Responding to incorrect statements about your faith

Sounds as though some of this at least started out as a case of simple misunderstanding, either concerning what the churches actually believe or, as we sometimes encounter, the notion that if it's not Transubstantiation, it can't be anything other than symbolic.

Worse is the situation when they have it explained to them (as you've done) and they still insist upon their error. OTOH, even that may not be as bad as the endless repeats of popular myths (Henry VIII started a new church because he wanted a divorce, Luther was an opponent of all church authority, and so on). About all that I can suggest is to keep giving them the real story and don't be drawn into a debate over it.

Is your husband family catholic? Or raised catholic?
I know that catholics can be quite entrenched in the views their church teaches so much so that any other denomination is suspect to them.

Best not to argue and pray the Lord reveals and opens their eyes to scripture instead.

Destiny2015 said:

How do you deal with people who continue to argue incorrect statements about your faith, or your church?
*I don't argue with them, just state what scripture reveals and go on your way.

It seems that lately, more and more people are willfully ignorant and don't want to be corrected on simple facts. For example, I've had more than one friend and family member tell me that my church views communion as symbolic only. I was raised Methodist and now attend an Episcopal church, so that's blatantly false on both counts.
*I've been in many denominations, including what you mentioned... I've had people try to go off on whatever type of argument they had with said denomination and or church rules/regulations...give them scripture, pray for them, forgive and continue on your faith walk with the Lord.
Some will not accept truth...our Lord dealt with that too.

It took me years to convince my husband about what the Methodist Church actually teaches, even though it's right there on the UMC website in plain sight.

Anyway, how do you deal with this? The communion thing seems to be happening more and more frequently, and it bothers me a lot.

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*I've heard the communion debate thingy going on since I was a child, now I'm 51 and people still want to argue over it and the speaking in tongues, being celibate etc...this even went on in the Pentecostal churches I've been in...one says it means one thing and another says something else.

It was hard enough being a black woman dealing with those issues and on top of that- I had to deal with Christians in those said churches who have "problems" with interracial dating/marriage/biracial
children etc...they still have the "love black people but
you don't date or marry them" thingy still going on...
I don't see it going away...it's being taught to the next
generation still.

My family is divided over ALL those issues...I just
agape them any way...when they want to argue and
or "stir the pot"... I leave /and or exit the conversation.

It is just how people are.

I have had countless people on this and other forums tell me EXACTLY what I "believe" and "do." The problem is they are 90% wrong. But just TRY to convince them of that. Not a snowball's chance.

Destiny2015 said:

How do you deal with people who continue to argue incorrect statements about your faith, or your church? It seems that lately, more and more people are willfully ignorant and don't want to be corrected on simple facts. For example, I've had more than one friend and family member tell me that my church views communion as symbolic only. I was raised Methodist and now attend an Episcopal church, so that's blatantly false on both counts.

It took me years to convince my husband about what the Methodist Church actually teaches, even though it's right there on the UMC website in plain sight.

Anyway, how do you deal with this? The communion thing seems to be happening more and more frequently, and it bothers me a lot.

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It happens all the time. I often don't know who makes the most idiotic statements- certain evangelical types I know or the secular sorts (ranging from cultural Christians, deists, to new age whatever, to atheists, and agnostics). It seems that all have the same propensity for critical thinking (meaning very little). One person honestly asked me if I worshipped Zeus and was serious. Another asked me if I was Jewish. I was like, 'What gave it away, the cross or the part where I said I was a Christian?' If I feel they are genuinely interested, I'll try to explain. Most are not, they're just ignorant and don't care. You can do nothing about these people. I simply don't try to discuss religion with them, if at all possible, because I wind up in teacher mode. It's difficult to have actual discussions when you're stuck trying to bring them up to speed so you can even get to that stage.

Destiny2015 said:

How do you deal with people who continue to argue incorrect statements about your faith, or your church?

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"Oh, who told you that? I never heard that."

Destiny2015 said:

I've had more than one friend and family member tell me that my church views communion as symbolic only.

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In non-Catholic churches, ones can make a point of saying that communion is only symbolic. Ones can be trying to distance themselves from Catholic, and they can overdo it, instead of discovering all the Bible says.

I personally now get that the remembrance of Jesus is His love in us, and how we love like Jesus was loving, on the cross. So, the remembrance is not only a memory or an outward item.

Destiny2015 said:

I was raised Methodist and now attend an Episcopal church, so that's blatantly false on both counts.

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Well, not all members of Methodist or Episcopal may understand the same thing. And certain people, though, in certain groups can make themselves the dictatorial authority about what "everyone" in their group believes. One time, Des, I was talking with an Episcopalian about their Eucharist. He said "all" believed such and such; so I turned to a member of his church and asked him what he understood; he said something like, "I still don't know." I am sure I could have gotten some number of other unique answers. We are creatures, not copies.

But people of oppression are trying to instantly make everyone alike in some group, so they can control them all together, without taking time to personally get to know each unique individual and each one's interests, problems, abilities, dreams, faults, and good things. In their oppressive way, they can want to be "God" who knows all, so they can dictate what is true of every one in a group. So, don't let their oppressive spirit get you down in their mess.

Destiny2015 said:

It took me years to convince my husband about what the Methodist Church actually teaches, even though it's right there on the UMC website in plain sight.

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Are you sure the website has not been changed? Things have changed, to my knowledge, in certain religious groups.

Destiny2015 said:

It took me years to convince my husband

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Oh, so you have your husband in the mix! I say we win by example > including how Peter says things can work > 1 Peter 3:1-4, with 1 Peter 5:3.

Destiny2015 said:

The communion thing seems to be happening more and more frequently, and it bothers me a lot.

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Jesus says we will suffer persecution because of Him, not only because of religious ways and ideas and practices. So, Satan's kingdom can keep us decoyed with trying to control people and what they say and do . . . instead of first seeking God for Himself and seeking His correction as testified in Hebrews 12:4-11, and learning how to love. If your husband knows football, you can ask him what a "design play" is . . . how players do things a certain way to keep people's attention away from how the team hopes to move the football.

Ask him to explain that to you, and see if a lot of fighting about communion and other things is just a design play of Satan to keep our attention away from God and finding out how to love with Jesus and one another, in the ruling of His peace (Colossians 3:15, Ephesians 5:21).

It can be frustrating when it seems like others aren't really interested in listening & learning. I agree with some of the advice above, if someone seems honestly interested in understanding what you believe, feel free to share - but if they don't, or you've already answered & they won't believe you, I'd just let it go.

Two ideas stand out to me in this give and take.

One, Catholics are basically taught by their church that their belief (Transubstantiation) is the only way to think of the Real Presence, so that if their church is the only one that believes in Transubstantiation, it's more or less automatically believed that everyone else just thinks of it as a memorial and nothing more. It's taught by the church to the people, in other words.

Two, Methodists and Episcopalians DO believe in the Real Presence, but saying this is to comment on the official positions of the churches themselves. If the question instead were "What do Methodists, etc. believe?" it's a different question; and many members do think of it only in symbolic terms, but so also do Roman Catholics!

IOW, it makes a big difference whether the question or the answer is aimed at what the position of the church body is...or, OTOH, what some of the members believe.

Unfortunately, the question is often put yet another way. It's like this: "OUR CHURCH (Catholic) believes X, but your PEOPLE, believe (allegedly) Y." And if you point out that most Catholics don't actually believe about it what their church believes, the questioner will simply come back with something like "then they are wrong to disagree with the church" as though it's taken for granted that all Protestants can and do believe whatever they want, regardless of what their churches say.

graceandpeace said:

if someone seems honestly interested in understanding what you believe, feel free to share - but if they don't, or you've already answered & they won't believe you, I'd just let it go.

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In these forums, I might have someone who can be even hostile and misrepresent what I offer, but I know God can use anything good that I write, possibly as a seed planted to help the person later. Also, we have others reading whatever we write, including members and guests who do not write anything. So, these can benefit from us writing what is good.

Unless they insist one is saved or not saved via communion (eucharist,etc). then essentially it is best to just disagree with them and move on citing Paul's words about holy days and feast and dietary rules etc and also his words related to not putting a stumbling block in front of weaker in faith followers like the arguments about eating idol meat. Personally I believe the scripture that equates God being there when 2 or more are gathered in his name.... his presence precedes any ceremony of communion (eucharist,etc) thus having to equate any real presence during the ceremony is redundant anyway as we are already to be lead by the spirit anyway which in effect makes for triple presence in it all.

But, Soph, that amounts to asking to Destiny to adopt your view of the sacrament in preference to her own and that of her church.

It also amounts to having the questioner misrepresent the Methodist or Episcopalian view without Destiny making any attempt to correct them. Doing this would, I agree, be one way to approach it--just let them think whatever they want and say that it doesn't matter--but asking Destiny to say to herself "it doesn't matter what's correct or incorrect with this issue" is asking a lot IMHO.

graceandpeace said:

It can be frustrating when it seems like others aren't really interested in listening & learning. I agree with some of the advice above, if someone seems honestly interested in understanding what you believe, feel free to share - but if they don't, or you've already answered & they won't believe you, I'd just let it go.

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Before I retired, as a pastor I have done a good amount of study. In Seminary is where much deeper thought is given in all areas of the Christian life, but especially in Scripture is one expected to deeply dredge in to the WORD. I am by no means an expert Theologian, but I hope I have a better than average understanding of Scripture. Allowing for cognitive slippage due to age, I think I am able to give a basic understanding of Scripture.

So when someone is way off base and it's clear they don't have a clue about what they are attempting to bluff they way about, it's hard to be quiet. Some times a short note to suggest there might be other ways to view a Scripture, is trashed immediately by some poor ignorant soul. When someone like this gathers support for their very false assumption, from the Cracker Jacks Box they got it from, it sure is frustrating. I try to show tolerance, but I sizzle inside as stupidity rises above truth.

Albion said:

But, Soph, that amounts to asking to Destiny to adopt your view of the sacrament in preference to her own and that of her church.

It also amounts to having the questioner misrepresent the Methodist or Episcopalian view without Destiny making any attempt to correct them. Doing this would, I agree, be one way to approach it--just let them think whatever they want and say that it doesn't matter--but asking Destiny to say to herself "it doesn't matter what's correct or incorrect with this issue" is a step too far IMHO.

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It either does matter or doesn't. If one keeps their views personal then in reality it doesn't matter but to them it is when their view are more than personal that the view it matters for everyone that step is either taken or not to prove how much it truly matters.

Sophrosyne said:

The truth is either it does matter to the point where one has to become essentially an evangelist trying to promote their views and in that effort when confronted with opposing views they invariably attack those views or it matters on a level that doesn't lead to the views going beyond that personal level. One has to make the decision if it is personal or a global belief and when one does one goes from "it doesn't matter what is correct or incorrect" as far as global views are or one is to be driven to evangelism.

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I would add to your remark that Scripture is the foremost in our following any view.

farout said:

I would add to your remark that Scripture is the foremost in our following any view.

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Scripture is the best, and typically good churches base their views on scripture but sadly some base their views on traditions instead of scripture making arguments based on scripture useless to combating their attacks.