You once made a video about the subject of racism. You used the Oxford English dictionary; "Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior." You went on to say that racism is a sin of underlying motivations. Do you not think this makes the definition of racism something like an Orwellian thought-crime and therefore totalitarian?
@@geoffreylynch9462 What? Just enough with your philosophical mambo-jumbo, ok? Concentrate on the Church fathers instead of that pretentious nonsense...
I don't mind Lofton talking politics. What bothers me is how he blocks people for merely disagreeing with him. It makes him seems intellectually fragile.
in my experience, he'll usually only ban people who are being rage-baity or who continue to push a narrative he's already addressed in the particular video in which the person is commenting. He'll do it live with commentary as it happens, reading out the person's comment. At times it seems like it doesn't deserve a ban, but considering the sheer number of times it happens he might just be getting sick of it xD
There is something particularly off-putting about banning someone who is PAYING to be a channel member and they only find out they're blocked when their brother tells them "hey, I can't see your comments in the live chat?" That's low. Taking a person's money whilst blocking them and they keep watching, interacting and leaving comments all the while oblivious to the fact no one can see their posts is bad behaviour.
I think the reason he (and many other Catholic channels) are speaking about politics more is due to the current political climate these last few weeks in the United States. Trump was almost assasinated, abortion is Kamala Harris' #1 issue; many American Catholics are unsure about the state of things, so a Catholic theologian's input on these matters is helpful for a lot of people.
There's more to that. Western countries which have large Christian populations seems to be on the decline. Biden, who supposed to be Catholic seems to be anti-catholic but also having major mental decline. And Catholics, at least the Taylor Marshalls kind of Catholics, are voicing to not support Trump or the GOP because of abortion and giving a platform to a praying Sikh lady and (c)orn artist. Then you have the groypers like Nick Fuentes who want a complete collapse of the US to have some kind of Catholic monarchy state in it's place. So this is something that is building up for years and has escalated since 2016
Lofton IS overdoing it though, but it's unfair to single him out in video title as he's not the only one doing it nor is he the worst one at it *cough* Marshall *cough*
Been talking politics for years when I do my separate thing. It’s what drove me back into the church too. Rebooted my news show at the News From the Pew channel. Main thing is to get people to think
Love both your channels! Thank God we have True Catholics stand up for Authentic Catholic doctrine via the interwebs. It definitely reinforces/affirms the doctrine and Christ's words that the gates of Hell will not prevail against His Holy Church, no matter who is on the thrown or claims to speak for the Church. Even if we only have one bishop willing to speak up. We as the Faithful through God’s Grace, Mary's intercession, and well formed conscious', we will prevail. St. Athanasius pray for us!!! Christ have mercy on us!!
This is something I've been wrestling with. It's hard to know when we as creators are engaging in politics because there are deeper truths to discuss or because it is getting more views at the moment (as is common in an election year).
The elephant in the room is there are now a large number of Catholic channels, one could even argue, too many. Yall are now fighting for a smaller relative pool of views, and the bigger channels like Catholic Answers and PWA has done much to cover most apologetic topics. So the temptation to grow via a change to politics should, I say in humility, cause you all to reflect on why you started your online ministries. Some of the many (in no particular order): Catholic Answers PWA Matt Fradds secret channel Jimmy Akin Capturing Christianity Brian Holdsworth Sips with Serra Trent Horn Cordial Catholic Catholic Recon EWTN Drew the Catholic Agnus Domini Erick Ybarra William Albrecht Apocrypha Apocalypse Sensus Fidelium Armor of God: Spiritual Warfare GabiAfterHours TJ Seaney Catholic Truth Divine Mercy Michael Lofton JD Catholic Engage Midairfortress Shameless Popery Ascension Presents Cameron Reicker Wishing you all nothing but the best. God bless you all. Sedes sapientiae, ora pro nobis!
One thing is the separation of Church and state. But another is the separation of State and Church... state should never be separated from the Church to avoid corruption... 🙏
Yes, but we should be careful to avoid our Catholic Church becoming banned OR captured by this Protestant dominated government. The author of Freedom of Religion in America was a Catholic, Charles Carroll, because we are an oft persecuted minority.
The fall of Lofton for me has less to do with his focus on politics and more to do with how incredibly uncharitable he is towards others in his videos as well as his increasingly smug attitude.
He won't interact with anyone who doesn't 100% agree with him and already love him, he's in a narcissistic bubble of his own making. Anyone will end up arrogant and smug under those circumstance.
As the saying goes, "You may not care about politics, but politics cares about you." If we, as Catholics, abandon politics to the secular world, we should not be surprised when that world goes to Hell, and tries to impose that Hell upon us.
Creator of the original post on Reddit you’re referencing here. My main issue with Lofton’s channel is an overly clickbait-ey and hyper focus on politics, and unnecessary topics. Videos like “Rep. Nancy Mace DESTROYS Secret Service Director Cheatle” or “Elon Musk’s SURPRISING religious beliefs” or “Ingrid strangles the national anthem” covered in big red arrows in the thumbnail are just so obnoxious and unnecessary. Many of his shorts are just him blankly staring over somebody else’s video and saying “What do you think about this? Comment below”. My main issue isn’t him covering politics, it’s the way in which he does it that seems sensational and being done for clicks, when the whole reason I loved his channel was his genuine theology and historical videos. His channel was instrumental in my conversion, and for that I will always be grateful to him. I actually quite like Catholic political content from Trent Horn or Matt Fradd, and it’s certainly very important to talk about politics during such an interesting and turbulent time in US history, especially from a Catholic perspective. However I overall find Lofton’s video quality hasn’t improved, rather it has stagnated or even downgraded into less quality videos, that are meant to generate clicks, and not change souls. I was a Patreon subscriber for two years, and I hoped he would have done better with the money I and others gave to support him. If you sort his videos by old vs new, his old content was so much more interesting.
I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. As I said, I don't watch his stuff much, so I couldn't measure the validity of what you're saying, but it doesn't sound like your complaints are in bad faith.
@Matymilner_ I agree with you. I supose you sent your concerns to Michael privately before, and probably after a non response or non reaction you made your comments public right? At least this is how our Lord told to admonish our Brothers. I find your comments in good faith, thank you.
I share your sentiments as well. I commented on a few of his click-baitey videos with this same criticism, but to no avail. He didn’t block me, but he is actively ignoring my comments while responding to those who praise him.
I found that it is easy to ruffle his feathers if you disagree with him. I am a nobody and he did a whole video in part discounting a comment I made about his opinion on P. Frances and the blessing of homosexuals. That turned me off. I don’t have a platform to fight back on. So it was a bit weird.
He’s a rather recent convert, who struggles a lot with the sin of Pride… he’s unbelievably arrogant and uncharitable - blocked his channel quite a while ago. Felt better for it.
The saddest thing is that Michael Lofton will rail against others so harshly, yet he acts as though he is above similar criticism while using the “nuance” and “charitable” card every time.
I disagree. Loften appears to be open to criticism and listens and others while addressing issues very thoroughly. He may come off as harsh to some but I don’t think he intends it. I’m really glad that Brian defended him here, even though they had a disagreement recently. That increased my already high level of respect for Brian.
Absolutely not. That man just shadowbans and blocks anyone who calls out his many, many lies. He is so cowardly, that while he made videos bashing on Brian (this Brian who could be the most middle of the road youtuber) he blocked him to prevent him from replying. Ever notice how he NEVER has debates with any of the people he calls out?
I never watched Lofton’s channel for a reason. I stick to Holdsworth, Pints with Aquinas, Relevant Radio, EWTN segments, and anything on Formed. There’s a lot of healthy Catholic media out there. Stick with that and forget the rest. Pax.
Catholic Study Bible 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, "I belong to Paul," or "I belong to Apollos," or "I belong to Cephas," or "I belong to Christ." 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I am thankful that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius; 15 lest any one should say that you were baptized in my name. 1 Corinthians 1:12-15 RSV-CE
Great video that speaks to a lot of what I've been seeing and feeling as a Catholic "influencer". Definitely not lucrative and it does feel like uncharted territory a lot of the time. Thanks for making this!
Yes, but a large part of what is spurring the amateur political content is creators chasing the algorithm. Trying to be profitable in a medium that is very hard to make a living with.
We didn't stop watching him after "one thing". There's been a consistent years long deficit of charity and nuance which leads to an undesirable surplus of poetic irony and hypocrisy. He became a catholic Dramatuber, and I'm not there for that.
I appreciate the calm, thoughtful way you articulate the issues you wrestle with. As a Christian, I struggle with the place politics should have in my life. If someone asks what my political values are, I will share them. If I have the opportunity to fight against an injustice, then may God grant me the grace to do so. However, Jesus never told the apostles to go out and change the corruption of the Roman Empire or the peoples' politics, because that doesn't change others from within. Instead, He told them to share His message of love and salvation with others. Those who truly believe in Christ then normally go on to change their politics over time, as they grow in Him. But if the first thing people know about us is our political party and soapboxes, then they will often not be interested in us sharing the one thing that could bring about lasting change in their lives.
There are too many instances of saints fighting against corruption and often on the top for me to think it isn't something to be done. The Scriptures have plenty of examples of it throughout Psalms 2 and 82 come quick to mind. Saint John Chrysostom was no loved figure by many for he didn't speak lightly when he saw evil in his day. So many saints where exiled or worse for speaking what at times needs to be said. Change no Christians can do to another but speaking the truth and standing up for what is right we must do along with doing it ourselves. God's grace and their hearts aren't in out control, but our words and deeds are. Often times that comes with a price many of us do not want to pay because the servant is not greater than the Master.
I only recently checked out Lofton and in seeing how he manipulates comment sections to manufacture an artificial illusion of agreement with his opinions I quickly decided he wasn't at all useful or honest so I avoid anything he posts.
Same! I found him when I was first exploring Catholic Y T. The way he spoke to people in his comments, while claiming he was the most charitable of all men, showed me he is either completely lacking in self-awareness or is simply full of arrogance and pride. Either way, it was unappealing and I wrote him off.
I like him, his topics, and commentary... I don't understand all the negative comments... He brings a lot of clarity and evidence to misconceptions and falsehoods about the faith. Politics are part of our life and has been so even during biblical times.
But they're right about him blocking people who disagree with him. Even if they're being much more charitable than him and asking questions. I'd say the others are lying who are pointing it out if I wasn't a victim of it as well. I didn't know it was possible for a creator to even delete comments like that lol.
@@racheldsouza8895I'm not really involved in social media I have a Face book that I only use to sell stuff on and a YT account. The reason I say this is because I don't know what people mean by "they've been blocked by Lofton" is it on YT or somewhere else you're talking about? Did you receive some kind if notification saying you've been blocked? Was it a comment you posted that was taken down? What do you mean by that?
I have so much respect for Brian - yes he is knowledgeable etc but beyond everything, it is his authenticity and sincerity that is most attractive - his passion for souls shadows everything he does like a beautiful watermark.
I lost respect for Lofton after he refused to acknowledge any blame/fault in Fiducia Supplicans document itself when it first came out and when he first commented on it. Any critic was automatically lumped in with dissenters from the Magisterium. Thankfully, he seems to have changed somewhat since then. I feel like I need to consume counterbalancing voices now like Erick Ybarra, Avoiding Babylon, Crisis Magazine, Militant Thomist, etc. to get broader perspective.
Agree with you. However I too was a Lofton subscriber. Stopped supporting and watching him last January for other reasons. Nothing to do with his interest in politics.
I bailed about a year ago or less. He lost credibility after the whole gay blessings debacle. Dude would spend three hours citing source after source from this council and that council gaslighting his audience saying they’re wrong and heretical for even questioning the pope, and then with two minutes left he’d concede the point of criticism 🤦🏼♂️
Yup, that was the same moment for me too. Every person with legit concerns about the PRUDENCE of the document was labeled a dissenter. Only later did he dial back his initial reaction and admit some fault in at least the wording of the doc. Also his video on how it is ok for homosexual couples to baptize children in their custody (because godparents somehow ensure the child will be raised Catholic) really bothered me because I've had personal experience opposing such illogic in my parish and diocese. I've sought other counterbalancing voices like Erick Ybarra and the channels he has guested on.
there is nothing in a Catholics life that shouldnt involve our religion and beliefs. Every choice we ever make in our lives should be informed by our Catholic faith.
I really wanted to like Michael Lofton because I know he's smart and loves our church. However, he comes off as very smug and condescending which is why I just can't support him further than watching a video here and there when the topic intrigues. Especially recently, he's really gone in on Candace Owens bc she's questioning the moon landing and a subscriber of hers encouraged her to look into flat earth. He tries to paint her as crazy and I don't understand how looking into those topics makes you a bad catholic and how its any of his concern. He comes across very petty and to be honest it seems like since she posted a pic with Taylor Marshall he thinks its his job to discredit her. I know there's a lot of people who really like him but he just rubs me the wrong way.
I've only heard of him in the past 3 months or so. I think he treats the people in his comment section who disagree with him,very rudely. Snide remarks and all. I don't agree with all his stuff and attacks on other people, especially those of us who prefer to attend Traditional Latin Mass. You either be genuinely equal in giving respect to others, or you lose face. I'd never subscribe to his channel. I've unsubcribed from many of tge channels as there is too much infighting and pointing fingers. It was better not knowing all the garbage and dirty secrets of others every time you turn around. Evil has a hand in that too, causing confusion and distrust and hate. I'm so over it all.
I think that the beliefs that Catholics have in non-religious areas can influence the perceptions that random folks have on Catholicism So, if a Catholic public figure says something that the Church doesn't define to be of importance, it's good that others give their own point of view, but IDK if Lofton acts well in those videos, being unkind should obv be avoided because it isn't fair
He is a perfect example of why early church didn’t allow new converts to become deacons or priests. He is prideful and arrogant with his book knowledge. His lack of charity, wisdom and humility is quite overwhelming. 🕊️🙏🏼😃✝️📖⛪️
As an Eastern Orthodox, I heard even Catholics talk about how uncharitable he is. He has a higher view of the power of the papacy than even the Pope has.
@Emie-f3g sensitive? Not at all. I think Lofton handled the incident very well. I think he should be proud of the good work he did in explaining things so clearly. And I am proud to see an American so deftly defending the Faith, with humility and charity.
For one thing I lost respect for Michael Lofton attacking traditional Catholics. I won’t mention who but I know some of them. The sad thing though is to do this it’s not charitable God bless enjoy your program
@@exercisethemind Lofton is not a critical thinker, in the best definition of the term. He would be no different if he were a paid Vatican propagandist.
Lofton blocks people. Sure, he got trolls, first orthobros and rad trads, but I never did anything but disagree with his sanctimonious declarations on issues which are NOT as cut and dry as he makes them out, and bam, blocked. Similar thing with Ukraine youtubers like Vlad Vlexler and Jake Broe. Unlike alot of conservatives, I support aiding Ukraine precisely bc I don't want Ukrainian Catholics being forced back into the catacombs by the Caesorpapist Russians (among other reasons.) I tried to tell them that by deliberately alienating conservatives they were in effect further polarizing the issue; If the choice presented to me is unaffordable cost of living, loss of 2A rights, and open season on the unborn vs the survival of a foriegn country, then I'm voting to protect my nation first. Those "liberals" blocked me as well, for the same reason as Lofton; They had become arrogant, self righteous, and too emotionally sensitive to sunlight being shined on their delusions. He won't even talk to his old friends, but you think his *audience* are the ones who flip on people? I appreciate your charity, I really do, especially in light of his behavior towards you, but Lofton is reaping what he has sown.
he creates the echo chamber by blocking everyone that he doesnt favor. Brian says its healthy to stick around and comment. I dont think that is possible with Lofton the Censor.
What do you mean by blocked? I'm not really to involved in social media. What platform is it that you've been blocked, and were you sent a message saying you've been blocked?
@@blackwood3243 it just means your posts are hidden from view from everyone besides yourself. No you are not notified but there are ways to figure it out.
@@rondouglas4296 I've had the same thing happen to me on random YT channels, and from commenting none controversial things. Are you sure it's not some kind of a bug with YT?
One can never truly divorce faith from politics, especially when one side actively and purposefully defiles all that is good and holy. Dying for our beliefs is the very essence of what we're called for.
For years, at school, we were repeatedly told by our superiors that the two subjects one should never engage in socially are religion and politics. Well, when one thinks seriously about it...those are the only two topics that will serious affect your existence...here and in the world to come. These are absolutely the two topics that you need to be interested in. Everybody will do it differently....some actively becoming politicians, other through prayer and mortification. Either way we have to be educated and active in both.
Michael loftin has good content, he is very educated on the church, and has helped many Catholics. He is also smug and annoying at times, but overall I think his intentions are good. Brian is great and I think we all struggle with this inner battle of “what’s right and wrong” as the world is just a big ball of confusion today. Everyone is so confused and nobody knows how to communicate properly. We have become polarized on EVERY topic you can think of. Trads vs Novus ordo, Lebron v Jordan, liberal conservative, Israel or Palestine. The tv has won, they have everyone divided. Think about this next time you are going to argue with someone you supposedly love, it’s all a distraction. Believe what you believe and love one another, don’t tear up relationships for bs. Wake up people, it’s all the devil.
I've made a conscious effort to avoid making political commentary on my channel. In spite of my own frustrations with Catholic Creators who decide to engage such spheres, I try to remember that people like Michael feed their families off of YT and need to keep pumping out content and appealing to as wide a base as possible.
@BrianHoldsworth Thank you for standing up for Michael Lofton in this regard. I am an avid supporter of his and I know he had criticized you so I appreciate your fairness towards him. In the USA this election in 2024 is more than just politics- it’s about the high stakes. If the wrong candidate gets elected it could very well be the end our republic and I think for us to ignore it as Catholics is foolish. I think Michael has done a great job of critiquing both sides and is very good at encouraging folks think critically and not believe everything they hear on the news. Especially pertinent is the issue of abortion.
My opinion is that we shouldn't bother with political commentary, rather we should engage in political action, there is no single politician nowadays who is worth the "catholic vote".
The perfect is the enemy of the good. The problem conservatives have had for decades is they’ll only truly support the perfect candidate. Liberals support the candidate that can take another inch of ground. The result is liberals have taken miles of new ground…and conservatives are still waiting for the perfect candidate to get behind. The perfect candidate is the one who will take back an inch of ground. Short of that, vote for the one who at least won’t give up even more ground. Worst case, vote for the one who will only give an inch while their opponent will give a foot. Critically - stop waiting for a candidate who is worth the “Catholic vote” and vocally support the least bad candidate. If you cannot do that, you are just part of the problem.
@@MrCusefan44 By that logic, it would have been completely fine for a catholic to have voted for Mussolini or Adolf in Italy and Germany, there is no such thing, we as christians cannot cast our support behind literal antichrists, politics is not about choosing the "lesser evil", it's about fighting for the greatest good, your proposition would in effect place us in a vicious death spiral of social decay until the last legal restraints are taken away and we start to see a rise in tyrannical governments all over the place.
@@MrCusefan44I appreciate your comment. I’m in Canada. The Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, is a far from perfect candidate, but he is the only one who can rid us of the much worse, Justin Trudeau.
@TotusTuus-nc6rt ok sure, but WHY? Why is it necessary for him to say thanks in a response video? Why not just leave a comment? It's engagement farming at best. Manipulating his audience for improving the algo. He does this crap all the time. Posting screenshots of comments he replies to. He's more interested in the attention.
I used to follow lofton until I actually interacted with him. He doesn’t know how to have a charitable conversation, and even in private he pretty much went straight to insults rather than “Charity” and “nuance.” Now he acts that way in public too
Well said, Brian. I am not familiar with him. But I agree with your argument. Thank you, for, in essence defending another content creator. Thanks again.
My observation re Lofton is I don’t think Lofton knows how to admit the reality of the evil in the church. I think he fears the skepticism that assuredly comes without rose colored glasses.
One thing is the separation of Church and state. But another is the separation of State and Church... state should never be separated from the Church to avoid corruption... 🙏
The hardest thing about Michael Lofton is his well-intended gaslighting. He frames each problematic utterance of the Vatican in the most exercised and accommodating way, sometimes completely dismissing the concerns of the faithful. My opinion is... if you can't defend something, then just don't. Don't do it. Let the truth speak for itself. To do otherwise does damage to our rational natures.
😂😂😂😂😂😂Spot on.👌👌 He is at least two steps ahead of Francis when it comes to shutting down anything that is remotely authentically Catholic. Clown mass or a Drag Queen mass, neither Lofton nor Bergoglio have any issue with.
To Lofon's credit he's taken up an exceedingly tough job. To be a popesplainer during the current pontificate requires extraordinary dedication and incredulity given the endless blizzard of codswallop spewed by the Vatican these days. That he manages to perform his act with such pomposity adds to the entertainment value.
Politics in this wicked age involves very many moral issues, including issues that can bring death to the soul if not properly identified and lived. Therefore, the shepherds and theologians should be concerned with politics.
Politics is the man made society that we live in. As a Father, husband, man, and citizen I must take the issues of the day and lead my family, community, and nation. Being Catholic means that I must proclaim my love, loyalty, fear, and commitment to the Triune God. God does not need me to defend Him. God does expect me to exercise my free Will and use the tools given to me to lead people to God.
I question his motives for starting his channel. He's still quite a new Catholic as I understand and is pretty ham-fisted with his adjudication of who is right (those who agree with him) and those who are schismatists/heretics (those who disagree with him).
Fr. Fahey's 'The Mystical Body of Christ and the reorganization of society' helped me to see the order of The Church in relation to society and politics.
Thank you for another excellent video of precious pearls of wisdom and thought provoking content. It's forcing me to reconsider how I approach the current election season here in the US. I've followed your channel for several years now and will readily admit that you have said things I would strongly disagree with; having said that, your channel is the only RUclips channel I support financially on a monthly basis. I think you are doing exceptionally valuable work, please keep it up. God Bless!
Great take Brian. From an Orthodox standpoint, I would agree with your assessment that it is incumbent upon us to address societal issues. I don't always agree, esepcially since I am Orthodox, but I usually appreciate the heart behind the message.
It's not that we don't want to be political, but we have enough political commentary. What we need is Theology. I think, we like to have people in categories theology, news, and politics, and don't like it when they change on us. And when they do change they usually never go back to theology, sad.
I'm on the side where we shouldn't engage in politics unless it's to reform our government. I think it needs to be scrapped and start over. I also don't like people endorsing a candidate. Let's endorse souls being saved instead. No man is gonna save this county but Jesus.
I gave up R&T when he kept releasing extremely hateful and condescending videos against those who were scandalized by the same-sex blessings proclamation. They included screaming at the audience directly. I wouldn’t have been upset if he targeted big figures who were spouting falsehoods. What a shame, used to be a fortifying channel
I watched every single one of those videos, I saw him raise his voice at times, but scream? Give me a break. Maybe it can be argued that he wasn't the most charitable at times, but so much of the false content coming out about FS absolutely deserved the criticism.
I came into this video pretty nervous, as a longtime fan of both you and Lofton who is aware of your sometimes public beef. I appreciate your nuanced and charitable take on this though.
I hope that all of the nastiness gets resolved. We badly need unity to fight back against cultural problems. I’m not Catholic. Or even orthodox. But we need you guys to get it together ! Please, no more fighting.
Too funny Brian!!! I remember telling my MP that there should be No separation of Church and State!!! He wrote me off as a Freak and has cut me off as far as communication. We need to be vocal on this issue for sure but, we need more backing from the Church Militant!
Also, our Lady asked something obvious of us... to offer Masses for her intentions instead of our own. This goes hand in hand with that quote by Aristotle and is what my Apostolate is all about! 💒
It seems to me that anything that can be polarized for or against Catholicism is open for discussion by Catholic commentators. I didn’t have a problem with Mr. Lofton’s topics; I had a problem with his bad commentary (which is abundant) and his uncharitability when engaging his disagreeing audience.
This video is irresponsible. You admit you are ignorant of the specific criticisms and then make a video that Lofton interprets as you defending him. In reality, the criticism of Lofton is he using hot-button political topics and hot takes for clicks. Please educate yourself before creating a video to feed the ego of someone who needs to accept correction.
There are very few Catholic channels I follow. Yours is one. Taylor Marshall is another. I like you for your balanced takes. And I like Marshall for always being blunt on what he thinks, and never punching down at other channels. He barely even does interviews anymore, just lives his life and makes videos from his living room. It’s authentic, as are you. People with obvious agendas I tend to avoid.
brilliant! Thank you. That's inspiring also for the problem of our private conversations with family, friends, colegues. How to avoid two extrems: being silent passive and being annoying NPC...
Perhaps ascetic hermits can forego politics, but the rest of us cannot and should not. If the concern is over partisan politics/current affairs, fair enough; they can be a distraction. However, questions of justice, and the best regime etc are fundamental to human beings. Also, if one has compartmentalised one's faith and politics and does not like to be reminded of any contradictions, that's a personal problem... more thought may be required...
You mentioned that Catholic publishers need a broad audience to receive feedback. I know for a fact that Lofton shadow bans people from his channel for any constructive critcism. Your desire for him to receive feedback is greater than his desire to receive it. Unfortunately the only thing he will hear clearly because of his own recalcitrance and pride, is a massive loss of subscribers.
I tried to watch one of his videos years ago because many Catholics were saying good things. I couldn’t make it through 5 minutes of him talking. I never saw what the appeal was. He seemed very prideful and I didn’t trust him. Never watched or read anything from him since.
We are all guilty of the hot take every once in a while. The only time I ever really felt that Lofton was being unfair or uncharitable is when he would seemingly go out of his way to seem venomous to traditional Catholics who want to remain true to the TLM.
Support the channel by visiting:
brianholdsworth.locals.com/ or
brianholdsworth.ca/support
Lofton is more infallible than the magisterium.
@@K37GK3 Lofton is a false prophet which must be demonitized
You once made a video about the subject of racism. You used the Oxford English dictionary; "Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior." You went on to say that racism is a sin of underlying motivations. Do you not think this makes the definition of racism something like an Orwellian thought-crime and therefore totalitarian?
@@geoffreylynch9462 What? Just enough with your philosophical mambo-jumbo, ok? Concentrate on the Church fathers instead of that pretentious nonsense...
@@EasternRomeOrthodoxy, I will do no such thing. My question was for Brian Holdsworth, not for you.
I don't mind Lofton talking politics. What bothers me is how he blocks people for merely disagreeing with him. It makes him seems intellectually fragile.
The algorithm is a difficult monster to try to tame.
That’s because he is.
in my experience, he'll usually only ban people who are being rage-baity or who continue to push a narrative he's already addressed in the particular video in which the person is commenting. He'll do it live with commentary as it happens, reading out the person's comment. At times it seems like it doesn't deserve a ban, but considering the sheer number of times it happens he might just be getting sick of it xD
I think he gets frustrated due to interactions with trolls and then has lowered the threshold for perceiving who is a troll. Patience is a virtue.
There is something particularly off-putting about banning someone who is PAYING to be a channel member and they only find out they're blocked when their brother tells them "hey, I can't see your comments in the live chat?"
That's low. Taking a person's money whilst blocking them and they keep watching, interacting and leaving comments all the while oblivious to the fact no one can see their posts is bad behaviour.
I think the reason he (and many other Catholic channels) are speaking about politics more is due to the current political climate these last few weeks in the United States. Trump was almost assasinated, abortion is Kamala Harris' #1 issue; many American Catholics are unsure about the state of things, so a Catholic theologian's input on these matters is helpful for a lot of people.
Agreed.
That and the fact that the church and culture appear to be in a death spiral 🌀
There's more to that. Western countries which have large Christian populations seems to be on the decline. Biden, who supposed to be Catholic seems to be anti-catholic but also having major mental decline. And Catholics, at least the Taylor Marshalls kind of Catholics, are voicing to not support Trump or the GOP because of abortion and giving a platform to a praying Sikh lady and (c)orn artist. Then you have the groypers like Nick Fuentes who want a complete collapse of the US to have some kind of Catholic monarchy state in it's place. So this is something that is building up for years and has escalated since 2016
Yep. I don’t Like Mikes political content, so I don’t watch it. But I get why he wants to do it.
Lofton IS overdoing it though, but it's unfair to single him out in video title as he's not the only one doing it nor is he the worst one at it *cough* Marshall *cough*
Been talking politics for years when I do my separate thing. It’s what drove me back into the church too. Rebooted my news show at the News From the Pew channel. Main thing is to get people to think
Love both your channels! Thank God we have True Catholics stand up for Authentic Catholic doctrine via the interwebs. It definitely reinforces/affirms the doctrine and Christ's words that the gates of Hell will not prevail against His Holy Church, no matter who is on the thrown or claims to speak for the Church.
Even if we only have one bishop willing to speak up. We as the Faithful through God’s Grace, Mary's intercession, and well formed conscious', we will prevail.
St. Athanasius pray for us!!! Christ have mercy on us!!
@@stldrew6810 team effort indeed. Need more team effort and focused on the good the true and beautiful.
This is something I've been wrestling with.
It's hard to know when we as creators are engaging in politics because there are deeper truths to discuss or because it is getting more views at the moment (as is common in an election year).
The elephant in the room is there are now a large number of Catholic channels, one could even argue, too many. Yall are now fighting for a smaller relative pool of views, and the bigger channels like Catholic Answers and PWA has done much to cover most apologetic topics.
So the temptation to grow via a change to politics should, I say in humility, cause you all to reflect on why you started your online ministries.
Some of the many (in no particular order):
Catholic Answers
PWA
Matt Fradds secret channel
Jimmy Akin
Capturing Christianity
Brian Holdsworth
Sips with Serra
Trent Horn
Cordial Catholic
Catholic Recon
EWTN
Drew the Catholic
Agnus Domini
Erick Ybarra
William Albrecht
Apocrypha Apocalypse
Sensus Fidelium
Armor of God: Spiritual Warfare
GabiAfterHours
TJ Seaney
Catholic Truth
Divine Mercy
Michael Lofton
JD Catholic Engage
Midairfortress
Shameless Popery
Ascension Presents
Cameron Reicker
Wishing you all nothing but the best. God bless you all.
Sedes sapientiae, ora pro nobis!
I unsubscribed from Lofton more than 3 years ago. Haven't looked back. Too much gaslighting and pompous behavior
Politics and religion cannot be separated.
Amen
One thing is the separation of Church and state. But another is the separation of State and Church... state should never be separated from the Church to avoid corruption... 🙏
Yeah, it can.
Yes, but we should be careful to avoid our Catholic Church becoming banned OR captured by this Protestant dominated government. The author of Freedom of Religion in America was a Catholic, Charles Carroll, because we are an oft persecuted minority.
True. You cannot be a Catholic and a cultural marxist.
The fall of Lofton for me has less to do with his focus on politics and more to do with how incredibly uncharitable he is towards others in his videos as well as his increasingly smug attitude.
He rubs me the wrong way for his smugness as well.
Agreed
He won't interact with anyone who doesn't 100% agree with him and already love him, he's in a narcissistic bubble of his own making. Anyone will end up arrogant and smug under those circumstance.
Based and true
lol his videos are great, hes aboslutely not uncharitable he just has strong opinions. Dont know what world youre living in.
In before Lofton tries to strike a nuanced defense of himself all while tearing down any form of criticism in the comment section.
He sure loves to bully everyone and anyone who offers even the most kindhearted rebuttal or difference of opinion.
You couldn't have been more wrong with this. And have you even watched this video? This wasn't an attack on Lofton,so why he should defend?
@@drago2593 He still filmed a reaction defense video to Brian's.
I saw that 😂@@patrickturner91
@@patrickturner91Really? Where? The only video I saw was of him kind of thanking Brian.
As the saying goes, "You may not care about politics, but politics cares about you." If we, as Catholics, abandon politics to the secular world, we should not be surprised when that world goes to Hell, and tries to impose that Hell upon us.
Beautifully , concisely stated truths.
Thanks for that .
Creator of the original post on Reddit you’re referencing here. My main issue with Lofton’s channel is an overly clickbait-ey and hyper focus on politics, and unnecessary topics. Videos like “Rep. Nancy Mace DESTROYS Secret Service Director Cheatle” or “Elon Musk’s SURPRISING religious beliefs” or “Ingrid strangles the national anthem” covered in big red arrows in the thumbnail are just so obnoxious and unnecessary. Many of his shorts are just him blankly staring over somebody else’s video and saying “What do you think about this? Comment below”.
My main issue isn’t him covering politics, it’s the way in which he does it that seems sensational and being done for clicks, when the whole reason I loved his channel was his genuine theology and historical videos. His channel was instrumental in my conversion, and for that I will always be grateful to him. I actually quite like Catholic political content from Trent Horn or Matt Fradd, and it’s certainly very important to talk about politics during such an interesting and turbulent time in US history, especially from a Catholic perspective. However I overall find Lofton’s video quality hasn’t improved, rather it has stagnated or even downgraded into less quality videos, that are meant to generate clicks, and not change souls. I was a Patreon subscriber for two years, and I hoped he would have done better with the money I and others gave to support him. If you sort his videos by old vs new, his old content was so much more interesting.
I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. As I said, I don't watch his stuff much, so I couldn't measure the validity of what you're saying, but it doesn't sound like your complaints are in bad faith.
There's that crypto-sede talk again, OP! 😜
@Matymilner_ I agree with you. I supose you sent your concerns to Michael privately before, and probably after a non response or non reaction you made your comments public right? At least this is how our Lord told to admonish our Brothers. I find your comments in good faith, thank you.
@@BrianHoldsworth ☦️🤝✝️Then start watching Brian, because it is a gossiping heretical shallow clown show which promotes earthly wicked filth too!
I share your sentiments as well. I commented on a few of his click-baitey videos with this same criticism, but to no avail. He didn’t block me, but he is actively ignoring my comments while responding to those who praise him.
I found that it is easy to ruffle his feathers if you disagree with him. I am a nobody and he did a whole video in part discounting a comment I made about his opinion on P. Frances and the blessing of homosexuals. That turned me off. I don’t have a platform to fight back on. So it was a bit weird.
His hyper sensitivity is a sign of a small guy with lots of problems.
He’s a rather recent convert, who struggles a lot with the sin of Pride… he’s unbelievably arrogant and uncharitable - blocked his channel quite a while ago. Felt better for it.
@@tomthx5804or a big man with a little beard 😮
@@joelpenley9791 Don't U think that was a very very strange thing 4 a Cardinal 2 write?...it leaves a scar don't u think ???
@@andrew-c1y9bwho’s the cardinal?
Michael Lofton’s gotta be crafting his 7 part(2 hours per part) retort to this video as we speak.
😂😂 💯%
😅
he already made a video about this... you cant make this up man
He made a 2 minute video & thanked Brian. He also invited him on the show just to talk. Cope harder.
Michael's industry was very useful when Fiducia Suplicans first came out. Not for him, the world would have had only one narrative.
The way you got Lofton’s back in this in spite of differences was wholesome bro
❤
Lofton is uncharitable, cannot accept criticism and embarrasses himself with the popesplaining.
@@marcokite be that as it may, it makes Brian’s charity all the more wholesome.
The saddest thing is that Michael Lofton will rail against others so harshly, yet he acts as though he is above similar criticism while using the “nuance” and “charitable” card every time.
😢
I disagree. Loften appears to be open to criticism and listens and others while addressing issues very thoroughly.
He may come off as harsh to some but I don’t think he intends it. I’m really glad that Brian defended him here, even though they had a disagreement recently. That increased my already high level of respect for Brian.
@@dakotadustin3556 What was their disagreement?? Something about the TLM?
Absolutely not. That man just shadowbans and blocks anyone who calls out his many, many lies. He is so cowardly, that while he made videos bashing on Brian (this Brian who could be the most middle of the road youtuber) he blocked him to prevent him from replying. Ever notice how he NEVER has debates with any of the people he calls out?
@@macdan22You have absolutely no proof about this. Where did he block Brian?!
I never watched Lofton’s channel for a reason. I stick to Holdsworth, Pints with Aquinas, Relevant Radio, EWTN segments, and anything on Formed.
There’s a lot of healthy Catholic media out there. Stick with that and forget the rest. Pax.
Catholic Study Bible
12 What I mean is that each one of you says, "I belong to Paul," or "I belong to Apollos," or "I belong to Cephas," or "I belong to Christ."
13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I am thankful that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius;
15 lest any one should say that you were baptized in my name.
1 Corinthians 1:12-15 RSV-CE
Great video that speaks to a lot of what I've been seeing and feeling as a Catholic "influencer". Definitely not lucrative and it does feel like uncharted territory a lot of the time. Thanks for making this!
Yes, but a large part of what is spurring the amateur political content is creators chasing the algorithm. Trying to be profitable in a medium that is very hard to make a living with.
You're doing a great job so far Serra!
We didn't stop watching him after "one thing". There's been a consistent years long deficit of charity and nuance which leads to an undesirable surplus of poetic irony and hypocrisy. He became a catholic Dramatuber, and I'm not there for that.
Yeeeeeuuupp. The drama-tuber bit is part of my problem with a few creators in the sphere, from different leanings
I appreciate the calm, thoughtful way you articulate the issues you wrestle with.
As a Christian, I struggle with the place politics should have in my life.
If someone asks what my political values are, I will share them. If I have the opportunity to fight against an injustice, then may God grant me the grace to do so.
However, Jesus never told the apostles to go out and change the corruption of the Roman Empire or the peoples' politics, because that doesn't change others from within.
Instead, He told them to share His message of love and salvation with others.
Those who truly believe in Christ then normally go on to change their politics over time, as they grow in Him.
But if the first thing people know about us is our political party and soapboxes, then they will often not be interested in us sharing the one thing that could bring about lasting change in their lives.
There are too many instances of saints fighting against corruption and often on the top for me to think it isn't something to be done. The Scriptures have plenty of examples of it throughout Psalms 2 and 82 come quick to mind. Saint John Chrysostom was no loved figure by many for he didn't speak lightly when he saw evil in his day. So many saints where exiled or worse for speaking what at times needs to be said. Change no Christians can do to another but speaking the truth and standing up for what is right we must do along with doing it ourselves. God's grace and their hearts aren't in out control, but our words and deeds are. Often times that comes with a price many of us do not want to pay because the servant is not greater than the Master.
This is disingenuous. Politics affects people's lives so we must be involved. We should do so charitably but well.
Constantine the Great certainly seemed happy enough to change the politics/culture of the empire he ruled in Christs name.
I only recently checked out Lofton and in seeing how he manipulates comment sections to manufacture an artificial illusion of agreement with his opinions I quickly decided he wasn't at all useful or honest so I avoid anything he posts.
Same! I found him when I was first exploring Catholic Y T. The way he spoke to people in his comments, while claiming he was the most charitable of all men, showed me he is either completely lacking in self-awareness or is simply full of arrogance and pride. Either way, it was unappealing and I wrote him off.
@@NMemone I agree. Lofton oozes hubris which repelled me from his channel.
Love the video Brian. I really appreciate both you and Michael.
I have found him to be unpleasant to converse with.
I like him, his topics, and commentary... I don't understand all the negative comments... He brings a lot of clarity and evidence to misconceptions and falsehoods about the faith. Politics are part of our life and has been so even during biblical times.
But they're right about him blocking people who disagree with him. Even if they're being much more charitable than him and asking questions.
I'd say the others are lying who are pointing it out if I wasn't a victim of it as well. I didn't know it was possible for a creator to even delete comments like that lol.
@@racheldsouza8895I'm not really involved in social media I have a Face book that I only use to sell stuff on and a YT account. The reason I say this is because I don't know what people mean by "they've been blocked by Lofton" is it on YT or somewhere else you're talking about? Did you receive some kind if notification saying you've been blocked? Was it a comment you posted that was taken down? What do you mean by that?
I have so much respect for Brian - yes he is knowledgeable etc but beyond everything, it is his authenticity and sincerity that is most attractive - his passion for souls shadows everything he does like a beautiful watermark.
I lost respect for Lofton after he refused to acknowledge any blame/fault in Fiducia Supplicans document itself when it first came out and when he first commented on it. Any critic was automatically lumped in with dissenters from the Magisterium. Thankfully, he seems to have changed somewhat since then. I feel like I need to consume counterbalancing voices now like Erick Ybarra, Avoiding Babylon, Crisis Magazine, Militant Thomist, etc. to get broader perspective.
Agree with you. However I too was a Lofton subscriber. Stopped supporting and watching him last January for other reasons. Nothing to do with his interest in politics.
I bailed about a year ago or less. He lost credibility after the whole gay blessings debacle. Dude would spend three hours citing source after source from this council and that council gaslighting his audience saying they’re wrong and heretical for even questioning the pope, and then with two minutes left he’d concede the point of criticism 🤦🏼♂️
He is right about the gay blessings thing though.
Yup, that was the same moment for me too. Every person with legit concerns about the PRUDENCE of the document was labeled a dissenter. Only later did he dial back his initial reaction and admit some fault in at least the wording of the doc. Also his video on how it is ok for homosexual couples to baptize children in their custody (because godparents somehow ensure the child will be raised Catholic) really bothered me because I've had personal experience opposing such illogic in my parish and diocese. I've sought other counterbalancing voices like Erick Ybarra and the channels he has guested on.
@@adriangutierrez441lmao nah he ain't. How the bishops responded disproves that
@@guesswho22peekaboo What bishops?
there is nothing in a Catholics life that shouldnt involve our religion and beliefs. Every choice we ever make in our lives should be informed by our Catholic faith.
Amen
I really wanted to like Michael Lofton because I know he's smart and loves our church. However, he comes off as very smug and condescending which is why I just can't support him further than watching a video here and there when the topic intrigues.
Especially recently, he's really gone in on Candace Owens bc she's questioning the moon landing and a subscriber of hers encouraged her to look into flat earth. He tries to paint her as crazy and I don't understand how looking into those topics makes you a bad catholic and how its any of his concern. He comes across very petty and to be honest it seems like since she posted a pic with Taylor Marshall he thinks its his job to discredit her.
I know there's a lot of people who really like him but he just rubs me the wrong way.
He has no charisma.
I've only heard of him in the past 3 months or so. I think he treats the people in his comment section who disagree with him,very rudely. Snide remarks and all. I don't agree with all his stuff and attacks on other people, especially those of us who prefer to attend Traditional Latin Mass. You either be genuinely equal in giving respect to others, or you lose face. I'd never subscribe to his channel. I've unsubcribed from many of tge channels as there is too much infighting and pointing fingers. It was better not knowing all the garbage and dirty secrets of others every time you turn around. Evil has a hand in that too, causing confusion and distrust and hate. I'm so over it all.
Me too
Candace is a whole other can of worms lol
I think that the beliefs that Catholics have in non-religious areas can influence the perceptions that random folks have on Catholicism
So, if a Catholic public figure says something that the Church doesn't define to be of importance, it's good that others give their own point of view, but IDK if Lofton acts well in those videos, being unkind should obv be avoided because it isn't fair
He is a perfect example of why early church didn’t allow new converts to become deacons or priests. He is prideful and arrogant with his book knowledge. His lack of charity, wisdom and humility is quite overwhelming. 🕊️🙏🏼😃✝️📖⛪️
His „Book knowledge“ isn‘t even good.
Except he's not a new Convert. Why are people still spreading this false idea that he's a new Convert.
Lofton is the Rachel Maddow of Catholic News
And they have the same barber.
Just a man in love with himself. Raging narcissist. That’s his guiding principle.
As an Eastern Orthodox, I heard even Catholics talk about how uncharitable he is. He has a higher view of the power of the papacy than even the Pope has.
Cardinal Zen had some choice things to say about Mr. Lofton.
Comments which were incorrect and proven so line-by-line by Lofton. Quite an embarrassing moment for His Eminence.
@@exercisethemind you are quite a ridiculous person.
@Emie-f3g sensitive? Not at all. I think Lofton handled the incident very well. I think he should be proud of the good work he did in explaining things so clearly. And I am proud to see an American so deftly defending the Faith, with humility and charity.
For one thing I lost respect for Michael Lofton attacking traditional Catholics. I won’t mention who but I know some of them. The sad thing though is to do this it’s not charitable God bless enjoy your program
@@exercisethemind
Lofton is not a critical thinker, in the best definition of the term. He would be no different if he were a paid Vatican propagandist.
Lofton blocks people. Sure, he got trolls, first orthobros and rad trads, but I never did anything but disagree with his sanctimonious declarations on issues which are NOT as cut and dry as he makes them out, and bam, blocked. Similar thing with Ukraine youtubers like Vlad Vlexler and Jake Broe. Unlike alot of conservatives, I support aiding Ukraine precisely bc I don't want Ukrainian Catholics being forced back into the catacombs by the Caesorpapist Russians (among other reasons.) I tried to tell them that by deliberately alienating conservatives they were in effect further polarizing the issue; If the choice presented to me is unaffordable cost of living, loss of 2A rights, and open season on the unborn vs the survival of a foriegn country, then I'm voting to protect my nation first. Those "liberals" blocked me as well, for the same reason as Lofton; They had become arrogant, self righteous, and too emotionally sensitive to sunlight being shined on their delusions. He won't even talk to his old friends, but you think his *audience* are the ones who flip on people? I appreciate your charity, I really do, especially in light of his behavior towards you, but Lofton is reaping what he has sown.
he creates the echo chamber by blocking everyone that he doesnt favor. Brian says its healthy to stick around and comment. I dont think that is possible with Lofton the Censor.
Welcome to Lofton's block list. I've been on it a while for similar reasons.
What do you mean by blocked? I'm not really to involved in social media. What platform is it that you've been blocked, and were you sent a message saying you've been blocked?
@@blackwood3243 it just means your posts are hidden from view from everyone besides yourself. No you are not notified but there are ways to figure it out.
@@rondouglas4296 I've had the same thing happen to me on random YT channels, and from commenting none controversial things. Are you sure it's not some kind of a bug with YT?
One can never truly divorce faith from politics, especially when one side actively and purposefully defiles all that is good and holy. Dying for our beliefs is the very essence of what we're called for.
For years, at school, we were repeatedly told by our superiors that the two subjects one should never engage in socially are religion and politics. Well, when one thinks seriously about it...those are the only two topics that will serious affect your existence...here and in the world to come. These are absolutely the two topics that you need to be interested in. Everybody will do it differently....some actively becoming politicians, other through prayer and mortification. Either way we have to be educated and active in both.
Michael has become what he hated on and criticized starting in 2020.
Has become? Always was.
Michael loftin has good content, he is very educated on the church, and has helped many Catholics. He is also smug and annoying at times, but overall I think his intentions are good. Brian is great and I think we all struggle with this inner battle of “what’s right and wrong” as the world is just a big ball of confusion today. Everyone is so confused and nobody knows how to communicate properly. We have become polarized on EVERY topic you can think of. Trads vs Novus ordo, Lebron v Jordan, liberal conservative, Israel or Palestine. The tv has won, they have everyone divided. Think about this next time you are going to argue with someone you supposedly love, it’s all a distraction. Believe what you believe and love one another, don’t tear up relationships for bs. Wake up people, it’s all the devil.
Amen ❤😊
Amen! 🙏❤️
Catholics need to be more political, more vocal and more aggressive.
Aggressive in love of God and neighbor, yes.
@@exercisethemind and aggressive in our defense of the Church
@@villefere6968 yes, and how else do we defend the Church, but by loving God and neighbor?
@exercisethemind +JMJ Love means holding the hierarchy accountable when it breaks with Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium.
Agressive? Like the martyrs? Like St. Francis of Assisi?
Name an aggressive saint.
I've made a conscious effort to avoid making political commentary on my channel. In spite of my own frustrations with Catholic Creators who decide to engage such spheres, I try to remember that people like Michael feed their families off of YT and need to keep pumping out content and appealing to as wide a base as possible.
U do realise that Roman Politics directly influenced where Christ would be born and how He would die?
@@andrew-c1y9b ......cool?
The fact that he dabbled on the current MrBeast drama is giving me grifter vibes...
@BrianHoldsworth
Thank you for standing up for Michael Lofton in this regard. I am an avid supporter of his and I know he had criticized you so I appreciate your fairness towards him. In the USA this election in 2024 is more than just politics- it’s about the high stakes. If the wrong candidate gets elected it could very well be the end our republic and I think for us to ignore it as Catholics is foolish. I think Michael has done a great job of critiquing both sides and is very good at encouraging folks think critically and not believe everything they hear on the news. Especially pertinent is the issue of abortion.
Yes, I really appreciate all of Michael’s commentary on politics & social issues.
My opinion is that we shouldn't bother with political commentary, rather we should engage in political action, there is no single politician nowadays who is worth the "catholic vote".
The perfect is the enemy of the good. The problem conservatives have had for decades is they’ll only truly support the perfect candidate. Liberals support the candidate that can take another inch of ground. The result is liberals have taken miles of new ground…and conservatives are still waiting for the perfect candidate to get behind.
The perfect candidate is the one who will take back an inch of ground. Short of that, vote for the one who at least won’t give up even more ground. Worst case, vote for the one who will only give an inch while their opponent will give a foot. Critically - stop waiting for a candidate who is worth the “Catholic vote” and vocally support the least bad candidate. If you cannot do that, you are just part of the problem.
@@MrCusefan44 By that logic, it would have been completely fine for a catholic to have voted for Mussolini or Adolf in Italy and Germany, there is no such thing, we as christians cannot cast our support behind literal antichrists, politics is not about choosing the "lesser evil", it's about fighting for the greatest good, your proposition would in effect place us in a vicious death spiral of social decay until the last legal restraints are taken away and we start to see a rise in tyrannical governments all over the place.
@@MrCusefan44I appreciate your comment. I’m in Canada. The Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, is a far from perfect candidate, but he is the only one who can rid us of the much worse, Justin Trudeau.
Amen!
Action must be accompanied by commentary to ensure we know why at after taking these actions.
Lofton just responded to this three minutes ago 😅 …homeboy is fragile
He thanked Brian……maybe watch videos before commenting
@TotusTuus-nc6rt ok sure, but WHY? Why is it necessary for him to say thanks in a response video? Why not just leave a comment? It's engagement farming at best. Manipulating his audience for improving the algo.
He does this crap all the time. Posting screenshots of comments he replies to. He's more interested in the attention.
Lofton is dishonest. He originally accepted the sedevacantist, brother Dimond's, debate challenge. But then Lofton went silent about it.
Well said, this needs to be heard.
I used to follow lofton until I actually interacted with him. He doesn’t know how to have a charitable conversation, and even in private he pretty much went straight to insults rather than “Charity” and “nuance.” Now he acts that way in public too
Well said, Brian. I am not familiar with him. But I agree with your argument. Thank you, for, in essence defending another content creator. Thanks again.
My observation re Lofton is I don’t think Lofton knows how to admit the reality of the evil in the church. I think he fears the skepticism that assuredly comes without rose colored glasses.
One thing is the separation of Church and state. But another is the separation of State and Church... state should never be separated from the Church to avoid corruption... 🙏
The hardest thing about Michael Lofton is his well-intended gaslighting. He frames each problematic utterance of the Vatican in the most exercised and accommodating way, sometimes completely dismissing the concerns of the faithful. My opinion is... if you can't defend something, then just don't. Don't do it. Let the truth speak for itself. To do otherwise does damage to our rational natures.
If you like the TLM Lofton will excommunicate you before Francis does.
😂😂😂😂😂😂Spot on.👌👌 He is at least two steps ahead of Francis when it comes to shutting down anything that is remotely authentically Catholic.
Clown mass or a Drag Queen mass, neither Lofton nor Bergoglio have any issue with.
Lofton has gone off the deep end a long time now.
Downfall implies he was ever up.
😂😂😂😂 VERY clever!
Listening to Catholics talking about politics is what led my house to convert.
To Lofon's credit he's taken up an exceedingly tough job. To be a popesplainer during the current pontificate requires extraordinary dedication and incredulity given the endless blizzard of codswallop spewed by the Vatican these days. That he manages to perform his act with such pomposity adds to the entertainment value.
Lofton tries to aound like he is far more knowledgeable about dogma and doctrine than he actually is and gets angry when his errors are pointed out.
Agree completely. We must defend the faith. But, do so with discernment, honest discussion and humilty.
Politics in this wicked age involves very many moral issues, including issues that can bring death to the soul if not properly identified and lived. Therefore, the shepherds and theologians should be concerned with politics.
Politics is the man made society that we live in. As a Father, husband, man, and citizen I must take the issues of the day and lead my family, community, and nation. Being Catholic means that I must proclaim my love, loyalty, fear, and commitment to the Triune God. God does not need me to defend Him. God does expect me to exercise my free Will and use the tools given to me to lead people to God.
Michael Lofton has a very simplistic approach to the Church “My Pope, right or wrong.” Sadly, in the Church today, this approach simply does not work.
He is a silly and prideful hyperpapolater.
Well said.
We don't need to be enemies - do we?
Our greatest strength is our Unity.
Our greatest strength is God. A by-product of that love of God is unity
I question his motives for starting his channel. He's still quite a new Catholic as I understand and is pretty ham-fisted with his adjudication of who is right (those who agree with him) and those who are schismatists/heretics (those who disagree with him).
Fr. Fahey's 'The Mystical Body of Christ and the reorganization of society' helped me to see the order of The Church in relation to society and politics.
Candidate policies are important. Leadership of parties. Abortions for example
Brian Holdworth: Don't clickbait and fall trap to the algorithm.
Also Brian Holdsworth: Proceeds to clickbait and fall trap to the algorithm.
Did you donate to REASON AND THEOLOGY LIVE and have the stickers and emojis and everything?
Thank you for another excellent video of precious pearls of wisdom and thought provoking content. It's forcing me to reconsider how I approach the current election season here in the US. I've followed your channel for several years now and will readily admit that you have said things I would strongly disagree with; having said that, your channel is the only RUclips channel I support financially on a monthly basis. I think you are doing exceptionally valuable work, please keep it up. God Bless!
Great take Brian. From an Orthodox standpoint, I would agree with your assessment that it is incumbent upon us to address societal issues. I don't always agree, esepcially since I am Orthodox, but I usually appreciate the heart behind the message.
It's not that we don't want to be political, but we have enough political commentary. What we need is Theology. I think, we like to have people in categories theology, news, and politics, and don't like it when they change on us. And when they do change they usually never go back to theology, sad.
I hope that’s not the case for Reason & Theology.🙏❤️
HERESY
THE LOFTDOG CANNOT FALL
the INFALLIBLE INTERPRETER of the ROMAN PONTIFF will always REMAIN
😂😂
@@Kevin5279 We share a name.
@@K37GK3 that and we both admire Loftdawg 😆
I'm on the side where we shouldn't engage in politics unless it's to reform our government. I think it needs to be scrapped and start over. I also don't like people endorsing a candidate. Let's endorse souls being saved instead. No man is gonna save this county but Jesus.
Goodwill all around - wow what a concept...
His down fall?? Never knew he was up there.
Thanks for your charitable approach Brian.
God bless you.
You, Trent and Matt Fradd are humble and easy to watch. God bless you for all you do!! 🙏🛐
He wouldn't wish Christian B Wagner a happy birthday 😔
I gave up R&T when he kept releasing extremely hateful and condescending videos against those who were scandalized by the same-sex blessings proclamation. They included screaming at the audience directly. I wouldn’t have been upset if he targeted big figures who were spouting falsehoods. What a shame, used to be a fortifying channel
I watched every single one of those videos, I saw him raise his voice at times, but scream? Give me a break.
Maybe it can be argued that he wasn't the most charitable at times, but so much of the false content coming out about FS absolutely deserved the criticism.
Do you have a PO box for mailing cash/check?
I came into this video pretty nervous, as a longtime fan of both you and Lofton who is aware of your sometimes public beef. I appreciate your nuanced and charitable take on this though.
I hope that all of the nastiness gets resolved.
We badly need unity to fight back against cultural problems.
I’m not Catholic. Or even orthodox. But we need you guys to get it together ! Please, no more fighting.
Too funny Brian!!! I remember telling my MP that there should be No separation of Church and State!!! He wrote me off as a Freak and has cut me off as far as communication.
We need to be vocal on this issue for sure but, we need more backing from the Church Militant!
Also, our Lady asked something obvious of us... to offer Masses for her intentions instead of our own. This goes hand in hand with that quote by Aristotle and is what my Apostolate is all about! 💒
It seems to me that anything that can be polarized for or against Catholicism is open for discussion by Catholic commentators. I didn’t have a problem with Mr. Lofton’s topics; I had a problem with his bad commentary (which is abundant) and his uncharitability when engaging his disagreeing audience.
This video is irresponsible. You admit you are ignorant of the specific criticisms and then make a video that Lofton interprets as you defending him. In reality, the criticism of Lofton is he using hot-button political topics and hot takes for clicks. Please educate yourself before creating a video to feed the ego of someone who needs to accept correction.
There are very few Catholic channels I follow. Yours is one. Taylor Marshall is another. I like you for your balanced takes. And I like Marshall for always being blunt on what he thinks, and never punching down at other channels. He barely even does interviews anymore, just lives his life and makes videos from his living room. It’s authentic, as are you. People with obvious agendas I tend to avoid.
brilliant! Thank you. That's inspiring also for the problem of our private conversations with family, friends, colegues. How to avoid two extrems: being silent passive and being annoying NPC...
9 days ago Lofton uploaded a video: "Destiny's downfall"
And?
Destiny is awful.
Michael Lofton comments on social issues as well, your point?
Don’t forget how many people follow evil narcissists.
This took a different turn than I expected. Good topic that needs to be addressed regardless.
Perhaps ascetic hermits can forego politics, but the rest of us cannot and should not. If the concern is over partisan politics/current affairs, fair enough; they can be a distraction. However, questions of justice, and the best regime etc are fundamental to human beings. Also, if one has compartmentalised one's faith and politics and does not like to be reminded of any contradictions, that's a personal problem... more thought may be required...
You mentioned that Catholic publishers need a broad audience to receive feedback. I know for a fact that Lofton shadow bans people from his channel for any constructive critcism. Your desire for him to receive feedback is greater than his desire to receive it. Unfortunately the only thing he will hear clearly because of his own recalcitrance and pride, is a massive loss of subscribers.
I'm so precious I demand you don't say anything that offends me! That seems to be the clarion call for the day. Shame. Good work Brian.
I tried to watch one of his videos years ago because many Catholics were saying good things. I couldn’t make it through 5 minutes of him talking. I never saw what the appeal was. He seemed very prideful and I didn’t trust him. Never watched or read anything from him since.
Michael Lofton is fine for factual-based faith and news but thats where my personal interest for his channel stops.
Wow! So many great points, Brian! What shines most is your character and dedication to our Catholic faith.
We are all guilty of the hot take every once in a while. The only time I ever really felt that Lofton was being unfair or uncharitable is when he would seemingly go out of his way to seem venomous to traditional Catholics who want to remain true to the TLM.
we should use Catholicism to change politics.
i dont mind politics i just mind infighting
Thank you Brian ❤
This is a great and very charitable video!