"Born Again" Catholic?

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Church_Militant said:
And your GF sat there and allowed that statement to stand?

Yes because in her mind and I guess it is so that I am “born again.” We just don’t use the terminology. I believe and mostly pray that she will and has come to accept the Catholic Faith and will become Catholic one day because of her exposure to Truth and the Mass.

:ehh:
🙂
Did you know that there’s a plenary indulgence attached to reading the Bible for a half hour? 👍 Do that consistently and you’ll soon get it going quite well.

Other great sources:
Bible Christian Society (Especially get into John’s 2 Minute Apologetics!)
San Juan Catholic Seminars (Inexpensive and comprehensive)
Catholic Home Study Service FREE Catholic courses and ALL good!
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I really do have to get into reading the bible everyday. I got the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible RSV-CE that came out recently. Unfortunately, it’s only for the NT but I can use my other bible for the OT, I will just have to deal with no commentary. Thank you so much for the help though, I will definitely read up on all those links. How could I disprove though, that their “method of salvation” is wrong or unbiblical? Where do they get that in the bible? Thank you for all the help!
 
kepha1 said:
I suggest you avoid any confrontation with your girlfriends parents about religion. If they have a question, a misperception, or a misunderstanding about your faith, write it down, and take it home for a little homework. Try to keep it short. Give the answer to your girlfriend to take to her parents. If they want more, they will ask. If you give them more than what they asked for, they will start ranting about Mary, saints, purgatory, and a list of other doctrines they are not ready for. You have to stay in control by being quiet, respectful, and above all, diligently practicing your faith. We can’t defend something effectively if we are not living it. They must WANT to receive from you, or you are wasting your time.

Can you invite your girlfriend to Mass?
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I understand what you mean by avoiding confrontation. At the point we are at though, I feel and I pretty much have been given the liberty to say what I need to say to them. I find that writing down what I have to say is much more useful then just talking though. I obviously don’t have all the necessary scripture passages that I need in my head to defend what we believe in our Faith so writing it down would be most useful. I have gotten into discussions about saints already and pretty much shut them down because at one point they were attacking me about how Catholics worship the Blessed Mother and the Saints. I told my girlfriend though that I’m tired of being on the defensive, so to expect the offensive to start coming out about their bizarro teachings. I go to mass every Sunday, I am a moderator for our youth group on Wednesdays and I teach CCD on Saturdays. They know all that I do and see that I pray and carry my cross as a Catholic. I am not ashamed to show it to them, and that, as you say, is the best tool for evangelization. Thanks for the advice though, I really do appreciate it.

P.S. She does come to mass pretty often with me. She actually was just there this past Sunday because she said that she loves how we celebrate Advent. 😃
 
Protestant denominations, by their origin in the Reformation, are anti-Catholic (basically anti-Sacrament).

Individuals within protestant denominations will accept and deny various aspects of what each church teaches until they become satisfied attending a particular church. They do “shop around” at various churches searching for greater Spiritual influence and connection to Christ and community.

To avoid arguments that will arise, it might be best to ask your new family to be open to your explaination of how the Catholic Church operates and why.

Many people of protestant faiths grow up with a bit of either explained or unexplained apprehension / rejection of Catholicism.
 
ChristMySavior said:
I really do have to get into reading the bible everyday. I got the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible RSV-CE that came out recently. Unfortunately, it’s only for the NT but I can use my other bible for the OT, I will just have to deal with no commentary. Thank you so much for the help though, I will definitely read up on all those links. How could I disprove though, that their “method of salvation” is wrong or unbiblical? Where do they get that in the bible? Thank you for all the help!
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They are in the process making an OT study Bible. The Book of Genensis just came out a couple of weeks ago. I don’t know if they put it out at local Catholic Book stores (my local store won’t get it until Febuary), but you can buy it online.
 
vwtaylorii said:
They are in the process making an OT study Bible. The Book of Genensis just came out a couple of weeks ago. I don’t know if they put it out at local Catholic Book stores (my local store won’t get it until Febuary), but you can buy it online.
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Oh yes, I did hear Mark Brumley talking about the Book of Genesis that just came out, I’m thinking of getting it but may wait for the whole OT in one book to come out, which I know won’t happen for a while…:mad:
 
Barbkw said:
Protestant denominations, by their origin in the Reformation, are anti-Catholic (basically anti-Sacrament).

Individuals within protestant denominations will accept and deny various aspects of what each church teaches until they become satisfied attending a particular church. They do “shop around” at various churches searching for greater Spiritual influence and connection to Christ and community.

To avoid arguments that will arise, it might be best to ask your new family to be open to your explaination of how the Catholic Church operates and why.

Many people of protestant faiths grow up with a bit of either explained or unexplained apprehension / rejection of Catholicism.
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Yeah, it almost seems in their nature to despise Catholicism. Why so? I have yet to find a good answer. It is so clear to me that our Church is the fullness of Truth, the Church created by Christ but that is because Im a Catholic. While they can say to me that I am biased, I have been to a Pentecostal church, the one my gf and her family attend and went there (while also going to mass) quite often because she invited me to go with her. I figured that if she was coming to mass with me on Sunday, then we could also go to her church. I am thankful that God led me to have done so. He showed me the flaws of Protestantism and their narrow-minded teaching of Scripture. While they are very nice people who love God, I feel that history alone can prove the Catholic Church to be Christ’s ONE church.

Enough of my rambling!
 
I find it funny that protestants are SOO much more well versed in scripture yet most don’t know of this scripture passage from 1 Peter. Interesting. Someone please help!!

They know about it. They just interpret it differently than Catholics do…
 
ChristMySavior said:
I really do have to get into reading the bible everyday. I got the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible RSV-CE that came out recently. Unfortunately, it’s only for the NT but I can use my other bible for the OT, I will just have to deal with no commentary.
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What is funny is that we don’t have to have a commentary. Just read the New Testament. Still, there are good ones you can find. Look at this.
[bibledrb]John 3:16[/bibledrb] There’s a good commentary for ya. 👍
Thank you so much for the help though, I will definitely read up on all those links. How could I disprove though, that their “method of salvation” is wrong or unbiblical? Where do they get that in the bible? Thank you for all the help!
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The fact is that they don’t. It’s a persistent error passed down from the “Reformation” called Sola Fide (Faith lone).
Catholic Answers: This Rock: Quick Questions: Sola Fide
Justification Sola Fide: Catholic after All? (This Rock …
Sola Fide - Salvation by Faith Alone
ChristMySavior said:
Yeah, it almost seems in their nature to despise Catholicism. Why so? I have yet to find a good answer.
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Who can tell… 🤷
It is so clear to me that our Church is the fullness of Truth, the Church created by Christ but that is because I’m a Catholic. While they can say to me that I am biased, I have been to a Pentecostal church, the one my gf and her family attend and went there (while also going to mass) quite often because she invited me to go with her. I figured that if she was coming to mass with me on Sunday, then we could also go to her church. I am thankful that God led me to have done so. He showed me the flaws of Protestantism and their narrow-minded teaching of Scripture. While they are very nice people who love God, I feel that history alone can prove the Catholic Church to be Christ’s ONE church.
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Enough of my rambling!
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I may be able to help you with that too, since I was a deacon in an Assembly of God at one point. My Testimony
Brywan said:
They know about it. They just interpret it differently than Catholics do…
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Or…as I noticed in my time among them. You are around such verses because they just don’t fit your religion. Heck, I was raised Catholic and that seems to have been what I did for all those years.😊
 
Greetings all,

I wrote a 4 (short) part series of articles about reclaiming the true meaning of “born again.” It has some good quotes from some of the Father’s. I argue that the term has been kind of “hijacked.” Hopefully it’s a coherent argument:

Recovering the true meaning of “Born Again” (Part 1 of 4):
Recovering the True Meaning of “Born Again” (Part 2 of 4):
Recovering the True Meaning of “Born Again” (Part 3 of 4):
Recovering the True Meaning of “Born Again” (Part 4 of 4):

To the OP, I hope this gives you some supplemental “ammo” for your ongoing conversation/ Evangelization.

Peace,

Nick
 
ChristMySavior said:
I was at dinner last night with my girlfriend’s family who are Pentecostals (Kenneth Hagin types). I of course, was the only Catholic present and the topic came up of her mom saying that she would never accept a son-in-law that wasn’t a “born-again Christian.” So I said, I’m not a born-again Christian, I am a Roman Catholic Christian [knowing that this would stir up some confusion because I don’t really want to be labeled a “born-again Christian” in the sense that we label certain Protestants that way]. I also want to disprove that their whole you MUST accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior (while of course Catholics do) by saying the “sinners prayer” or whatever is false or unbiblical if possible.
!
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That is basically what my mother in law did…had me rebaptized and everything…I was too young and not knowledable about my faith back then. Now…I asked my husband…where does it say in the bible that we must say the sinners prayer to be “saved”. IT DOESN’T! Anyway…if your girlfriend’s mother doesn’t like all that…wait till she gets to what we believe about the Eucharist… I’m just saying…that’s when they don’t take the Bible literally…John 6…

Oh…good luck to you…
 
Brywan said:
I find it funny that protestants are SOO much more well versed in scripture yet most don’t know of this scripture passage from 1 Peter. Interesting. Someone please help!!

They know about it. They just interpret it differently than Catholics do…
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Not in my experience, they actively denied the passage when I quoted it to them. They had no idea it said what it does in 1 Peter 3:21
 
ChristMySavior,

you might assemble some quotes from the Early Church Father’s to strengthen your position.
 
LionHeart777 said:
ChristMySavior,

you might assemble some quotes from the Early Church Father’s to strengthen your position.
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Yes! And that’s why I am ever so grateful to Jimmy Akin for writing his book [which I am currently reading] The Fathers Know Best! 👍
 
EricFilmer said:
For the sake of harmony with your girlfriend’s family, I think certain things about baptism and salvation could be emphasized in your conversations with them:
  1. Make sure they understand that Catholics believe that Jesus died for our sins, and that this is the one and only reason that anyone gets into heaven.
  2. Catholics do not see a water baptism as a substitute for belief in Christ. Rather, belief in Christ is part of it. For example, before an adult is baptized, the priest or deacon goes through the Nicene Creed and asks the person if he believes in the elements therein. In terms of an infant baptism, the parents and godparents are to express belief in the Creed on behalf of the child (as well as promising to raise the child in the Christian Faith as expressed in the Creed). Your girlfriend’s family will probably have issues with baptizing infants, but you can simply state that such a thing is another topic for another day. The point being made here is that in the Catholic rituals for baptism, expressing belief in Christ immediately precedes the water baptism.
If you want to specifically show this to them, get your hands on a Rites One book (maybe you can borrow it from your parish or copy the relevant pages; in terms of borrowing it, your parish may even have lending library with a copy of it). Different English editions may have different page numbers, so look for these paragraph numbers instead (which are universal): Section for “Christian Initiation for Adults” #223-226, and Section for “Baptism for Children” #56-60.

In light of all this, show your girlfriend’s family the Nicene Creed and ask them if there is any element of their belief in accepting Jesus as ones personal Lord and Savior that is not found within the Creed. If they stress the importance of the term “personal”, then point out that each individual Catholic is required to personally believe in the Creed, or risk falling into a state of heresy. So our use of the Nicene Creed does, indeed, express a personal belief in Christ, and also recognizes him as being both Lord and Savior.
  1. And finally, in your discussions with them, it would be good to point out that what you are all basically doing is debating interpretations of Scripture. As we all know, this is a blessed thing in and of itself, because there are lots of Christians out there who never bother to read the Bible or truly seek to understand it. So even though your girlfriend found a guy who does not accept all the interpretations of Scripture that her family does, she did find a guy who cares about what the Bible says, and cares about living his understanding of the Christian Faith.
There are lots of people out there who profess to be Christians but are actually more like “neo-pagans.” As soon as a group of people start talking about Jesus and living the Christian Faith, they roll their eyes in boredom, leave to get a beer and look for another group of people to either talk about sports or gossip about their neighbors. So your girlfriend did not find such a guy, but instead found someone who is willing to open the Bible and discuss it. I think they should at least be happy about that.
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Well said!!:clapping::clapping::clapping:
 
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