Converts: Give us five reasons you became a Catholic

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MatthewCrossman

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Would be interested in a concise list of your reasons…anyone?
 
Well, I am going to kind of lump theological reasons together so that I can give honest, practical reasons as well, limiting it to five, when there are probably hundreds.
  1. Authority. It became very clear to me that the Church preceded the Bible, and that therefore the Church’s authority to proclaim the faith is primary to the Bible’s. Any interpretation of the Bible must line up with what the Church was teaching before the Bible was propagated. Most doctrinal issues flow from this.
  2. Rituals. Despite protestantism’s stated disdain for the Catholic Church’s beautiful traditions or rituals, the protestant churches I attended had rituals and traditions of their own, which either were identical to the Catholic church’s (but not in the Bible) or were merely replacements for a Catholic tradition or ritual. Paraphrasing G.K. Chesterton, ritual goes to the heart of humanity. If we destroy inspired ceremonies, they will inevitably be replaced with uninspired ones.
  3. Proliferation. Go very far outside the United States, geographically, or very far back in time, chronologically, there you see the Catholic Church, its doctrines, its cathedrals, its adherents. If Jesus Christ started one Church, this is it.
  4. Family. My dad’s side of the family is Catholic, and my wife, despite being raised protestant, is now educated in the catholic faith and willing to make the leap with me. Who says support from your family isn’t important? Also, my protestant mother is supportive, and my wife’s protestant parents are supportive. I believe the Holy Spirit has worked this out at this time in our lives, because this would not have always been true.
  5. Morality. I’ve had quite the change of heart about issues related to abortion, contraception, and such. I’ve come to respect the Church’s consistent ethic of life, and experienced the power of the Church’s transformative teachings in my marriage, which incidentally also now makes sense theologically in terms of the covenant relationship.
 
I became Catholic because of the truth of the authority and infallibility of the Church. All other groups are in error.
 
MatthewCrossman said:
Would be interested in a concise list of your reasons…anyone?
Click to expand...
As the Westminster Confession says:
The Lord Jesus, as king and head of his Church, hath therein appointed a government in the hand of Church officers, distinct from the civil magistrate.a
a. Isa 9:6-7; Mat 28:18-20; Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Cor 12:28; 1 Thes 5:12; 1 Tim 5:17; Heb 13:7, 17, 24.
The Westminster Confession, Ch 30, pp. 1
That one reason is enough.
 
  1. Jesus said I will build my Church and the gates of hell would not prevail (Matt16). It was the only 2000 year old church I could find.
  2. There Bible has not changed in 2000 years
  3. They have the same seven sacraments today as the early Church did.
  4. Since the Church is the Pillar and Foundation of truth (1st Tim 3:15) and no scripture is for private interpretation (2nd Peter 1:20), I thought it important to belong to the right one.
  5. In 1st Corinthians 12:20 St.Paul said the reason that we come together is to have the Lord’s Supper and in Malachi 1:11"For from the rising of the sun even to the going down, my name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean oblation: for my name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts". Where else is this happening? After 44 years of being a Protest-ant I decide I want to come home to Rome my real family and not be a step-child anymore.
 
  1. Code: 
    My friend wants to be ordained and speaking to him about his passionate love of the Catholic Church and how he wanted to serve God with his life and soul made me question what I was doing with my life.
  2. Code: 
    Protestant Churches cannot agree on anything, with differing opinions on anything and everything, cherry-picking passages and ethical views to suit what seems to be their own ends, how can you decide which Church is telling the truth? Answer: the only Church that is entirely united in it's views?!
  3. Code: 
    Catholic Church; the only 2000 year old Church, the only Church that has been around since the time of Jesus, if he set any Church up, it was this one.
  4. Code: 
    I knew that something was missing in my life and had been since I stopped attending Church when my grandmother died. The Catholic Church I attend is the only place that I know of where I walked in and felt completely and utterly at peace.
  5. I can't think of a fifth reason... I shall come back and edit it if I do think of one! :p
 
I appreciate reading everyone’s reasons. One thought, though. Here and in other places, much is made of the fact that the Catholic Church is older than Protestantism - and the Bible at least its canonization), for that matter. Does that mean it is exempt from error? The Pharisees could trace their faithfulness to the Jewish Law, but Jesus clearly demonstrated that they had drifted from truth. Granted, Protestants (as stated earlier) have their own list of problems.

Do all Catholics really agree on all things? I have spoken with some Catholics who say that the Pope’s word is authority, while others say the Pope’s words are merely suggestions. Which is right?

I am not trying to start a fight, but I am interested to learn more.

Thank you.
 
Spooksam said:
I appreciate reading everyone’s reasons. One thought, though. Here and in other places, much is made of the fact that the Catholic Church is older than Protestantism - and the Bible at least its canonization), for that matter. Does that mean it is exempt from error?
Click to expand...
It does not mean that individuals in the Church are exempt from error. But Christ promised that his Holy Spirit would guide the Church as a whole into all truth and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. The Church is his Bride. Imperfect, but loved immensely, and protected, even from those inside it who would corrupt it.
Spooksam said:
The Pharisees could trace their faithfulness to the Jewish Law, but Jesus clearly demonstrated that they had drifted from truth. Granted, Protestants (as stated earlier) have their own list of problems.
Click to expand...
Yes, individuals, even Popes, stray from what God wants. It is the official teaching of the Catholic Church, the “truth” mentioned above, that we rely upon. Not fallible human beings.
Spooksam said:
Do all Catholics really agree on all things? I have spoken with some Catholics who say that the Pope’s word is authority, while others say the Pope’s words are merely suggestions. Which is right?
Click to expand...
Catholics, as individuals, do not agree on all things, nor are they required to. As to the deposit of Faith, in order to be Catholic, one must believe those things. Plenty is optional. For instance, one does not have to pray a single Hail Mary in order to be Catholic. One does not have to believe that the Virgin Mary appeared as an apparition to anyone. One does not have to believe that there is going to be some sort of one world government associated with the Antichrist and 666 and all that stuff.
Spooksam said:
I am not trying to start a fight, but I am interested to learn more.
Click to expand...
Good! We don’t want to fight with you either, and I speak for many others when I say we are glad that you are here to engage in meaningful conversation. Welcome and God bless.
 
Spooksam said:
I have spoken with some Catholics who say that the Pope’s word is authority, while others say the Pope’s words are merely suggestions. Which is right?
Click to expand...
Forgot to answer this. The Pope is the supreme authority of the Church on earth, standing in the shoes of St. Peter, whom Christ gave the keys to the kingdom of heaven. That comes with a lot of authority! Now, his words may be suggestions when they are intended to be, or they may be solemn declarations about faith and morals, when they are intended to be. Sometimes (most of the time) popes are teaching and giving opinions and such without the intent to “lay down the law.” They are simply building disciples, “feeding the sheep” so to speak. But every once in a while they will tell you something really important that you’ve got to heed and take to heart and believe. Kind of like a father. 👍
 
Spooksam said:
I appreciate reading everyone’s reasons. One thought, though. Here and in other places, much is made of the fact that the Catholic Church is older than Protestantism - and the Bible at least its canonization), for that matter. Does that mean it is exempt from error? The Pharisees could trace their faithfulness to the Jewish Law, but Jesus clearly demonstrated that they had drifted from truth. Granted, Protestants (as stated earlier) have their own list of problems.

Do all Catholics really agree on all things? I have spoken with some Catholics who say that the Pope’s word is authority, while others say the Pope’s words are merely suggestions. Which is right?

I am not trying to start a fight, but I am interested to learn more.

Thank you.
Click to expand...
I want to address the ‘exempt from error’ line.

The Church, in its role as the teaching authority of God, is exempt from error when teaching on matters of faith and morals. This is specifically applied to the Bishop of Rome (the Pope), but usually as a result of a council or meeting that is ratified by the pope.

The Church cannot infallably decide the rules for baseball, nor does it attempt to make laws regarding national security. The scope of the Church is to guide us in matters of faith and morals.

As for the agreeing, the Church has left room for personal interpretations in many areas. For example, I am free to believe in evolution. Or I am free to believe that God made the world in 7, 24 hour days. What is key (and required) for me to believe is that at some point God instilled a human soul into our first parents, Adam and Ev.

Other items, such as the Trinity or the perteptual viginity of Mary, are required as they have been infallably defined as a doctrine or dogma of the Church.

Not all Catholics believe as they should, be that does not weaken the Church. It just means we all still have work to do, even with those closest to us.

Hope that helps!
 
  1. I was living in a spiritual wasteland.
  2. The true Christian life provided to me by my wife’s loving, gentle, and patient example that she lived daily.
  3. Ultimate Truth, once you have seen, read, heard it, it is impossible to turn away from it.
  4. Through prayer I believe the Holy Spirit guided me to become a Catholic
  5. It felt right.
Sorry these are not theologically deep enough, but it is what it is.
 
  1. I wanted the fullness of Truth.
  2. I wanted the Church which best expressed the model found in Patristics.
  3. I wanted to be a member of a Church which embraces all the extant rites of Apostolic Christianity.
  4. I wanted the intimacy with the Lord that only comes through the sacraments.
  5. I wanted to be a real “Bible Christian.”
…And for the record, I am techinically a revert even though I walked the path of a convert. 😃
 
I converted to the Catholic Faith because it was the only church that provided for a true formula to be reconciled back to God and the structure in which to live a Christian life through the 1) sacraments 2) the beauty of the liturgy 3) the unswerving sense of morality 4) the wealth of teachings 5) and the leadership (Pope and Bishops). Other churches only provided small pieces of what the Catholic Church offered but was never complete.
 
  1. Authority. The Protestant churches claim the obedience of their followers without being able to point to their source of authority. They say the Lord gives them their authority, but can they prove it?
  2. Consistency. The Church doesn’t go with the flow.
  3. Documentation. The supernatural claims of the Church are just better tested and documented than any other, providing one more source of evidence that the truth is here.
  4. Reverence. The Mass, even Life Teen Mass, is so much more reverent than I could find anywhere else in my searching, that I believe God is pleased with it. That’s the whole point, after all.
  5. Wonderful people. Jesus said we would know His true disciples by their love for one another. Though I have known wonderful people in other faiths, I have never known such an abundance of them as in the Catholic Church.
    Do I have to stop? WHy five?😃
 
  1. I decided to read what the Catholics had to say for themselves, instead of what I was hearing from Orthodox sources, and SUPRISE, SURPRISE!
  2. My Oriental Orthodox Tradition already had a highly Petrine understanding of the Church. As I struggled with it more and more, I could no longer find a reason to keep believing that the Petrine headship did not go further than the Patriarchal level. Since there really is only ONE Church, that ONE Church must also have a head bishop.
  3. When I studied the Church of the first millenium, I realized that the Catholic Church of that time was united DESPITE having different theological Traditions. ONLY and ONLY in the Catholic Church today is that reality fully lived out.
  4. The Fathers of my own Coptic Church ((St. Clement, St. Dionysius, St. Athanasius, St. Cyril) were united to the bishop of Rome most intimately, recognizing her primacy and doctrinal steadfastness…
  5. I would have been content to remain Coptic Orthodox, since the Catholic Church accepts the validity of her Succession and Sacraments, and calls her a sister Church. However, the Catholic Church also teaches that if one is convinced of the Truth of the Catholic Church, then one would be sinning if one did not thereby come into her communion.
Blessings,
Marduk
 
  1. The Bible. Catholics don’t go to great lengths to explain away the meaning of Christ’s words. They just accept them.
  2. In keeping with 1 above, the Eucharist.
  3. History. In studying the writings of the Early Church Fathers I came to understand that Catholic thought today is what was taught in the first centuries. It is also thoroughly biblical.
  4. There is no attempt to appease society. Truth is truth. If society doesn’t like it…tough.
  5. The fullness of understanding of the sacraments.
 
1 - The Real Presence in the Eucharist. Whenever I was in my extended family’s Catholic churches, then back at my old church, I always felt there was something missing.

2 - Mary. Re-reading Revelations Ch. 12 made me rethink that chapter and ponder Mary. Also, a Catholic neighbor asked my mom to get a video (back in the mid 90s) from the library about Marian apparitions in Yugoslavia, and I wondered why we (as Lutherans) didn’t hear of Mary or the saints like that, that is, speaking to us. So, off I went on the still-new public Internet and researched.

3 - The Bible. There were several Bible verses that seemed at odds with what I was taught (directly or indirectly) in the Lutheran church. Namely, against Sola Fide, Sola Scriptura, OSAS.

4 - Visible heirarchy. I never knew my old Lutheran church had a bishop until he did a church service once in the late 90s. All I knew was, there was this mysterious “Parish Council” that you only heard about every few years when we voted on members.

5 - Morality. My morals were much more in line with what the Catholic Church teaches.
 
Wow! Some great stuff here, for sure.

Once my head catches up with my heart and I actually step into the Tiber I will be sure to add my own five reasons!
 
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