Can you help me defend My Faith Against Non Denominationals?

[Alter96]

I’m a current college freshman. On the first week of school, I had a person invite me to their church. It was a non denominational church but I didn’t discriminate. It was an enjoyable experience and I was asked by two members of the church if I would be interested in attending bible study once a week. I gladly accepted.

Well, after all these weeks, I have to say I’m regretting that decision. I thought it was going to be a friendly bible study but I found that at every study we had, I was basically being attacked. The two members try to convert me to non denomination almost every week and when I tell them how I’m a proud catholic they basically say that my religion is wrong and I’m not a disciple.

The problem is that they’re always throwing scripture at me and I look dumb because I haven’t studied the bible that much. Recently, I’ve been looking at certain scriptures that I feel like wouldd help me out, but I could still use some help.

How do I explain to them:

1. Why we must confess to a priest?

Originally, I showed them 2 Corinthians: 18-21, but they said that God wasn’t talk to us at the time. He was talking to the Hebrews. I know there has to be more to it. Any help on this?

1. Original Sin

They tell me that I haven’t been baptized even though I was baptized at the age of two. They say that at the time, I wasn’t aware of God and I didn’t decide that I wanted to accept him. What is the best way to explain this to them?

1. Mass

They say that Mass is unnecessary because your listening to a priest talk about his interpretation of the bible, but not your own. My biggest issue with this is that when I go to their church, they do the exact same thing. Except without a priest.

1. Without reading the bible you can’t be saved?

I told them that I don’t read my bible much and they say I’m not saved because of that. I took a lot of offense to that. When we go to mass, we get three readings from the bible. Then when we hear a priest’s perspective on it, we are hearing a certified worker of God give us his opinion on the readings. Sure, his interpretation may not be right, but not everyone has the same analysis. And honestly, I’d trust someone who went through 4 years of school for this rather than my own. How can I explain to them that just because I don’t read the bible as much as they do that I’m not not saved?

1. Etc.

Anything else I can say to them that will overall be a good defense? Like I said, I’m a proud Catholic and I will defend my religion if provoked.

 

[Devon_Caffran]

These links should give you the answers that you need. If you have any further questions or concerns that are not answered by this, please [contact Catholic Answers (http://www.catholic.com/contact/contact-us) directly.
**Recommended Reading:
On Confession:
**

• Confession by the Early Church Fathers
• Forgiveness of Sins
• Is Confession not necessary?

On Original Sin and Infant Baptism:

• Infant Baptism
• Early Teachings on Infant Baptism
• Baptismal Grace (Fathers*)
• Born Again in Baptism (Fathers*)
• Original Sin, Again and Again
• Is there any biblical evidence for the Catholic doctrine of original sin?

On Sola Scriptura and the Mass:

• Why is there a difference between the Catholic Bible vs the Protestant Bible?
• What is the difference between a Catholic and a Christian?
• Assurance of Salvation?
• 100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura
• Did the Early Christians Subscribe to Sola Scriptura?
• A Biblical Walk Through the Mass

Recommended Reading:

• A Biblical Walk Through The Mass (Book)

On salvation and Bible reading:

• Born Again - The Bible Way
• Why Catholicism Is Preferable to Protestantism
• Why doesn’t the Catholic Church emphasize reading the Bible?
• How to Read and Interpret the Bible
• The Protestant Achilles’ Heel