Are converts better evangelizers

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NoelFitz

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I was impressed, encouraged and inspired by Eric Sammons article on ‘Sharing the Good News When the Daily News Is Bad’. Reading it I thought of the Church being described as ‘A Holy Church for Unholy People’. Sammons concludes that even in difficult times we should do our best to make converts.

This excellent article made me think of the very large number of convert participants, as thread and article writers, in CAF. Do converts have an enthusiasm and commitment often apparently lacking among cradle Catholics? Is there a surprising number of article writers in CAF who are converts, often, like St John Henry Newman, from evangelical convictions? In fact are converts better evangelizers?

I note similar concerns have been considered in CAF, where it is noted that most well known apologists are former Protestant Evangelicals, as Hahn, Wood and Madrid.

I would appreciate hearing your views.
 
I’m a convert but pretty much all the stuff I read/listened to were from regular cradle Catholics. The saints I spent the most time reading about and admiring were all cradle Catholics. God gives us our charisms which we use to help our neighbor. It’s not as important where the person came from as it is where God leads them.

So no, I would say the best evangelizer are whoever loves God and loves their neighbor.
 
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While I agree with TK421, as a cradle Catholic, I can say converts are a special kind of witness to non-Catholics. Seeing others who’ve done it–and how it has changed their lives–is powerful for those who should do the same. There’s a reason God calls different people at different points in their lives.
 
Welshrabbit said:
Yes. Yes we are. 😝
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Thanks. You challenge me to pull up my socks and, as a cradle Catholic, to become a better Catholic.

PS: I looked at Brian Holdsworth ‘We Need Better Music at Mass’. Some time ago at mass we had Elvis Presley singing ‘How Great THou Art’ and it was uplifting.
TK421 said:
I’m a convert but pretty much all the stuff I read/listened to were from regular cradle Catholics
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Thanks.
There is room for us all. I am reminded of the early Church when both Jew and Gentile became Christian, both groups received the Holy Spirit.
 
Yes. In, total jest, I might add, The only thing weaker amongst cradle Catholics than evangelizaiton skills are singing skills…the typical parish hymn gives meaning to raising a joyful noise unto the Lord.
 
dscath said:
The only thing weaker amongst cradle Catholics than evangelizaiton skills are singing skills
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The story is the same in Ireland, Some time ago I spoke to a Lutheran pastor in Ireland who told me when he arrived in Ireland he was amazed at the poor singing in Catholic churches as the Irish are considered good at singing. As one who cannot sing I cannot improve the situation.
 
I’m not sure it’s a matter of having converted or not. I think it’s more of whether someone has made an active, informed choice to be part of a religion.

People who have converted for religious reasons (as opposed to family or cultural reasons) have typically spent a lot of time investigating the deeper questions of life and thinking about the answers, and that process of investigation tends to bring the type of insight that makes one excellent at evangelizing.

That doesn’t mean that cradle Catholics have never asked those types of questions. Many people who grew up in the faith have subjected it to substantial scrutiny and decided it was correct. In that sense, they did actively choose Catholicism, and I would suspect that on average they are just as effective at evangelizing as any convert.

But the proportion of converts who have subjected Catholicism to that sort of scrutiny is necessarily going to be higher than the proportion of cradle Catholics who have done so, because being a convert practically requires you to have wrestled with those issues, whereas if you’re a cradle Catholic, it’s more optional. 🙂
 
My husband and I are converts to Catholicism from Evangelical Protestantism. We’re so thankful that God led us home!

I can think if two reasons why converts are good evangelizers.
  1. We know our Bible, and after becoming Catholic, we eagerly read the Deuterocanonicals and get familiar with them–to discover that there is more to the Holy Bible than 66 books is like Mom and Dad finding another basket of Christmas presents in their closet that they forgot about that morning!
    In addition to knowing our Bible, we know what a concordance is and how to use it to amaze Catholics with what they think is our photographic knowledge of where various verses are!
  2. The culture of our former churches (Evangelical Protestant) is all about "fellowship"and sharing the joy of the Lord with fellow believers, as well as discerning when our non-believing friends and acquaintances might be open to hearing a word of testiimony from us. We love to talk about our faith, the Bible, the Lord Jesus and how He works in our lives, our experiences with prayer, and our trials and temptations. Years of Sunday School, midweek prayers meetings and Bible studies, and various conferences, camps, retreats, rallies, etc. have made us very comfortable talking with and listening to others.
    This isn’t the case in the Catholic church, at least not today. People come to Mass and that’s pretty much it–they do NOT come to socialize, pray in small groups, participate in a Bible study, take our turn volunteering in the church nursery, work with others teaching a Sunday school class or planning VBS or the church Christmas pageant. Although there are friendly people in Catholic parishese who readily greet strangers, we have never seen a person who invites us over after Mass for lunch, or asks if we would like to join them watching the Superbowl, or asks us if we are interested in participating in their home Bible study/prayer group (in fact, I’m guessing that isn’t allowed by Catholic dioceses).
    I have to say that I really really miss that kind of fun, welcoming, friendly, outgoing fellowship at Protestant churches, and whenever I play piano/organ at Protestant churches, I still experience it and I wonder often why it doesn’t happen in Catholic churches. Oh, well. As I said, growing up with it and spending 47 years in that culture makes me very comfortable talking about my faith with others.
 
Yes, I agree with you, I can think of a number of converts with very strong faith who are (or were) in the forefront of evangelisation in the Church: Mother Angelica, Scott Hahn, Marcus Grodi, Jim and Joy, Steve Ray, Jimmy Akin, Tim Staples)

However, I can also think of a number of cradle Catholics also with very strong faith who are (or were) in the forefront of evangelisation too: Karl Keating (founder of Catholic Answers), Cardinal Raymond Burke, Raymond Arroyo, Patrick Madrid (I understand he was a cradle Catholic), Dr Mary Healy, Dr Greg Popcak, George Weigel, Dr Mark Miravalle, Patrick Coffin (although I think he was more of a revert), Fr John Hardon, Pope Saint John Paul II, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Pope Francis, St Therese of Lisieux. I believe the current President of Catholic Answers, Christopher Check, is also a cradle Catholic.

I think Scott Hahn put it well when asked about cradle Catholics and converts, he said he was very grateful to all the cradle Catholics for “holding the fort” prior to his conversion! (I believe both Scott Hahn and Marcus Grodi have sons in the seminary to become priests too!)
 
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TominAdelaide said:
I can think of a number of converts with very strong faith who are (or were) in the forefront of evangelisation in the Church: Mother Angelica
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Mother Angelica wasn’t a convert. Where did you get that idea?

She was a cradle Catholic, born into an Italian-American Catholic family.
 
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Oh I remember watching an episode of Mother Angelica discussing her life. She said her parents divorced (when she was around 5) saying that she was the only girl in her class who had divorced parents and that she had a stomach ailment that she believed God had cured by a miracle (when she was 19). She said she started to believe in God at that point so I assumed she was a convert….
 
She did have a lot of bad experiences with the nuns as a child because it was considered abnormal and wrong for a Catholic couple to be divorced (her father had abandoned the family). From what I have read, her grandparents weren’t very religious and would have been what’s called “cultural Catholics” ,but her mother got very involved in the local Catholic parish when Mother Angelica was a very young child, and brought her up in the Church.

Interestingly, her spiritual mentor and lifelong friend, Servant of God Rhoda Wise, who at that time was a local mystic and healer, was a former Evangelical who converted to Catholicism.
 
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Regarding the original question: I think in some cases, converts are better evangelizers, for the following reasons:
  • They often have a deep interest in religious matters in general and Catholic apologetics in particular, because their interest is what moved many of them to convert in the first place.
  • Many of the Protestant converts have a strong knowledge of the Bible and thus are good at using Scripture to back up their argument and countering Scriptural arguments that Protestants use.
  • Converts have a unique ability to understand and talk to members of whatever faith they were in before, and maybe convert them.
Having said all that, many converted Protestants do not appeal to me as a cradle Catholic. I’m happy they are in the Church and I find some of their explanations and writings to be interesting, for example Scott Hahn’s writings on Scripture. But as a cradle I am usually more comfortable with / have more in common with other cradles. Some Protestant converts, including St. John Henry Newman, still have some level of discomfort with Catholic Marian devotion. Some of them reject or set aside private revelations, others embrace them to an excessive degree. Some converts just come off as overzealous, or act like they know more than the Pope, or assume all cradle Catholics are uncatechized. And some of them are on a quest for truth and perfection to the point where they might up and leave the Church if it doesn’t live up to their standards; their expectations just don’t seem realistic.
 
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Oh I see, that’s very interesting I didn’t know that about her. (I live in Australia so don’t know all that much about Mother Angelica or watch much EWTN although I occasionally watch some of their programs online)
 
White_Tree said:
People who have converted for religious reasons (as opposed to family or cultural reasons) have typically spent a lot of time investigating the deeper questions of life and thinking about the answers, and that process of investigation tends to bring the type of insight that makes one excellent at evangelizing.
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Thanks for this.
It is encouraging for me, a cradle Catholic to realize I could I be a better Catholic by being more like some converts.
Peeps said:
We know our Bible,
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Peeps said:
The culture of our former churches (Evangelical Protestant) is all about "fellowship"and sharing the joy of the Lord with fellow believers,
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Reading the above post I resolve to become more active in the parish, and study the Bible more.
TominAdelaide said:
he (Hahn) said he was very grateful to all the cradle Catholics for “holding the fort” prior to his conversion!
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Does this sound a bit patronizing? The WWW is not too positive about Cardinal Raymond Burke.
Tis_Bearself said:
Some Protestant converts, including St. John Henry Newman, still have some level of discomfort with Catholic Marian devotion.
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I am a great fan of St JHN. Some cradle Catholics have some level of discomfort with Catholic Marian devotion. The principal dogmas we hold De Fide are the Assumption and the Immaculate Conception, other beliefs may be a matter of opinion (e.g. Mediatrix of all graces and apparitions).
 
While you are correct that the Marian title “Mediatrix of All Graces” has not been dogmatically defined for various reasons (one being that those pushing for a dogmatic definition combined it with the “Co-Redemptrix” title which is much more controversial), Mary as our Mediatrix is part of Church teaching and stated in the Catechism.

So it is not just “a matter of opinion”, it is official Catholic teaching, which has (as explained in one of the CA articles below) been consistently taught by the Church.

CCC 969:

“This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation . . . . Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix.”

Some Catholic Answers apologetics on this:



Regarding cradle Catholics with “Mary problems”, I don’t have much patience with them - I am far more understanding of a convert with such an issue - but that’s a topic for another thread.
 
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I don’t know, am I? I think, speaking personally, both sides are mixed in this area.
 
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From my perspective as a Protestant, the answer is, “It depends”.

Catholic converts who are respectful and come from a similar background are the most compelling to me, and I like interacting with them because I can relate to them and could see myself potentially following in their path.

Converts who denigrate their previous Protestant faith traditions have the opposite effect on me, and I can’t relate to them at all because our experiences are so radically opposite, as I totally respect my faith tradition.

Cradle Catholics who take their faith seriously are refreshing to interact with because I can see how Catholicism has shaped their lives and perspectives as their only faith from cradle to present.

Some cradles are fine and respectful in our interactions and I admire them greatly and desire more dealings with them.

Others come across as arrogant, condescending, and dismissive of all Protestant faith traditions. These people have the opposite effect on me and make me glad I’m not one of them.

In short, converts and cradles can both be great evangelizers or poor ones. It depends on the person, their interpersonal skills, level of respect of other people from different traditions, and the degree of connection with the person they are interacting with.
 
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