Catholic Swagger
I was listening to Scott Hahn talk about Richard Dawkins on a YouTube from Catholic Audio.
What stuck me was how he saw Dawkins as being effective not because his arguments were good but because of his style. Something he described as a confidence and a swagger that you find in Fundamentalist pastors. They might not do great exegesis but they declare it with power and force. People are drawn to it partly because they want to believe in something like this but also because they get the feeling of depth. They just see an intelligent person with a strong belief and they assume something must be rationally coherent. Of course, in Dawkins case it isn’t. But unless you are equipped to analyze his arguments and ask the hard questions that he ignores then you won’t know that. Instead you will just be impressed. He is impressive when you listen to him.
As Hahn said, the same is true of many Protestant pastors. They tend to shut down a person’s questioning by simply being intelligent and having strong convictions. Once you learn how to ask some of the hard questions you wonder how you ever fell for this guy. But you do fall because you want to believe something. For many, they know that Jesus is Lord and the bible is true. If someone is affirming those two things they can be swept away quite easily. It is the same thing. The only difference is Dawkins plays to those who don’t want to believe in God.
So what about Catholics. They never get any converts that way. Their preachers just don’t have the swagger that an atheist or a fundamentalist does. Why not? I wonder if Humanae Vitae has a lot to do with it. a lot of Catholic preachers have not been willing to speak with confidence about contraception. They waffle. Once you waffle as a pastor you become ineffective. You need to really believe what you believe. People can sense it.
When the church struggles to believe it’s own teachings then it effects it’s mission big time. Now the Catholic teachings are the fullness of truth and because of that they are much harder to believe. Protestants can simply remove hard doctrines. Catholics cannot. They are stuck with the true gospel of Christ. This is what makes it hard and it is what makes it worth it. But can we still teach with a swagger? Can we be confident and intelligent in the way we present the faith. There are some who are. They teach it all with no apologies. They are sadly few and far between. We need more of those. Not just in the clergy but everywhere.
Hello - found your blog via Et tu, the post about the tow truck driver.
“Swagger” is not really the Catholic way, I think…? It tends to glorify the individual and advertise confidence. The most convincing Catholics (Mother Teresa, to name one modern example) are actually quite humble and self-effacing. Even the Holy Father behaves courteously and humbly with people.
But, for confident preaching, one only needs to review some of Fulton J. Sheen’s broadcasts to know how the truth can be presented with conviction. I think those priest-preachers are out there, but, again, they are humble and will not put themselves forward.
Some of the most powerful witnesses for the faith in my life have been those who simply live it consistently and happily and unashamedly.
Just my 2ยข.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:18 amTanks A, I didn’t know Jen had linked that post. I wish I could claim credit for the insight but I stole it from a speaker at a retreat.
I did think about whether swagger was just not part of God’s plan for His church. Maybe God is giving us the gift of bad preaching and bad music. But I have read some stories of saints that were known as great preachers. Fulton Sheen would be another example if he gets cannonized.
I do wonder if they had a different style than modern fundamentalists or atheists. Is it just passion or is there and element of dishonesty to their preaching? Is there confidence something put on or do they really have that level of certainty? If that is the case then Catholics should not try and emulate it.
I think there is both. I do think many priests and laymen are lacking confidence because they don’t truly believe the Catholic teaching on sex is right and the world’s ridicule of it is wrong.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:48 am