Bumped into a Guy Named James R. White

While following a follower's blogs, I came across an apparently well known anti-Catholic James R. White. Now, I don't mean to use this blog to bring about controversial debate necessarily (okay well maybe just a little) - but I heard him mentioned on Catholic radio coincidentally so checked him out and his blog. Here's an article he posted. Now if this recent article below is an example of what the anti-Catholics, well known ones no less, are all about, I don't understand why so many people reject Catholicism!


Seventy Percent of Roman Catholics Do Not Understand The Eucharist
04/15/2009 - James Swan
Seventy percent of Roman Catholics do not understand the Eucharist? There's that anti-catholic James Swan again, making stuff up about the one true church. Everyone knows, those who are members of the one true church have the benefit of the infallible magisterium. The papacy has God-given authority keeping Catholics unified!
Actually, what most who may think this about me don't realize is I probably read more Roman Catholic books at this point than Protestant books. I certainly listen to more Catholic broadcasts than Protestant. This particular fact was not something I made up. It comes from the April 6, 2009 broadcast of Catholic Answers Live. Catholic apologist Jim Burnham devoted an hour on "How to Defend and Explain the Eucharist." You can listen to Jim's statistics in this short clip. Jim says in part,
"Poll after poll in recent years has confirmed that more and more Catholics are mistaken... they have misguided views about the Eucharist. it used to be everybody understood that the Eucharist was Jesus. it was the true flesh and blood... the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus under the appearance of bread and wine. And now more recent polls suggest that sometimes up to fifty percent depending on how the question is phrased, sometimes as many as seventy percent of Catholics can't identify that core Catholic belief..."
So, if I were to ask seven out of ten Catholics to explain the Eucharist, according to Burnham, I'd probably get a few different answers, or maybe even seven different answers. Here again we find a simple truth, typically ignored by Catholic apologists. Catholic apologists will repeatedly claim a Christian relying on the Bible as his sole infallible authority will produce confusion. They claim one must have another infallible authority, the Papacy. Yet, here is one of their key doctrines, what Burnham calls, "the crown jewel" of the Catholic faith, the Eucharist, and seven out of ten Catholics are confused on it.
In this period of economic crisis, many companies are evaluating their work plan, trying to find ways in which their company is failing and losing money. I submit, If your alleged infallible teaching magisterium is working as Burnham describes, you may want to evaluate the effectiveness of upper management at this point.

He obviously is slobbering to find a way to discount magesterial teaching - which he has great contempt for.

As he discusses the papacy's inability to "keep Catholics unified", I wonder how he can explain how protestants often move from denomination to denomination? Of course the answer is because we are human persons never made perfect until united with Him. Not an earthly "company". We are the body of Christ, all Christians included, and all who are included by the grace of God! The Magesterium is simply Sacred Tradition passed on by our Church Fathers from our Lord. It is as simple as it is profound. He promised not to leave us, and he hasn't. While even our Holy Fathers are human and in err, Christ Present in our Pope and all priests is not!

It is a crisis that so many don't understand the Eucharist, from which I recieve great joy and love - I often long to visit our perpetual adoration Chapel - and my children find great peace there as well (they beg to stay, even when I say it is time to go!) Note: Some may say my kids are obviously "indoctrinated", but I assure you I am much too lazy to do anything so profound - they are often babysat by SpongeBob cartoons and we own the "High School Musical" movie - they know what's out there, and make their own choices.

But, this number also indicates the many Catholics that never attend mass. Even for some that do attend out of a sense of duty, they are making a choice to reject our Lord. As with Pharaoh, God "hardens their hearts" (in translation they choose to reject God).

But for those of us who have seen, who have tasted - we will renew the world. And whiners about the business model of the magesterial hierarchy hopefully will turn into the lovers of the Faith which will bring them Home Through Rome!

Oh and I just realized after visiting "The acts..." How appropriate - Happy Birthday Pope Benedict XVI - our beloved Holy Father! I have just started his "Jesus of Nazareth" - but the theme already seems to come out on the importance of having an intimate friendship with our Lord, no surprise coming from the one in the Chair of Peter!

"Lord, let them be One as We are One"