A Protestant view of Catholic Answers.

[Pilgrimbygrace]

My brothers and sisters in the faith,

I’m still new here and I haven’t spent much time reading through the older threads. (because I simply don’t have the time to do so) But from what little I’ve read and from the responses of a couple of my posts, I just thought I would share some comments in love.

First, I know that most of you here know this already, but I’ll just reaffirm it. There is a general belief in Protestant circles that the Catholics have abandoned the Bible. That the average Catholic only owns one Bible and it’s the big family KJV version with the pictures that remains forever upon the coffee table in the Living Room.

Well, just a brief time here has proven otherwise. Now I realize that there are a lot of Christians in the Church who don’t read the Bible. (Shame on them.) But this is a reality in all denominations. But I now know that there are many believers in the Catholic Church that do have a passion for Gods Word or Sacred Scripture.

I used to be a hard nosed Calvinist in a very Reformed Church. I finally had enough of the rampant Legalism that existed in that Church and the erroneous view of the infallibility of the Westminster Confession of Faith. But the point is, that within the Reformed community, there is a pretty negative view of the Catholic Church.

Anyway, I have sense moved on to another assembly and in my own personal faith and practice. I now take a very ecumenical approach to my faith and my understanding of Holy Scripture.

I just wanted to say that I appreciate the Christlike witness and attitude that has been demonstrated to me here on these boards. Interpretive views of the Bible have been very good, replies have been loving and informative and I just wish that more of my fellow Protestants would be a little less bias and narrow minded.

So, I just wanted to write an encouraging post for the regulars here, I know that it can be frustrating at times, but it is obvious that God is moving here and a lot can be learned here.

Thank you.

 

[lizaanne]

Welcome to CA, Pilgrim! That was a very lovely post!

~Liza

 

[mercygate]

Welcome, Pilgrim. And thanks for the kind words. Lots of Catholics are absolutely rabid Scripture hounds!

Thanks also for not patronizing us with the occasional Protestant admission that goes something like this: “I believe that there are some Catholics who are saved.” :doh2:

 

[dhgray]

W E L C O M E…we are open to questions. Feel free to talk to us…we don’t bite … too hard

 

[Chancellare]

Your views are welcome here. Keep reading the threads. Being a Catholic myself, I still get surprised with the varying range of understanding among the posters here. As Scott Hahns’ book title says: “Surprised by Truth!”

 

[RobNY]

…I just thought I would share some comments in love.

Having a loving disposition towards those you are in dialogue with is perhaps the most important thing to bring into a search for truth. Thank you.

…That the average Catholic only owns one Bible and it’s the big family KJV version with the pictures that remains forever upon the coffee table in the Living Room.

Hahaha. My family has that KJV.

Of course, I also have three other bibles…

Now I realize that there are a lot of Christians in the Church who don’t read the Bible. (Shame on them.) But this is a reality in all denominations. But I now know that there are many believers in the Catholic Church that do have a passion for Gods Word or Sacred Scripture.

I think this is an important realization we all must make about our particular denominations… there are lax Christians in all of them. The problem is often that one denomination of Christians uses the laxity of some members of another denomination as a weapon-- but it’s just an issue of the wooden plank in one’s eye ultimately. There’s a lot of renewal to be done, and it’s the job of the Body of Christ to find those who are lukewarm or lax and help them-- may God protect us from petty fights, and inspire us to flame in love of our Lord!

…But the point is, that within the Reformed community, there is a pretty negative view of the Catholic Church.

I’ve found, personally, and in general, that everyone likes to simplify the data. It’s often easier to take a simplified-- a ‘fundamentalist’ view, if you will- view of how things are, and consequently to err in judgment. If one simplifies the Catholics to all being lax Christians with disregard for Scripture, then it is easy to condemn them and remain secure in one’s belief. Likewise, as a Catholic I may be able to simplify my Protestant brethren to simplistic views of faith alone and scripture alone that they themselves do not hold to-- which may make it easier for me to reject their beliefs in an unjustified manner. But, when one takes into account all of the pesky data-- of Catholics inflamed by the love of God, the many saints, such as St. John of the Cross, who lived out of the Scripture, then it is no longer such an easy task to reject Catholicism as a communion which has disregard for Scripture, or likewise, when one encounters intelligent, well-meaning, and sophisticated Protestants, no longer so easy to reject the simplified, ‘fundamentalist’ views which in their simplicity, perhaps few really accept.

Anyway, I have sense moved on to another assembly and in my own personal faith and practice. I now take a very ecumenical approach to my faith and my understanding of Holy Scripture.

Keep searching for the truth. I’m sure you will. Everyone here is always happy to help.

I just wanted to say that I appreciate the Christlike witness and attitude that has been demonstrated to me here on these boards… I just wish that more of my fellow Protestants would be a little less bias and narrow minded.

Sometimes I get into the rut of thinking-- why can’t people see this! It’s so obvious! But I’ve realized that we need to address people where they are, not where we’d like them to be. The Catholic Church presents itself in a way so foreign to American Protestantism that, quite frankly, I’m sure it can be a bit disconcerting-- a culture shock, of sorts.

So, I just wanted to write an encouraging post for the regulars here, I know that it can be frustrating at times, but it is obvious that God is moving here and a lot can be learned here.

Thank you.

I think so too. In regards to addressing people where they are-- I think CA helps with that a lot. Since I’ve entered college I’ve been exposed to more primary sources-- print sources-- and I’ve begun to appreciate them for what they are. And they are far superior to the internet. At first this led my estimation of the site down, but on second thought, I realized that CA does an excellent job of disseminating information on a popular level and addressing people where they are. I may not have been receptive to much of the primary sources I am reading if I had not been prepared by my stint here. I think that ultimately, any popular apologetics exposition, like this site, will have to simplify things to an extent, and perhaps because of that be imperfect-- it will lack the nuance of the fullness of the teaching of the Church, etc. But I realize that conversion-- whether the type we think of typically as from denomination to denomination, or conversion of the heart, as a lax Catholic to a practicing Catholic (of which I count myself!)-- is a gradual process taking place by degrees, which this is particularly suited for.

Thank you for your thoughts and God bless.

 

[Mickey]

Thank you Pilgrim.
God bless you.

 

[BelFarfalla]

My brothers and sisters in the faith,

I’m still new here and I haven’t spent much time reading through the older threads. (because I simply don’t have the time to do so) But from what little I’ve read and from the responses of a couple of my posts, I just thought I would share some comments in love.

First, I know that most of you here know this already, but I’ll just reaffirm it. There is a general belief in Protestant circles that the Catholics have abandoned the Bible. That the average Catholic only owns one Bible and it’s the big family KJV version with the pictures that remains forever upon the coffee table in the Living Room.

Well, just a brief time here has proven otherwise. Now I realize that there are a lot of Christians in the Church who don’t read the Bible. (Shame on them.) But this is a reality in all denominations. But I now know that there are many believers in the Catholic Church that do have a passion for Gods Word or Sacred Scripture.

I used to be a hard nosed Calvinist in a very Reformed Church. I finally had enough of the rampant Legalism that existed in that Church and the erroneous view of the infallibility of the Westminster Confession of Faith. But the point is, that within the Reformed community, there is a pretty negative view of the Catholic Church.

Anyway, I have sense moved on to another assembly and in my own personal faith and practice. I now take a very ecumenical approach to my faith and my understanding of Holy Scripture.

I just wanted to say that I appreciate the Christlike witness and attitude that has been demonstrated to me here on these boards. Interpretive views of the Bible have been very good, replies have been loving and informative and I just wish that more of my fellow Protestants would be a little less bias and narrow minded.

So, I just wanted to write an encouraging post for the regulars here, I know that it can be frustrating at times, but it is obvious that God is moving here and a lot can be learned here.

Thank you.

Very nice post. I’m glad you’ve gotten to see that there is a lot more going on in Catholicism that you once thought.

But I do have to correct you on one thing… that big bible with the pictures in it… its not a KJV. Nooo… it’s most likely a Douay-Rheims Version.

I grew up in the 1950/1960’s. We had one of those big picture bibles in our home like many Catholics do. But it was only one of the bibles. We had many. My dad had a tiny one that fit in his pants pocket. We had a couple Douay-Rheims, a KJV, a Gideon Bible, a Latin Vulgate, a etc. Both my parents read/spoke Latin. But it was that big bible with the pictures that I loved as a kid. I still remember the paintings. And it was the paintings that got me as a child to read the bible, because I wanted to know the words that went with those rich, beautify paintings. I used to spend hours looking at the pictures before I could read. My mom would tell me (and my 7 siblings) the bible stories. Once I could read I often spend hours alone reading the bible to read the stories that went with the pictures. My mom had 8 children and 35 grand/great-grand kids. All of us learned the bible stories sitting on her lap with that bible. She finally got rid of that bible a few years before her death because it was in total shambles… warn out by all the little hands that first learned their faith from that book. Last year I found the exact version that my parent had on eBay… Its was printed in the 1950’s so it and older. I had to bid the price up pretty high to get it. It now sits on my dresser as a constant reminder. I still leaf through it just because….

Today I mostly is use my New American Bible and an software that contains a huge selection of bibles for study. (I use several online sources too.) We have a shelf in our library with several bibles. My husband uses his Bizantine Catholic Bible when we hold family worship. But none are as dear to me as the one I bought on ebay.

 

[Cat]

It’s very kind of you to ignore all the posts by me and others who occasionally (or often ) forget to “love one another.”

Thanks for you nice comments. Have fun learning and teaching on this Board.

 

[lak611]

Thank you, Pilgrimbygrace, for your kind post. God bless you.

 

[Pilgrimbygrace]

It’s very kind of you to ignore all the posts by me and others who occasionally (or often ) forget to “love one another.”

Hey Cat,

Thank you for your loving reply.

James calls the commandment to love our neighbors the “Royal Law”

Therefore it has to be pretty important.

But nevertheless it seems like the hardest to obey.

I know that I’m constantly convicted by it. I tend to have an unbridled tongue and a quick temper and a good dose of that little thing called pride as well.

But thanks be to our Father that He has given us a new heart to want to continue to put away our old selves and to continue to forgive and love each other. I pray that He will always allow us to remember that through the vale of sin, we are all still made in His image and that we have feelings and know right from wrong. It is sad when we get hurt or we hurt others, but let us use these times to spur us on to even better works. God is merciful and gracious to a sinner like me, so let me likewise be so to others.

Bless you all for all your kind words.

 

[Allweather]

Welcome, Pilgrim.

One thing about the way Catholics get their Bible, and I think this is also true of many of the Protestant communions, is that they get big doses of it at Mass. Catholics who go to Mass regularly, especially the daily masses, know a lot more Bible than even they realize. They can’t quote a lot of chapter and verse, but they’re quite familiar with the Bible and its meanings.

When they run into Protestant evangelizers who are throwing out chapter and verse, Catholics often get flustered and feel disadvantaged in the discussion, not realizing how much they do actually know about the Bible.

Of course, I’m only referring Catholics who actually go to Mass. These same people are also more likely to read the Bible outside of Mass. But my point is that the Mass is heavily Bible-based, so that a person, if they go regularly, especially daily, will, over time, absorb a tremendous amount of Bible reading without ever cracking the pages of a printed Bible. This type of study doesn’t help much in apologetics, which demands a more methodical approach, but it does satisfy the need to know the Bible from a believer’s point of view.

 

[elvisman]

God bless you, brother (or sister - sorry).
I wish MORE people - Catholic AND Protestant saw things the way you just described.
WELCOME to the forums!!

 

[Zooey]

Welcome, Pilgrim!! Its great to have you here with us!!

 

[tamccrackine]

I know that I’m constantly convicted by it. I tend to have an unbridled tongue and a quick temper and a good dose of that little thing called pride as well.

You just described me.

And if you describe yourself like this… you obviously understand humility for the loving letter you wrote in your OP. I wish I could show that much humility. (Lord knows I try but my mouth gets the best of me at times :doh2: ).

But thank you… and welcome! :bounce:

 

[twosweetgirls]

Well, wasn’t that sweet! This is truly a fantastic place; glad you’re here.

 

[Chancellare]

Welcome, Pilgrim.

One thing about the way Catholics get their Bible, and I think this is also true of many of the Protestant communions, is that they get big doses of it at Mass. Catholics who go to Mass regularly, especially the daily masses, know a lot more Bible than even they realize. They can’t quote a lot of chapter and verse, but they’re quite familiar with the Bible and its meanings.

When they run into Protestant evangelizers who are throwing out chapter and verse, Catholics often get flustered and feel disadvantaged in the discussion, not realizing how much they do actually know about the Bible.

Of course, I’m only referring Catholics who actually go to Mass. These same people are also more likely to read the Bible outside of Mass. But my point is that the Mass is heavily Bible-based, so that a person, if they go regularly, especially daily, will, over time, absorb a tremendous amount of Bible reading without ever cracking the pages of a printed Bible. This type of study doesn’t help much in apologetics, which demands a more methodical approach, but it does satisfy the need to know the Bible from a believer’s point of view.

Good insight. Few people actually appreciate the fact that the Mass has more bible-based message than a standard prayer meeting or bible service. Thanks for that.

 

[kell0618]

Thank you for the kind words, Pilgrim. I have been away from CAF for a couple of weeks as I have exclusively been defending my faith to some very, very, anti-Catholic people on another forum. It is where I needed to be for a bit. This forum is such a breath of fresh, heavenly air! I find that on CAF, even if we disagree, most of us here try to strive to find at least the commonalities we have. Divisiveness is never a good thing and I’m so glad you are here!

God bless you!

Kelly

 

[mercygate]

Welcome, Pilgrim.

One thing about the way Catholics get their Bible, and I think this is also true of many of the Protestant communions, is that they get big doses of it at Mass. Catholics who go to Mass regularly, especially the daily masses, know a lot more Bible than even they realize. They can’t quote a lot of chapter and verse, but they’re quite familiar with the Bible and its meanings.

When they run into Protestant evangelizers who are throwing out chapter and verse, Catholics often get flustered and feel disadvantaged in the discussion, not realizing how much they do actually know about the Bible.

Of course, I’m only referring Catholics who actually go to Mass. These same people are also more likely to read the Bible outside of Mass. But my point is that the Mass is heavily Bible-based, so that a person, if they go regularly, especially daily, will, over time, absorb a tremendous amount of Bible reading without ever cracking the pages of a printed Bible. This type of study doesn’t help much in apologetics, which demands a more methodical approach, but it does satisfy the need to know the Bible from a believer’s point of view.

OK – just to confuse the Pilgrim, I would add that the Mass is not so much “Bible based” as the Bible is “Mass based.” Scripture and liturgy are inseparable and when the New Testament canon was ratified, one of the tests was: Are we reading this book in the liturgy?

 

[Cardinalsong]

Thank you Pilgrim for your kind and loving words and welcome to CA.:tiphat: