Do Plain Catholics exist?

[barnhart]

...
Says the person dislikes Catholics and is hate filled. Makes passive aggressive jabs about an unspecified person and goes silent in response to questions asking him to show any proof.
He’s done it at two or three times now when I or others have pointed out that what he claims is not true.
There was the picture of the Catholic Church with glass on the walls, he refused to admit it even in the face of documented pictures...

He does label people as hate filled when they confront him. I have been a target for that treatment for observing the Carmelite nunnery a five minute walk from my house displays a statue of Jesus with open arms behind walls with razor wire and glass shards embedded at the top. He also asked why I am climbing over walls to assault nuns and observed I harbor anti Catholic bias.

But it was not a Catholic church, it was a place where nuns lived.

[Judas Maccabeus]

...
Says the person dislikes Catholics and is hate filled. Makes passive aggressive jabs about an unspecified person and goes silent in response to questions asking him to show any proof.
He’s done it at two or three times now when I or others have pointed out that what he claims is not true.
There was the picture of the Catholic Church with glass on the walls, he refused to admit it even in the face of documented pictures...

He does label people as hate filled when they confront him. I have been a target for that treatment for observing the Carmelite nunnery a five minute walk from my house displays a statue of Jesus with open arms behind walls with razor wire and glass shards embedded at the top. He also asked why I am climbing over walls to assault nuns and observed I harbor anti Catholic bias.

But it was not a Catholic church, it was a place where nuns lived.

Be careful! They have metal rulers.

[Pelerin]

(Some of this is in reaction to some posts in the other thread but I decided this thread is the right place to post this.)

I debated whether to say something or not. Max isn’t here to convert us. I can give you the key to what’s going on here: once you’ve met and figured out one pathological liar (it’s hard the first time) it’s a lot easier to pick up on them when they come along.

There’s obviously no such thing as Plain Catholics. Max is obviously not a 94-year-old British expat; his circle of knowledge and things he’s is aware of is much more consistent with that of a much younger American, not an elderly British gentleman. Despite apparently running many of his posts through BritGPT to give it a veneer of a caricatured British professor there are a lot of inconsistencies.

It’s all so familiar: the accusations of bullying whenever people start questioning things; the people that inexplicably defend him from the “bullying,” apparently unable to conceive that someone would just lie (that it’s inconceivable probably says good things about their character, I suppose); the ad hoc just-so stories to explain things away; even the ironic lecture on the importance of the truth.

I once even thought I might know who Max actually is in real life—after all, what are the odds of me coming across two pathological liars in conservative Anabaptist circles claiming connections with fringe conservative Catholic groups? (Greater than zero, apparently; Max has posted at times when I’m certain the other fellow could not have.)

So what then? We have other Catholics and non-Anabaptists posting here (if the real Max is actually Catholic). I don’t know how Max is in real life—my experience is that pathological liars in real life are very destructive—but here on an Internet forum he seems pretty harmless. Most of his posts seem like someone who’s genuinely participating. He’s playing a character and he doesn’t need to be. Unfortunately he will probably never be able to admit that to us no matter how absurdly thin the facade stretches.

I said above that I could give you the key to understanding this. It was hard-won for me and truthfully I’m a little skeptical that I can make someone actually understand without going through the trial of it all themselves. How many times have I laid out to someone that they were being lied to? Even in black and white they still couldn’t quite accept it. (Not talking about Max here anymore.) So do with this knowledge what you will.

[eccentric_rambler]

I debated whether to say something or not. Max isn’t here to convert us. I can give you the key to what’s going on here: once you’ve met and figured out one pathological liar (it’s hard the first time) it’s a lot easier to pick up on them when they come along.

Some people would rather climb a tree to tell a lie than stand on the ground and tell the truth.

[Judas Maccabeus]

(Some of this is in reaction to some posts in the other thread but I decided this thread is the right place to post this.)

I debated whether to say something or not. Max isn’t here to convert us. I can give you the key to what’s going on here: once you’ve met and figured out one pathological liar (it’s hard the first time) it’s a lot easier to pick up on them when they come along.

There’s obviously no such thing as Plain Catholics. Max is obviously not a 94-year-old British expat; his circle of knowledge and things he’s is aware of is much more consistent with that of a much younger American, not an elderly British gentleman. Despite apparently running many of his posts through BritGPT to give it a veneer of a caricatured British professor there are a lot of inconsistencies.

It’s all so familiar: the accusations of bullying whenever people start questioning things; the people that inexplicably defend him from the “bullying,” apparently unable to conceive that someone would just lie (that it’s inconceivable probably says good things about their character, I suppose); the ad hoc just-so stories to explain things away; even the ironic lecture on the importance of the truth.

I once even thought I might know who Max actually is in real life—after all, what are the odds of me coming across two pathological liars in conservative Anabaptist circles claiming connections with fringe conservative Catholic groups? (Greater than zero, apparently; Max has posted at times when I’m certain the other fellow could not have.)

So what then? We have other Catholics and non-Anabaptists posting here (if the real Max is actually Catholic). I don’t know how Max is in real life—my experience is that pathological liars in real life are very destructive—but here on an Internet forum he seems pretty harmless. Most of his posts seem like someone who’s genuinely participating. He’s playing a character and he doesn’t need to be. Unfortunately he will probably never be able to admit that to us no matter how absurdly thin the facade stretches.

I said above that I could give you the key to understanding this. It was hard-won for me and truthfully I’m a little skeptical that I can make someone actually understand without going through the trial of it all themselves. How many times have I laid out to someone that they were being lied to? Even in black and white they still couldn’t quite accept it. (Not talking about Max here anymore.) So do with this knowledge what you will.

The thing that pushes me to believe he is doing what missionaries call "pre evangelism" is how closely he adhered to the same methodology I was taught in Missionary Candidate school. He has the "tradecraft" down quite well.

You may indeed be correct, likely you are onto something. There are too many similarities for me to dismiss it, too few to prove it beyond a doubt.

[justme]

This year, the finances need to recover and "moving" costs extra $$. We're snug and we're near family. In fact we've been considering getting a "park model" RV when it's time to set up our dawdy house and get off the road. With all those we've lost this year, it's getting to the point that there are fewer folks to visit: that and at 80 years old I need to be thinking about settling in again.

Max was 80 in 2017.
And now he is 94 in 2024?

[Ken]

(Some of this is in reaction to some posts in the other thread but I decided this thread is the right place to post this.)

I debated whether to say something or not. Max isn’t here to convert us. I can give you the key to what’s going on here: once you’ve met and figured out one pathological liar (it’s hard the first time) it’s a lot easier to pick up on them when they come along.

There’s obviously no such thing as Plain Catholics. Max is obviously not a 94-year-old British expat; his circle of knowledge and things he’s is aware of is much more consistent with that of a much younger American, not an elderly British gentleman. Despite apparently running many of his posts through BritGPT to give it a veneer of a caricatured British professor there are a lot of inconsistencies.

It’s all so familiar: the accusations of bullying whenever people start questioning things; the people that inexplicably defend him from the “bullying,” apparently unable to conceive that someone would just lie (that it’s inconceivable probably says good things about their character, I suppose); the ad hoc just-so stories to explain things away; even the ironic lecture on the importance of the truth.

I once even thought I might know who Max actually is in real life—after all, what are the odds of me coming across two pathological liars in conservative Anabaptist circles claiming connections with fringe conservative Catholic groups? (Greater than zero, apparently; Max has posted at times when I’m certain the other fellow could not have.)

So what then? We have other Catholics and non-Anabaptists posting here (if the real Max is actually Catholic). I don’t know how Max is in real life—my experience is that pathological liars in real life are very destructive—but here on an Internet forum he seems pretty harmless. Most of his posts seem like someone who’s genuinely participating. He’s playing a character and he doesn’t need to be. Unfortunately he will probably never be able to admit that to us no matter how absurdly thin the facade stretches.

I said above that I could give you the key to understanding this. It was hard-won for me and truthfully I’m a little skeptical that I can make someone actually understand without going through the trial of it all themselves. How many times have I laid out to someone that they were being lied to? Even in black and white they still couldn’t quite accept it. (Not talking about Max here anymore.) So do with this knowledge what you will.

The thing that pushes me to believe he is doing what missionaries call "pre evangelism" is how closely he adhered to the same methodology I was taught in Missionary Candidate school. He has the "tradecraft" down quite well.

You may indeed be correct, likely you are onto something. There are too many similarities for me to dismiss it, too few to prove it beyond a doubt.

I know a variety of very elderly Catholic men, although not quite that old. My father-in-law is 90.

None of them would deign to spend a second on some minor Protestant/Anabaptist web site much less the quantity of time Max spends here. If you get my father-in-law talking, the conversation will probably turn to the British royalty and the King (he was educated at Oxford), some esoteric discussion about European or South American history based on whatever latest history he has read, maybe how the Vatican is botching whatever latest policy has him annoyed, or reminiscing about how things used to be when he was young. Such as how Sunday dinner at grandfather's house was obligatory. and the tea was served properly. How women used to wear closed toe shoes and knew how to dress properly. Or how no one knows how to tailor suits or even wear them properly anymore. One of his favorite topics is how handwriting is a lost art, and how he used to get these special leather-bound journals at some specific shop in London that probably hasn't existed since the 1960s. He was a boy in London and NYC during WW2 so we hear lots about that too.

One thing for certain he isn't going to pay the slightest attention to is the minutia of some Protestant/Anabaptist sect that is the polar opposite of Catholicism.

[justme]

At the end of the day, people will believe what they will. At 94 I am long past caring about others' opinions of me. I share your concern about truth and the use of charitable speech. I genuinely feel these are two of the hallmarks of Christian behaviors.

[ken_sylvania]

This year, the finances need to recover and "moving" costs extra $$. We're snug and we're near family. In fact we've been considering getting a "park model" RV when it's time to set up our dawdy house and get off the road. With all those we've lost this year, it's getting to the point that there are fewer folks to visit: that and at 80 years old I need to be thinking about settling in again.

Max was 80 in 2017.
And now he is 94 in 2024?

Yea, he had his 90th birthday in April of last year.

Additionally I will be celebrating my 90th birthday in the next month. We have a busy schedule for the next few. May you all remember Christ’s sacrifice for our sins. Amen.

[ohio jones]

This year, the finances need to recover and "moving" costs extra $$. We're snug and we're near family. In fact we've been considering getting a "park model" RV when it's time to set up our dawdy house and get off the road. With all those we've lost this year, it's getting to the point that there are fewer folks to visit: that and at 80 years old I need to be thinking about settling in again.

Max was 80 in 2017.
And now he is 94 in 2024?

Yea, he had his 90th birthday in April of last year.

Additionally I will be celebrating my 90th birthday in the next month. We have a busy schedule for the next few. May you all remember Christ’s sacrifice for our sins. Amen.

As they say, life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end, the faster it goes.