Apologetics for the Masses #453 - Mike Gendron's Viral Anti-Catholic Video

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Topic

Mike Gendron is wanting to save my soul...

General Comments

Hey folks,

Just wanted to let you know that I'll be on Catholic Answers Live! at 5:00 PM (Central) on Monday, August 28th. Tune in to your local Catholic radio for the show, or listen on the internet.

Call in with some questions (and, of course, say some nice things about the Bible Christian Society!).

Introduction

This week is going to be short and sweet. I haven't been able to get a full newsletter out the last couple of weeks because I've been spending a lot of time trying to finish up my new book - A Blue Collar Answer to Protestantism - which will be out in the middle of October. I think we wrapped up all the final details today, so it should be going to the printer on Monday.

And, I took a 40-hour course on insurance in order to qualify to take a Life and Health licensing test this coming Thursday to get an Alabama insurance license. So, please say a prayer for me to pass the test!

I recently received an email from our ol' pal Mike Gendron. I'm going to share that with you below. He sent it to me so as to inform me of an online video he has that had passed the 1 million view mark, which obviously made him very proud. The video is, as you would suspect, an anti-Catholic screed. It's filled with numerous lies and misrepresentations...and I've only watched the first 15 minutes so far.

Anyway, what I am going to do, starting with next week's newsletter, is a series where I simply take his video apart piece-by-piece and expose him to be the liar and charlatan that he is. I'm going to give you the link to his video so that you can watch it - whole or in part - should you choose to do so. The reason you might want to do so, is to simply get some practice at spotting all the lies and deceptions in it and think about how you might respond should someone you know throw those same lies and deceptions at you one day. This stuff is out there, folks, and we need to be prepared to respond to it (1 Peter 3:15).

Anyway, here's the link: Ex-Catholic Exposes the Twisted Teachings of the Catholic Church

And below is my email exchange with him, which I found to be a bit humorous.

Challenge/Response/Strategy

Mike Gendron

Hi John,

Would you like to let me know your response to the viral message I did that has over 1 million views on YouTube. I contrasted the 7 key doctrines that divide Catholicism from biblical Christianity.

Ex-Catholic Exposes the Twisted Teachings of the Catholic Church

Mike Gendron
www.ProclaimingTheGospel.org

My Response
Dear Mike,

If you don't mind me asking, for what purpose are you wanting my response to your video? Are you going to post it somewhere so that the people who saw the video will be able to see my response? On those rare occasions when you've responded to my analyses of your articles, I have published your words in my newsletter - verbatim - for all 60,000 of my subscribers to see. Would I be accorded the same courtesy for any response I make to your video?

If I'm going to spend time going through your video and noting all the places you got things wrong and give the reasons why you're wrong, I would first like to know in what capacity my response will be utilized. I've gone through the first 16 minutes and 30 seconds of the video and already found a number of errors in your statements - some relatively small, some not so small. I expect the rest of the video will be just as error-prone. Which means, to give any kind of meaningful response to the video, it's going to take a decent amount of time.

So, again, if you could give me a little more information, then I would be able to answer your question.

In Christ,

John Martignoni

Mike Gendron
Good Morning John,

My primary purpose to share my message with you for God to use His word to bring you to saving faith in Christ alone. Many Catholics, who have heard the message, have contacted us and have shared how much they learned from the many Bible verses I shared. Some have said they never knew they could be assured of eternal life now. Others have asked for my book Prepping for Eternity so they learn more about salvation.

Hopefully the message will effect you in the same way.

Blessings,
Mike Gendron
www.ProclaimingTheGospel.org

My Response
Dear Mike,

My apologies for the delayed response - a lot of things going on the last several weeks. I appreciate your concern for the salvation of my soul, so I am going to return the sentiment and tell you that I am very concerned about the salvation of your soul. It's one thing to disagree with what a person believes and to give the reasons why you disagree, but it is quite another thing to blatantly lie about and factually misrepresent what a person believes so as to make it easier for you to "prove" that your beliefs are superior.

That's called lying, Mike, and it is contrary to the Commandment: "Thou shalt not bear false witness." Now, I know you believe in Eternal Security so breaking that Commandment by bearing false witness against Catholic teaching isn't really a salvation issue for you, but one would think that if you truly have been saved, that you would not so blatantly lie about the Catholic Church and her teachings, right? So, Mike, have you been saved? Truly?

So, this is what I'm going to do for you, Mike. In my newsletter, with it's more than 60,000 subscribers, I'm going to do a series on your video. I'm going to expose the misrepresentations, half-truths, and blatant lies that populate your video by taking it apart piece-by-piece and show you to not just be ignorant about the Catholic Faith, but to be deliberately lying about the Catholic Faith. I hope you will read these newsletters - I'll make sure to send them to you - so as to come to the knowledge of the truth and thus, hopefully, to truly be saved (1 Tim 2:4). "And you will know the truth and the truth will make you free," Mike (John 8:32).

And, should you wish to respond to anything I say in this series of newsletters (which will start next week), then I would be happy to print your comments in my newsletter, something I know you would never reciprocate in regard to your mailing list. Error fears truth, Mike...truth does not fear error.

In Christ,

John Martignoni
Bible Christian Society
www.biblechristiansociety.com

My Comments
I thought he wanted my response to his video so that he could take sentences out of whatever I might say and use them out of context to show how ignorant Catholics are. Instead he wants to bring me to a "saving faith in Christ alone". Huh. I wonder if faith in Christ "alone" excludes faith in the Father and the Holy Spirit? I mean, isn't that what "alone" means?

But he really thinks he can stand there and lie about the Catholic Faith in his video and expect me to come to a "saving faith" because of his lies? That, folks, is what is known as chutzpah.

Anyway, stay tuned. We'll start in on his video next week. Should be "fun"...

Closing Comments

I hope all of you have a great week. Please keep the Bible Christian Society in your prayers, as we keep you and yours in ours.

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