The Seven Deadly Sins of Apologetics: Avoiding Common Pitfalls When Explaining and Defending the Faith by Brumley Mark

Author:Brumley, Mark [Brumley, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Catholic Answers Press
Published: 2014-05-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

Trying to “Win”

In the game King of the Hill, children struggle to capture and hold the top of a hill, using almost any tactic they can get away with. The objective is to win, not to help others to the top. The Sixth Deadly Sin of Catholic Apologetics involves trying to “win the argument”—to be King of the Apologetical Hill—even at the expense of bringing people to truth. In a sense, this is an obvious temptation for apologists, given that apologetics, like lawyering, is about arguments. But unlike some lawyers, apologists are not allowed to fashion their arguments in order to attain a certain verdict. The apologist’s goal has to be “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,” whatever a lawyer’s may be.

Vince Lombardi, a Catholic, is credited with the line, “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.” People have argued over what he meant. But however Lombardi’s maxim may apply to football, it certainly does not work with apologetics. Frank Sheed, the Vince Lombardi of Catholic apologetics if ever there was one, warned Catholic Evidence Guild speakers about going for “victory.” How tempting to use apologetics to trounce the other guy, especially if he is unskilled in debate or unfamiliar with the theological terrain. The trouble, said Sheed, is that when you set out to win in this way, you create problems. You tend to soft-pedal the weaknesses of your argument, neglect the strength of the other fellow’s, and, most important, set up barriers for the Holy Spirit in that person’s heart (not to mention your own).

Few of us enjoy being bested in argument. Sometimes the experience can push a person further from the truth. As Archbishop Fulton Sheen used to say, “Win an argument, lose a soul.” In fact, it is much better to let someone discover the truth for himself than to try to browbeat him into submission to your case for the truth.

An overweening desire to win the argument can lead apologists into other mistakes, such as using any apologetical stick to beat an opponent. The man out to win at all costs never met an argument against a non-Catholic position he did not like. He may even misrepresent facts in favor of the Catholic Church or against non-Catholics. Winning is the most important thing to him, and if the facts make it harder to win, then the facts be damned.

A Case in Point

The Inquisition is an example of a topic where facts sometimes suffer at the hands of certain Catholic apologists. Some Catholic apologists do not tell the whole Inquisition story. They distort the historical record because the Church does not come out so clearly on the side of the angels as these apologists would like when the facts of the Inquisition are looked at straight on. And when the Church does not come out looking its best, it is harder for the Catholic apologist to win the argument with the non-Catholic.

The standard anti-Catholic charge claims that the Inquisition slaughtered millions of people.

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