Why do I like Bishop Williamson so much?

[StrictCatholicGirl]

My favorite preaching style is Bishop Fulton Sheen's. Very theatrical and over-dramatic, never a word slipped.

ditto. I loved him, too

- Lisa

[Catholicmilkman]

It's a duty to improve your intellect, you know, especially concerning religion. God created us rational for a reason.

I'm 52 years old and have done a lot of reading and reasoning and rationalizing.

Great but as Fr. McDonald preaches: There's always room for improvement.

[StrictCatholicGirl]

Great but as Fr. McDonald preaches: There's always room for improvement.

Of course there is! Till the day we die.

- Lisa

[sheep101]

Bishop Williamson is one of the most charismatic and radical tradraditionalists I know of.

[Credo]

He's a kind of General Patton of Catholicism.

I love it!

Bishop Williamson is a solid preacher who cuts through the fluff and PC garbage coming from every angle.

[littleway]

Guys, I just don't get it! I don't get SO many things that are so regularly listed as good qualities of Bishop Williamson. I find him completely UN-intellectual for one thing, but everyone seems to think he's so "intellectual". For me he's like a caricature of a dilettante who grabs bits and pieces of stuff he's read or experienced and spins them totally irrationaally, illogically and subjectively into a "morass" (to use one of his "intellectual" words) of absolute non-sense. I find almost ALL of that 5 minute video clip objectionable, most of all in his proud, silly, american-bible-belt-style "the world's gonna pay for its sins and we chosen few are gonna be singin' alleluia" kind of crap, but also because he makes a mockery of theology, which is supposed to be grounded on faith and reason. His faith is too subjective and emotional and his reason is ALWAYS totally "off the rails" (to quote him again), disconnected, emotional, subjective, shallow, narrow and, most importantly, misleading for those who mistake a pretence of learning/ intelligence/ wisdom for the real thing. In that video, it seems to me that he isn't "dumbing things down" for the young seminarians - he actually thinks he's being profound! I can imagine Bishop Williamson trying to discuss issues with the current Pope, and the Pope inwardly rolling his eyes at all the mistakes the Bishop is making, or just at his shallowness, and trying to gently correct him and draw him deeper, and the Bishop then breaking off at a certain point with "Oh! But how can HE understand ME? I ALONE understand! His mind is UNHINGED! I must go off and stand for the truth ALONE, UNAPPRECIATED, by those who LOOK but cannot SEE, LISTEN but cannot HEAR!..." blah blah blah... When the simple truth is that the Bishop himself is a little "unhinged", and can't negotiate 2 plus 2 equals 4 himself, without adding a 5 and 6 and 7. Most of the time he doesn't even get up to the "equals" without starting off on another equation. I've always felt there's an actual medical problem with his brain, because all he can do is make endless loosely-connected conjectures that go off on endless tangents and never lead to a logical conclusion. I think he needs love and prayer (as he says again about people who don't "get" him), and the last thing he needs is idolatry. 

Yes he's amusing, but he ain't rational or in touch with reality, and shouldn't be regarded as either. I think he's a well-meaning bloke with issues. As a person, a bit like Martin Luther.

[Archbishop_10K]

Guys, I just don't get it! I don't get SO many things that are so regularly listed as goo qualities of Bishop Williamson. I find him completely UN-intellectual for one thing, but everyone seems to think he's so "intellectual". For me he's like a caricature of a dilettante who grabs bits and pieces of stuff he's read or experienced and spins them totally irrationaally, illogically and subjectively into a "morass" (to use one of his "intelectual" words) of absolute non-sense. I find almost ALL of that 5 minute video clip objectionable, most of all in his proud, silly, american-bible-belt-style "the world's gonna pay for its sins and we chosen few are gonna be singin' alleluia" kind of crap, but also because he makes a mockery of theology, which is supposed to be grounded on faith and reason. His faith is too subjective and emotional and his reason is ALWAYS totally "off the rails" (to quote him again), disconnected, emotional, subjective, shallow, narrow and, most importantly, misleading for those who mistake a pretence of learning/ intelligence/ wisdom for the real thing. I can imagine Bishop Williamson trying to discuss issuues with the current Pope, and the Pope inwardly rolling his eyes at all the mistakes the Bishop is making, and trying to gently correct him, and the Bishop then breaking off at a certain point with "Oh! But how can HE understand ME? ME ME ME! I ALONE understand! His mind is unhinged! I must go off and stand for the truth ALONE, UNAPPRECIATED, by those who LOOK but cannot SEE, LISTEN but cannot HEAR!..." blah blah blah... When the simple truth is that the Bishop himself is a little "unhinged", and can't negotiate 2 plus 2 equals 4 himself, without adding a 5 and 6 and 7.

Yes he's amusing, but he ain't rational or realistic, and shouldn't be regarded as such.

Mwahahahahahaha!!!!!!

Actually, I feel neutral about Williamson (I neither like nor dislike him), but I do find it a little irritating that you'll get more flak for saying things like that about him than you will for saying it about the Pope.

[littleway]

Yeah no kidding. (By the way, I edited my post while you replied, hopefully to fill in the gaps in my opinion a bit more)

[StrictCatholicGirl]

To be fair, I'm the only one who called him intellectual.

Everyone else called him charismatic.

- Lisa

[BrotherDave]

I'll have to read or watch H. E. and see.  This thread has made me curious.
BD