Can Catholics learn things from Protestants... things they need to learn?

[distracted]

Did you know that if you could not get to a Church God would still be with you?

Did you know that when you sin and you feel guilty God does not abandon you?

yes i know that… but something does abandon us when we sin… not sure i cvan put a word on it… Grace??? yes, that’s probably it… In any case, i try not to sin so i won’t feel that awful feeling…

why do you ask this???

 

[Bill_Pick]

–Not a thing about Religion. Catholics can learn that from other Catholics; or from Priests, from CCD, from the Bishop or from retreats and other organized Catholic groups.

Jesus founded the Catholic Church 2,009 years ago.

Protestants came along about 500 years ago.

That right what did Jesus have to say I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH …IS CHURCH ONE CHURCH OR MANY THEN ONE CHURCHS,lol

 

[distracted]

one thing i feel the protestants haave over us Catholics is that they seem to trust God more… in some ways… .but i guess it would seem that way since they don’t focus on their sins as much as Cahtolics do…

i think the biggest difference is that htye do their Purg later and we try to do ours here…

but i’ve heard they are in PURg longer and that makes total sense… It’s not good to do your Purgatory there when you can do it here… or most of it…

i know one thing… it seems that as bad as Catholics treat me, Protestants are worse…

just a thought…

seems Catholics are just more serious about Jesus…

gen speaking…

 

[Bill_Pick]

My Church this Sunday the priest said if you have a bad day or thing are just not going right just stop what you are doing and say I know that Jesus love me and is watching over me. ,I know this but some times you forget …So protestants do not be a prob;em to me any more, I did get up set with the OSAS group.

 

[sckcd]

one thing i feel the protestants haave over us Catholics is that they seem to trust God more… in some ways… .but i guess it would seem that way since they don’t focus on their sins as much as Cahtolics do…

i think the biggest difference is that htye do their Purg later and we try to do ours here…

but i’ve heard they are in PURg longer and that makes total sense… It’s not good to do your Purgatory there when you can do it here… or most of it…

i know one thing… it seems that as bad as Catholics treat me, Protestants are worse…

just a thought…

seems Catholics are just more serious about Jesus…

gen speaking…

Wow, who got back with you after death and let you know who all was in purgatory and how long they were there and whether they were Protestant or Catholic? Who’d you “hear” this from? ROTFL!!!

I am not disputing that there IS a purgatory (I guess we’ll all find out), but I don’t think anyone is to judge who goes and for how long.

 

[Lujack]

I think its certainly possible for a Catholic who has a hard time “getting” a certain doctrine hearing the words that make it click from a Protestant. I think a better phrase would be that we can pick things up from non-Catholics that can improve our understanding of the truths the Church has revealed (but that’s playing semantics; I understood what you meant, distracted!)

I do disagree about the born-again thing, though. I think the born-again mentality can be harmful in that it puts an undue emphasis on sudden change, rather than the more gradual and realistic process of spiritual growth. Truly growing to know Christ should be a life-changing experience, yes, but I don’t think its healthy to think that we fall to our knees one moment, decide to be Christians, and immediately get up as moral people. There are other, more fulfilling models that have been described by saints (the Spiritual Exercises comes to mind off the top of my head, but there are others).

Adopting the born-again model can also cause one to inadvertently underrate confession, which exists because we don’t suddenly go from sinner to saint; we fall, we get up, we fall again, we get up again, and we get a little bit better every time.

 

[seagal]

so what can we learn from Protestants?

1. How to write really good praise music! I mean I like the music we do in church (mostly) but a lot of it, especially the new stuff, has nothing of praise in it. ( There are already several threads on this forum about that so I won’t go into it here.) But nothing like Robin Mark or Brian Doerksen or some of the other Christian songwriters out there. And I don’t mean just guitar-playing-stomp-your-feet-clap-your-hands stuff either. I’m talking about beautiful hymns that don’t happen to have organs behind them.
2. How to have more reverence for our house of worship. You see Protestants going to church in their best clothes. What do Catholics wear? Torn jeans, shorts, scandalous t-shirts! And we’re the ones who claim to have the real presence of our Lord in our Church. If we really believed that how can we disrespect him like that?

 

[ron77nyc]

I’m sure many Catholics would answer Yes to this…

One thing i like about Protestants (some) is that they put a lot of emphasis on being born-again…

i do believe we have to go through a radical change like this in order to enter Heaven… It basically is what a person goes through in Purgatory if they have not gone throuhg it before then…

or what one goes through while at the Blessed Sacrament…

Without the preaching, hearing and understanding of the gospel no one would be saved. The journey starts when you hear and believe the message.

1 Peter 1:23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

so what can we learn from Protestants?

In all fairness I must also admit another thing I learned from Protestants. God is no respecter of persons and ignorance also is no respecter of persons. There are many Protestants who develop a legalistic way of salvation. Catholics have an excuse. They never read the bible. How do some Protestants come to a works based salvation after reading the bible?

 

[Reuben_J]

1. How to write really good praise music! I mean I like the music we do in church (mostly) but a lot of it, especially the new stuff, has nothing of praise in it. ( There are already several threads on this forum about that so I won’t go into it here.) But nothing like Robin Mark or Brian Doerksen or some of the other Christian songwriters out there. And I don’t mean just guitar-playing-stomp-your-feet-clap-your-hands stuff either. I’m talking about beautiful hymns that don’t happen to have organs behind them.
2. How to have more reverence for our house of worship. You see Protestants going to church in their best clothes. What do Catholics wear? Torn jeans, shorts, scandalous t-shirts! And we’re the ones who claim to have the real presence of our Lord in our Church. If we really believed that how can we disrespect him like that?

It is admirable to be self depreciative because it takes courage to do so. There is nothing wrong to learn something from somebody even if they are Protestants. If it is for the sake of learning because we lack the expertise of the particular field that Protestants are superior in, by all means learn from them. Then of course we have to admit that we lack in that field and Protestants are better than us. If that is the case then go for it – learn from them.

I am cautious of taking this approach (learning from Protestants) because (1) it seems we are saying it out of supposedly wanting to sound and look humble and (2) it is unwise to learn from them because of the differences in focus and theology. A Catholic who has deep Protestant influence could find himself behaving and believing differently from main stream Catholics and that could pose problem to your local ordinary and fellow Catholics. It is a risk that Catholics must be aware of.

Having said that – are we not aware that there are Catholics song writers who write beautiful worship music? John Talbot is a good example. There are many Catholic groups who have developed good music through prayers and inspiration that arise from them.

Catholics used to be at their Sunday best when coming to church. Why it does not happen to some of us is because they just don’t appreciate church like they used to do. We don’t need to learn this from the Protestants. What we need to do is to recapture the spirit of the mass and go back to the basic. Are Catholics that bad today? It sounds like exaggeration because thanks God there are still many Catholics who are respectful of the church and it is reflected by way they dress. Some churches do put up dress code for their parishioners to dress appropriately when going for the mass. And do Protestants really dress better than us when going for their services? If they do perhaps their pastors emphasize this more than us.

Frankly I don’t buy that Protestants are better Bible scholars or more pious/holy than us. It is like saying Muslims pray better than Christians, which I don’t agree.

 

[CWBetts]

Without the preaching, hearing and understanding of the gospel no one would be saved. The journey starts when you hear and believe the message.

1 Peter 1:23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

In all fairness I must also admit another thing I learned from Protestants. God is no respecter of persons and ignorance also is no respecter of persons. There are many Protestants who develop a legalistic way of salvation. Catholics have an excuse. They never read the bible. How do some Protestants come to a works based salvation after reading the bible?

What do you mean Catholics never read the Bible?

 

[ron77nyc]

What do you mean Catholics never read the Bible?

Sorry…I should have said Catholics over 40. I know that also will be debated but the Catholic Church has been around for 2000 + years and they just started bible studies about 20 years ago.

 

[Bill_Pick]

It must be my PC I lost my last two post, I was posting and I just lost them, did not get to check them or finish them.
Is any one else having a problem

 

[ron77nyc]

There is nothing wrong to learn something from somebody even if they are Protestants.

This remark takes me back to the days when blacks had to sit in the back of the bus.

Frankly I don’t buy that Protestants are better Bible scholars or more pious/holy than us. It is like saying Muslims pray better than Christians, which I don’t agree.

You have to admit…they do got rhythm.:clapping:

 

[CWBetts]

Sorry…I should have said Catholics over 40. I know that also will be debated but the Catholic Church has been around for 2000 + years and they just started bible studies about 20 years ago.

You, yourself are ignorant of the faith. Just because YOU don’t read the Bible doesn’t mean NONE of us do! “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.”–St. Jerome (he was around more than 40 years ago!) I would recommend turning your computer off and reading the Scriptures.

 

[ron77nyc]

You, yourself are ignorant of the faith. Just because YOU don’t read the Bible doesn’t mean NONE of us do! “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.”–St. Jerome (he was around more than 40 years ago!) I would recommend turning your computer off and reading the Scriptures.

It has nothing to do with me although I do read the bible. St. Jerome studied the bible and the Catholics on CAF know the bible but the average Catholics are more like those in the survey done by Eurisko for the Catholic Biblical Federation. Maybe you haven’t been following the whole thread. I went into the bible and Catholicism back in post #40. Here are some highlights.
novaresearch.eu/index.php/news_events/3/4

“In the beginning was the Word – but the Italians don’t read it” said La Stampa as a response to a recent survey done by Eurisko for the Catholic Biblical Federation. The survey showed that only 14% of Italians questioned were able to answer questions about the Bible correctly.

Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia, Bishop of Terni and head of the Catholic Biblical Federation in Italy, said the survey “offers a challenge to which we must respond”. **Monsignor Gianfranco Ravasi, head of the pontifical Council for Culture would have liked to see the Vatican included in the survey where “it might well have produced some surprising results”. **

According to the Venetian philosopher Massimo Cacciari, the Roman Catholic Church is to blame for this lack of biblical knowledge as it has kept a monopoly on the teaching of the Bible and imposes Episcopal authorisation upon those who teach religious education. So despite the fact that the 40 years following Vatican II have seen a steady increase in the number of homes possessing a Bible and the onset of the Internet age and multimedia communication, for many Italians the Bible remains a closed, mysterious book.

 

[Doxiemom]

Well, I learned more about the end times and more about the deeper meaning of scripture because of the word studies of many protestant pastors.

They have a lot more time during their services to really preach.

And, frankly, they are just exciting to listen to.

I find it a good compliment to my catholicism.

Which I suppose does not make some catholics happy.

 

[CWBetts]

Well, I learned more about the end times and more about the deeper meaning of scripture because of the word studies of many protestant pastors.

They have a lot more time during their services to really preach.

And, frankly, they are just exciting to listen to.

I find it a good compliment to my catholicism.

Which I suppose does not make some catholics happy.

The “end times” you have learned about are an invention from the mid 19th century. The “rapture” was never taught in the early Church. You would be good to distance yourself from the heresies of protestantism

 

[sckcd]

Well, I learned more about the end times and more about the deeper meaning of scripture because of the word studies of many protestant pastors.

They have a lot more time during their services to really preach.

And, frankly, they are just exciting to listen to.

I find it a good compliment to my catholicism.

Which I suppose does not make some catholics happy.

I agree with you, that’s why I will continue to attend both churches.

(And the rapture isn’t preached in every Protestant church, in case anyone wondered. The book of Revelation is), however.)

 

[JohnnyBeth]

Originally Posted by 2nd Adam
Going to Mass or church services, or reading the Bible, or doing good works etc does not get you to Heaven. On what basis will you be in Heaven. If God asked why I should let you into my eternal Heaven, what would be your answer?

Going to Mass or church services, or reading the Bible, or doing good works etc does not get you to Heaven PER SE…

yes, if you add Per Se, you would be mostly right…

i know of people who go to Mass but seem to get nothing out of it… i say this because of their behavior AFTER mass… how they treat others, etc… absolutely deplorable…

so i never meant to imply that you could just go to Mass every day and get a free ticket to heaven…

what i meant was that all those things you mention help us to focus on God and his precious Son and His SON Is what gets us to Heaven…

Rathering beating around the bush; why not just answer the question? Is it because it is a work-righteousness that you will be forced to admit to? In case you want to squirm a little, then answer this does one have to perform the rite of water baptism to be saved?

 

[JohnnyBeth]

The Church does not teach salvation by works. The Church teaches that true faith results in works. Also, Jesus commands obedience and the works of mercy. Immaculate conception does not fly in the face of Scriptures when taken in context. The Papacy, priesthood, and magesterium are all provided for in Scriptures, if you know where to look.

If that were true we would all be holding hands looking to bless the JW’s and Mormons; so quit kidding yourself. Unless you want to prove me wrong, the easy way is tell us the way of salvation; pretend I just heard of a person named Jesus.