Baptist girl, catholic guy?

[Colorad007]

I once heard a sermon at a Protestant church where the pastor was celebrating the fact that “we don’t have to go into a confessional to be forgiven.” Most Protestants believe that they are already forgiven. So one Baptist pastor I know tells people to simply “thank God for His forgiveness when you sin.” That sounds an awful lot like what we call the sin of presumption. But it goes deeper than that. Justification, in Protestant theology, is a largely juridical act wherein God “covers” your sins with the blood of Christ. There is no purification. No cleansing. No transformation. Protestants do believe in sanctification, of course, wherein the Holy Spirit works in your life and helps you to become holy, but you can never shake the stain of sin until death… But Catholics, through the Sacrament of Penance, can reach that now, today. We can be cleansed today through confession. Interestingly, our OP could actually walk into a Catholic parish today and experience that for herself. Literally right now, she has that ability as a baptized Catholic. It is amazing to me that somebody could simply walk away from that offer of authentic, deep-in-your-soul, full-blown healing and transformation from the wounds of sin.

No wonder confession was actually one of the things I loved the most when I became a Catholic. There is literally nothing that feels quite as good as the feeling of being totally unburdened from sin—of being not just “declared” clean, but actually being clean of sin.

 

[Jon_S_1]

I once heard a sermon at a Protestant church where the pastor was celebrating the fact that “we don’t have to go into a confessional to be forgiven.” Most Protestants believe that they are already forgiven. So one Baptist pastor I know tells people to simply “thank God for His forgiveness when you sin.” That sounds an awful lot like what we call the sin of presumption. But it goes deeper than that. Justification, in Protestant theology, is a largely juridical act wherein God “covers” your sins with the blood of Christ. There is no purification. No cleansing. No transformation. Protestants do believe in sanctification, of course, wherein the Holy Spirit works in your life and helps you to become holy, but you can never shake the stain of sin until death… But Catholics, through the Sacrament of Penance, can reach that now, today. We can be cleansed today through confession. Interestingly, our OP could actually walk into a Catholic parish today and experience that for herself. Literally right now, she has that ability as a baptized Catholic. It is amazing to me that somebody could simply walk away from that offer of authentic, deep-in-your-soul, full-blown healing and transformation from the wounds of sin.

No wonder confession was actually one of the things I loved the most when I became a Catholic. There is literally nothing that feels quite as good as the feeling of being totally unburdened from sin—of being not just “declared” clean, but actually being clean of sin.

Nothing convinced me of Gods True Church, the Catholic Faith, than experiencing his true grace and mercy in the Confessional.

Love it!

 

[zz912]

Thank y’all I just feel we would butt heads when it comes to kids, I thonk,we are equally devout, he tried being a Christian bit stuck to being catholic Bc its what hes used,

Just FYI, but the way you phrased this is extremely insulting. Catholics ARE Christian, the first and fullest Christians.

Something to TRULY think about: Let’s discuss further down the road, if you two decide to get married. You mentioned that you want to respect his beliefs. Well one of those beliefs, a teaching of the Church, is that he must be married in the Catholic Church, or receive permission to marry outside the Church from his bishop (not always granted).

Secondly, he must receive permission from the bishop to marry outside the Catholic faith (this is usually granted if certain conditions met). In giving permission for him to marry you one of the things he AND YOU must agree to is that the children are to be raised Catholic. This isn’t up for discussion. Now some people may just agree to it to get what they want (married), but never intend to carry out the requirement. This is lying, and it is not something you want to being a marriage on.

On a side note, I’m a convert from the Baptist faith. I would encourage you to take another look at the Catholic faith again. The fullness of the Christian faith is in the Catholic Church, you simply aren’t receiving all of it in the Baptist church. There is simply NOTHING that compares to receiving and coming into physical contact with the Creator of the universe, God Himself, in the Eucharist. All the other parts of worship (songs, homilies, etc), simply don’t measure up to this one thing.

 

[Patti_M]

No wonder confession was actually one of the things I loved the most when I became a Catholic. There is literally nothing that feels quite as good as the feeling of being totally unburdened from sin—of being not just “declared” clean, but actually being clean of sin.

I agree with all you say here but it may be a problem with identifing exactly what sin is? Some protestants don’t think they sin at all, if you can believe that. But that’s another topic for another day.

Godsprincess needs to read John 20:23 where Jesus give the apostles the authority to forgive sins. “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John … ‘Whose sins you shall forgive,’ he says, 'they are forgiven them; whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." I have never understood how protestants explain those versuses away. Maybe she can explain this.

 

[zz912]

1. Catholics are required to attend Mass every Sunday. So, if your boyfriend (or later husband) goes to your Church on some weeks, he will also need to attend Mass. Some couples work this out by attending Saturday evening Mass and a Sunday non-Catholic service.

Something else for the OP to consider:

What happens when the children reach 7-8 years old. It is time for First Communion. From that point on, the children MUST go to Mass every week as well.

So this requires some contemplation on her part. It can bring up problems in the marriage if not fully considered.

 

[zz912]

We are honestly taking our time to known each other and weve been friends for a while, im not asking for people to judge my relationship with him, all im asking is friendly advice, we are taking our relationship very slowly, im sorry if my posts sound very insensible this is new to me, I was catholic my whole life and I didnt intend to like a guy who was catholic it just happened, so please all im asking is friendly advice in a non judgemental environment

I wouldn’t take the comments in the thread as judgmental. I think it comes more from a standpoint of concern.

We want to lay ALL the cards out on the table. It does you no good to not have all the information available before you begin a journey together with this man. It is better to know these things now, so that if it will be an insurmountable problem for you in the future, you can end it before emotions and other entanglements pop up.

We’ve seen quite a few people on these boards before who blindly started dating someone of another faith, never considered possible problems, got married, had kids, and then were surprpised when problems erupted. There are serious issues to discuss before you get to that point, so your relationship does not suffer.

If a comment comes across as judgmental to you, I would assume the person was being blunt instead. They want to give you good info and feedback, without any sugar-coating, so you don’t walk into problems too late.

God bless.

 

[zz912]

No wonder confession was actually one of the things I loved the most when I became a Catholic. There is literally nothing that feels quite as good as the feeling of being totally unburdened from sin—of being not just “declared” clean, but actually being clean of sin.

I couldn’t agree with this more!

One of the TREMENDOUS gifts of the Christian faith is Confession. I wish I could go more. And it saddens me that most Catholics ignore this treasure, sometimes for decades!

 

[jlhargus]

Jilargus I will examine it, when I had stepped into my baptist church I felt at home the first time I walked in, I really enjoyed the mix between contemporary music and hymns, I also love the fact they read the Bible every Sunday, what I didn’t have as a catholic was a firm foundation in the bible I read mine alot constantly, it wasnt really the doctrine I felt I belonged at my baptist church, in the Church I felt it was too large and like I was being snuffed out

I would say feeling good isn’t even close to being as important as truth. I can feel at home or good in many places yet I wouldn’t put my salvation in those feelings but only on truth. There are many large Baptist churches would you feel snuffed out in then? Also there are many small Catholic Churches.

I have been to Baptists services there is far more scripture read at mass than at Baptist services. Usually a Baptist pastor takes only a few verses an preaches on those. It’s great you read your bible a lot you should have and could have when you were Catholic.

also I didnt like confession, I like the way baptists can just go to god for forgiveness, but I do miss communion

Just going through the motions would make confession seem a burden. But for those who understand it and are in need of forgiveness it lifts the burdens. I was going to post on confession but I had to go out. I see Bayou has posted a good link on confession and scriptural evidence for it. I hope you will read it.

You might find this blog helpful.
catholic.com/blog/tim-staples/is-confession-in-scripture-0

 

[agnes_therese]

Thanks for saying that; my thoughts exactly. So many protestants think that we are not Christian. It drives me nuts and is very insulting. Many Catholics have died and are dying everyday for their Christian faith. With that comment Princess, you lost alot of credibility with me. All you need do is read a newspaper.

She clarified that quite a few posts ago.

 

[Patti_M]

She clarified that quite a few posts ago.

This comment she makes says otherwise:
he tried being a Christian bit stuck to being catholic Bc its what hes used,

If statements like this are not confronted by Catholics whenever they see it, it sends a message to protestants that we do not consider ourselves as such. It’s unfortunate but that’s reality.

I would not be surprised if she has been told by many Baptists that Catholics are not Christian. I grew up in a very Baptist small town & we told constantly that we were NOT CHRISTIAN. As you can see, I am very sensitive to this falsehood and I will confront anyone who makes that kind of statement.

 

[Brandall]

Someone has pointed out that you have called this guy your “soon to be new boyfriend”. I would avoid investing so much time and energy thinking about the future when it may not be a long one.

My youth was in the Baptist Church and I loved it very much. Some of their doctrine was challenging to me and I found their autonomy destructive. I was no less than grateful to find the Catholic Church and my life hasn’t been the same since.

I’m a Baptist to Catholic convert and my wife is still a Baptist. Since finding the Catholic Church, my faith and spirituality have grown stronger. She goes to her church, with my daughter and I go to the Catholic Church. We both wish we went to Church together but neither is willing to change. I believe that she will eventually become Catholic but I wouldn’t even hazard a guess as to when that may occur.

Does the marriage work? Absolutely! I am married to the woman that God planned for me before he created the heavens and the earth. It would probably be a bit more comfortable if we attended the same church but we don’t. Our love will have to keep us on a loving track.

As far as butting heads. Most every couple butts heads at one time or another. Church membership is as foolish a reason as any other. You will but heads and what you butt heads about isn’t an important as you being able to repair your relationship in the end.

 

[agnes_therese]

This comment she makes says otherwise:
he tried being a Christian bit stuck to being catholic Bc its what hes used,

If statements like this are not confronted by Catholics whenever they see it, it sends a message to protestants that we do not consider ourselves as such. It’s unfortunate but that’s reality.

I would not be surprised if she has been told by many Baptists that Catholics are not Christian. I grew up in a very Baptist small town & we told constantly that we were NOT CHRISTIAN. As you can see, I am very sensitive to this falsehood and I will confront anyone who makes that kind of statement.

My point was that she was confronted and she clarified BEFORE you made your first remark on it. That’s very unkind of you to keep on it.

 

[Patti_M]

My point was that she was confronted and she clarified BEFORE you made your first remark on it. That’s very unkind of you to keep on it.

I am “keeping on it” because your commet was unkind and needed to be addressed. I will confront this terrible notion that Catholics are not Christian everytime I see it. Sorry if this hurts your sensibilities but I have a valid reason for concern; I stated them earlier. Peace

 

[PennyinCanada]

He is staying catholic because he likes the way how concrete catholicism, we are starting to fall for each other and are happy together, I really meant to say catholics. Are christians but protestants think differently, I can see myself marrying him and raising the kids catholic just as long as they experience both sides of the coin

I don’t think you’ve thought this through, the both sides of the coin. Let’s look at that…

Catholics believe that Jesus is present body, blood, soul and divinity in the Eucharist, that we can’t have life within us without it, as Jesus says in the scriptures.
Baptists don’t believe that.

Catholics believe that you must confess your sins to a priest. That Jesus gave us priests to administer the sacraments and ‘what you bind on earth is bound, what you release on earth is released’. Baptists don’t believe that. Baptists believe that you can just tell God you’re sorry.

Catholics believe that Jesus gave us Peter as his prime minister of the Church and his successors continue to sit in that role. Baptists don’t believe that.

Catholics believe that our blessed Mother holds a very special place in the Church. She has the Holy Spirit as her spouse so her and Joseph did not have other children together. Do Baptists believe that?

I could go on, but as you can see by this illustration, you can’t on one hand promise to raise the children Catholic, then ‘show them the other side of the coin’ by undermining every pillar of the Catholic Church. They believe in the Eucharist, but I don’t. They have the pope but I don’t believe in that. They go to confession to a priest, but really you don’t have to. Why would you do that? It’s not honest to yourself, and it’s not fair to the kids.

Be honest with yourself and your boyfriend that you’ve no interest in raising the kids Catholic.

Perhaps you can agree on the lowest common denominator, that God loves you and Jesus died on the cross for you sins.

But there’s so much more than that! The Catholic Church is a banquet, and you want to strip it down to something more palatable to yourself. There is so much richness in the Church. Perhaps now that you’re older you might explore what the Church teaches and why. Maybe it’s time to take that first step to come home.

A house divided cannot not stand. Mark 3 25

 

[sixstringpoetic]

There are so many posts in this thread so I honestly didn’t read them all but I can post my experience.
I am Catholic and my wife was raised Baptist. When we were dating, we were at the same spot as you two, I was happy being Catholic and she was happy being Baptist. Dating went well and we tried the “go to both churches” thing out and it worked for us for the most part. We were very open to learning from each other and the different beliefs that we had. However, her dad is a baptist pastor and was very upset and angry about us dating. We tried working this out with him but he wanted nothing to do with it. I was denied when I went down to ask for permission to marry, we were told to speak with a “third party” because of our disagreements with her dad ( the third party actually took our side ), she was practically dis-owned by her father, we were given a very, very long typed letter explaining how she was going to go to Hell if she decides to marry me and then proceeded to map out “all the things wrong with Catholicism”, etc. etc.
These actions put us at a crossroads and we decided to use our experiences to test our relationship. We took that letter and read over it piece by piece to see where our beliefs truly stood and amazingly we matched up pretty well, she started to see many of the faults of her dad’s arguments and started to defend Catholicism. We grew and we learned together but tried to be as respectful as possible. We married 5 years ago but she remained Baptist and I remained Catholic. We had our first child, she was still Baptist and I was still Catholic (though she did agree to raise our child in the Catholic faith). My wife did eventually convert to Catholicism but I made absolutely sure that it was her own decision and not because of me. It was a very slow process with many bumps along the way but she did enter the Catholic church after we were married for just about 3 years. Things with her family are still frustrating but we are very happy and our family is growing and we love our Catholic faith.

Ultimately, my point is this. Can it work? Probably, but its going to be extremely difficult and the more that the two of you seek God together, the more you will align with one faith. When children come into the picture there will be a lot of questions about how to raise them and it will be very difficult to try to go to multiple churches and you should really stick to one. You stated that everything is going well right now and that you guys can talk for hours and all that but you also are just starting to date, there is a huge road in front of you and things change, the relationship will change. You’ll need to make big decisions about where each of you are at with your faith and where you want to be and ultimately what that will mean for your relationship.

 

[robwar]

Someone has pointed out that you have called this guy your “soon to be new boyfriend”. I would avoid investing so much time and energy thinking about the future when it may not be a long one.

My youth was in the Baptist Church and I loved it very much. Some of their doctrine was challenging to me and I found their autonomy destructive. I was no less than grateful to find the Catholic Church and my life hasn’t been the same since.

I’m a Baptist to Catholic convert and my wife is still a Baptist. Since finding the Catholic Church, my faith and spirituality have grown stronger. She goes to her church, with my daughter and I go to the Catholic Church. We both wish we went to Church together but neither is willing to change. I believe that she will eventually become Catholic but I wouldn’t even hazard a guess as to when that may occur.

Does the marriage work? Absolutely! I am married to the woman that God planned for me before he created the heavens and the earth. It would probably be a bit more comfortable if we attended the same church but we don’t. Our love will have to keep us on a loving track.

As far as butting heads. Most every couple butts heads at one time or another. Church membership is as foolish a reason as any other. You will but heads and what you butt heads about isn’t an important as you being able to repair your relationship in the end.

First of all, you and your wife started out together in the Baptist Church. After you have established your relationship, you became Catholic. That is different than starting out with different church attendances and ideas about the Christian faith. Telling someone in her situation that it’s ok, every one butts head in a marriage is sweeping major differences under the carpet. I recommended a book to Op which delves into real problems with mixed faith/religion marriages and while some marriages work or can work, the raising of children is a big problem and we already have too many posts from these situations and the big losers are the children who usually drop out of any religion when there has been a holy war in the home.