Catholic Conversion Story

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I was excited to have our family’s conversion story appear in this month’s *This Rock. *It’s sparked some interesting dialogue with folks from around the country, and I just wondered whether anyone in the Forums wanted to talk about the issue of conversion–or any particular aspects of our experience? It’s good to be home, and I hope that our experiences can help others who may be considering leaving the Protestant tradition for the fullness of faith only found in the Catholic Church. As our background included both Evangelical churches (and college) and a brief love affair with the Episcopal Church, it’s been an interesting journey!
 
That’s great to hear. May God bless your family and yourself!! 👍 At the moment I am trying to help my SIL to come back to the CC from the JWs. Could you tell me if there is something in particular that helped you come home? I really am trying to help her come back, and she’s showing tons of interest. In fact, she’s the one who asked me to help her back…
 
Writer said:
I was excited to have our family’s conversion story appear in this month’s *This Rock. *It’s sparked some interesting dialogue with folks from around the country, and I just wondered whether anyone in the Forums wanted to talk about the issue of conversion–or any particular aspects of our experience? It’s good to be home, and I hope that our experiences can help others who may be considering leaving the Protestant tradition for the fullness of faith only found in the Catholic Church. As our background included both Evangelical churches (and college) and a brief love affair with the Episcopal Church, it’s been an interesting journey!
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wow, your entire family? That is a great joy! I am sure we all, Catholics and non-catholics would like to hear your converting experiences - what made you believe that Catholic Church is the true church? How did your entire family decide to convert? Were there any difficulties at first? etc…

How do I get the copy of This Rock?

Praise the Lord and God bless!🙂
 
Let me clarify… When I said family, I meant immediate family: wife and children. Having said that, though, my wife’s parents (and perhaps another relative or two, too) are seriously considering the Catholic Church. It was really my father-in-law that helped me to begin to seriously consider crossing the Tiber, but, then, we beat him through the church doors! I’d like to go into this in more depth, because it’s so interesting, but I’d better hold off.

As far as Jehova Witness are concerned, I have a good friend who recently converted from that cult to the Catholic Church. What he tells me is pretty amazing, and I think (yessisan) may want to contact someone who has actually been there before–has firsthand knowledge. The aspect of “outcasting” those with whom cult members disagree is heartbreaking, as it breaks families and friends apart. If you drop me an e-mail at (e-mail address removed by Moderator per CAF Forum Rules and privacy policy), I’d be happy to put you in touch with my friend, Paul. Perhaps he could offer you some concrete advice.

What prompted us to convert? Well, like I said, my father-in-law prompted the real critical thinking. The Bible verses calling us to Christian unity (II Corinthians, for instance) were also a major influence. How do all of these different denominations represent the mystical body of Christ? Watching the Episcopal Church make a fool of itself over moral relativism also made the importance of church authority hit home. There needs to be authority; human beings demand it.

What it really came down to was a careful reading of the Bible. I applied what I learned at our Evangelical alma mater (Seattle Pacific University) to the Bible, and the Protestant interpretation no longer held any weight for us. The writings of C.S. Lewis and even J.R.R. Tolkien were also important to me. As Josph Pearce writes in his book, Tolkien wrote and said some beautiful things about the Eucharist.
 
water said:
wow, your entire family? That is a great joy! I am sure we all, Catholics and non-catholics would like to hear your converting experiences - what made you believe that Catholic Church is the true church? How did your entire family decide to convert? Were there any difficulties at first? etc…

How do I get the copy of This Rock?

Praise the Lord and God bless!🙂
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I’m sorry, but it looks like I missed one of your questions. If you call Catholic Answers at 888-291-8000 or visit catholic.com/magazines/thisrock.asp, you can subscribe to the magazine. If you would like a sample magazine, This Rock may be willing to help you with a free copy–or charge you just for the single copy. When I hadn’t decided yet whether to subscribe myself, they graciously provided me with a copy or two to peruse. It’s a great magazine–very well written stuff–not that I am biased, or anything! 🙂

I have recently been asked to speak at a couple of events in the year, and I may be asking them for extra copies of future issues to have available as samples. It’s not as widely available as one would think, which is unfortunate. Ask for it at your local Catholic bookstore, too.
 
Karl,

I happened to read your article in This Rock a couple of nights ago. Such testimonies are always inspiring and they give great hope. I went through a second conversion about eight years ago. My wife experienced the same thing last year.

There is simply nothing like the power of God’s grace. Welcome home.
 
Writer said:
I’m sorry, but it looks like I missed one of your questions. If you call Catholic Answers at 888-291-8000 or visit catholic.com/magazines/thisrock.asp, you can subscribe to the magazine. If you would like a sample magazine, This Rock may be willing to help you with a free copy–or charge you just for the single copy. When I hadn’t decided yet whether to subscribe myself, they graciously provided me with a copy or two to peruse. It’s a great magazine–very well written stuff–not that I am biased, or anything! 🙂

I have recently been asked to speak at a couple of events in the year, and I may be asking them for extra copies of future issues to have available as samples. It’s not as widely available as one would think, which is unfortunate. Ask for it at your local Catholic bookstore, too.
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Thanks Writer, I will check it out this weekend.
 
Mickey said:
Perhaps you could appear on Journey Home!🙂
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Thank you, but I think those are just former Protestant ministers usually, aren’t they? Someone else asked me the same thing last week, though. I guess if they asked, I’d do it!
 
Pax said:
Karl,

I happened to read your article in This Rock a couple of nights ago. Such testimonies are always inspiring and they give great hope. I went through a second conversion about eight years ago. My wife experienced the same thing last year.

There is simply nothing like the power of God’s grace. Welcome home.
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Thank you for the kind words, Pax. I’m glad you enjoyed our family’s testimony. We are glad to be here!
 
Welcome home, all of you. Rejoice and give thanks to God!

Peace and all good,
Tony
 
yessisan said:
That’s great to hear. May God bless your family and yourself!! 👍 At the moment I am trying to help my SIL to come back to the CC from the JWs. Could you tell me if there is something in particular that helped you come home? I really am trying to help her come back, and she’s showing tons of interest. In fact, she’s the one who asked me to help her back…
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There is a great article in the current issue of *This Rock. *If you’re wanting to know more about the JW cult, I strongly suggest reading this piece. It’s one of the best ones of its kind that I’ve read…
 
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