Catholic Opinion of Baptists?

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What is the general opinion other Catholics have of Baptists? Mine is not good at all, just wondering if that’s typical or just me. What is the general Catholic opinion or view of Protestants period? Does anyone else believe Catholicism is the one true faith? How are we to interact with Protestants? Thanks.
 
For some reason I was raised with a particularly negative view of Baptists. My parents are from the south, where you are either a Baptist or a Catholic - so maybe that’s why. They were always painted as fun-hating, casserole-eating, stodgy, grim teetotalers - or as crazed holy-rollers flopping about in fits on the floors in their churches and baptizing each other in dirty rivers.
 
My mom is a convert from the Southern Baptist faith, so all the relatives on her side of the family are Southern Baptist (from Arkansas). It was a great scandal when my mom converted to Catholicism, her family believing that she had gone over to the whore of all the earth. Not one member of her family attended her baptism or her later Catholic wedding to my dad.

My uncle Paul, for whom I was named, is a very well-known SB preacher and former president of a well-known SB university. He is still convinced that we are all going to hell. 🙂

Oh well,
Paul
 
My experience is that Baptists think EVERYONE’S going to hell, even they themselves. Oh, but especially me now that I’m “worshiping Mary”. Catholicism is helping somewhat to eliminate the guilt, fear, and self-hatred that the Baptist church ingrained in me. I’m feeling guilty because I’m up late and I don’t have any reason not to be! I feel guilty about EVERYTHING at times. Anyone experience this having been raised Baptist?
 
By the way, then I feel guilty for despising the Baptist church and being proud of the Catholic church that took me in with open arms and is reprogramming me to know God’s love and mercy. I have no idea why I’m posting this part, for some perspective or agreement or something.
 
I can’t say that I even know a Baptist person. But as you put it “despising them” isn’t good for your soul. That is very close to hate or it can be and that isn’t what God expects us to do. Love your neighbor. I’m very happy to hear that you are excited and love the Catholic faith, if I were your I would put all your energy into that other than worrying about the Baptists. Just a thought.
 
I’ve never given Baptist much thought. My interactions have usually been pleasant with Baptists in general. I’ve gone to services when invited when my wife’s brother in law was singing in the choir for a Christmas service (not in place of Midnight Mass) and when her nephew was baptized. I didn’t feel unwelcome. Two negative incidents involve a group of late teens or early twenty-somethings approached me and my brother at the mall and had me say a prayer and danced around saying I was saved. It was a bit intimidating since I was about 10 at the time. Another was when a group of my friends and I were talking about our different faiths. Me the Catholic, my wife/girlfriend at the time a Mormon, one friend a Jehovah Witness and another a Baptist. The last of which made a statement to the effect of, “I respect the Catholic Church and all. They have great teachings, except for Mary, she can just b$&@ me.” I’m not sure if he was just trying to get a reaction from me or what, but it did offend me. I ended the conversation and didn’t really talk to him the rest of the night. I think I finally let it go and feel I can honestly forgive him, i just chalk it up to not understanding our honoring of our Blessed Mother.
 
wumpie(name removed by moderator)my said:
My experience is that Baptists think EVERYONE’S going to hell, even they themselves. Oh, but especially me now that I’m “worshiping Mary”. Catholicism is helping somewhat to eliminate the guilt, fear, and self-hatred that the Baptist church ingrained in me. I’m feeling guilty because I’m up late and I don’t have any reason not to be! I feel guilty about EVERYTHING at times. Anyone experience this having been raised Baptist?
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You can’t lump all Baptists together because it is a very broad term and there are many variations of them from American Baptists to Southern to independent. I think you make too many generalities about them and Protestants in general. My sister and brother-in-law go to an independent Baptist Church. In fact my brohter-in-law is a deacon. While there is and can be an anti-Catholic in various Baptist Churches, I would say that for the most part, Baptists usually take their Christian faith seriously, they read their Bible well and try to follow it. I can respect that. I have found that if you give others respect, they return it and that is how any Catholic should treat other Christians we run into (and other faiths and beliefs as well). Starting posts to elicit negative response about Baptist from other Catholics really isn’t going to enhanse our understanding of them nor of them for us. In a final thought, if more Catholics took their faith as serious as many Baptist do in their everyday life, I think that you would see much more interest in the Catholic Church.
 
I was brought up never to judge a man by his colour or his creed. I have nothing but respect for any Christian faith trying to find Jesus in a confused and fallen world.
 
I think they are fine. I am friends with many and years ago was one myself. The problem is they simply do not understand the fullness of the Gospels or the Church. Much of what they know is kind of a “muscle memory” type thing where they believe Pastor Bob because that’s what they were always told. Few of them conduct any serious study of the bible and the ones who do end up dealing with the truths that study reveals and the propaganda against the Catholic Church they have always known. In my opinion, they are a fine bunch of sincere people who want nothing more than to fill heaven with as many people as possible, but they are very ignorant on a great many things. Of course, this isn’t all of them, but many and could probably be said about any Christian group.

One of the more curious things I have found is the resistance to realizing there are things out there they may have been wrong about and then not wanting to learn more about those things.

One thing I have learned is if a Catholic and a Baptist live their personal lives the way they should and are taught within their respective churches, their personal lives will look very similar, even though their theology may be different in many aspects.

I tend to like most of them, but I really do think they live in a bubble of knowledge and have grown comfortable within that bubble.

We should not dismiss them because they are wrong about some things when they get other things spectacularly.
 
I originally asked because my mom wanted to know. She’s southern Baptist and wanting to attend RCIA but was afraid she’d be rejected by Catholics, so I wanted to know what other people thought.
I apologize if I offended anyone. I would never be so candid about my personal beliefs except as a means of confessing it to neutral, anonymous persons so as to get feedback about my own issues, not to illicit insults.
Just before I posted my harsh opinion I was told that my mom’s family, which is a big family, almost all will refuse to come to my wedding because it’s in a Catholic church. I was greatly offended and vented on here. I’ve only been a Christian for a few years and forgive me, I was looking for some understanding and advice on how to deal with my contempt towards my mother’s family, but I was overly emotional and generalized. Thank you for the polite responses as a great Christian example and the constructive criticism.
 
I am sure that your Baptist Mother will be welcomed and accepted with open arms at RCIA. I live on the MN/TX border and so I am most familiar with Southern and Independent Fundamental Baptists. And Catholics and Baptists agree on a lot.

The difference is that some a few Baptists think that ttrthey are the only Christians, or that people who share their ‘getting saved’ doctrine are the only Christians.

To me the big difference is that Baptists have a mostly ‘spiritual-mental’ idea on becoming Christian, while for Catholics the sacraments must be involved. For Catholics baptism and the Eucharist are vital and not optional. But the impression I have from my nearly entirely Baptist family is that sacraments don’t exist, they even use a different word “ordinances” for the sacraments. And for those Baptists the sacraments are symbolic only. You can be baptized, confirmed, and receive Holy Communion every day and it makes no difference to these Baptists.

To them it does not matter, what does matter is all ‘spiritual’ and symbolic, just say the ‘sinners prayer’ and you will get to heaven.
 
Mom’s Baptist family criticizes Catholics for intercessory prayers, confessing to a priest, mortal/venial sins, the possibility of going to hell even if you’ve prayed “Jesus come into my heart” at some point in your life, transubstantiation, etc etc as “unbiblical” and “heresy”. But in taking the time to really do extensive research I’ve found that Catholicism is actually the depths and fullness of the gospel! But I tend to think we’re the one true faith though surely practicing Christian Protestants can go to Heaven. That’s not for me to know or decide.
The fact that Catholics are the most hated, most misunderstood, most persecuted, most extreme, yet most vocal, most populated, and most financially blessed church in the world merely reinforces my belief.
 
Bear in mind that not all Baptists are like Southern (much less Independent) Baptists. If you live in the southern U.S., you will likely have a negative impression of Baptists. Baptists elsewhere are often much more moderate. And some Baptists in the South are too–in fact there is a minority liberal Baptist movement in the South that is pretty extreme the other way. One Baptist professor I knew at Duke complained that in the North it was easy to find a church that was just middle-of-the-road orthodox, whereas in North Carolina they were all either fundamentalist or really liberal (as in not believing in the divinity of Christ, etc.)

Edwin
 
wumpie(name removed by moderator)my said:
Mom’s Baptist family criticizes Catholics for intercessory prayers, confessing to a priest, mortal/venial sins, the possibility of going to hell even if you’ve prayed “Jesus come into my heart” at some point in your life, transubstantiation, etc etc as “unbiblical” and “heresy”. But in taking the time to really do extensive research I’ve found that Catholicism is actually the depths and fullness of the gospel! But I tend to think we’re the one true faith though surely practicing Christian Protestants can go to Heaven. That’s not for me to know or decide.
** The fact that Catholics are the most hated, most misunderstood, most persecuted, most extreme, yet most vocal, most populated, and most financially blessed church in the world merely reinforces my belief**.
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Do you really believe that?
 
wumpie(name removed by moderator)my said:
My experience is that Baptists think EVERYONE’S going to hell, even they themselves. Oh, but especially me now that I’m “worshiping Mary”. Catholicism is helping somewhat to eliminate the guilt, fear, and self-hatred that the Baptist church ingrained in me. I’m feeling guilty because I’m up late and I don’t have any reason not to be! I feel guilty about EVERYTHING at times. Anyone experience this having been raised Baptist?
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My Baptist friend at work (still not sure which flavor of Baptist - neither is he) is quite sure that he and his wife ( a Filipina Catholic whom he “saved” from pagan idolatry) are assured of heaven because they have accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.

I told him that I too accept Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. He said that is different, because the Catholics added to- and changed the bible and therefore have forfeited the blessings of salvation.

Okay, whatever.

BTW, this guy is a young-earth creationist, bible literalist who never had any education beyond high school and has not even read the entire bible. I quote him passages that he never heard of.

That has to tell you something.

Paul
 
wumpie(name removed by moderator)my said:
The fact that Catholics are the most hated, most misunderstood, most persecuted, most extreme, yet most vocal, most populated, and most financially blessed church in the world merely reinforces my belief.
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The prize for the most hated person in the Christian world goes to Michael Servetus, condemned to be burnt at the stake by both Protestants and Catholics alike - for refusing to call Jesus “God the Son” although he allowed “son of God.”

Makes you wonder what sort of people go to church. At least the Anabaptist had no part in his death.
 
I live in Atlanta. Atlanta is the heart of the Baptist faith.

Baptists are generally nice people, very devout and for the most part very intolerant of sin in their own lives and the lives of their family. They tend to raise their kids pretty strict when it comes to personal morality. Most of the Baptists I know are not ashamed of their faith - a Baptist is likely to start a business meeting with a prayer and doesn’t really care if you don’t like it. I appreciate that about them.

-Tim-
 
As a former Baptist myself, now Roman Catholic, I am sympathetic towards Baptist. I feel as if Baptist are seeking after God, and God knows their hearts. They are in the right house, but wrong room. For those Baptist who have not been baptized (we all know Baptist don’t believe baptism is nessacarry for salvation) I don’t know if they’re going to be saved. But as I said before, they are seeking after God, and God know’s they love him and worship him. But they’re in the wrong room.
 
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