Standing up against atheists and non-believers.

[AngloFalcon]

Hi all.

I was just wondering what advice you all can give for when a Trad finds himself in a situation were he is among others who do no agree with the Church, or perhaps even religion in general, and try to make you feel that they are the ones holding the sane and scientific views, and you are the one with the strange, unverifiable ideas?
As a university student (even if that is the Open University, we still meet up for face-to-face tutorials), I do find that I am amongst a group of people who hold world views that are often opposed to the Catholic truth, and who come out with the usual claptrap about "There is no proof that God exists", "The Bible is subjective", "There is no truth, but a number of truths", "[atheistic scientists name here] said [quote here]", etc. 

While intellectually it is easy to recognise that they are basically morons (okay, misinformed and lost sheep), sometimes there is a great deal of crowd pressure to make you feel strange and odd and rigid in your views. Other times, you recognise something they are saying to be stupid, but you just can't think of the correct way to respond, or you don't have the needed information at your fingertips. 

What advice would you guys give to help someone in that kind of situation, whether it's at university, the workplace or just with friends.
Please, while I am all for humour and good fun, this is a serious question and I would appreciate serious responses. Just saying "hit them in the face with a wet sock!" is entertaining, but not really very helpful.

[Kaesekopf]

Confidence in knowledge of the truth.  Unashamed catholicity. 

Why should we fear the world when they so brazenly stand steadfast in their sick beliefs. 

Do it charitably, but firmly and gently convey catholicism.  It's true, and you know it.  Speak with the firmness you would that 2+2=4. 

But recall the whole pearls and swine business.

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[AngloFalcon]

Thanks. Sometimes it's hard to know when to speak out and when to just let it go. You don't want to leap down people's throats, but they happily make throwaway comments that really get under your skin. Apparently, a common trick of atheists is to majestically switch the topic of conversation just when you've answered their question or made a really good point. They are quite insincere.
I think sometimes we are so used to trying to train ourselves in a family environment to be considerate, polite and to give way to other people's ideas, that when we are in a non-family environment it's hard to tell someone to just stick it up their nostrils.
I suppose it's false charity really. True, I guess it can be plain cowardiss on occasion, but often it just the difficulty of knowing what to say and how to say it.
Unless it's just me. 
I come from a homeschooled background and am not used to telling people to go take a running jump. So interacting with people who have diametrically opposed views is fairly new.

[Kaesekopf]

The chief virtue of modernity is niceness and wuv.  It is hard water to navigate.  But, prayer and knowing your stuff will get you most of the way.  The rest comes through trial and error. 

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[Arun]

Be very loud and constantly talk about how wrong they all are. Ram your opinion down their throat at any given opportunity. Constantly tell them how you can/can't do this/that because your CATHOLIC and then start telling them to come to Mass.

Or,

just do your thing and don't worry about them. chuckle confidently but quietly when they talk sh!t and if any of them show genuine interest or ask about stuff to do with the Faith answer gently (but assertively) and try lay seeds for them to ask more questions.

[AngloFalcon]

Thanks guys. All of that helps. I suppose I need to make sure I really know my stuff so I can be completely confident as to what Catholics do believe and do teach. You'd be amazed (except you will have heard it all in your own experiences) with what people think Catholics actually teach. I was read a gaming magazine that said in full seriousness that a new game is very good because it captures the vileness of medieval Christianity, when people believed that if an infant dies unbaptised, you need to put a stake through its heart, otherwise it becomes a little demon in hell. 

Like you said, it's important to always remember that we are talking about rock solid, verifiable reality, just as real as the sand in the Australian Outback. If someone else refuses to acknowledge that God exists, their views have no more bearing on reality than if they refused to believe that they breath in oxygen. They may not believe it, but they only live due to it, and if they close themselves to it and reject the life it offers, they are kaput. 

[LausTibiChriste]

You'd be amazed (except you will have heard it all in your own experiences) with what people think Catholics actually teach.

"There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be."

+Archbishop Fulton Sheen

[AngloFalcon]

You'd be amazed (except you will have heard it all in your own experiences) with what people think Catholics actually teach.

"There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be."

+Archbishop Fulton Sheen

[Habitual_Ritual]

Hi all.

I was just wondering what advice you all can give for when a Trad finds himself in a situation were he is among others who do no agree with the Church, or perhaps even religion in general, and try to make you feel that they are the ones holding the sane and scientific views

This is an easy one. The Atheist inhabits a random universe created by a cosmic burp. His universe has no purpose, design or real goal. Therefore any talk of 'truth' becomes philosophically untenable. His ideas are equally as a random and ultimately as pointless as anyone else's and to try and suggest that he/she has the truth in an accidental universe is quite hilarious. All opinion in a random universe is equally valid/pointless. The Atheist is worm-food waiting in the wings. That is his only truth.

You have to undermine an atheist's belief system before you can impose a new one. They are inured to, or indifferent toward religious truths, even well expressed ones.

[AngloFalcon]

Hi all.

I was just wondering what advice you all can give for when a Trad finds himself in a situation were he is among others who do no agree with the Church, or perhaps even religion in general, and try to make you feel that they are the ones holding the sane and scientific views

This is an easy one. The Atheist inhabits a random universe created by a cosmic burp. His universe has no purpose, design or real goal. Therefore any talk of 'truth' becomes philosophically untenable. His ideas are equally as a random and ultimately as pointless as anyone else's and to try and suggest that he/she has the truth in an accidental universe is quite hilarious. All opinion in a random universe is equally valid/pointless. The Atheist is worm-food waiting in the wings. That is his only truth.

You have to undermine an atheist's belief system before you can impose a new one. They are inured to, or indifferent toward religious truths, even well expressed ones.

That is actually one brilliant summary of the Atheistic belief system. It's funny how atheists talk about evolution being a blind process which works consistently towards the betterment of the species(?!).

[Habitual_Ritual]

Indeed, how can a blind process work toward 'betterment' ? Why is it not all over the place, back n forth, up and down? Unless of course, it's not blind...

[Rose]

An excellent book to blow evolution totally out of the water is "The Evolution Hoax Exposed"- really recommend this one.

[Maximilian]

You'd be amazed (except you will have heard it all in your own experiences) with what people think Catholics actually teach.

"There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be."

+Archbishop Fulton Sheen

What Sheen says is completely and totally false. People understand what the Catholic Church is, and they hate it, because children of this world hate the children of light.

To take one specific example -- they know that the Catholic Church doesn't allow birth control. They hate that. They also hate the Catholic Church for not permitting divorce and homosexuality.  These things are are not misperceptions, they are all true.

[Kaesekopf]

You'd be amazed (except you will have heard it all in your own experiences) with what people think Catholics actually teach.

"There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be."

+Archbishop Fulton Sheen

What Sheen says is completely and totally false. People understand what the Catholic Church is, and they hate it, because children of this world hate the children of light.

To take one specific example -- they know that the Catholic Church doesn't allow birth control. They hate that. They also hate the Catholic Church for not permitting divorce and homosexuality.  These things are are not misperceptions, they are all true.

This

Sheen was, at best, ridiculously naive with that statement.

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[AngloFalcon]

You'd be amazed (except you will have heard it all in your own experiences) with what people think Catholics actually teach.

"There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be."

+Archbishop Fulton Sheen

What Sheen says is completely and totally false. People understand what the Catholic Church is, and they hate it, because children of this world hate the children of light.

To take one specific example -- they know that the Catholic Church doesn't allow birth control. They hate that. They also hate the Catholic Church for not permitting divorce and homosexuality.  These things are are not misperceptions, they are all true.

This

Sheen was, at best, ridiculously naive with that statement.

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I see what you mean.