Catholics: Do you want Protestants on the Mission Field?

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cleopa said:
“John answered him, saying: Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, who followeth not us, and we forbade him. But Jesus said: Do not forbid him. For there is no man that doth a miracle in my name, and can soon speak ill of me. For he that is not against you is for you.”

St. Mark 9:37-39 (Douay Rheims Version)

This is the verse I thought of when this thread came up.
First of all within the context of the passage there were evidently some followers of Jesus not aware that Jesus had establihsed an inner circle of disciples to carry out his work so they did the best they could in thier own way they were not against the disciples just ignorant fo the authority Jesus gave them.
This would describe many evangelical sects they claim to be non-denominational and say they are not Protestants and are not aware of Protesting any true church of Christ they just don’t think one exist… However there are other protestants who know full well that they are protesting the true chruch of christ and continue to do so not out of ignorance but defiance because they put thier pride before the promises of christ that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. Luther and Calvin knew full well what chruch Jesus established but they put their pride in their teachings above the church I don’t they would have qualifed as the ignorant followers of Christ in Mark.
So in answer to your question it would depend if the protestant knowingly carried on his mission knowing the catholic church was established by Christ. Some do know and Some do not.
 
Christ wants the Catholic faith spread to all nations. Protestants are not doing God’s will by spreading their confusion with thousands of bickering, conflicting and contradictory religions founded by mere men.
 
I believe it is worth noting that in many cases, the Protestant “mission field” consists largely of Catholic countries, such as those in Central and South America. I remember one Bible Church I attended (when I was a Protestant) sending missionaries to Spain specifically to convert the Catholics!
 
How about this for a poll question, “Does God want Protestants on the Mission Field?” God called all of His children to be witnesses for His Kingdom, not just a select few who think they are special and choose to look down on other Christians. Shouldn’t you rejoice over the fact that Christians (regardless of their denomination) are spreading the good news of salvation to others who might never hear it otherwise? Some of you will probably say that they are giving the wrong message, but when Jesus sent His disciples out to spread the good news, did He say “as interpreted by the Catholic Church?” We should work together for the good of the Kingdom of Heaven (where we will all be together one day with the Lord), not for our own personal gain.
In Christ,
Amanda
 
How about this for a poll question, “Does God want Protestants on the Mission Field?” God called all of His children to be witnesses for His Kingdom, not just a select few who think they are special and choose to look down on other Christians. Shouldn’t you rejoice over the fact that Christians (regardless of their denomination) are spreading the good news of salvation to others who might never hear it otherwise? Some of you will probably say that they are giving the wrong message, but when Jesus sent His disciples out to spread the good news, did He say “as interpreted by the Catholic Church?” We should work together for the good of the Kingdom of Heaven (where we will all be together one day with the Lord), not for our own personal gain.
In Christ,
Amanda
 
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amanda_nicole82:
How about this for a poll question, “Does God want Protestants on the Mission Field?” God called all of His children to be witnesses for His Kingdom, not just a select few who think they are special and choose to look down on other Christians. Shouldn’t you rejoice over the fact that Christians (regardless of their denomination) are spreading the good news of salvation to others who might never hear it otherwise? Some of you will probably say that they are giving the wrong message, but when Jesus sent His disciples out to spread the good news, did He say “as interpreted by the Catholic Church?” We should work together for the good of the Kingdom of Heaven (where we will all be together one day with the Lord), not for our own personal gain.
In Christ,
Amanda
Amanda, this has nothing at all to do with personal gain. It has everything to do with Truth. Catholicism is not a denomination. It is the one true Church established by Christ. You have to look at this from the Catholic’s perpective in order to understand why we say what we say. Protestants speak many different versions of their own self-interpreted “truth,” because they have abandoned the teaching authority of the Church, and this does unimaginable damage to our world.

Saying blanketly that we work together for the good of the kingdom is simply not accurate. In many ways we agree, but on several major points we strongly disagree, and the Catholic point of view is that real sin is being commited and real harm done by the Protestants, who continue to misinterpret Scripture and ignore two thousand years of Sacred Tradition.
 
you know, every single on of my friends are Protestant, and they constantly evangelize, go out in the city and tell people about Christ’s love…every one of them has an amazing faith and deep personal connection with Christ, maybe deeper than some Catholics I know. As much as I am totally against most forms of evangelization, I would rather they share their faiths to people who have never known Christ than let those people go their whole live NEVER knowing Christ. Now, as far as Protestants evangelizing to Catholics and other denominations…I think that that is ****. The “validity” of someone’s salvation is between them and God, and I don’t believe that anyone has the right to question that. I sincerely pray that my example as a good strong Catholic will be enough to help someone to my faith, but I will never challenge theirs in an attempt to proselatize them.
 
Amanda I would encourage you to read the link I posted to see what happens when people spread confusion. I don’t worry about Protestants spreading the Word of God, but evangelizing Catholics is not spreading the Word of God but inviting confusion.

Example:
Not that interpretation but ours, then someone else comes and says not that interpretaion but this one, and so on.

God Bless
Scylla
 
Missionaries have visited my church and told stories about thier mission trips. On one occasion they visited a communist country where it is not allowed to practice Christianity so they had to secretly witness about Christ and the plan of salvation. What are you going to tell people who will have to have underground secret worship services because they don’t have the priveladge of attending whatever church they want to? That they need to observe the eurcharist every week and confess to a priest? Or are you going to talk to them about the plan of salvation and hand them a Bible? Are you going to look down on them because they do not have the means to attend a Catholic worship service every weekend just as you look down on other Christian denominations?
 
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amanda_nicole82:
What are you going to tell people who will have to have underground secret worship services because they don’t have the priveladge of attending whatever church they want to? That they need to observe the eurcharist every week and confess to a priest?
Yes.
Or are you going to talk to them about the plan of salvation and hand them a Bible?
“Jesus saves, you figure out the rest” is hardly a loving attitude.
Are you going to look down on them because they do not have the means to attend a Catholic worship service every weekend just as you look down on other Christian denominations?
Really, Amanda, I don’t think we should look at our preferences, but rather **God’**s. 😉 Christ taught his disciples certain things, and instituted certain practices. These teachings are found both in Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition. These practices are called the Sacraments. They are necessary because Christ commanded them.

God bless.

+Joel
 
Amanda, please consider rethinking your recurring statement about Catholics “looking down on” Protestant denominations. You have made a value judgment that Christ Himself has commanded us not to make: claiming to know what is in our hearts. I think much of your difficulty with understanding the teachings of the Church may come from this false assumption. We do not “look down on” Protestants. Christ wishes for all to have the fullness of the faith, and so do we. What we want more than anything is for our separated brethren to reunite with the Church and experience all the our Lord has to offer.
 
Hello Amanda,

I can understand how you feel from a Protestant perspective, Catholics do not look down on Protestants. We do not think we are better or have a better message. We just want a unity of belief, not competing beliefs. We want the fullness of truth.

You see Catholics truly believe there is an ultimate truth and not just interpretations. We really take “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5) very seriously as we believe that Jesus created a visible Church with a unity of belief. We want everyone to enjoy that unity of belief and be reunited with Christ’s Church.

Handing out Bibles is good, but they need to be explained what it means or else you just get someone’s opinion of what it means. The Bible was created to be used in worship, that is why the Church decided on which books to include to know what was scripture and what wasn’t. Jesus didn’t send out people with Bibles but people to preach the truth, not personal truths but His truth.

There are people out there who have a priest visit once a month or so and are devoted Catholics. They have a unity of belief and we want to spread that. The Catholic Church has been underground in many places for many years yet endures in unity.
So it is common and possible.

So again, we don’t look down on them anymore than a brother looks down on another brother who lives far away. We yearn for the time when we can be together.

God Bless
Scylla
 
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scylla:
So again, we don’t look down on them anymore than a brother looks down on another brother who lives far away. We yearn for the time when we can be together.
Very well put, Scylla. 👍
 
I am a Catholic, and I feel sort of nervous knowing that some Protestants I know are going to South America on missionary and evangelism work.

This seems fine: go to a third world country, and spread the good word, no matter which denomination because it is a Christian foundation nonetheless.

But the trick is: South America is primarily Catholic, especially these towns they are going to. So they are going to bring people away from the Catholic faith.

Aaron
 
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aaronjmagnan:
I am a Catholic, and I feel sort of nervous knowing that some Protestants I know are going to South America on missionary and evangelism work.

This seems fine: go to a third world country, and spread the good word, no matter which denomination because it is a Christian foundation nonetheless.

But the trick is: South America is primarily Catholic, especially these towns they are going to. So they are going to bring people away from the Catholic faith.

Aaron
That’s exactly right. I might feel different, perhaps, about Protestant missionaries going into some entirely unevangelized civilization (“deepest, darkest Africa,” and such), but I am strictly opposed to Protestant missionaries traveling to largely Catholic countries simply to convert the “lost” Catholics.
 
surf(name removed by moderator)ure:
That’s exactly right. I might feel different, perhaps, about Protestant missionaries going into some entirely unevangelized civilization (“deepest, darkest Africa,” and such), but I am strictly opposed to Protestant missionaries traveling to largely Catholic countries simply to convert the “lost” Catholics.
But the problem is they do this. There are to convert everybody including protestantism, with love, with praying and sometimes with words.
 
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Franze:
But the problem is they do this. There are to convert everybody including protestantism, with love, with praying and sometimes with words.
I don’t quite follow what you’re saying. :confused:
 
Protestant missionaries ruin the fairly good unity that the Catholic Church has established in Central and South America. They go down there and introduce their fractional sects into Catholic territory and end up infecting these lands with the same mess that goes on in America.

Plus, protestantism (namely the more Americanized brands) don’t work with local cultures the way Catholicism does. They introduce American protestantism lock, stock, and barrel to these people.

Plus, how is protestantism supposed to work with sola scriptura when quite a few of these folks can’t read? You can’t hardly have the Bible as your sole authority when you can read it, but I suppose that the Pastor’s opinion is just as good… :rolleyes:
 
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amanda_nicole82:
Missionaries have visited my church and told stories about thier mission trips. On one occasion they visited a communist country where it is not allowed to practice Christianity so they had to secretly witness about Christ and the plan of salvation. What are you going to tell people who will have to have underground secret worship services because they don’t have the priveladge of attending whatever church they want to? That they need to observe the eurcharist every week and confess to a priest? Or are you going to talk to them about the plan of salvation and hand them a Bible? Are you going to look down on them because they do not have the means to attend a Catholic worship service every weekend just as you look down on other Christian denominations?
Ever read about the Catholic Church in China (not to mention the early Church in pagan Rome)?
 
Sgt Sweaters:
To all the Catholics who are the least bit interested in the Great Commission (“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,” etc.):

Do you think that it would be advantageous (for the souls of the unbelievers) for there to be no religious missions, however they may call themselves Christian, to the world, except for those of the Catholic faith?

I wonder if it would be better if Catholics should be the first Christian missionaries to meet new and unchurched people, so that we don’t have to “de-program” them, as it were? That is, would you rather meet a straight-up pagan, or someone whose idea of Christianity has been coloured by something like Calvinism (no offense to any Calvinists. It’s just that the theology lacks something [namely, Truth {;)} ]).

I’m not looking for comments on how realistic or unrealistic this is (e.g., “you can’t look at this in a vacuum. So many people have some idea of Christianity,” etc.). That’s not my point.

I’m also not looking for comments by non-Catholics. I’m making you all your own poll. 🙂

God bless.

+Joel

I’m in favour of the fullest possible co-operation, in accord with what a document of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity from 1993 says.​

Catholics already co-operate with other Christians - which is how the “Common Catechism” came into existence. Biblical work seems to be entirely free of barriers between Christians. The list of shared work is a very long one.

What is truly terrible, is that there should be different Christianities competing with one another - such division brings huge discredit upon the Gospel 😦

As to Calvinism - a great deal of it is completely compatible with Catholicism: some elements are not, but much is; and much of the rest is not itself bad, but merely different from Catholicism, in emphasis or in manifestation. In some ways, its more faithful to the Gospel than Catholicism has been at various times. ##
 
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