My suggestions to make Catholic Answers Live a better, more well-rounded show...

[Windfish]

I recommend Catholic Answers Live to everyone. My hope is that they at least subscribe to it on iTunes. In my opinion, after prayer, recommending CAL is the most effective tool for evangelization because the person evangelizes himself while they listen. One hour on Sunday is not enough, and CAL is a way for people to get their minds soaked with Catholic information on a regular basis, and that keeps them grounded in the Faith. It's just common sense. If you're surrounding yourself with Catholic things - books, podcasts, icons, sacramentals, etc. - it will become ingrained you.

The thing that I think needs to be addressed, though, is that there is not a good enough treatment of secularism and atheism. Catholic Answers came out of Karl Keating, if I am not mistaken. And Keating was mainly dealing with Protestant fundamentalists. That, I think, has been the identity of Catholic Answers, and it reflects in the apologists they have on staff. Tim Staples, Jimmy Akin, Jim Blackburn, and company are all wonderful, but there is no doubt that they specialize in contra Protestantism.

What's needed is an apologist that can come on board who specializes in philosophy and the history of philosophy. Society today has many philosophical assumptions that make proclamation of the Gospel difficult, and what is needed is a historical and philosophical examination of those assumptions so that we can understand them when we encounter them in the world. And then, once we understand them and how they arose, we provide a critique and refutation of them before moving on to rebuilding the fundamentals on Christian terms. Too often, apologists on the show take for granted the metaphysics of natural law ethics and so people are often left wondering why such an argument is compelling in the first place. And they also don't take into consideration that the metaphysics of the wider society is completely at odds with the metaphysics of natural law.

With our young people becoming at risk of falling for secularism and political atheism (or new atheism), I really think it is very, very important for Catholic Answers to get a serious apologist on the show who has this background to be able to analytically and thoroughly make a case for the Christian worldview and to critique and refute the opposing worldviews present in society.

I think that would take Catholic Answers Live to the next level.

[yinekka]

Windfish, I couldn't agree with you more. Apologetics aimed at Protestants or undercatechsied Catholics is vital but today, as you said, with "our young people becoming at risk of falling for secularism and political atheism (or new atheism), " an apologist who has the background and can answer the objections of the new athiests or people who can't see the flaws in the athiestic arguments is really needed.

Here in secular Australia we aren't bombarded with the typical questions you find asked on Catholic Answers but many in the young community especially have swallowed the athiest line or have wilted under their mate's questions which have been iniated by the anti-Catholic media.

Catholic Answers has hired a number of pro-life and chastity speakers because they rightly see that to get out the message of the Catholic Church about human sexuality and the rights of the preborn is vital. It is to be hoped in the future that your suggestion will be taken on board by CA.

[Elizabeth502]

Windfish, I very much agree with you that a background in philosophy is essential both for understanding the Catholic viewpoint deeply & comprehensively, and also for communicating and defending Catholic positions in society. I caution, though, that philosophy is not a fast-track course or a sound-byte, easily communicated on a radio show. Ultimately, the Church must get back to considering philosophy essential for every Catholic to understand. Which means that philosophy must return as a staple in Catholic schooling (beginning in middle school), in Catholic adult education in the parish and in continuing (adult) education at Catholic colleges, etc.

For serious Catholics, philosophy has to be become again as de rigeur in the intellectual arena as an intense sacramental life is in the spiritual arena. The Church made a huge mistake in virtually abandoning this training as an essential part of catechesis (probably at some point after V2), assuming apparently that only seminarians need learn it.

[PiousTemplar]

Hear, hear!

[nightranger]

I LOVE that show. Perhaps there are things here and there that could be tweaked to make it a little better, but really,i 'm not smart enough to know what those "things" might be. i think they do an outstanding job top to bottom.

[Cat]

I know someone who fits Windfish's job description!

It's a couple, and they were actually guests on Journey Home a few years ago. Both of them were college professors for years at a liberal university, and they were atheists. Through a series of fascinating events, they became Christians (Protestants), and the husband actually became a pastor. Finally, they became Catholic.

Both of them are intellectuals who speak well. For several years, they taught the Catholic Apologetics class at our parish.

I'm not going to list their names, but if CAF is interested, I can make the suggestion privately.

[Windfish]

Thank you for the responses guys. I hope that the CAL staff sees the thread and takes our suggestion to heart - no doubt, these guys are probably a step ahead of us and are thinking about the same thing.

Someone like an Ed Feser or Francis Beckwith needs to be a CAL regular. I will be praying and campaigning for that to happen!

[pkdsquared]

Absolutely! I think of a great Saint like Edith Stein who came from this exact background- culturally Jewish, secualrized and a great philosopher! There are ways to get from point A to the Catholic Church through Logic and Philosophy!