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jane_doe
Guest
So it’s dangerous for her to go because other parishioners people might ask her awkward questions?
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S
SyroMalankara
Guest
It might be more harsh. Some Baptist pastors have told Catholics from the pulpit they are hellbound and not welcome in their building. Kinda traumatizing if one is unsuspecting. At least don’t get a ride. So you can drive home on your own. It’s like being invited to a party and getting uninvited at the front door.
M
MT1926
Guest
Not dangerous just not wise. My son went to his friends church a few years back and unknown to me they had an actual game plan of converting young Catholics. They had a list of hard to answer questions that they presented if he could not answer he was doomed to hell. They hit him with so many bible verses and no explanations it would make your head spin. Worse yet we were friends with the parents. Prayed together for years and never new they were bitter anti-Catholics. Actually said to our face that all Catholics are going to Hell. By the time we found out all of the down right lies they were pressuring him with it was to late. I still have copies of some of the pamphlets they would send him home with. They have him so convinced he can be his own authority that he will not even discuss religion with me anymore, he is so convinced that they are correct that he is afraid of my answers. My son is no longer Catholic and basically just tolerates us until he gets out of college and can afford to move out of the house.
Now I am not saying all non-Catholics are like this I am just saying there are wolves in sheep’s clothing out there. Unless you are a sheep dog in your own faith you have no business attending another’s church service.
J
jane_doe
Guest
Yes, her friend’s church could theoretically be anti-Catholic. So then, do you trust your friend to tell you it’s safe? For additional evidence, as this friend has zero knowledge of Catholicism, it seems unlikely the pastor is talking about Catholicism.
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SyroMalankara
Guest
Possibly. Or the pastor may have said everything negative and left the title open. For example, those "heathen mary worshipping, repetitive prayin, hell bound… " So it equally applies to Catholic, Orthodox, High Anglicans/Lutherans and anyone else who he thinks fits
J
jane_doe
Guest
If we’re to be ruled by fear and “what it”, why would her Baptist friend ever visit a Catholic church? Or anyone else visit any church other than the one they were born in?
C
commenter
Guest
It’s hard to make a general statement about Baptists, since they vary drastically, especially in recent years. They don’t have denominations, in which a person joins, for instance, like United Methodists or Catholics. They have** conventions. ** These are associations of congregations that choose to affiliate. You, as an individual, don’t join the Convention, you join the congregation, which chooses its pastor, and it may choose to join, or leave, a given Baptist Convention. Some congregations are totally independent, not affiliated with a convention.
Baptists are stereotyped by the media as conservative in the US, but in recent years many conventions and congregations have taken positions far, far more liberal than in the past, on things like ordination of women, abortion, same sex marriage. They may not represent the majority of Baptists yet, but are a strong minority.
E
e_c
Guest
You could do that, but don’t receive Communion at each other’s churches (MAJOR SIN in either case), and make sure each other is “safe” from other people bugging the visitor. And be sure that YOU still get to Mass on Sunday… it doesn’t count to go elsewhere.
M
MT1926
Guest
Not saying you can’t visit a friends church just saying don’t go there if you are unprepared in your own faith.
A
ajcstr
Guest
I would just like to add the difference in the perception of what the Church/church is. For Catholics it is a visible institution with a hierarchy of priests/bishops/pope. For a Baptist the church is simply the collection of believers that make up the body of Christ and not so much the building you walk into. The Eucharist is another biggie because its pretty much the center of our worship.
I remember the first conversation I had with a Baptist co-worker (I like you am a cradle Catholic and grew up in a very Italian/Irish Catholic environment and so never really exposed to anything else) and I really was thrown for a loop. Hopefully you will be able to have a good interaction and you will both learn something but unfortunately you can’t discount what others have said. I think one thing we take for granted as Catholics is that on any Sunday we can walk into any church in any city or state and find pretty much the same thing. The Baptist service will be very dependent on that particular pastor’s beliefs and views. You may even want to look at a website for your friend’s church if they have one.
I would also suggest you pick up a good basic Catholic apologetic book just to be grounded enough to be able to answer questions.
Catholic Church and the Bible by Peter Stravinskas and Catholic and Christian by Alan Schreck were very helpful for me but there are many out there.
Finally… I happened upon this site and the mp3’s are terrific (and free)
biblechristiansociety.com/download
I remember the first conversation I had with a Baptist co-worker (I like you am a cradle Catholic and grew up in a very Italian/Irish Catholic environment and so never really exposed to anything else) and I really was thrown for a loop. Hopefully you will be able to have a good interaction and you will both learn something but unfortunately you can’t discount what others have said. I think one thing we take for granted as Catholics is that on any Sunday we can walk into any church in any city or state and find pretty much the same thing. The Baptist service will be very dependent on that particular pastor’s beliefs and views. You may even want to look at a website for your friend’s church if they have one.
I would also suggest you pick up a good basic Catholic apologetic book just to be grounded enough to be able to answer questions.
Catholic Church and the Bible by Peter Stravinskas and Catholic and Christian by Alan Schreck were very helpful for me but there are many out there.
Finally… I happened upon this site and the mp3’s are terrific (and free)
biblechristiansociety.com/download
A
ajcstr
Guest
Just one more thing I thought of last night. The co-worker I was talking to was NOT anti-Catholic, he was just sharing. The conversation started when I asked questions about what the “rapture” was. But that conversation did in fact create a crisis of faith within me because I had no answers.
I think it would be fair to say that all Baptists view salvation as a light switch - on or off, saved or unsaved. And they will do what they can to get you from being unsaved to saved. Not maliciously but in the spirit of saving a soul.
Now for me, that crisis of faith was the best thing that ever happened because it got me thinking and it got me reading. This was in 1992 so the internet was nothing like it is today so good information was a little harder to get at. So based on my experience, hopefully the dialogue will challenge you and actually make you stronger in your faith.
Don’t forget to post any issues you have a hard time with !
I think it would be fair to say that all Baptists view salvation as a light switch - on or off, saved or unsaved. And they will do what they can to get you from being unsaved to saved. Not maliciously but in the spirit of saving a soul.
Now for me, that crisis of faith was the best thing that ever happened because it got me thinking and it got me reading. This was in 1992 so the internet was nothing like it is today so good information was a little harder to get at. So based on my experience, hopefully the dialogue will challenge you and actually make you stronger in your faith.
Don’t forget to post any issues you have a hard time with !
J
jane_doe
Guest
Amen!
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