BelowJeff reviews Catholic Answers Forums. Here are the general points:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Catholic Answers hosts what is probably the largest and most well-known online Catholic community. As an apologetics apostolate, Catholic Answers is a trusted source of truth. Unfortunately, the trusted personalities of the Catholic Answers apologetics team has little to do with the Catholic Answers forums.
On the positive side, these forums are full of information. Topics vary greatly, covering almost any Catholic subject you may have questions on. Unlike other choices, these forums are very active as well. If you ask a question, chances are very good that you'll have at least one answer on the same day you ask it. However, these answers come from other users like you, who may or may not have expertise or knowledge. In addition to open forums, there is also the Ask an Apologist forum. However, this forum is monitored only periodically and the chances of getting a timely answer from an official Catholic Answers apologist are pretty small.
The downside of the Catholic Answers Forum may come from its size, or it may be the kind of person Catholic Answers ministers to. As a staunch, no-nonsense defender of the faith, Catholic Answers tends to attract not only faithful Catholics, but Traditionalists (with a capital T) as well as the more hardcore Evangelicals and Atheists. While the ability of Catholic Answers to attract these people is a great strength of the work of the apostolate, it is not always a strength of the forums. The tone of the forums is very often adverserial or even downright hostile. I have been personally insulted at least three times on the forums, and many of my thoughts have been unnecessarily attacked by people who take positions that are much more extreme than those of the Magesterium. The Catholic Answers Forums makes for exciting discussion, but it is not for the thin-skinned.
©2008 From the Abbey |
visitors since November, 2007
