Are we perhaps wasting our time?

Are we perhaps wasting our time by debating sedevacantism and other such traditionalist issues?

Really when I think about it we should be learning how to refute atheism and evolution, as these are the ideologies which are destroying most people's faith.

Even Protestantism really is not that much of a problem anymore. I seriously have not seen a Protestant street evangelist in my city since 1999. Protestantism in America is so 1980's. Anyway, it is so easy to refute.

Atheism, however, really is on the rise. They come up with new arguments (usuallly they are not very good arguments but they can take you by surprise) all the time.

For example today a professor of one of my classes told us that she is an atheist because all religions are so similar anyway (Therefore they cannot be of Divine origin) and then she said that when she was a high school teacher she would tell students that Hammurabi's Code came before the Ten Commandments as a way to show them that religion was a hoax. Apparently Hammurabi's Code also has something in it about "an eye for an eye"

Granted she was very emotional about these comments so I really couldn't say anything, but my point is that knowing about Cum Ex Apostolatus or this or that quote from St. Frances De Sales regarding a heretical Pope would not have helped me in a debate with such a person.

How many sedevacantists do we meet every day? On the other hand how many atheists, agnostics, and practical atheists do we meet every day?

You get my vote on this one. I've never encountered a sedevacantist nor even a catholic who lost any sleep over Baptism of disire but I encounter lapsed Catholics and atheists every day.

How much is a soul worth to Our Lord?

If you do not think that sedevacantists are in danger of losing their souls for all eternity, then I would say not to waste your time debating them.

If you think that they are in danger of losing their souls, in my opinion, since they are truly your "separated brethren", they are worth it.

I agree with Lourdes. And I don't think it is an either-or-thing. I think there is room for discussing atheism. The problem here is I have stared a few posts on it but almost no one was interested. Columba Jim and myself have had discussions on it.

As for not many Catholics losing sleep over baptism of desire, all I can say is the baptism of desire is the opiate of the Church. Evangelization has almost come to a standstill since Implicit baptism of desire has had its way.

MRyan I thought did a good job hunting down good information and arguments about Sedes. So I am very appreciative to him for that. Are we to wait till they become a big problem before we confront it?

As for atheism check out this book

http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com/2010/03/my-new-book-on-atheism-godless-delusion.html

I agree that atheism needs to be refuted constantly but again I see this growth of Aitheism as another symptom of the confussion among Catholics in general who don't know how to refute anything when they themselves have no conviction regarding their own faith.
When the Catholic faith is strong Aitheism can't spread its roots.
A person doesn't become an Atheist overnight. From those I personally know it has been a gradual process of one doubt after another being sown by enemies of the Church and then accepted; to which I may add that the present Heirarchy of the Church has remained almost totally silent in the face of this onslaught.
IMO,the insinuation of "Universal Salvation" has much to do with the growth of Aitheism which is itself a religion albeit without a god.