Converting??

[reteeks21]

If you took the care to read some of the post here. Protestants and other Christians who become Catholic are not offically converts in the CC language, they are in full communion.
Converts, in CC language are those who come to the Church form non Christian backgrounds.

And the problem with Roman Catholic is that it only compromises the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. Some protestants believe it or not go for Melkite and Maronite rites too when they become Catholic.

If it is not a conversion but a “coming home”, why is Protestantism considered a heresy? It would make more sense to refer to heretics who become RC as converts since they are leaving a heresy, wouldn’t it?

 

[chris_molter]

If it is not a conversion but a “coming home”, why is Protestantism considered a heresy? It would make more sense to refer to heretics who become RC as converts since they are leaving a heresy, wouldn’t it?

technically, no. A convert is someone coming from a non-Christian faith (or no faith at all) to Christianity. Coming from a heretical Christian background into the Church isn’t “conversion” per se because you’ve already been Baptized, and therefore are already in a form of impaired communion with the Catholic Church.

 

[Subrosa]

I haven’t seen any bible based evidence in this tread that supports the roman catholic view that protestants convert to the roman catholic church. Also where is the bible evidence for the idea that a christian keeps being converted in their christian life. I did a quick search in the bible re the words convert, converted and the bible references refer to unbelievers being converted to believe in Jesus Christ.

So how can a protestant, who is a believer in Jesus Christ convert to the roman catholic church. Is it the case that the roman catholic church is a different faith from the protestant faith?

Everything in the bible is true. However, everything that is true is not in the bible.

Protestant conversions to Catholicism cannot be biblical simply because Protestants didn’t come along for 1500 years after the bible was written.

But, this doesn’t mean that people didn’t convert. Find and read a copy of Confessions by Augustine.

Sub

 

[Subrosa]

i am a protestant catholic.

Well, you’ld better get to confession before the end of Lent! One of the church rules we all gotta deal with!

Ha!

Sub

 

[bengal_fan]

Protestant Catholic??? No such critter!

sure there is. i believe in the one, universal Christian church in which all believers are part of. catholic simply means universal or one. i am a protestant in that i don’t adhere to all the roman catholic church (or the orthodox churches although i would be closer to them in many ways) dogmas. so, i am a member of the one (catholic) church and a protestant. therefore, i am a protestant catholic.

the term just can’t exist in the narrow view espoused by the roman catholic church. but there is such a “critter”.

 

[Lampo]

sure there is. i believe in the one, universal Christian church in which all believers are part of. catholic simply means universal or one. i am a protestant in that i don’t adhere to all the roman catholic church (or the orthodox churches although i would be closer to them in many ways) dogmas. so, i am a member of the one (catholic) church and a protestant. therefore, i am a protestant catholic.

the term just can’t exist in the narrow view espoused by the roman catholic church. but there is such a “critter”.

“You can’t reject part of the Catholic Church without rejecting all of the Catholic Church.” - G.K. Chesterton

Should cafeteria Catholics leave the Church?
Is it true that Catholics are free to choose, with serious consideration, which Church teachings to obey?

 

[bengal_fan]

“You can’t reject part of the Catholic Church without rejecting all of the Catholic Church.” - G.K. Chesterton

Should cafeteria Catholics leave the Church?
Is it true that Catholics are free to choose, with serious consideration, which Church teachings to obey?

i only reject parts of the roman catholic church. by that statement from chesterton, along with my understanding of the catholic church, if you reject protestants as being part of the catholic church, then you reject the catholic church.

 

[bengal_fan]

Well, you’ld better get to confession before the end of Lent! One of the church rules we all gotta deal with!

Ha!

Sub

i confess daily. sometimes hourly. i confess to God and to others. no problem there.

 

[JTBT]

i am a protestant catholic.

I love it, I think I will start using that…if you don’t mind

 

[chris_molter]

As a validly baptized Christian you ARE connected (albeit imperfectly) to the body of Christ, which is the Holy Catholic Church (all those Churches with apostolic succession in communion with the Bishop of Rome).

So, yes, insofar as you agree with Catholic doctrine and dogma you are Catholic. On those points where you disagree, you have impaired your communion with the Body of Christ and separated yourself (often through no fault of your own). Protestants are actually less culpable for this separation than Catholics who deny articles of faith and place themselves in impaired communion as they ought to know better

However, referring to yourself as a “protestant catholic” is sophistry and misleading. If you are not a member of the Catholic Church, you are not fully Catholic and ought to not claim to be something you are not.

 

[Lampo]

i only reject parts of the roman catholic church. by that statement from chesterton, along with my understanding of the catholic church, if you reject protestants as being part of the catholic church, then you reject the catholic church.

I agree. Good thing we know that all baptized Christians are part of the Catholic Church. I see where you are coming from in a sense. You are part of the Catholic Church but as a separated member not in full communion with the Holy See.

 

[Lampo]

i confess daily. sometimes hourly. i confess to God and to others. no problem there.

That’s a start! Good for you! Now all you need to do is allow the successors of the Apostles to “bind and loose” with the authority they were given by Christ.

 

[Mickey]

i wonder if other eastern churches (orthodox) would say that you were not a member of the roman catholic church? just curious.

Yes. Most Orthodox would say that all Catholics are members of the Latin (Roman) Church.

 

[Mickey]

Your definition is not held by others. Roman Catholics are Catholics of the Latin Rite. If you would ask an Eastern Rite Catholic if he were Roman Catholic, they would say they are <insert Rite’s name> Catholic. If he says that he is Roman Catholic, he is doing so just to avoid having to explain the Rite he belongs to and how it is aligned with Rome.

The word “Rite” is no longer used. The Latin Catholic Church uses the word “Church” instead of “Rite”.
Example: Ruthenian Catholic Church, Ukrainian Catholic Church, Maronite Catholic Church.

However, all can be classified as part of the Latin (Roman) Catholic Church because all are in communion with the Pope of Rome.

 

[chris_molter]

However, all can be classified as part of the Latin (Roman) Catholic Church because all are in communion with the Pope of Rome.

I suppose they can be, but should they be? Can we classify all those in communion with the Ecumenical Patriarch as Greek Orthodox? Of course not. Each autocephalous Church has its own liturgies, languages, traditions, culture, etc. The same goes for the Eastern Catholic Churches. For the most part, calling them “Roman Catholics” seems to dismiss their uniqueness within the Catholic Church by trying to force them into a “Latin” mold.

 

[Seagirt]

Imo the bible teaches that converting means an unbeliever becomes a believer. I find the other explanations that christians convert again and again to be confusing and not bible teaching.

Paul’s Theology speaks of our Journey. We continually move onward toward Christ; sometimes stumbling, then rising. The " one time conversion" thing, like some Reformed Churches or billy graham type… " alter calls" are not biblical. There is no alter-call in the Bible. That stuff started with the Tent revivals of the 19th century.
Our conversion has a start point , but we are fully saved at the end. Salvation has past, present and future dimensions. " Endure till the End" Paul says.

emeraldisle is not Biblical.

 

[Eden]

It depends on what is mean by conversion. All Christians throughout their lives should strive to achieve deeper conversion with Christ throughout their lives. In the case of Protestant converts, their deepening conversion to Christ has resulted in coming into full communion with His Church, the Catholic Church. Conversion is not a one-time event, it should be a lifelong process. I think your confusion lies in the fact that you are not familiar with the concept of deeper conversion.

 

[emeraldisle]

Our conversion has a start point , but we are fully saved at the end. Salvation has past, present and future dimensions. " Endure till the End" Paul says.

emeraldisle is not Biblical.

8 For by grace you have been(not being) saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Eph 2:8-10

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[thecoach]

Catholics [please drop the pejoritive “Roman” part] believe that we are always converting really. But this is a term used to show a much bigger conversion that actually calls them out of a separated ecclesial community [called such because they do not posses the full 7 sacraments]. I’m one of those so called “Protestans” [my previous faith did defined these and Cahtolics as man made religions - gotta stay in practice for my in-laws] that you speak about here.

No, you cant drop the Roman part, as there are more than one typr of Catholic, e.g. Independent Catholic, Old CAtholic, etc.

 

[emeraldisle]

It depends on what is mean by conversion. All Christians throughout their lives should strive to achieve deeper conversion with Christ throughout their lives. In the case of Protestant converts, their deepening conversion to Christ has resulted in coming into full communion with His Church, the Catholic Church. Conversion is not a one-time event, it should be a lifelong process. I think your confusion lies in the fact that you are not familiar with the concept of deeper conversion.

The biblical examples of conversion are of people in darkness being brought into the light, i.e. a person is converted from the kingdom of darkness (satans kingdom) to the kingdom of light (Gods kingdom). This happens once and not again and again.

The already “converted” Christian is being “conformed” into the image of Christ Jesus, he is not being converted again and again.

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, Rom 8:29

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