Fornicating with heretics

You wake up one day and realize that the devil has stolen a march on you. Another sheep has been off in the woods fornicating with the wolves. You can always tell. They don't show up for Mass for awhile. They still receive the bulletin and other notices from the church. They are still members of various organizations. They seem to be Catholics who have taken some time off.

What has in fact happened is that they've made friends with some nice heretics. The Catholic begins socializing with them. What nice people they are! Inevitably religious questions arise. The questions are always polite, and are couched in such a way that they seem innocent enough. I mean, people just want to know about what Catholics believe, don't they?

Then the next move is to inform the Catholic what the Bible "says." Of course, the heretics don't know what the Bible says. If they did, they'd be Catholics and this kind of thing wouldn't be happening. All they can do is read the English text and say that it means whatever they want it to mean---especially if it superficially seems to contradict Catholic teaching. They do this with great assurance, though, and that's not something most Catholic's have about the teachings of their faith.

I had sent out an emailing to the parish that contained an article that I was sending on from another site. The wayward sheep in question (hasn't been to church in months) comes back with a comment about how interesting the article was, but how does it square with what the Bible says in a certain book, chapter, and verse? That the corruption is well under way is as plain as a pikestaff! Catholic laypersons don't talk like that. The sheep has been talking to somebody else. They've got to him. "Who told you you were naked?" God yells in Genesis. "This naked business didn't come from me." It's the same way I feel. The ones that really fall for this, though, are the more intelligent ones, college dudes. I've seen it so often, and it never fails to surprise me. I guess that there's nothing like worldly wisdom, a friendly Prod, some ice tea, and itching ears to get the sheep into the woods with the wolves. And we gave up the Inquisition? Why?