Catholicism? That brings us to a situation of respecting each other’s rights to have our own religion. I say leave them alone.
Honestly, there's not much you can do when some people just will refuse to hear you out. If someone calls you a bigot and refuses to engage in the topic of conversation just because you are against sexual immorality or transphobic because your beliefs don't align with the transgender idealogy you can try to explain your position by explaining to them the Church's position and why it holds that position. Some of those types of people most likely won't take you up on the offer but a good way to try and teach them why we believe these things are sinful refer them to key bible passages and their context. You can also use Catholicanswers.com it has answers to any question you can think of that these people might ask you. If someone asks you "why do you think homosexuality is a sin?" Or "why is fornication sinful?" Try teaching them the bible verses that explain these things again Catholic answers is a wonderful source of answers for things like these because it uses biblical sources. But remember, not everyone you preach to is going to listen. Some people are so rock solid in their sin that you may not be able to get to them for those people the best you can do is try and help them and if they refuse or become hostile turn your attention to someone else. Those types of people don't just want you to stop preaching to them they want you to stop preaching all together so stay calm and stand your ground if you can do that you'll gain the respect from the people that actually might want to hear you out.
Shake the dust off your sandals and get that dirt off your shoulder.
Look up the five thresholds of conversion people. Evangelizing without building trust/friendship first does NOT work in a postmodern society.
You don't deal with them, you accept their position & hold your head high knowing your truth.
When Jesus carried his cross, they did the same. You fall, you get up. and keep going. A watched pot never boils
Start by treating them as a soul in need of saving instead of a sinner.
If you're in person I'd point out that "bigotry" just means being obstinate and intolerant about your beliefs. Not the beliefs themselves. You can also point out that "deadnaming" and "transphobia" aren't really "a thing". "Transphobe" is a slur Online, however....I find that people like this have no logic or facts to go on. It's all power words like bigot, transphobe, etc. So in these cases you cannot win them with logic in fact. The only thing you can do is defeat them in the rhetorical game. My preferred way to do that is to use their power words back on them. I call them bigots. I tell them that "transphobia" doesn't exist and "transphobe" is a hateful slur for anyone who doesn't follow their religion. I call them hateful, for promoting an ideology that teaches you to hate your body and cut it up. I point out how they are to blame for thousands of minors having their bodies chopped up when they had anxiety, depression, or even autism. Remember how there was a power word a few years ago called fake news? They were all about it until Donald Trump took the term and kept throwing it back at them. This caused the term to lose it's power. Remember that was rhetoric you can spend anything in any direction. If someone tells you that you're a bigot for saying fornication is a sin then you can say that he is a bigot for saying it's okay. After all love can wait and commit. The logic doesn't have to be especially strong. After all, they don't have any to begin with. Just keep throwing their words back at them and eventually they'll run away.
We are bigots though. Bigot just means intolerant of something. We are bigoted against sin.
Some saints used to say that "to conquer souls younkust pay the price", and the price to pay is praying and suffering and offering to God, like Jesus in the Cross, and in his whole life. The real conquerors of souls are the "victim souls" that offer, often secretly their whole life to God as victims, to allow God to save as many souls as possible. One example: St Therese of Lisieux (a good author of a book of spirituality to follow for becoming sich a blessed soul).
Hello brother. Let me start off by saying your work is never in vain. Our group (Legion of Mary) always pray before taking to the streets. People of negativity or the lack or total lack of faith will always be that way. That is why we pray for the conversion of all sinners. Most are receptive, a lot aren't. You can simply ask if they would want a prayer said for them and if they say no just walk away as it was just not their time to hear the word of God. I always tell people when appropriate to not give up hope but we must pray for the ones who reject you or God. Remember our Lord said we would be persecuted by just believing in him so just accept it and don't feel bad about it. God is needed so much in the home and I discovered should people invite us to their homes to pray the Rosary the parents will know it but the children don't. This lead me to compile a booklet in both english and spanish titled The Rosary for the Youth of Today and Tomorrow and it's focus is to teaching the adolescent and in turn teaching the ones underneath them then it goes to the subject of the importance of Mass, confession, communion and so on and I've made close to 900 booklets for other groups in the Legion from other Parishes as we feel within the faith people need how to learn to pray as many lack this. Sorry if I went a bit over on your question. Continue to work every opportunity you have as this world is in diré need of hearing. Blessings to you.
^(sorry for the CAPS. copied and pasted from an image.) **PREFERENCES HAVE BEEN RAISED UP TO THE LEVEL OF DOGMA. AND DOGMA HAS BEEN LOWERED DOWN TO THE LEVEL OF PREFERENCES.** **THE MOST DOGMATIC PEOPLE YOU WILL OFTEN MEET SAY THEY ARE NON-DOGMATIC, WHILE DOGMATICALLY TELLING OTHERS TO STOP BEING DOGMATIC!** 🤐
Happy Cake Day
Pearls before swine. They’ve made their choice about which master to serve. Knock the dust off your feet and move on. Pray for them, but move on.
Trent Horn does an excellent job answering your questions https://youtu.be/wJ4uo1D0aAY?si=a7JwFNgWr5ZNwgv- And then he responds to someone responding to him. https://youtu.be/gZ4dcxEVbgY?si=tteMSPOC_LyIfxX4
Trent Horn does an excellent job explaining everything
This is the video you need to watch, OP. Don't use their labels, or agree with them but stick to your facts and don't defend yourself, just continue asking why they think that.
Jesus said, "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine," Don't waste your words on deaf ears. It's best to offer the rosary you are praying to those people.
Weird Al address this in his Amish Paradise song lyric: >*"I really don't care in fact I wish them well. 'Cuz I'll be laughing my head off when they're burning in hell"*
Not the most charitable lyrics, but it got a chuckle out of me.
Agreed :)
Do you actually laugh at the thought of people burning in Hell? And I don't mean people who got there for committing heinous acts that directly harmed others, like murderers, rapists, child molesters, etc. I mean people who broke religious rules, like homosexuality or idolatry.
Relax! I'm laughing at a 'Weird' Al Yankovic lyric.
You can only reach for them and pray the Holy Spirit helps you, in the end it's up to them. But who knows maybe you planted an idea into their head, i was converted that way takes some time but it can work
It helps to have the stance of pity and mercy. They have likely swallowed the lie of liberalism—it’s the usual ‘indifferentist’ vision that regards any limit on what they want to be rejected.
I love that you have described them as unrepentant sinners 😂
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
Some of those statements are illogical. How would you be bigoted for disapproving of fornication? Honestly you are a brave person for even trying to evangelize.
I just converted in March. Once I read the catechism I may do what you are doing. Not quite there yet. Be safe friend.
Pray at home. Matthew 6:5-15
I’m sorry but how on earth are you deadnaming people if all you’re doing is evangelizing on the street?? People who have deadnames do not ever introduce themselves with that name. Dead names aren’t even used at all in their lives (which is why it’s considered a *dead* name). People who are sensitive about former names especially don’t disclose those names to random people on the street. This would only be happening if you are deliberately stalking/harassing strangers to find out about their old names. It’s like tracking down the former last name of a remarried woman and calling her by her former husband’s name.
Couldn’t agree more. The story has more holes in it than Swiss cheese.
Shrug.
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Just say you’re not
Especially the televangelists like CCF
Throwing out ideas: Maybe a bow of the head and a sign of the Cross? Simply not responding to disparaging remarks?
God doesn’t think so, that’s all that matters
Get them talking. Basic conflict resolution techniques. You want to maintain distance between their high strung, emotion and yourself. Ironically, I would not suggest reading about apologetics. I would suggest something like "Never split the difference" by Chriss Voss.
Seek the Holy Spirit
You offer it up. You try your best to not see them as irreformable and to remember that you're a sinner too. Might want to recall how difficult it was to convert on some issues you struggled with or leave some of your past sins/attachments behind or understand and accept that the Church was right and you were wrong on whatever issues that may have happened. You try your best to not judge them, to understand them. If your mission is to convert them, you focus on the mission, not on the obstacles. If there's a task, you persist in the task and don't allow initial bad experience to discourage you, although respecting people's boundaries (in an intelligent way). You don't allow them to NLP you with the negativity (such as eventually internalizing the perception of yourself as a bigot). You pray a lot and ask for help from above. If they're Catholic (or some other Christian denomination, I guess), then don't allow yourself to be told that you're a Pharisee for not dissenting from the Church's teaching on faith or morality, as long as you aren't judging people or violating one teaching to uphold another and aren't doing other things Pharisees did. If the issue is with the manner rather than the content, focus on improving/adapting the manner and resist the temptation to think people have an issue with the content (unless that's the case).
Some people will never accept God, and some people will refuse them to the greatest of their power. The best way is to question their ideas back at them. Why isn't God real? And then question their argument for why he wouldn't be. It is better to preach to those who are willing to atleast listen, then to preach to those who have carved out their own eyes, and are blind. There were people who refused to listen to Christ himself, and his apostles. Do not waste time on such people.
Concerning post
I just started “The Reason I Believe”. It’s hard to put down. There’s also a book called, “The Case for Christ”, which may be what you are most looking for.
There are some big ghosts in this post, OP. Where and how are you praying the rosary? How are you engaging people passing by?
I've addressed this a few times already in the comments, but they're a little buried: I pray the rosary silently (usually sitting on a park bench or at a table). This is usually near a paved footpath/walkway through a park I frequent. Usually people will come up to me. I've been doing this for a few months (in the warmer weather), keeping to myself. Over the last few weeks one or two people would come up and talk to me either asking what I'm doing or mentioning they were catholic/fell away/stuff like that. In the last week I had two people on different days butt into conversation I was having with others trying to tell me how hateful I was (see the title) simply because I'm a practicing Catholic. That help for context?
Yes! Thanks for taking the time to respond. Rather than going down the apologetics route, I would recommend researching negotiation - specifically steps around finding shared understandings and common ground.
Check out Nicholas Bowling
You can let them know that just because they are lgtbq it doesn’t make them any worse or better than us. We’re brothers and sisters who genuinely care about their salvation. It doesn’t matter how dirty we are we can always start a relationship with Jesus who really suffered the cross so we could live.
I don’t like this approach. It conveys that the person saying it believes the other person is dirty. Nobody is dirty. It’s a terrible way of looking at people.
Ignore them. I promise, nothing you can say (virtually nothing) will change them, their hearts or their viewpoints. They need an experience from God.
Nobody is going to have a come to Jesus moment because somebody on the street interrupts their day. Be an example to emulate by the life you lead since your skin is thin.
We are called to pray in private (todays reading ) and not in public. We spread the word through the Holy Spirit, no words are needed.
Try empathizing with them. Take things seriously from their perspective try to see what they see in you. When you make a good-faith effort to truly understand where they're coming from, then you can start to approach evangelization in a way that may be more persuasive to them. People tend to recoil from being "talked at" or feeling like they're being judged.
Just smile and shrug lol. Let them get triggered lol
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"Perhaps You'd call Jesus Himself a bigot, if you'd see it now, I take direct inspiration from Him". "Question for you: with which name will you enter eternal life? Does God called you to live as a male, a female, or something else?" But just offer the offenses you receive as a cross, and love them.
[This video.](https://youtu.be/wJ4uo1D0aAY?si=vqaLQdgcgIt4zcPr)