Billy Graham, Jack Van Impe, etc...

[2ndGen]

These are two Christians that I love.

I believe with all my heart that Billy Graham will be a Saint in Heaven.

Why? Both these men consider Catholics not only Christians, but brethren and hold the Pope in high regard.

They are in my opinion Christians in the sense of how Christ wanted us to be (that we love each other as He loves us).

My sadness is when I hear anti-Catholics criticize and belittle Billy Graham (who I believe to be the best thing Protestantism has produced outside of The Counter Reformation).

He’ll be leaving us soon to go home with The Father and to reunite with his beloved wife (no, I haven’t heard anything) and when he’s gone, Protestant Christianity will have lost a great leader and example of what it is to be a great Christian…

…and us Catholics will lose a great friend and unifier for the Christian Religion as a whole.

 

[2ndGen]

Question:

Does anybody know of other Catholic Friendly Protestant leaders out there?

I think we should represent the great Christians that are outside of our Church as well and we should study them.

For example, The Amish gave us a great example of pure Christianity when they forgave the pscychologically disturbed man who held their children hostage and killed them.

I didn’t see a Protestant sect, I didn’t see The Amish,
I saw Jesus Christ in their midst.

 

[Charlie_Zeaiter]

Hi 2ndGen,

I believe that Jesus created the priesthood ministry so we can receive Him in bread and wine and so we can experience confession and have our sins forgiven in person.

Whilst prostestants (such as Billy Graham and Jack Van Impe etc) may be exemplary Christians, they are denying fellow protestants the gifts that can be received from a priest.

It’s all about the priesthood.

 

[lizaanne]

It’s all about the priesthood.

To be a bit more precise - it is really all about Christ in the Eucharist. While both of these men might be “on fire with love for Christ”, by misleading people away from Christ’s One True Faith in the Catholic Church, they are leading people away from the Sacraments, most importantly Christ in the Eucharist.

Sure - they might be great Protestants, but they do not do anyone’s soul any favors if they are not leading them directly to the Truth, and to the Eucharist.

~Liza

 

[2ndGen]

Hi 2ndGen,

I believe that Jesus created the priesthood ministry so we can receive Him in bread and wine and so we can experience confession and have our sins forgiven in person.

Whilst prostestants (such as Billy Graham and Jack Van Impe etc) may be exemplary Christians, they are denying fellow protestants the gifts that can be received from a priest.

It’s all about the priesthood.

G’Day Mate!

I agree. The Priesthood definately is a blessing for us.

We can’t blame their shephards…the sheep ultimately belong to Christ and if they allow themselves to be in that flock, so be it. It’s up to the sheep.

Christ’s flock is a voluntary flock.

I don’t believe that Billy Graham and the like are purposely misleading Christians, so their intent is not anti-unity. I believe most Protestants today are born into their respective faith.

And Jesus put it best when he was confronted with the event of one working in His name while not being with His immediate group:

Luke 9:
49
And John answered and said,
“Master, we saw one casting out demons in thy name;
and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us.”
50
But Jesus said unto him, "
Forbid him not: for he that is not against you is for you."

Pax.

 

[RevDrNorth]

Question:

Does anybody know of other Catholic Friendly Protestant leaders out there?

I think we should represent the great Christians that are outside of our Church as well and we should study them.

For example, The Amish gave us a great example of pure Christianity when they forgave the pscychologically disturbed man who held their children hostage and killed them.

I didn’t see a Protestant sect, I didn’t see The Amish,
I saw Jesus Christ in their midst.

I am not a fan of Van Impe’s for theological reasons. However…Billy Graham is indeed a great man of God. He had a lot of respect for the Pope (specifically JPII). I think in their later years they have both endured great physical suffering and that may be a common bond.

As for other Protestant leaders I would say Chuck Colson stands out. He was interviewed on an EWTN program and talked about the uncharitable behavior he endured as a result of writing positive things about Catholics as fellow believers.

Michael Card (who did duets with John Michael Talbot) had shows cancelled becuase he was touring with a Catholic. Both have wonderful voices.

Walter Martin/Hank Hanegraaf both disagreed with Catholic theology but came to the conclusion that the Catholic Church does not belong in the category of cults (Walter Martin’s famous book Kingdom of the Cults). That irritated some.

Bishop Hepworth (He is the head of the Traditional Anglican Communion seeking communion with Rome).

 

[2ndGen]

I am not a fan of Van Impe’s for theological reasons. However…Billy Graham is indeed a great man of God. He had a lot of respect for the Pope (specifically JPII). I think in their later years they have both endured great physical suffering and that may be a common bond.

As for other Protestant leaders I would say Chuck Colson stands out. He was interviewed on an EWTN program and talked about the uncharitable behavior he endured as a result of writing positive things about Catholics as fellow believers.

Michael Card (who did duets with John Michael Talbot) had shows cancelled becuase he was touring with a Catholic. Both have wonderful voices.

Walter Martin/Hank Hanegraaf both disagreed with Catholic theology but came to the conclusion that the Catholic Church does not belong in the category of cults (Walter Martin’s famous book Kingdom of the Cults). That irritated some.

Bishop Hepworth (He is the head of the Traditional Anglican Communion seeking communion with Rome).

Yeah, I’m not into Van Impe’s theology, I like his spirit! He’s like a cheerleader. I also like his respect for The Pope. He shows the acknowledgement that The Pope is a Christian of great authority. I’m not saying that he sees The Pope as we do, but He sees The Pope as a brother in Christ.

Thanks for those examples.

I specifically set up this post to learn exactly that.

I’d like to play up the charitable treatment that these men have shown us, the fellowship and the brotherhood that they’ve shown us.

And we can leave the theological differences for another thread.



Also, I recently heard on a show on EWTN (I think it was Father Groeschel) how Mormons and Catholics got together to man a Soup Kitchen.

I’ve worked with Protestants in charity work and I’ve found that outside of the theology, the best adherents of our religions share the same most important thing…our love for Christ.

 

[2ndGen]

Bishop Hepworth (He is the head of the Traditional Anglican Communion seeking communion with Rome).

You notice how the older a Protestant Religion is,
the closer it grows to acting and looking like The Catholic Church?

I met an Episcoplian who called himself “Catholic Light”.

Their churches start to look like ours,
they accept the Saints,
they are beginning to show reverance for Mary,
they have a priesthood,
they are developing sacraments…

…eventually, they’ll end up coming home.

Until then, it’s our job to give them reasons to want to come home by showing them what a Christian “is” by how we act and live our lives.

 

[jeajan]

To be a bit more precise - it is really all about Christ in the Eucharist. While both of these men might be “on fire with love for Christ”, by misleading people away from Christ’s One True Faith in the Catholic Church, they are leading people away from the Sacraments, most importantly Christ in the Eucharist.

Sure - they might be great Protestants, but they do not do anyone’s soul any favors if they are not leading them directly to the Truth, and to the Eucharist.

~Liza

???

 

[jeajan]

You notice how the older a Protestant Religion is,
the closer it grows to acting and looking like The Catholic Church?

I met an Episcoplian who called himself “Catholic Light”.

Their churches start to look like ours,
they accept the Saints,
they are beginning to show reverance for Mary,
they have a priesthood,
they are developing sacraments…

…eventually, they’ll end up coming home.

Until then, it’s our job to give them reasons to want to come home by showing them what a Christian “is” by how we act and live our lives.

???, If we’re already Christians what is there for us to ‘come home to’? We already know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

 

[jeajan]

To be a bit more precise - it is really all about Christ in the Eucharist. While both of these men might be “on fire with love for Christ”, by misleading people away from Christ’s One True Faith in the Catholic Church, they are leading people away from the Sacraments, most importantly Christ in the Eucharist.

Sure - they might be great Protestants, but they do not do anyone’s soul any favors if they are not leading them directly to the Truth, and to the Eucharist.

~Liza

PLEASE HELP ME TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT HERE? “Misleading people away from Christ’s One True Faith in the Catholic Church”? I thought it was about the fact that Jesus Christ died for ALL mankind, rose from the dead, and is coming back again soon for those who know and follow Him??

How are Billy and Jack leading people away from the church, when they’re doing what God called them to do, 'Preach the whole consul of God and win souls to the Kingdom, with the help of the Holy Spirit"?

I came to this forum because I read some really nice and inviting letters from people who sounded like they really cared about “the body of Christ”, but after what I’ve been reading about Jack Van Impe especially, who Sunday after Sunday stands up to defend the Catholic faith (Yes, I know you don’t need his help to do it, but he goes out of his way to do it anyway), I’m really beginning to wonder why Jack or anyone else should even bother to do so?
PLEASE be aware of the ‘fact’ the God Himself states emphatically, that we will answer for ‘every idle’ word we’ve ever spoken, and in this case there are quite a few, against a man who stands up for the Catholic faith more than any other Protestant Minister I know. God help and have mercy on you and ALL the rest of us too.

 

[ClayPots47]

Tony Campolo is also Catholic friendly, plus, he’s quite a fan of Francis of Assisi, and Clare. Those two frequently come up in discussion on his “Red Letter Christians” show. He has also had Catholics as guests on his show. Another frequent topic of discussion, Mother Teresa. He holds her up as a perfect modern example of a Red Letter Christian, while Francis & Clare are examples of Red Letter Christians of the past. A Red Letter Christian, is a Christian who puts the words of Jesus (often printed in red in many bibles, they are in mine) into action. “Red Letter Christians” airs on TBN networks, currently on JCTV and TBN.