Blanket post: evangelization to non-Catholics and more

[sea_krait]

I’m confused. I’ve been searching and trying to sort this out for a while, and perhaps I’ve accumulated a lot of misconceptions, but this is what I think I’ve figured out as of now: the Catholic Church holds the fullness of truth, while (most?) other Christian denominations are imperfectly in communion with the C.C. – and so here’s my largest question: how, in accordance with Church teachings, should I present this to the non-Catholic public (a.k.a. under what conditions should I evangelize)?

I thought, in order to try to be the light of the world, I should mostly evangelize through my actions and then, when necessary, in a positive (not too critical) manner say something like, “you can get to heaven through your [Protestant] faith, but better things await you; more graces are available in the C.C.”

But I’m trying to be really careful about how I approach this. I know I’m in a position of power here – that I can change people – so I want to make sure I’m going about this in the absolutely most beneficial and faithful manner possible. I’m sure you friends know much more and have much more experience with this than I (a beginner) do, so please can you share (with lots of detail) ideas on this subject? Should I just be hopeful and not evangelize to Protestants at all, and let them go where they think God is taking them, or should I try to guide them somewhere else (the C.C.)?

I sort of wanted to kill a few birds with one stone in this post, so, additionally, does anyone have any information on why Tolkien couldn’t persuade C.S. Lewis to convert? Does anyone know what Lewis was thinking exactly in terms of which church he should be worshiping in? I really know very little about Lewis, aside from the fact that he was a great author and a tremendous Christian apologist, the latter of which really confuses me as to why he saw fit to not enter the C.C. – especially since, beneath the surface of the issue, it seems like a natural, obvious, and logical decision.

Thirdly, I just watched a video of an interview with Howard Storm, and I have a whole swarm of ideas and confusions regarding it.

Here’s the video: video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2094001112814040004&hl=en&emb=1#

What should I think of it? It seems like he certainly experienced something, and it seems like he is correct in exactly what he experienced. About 90-something percent of it seems to be in-line with Church teaching, but a little bit of it, particularly the part where he seems to express that it doesn’t matter too much which church you belong to (he went from being an atheist to a pastor in the United Church of Christ, which is a good part of what makes his story believable in the first place – his sacrifice), makes me squirm a little bit inside. I don’t really know; maybe he’s right and I’m utterly wrong, but what do you think? This sort of fits into the first part of the post I think. Also, I know there’s a lot of bad NDEs, and I know some people think NDEs are unreliable, but in this scenario, if you watch the video, it just seems like there’s something more – much in a similar way we often tend to believe in a martyr’s testimony because they gave up everything for it. Any thoughts? Please help me understand all of this better.

I mean no offense with this post.

I’m just a bit confused, searching for the right way to help people.



Edit: I forgot to mention that there seemed to be a ton of good in that video. The way he described how God, in his experience, described suffering was perhaps not new theologically but it was emotionally profound. A lot of it was emotionally profound. So I’m really confused on what I should think of it, and I’m even more confused about whether I should share it with friends or not.

Thanks for any ideas.

 

[sea_krait]

I’ve been praying a little this morning over the last thing, Howard Storm’s NDE, and an idea worth mentioning popped into my mind: God or the angels (whoever was speaking to him at the time; I forget by now), answered with something like “whichever brings you closest to God” when Howard asked which church was the correct church – and now that I think about it, that doesn’t necessarily mean that God was advocating literally that people should end up in a variety of churches (I mean, maybe He was, but maybe not), but perhaps He was simply respecting Howard’s free will and the free will of all the people who hear his story by answering Howard’s question in a sort of cryptic, quest-starting manner. Eh?

But what I don’t really understand is why the Catholic priests, who Howard said he talked to, told Howard that it’s okay to be part of a Protestant church if that’s where he feels he’s called – and by “I don’t understand,” I don’t mean that I obstinately disagree with it, but I simply mean that I don’t get it because I thought the C.C. taught that it holds the fullness of truth and therefore primarily recommends itself.

I don’t know. This story seems quite believable from a variety of perspectives: the profundity of some of what it says, how emotional it makes Howard, how it changed Howard’s life. I wish I could make sense of everything…

 

[Highwayhound]

Hello,

My first thought is to suggest is compile a knowledge base of solid information about the faith. I am not sure where you are on this, but if you have a solid foundation then you can speak with greater clarity.

Second,by all means talk with your Protestant friends. I have one friend who admires Martin Luther, but in the next breath will bemoan people who “church hop”. I have to find a good way to point out to him that Martin Luther was the original church hopper. As well if your friends see you engaged in activities which are definately Christian that will set their eyes upon you (and eventually Christ). This will also give you great credence with them when you speak. For example I return aluminum pop cans for the nickel deposit and use the money to finance the building of a house for a family in Africa; stuff like that.

Not sure who this Mr. Storm is. So I will leave that one alone.

God bless

 

[InternetWoman]

This may be over kill, but Pope Paul VI wrote an entire encyclical on evangelization way back in 1975. You can find it on the Vatican siteat:

vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-vi_exh_19751208_evangelii-nuntiandi_en.html

It give some nice thoughts about the key messages to convey and who we should evangelize. It comes down to “everyone” but there are “clumps.” I rather like that he says we have to start with ourselves!

 

[pat_helensburgh]

well i think a good starting point is talking about the ideas that started the protestant movement, google john Calvin for example & Martin Luther

Calvin believed in predestination, mankind could not redeem himself, God had chosen who would be saved no matter their actions

Luther expanded some of these ideas including - sola fide, faith alone, your earthly deeds be them good or bad were of no consequence in salvation as long as you believe in God, your salvation is guaranteed

well Satan believes in God!
wouldn’t bet on his passport being stamped!!

Luther also believed in Sola scriptura
all knowledge from the bible alone, problem was the only bible he was speaking about was his translation which was included a little nip & tuck where he felt the message needed clarification.
That being said he was a brilliant Theology Professor without doubt, that took reforms further than required, the fact that the Catholic church had a counter reformation in response to Luther does show some of his teachings had great merit including the translation of Latin bibles into the languages of everyday people.
I think he somehow got lost along the way or consumed with his own importance, just my view!

The primary point of difference for me is the Catholic doctrine affirms we have free will to respond to God in both good & evil, our place for eternity depends not just on our faith or belief which is so important but how we lived it, struggled with it, rose with it & responded in it in particular towards our fellow man.

Take away the denominational tags present both theologies to your christian brothers & see what they think!

 

[fred_conty]

I’ve been praying a little this morning over the last thing, Howard Storm’s NDE, and an idea worth mentioning popped into my mind: God or the angels (whoever was speaking to him at the time; I forget by now), answered with something like “whichever brings you closest to God” when Howard asked which church was the correct church – and now that I think about it, that doesn’t necessarily mean that God was advocating literally that people should end up in a variety of churches (I mean, maybe He was, but maybe not), but perhaps He was simply respecting Howard’s free will and the free will of all the people who hear his story by answering Howard’s question in a sort of cryptic, quest-starting manner. Eh?

But what I don’t really understand is why the Catholic priests, who Howard said he talked to, told Howard that it’s okay to be part of a Protestant church if that’s where he feels he’s called – and by “I don’t understand,” I don’t mean that I obstinately disagree with it, but I simply mean that I don’t get it because I thought the C.C. taught that it holds the fullness of truth and therefore primarily recommends itself.

If Catholic priests recommended another faith, they are wrong, but I don’t believe this.
What is every church looking for? Jesus, pure and simple. If someone finds Jesus, there he will find the truth. And where is Jesus to be found today? In the tabernacle in the catholic church, the real person from Galliee in the real presence, who performed all the miracles and signs, and who taught us the truth. Where Jesus is found there will be His church. That is the Sign He works today. His presence, His church. What more do we need?
And turning to Peter He said,“will you too walk away?”