Any Catholic please help

[Robert_in_SD]

He makes all of the protestant claims as to why the Church is led by the devil; “revelation might as well be renamed the Catholic Church because it is the whore of babylon on seven hills, there is no mediator but Jesus, the Eucharist is a cannibalistic idea from the devil,” etc. etc. And no matter how many verses I show him or how many times I tell him about the 8 different versions of his “bible” his reply is always “you misinterpret or you don’t know what you’re talking about because the Catholic Church has got you brainwashed.” And it’s not just a feeling he KNOWS he’s led by the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes, all you can do is present the Church’s teachings from Christ, then back away. He is not interested in a dialogue. He only wants you to pull away from the Catholic Church (and I’m assuming he’s acting in good faith based on what he believes). You should just spend more time making sure you know your faith, and live it every day. Include him in your prayers. You can’t change his heart. Let the Holy Spirit work on him.

Peace,
-Robert

 

[Josh316]

Sometimes, all you can do is present the Church’s teachings from Christ, then back away. He is not interested in a dialogue. He only wants you to pull away from the Catholic Church (and I’m assuming he’s acting in good faith based on what he believes). You should just spend more time making sure you know your faith, and live it every day. Include him in your prayers. You can’t change his heart. Let the Holy Spirit work on him.

Peace,
-Robert

The problem is, my brother was once Catholic (baptized, never confirmed) and really believes he was led away by The Holy Spirit. Personally I believe he was led away by a spirit by not the Holy one and now even if The Holy Spirit talks to him he will not see it for what it is, at least at this point and he is VERY into his beliefs.

 

[mercygate]

The problem is, my brother was once Catholic (baptized, never confirmed) and really believes he was led away by The Holy Spirit. Personally I believe he was led away by a spirit by not the Holy one and now even if The Holy Spirit talks to him he will not see it for what it is, at least at this point and he is VERY into his beliefs.

There is no anti-Catholic like an ex-Catholic! Pray your brains out. Maybe get hold of Jeff Cavins conversion story – it’s on Ascension Press web site. Wow.

 

[Robert_in_SD]

The problem is, my brother was once Catholic (baptized, never confirmed) and really believes he was led away by The Holy Spirit. Personally I believe he was led away by a spirit by not the Holy one and now even if The Holy Spirit talks to him he will not see it for what it is, at least at this point and he is VERY into his beliefs.

I share your view. But it is true that only the Holy Spirit can change his heart. Trust God to work with your brother. My thought is that you may need to disengage. Send your brother some good written information, such as that on the CA web-site or elsewhere - then ask him to just think about it, pray about it, and then if he wants to discuss it reasonably, you are available. The kind of “back-and-forth” that you describe is probably just working him deeper into his trench.

Peace,
-Robert

 

[mercygate]

I share your view. But it is true that only the Holy Spirit can change his heart. Trust God to work with your brother. My thought is that you may need to disengage. Send your brother some good written information, such as that on the CA web-site or elsewhere - then ask him to just think about it, pray about it, and then if he wants to discuss it reasonably, you are available. The kind of “back-and-forth” that you describe is probably just working him deeper into his trench.

Peace,
-Robert

Agreed.

Yet a person who is looking for reasons to reject the Churh might interpret disengagement as retreat on the grounds of the inability to support a position. This is a very delicate issue.

 

[mrs_abbott]

It’s very clear that he is very influenced by what his pastor says but he always tells me that if, for some reason, his pastor were to agree with Catholics someday on any of the "Catholic/protestant debates that he (his pastor) would be wrong but that this can’t happen as his pastor is led by (you guessed it) The Holy Spirit. The funny thing is, my brother comes out with different opions on many topics from week to week depending on his congregation’s opinion at the time which proves two things to me; 1. His “church” can’t be the one chosen by Christ because Christ doesn’t change His way of thinking, and 2 my brother does not think on his own.

I’ll go with reason #1 because I don’t personally know your brother. lol
One of these days hopefully the inconsistence will catch up to him and he’ll see that what he thinks is true is constantly changing.
Have you mentioned to him that there’s some contradicting information that he’s receiving from his minister and church?
Btw, not to derail anything, but is your brother kinda stubborn when it comes to anything he’s passionate about?

 

[Pixie_Dust]

Get him the CD “Once Saved, Always Saved?” from the Bible Christian Society. John Martignoni is from Alabama, so he sounds just like a Baptist preacher. Tell him to listen to it and tell you what he thinks is wrong with this guy’s presentation. This way it’s no longer between you and your brother, but your brother and John Martignoni.

(Before someone gets upset, I know not all Baptist preachers talk with Southern accents, it’s just a joke.)

 

[Josh316]

Thank you all for your responses and I assure you all that I have prayed for him a lot. He is very stubborn, however, but I will never give up. God bless you all and if you wish to keep the original thread going or have any questions great, and please pray for Jeremiah. (my brother)