Apologetics for the Masses #238

General Comments

Hey folks, it's that time again. Twice a year, and only twice, I come to you to ask for your support. No weekly emails asking for money or flyers and letters to your mailbox every other week. Just two emails over the course of the year. I don't like getting badgered with all sorts of fundraising communications, so I treat you the way I would like to be treated - you know, a Golden Rule sort of thing. So, I would simply ask that you read this email all the way through and then prayerfully consider if the Bible Christian Society is worthy of your support or not.

Challenge/Response/Strategy

As most of you know, all I ever ask for is a mere dime a day. That's right, a dime. Could you find a way to give us $0.10 a day to help us spread the truths of the Catholic Faith to tens of thousands of people around the world? Ten cents a day to help us strengthen Catholics in their Faith, bring fallen-away Catholics back to the Faith, and bring non-Catholics closer to, and quite often into, the Faith. Ten cents a day, which is $3.00 per month, or just $36 for a year. Of course, if you can give more and feel moved to do so, we would not tell you no, and would be very grateful for the extra support.

Okay, I've asked, and now you deserve an explanation for why I believe the Bible Christian Society is worthy of your support. To do that, I always share some quotes from folks whose lives have been impacted by the work we do:

From Catholics:

“I love your apologetics ministry and cd’s. I’m a catechist at my parish and have used your teachings to 8th graders. Keep up the good work!”

Tony J.
Brentwood, TN

You actually provided me with some VERY helpful information about the history of the Deuterocanon (aka Apocrypha) that really helped me evangelize my (formerly Catholic) sister and her husband. You have really helped me and my family grow in faith over the years and also helped me become somewhat of an apologist for the Catholic Faith. I don't even know how to put into words how profoundly you have impacted our lives...you have helped me and my family in sooooo many ways. My 19 yr old son converted to the Catholic faith in large part due to your weekly newsletters and the MP3's on your website...How can I possibly thank you for contributing to my son’s eternal salvation?????”

Chuck T.
California

“Your newsletters and CDs played a major role in helping me explain and defend my faith to my Pentecostal boyfriend. Embarrassingly, I had never bothered studying my faith. I knew what the church taught, but couldn't explain why nor could I find it in the Bible. I'm proud to say that now I can. In the end, I lost my boyfriend, but I gained an understanding of my faith that I wouldn't give up for anyone.”

Susy L.
El Centro, CA

“I sure love your apologetics, even preached on your Sola Fide talk this last weekend.”

Friar John B.
Terre Haute, IN

“I am sure you get many emails like this thanking you for posting our apologetics and newsletters about the catholic faith. However it was important for me to also let you know what a difference finding this website has made in my life...I’m 20 years old...I always believed everything the Catholic Church teaches, however, I was very poor at backing things up using scripture as I found the Bible too complex to read or my interpretation clouded. People would ask me the same things they ask you in the apologetics section on your website, and I would know the answer...but I found difficulty explaining it and defending my faith using Scripture...I was so sick and tired of not having the answers so I asked my mum for some websites to read about the Catholic faith. She directed me to this website and that night I spent till the morning hours just taking notes from the 2-min apologetics section and your newsletter section. It not only helped me to be able to defend my faith in the future...but digging deeper into my faith lead me to go to confession that next weekend and start praying again. I'm starting to feel closer to Jesus and I realized that I actually love learning about the Catholic faith, and that there is so much to learn...it lead me back to God when my faith was falling short.”

Michelle G.
Perth, Australia

“Thank you for doing what you do. I've been listening to numerous talks from Lighthouse Catholic Media and St Joseph's Communications for the past two and half years, it's all I listen to anymore. I even started a distance program towards my masters in theology in hopes to learn more and be able to talk intelligibly about our faith, but it wasn't until I discovered your talks on apologetics (by accident) that I finally started to work up the courage to answer questions and not be afraid to say "I don't know... but I'll get back to you".

Robert M.
Carlsbad, CA

I love all of the emails I get from folks, but I think the notes I receive that I love the most, are the ones where folks take what they learned from our materials, make it their own, and that then gives them the courage and confidence to turn around and start evangelizing others. And that is where I think our materials may be a little bit different from most of the others out there, in that I teach folks not just the "what" of apologetics, but the "how" of apologetics. I give simple strategies and tactics, or techniques, that anyone can use in real life situations, that give them the confidence to get out there and actually do it.

From Fallen-Away Catholics:

“Thank you for freely sharing your material. I found them very educational and have been blessed by listening. Now, this may come as a surprise, but I am a ex-Catholic. I never learned anything about what the beliefs of the Catholic church are in the 45 years I was in the Catholic church. My parents are in their 70's and are still practicing Catholics and they also do not know anything about what the Catholic church teaches either. I learned more in one hour with you than all those years combined...”

Tom B.
Pompano Beach, FL

“I stumbled across your website back when all the Rapture fuss was going on...I have burned most of your talks to CD and listen to them constantly...I guess my point in writing this is that I know how I can become complacent at times and feel burned out. I just want you to know that your talks have lit the Catholic fire under my lapsed rear end. I never miss a Sunday now. I have become such a familiar face they approached me to be part of the Mass as an Extraordinary Minister...”

Joseph D.

“I recently downloaded several of your Apologetics downloads. I have to say that these are some of the most powerful Catholic Apologetics teachings I've ever heard. I am someone with one foot in both the evangelical church and the Catholic Church. I love the zeal of the protestant church while at the same time I am drawn to the Mass as if it were the only thing that can keep me alive...Your debate with the evangelical pastor sealed the deal for me. You used so much Scripture to validate your points, while he seemed defensive and told stories relating to his views rather than relying on the Bible. Keep me in your prayers. The rest of my family, including my kids, love the evangelical church we attend sometimes. I was raised Catholic and have gone through reconciliation with the church, left again and now am being drawn back again. Thanks for these talks. They are very powerful."

David S.

Sometimes those that have left the Church come back, sometimes they don't, but even if they don't, they are a least a little bit closer after reading or hearing our materials.

From Non-Catholics:

“Saturday evening at 7 pm at Christ the Redeemer in Dawsonville, Georgia, my wife and 2 kids will be getting baptized and all of us will receive 1st communion, and my wife and I will be confirmed....I just want to say thank you for all you do....God, you, and Scott Hahn are the reason we are where we are today.”
Michael T.
Dawsonville, GA

“Thanks for all your work, it helped bring me and my Seventh Day Adventist pastor’s kid wife Home. I grew up Texas Southern Baptist. So we came in kicking and screaming. Now we’re part of St. Paul Street Evangelization.”

Jon S.
Friendswood, TX

“It is my intention to express my deepest appreciation for all the work that you do in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am a convert to the faith three years now...Your recordings have been very instrumental also in my Spiritual formation. The e-mails I received from you have proved to be very informative and interesting. I am thankful to God that he brought me home to the Church that His son Jesus Christ our Lord established. I have never seen the scriptures that way I see it now and now I am even more devoted to the teachings of the Holy Catholic Church and the study of the Sacred Scriptures. I am pursuing studies in Catholic Theology. Thank you for all that you are doing.”

Kevin J.
Trinidad and Tobago

“Your talks are so good I recommend them to my confirmation candidates & we're Anglican!”

Fr. Paul H.
England

An Anglican priest using Bible Christian Society materials to teach his Confirmation candidates...ain't that somethin'?! Again, not all of the non-Catholics who are exposed to our materials end up coming into the Church, but some do. But, either way, I believe our materials help to build unity within the Body of Christ. And how about that Michael T. receiving his 1st Communion and his wife and kids getting baptized and receiving their 1st Communion?! Awesome!

Summary

So, that's our story. What do you think? Are stories like this worth at least 10 cents a day? Perhaps our materials have helped you to grow deeper in your faith, or to come into the Church, or to evangelize a friend or family member? Is that worth 10 cents a day to you? If so, please prayerfully consider making a donation today. The donation information is below. Again, 10 cents a day, or just $3.00 a month, or $36 a year. Or, if you can't do $36 now, maybe $18 now and another $18 in six months? You can donate via credit card, PayPal, or by sending in a check. You can make a one-time donation or set up monthly payments. All donations are tax-deductible. We really need your support today...

And, please remember, whether you support us financially or not, please keep us in your prayers. We will be keeping you and your loved ones in ours. God bless!

Donations

The Bible Christian Society is a non-profit organization that relies solely on your support to bring the truths of the Catholic Faith to tens of thousands of people throughout the U.S. and all around the world each year. If you would like to help us do what we do, you can donate online at: http://www.biblechristiansociety.com/donations, or send a check to: Bible Christian Society, PO Box 424, Pleasant Grove, AL 35127. Anything you can do is greatly appreciated!

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