A Catholic article: "If the Catholic Church is the true Church, why is it that Evangelical Protestants are more successful in making converts?"

[ziapueblo]

The Balamand document states that the Catholic and the Orthodox Churches should not proselytize to one another.

ZP

 

[twf]

From lost to lost… from Catholic-lite to exotic Catholic-esque.

…lol. That’s how my grandma would have once described your journey. She was raised Plymouth Brethren. Lutherans and Anglicans were too Catholic to be considered proper Christians. The Orthodox she literally once described as “Catholic-esque.” While she attended my confirmation when I was received into Catholicism at the age of 18, she told me it made her want to throw up…

Just another perspective.
I personally applaud anyone making the journey from Protestant to Orthodox. I would prefer that you had entered into full communion with the Catholic Church, but the Orthodox Churches, unlike Protestant Churches, have true sacraments . I have relatives who converted from Protestantism to Orthodoxy. One distant cousin is an OCA priest. One first cousin is discerning at an Orthodox monastery. I’m the lone Protestant to Catholic so far… though my parents have made the journey from evangelical to conservative Anglican.

 

[EnglishTeacher]

And I disagree with this.

My husband and I were Evangelical Protestant for the first 47 years of our lives. I grew up in one of the most influential Evangelical churches in the U.S.; several great Evangelical “celebs” (pastors, teachers, writers) came out of my church.

I think that Evangelicalism makes overwhelming demands on the intellect and on lifestyle.

It definitely varies; like everything in protestantism, there are exceptions to every rule. Different people’s mileage will vary greatly, and some of it depends on the denomination and the size of the church and so forth.

E.g., Evangelicals are expected to have a daily “Quiet Time” or “Devotions” or “Morning Watch,” which involves reading/studying the Bible and praying.

I remember this. This is admirable, and more Catholics should do something like this.

And along with these studies, Evangelicals are expected to read the latest Christian books, along with the classics like C.S. Lewis and yes, Augustine’s works, Thomas Aquinas, etc.–my husband and I have floor to ceiling bookshelves filled with “Evangelical” books, and that’s AFTER we purged out all the “chaff!”

You must have come from a more intellectual denomination than any I have seen or experienced (and that is to their credit!) Reformed or Presbyterian, maybe? C.S. Lewis was known and somewhat popular among the people I knew; but the vast majority would never have read Augustine or Aquinas. If they were familiar with their names at all, they would have thought them too Catholic.

As for lifestyle demands–until recently, almost all Evangelicals were teetotalers because of the written Statements of Faith of their church, because of the traditions and customs of Evangelical Protestants, and because of their own personal convictions that alcohol is a gateway to sin. That alone is enough to make many people “Just Say No” to Evangelicalism! …
And if the kids are involved in church, grownups are even MORE involved! My husband and i literally spent 5/6 evenings or days a week at church, or involved with a church activity!

I have seen much of the lifestyle pressures you describe. Some of this you don’t really know until you get into it, though. I mean, is there a class that you have to take to join an evangelical church that describes how all this will be expected of you?

I am not by any means trying to discount your experience, which is absolutely just as valid as mine or any others. Just discussing, because it is interesting to hear different perspectives. I do remember, as you describe, a lot of pressure to conform to a certain image that was expected. Also you mentioned the expectation to have stellar mental and emotional health - yes, I recall this and agree. There were many who would judge you as having a “spiritual problem” if they knew you to be struggling with any sort of mental illness.

 

[Crocus]

And that’s pretty much it!

Thanks for that perspective, from both sides.

 

[kerry_1069]

What would you consider now your grandmother?
With all do respect and in her memory…would you consider her lost?
The journey is fraught with errors…it is no small wonder how the Israelites even made it out of the desert. Some would say it was just a myth, and yet human condition in the Church throughout the centuries pretty much proves that we as human beings will ALWAYS screw thing up beyond repair. Its too bad that we have to point fingers. Sometimes I pray that others may just see that The Way, the Truth, and the Life is narrow and requires us to check ourselves at the front door before we step out onto the path.

just wondering what your thoughts are since your confirmation?

 

[ProVobis]

but the vast majority would never have read Augustine or Aquinas. If they were familiar with their names at all, they would have thought them too Catholic.

That’s interesting as the 3 A’s of the Church (Augustine, Aquinas and Ambrose) favored the moral code of Cicero, especially in his De Officiis writings.

 

[Paul_Edwards]

Regardless of what this or any modern document says, our first duty is to proclaim the full truth of Christ and His Holy Catholic Church to all, and to encourage the end of not only apostasy and heresy but also schism, and this flows from divine law and has been held consistently for 2000 years

 

[Thom18]

If “might made right”, then we wouldn’t have had Orthodox or Protestants in the first place. The Catholic Church pre-existed both, after all.

 

[TULIPed]

Because it is easier to be a protestant.

Perhaps, and I think we Protestants could learn a thing or 2 from you guys. For example - I think that nobody does marriage preparation better than Catholics. Generally (there are exceptions) - we have a couple of cups of coffee with a pastor and call it good. You guys give marriage prep the seriousness that it deserves. Also, in general, I think you guys do a way better job doing catechizing the newly converted than we do.

And yet - there is tension in the effort, no? For example - how would you incorporate this concept, i.e. that it is “harder” to be a Catholic, into the following from Matthew 11?:

"28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

 

[TULIPed]

Fair point. I’ve edited my post to reflect this. I would say though that in general, the average marriage prep conducted by Catholics is measurably more rigorous than that of Protestants in terms of time and depth.

 

[TC3033]

For most Americans, Catholicism seems foreign in comparison with Evangelicalism, and becoming Catholic requires more of a culture shift in one’s thinking and worship than does becoming Evangelical.

I can say agreed with this. The thought of 9 months of RCIA is on large turn off.

Not to mention, many evangelical/Baptist/non-denom-type churches actually preach against Catholicism as being a false form of Christianity. So many Christians just automatically stay from the Catholic faith and don’t even allow themselves themselves to consider it seriously in any way.

Interesting, and I hear this brought up once in a while here. Can I ask your region? I’ve been non-denominational for over 40 years and never heard Catholicism brought up once at church. To us, the Catholic church down the street was another church full of Christians doing their best to get to heaven.

So that isn’t the most appealing thing to seekers and visitors, unfortunately.

Agreed. That’s one thing I’ve noticed. There’s only one Catholic church in town and I never really got that certain sense of “family” there, especially as a non-Catholic. Even though I’m married to a parishioner I (really we) feel even further outer ring.

If we as Catholics made evangelism more of a priority, I think we would see more success. (And we have to start with our own people.) An example of Catholics focusing on evangelization (and not just making quick converts but building genuine friendships and making disciples) and seeing great fruit is the excellent campus ministry

Agreed, but it can be a slippery slope. My wife’s parish HAD a really nice RE program, but they switched to a family based program instead. They lost a lot of people.

 

[Horton]

I had my first wedding in a Baptist church and met the pastor the day before the wedding.

 

[EnglishTeacher]

I can say agreed with this. The thought of 9 months of RCIA is on large turn off.

I actually greatly enjoyed RCIA, so you never know. But yes, I am sure it is daunting or off-putting to some, which is why I agree with you and put it in my list.

Interesting, and I hear this brought up once in a while here. Can I ask your region? I’ve been non-denominational for over 40 years and never heard Catholicism brought up once at church. To us, the Catholic church down the street was another church full of Christians doing their best to get to heaven.

Midwest. It probably has more to do with denomination than region, though; that would be my guess. I was brought up conservative Evangelical and later independent Baptist. Quite possibly many in the evangelical world are starting to view Catholics more favorably now (I don’t know; I have been out of it for a while). But I am pretty sure most independent fundamental Baptists are not there yet. Baptist was by no means a predominant denomination in my region, so that is why I mention that I am not sure how much it has to do with region.

My wife’s parish HAD a really nice RE program, but they switched to a family based program instead

The idea sounds good, anyway.

 

[Horton]

For example - how would you incorporate this concept, i.e. that it is “harder” to be a Catholic, into the following from Matthew 11?:

"28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

My meaning isn’t that is hard to be a Catholic, it just takes more commitment to the truth to remain Catholic when one’s faith is challenged. For a Protestant, if there is a scandal or other negative event, it is easy to walk away from that church and join another.

For Catholics it’s not so simple. When a Catholic has a crisis of faith, leaving the Church is huge, a major life changing decision. Walk away from complete and absolute truth or stay and work it out. One can change their parish, but it remains a Catholic parish.

I’ve been both and I find being Catholic is easy in that everything is for the glory of God and working toward eternal salvation.

 

[TC3033]

But yes, I am sure it is daunting or off-putting to some, which is why I agree with you and put it in my list.

From the time I was born until age 18 I could count on one hand how many times I missed church on Sunday. In doing some research, attending parent meeting/classes I find myself pretty well catechized in comparison. It’s tough to think about attending a 9 month course that may be 75-80% refresher.

You believe baptized Christians are living in false teaching?

 

[EnglishTeacher]

From the time I was born until age 18 I could count on one hand how many times I missed church on Sunday. In doing some research, attending parent meeting/classes I find myself pretty well catechized in comparison. It’s tough to think about attending a 9 month course that may be 75-80% refresher.

This was me too. My parents were very devout and we were heavily involved in our little church and related activities. I also studied the Catholic faith non-stop for over a year before I even started RCIA. But even though I already knew a lot, I still learned more; and more importantly, it was a wonderful time of preparation and entering deeper into my faith and relationship with God over those 9 months. And I got to meet others on similar journeys. So if you are considering it at all, I would encourage you not to write it off. You no doubt do know a great deal about the faith already, but ideally the RCIA process will be more than just learning facts.

 

[TULIPed]

My meaning isn’t that is hard to be a Catholic, it just takes more commitment to the truth to remain Catholic when one’s faith is challenged. For a Protestant, if there is a scandal or other negative event, it is easy to walk away from that church and join another.

Ah - I see. Makes sense.

 

[Bon_Croix]

The op’s question is equivalent to asking:

Why are beer and fried pork bellies so effective at luring people away from bread and water?

 

[billsannie]

Let’s remember, though, that mileage varies. I was raised Catholic and have attended Protestant churches. For me it’s much, much harder being Catholic not because of the rules or because of any commitment to the truth, but because for various reasons Catholic churches provide little in the way of teaching or human support. It’s a bit like choosing between living on nothing but the Eucharist, or having everything but the Eucharist. If one isn’t devoted to the Eucharist, the choice is easy. If one is, life itself can be very difficult. Just me, but I’m sure others have had similar experiences.

 

[Bon_Croix]

“little in the way of teaching”?

Teaching of truth or error? B/c one can learn both from a teacher.