Catholics: Would You Join A Protestant Church?

[ljubim]

Frankly, I don’t think God cares whether we are Catholic or Methodist, Baptist or Presbyterian, Lutheran or Congregationalist…There is an inappropriate arrogance, in my view, when we go around claiming that we belong to the one and only true church - or even the best church.

Lord Jesus Christ, most merciful Saviour of the world, we humbly beseech You, by Your most Sacred Heart, that all the sheep who stray out of Your fold may in one days be converted to You, the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls, who lives and reigns with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, world without end.
Amen.

 

[orionsbelt]

The Eastern Catholic churches are in communion with the Bishop of Rome and are part of the Catholic Church. The Orthodox Church(es) (which I referenced) is not in communion with the Bishop of Rome, and is not part of the Catholic Church, yet the Catholic Church considers them as having the Real Presence, valid apostolic succession, and valid orders. Therefore, I was not talking at all about switching Rites.

I am aware what the original question was. My statement was in reference to this:

Just clarifying the Catholic position.

Fair enough.

 

[Filioque]

Then one thousand and five hundred years after Jesus one man comes along who thinks he knows better, and he begins to spread his lies throughout the world. (BTW he objected to the entire system of indulgences, because Tetzler (sp), who I believe was a bishop, was acting against the Church and issuing them to people who helped in a Vatican construction project, w/o fulfilling the requirements of a confession, eucharist, etc.) One haughty individual disagrees with what Jesus passed on to His apostles. This individual removed himself from the church which Jesus founded; he’s intentionally denied the Truth. Not to mention the Luther removed books from the bible, and dares to say that the Church added some to refute him! It’s quite possibly that this man is delusional…
.

Close, Tetzel was a Dominican Priest, who is alleged to have taught false teachings about Indulgences. While it was never proven that he claimed that you could purchase an indulgence, and as soon as the coin “rings” in the collection box, the soul of your family member was “sprung” from Purgatory. He was charged with the error, and not allowed to continue to preach or present the issue to anyone in public. He was sent to live a quiet montastic life, was later to suffer from other charges that were proven to be false. His life after Luther’s accusations againts him was one of humiltiy and while he remained loyal to the Church, he died in relative obscurity and in discrace.

 

[ThuriferAcolyte]

As one who has been active in Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational churches (in different communities after moving), the Methodists believe in the Real Presence - of course. But in the sense that Christ promised to be with us everywhere at all times. That surely is the Real Presence.

And yet, we are not talking about that real presence, which we fully acknowledge. When Catholics (and Orthodox, and Anglicans, and others) talk about “the Real Presence” we mean that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ.

 That, however, is quite removed from transubstantiation, which - like other Protestants - Methodists do not accept.

Not all Protestants reject the Real Presence. While we as Catholics may not believe that they have it (which we are entitled to believe, as you are entitled to whatever your belief is), they do believe that the body and blood of Christ are Really Present. Transubstantiation is an explanation of how that Presence occurs. Protestants and Orthodox do not agree with it, though they fully agree that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ.

  Frankly, I don't think God cares whether we are Catholic or Methodist, Baptist or Presbyterian, Lutheran or Congregationalist. We have, above all, been instructed to love God and one another, and nearly everything else is secondary. There is an inappropriate arrogance, in my view, when we go around claiming that we belong to the one and only true church - or even the best church. We have differing religious tastes. I am not liturgically-oriented; others are, I like gospel music; others don't. I don't treasure ancient creeds; others do. Brilliant scholars have embraced a wide variety of Christian (and other) faiths. We all are pilgrims together and ought to see religion as a bridge and not a barrier.

I do not think that there is any arrogance at all. And it doesn’t come down to what our “tastes” are. It comes down to whether God established one Faith. Many have departed from that Faith, thus we have hundreds of churches. We may all believe in Jesus Christ, however we all do not agree on what we believe He revealed. So, I think that God does care that, if we know these differences, we attempt to find what Faith has been there from the beginning. Any innovations, any new churches that change doctrines, have a man-made origin. The simple fact is that there were no Baptists, Congregationalists, etc. “back in the day”. Therefore, there must be a way to show where innovations have come in. But that’s for another thread.

 

[workingman]

I saw a thread asking Protestants why we won’t join the Catholic Church, so I thought I would start a similar thread. Would you join a Protestant Church? If not, why?

Sort answer NO! I was down this road. For the reasons of the Eucharist given above is a big part of it. Also after years of studying trying to prove the CC false and was driven to it.

 

[Roy5]

A Few Brief Points

 There were divisions within the church from the earliest days. St. Paul testifies to that. The east-west split preceded the Reformation by about 500 years. Various 'heretical' groups kept rising, such as the Hussites, Lollards and Waldensians. They were all judged to be satanic and oppressed, their followers often slaughtered. Jan Hus, for example, was burned at the stake. The Waldensians fled into the Alps and are still around today. They merged with the Methodists in Italy in recent times.

  Luther, himself a priest, simply was the first successful Protestant. He would not have left the church - probably - had he not been immediately condemned and declared an outlaw who could be killed on sight. Fortunately for him, some powerful Germans sympathized with him and gave him protection. Many Protestants (like me) admire what he began - the Reformation - but certainly don't regard him as infallible in any sense. 

  Now, as for Luther taking books out of the Bible, the New Testaments are the same. The Protestant Old Testament is what you will find at your neigborhood synagogue. Even St. Jerome was against including the apocryphal books in the canon. Protestants do not reject the Apocrypha and often it is included between the Old and the New. I attended a recent Protestant funeral where a passage from it was read.

   I find it silly that Christians spend so much time debating non-essentials. Christ commanded us to love God and one another. So much church history has been filled with bitterness, even hatred and slaughter. Our faith should serve as a bridge between us and not as a barrier that divides us.

 

[celticsfan1983]

No, I spent several years researching the Various World Religions and after much reflection, introspection, prayer and thought I chose the Catholic Church.

The seven sacraments, 2000 yrs of demonstrable proof of its teachings, its openness to others, Its understanding and teaching of Sacred Scripture & Tradition, its overall inerrancy over this timeframe. Mary & the Saints, The Fact that every Protestant Church owes its very life and existence to the Catholic Church. ( why settle for 2nd or 3rd best or even worse)

Lastly, it is the the Church that Christ founded & that the Gates of Hell have never prevailed against, Protected by God - the Holy Spirit, and the fulfillment of the OT
prophecies.

If I couldn’t be Catholic, I’d have only one other choice. Jewish - Hebrew.

Regards,
Vivat Jesus.

What he said. Only I didn’t work as hard as he did finding things

 

[Gabriel_of_12]

I saw a thread asking Protestants why we won’t join the Catholic Church, so I thought I would start a similar thread. Would you join a Protestant Church? If not, why?

No I couldnt join a protestant church, a protestant church is not biblical. The “Universal” Catholic church is biblical when it comes to practicing Christianity in the New Covenant established by Jesus Christ 2000 years ago.

**I could not join a protestant church **because, **one does not join the body of Jesus Christ, **one must be born into the body of Jesus Christ and God’s kingdom through baptism. The Catholic church is not a building or a certain few members who believe the same? The Catholic Church is the body of Jesus Christ on earth and Jesus is the head in heaven, the two can never be separated. To separate the body from the head begins a death, and we know Jesus lives eternally as does his body in the communion of Saints.

Besides who can separate what God has joined together? not me?, so I will remain a Catholic because God has joined the bride with her groom in the celebration of the lambs supper (wedding feast) Revelations 19.

The true presence of Jesus Christ has never left his Church in the Catholic Faith, just as Jesus Christ promised to be with her always.

 

[Roman_Catholic_1]

I believe truth is worth seeking and finding. If I was convinced that a Protestant Church held the fullness of the truth, yes I would of course join that Church.

God bless

 

[Aramis]

I saw a thread asking Protestants why we won’t join the Catholic Church, so I thought I would start a similar thread. Would you join a Protestant Church? If not, why?

Nope. If the Catholic church and the Orthodox church convinced me they were both wrong, pretty much, I’d go totally agnostic, since there is no historical nor biblical basis for the protestant beliefs, especially sola scriptura.

 

[4EverHis]

I saw a thread asking Protestants why we won’t join the Catholic Church, so I thought I would start a similar thread. Would you join a Protestant Church? If not, why?

I would not…because of the Eucharist and all the teachings I believe to be true

I think if I were to leave the Church, I’d forever miss receiving the Blessed Sacrament and would always want to come back

 

[4EverHis]

A Few Brief Points

 There were divisions within the church from the earliest days. St. Paul testifies to that. The east-west split preceded the Reformation by about 500 years. Various 'heretical' groups kept rising, such as the Hussites, Lollards and Waldensians. They were all judged to be satanic and oppressed, their followers often slaughtered. Jan Hus, for example, was burned at the stake. The Waldensians fled into the Alps and are still around today. They merged with the Methodists in Italy in recent times.

  Luther, himself a priest, simply was the first successful Protestant. He would not have left the church - probably - had he not been immediately condemned and declared an outlaw who could be killed on sight. Fortunately for him, some powerful Germans sympathized with him and gave him protection. Many Protestants (like me) admire what he began - the Reformation - but certainly don't regard him as infallible in any sense. 

  Now, as for Luther taking books out of the Bible, the New Testaments are the same. The Protestant Old Testament is what you will find at your neigborhood synagogue. Even St. Jerome was against including the apocryphal books in the canon. Protestants do not reject the Apocrypha and often it is included between the Old and the New. I attended a recent Protestant funeral where a passage from it was read.

   I find it silly that Christians spend so much time debating non-essentials. Christ commanded us to love God and one another. So much church history has been filled with bitterness, even hatred and slaughter. Our faith should serve as a bridge between us and not as a barrier that divides us.

there were heresies in the early Church, but there was always just one Church…the Catholic Church. There were no denominations back then…

about Luther and the Bible, did you know he wanted to take out James and Revelation.

I agree with you that we shouldn’t argue and that there shouldn’t be this hatred/bitterness between Christians. I feel sad about the divisions too. But I don’t really agree that all these thing are ‘non essentials’…they are part of Christ’s truth, everything is important.

God bless

 

[Cat]

I was a faithful, active evangelical Protestant for 47 years. It could be said of me and my husband that we were “evangelicals of evangelicals.” Five to six days or evenings a week, we were in church or involved in a church ministry. I started playing piano in church when I was twelve, and never stopped. For thirty straight years, I never missed teaching at VBS.

Then my husband and I were thrown out. A “tribunal” of pastors, deacons, and laypeople, some of whom we had never met in our lives, tried us, condemned us, and told us that we would be happier elsewhere. Once we were gone, they shunned us.

We actually tried to find someone to speak up for us and restore our place in our church. There was no one. Some pastors agreed that we had been treated cruelly, but none of them would contradict the tribunal and ask that we be welcomed back.

So I couldn’t join a Protestant church even if I wanted to. I’m “anathema” to them.

Of course there are hundreds of denominations, and I’m sure that one would accept us back in. But to be honest, I would never be at peace, remembering the terror of the tribunal and the ousting and the shunning. To this day, it’s hard for me to enter a Protestant church without feelings of panic.

And then there’s all the wrong doctrine. At Christmas, we visited my parents-in-law’s church (United Methodist) and learned that Jesus was created, and that “the Word” spoken of in John 1 is “peace and love and good feelings between people.” Hmmph.

My husband and I spent three years studying the Catholic Church and came to the conclusion that it is the Church that Jesus Christ established. We were received into the Church on April 10, 2004.

We rejoice that we are in Christ’s Church, and pray that other evangelical Protestants will find their way here, too. Many evangelical Protestants love Jesus and sincerely desire to give their entire lives to Him to serve Him. We believe that God will reveal to these seeking Christians the truth of the Catholic Church, and we pray that they will have “the courage to enter the song,” as the hymn “Gather Us In” describes it so well.

 

[MrS]

A Few Brief Points

 There were divisions within the church from the earliest days. St. Paul testifies to that. The east-west split preceded the Reformation by about 500 years. Various 'heretical' groups kept rising, such as the Hussites, Lollards and Waldensians.

The 500 years is interesting. Approximately every 500 years the Church faces a major crisis. (lots and lots of little crisis in between).

Christian Persecutions… Islam… the Schism… the reformation and now, hmmm there are a few choices.

But each time, the Church had an amazing Pope to lead us through the crisis.

I pray that Benedict XVI will be as strong and clear as Peter and his successors.

Non-Catholics of any kind cannot hope for that leadership… unless they think a Luther, Calvin, Smith, Russell, etc have an authority from Christ…

which they DO NOT.

.

 

[RDJ]

Nope. If the Catholic church and the Orthodox church convinced me they were both wrong, pretty much, I’d go totally agnostic, since there is no historical nor biblical basis for the protestant beliefs, especially sola scriptura.

Okay, I think you have a problem here. From what you said, it sounds like you would choose to become agnostic if you found out that the Catholic Church is wrong. If this happened, you could still believe in God and just try to find out what is the truth since what you thought was the truth really isn’t.

 

[RevNeal]

As one who has been active in Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational churches (in different communities after moving), the Methodists believe in the Real Presence - of course. But in the sense that Christ promised to be with us everywhere at all times. That surely is the Real Presence.

As an ordained United Methodist Elder I am going to have to disagree. The UMC teaches the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, not just in the congregation or in the ubiquity of Jesus. Please read the UMC’s official statement here:

gbod.org/worship/thm-bygc.pdf

See, especially, the following quotes from the UMC’s official statement:

“Christ is present through the community gathered in Jesus’ name (Matthew 18:20), through the Word proclaimed and enacted, and through the elements of bread and wine shared (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). The divine presence is a living reality and can be experienced by participants; it is not a remembrance of the Last Supper and the Crucifixion only.”

“Christ’s presence in the sacrament is a promise to the church and is not dependent upon recognition of this presence by individual members of the congregation. Holy Communion always offers grace. We are reminded of what God has done for us in the past, experience what God is doing now as we partake, and anticipate what God will do in the future work of salvation.”

“The Christian church has struggled through the centuries to understand just how Christ is present in the Eucharist. Arguments and divisions have occurred over the matter. The Wesleyan tradition affirms the reality of Christ’s presence, although it does not claim to be able to explain it fully.”

“Our tradition asserts the real, personal, living presence of Jesus Christ. For United Methodists, the Lord’s Supper is anchored in the life of the historical Jesus of Nazareth, but is not primarily a remembrance or memorial. We do not embrace the medieval doctrine of transubstantiation, although we do believe that the elements are essential tangible means through which God works. We understand the divine presence in temporal and relational terms. In the Holy Meal of the church, the past, present, and future of the living Christ come together by the power of the Holy Spirit so that we may receive and embody Jesus Christ as God’s saving gift for the whole world.”

And, going outside the church’s statement to the liturgy itself, the United Methodist Church’s official Eucharistic ritual (Word and Table 1) contains the following epeclesis (consecration) prayer following the Words of Institution:

“Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and wine. Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood.”

 

[RDJ]

As an ordained United Methodist Elder I am going to have to disagree. The UMC teaches the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, not just in the congregation or in the ubiquity of Jesus. Please read the UMC’s official statement here:

gbod.org/worship/thm-bygc.pdf

See, especially, the following quotes from the UMC’s official statement:

“Christ is present through the community gathered in Jesus’ name (Matthew 18:20), through the Word proclaimed and enacted, and through the elements of bread and wine shared (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). The divine presence is a living reality and can be experienced by participants; it is not a remembrance of the Last Supper and the Crucifixion only.”

“Christ’s presence in the sacrament is a promise to the church and is not dependent upon recognition of this presence by individual members of the congregation. Holy Communion always offers grace. We are reminded of what God has done for us in the past, experience what God is doing now as we partake, and anticipate what God will do in the future work of salvation.”

“The Christian church has struggled through the centuries to understand just how Christ is present in the Eucharist. Arguments and divisions have occurred over the matter. The Wesleyan tradition affirms the reality of Christ’s presence, although it does not claim to be able to explain it fully.”

“Our tradition asserts the real, personal, living presence of Jesus Christ. For United Methodists, the Lord’s Supper is anchored in the life of the historical Jesus of Nazareth, but is not primarily a remembrance or memorial. We do not embrace the medieval doctrine of transubstantiation, although we do believe that the elements are essential tangible means through which God works. We understand the divine presence in temporal and relational terms. In the Holy Meal of the church, the past, present, and future of the living Christ come together by the power of the Holy Spirit so that we may receive and embody Jesus Christ as God’s saving gift for the whole world.”

And, going outside the church’s statement to the liturgy itself, the United Methodist Church’s official Eucharistic ritual (Word and Table 1) contains the following epeclesis (consecration) prayer following the Words of Institution:

“Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and wine. Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood.”

Thank you very much for posting this. I started reading your link, and it is very interesting.

 

[Aidan12]

This might have some relevance to the discussion. I sincerely hope no one will be offended by what I’m about to write.

Two young Anglicans I know, part of the TAC, have been thinking of doing RCIA, rather than waiting for reunion with Rome. They have been visiting RC parishes in their area with a view of connecting with the clergy and congregation for mentoring.

They have been shocked at the inattentive behavior of the congregation at Mass, the sloppy liturgy, and the vile excuses served up as sacred music. This wasn’t just one parish. They attended four different parishes on four different Sundays!

It has made them pause. Their TAC church accepts the Petrine ministry, adopts the Catechism of the Catholic Church, has a clergy with valid orders in the apostolic succession, and a noble liturgy. The only thing that keeps them going with the project is the words of Jesus–“that all may be one.”

I went with them to these parishes on a couple of occasions. They have every right to be scandalized by what they saw. It isn’t just doctrine that puts off non-catholics. It is the defaced icon of worship. Many Catholics don’t seem to behave in church as though they are in the presence of The Great King and Lord. If they acted in an ordinary secular court of law the way they act in the courts of the Almighty, the judge would sling them in the slammer for contempt of court.

 

[RevNeal]

And then there’s all the wrong doctrine. At Christmas, we visited my parents-in-law’s church (United Methodist) and learned that Jesus was created, and that “the Word” spoken of in John 1 is “peace and love and good feelings between people.” Hmmph.

How nauseating … and what a heretical violation of the UMC’s Doctrinal Standards, including the Articles of Religion and the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds.

 

[WesleyF]

Would you join a Protestant Church? If not, why?

1. They don’t have the Eucharist.
2. They don’t have a proper authoritative structure.
3. They don’t have the charism of infallibility.
4. They don’t have the power to forgive sins.
5. They believe in “faith alone”.
6. They believe in “sola scriptura”.
7. I am already in the church founded by Christ.
8. Catholic faith makes sense to me.
9. Catholic faith is consistent with history.
10. There’s nothing they have which I don’t already have here in the Catholic Church.