At the risk of "offending" non-Catholics (and this question is truly not meant for you non-Catholics)?

Doesn't it seem real obvious that the q & a we get from non-Catholics, and more specifically I mean atheists and "fundies", reveal a "feel good" theology / philosophy that resembles the shallowness of that "feel good" psychology so prevalent in the 1970's? More specifically, I read their answers and questions and I feel like I'm interacting with young teenagers, or even pre-teens, who haven't gone past their adolescence and certainly lack the in-depth thinking processes, whether that be reflective thinking or intuitive thought, and certainly indicate the lack of much formal education, whether that be academic or religious. They seem stuck in either their adolescent protestations or their "terrible-twos" when they ask questions which are obviously nothing more than attacks on the Roman Catholic Church, and even then, they pick only the most publicized subjects and follow only the more "popular" lines of accusations that the press already spells out for them. Now I'm not saying I'm the best Roman Catholic there is, God forgive me, but, there seems a very clear line of distinction in the quality of questions asked and answered by Roman Catholics as opposed to the rest of those here on Answers R&S. Atheists say they don't believe there is a God, and "fundies" lack the real, unabridged Bible and the Catechism and Traditions. Again, I'm asking this only of Roman Catholics, and not attempting to insult atheists and fundies or other generally labeled protestants, but these observations have been growing in me for quite some time, so I decided to try to risk asking this potentially sensitive question simply to check them out with others of my Roman Catholic friends. God Bless you.

?2010-07-29T20:13:05Z

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You said, "I feel like I'm interacting with young teenagers, or even pre-teens, who haven't gone past their adolescence"

This is often true - there are a lot of young people here testing out who they are or who they hope to be. There seems to be population shifts, depending on the hour. Day time usually has a significantly better crowd - better questions/answers, better IQs, better personalities, and better informed.

You also said "and certainly lack the in-depth thinking processes, whether that be reflective thinking or intuitive thought, and certainly indicate the lack of much formal education, whether that be academic or religious. They seem stuck in either their adolescent protestations or their "terrible-twos" when they ask questions which are obviously nothing more than attacks on the Roman Catholic Church"

This isn't restricted to a particular age group unfortunately. A lot of the questions here beg confirmation bias, based on opinions formed by pop culture. Religious literacy is a *huge* problem in the US/Great Britain/Australia and it shows. Sometimes- and often transparently -it's nothing more than prejudice. It's considered socially acceptable to slander the Catholic Church, so many do. Many don't in real life, but find an outlet for it here. Sometimes R&S is nothing more than a propagandist circle jerk.

*However* there are quite a few people that ask great questions; more that offer funny, insightful responses and/or support diversity and discourse. It's worth it for the community. It's all about timing and weeding. And really, we never know how the Holy Spirit may decide to use us, making good on those Seven Gifts.

Pax

?2010-07-30T02:56:46Z

I'm not Catholic, but I'll answer (sort of) anyway.

The reason only sort of is because I don't really follow your question. Paragraphs might have helped, as might a review before posting, and a simple summary at the end of what exactly your question is.

If your question is "do people ask lots of childish questions about Catholicism on R&S", then the answer is of course, yes. But that's not specific to Catholicism - the vast majority of questions on R&S are childish and pointless anyway, so picking out ones directed against your particular sect and suggesting this implies something about everyone else is a game we all can play.

Jack2010-07-30T03:03:52Z

You act as though Roman Catholics alone are mature.

If you would look around, you would see what you describe everywhere.

Believe it or not, there are some mature people who are not Roman Catholics.

If you would just open your eyes, you might even see one now and then.

Sorry about the immature people. That's part of life. Try forgiving them and loving them.

Jill2010-07-30T02:53:42Z

"I am not certain of the hereafter. Frankly, I'm not all that certain of the here."

~Robert Brault