A Flag in the Sand - Non Denominational

[Catherine_S]

Tmaque:

I agree that non-denom’s are kind of making God in their own image by picking among churches like they’re shopping for a new shirt. But, they simply don’t know any better. The Catholic church to them is nothing special. Unfortunately, the liberal nature of the Catholic Church since Vatican II hasn’t helped much in setting itself apart as something special.

Most of the “good” Catholics I know (go to church every week) believe that birth control is ok and some don’t even believe in the real presence. If Catholics don’t understand their church how can we expect anyone else to?

I’ve been a Catholic for almost two years, been going to Mass for over three years and I have never, ever, heard a homily about the evils of birth control, abortion, or euthanasia. I have never heard a homily about the FACT that the Eucharist is truly Jesus Christ, body, blood, soul and divinity. I have never heard a homily about the fact that there is a direct, authoritative, priesthood connection to Peter, the first Pope. In other words, I never hear homilies about the very things that make Catholicism unique, special and TRUE! They very things that drew me into the church and convinced me of it’s authentic nature are ignored at the pulpit.

We can’t expect non-denom’s to see Catholicism as something special when we ignore the very things that make it so.

Have you heard these tapes…they are beautiful ! The key **is **Eucharist…what a God we have :bowdown2: !!! Pass them on !
God Bless You,
Shalom,
Catherine

St. Paul Center**The Lamb’s Supper: The Mass and the Apocalypse **
(Scott Hahn with Mike Aquilina in the EWTN series on Scott’s book, The Lamb’s Supper.) The episodes in the series include:
- The Lamb of God
- Passover Past and Present
- Todah Consecration
- Swear to God
- Angels in Your Parish
- First Comes Love
- Vessels of Honor
- The God Who Is Family
- Sunday, Sunday
- The Real Presence and the Second Coming
-** Last Things First**
-** Singing in the Reign **
-** Heaven Rediscovered **

 

[Church_Militant]

Peace-bwu:

Thank you so much for explaining exactly what I meant. I felt so bad that oudave thought I was calling him a swine!! I would never do that! I will be more careful to properly quote, I just didn’t think it was necessary in my short post, but apparently it was. I read your perfect explanation after I apologized him and was glad it was there, I didn’t want everyone to think I was stooping to name calling.
Thanks,
Peace Be With You.

No Problem my friend…lemme just say that I’ve talked to Dave on here many times and he’s not always so mean spirited. He was just being mean to make you feel bad and I wasn’t about to let him off with that. He needs to be more respectful and charitable in his posts or he’ll get himself suspended, and he knows it too.

He is however here to evangelize us all away from Catholicism and he thinks he knows all about it when in fact he knows only the diddly that someone out there is feeding him.

You’ll find that a great many fo the people who are most vehement attackers of the faith are pretty much like him.
Pax vobiscum,

 

[StubbleSpark]

I wish the non-denoms had a an ounce of historical knowledge. If they would look around them, an increasing number of Protestants are looking back into history to exonerate the Church of commonly held anti-Catholic stereotypes.

Why? Because they realize the inevitable: they are next. And that by denigrating historical Christianity, they have given militant atheists and anti-Catholic secularists a very powerful weapon to weed not just Christianity, but all of faith out of American society. It is a common theme throughout history: any bigotry eventually comes around to curse those who act on it.

This past weekend, I read the book The New Anti-Catholicism, The Last Acceptable Prejudice by Philip Jenkins. Mr. Jenkins is not a Catholic. In fact, he is a former Catholic. But criticism does not a bigot make and he does a wonderful job of tracing American opposition to Catholicism. From the early years of Klan repression and when the immigrants from traditionally Catholic Europe Spain, Ireland, and Slavic nations were not considered “white” to the modern era when all the old stereotypes are dredged up to attack the Church.

Especially in books that defend Creationism against evolution, you find Protestants back-paddling in an effort to paint historical Christianity in more fair-minded colors. For example, the mythic demonism with which the Church is portrayed in the stories of Columbus, and Galileo. Because of a long smear campaign conducted by Protestants against the Church, rabid secularists like Dan Brown are able to paint Christianity in such unquestioning broad strokes of evil. Enemies of the Church can justify their selfish stances against attrocities like abortion by plugging into a ready-made supply hot-button issues like the Crusades, the Inquisition, and World War II.

Mr. Jenkins addresses these issues, and does a very good job of using a secular approach to challenge moderns on their own terms (the book is not really an exercise in apologetics, which makes it really readable to anyone who wants to hear about the problem without being bombarded by Church teachings.) He also points out the frightening reality we live in today: so concrete are anti-Catholic misconceptions held today that any person who tries to defend historical Christianity, will be vilified, and shouted down as being a brain-washed Romish drone.

It is my observation that when it comes to the modern challenge against the Catholics, ignorant self-righteous Christians like non-denoms stand side-by-side with pro-abortion and anti-religious secularists in casting their stones against the walls of Church teaching.

It has also been my experience that when dealing with non-denoms, sometimes your best weapon are the traditions and teachings of traditional PROTESTANT church-goers. Your conventional Calvinist and Lutheran bemoan the anti-Catholic prejudice and ignorance of the non-denoms almost as much as we do – because they can see very clearly that what non-denominationalism really advocates is the very irrelevance of Christian philosophy and theology in our modern world.

Which kind of brings me back to my original post that pointed out that non-denoms are in fact protestantism within Protestantism.

 

[Little_Mary]

Church Militant:

No Problem my friend…lemme just say that I’ve talked to Dave on here many times and he’s not always so mean spirited. He was just being mean to make you feel bad and I wasn’t about to let him off with that. He needs to be more respectful and charitable in his posts or he’ll get himself suspended, and he knows it too.

He is however here to evangelize us all away from Catholicism and he thinks he knows all about it when in fact he knows only the diddly that someone out there is feeding him.

You’ll find that a great many fo the people who are most vehement attackers of the faith are pretty much like him.
Pax vobiscum,

I’ve met many like him. It takes a great deal of self control when dealing with someone who will NOT even acknowledge what you are saying. I don’t care if they agree, I just want them to absorb it. THey don’t want to hear it. No, they just want to blow hot air. :nope:

 

[The_Cub]

Little Mary,

You are right. Catholics are non-denominational. We make up the one true Apostolic Church.

As a prominent priest says: “In the end everyone becomes Catholic”.

God bless you and your family,

cub

 

[Little_Mary]

Thank you, Cub, and well said.

God bless you and your family as well.

Little Mary

 

[Little_Mary]

Catherine S.:

Have you heard these tapes…they are beautiful ! The key **is **Eucharist…what a God we have :bowdown2: !!! Pass them on !
God Bless You,
Shalom,
Catherine

St. Paul Center**The Lamb’s Supper: The Mass and the Apocalypse **
(Scott Hahn with Mike Aquilina in the EWTN series on Scott’s book, The Lamb’s Supper.) The episodes in the series include:
- The Lamb of God
- Passover Past and Present
- Todah Consecration
- Swear to God
- Angels in Your Parish
- First Comes Love
- Vessels of Honor
- The God Who Is Family
- Sunday, Sunday
- The Real Presence and the Second Coming
-** Last Things First**
-** Singing in the Reign**
-** Heaven Rediscovered**

How can one obtain these tapes?
Thanks
Little Mary

 

[Little_Mary]

Just dug this one up. Wonder if there are any more comments on this subject. Do you think that people who call themselves non-denominational yet refuse to consider the Catholic faith are contradicting themselves?

 

[UBERROGO]

I would like to start off by saying that when I was a young Protestant I was always under the impression that Non-Denom. was its own denomination. But as of late I thought it was
another way of saying that you were an evangelical.

Some of you had very informative explainations - I wish I could meet a Catholic who would talk about Catholicism with me with the love I see from many of you. Although people like Little Mary are giving explainations that I would expect to hear from a Baptist.

I think that God might look at non-Catholics in much the same way. He watches lovingly as they read His Word and worship Him, and He smiles because He knows they love Him. But when worship and Sunday school are over, He says briskly “OK kids, that was nice, but now it’s time for Mass!!”

In my own experience I picked non-denom when I was younger because I was searching. So PLEASE sensitive if you are going to share with a non-denom. <<< they probably have many
mistaken beliefs about your faith.

 

[Little_Mary]

So Baptists believe that it is necessary to attend a Catholic Mass after they complete their own worship service???

Just kidding UBERROGO, please accept my apology if I sounded offensive or insensitive. It is not my intention to do so. I am currently in a discussion with a self-proclaimed “non-denom” who would take issue with anyone if they told him he was still “searching”. He is convinced that he has found his place and he is not budging. My beef with him is that he will not even consider looking into Catholicism. Not so much with the intent to convert - but moreso to understand the faith and eradicate any misconceptions he has. To refuse to do this, IMO, contradicts the idea of being “non-denom”.

Anyway, maybe I shouldn’t generalize and assume that everyone has his attitude - he is just one person.

God bless

 

[Church_Militant]

UBERROGO:

I would like to start off by saying that when I was a young Protestant I was always under the impression that Non-Denom. was its own denomination. But as of late I thought it was
another way of saying that you were an evangelical.

Some of you had very informative explainations - I wish I could meet a Catholic who would talk about Catholicism with me with the love I see from many of you. Although people like Little Mary are giving explainations that I would expect to hear from a Baptist.

In my own experience I picked non-denom when I was younger because I was searching. So PLEASE sensitive if you are going to share with a non-denom. <<< they probably have many
mistaken beliefs about your faith.

This is very true and I sorta laughed when I saw your denom listing as Bapticostal because the only other person that I’ve met who used that term for he & his wife, was pretty anti-Catholic, but is now on his way into the church.

It started off pretty rough, but later we got to be really close friends. His honesty and hunger for truth is (I think) what led him into the faith. He also turned into a pretty straight shooting apologist. I just had to shut up and let him do all the work.
Pax tecum,

 

[edward_george]

I have an uncle who is a preacher in a non-denominational church. He knows very little about the Catholic Church except that it’s what he’s been taught to bash. He told me once that he was non-denominational because “Denominationalism is wrong.” I should have said “Exactly. We agree on something.” and taken the conversation from there. Alas, at that time I was not quite as educated on the faith as I am now, so I couldn’t think of what to say. He and his family are nice, rather impressionable people, and I think if I could get them to at least take a look around the True Church it might do some good–not just for him and his family, but his congregation as well.

That reminds me…A “tent meeting” is held about every night for a few weeks in the summer near my house. The loudspeakers echo up the ridge, but not well enough to hear what’s being said. I’ve never been to one of these things, but it’s basically preaching and chairs in a huge tent. If I wasn’t going to be away this summer, I’d go to one and hear what sort of anti-Catholicism was being spread, if any (and there undoubtedly will be).

More later, as I think of it…

-ACEGC

 

[Little_Mary]

edward_george:

He and his family are nice, rather impressionable people, and I think if I could get them to at least take a look around the True Church it might do some good–not just for him and his family, but his congregation as well.

I put the phrase in bold above that depicts how I’m feeling about the non-denoms in my life.

 

[UBERROGO]

Hello Church militant, well I happened to see that denomination at a time when I was going to a pentacostal church but had just switched to going to a baptist church, and I saw it in a chat room, so I decided to make it my own. I didn’t even know there were others that had that denom except the person from the chat room. What I liked about it was that it had the knowledgeable teachings of Baptists with the Love of Pentacostals. Which of course those 2 things come from God not just Baptist and pentacostals! Well I hope that makes sense to you.
why dont you have your friend write emails to me, he can be my pen pal and truly say that he “supports the troops” (because i am in the army in iraq). Well talk to you later. Sam
samuel.rogowski@us.army.mil

 

[ImperialPhoenix]

Katholikos:

Just remember that “nondenominational” is another term for “independent” – or “unaffiliated.” It just means that they are not affiliated with any denomination. That makes them a denomination of one – an authority unto themselves. Thus they have their own biblical interpretations, create their own doctrines, design their own practices – in short, they do as they please without any interference or authority whatsoever over them. The pastor is pope.

Recall James Jones, David Koresh, et al. Scary business, these independents. They are like a boat without an anchor, a ship without a rudder, a plane without a guidance system. Most of them will be okay, but with the wrong leader, they can run amok.

JMJ Jay

So since I am an unaffiliated Christian, that means that I am in the Non Denominational category. The only difference is that I dont have any biblical interpretations (Never been exposed to the Bible itself) and unchurched. Many of my doctrines mainly came from philosiphies of life that I have made or been exposed to by my friends, same with morals (Most of them would agree with the Catholic church and the Culture of Life). The only practace I have is just prayer. Since I have no authority to report to, the only person that would have spiritual authority would be God himself. Though the only difference with my “Non Denomination” is that I am Catholic friendly, I guess it comes from being a cradle Catholic and being religiously tolerent to other religions.

 

[scylla]

Many people these days have a problem with the word “Authority”, I know I did when I was outside the Church, I thought the only authority I need is Jesus. He is my authority, why put my trust in man?

But after a lot of thought, it came to me that thinking that way is just making yourself the authority in what you want to believe in. You then become the leader of your own personal relationship with Jesus. The Church founded on my understanding, worshipping Jesus, but not founded on Jesus’s teachings. Just on my personal understanding of the Bible, if I didn’t agree with the church I could find another. Or if I liked the music, pastor, relationships, etc…

It took me a while to realize that the Pope really is not some sort of dictator, he doesn’t just make up rules and sits up there eating grapes as we do his bidding, he is the servant of the deposit of faith. It took a lot of humility and self study but I saw how we need a way to maintain the truth because it doesn’t change.

Killing babies might be acceptable to some churches, and some not but do you think Jesus would argue with God the Father over this?
That was my problem with non-denominationalism, a lack of unified understanding, no authority. Your own opinion then becomes the authority.

God Bless
Scylla

 

[Little_Mary]

How true. That’s why there are so many thousands of denominations today - each having at least one thing different from the rest. so sad.