Converts: Your No. 1 stumbling block to conversion?

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ridesawhitehors:
I voted the peer pressure answer.
I lost the love and trust of some of my evangelical friends, and became the freak in my family.
However ~ my darling husband (who is not catholic) supported me all the way.
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We’re also experiencing a taste of what you describe. It’s somewhat easier to endure neagitve attitudes and insults when what you’re facing is coming from non-Christians. We’ve found it more difficult to deal with some of the derisive comments coming from fellow Christians of the Protestant persuassion. Oh, well… Just remember you’re not alone!
 
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J_Chrysostomos:
I’m still looking into Catholicism, and this board and my Catholic friends have been helpful. I clicked on “Papal Infallibility/Magisterium” as one that I’m having difficulty with (with a corrolary being the idea that Tradition and Scripture are equal).

I have no problem with the idea of a “pope”, but I’m still unsure about the infallibility thing. Also I have no problem with Tradition being a guide but I can’t still shake my view that Scripture is above it. I’m not trying to get into an argument or anything here, as I am studying these things on my own, so I don’t need a bunch of links. 👍 God will have me where He wants me.
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Papal infallibility was the biggest stumbling block for me. I didn’t believe it is possible for a person to be infallible. I still don’t, actually.

I read the article on the Catholic Answers website. That helped- Now I think of it more like this: When the RCC defined the doctrine of papal infallibility, it was more defining when the pope *isn’t *infallible. He is only infallible when declaring an official doctrine on faith and/or morals, basically. I thought… now that makes more sense.

That was the trend with overcoming most of my hang-ups about Catholicism. The arguments for each issue seemed to me to make more sense than the ones against it, and the more I looked into it, the truer this got. I searched and searched for the protestant arguments, the best I could find on the internet was www.carm.org. But, it obviously wasn’t enough, since I’m a Catholic now.

(On a side note, this website has a disclaimer before each set of articles against a religion (Islam, Mormonism, and Roman Catholicism, etc.) which said something like “If you see anything that misrepresents your faith, please tell us because we are interested only in truth here.” Initially, I was very impressed with their charity and they seemed to, for the most part, properly represent the faith. Then, I noticed that they were misrepresenting the Catholic teaching on Sacred Tradition vs. tradition. When I e-mailed them the response I got was “Where does it say that in the Bible?”
Although I was already heavily leaning toward the Catholic side, this was a definite minus point for protestantism. The main thing that turned me off about the site, though, was that it didn’t answer my questions, and Catholic Answers did.)
 
I converted when I was sixteen. Since my husband and I grew up as best friends, I became very close with his family. They are wonderful people who believed very strongly in their religion. They are Catholic in every sense of the word. My family was Methodist and didn’t seem to take religion seriously. It always felt like something was missing in my household so I began to explore other religions. My family also taught me that Catholics were bad and had distorted views on the world. So when I was doing my exploring the Catholic religion was the very last one that I looked at. Finally my best friend and his family sat me down and talked to me about their beliefs. I had problems understanding everything, so I decided to start going to church with them. Everything about the religion was what I was looking for, all of it but one thing. In my family I had always been told to live with a man before you married him. That way you could find out who he really was right away and then there would be no surprizes later. Of course along with that came pre-marital sex and birth control, all of which were okay. It took my mother going trough her second divorce to convince me that my family wasn’t always right and putting my full faith in God was the only thing that would bring me closer to Him. A year later I was baptised and although I’m not a perfect Catholic, I do falter at times, I’m a much happier person and feel closer to God then I ever did as a Methodist. My viod was filled. Of course my family wasn’t happy about it. My father didn’t speak to me for alomst seven years. My mother blamed everything that I did wrong on the account of my new religion, fortunately it just made me strive to be a better person. Most of my family wouldn’t come to my wedding or my children’s baptisims. But I would never take back what I did when I was sixteen. I just work harder at making them believe that Catholics aren’t what they think!
 
For me it seems to be The Rosary–the repetitive uttering over and over “Hail Mary,blahblahblah…over and over about 100 times”. Even though I love Rosaries and have about 10 of them----I haven’t been able to bring myself to either learn how to pray with them or been taught yet their beauty. I hope to however. One of these days. For I really would like to know what they are all about. Don’t suppose I really have known yet. One unanswered question in this most magnificent Catholic Faith. Wait upon the Lord!!! AMEN!!!

Blessings Friends~~
 
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copland:
My biggest stumbling block right now is the lack of out-reach from Catholics in my area. Catholics seem to not be evangelistic minded like they are in Protestant churches. If it had not been for discussion forums I would not have ever been thinking about convertin to the Catholic Church.
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There are dozens of sites online that focus on people journeying into the Catholic Church…
But what happens once you get there?

Easter Vigil ends, you go home and then what? Now that you are Catholic, does the struggle end? If you have made the journey, you know it doesn’t.

CatholiConvert.com exists to address the ‘after’ of the conversion journey.

What happens ‘after’ you have converted? What are the struggles converts face in their churches,their families,communities,workplaces, and how do we continue to grow? Are there others out there sharing the struggle?

Please help me identify and address these struggles. It is my firm belief that “on-fire” converts will play a huge role in the renewal which will lead to an awakening of this sleepy giant - The Church.

Of course, the ole buzzard knows this and he will try every trick in his bag to discourage us, we must be there to support each disciple to be courageous and to persevere to the end.
 
Moral teachings by far - everything else about the Mother Church is great! Moral teachings is where the major problem lies. A great dichotomy exists between Catholic rules and actual practice. For example, being somewhat of a fossil, I grew up in a time when Catholic women had 4, 5, 6, and more children. It was COMMON. Now very few have more than 3 and some have none at all. Has some big infertility plague swept the western world? Of course not, they are practicing birth control most of their lives. Every responsible women practices some degree of birth control, but the Catholic women have to lie about it.

Of course, this is a very obvious but common example. I have a problem with a religion that makes rules that cannot be effectively followed by its members. The Church puts these people in an unworkable situation because they cannot go to confession because they continue to commit the sin. So they really shouldn’t take communion so many just avoid Church. Maybe this explains why many people seem to come back to the Church when they get 50ish. They’re too old to commit some of these Catholic sins. Sorry about the ramblings but you asked!
 
My biggest concerns were my family’s reaction and the whole faith vs. works thing. My family was fine with it and I converted despite my questioning of faith/works, because I believed that Jesus founded one Church and that He intended Peter to lead it. As time has passed, the faith/works thing has resolved itself (we don’t do works for our salvation, we work OUT our salvation, it’s all by God’s Grace, we cannot add to what Jesus did on the Cross, but we are expected to cooperate in it, obey and follow Him, salvation as a lifelong process, etc.). I never had trouble with Mary at all. It had always seemed odd to me that she was virtually NEVER mentioned in Protestant churches.
 
I’m currently on RCIA - and still have a few stumbling blocks. Here’s a partial list of my blocks, past and present, some arising from not believing a doctrine, some from not understanding a doctrine, some from ignorance and being taught falsehoods. See if you can guess which is which - and which I still have problems with. You may spot that I had just a few problems with Catholicism. Here goes - off the top of my head:

The Pope
  • primacy of Peter, apostolic succession, infallibility, sitting on a throne, Peter wasn’t in Rome
Ultimate Authority
  • found in God’s self revelation in scripture, rather than scripture, tradition & magisterium
The Saints
  • prayer to the Saints, the definition of “saint” not being the same as the one you see in the New Testament, wearing a “St Christopher” for protection, wearing a “St Christopher” - a suppressed saint - for protection, the possibility of talking to the dead or those in heaven, the whole concept of canonization
Mary
  • prayer to Mary, mother of God, assumption, immaculate conception, new ark, new eve, queen of heaven, the rosary, ever virgin, appearances of Mary, worship of Mary, statues - graven images, bowing/kissing/worshipping
Catholic history
  • the crusades, the banning of scripture, the fight even to have a service in a language people understood.
SACRAMENTS

Baptism
  • infant baptism, baptism as being for salvation, being born again through baptism
Confirmation
  • not necessary, you are sealed with the Spirit without this ceremony. not seen in scripture - and many were sealed then - so not necessary.
Eucharist
  • the real presence, not being able to drink the wine, refusing to share the celebration with all christians, His sacrifice was once for all, not to be repeated. There should be no altar because there is no sacrifice each week.
The Priesthood
  • non-belief in ordination, celibacy, vestments, the priesthood is of ALL believers not a select few males.
Reconciliation/Penance
  • confession to God not to man. God forgives. Penance is not needed - Jesus was punished for us.
Faith/works
  • salvation by faith not works
The Bible
  • the catholic one is too long
Moral teaching
  • contraception
Heaven & Hell
  • but no purgatory, we have been made clean etc etc. There is assurance of heaven.
Sacramentals
  • generally religious superstition & useless human inventions, sign of cross, genuflecting, bowing to a table, holy water.
Catholics I have known
  • we had 2 monks at college. One was a promiscuous bi-sexual cross dresser who became head of the lesbian, gay & bisexual society for the students of Wales. The other was just very odd.
Catholic worship & life
  • legalistic, Pharisaic, we are free from law, man made traditions that have to be followed.
Prejudice
  • plenty of that too. riches of the Vatican
That’s quite a long enough list. I’m sure there are many things I’ve missed out.

As to which of these is or was the biggest stumbling block, they all are, adding up to a very big block indeed. Since I’m now on RCIA I’ve obviously moved quite a long way from the view that catholics are by definition not saved and from many of my other past opinions.

The trouble is, how can one stay protestant if they come to believe in the real and substantial presence of Christ in the bread & wine? Where else can one go to have this? (orthodoxy isn’t really an option here though there are at least 2 orthodox fathers in North Wales).

Blessings

Asteroid
 
As a Catholic Researcher, I would like to address the different interpretations of Revelation. The RCC has one and will have only one even after the Beast gets reveiled, the Jews get Converted, and whatever other Mysteries come up. The Magesterium protects and interprets that for us, guided by the Holy Spirit. Get a New American Standard, notes are at the bottom, they are it. IHS Daryl
 
I missed the converts part, I voted other, but I am not converting. My number one reason for no longer hating the Catholic church is Lay Catholics and several priests. My number one reason for not converting, I dont believe what the CC says about itself and I dont want to lie to others or myself. I have done that way to many times.
 
having been involved in RCIA for many years as sponsor then catechist, now overseeing inquiry classes, the biggest stumbling block seems to be Catholic morality, specifically the teaching on marriage and family–no to divorce, no to contraception, no abortion under any circumstances, no to pre-marital sex and living together, no to gay lifestyle. This is the are that requires the most attention during the inquiry phase, that needs the best, most precise understanding of Catholic teaching and its sources, and the most pastoral understanding. Even when disagreements are expressed about other issue such as infallibility, teaching authority, confession etc. it all boils down to rejection of the Church’s countercultural message.
 
I was baptized Catholic in a Catholic family, but raised Protestant (conflicting religious views). As you might guess, as an adult, I held a very dim view of the Catholic church. Eventually, while still conscience of God, I wandered away from church and organized religion altogether. About three years ago, I realized that I needed Him in my life, and began seeking Him out using my car as my church, listening to Protestant radio, etc. Even went back to church and church hopped a little while. Something was missing. Never dreamed that it was Catholicism. When the idea of Catholocism first occurred to me, I approached it as sort of a challenge–sort of a prove it to me attitude. I began studying on my own and reading everything that I could get my hands on. As each Protestant myth about Catholicism was hammered away, I knew that God was calling me home. At present, I am still reading (Keating’s book right now), and the biggest obstacle still presenting a problem is Mary. I do now believe all of what the Church teaches about her, however ( and I don’t mean to be offensive here and still have much to learn), I wonder if she is really due as much reverence as she is given. The current controversy over her being co-redemptrix is upsetting to me. It is as if some will not be happy until she is right up there equal to Jesus. And I know that “co” does not mean equal, however it does imply it, and it seems as though there are many who do feel or at least seem to feel that she is equal. And while the Church does not approve of Mary worship, there are those who come perilously close to it. This will not keep me from formally converting, however, I choose to stay clear of this issue. I do not feel the need to ask for her intercession, and since it is not required, I have decided to love her for who she is and what she did by following the will of God, and hope that I will not be labeled and judged a cafeteria Catholic, which, by the way is a minor issue. I don’t like the name calling. Lastly, I was disappointed to see that there is much diversity and church hopping within the Catholic church. I thought that I was through with all that. But, in spite of it all, I cannot see myself going back to a Protestant church because when I attend Mass, or listen to Catholic radio, I see a true love and devotion and worship of God and appreciation of Jesus like I have never seen before. God will help me overcome the obstacles, as I am here to stay. Sherilo
 
I’m not a convert, though my girlfriend would love me to be. Some of my hurdles include the pope being infallible, magisterium, the one “true” church, and the churches history. Just can’t swallow that pill that the pope is infallible, especially since he is a mortal man. As for the history of the church, if it is the one true church then someone explain the crusades, inquisition, multiple religious wars in Europe, the Holocaust, etc.
 
dream wanderer:
I did a lot of reading on my own and and pretty much accepted everything but the one thing that held me back was over zealous Catholics who reminded me of the Bible Fundamentalists I had left behind. If you weren’t doing things THEIR way you were wrong…no questions, no discussions. Those people scared me to be honest…

I went to RICA class and met some very humble Catholics and I’m glad I did. The gentle quiet ones did more to pave the way for me than did the ones who were trying to yell their particular convictions at me… 😛 😛

dream wanderer
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This is exactly what I experienced, and what held me back for so many years. I resented being someone’s “project,” as they tried to convert me. Only God can convert, and in the end, He did. It was the quiet, humble Catholics who with grace, simplicity and humor witnessed to Christ in their daily practical lives who helped me make the leap. They never once used apologetics with me; not once, even if I badgered them. They simply invited me to adoration, or to early morning Mass, or to volunteering in homeless shelters and soup kitchens. It wasn’t arguments that did it–it was love in action.
 
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Nel:
I’d like to know what was the hardest obstacle or teaching of the Catholic Church for converts to the faith, and how people got beyond that particular thing.
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I was a very devoted protestant. I taught Sunday school, youth groups, belonged to study groups and all my friends are protestant. When I met my Catholic husband, I met much resistance in my church and among my friends that it would “never work out” because of our difference in faith and practice. I actually thought I would convert him. But as it turns out, God had a different plan for me, and I’m now going through RCIA to confirm my faith in the Catholic church.

The biggest stumbling block for me is the fact that I’m re-programming my beliefs, and it isn’t always easy. I have to let go of all the things that were incorrect that I believed for so many years, and I have to be careful at the same time not to fall into the trap of believing false teachings and stereotypes about the Catholic Church. I don’t have any support from my friends or family (not including my husbands family). My husband is not very knowledgable in his faith, so he can’t answer my questions. His parent would be helpful, if we spoke the same language. So, I read and listen to Catholic radio and try to pray when I’m scared that God would not let me be swallowed by my insecurities. Suprisingly, Mary and teachings about Mary are leading this poll, but I found it very easy to love her. God really blessed me this way!
 
I’m a cradle catholic, but my Wife converted from S.Baptist.
She was raised Church of Christ (Instrumental), and was a Baptist when I met her.

Her biggest hangup at first was Mary and the Communion of Saints, but that changed rather quickly (she now prays the rosary daily, and is very devoted to our Blessed Mother).

She still has a bit of a hangup on authority issues…she sometimes feels that the church ‘guilt-trips’ people into doing what it wants. As a protestant she would forego church once in a while to just kick back and be lazy, or to do something with friends. She dislikes the teachings on birth control (taught that it was the responsible thing to do as a Baptist), but accepts them.

Sometimes she gets frustrated with what she calls ‘all the rules’ for being a Catholic, and she gets very jealous of her protestant friends (who seem to not have a care in the world…)

Anyway…thats what she ran into problems with…
 
The rather strange to a convert catholic dolls err statues.

The Infant of Prague? DO you know how a medievl doll dressed up baby Jesus as in Eurpoean royalty with a scepter looks for born again evangelical looks like idol worship?

A lot of catholic stuff looks rather weird to us what is the deal with the lucky medals and playing cards. Well that’s what it looked like to me anyway.

Their is lot different in catholic culture you come to just get it after awhile but it is a bit of culture shock and this is after dealing with the dogmatic issues.
 
It’s interesting to look at these in a sort of “Screwtape Letters” point of view and realize why Satan uses all of these things to keep peopl away from the Church. Well, Mary is obvious: Satan hates her because he knows that she is above him and that she brought Christ into the world to destroy him and his works. Her humility is the ultimate insult to his pride. I can see the issues with the Pope, too. It seems Satan has always had this thing with making God’s rules-the ones that bring us true freedom-seem the opposite of what they are: limiting and suffocating. Therefore, he focuses on twisting our view of authority as well. And of course he would try to skew our view of the sacraments, especially Holy Communion. This is a really interesting way to look at things.
 
I’m ashamed to say I didn’t vote… 😦 I went through RCIA and we didn’t talk about any of this except the sacraments. Matter of fact, we didn’t talk about sin either. I had to read the CCC to see whether I had anything to confess next time and was surprised what I found…“immoderate laughing”?
 
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