Some tips for debating dissenting Catholics.

I’ve been debating folks who dissent from Church teaching on line now since 1998. I got my start on AOL debate boards, moved over to a very liberal board on Catholicism and birth control, and then finally over to blogdom. Along the way I’ve picked up a few tips that I have found helpful and thought I would record them here.

1. Carefully read the argument of your opponent before responding and take your time to make a response. For me, some of the posts and comments I have read from my debate opponents have been so inflammatory my first reaction is to flame back, but a cooler head will help you think about and find the flaw in the argument presented.

2. Dissenters do not like appeals to authority – unless its a topic that they espouse like the church’s social justice stand or abortion. Hold their feet to the fire on this. If they reject the magesterium in one case, they can’t hold to it on another.

3. Dissenters also like to talk about the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is good idea to have the teachings of the church with regard to the Holy Spirit and the office of the Papacy and the bishops in hand and then ask your opponent how they Holy Spirit could be guiding them in the opposite direction!

4. If a dissenter presents you with a quote from an article, or from a famous person, even scripture – GO AND CHECK IT OUT YOURSELF. I have caught several debators in their own web this way with their own resources. Of special note would be the Neumann quote on conscience and more recently the misuse of Aquinas on the appeal to authority.

5. If you are debating someone who is a real Jesuit lover, it’s good to throw in the quote from St. Ignatius.

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