Baptist church

[Mark01]

Roblox84

I can tell you from experience that a marriage of mixed faiths can be very difficult but can be very fruitful as well. My story is one I would like to share to hopefully give you some insight into your future. I was married for 24 years to a wonderful woman, we were both raised in the Catholic faith and we had one son together. During most of our marriage I was not very strong in my practice of my faith and to tell you the truth, my wife always wished that I participate more with her and my son in the Church. She was a very active member in the parish and I hardly went to Mass at all.

She was killed in an automobile accident and the regrets that I had after her death were enormous. Subsequently I started to date a very wonderful woman who had known my wife as a childhood friend and I guess that is why there was such a strong attraction between us. She is of the Baptist faith and her walk in Christ has been one of a very strong conviction. I started attending a Bible Study with her at her church and in doing so started questioning my beliefs as a Catholic. The class was conducted by an exceptional man who is very learned in Scripture, but in my limited knowledge I knew what was being taught differed in what the Catholic Church teaches. I began for the first time in my life to really study the Catholic Church, what She teaches and why and I’m still studying to learn all I can about the Truth and Beauty contained in the teachings Of the Catholic Church.

I have since married this beautiful woman, who as a Baptist was the catalyst to my becoming stronger in my Catholic faith. There certainly have been some very difficult times in our relationship and we continued to this day to struggle with our differences of beliefs, but the more I study the more I am able to explain to her what the Church teaches. I pray daily for the Holy Spirit to continue to guide us both in our relationship and I also thank God for bringing her into my life and bringing me closer to the Church.

As a young person you have your whole life ahead of you, and it is very important for you to understand that there is only One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ. Take the time to study and understand what the Church teaches, raise your children in the CC anything less is just that, something less. There are many wonderful people who call themselves Christians, they do wonderful work in spreading the Word and they believe that what they are taught is the truth and one must be very careful not to be pulled into these “lesser” truths. Their faith beliefs will be just as strong as yours and only through knowledge, patients, kindness and gentleness should one discuss the differences. This can be very difficult to do, it is through love that hopefully people will come to embrace the Truth of the CC.

I do caution you as a young person not to do something out of love or fear of losing a relationship with your girlfriend/future wife in an effort to appease her feelings. Marriage is an oath to God and it is something one should not enter into with doubt or lack of conviction. The most important relationship you will ever have in this life is the one you have with God and His Church.

It has taken me 46 years to come to where I am today and I feel that through my own lack of understanding and knowledge I made many mistakes along the way. I’m home now and though I still have some things to work out in my spiritual life, I will never leave the CC for something less.

Peace be with you

 

[Rachel_1]

Roblox84

I can tell you from experience that a marriage of mixed faiths can be very difficult but can be very fruitful as well. My story is one I would like to share to hopefully give you some insight into your future. I was married for 24 years to a wonderful woman, we were both raised in the Catholic faith and we had one son together. During most of our marriage I was not very strong in my practice of my faith and to tell you the truth, my wife always wished that I participate more with her and my son in the Church. She was a very active member in the parish and I hardly went to Mass at all.

She was killed in an automobile accident and the regrets that I had after her death were enormous. Subsequently I started to date a very wonderful woman who had known my wife as a childhood friend and I guess that is why there was such a strong attraction between us. She is of the Baptist faith and her walk in Christ has been one of a very strong conviction. I started attending a Bible Study with her at her church and in doing so started questioning my beliefs as a Catholic. The class was conducted by an exceptional man who is very learned in Scripture, but in my limited knowledge I knew what was being taught differed in what the Catholic Church teaches. I began for the first time in my life to really study the Catholic Church, what She teaches and why and I’m still studying to learn all I can about the Truth and Beauty contained in the teachings Of the Catholic Church.

I have since married this beautiful woman, who as a Baptist was the catalyst to my becoming stronger in my Catholic faith. There certainly have been some very difficult times in our relationship and we continued to this day to struggle with our differences of beliefs, but the more I study the more I am able to explain to her what the Church teaches. I pray daily for the Holy Spirit to continue to guide us both in our relationship and I also thank God for bringing her into my life and bringing me closer to the Church.

As a young person you have your whole life ahead of you, and it is very important for you to understand that there is only One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ. Take the time to study and understand what the Church teaches, raise your children in the CC anything less is just that, something less. There are many wonderful people who call themselves Christians, they do wonderful work in spreading the Word and they believe that what they are taught is the truth and one must be very careful not to be pulled into these “lesser” truths. Their faith beliefs will be just as strong as yours and only through knowledge, patients, kindness and gentleness should one discuss the differences. This can be very difficult to do, it is through love that hopefully people will come to embrace the Truth of the CC.

I do caution you as a young person not to do something out of love or fear of losing a relationship with your girlfriend/future wife in an effort to appease her feelings. Marriage is an oath to God and it is something one should not enter into with doubt or lack of conviction. The most important relationship you will ever have in this life is the one you have with God and His Church.

It has taken me 46 years to come to where I am today and I feel that through my own lack of understanding and knowledge I made many mistakes along the way. I’m home now and though I still have some things to work out in my spiritual life, I will never leave the CC for something less.

Peace be with you

You know what’s really cool about your story is that your wife probably prayed for you daily before she passed, and that God answered her prayer

 

[SteveVH]

Another aspect of this debate which is really not on track is that the Tiber crowd say all manner of critical things about us when in fact they are not as accuate as they claim. The RCC claims 2000 years of truth,Ok. But however long it has been in existence, one thing we can all agree on is this, the RCC has generated mountains of theological paperwork. It is easy to look into the archives to find a pronouncement about such and such and then find that same pronouncement counteracted at a later time. This is what Vatican II did, it basically reversed the historic course of the RCC.

Please give some examples of finding “a pronouncement about such and such and then find that same pronouncement counteracted at a later time”. Also, in what way did Vatican II “reverse the historic course of the RCC”? Neither of these statements are true.

 

[Chi_Rho_Joe]

I really hope that everyone who (and we all do this!) goes Church-hunting… that we go back to simple basics:

1. Do we want to know the True Church or want a “church” that meets our own criteria?
2. Is it more or less logical to want the actual faith of the Apostles or do we believe that some ‘man’ had a better idea a thousand-plus years after Jesus
3. Do we truly realize the Holy Spirit doesn’t have multiple-personality disorder by supposedly starting ‘new’ "church"es?
   Just because I am a cradle Catholic (and the darndest poorest excuse I’ve ever known of one - no joke), I put my emotions aside and started at year 33. The only question now, is: the Catholic Church or Orthodoxy? The logic of Catholicism was very evident to me so I choose to stay Catholic and thank my parents for the tremendous gift they gave me which for years I squandered but I thank God that He kept me around long enough for me to realize what He gave me (His Church) and to be a part of it. She is truly the only real place I belong in this world - and in the next! No joke. I recommend we all put on our Mr. Spock ears (from Star Trek) and see, without emotion in the way, the start of the Real Church Jesus was quoted to have started in the Bible. Hope this helps. Live long and prosper (God said it better: Be fruitful and multiply) Peace.

 

[jlhargus]

Roblox84

I can tell you from experience that a marriage of mixed faiths can be very difficult but can be very fruitful as well. My story is one I would like to share to hopefully give you some insight into your future. I was married for 24 years to a wonderful woman, we were both raised in the Catholic faith and we had one son together. During most of our marriage I was not very strong in my practice of my faith and to tell you the truth, my wife always wished that I participate more with her and my son in the Church. She was a very active member in the parish and I hardly went to Mass at all.

She was killed in an automobile accident and the regrets that I had after her death were enormous. Subsequently I started to date a very wonderful woman who had known my wife as a childhood friend and I guess that is why there was such a strong attraction between us. She is of the Baptist faith and her walk in Christ has been one of a very strong conviction. I started attending a Bible Study with her at her church and in doing so started questioning my beliefs as a Catholic. The class was conducted by an exceptional man who is very learned in Scripture, but in my limited knowledge I knew what was being taught differed in what the Catholic Church teaches. I began for the first time in my life to really study the Catholic Church, what She teaches and why and I’m still studying to learn all I can about the Truth and Beauty contained in the teachings Of the Catholic Church.

I have since married this beautiful woman, who as a Baptist was the catalyst to my becoming stronger in my Catholic faith. There certainly have been some very difficult times in our relationship and we continued to this day to struggle with our differences of beliefs, but the more I study the more I am able to explain to her what the Church teaches. I pray daily for the Holy Spirit to continue to guide us both in our relationship and I also thank God for bringing her into my life and bringing me closer to the Church.

As a young person you have your whole life ahead of you, and it is very important for you to understand that there is only One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ. Take the time to study and understand what the Church teaches, raise your children in the CC anything less is just that, something less. There are many wonderful people who call themselves Christians, they do wonderful work in spreading the Word and they believe that what they are taught is the truth and one must be very careful not to be pulled into these “lesser” truths. Their faith beliefs will be just as strong as yours and only through knowledge, patients, kindness and gentleness should one discuss the differences. This can be very difficult to do, it is through love that hopefully people will come to embrace the Truth of the CC.

I do caution you as a young person not to do something out of love or fear of losing a relationship with your girlfriend/future wife in an effort to appease her feelings. Marriage is an oath to God and it is something one should not enter into with doubt or lack of conviction. The most important relationship you will ever have in this life is the one you have with God and His Church.

It has taken me 46 years to come to where I am today and I feel that through my own lack of understanding and knowledge I made many mistakes along the way. I’m home now and though I still have some things to work out in my spiritual life, I will never leave the CC for something less. Peace be with you

JL: A wonderful testimony, I enjoyed it very much.

 

[Anna_Scott]

…And who can argue with the Holy Spirit!!! I attend a fundamentalist Independent Baptist Anti-Catholic Church. The pastor and several leaders there are former Catholics and they make sure that all know how lost Catholics are. On my first Sunday there, the pastor pulled the Holy Spirit card out by saying he was going to preach that Sunday on the Holy Spirit, but was “lead” to preach about how God lead him out of the Catholic Church. He didn’t know me from Adam. Could God be speaking to me? I had been looking across the Tiber for over 12 years at that point and for a moment thought maybe God was trying to tell me something. But when I see the fruits of that preaching and that belief system, and attend their fellowships, most of the time it’s a bragging fest. They talk about how they love but I see very little of it. A week or so before that Sunday, I stopped at a Safeway store to pickup some coffee cream - on my way through the parking lot, this old lady appeared in front of me and blocked my path - she had something in her hand and forced it into mine, I said no thanks, but she shoved it back to me without a word. She moved almost like a machine and didn’t seem “human”, then she disappeared. What she gave me was a Chick tract. Chick tracts are anti-Catholic. So there I was in that Sunday morning service, listening to how God lead the pastor out of the Catholic Church as a high school teenager. He’d just finished the Stations of the Cross and had to walk home on a long lonely road - a thunderstorm came up and frightened him - he thought if he’d died or got struck by lightning, he didn’t know if he was going to heaven or hell. Then after that, he went to a baptist revival and got saved and then “knew” he was saved and going to heaven.
I deduced that that lady with the tract was not human and sent to keep me from the True Church and that the pastor wasn’t lead by the Holy Spirit to preach about how “God” lead him out of the Church - because much of what he preaches is demogoguery. Meaning that he preaches against the sins of others outside the Church and incites passion and emotion in the congregation. I can’t believe the Holy Spirit inspires that. The Church is also in a financial crisis - they had a major building project a few years ago and now are obsessed with paying off the mortgage. Giving is always under budget and hardly a Sunday goes by that he doesn’t preach on giving. When he’s not preaching on giving, he’s preaching on boycotting Pepsi. A couple of years ago, they called in the big guns, a consulting firm to rally people to give and dictated ways we can give (selling our goods, etc…) and they called the program “Greater Works”. They put up a big poster in the front of the “sanctuary” that said “Greater Works”. And now, Greater Works is all about giving and not about the works that Christ did on earth. Greater works is paying off the mortgage. We missed Christmas in a place where it should have been most prominent - in the Church. There was no Christmas story, no Angel Annunciation, no Mary, no Manger, no Magnificat, no Joseph, just sermons on giving.
It has gotten to a point where the people that go there are merely a means to an end. Were they ever fed spiritually?

twiggymoo,

I was thinking about you and went back and read your story again. How are you? What did you decide to do? I think I recall you saying your wife is very anti-Catholic. Are you wanting to explore Catholicism? I was just wondering. There was so much sadness and despair in your post.

Anna

 

[Kambi]

Rob

How does her family feel about you and your faith? I married a man and his entire family were faithful followers of Jimmy Swaggart. He has openly called the Catholic Church a “cultish religion”. My husband agreed to raise our daughter Catholic. We are divorced because of his infidelity, and he continues to take our daughter to Mass and drop her off there on his weekends. She tells me that she feels like an outsider with his family because she’s Catholic. But she’s proud to be one.

It was rough. Years into our marriage, my mom-in-law was not getting along with my husband, their own personal rift, and I was blamed because I was Catholic. I thought this was all in the past.

I was given advice that I did not follow: you not only marry the person, you marry the entire family.

Also Rob, it’s ok to attend another church, but it does not replace Mass and missing Mass is a sin.

Peace and good luck
K

 

[Roblox84]

Rob

How does her family feel about you and your faith? I married a man and his entire family were faithful followers of Jimmy Swaggart. He has openly called the Catholic Church a “cultish religion”. My husband agreed to raise our daughter Catholic. We are divorced because of his infidelity, and he continues to take our daughter to Mass and drop her off there on his weekends. She tells me that she feels like an outsider with his family because she’s Catholic. But she’s proud to be one.

It was rough. Years into our marriage, my mom-in-law was not getting along with my husband, their own personal rift, and I was blamed because I was Catholic. I thought this was all in the past.

I was given advice that I did not follow: you not only marry the person, you marry the entire family.

Also Rob, it’s ok to attend another church, but it does not replace Mass and missing Mass is a sin.

Peace and good luck
K

Her family doesn’t think to kindly of the Catholic faith. My gf once told me that if she had a wedding in a Catholic Church, her mother probably wouldn’t show up. The thing is, I don’t know where the hate comes from because they have never even been around Catholic people and the first time my gf has ever been to a Catholic Church was with me. The only explanation is that the baptist preachers in their church might teach anti-catholic practices.

I once mentioned to her about all the hateful things Baptists learn in church and she said “so you think we just sit around and talk badly about Catholics”. Which is probably exactly what they did. But she and her family also might be learning to hate Catholics and not even know it, because her pastor might teach that ritualized prayer is bad as well as having icons in Church. So immediately they will attribute that to the Catholics, because of movies they might have seen or stories they heard from others.

 

[Marlow]

I am Catholic and have been going to a baptist church with my girlfriend for some time. We mostly go to her church but sometimes we go to my church also. We agree on many things, although I believe that you need the church to fully understand the bible and most protestants don’t. I previously had no problem with the baptist church because the pastors would preech things that would most likely bring the people closer to God. The pastors bible translations were somewhat skewed because he would pretty much give his opinion on what the passage might have meant, but his translations were never to lead the people away from Christ. I have been going there for about 2 years and I have been noticing the pastor would talk down on other religions, not much, but enough for me to notice. For example, he would say something of the matter that Catholics don’t believe something the way it was meant in the bible and the way they(baptists) do it. Now, I have been going to a Catholic church and I have never heard them talk down on any religion and they actually embrace the protestant as the “seperated bretheren”, so I was just wondering if they do that at protestant chruches because they are trying to hide something and so that people will remain anti-catholic as so not to loose attendance or is it in their mission statement of the church. I am worried about this because we plan on marrying and she doesn’t want to raise the kids Catholic. I had no problem with that but now i’m not sure because I could only think that the baptists will teach our kids from a yound age how to hate Catholics and that their way is the only right way. Also, I don’t want them to be taught anything that is contradicting to the bible. Any help from a Catholic or Baptist that would ease my mind would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

That is my experience with many protestants too! They can be virulent against Catholics and frankly I have never heard any Catholics seriously say something negative about protestants.

I will say I do envy the baptist adult baptism. It is the only non-Catholic sacrement I wish we had. Not that I would eliminate our childhood baptism. But there must be something incredibly spirtual to be baptised in a body of water as a knowing and believing adult in the manner of Christ our Lord.

 

[Roblox84]

That is my experience with many protestants too! They can be virulent against Catholics and frankly I have never heard any Catholics seriously say something negative about protestants.

I will say I do envy the baptist adult baptism. It is the only non-Catholic sacrement I wish we had. Not that I would eliminate our childhood baptism. But there must be something incredibly spirtual to be baptised in a body of water as a knowing and believing adult in the manner of Christ our Lord.

I think that’s what we do in our confirmation. Although I am not 100% on that.

 

[Chi_Rho_Joe]

“Few Americans hate the Catholic Church, but millions hate what they think is the Catholic Church.” --Bishop Fulton Sheen

 

[Marlow]

I think that’s what we do in our confirmation. Although I am not 100% on that.

You are probably right, though I’m not sure myself…lol.

“Few Americans hate the Catholic Church, but millions hate what they think is the Catholic Church.” --Bishop Fulton Sheen

It may be true that they hate what they think is the Church, but I have found even those that understand it hate it. There is some real prejudice out there. I don’t understand why they can’t just believe in what they believe and not find the need to express such hatred. It’s like they have to stand in contra-distinction to Catholicism or they lose significance.

Edit: Oh one more thing. Some former Catholics who have become portestants are some of the worse Catholic bigots.

 

[Chi_Rho_Joe]

Marlow, just as the world hated Jesus, Himself, is it really a surprise that His real Church (both people and institution) would likewise be hated and under attack? Would anyone attack a non-value target? It’s for a reason why God says we are blessed when we are attacked for His sake: it’s no surprise to God and so shouldn’t be a surprise to us. Me, personally, the more attacks I see, the more relevant my senses perceive the Catholic Church as really being in the eyes of the world. The devil’s days are numbered and it can’t stand it. As Scripture says, and Pope JP II reiterated: Do not be afraid.
As for fellow hatin’ Catholics, if they REALLY knew what they had, they wouldn’t be hatin’ (or at least so lukewarm).
My eyebrows raised at your ‘adult baptism’ post. Baptism is baptism. Afterward the sacrament of Confession returns us to post-baptism cleanliness. I hope your comment reflects more of a personal preference vs. questioning the sacramental aspect. My adopted son received his baptism/1st Communion/Confirmation at once when he was 11. I would have like him to receive it with his high school buddies at 15/16, but he attended the confirmation courses although he had already received the sacrament at 11. Since the Church said do all 3 at once, my disagreement was automatically wrong and it was me who had to accept it and correct my thoughts. Pomp and circumstance is one thing, deferring to the Church is everything. My 2cents. (no change please)
March on Catholic-Christian soldiers!! Peace.

 

[SteveVH]

I think that’s what we do in our confirmation. Although I am not 100% on that.

Not at Confirmation unless you are coming into the Church as an adult and have not been baptized. Then you would receive Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist all at once, most likely at Easter Vigil. In our Church, and in most newly constructed Catholic Churches, we have fonts that allow for full immersion. Its awesome.

 

[Marlow]

Marlow, just as the world hated Jesus, Himself, is it really a surprise that His real Church (both people and institution) would likewise be hated and under attack? Would anyone attack a non-value target? It’s for a reason why God says we are blessed when we are attacked for His sake: it’s no surprise to God and so shouldn’t be a surprise to us. Me, personally, the more attacks I see, the more relevant my senses perceive the Catholic Church as really being in the eyes of the world. The devil’s days are numbered and it can’t stand it. As Scripture says, and Pope JP II reiterated: Do not be afraid.

Oh I’m not afraid. I just get ticked off. I usually fight back.

As for fellow hatin’ Catholics, if they REALLY knew what they had, they wouldn’t be hatin’ (or at least so lukewarm).

Yeah I can’t understand what happened to them.

My eyebrows raised at your ‘adult baptism’ post. Baptism is baptism. Afterward the sacrament of Confession returns us to post-baptism cleanliness. I hope your comment reflects more of a personal preference vs. questioning the sacramental aspect. My adopted son received his baptism/1st Communion/Confirmation at once when he was 11. I would have like him to receive it with his high school buddies at 15/16, but he attended the confirmation courses although he had already received the sacrament at 11. Since the Church said do all 3 at once, my disagreement was automatically wrong and it was me who had to accept it and correct my thoughts. Pomp and circumstance is one thing, deferring to the Church is everything. My 2cents. (no change please)
March on Catholic-Christian soldiers!! Peace.

I’m not looking to change any of our sacrements. I was just expressing how pleasing an experience such a baptism must be. Unlike the Protestant bigots we’re discussing, I can appreciate something outside my own tradition.

 

[Chi_Rho_Joe]

Marlow my brutha, I couldn’t agree more! I think that if you look at the TONE alone of how Catholics vs. home-brew Christian flavors speak of one another, the overwhelming love and respect in Catholicism overshadows the negativity and full-on potty-mouths the denomination-du-jour uses in overstating their belief. But to their credit, yelling is really the only thing they got going for them to get the attention of a Catholic to try to change their belief. It’s a Jedi-mind trick that doesn’t work on me tho’!

 

[Darron_Steele]

That is my experience with many protestants too! They can be virulent against Catholics and frankly I have never heard any Catholics seriously say something negative about protestants. …

Then you must not read the board very deeply.

In fact, if you read this post:
forums.catholic-questions.org/showpost.php?p=6292671&postcount=112
You will find something quite nasty a Catholic wrote – which even fellow Catholics were speaking out against. Evidently, this fundamentalist with a graduate degree in mathematics needs a “measurable IQ” according to one Catholic.

It goes both ways here.

Catholics in general do not go running off with the mouth in real life like some non-Catholics do. They come here to do it under generally anonymous usernames.

Usually, however, it is not in Catholic posts to us, but between Catholics about us. This makes it less `in your face’ and more easy to overlook.

 

[Mark01]

Generally I find that most people have a tendency to want to prove a point. This is usually founded based on perspective. To be able to calmly and gently discuss matters of faith is truly one of the most difficult things for me to participate in particularly when I feel the Catholic faith is being attacked, but the more knowledgeable I become I find myself being able to discuss things in a much more effective way.

I believe that most of our “Separated Brethren” have difficulty with the Catholic Church not because they are opposed to Her teachings, but because they have never taken the time to study these teachings from the perspective of actually learning anything about the Church.

They are generally trying to prove a point, this is something as Catholics we should pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us in, not to prove a point, but to reveal the truth. If you think about it we have nothing to prove, because all truths reveal themselves.

All through the New Testament we find a theme of Unity. Jesus preach it Peter and Paul preached it. The is no invisible church, Jesus preached that the Church would be visible for all time and that we have His promise that it will never be defeated. I do not consider myself to be a member of a denomination, I am part of the Body and Word of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

For those who say the Church is wrong, in essence they are saying that Jesus told a lie, I myself would want to know the truth, because to me it might just be a little dangerous to call Jesus a lier.

Let us as Catholics pray for the Unity Jesus preached.

Peace be with you all

 

[Art321]

Generally I find that most people have a tendency to want to prove a point. This is usually founded based on perspective. To be able to calmly and gently discuss matters of faith is truly one of the most difficult things for me to participate in particularly when I feel the Catholic faith is being attacked, but the more knowledgeable I become I find myself being able to discuss things in a much more effective way.

I believe that most of our “Separated Brethren” have difficulty with the Catholic Church not because they are opposed to Her teachings, but because they have never taken the time to study these teachings from the perspective of actually learning anything about the Church.

They are generally trying to prove a point, this is something as Catholics we should pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us in, not to prove a point, but to reveal the truth. If you think about it we have nothing to prove, because all truths reveal themselves.

All through the New Testament we find a theme of Unity. Jesus preach it Peter and Paul preached it. The is no invisible church, Jesus preached that the Church would be visible for all time and that we have His promise that it will never be defeated. I do not consider myself to be a member of a denomination, I am part of the Body and Word of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

For those who say the Church is wrong, in essence they are saying that Jesus told a lie, I myself would want to know the truth, because to me it might just be a little dangerous to call Jesus a lier.

Let us as Catholics pray for the Unity Jesus preached.

Peace be with you all

Awesome post!

 

[murtad]

How can you say you are Catholic and yet say that is doesn’t matter if your future children would be raised Catholic? I think you need to get off the fence. If you believe that the Catholic Church was founded by Christ then shouldn’t your children be raised in the faith that He established?
Will your future wife let your children be baptized as infants or will they have to wait until they are adults and “accept Christ as their personal Savior?”
You need to evangelize your future wife. If you love her then give her the greatest gift you can, the One True Faith.

you must tell your future spouse that the bible is a man made book and not the word of god. A catholic christian must believe the divine church not the bible only. The word was crucified not the bible. Sola scriptura is not logical.