Dad gave me a Protestantish gift for bday

[DakiniArtist]

As someone who never had a father, can I have him???



:hug3:

Extra siblings are awesome, too.

 

[Pax2u]

OP, if your Dad has a history of passive/aggresive comments and behaviors re: your Catholic faith, then perhaps there was a negative connotation to the gift. But what you described didn’t sound like a problem at all. Perhaps he realized there was nothing “denominational” in the journal, and was reaching out to you in an area of common ground you share…namely, believing in God and praying to Him! I would thank him for the lovely gift. If he has a history of passive/aggressive behavior toward you, I would pass the journal on to someone who might enjoy it. If he’s being a loving Dad, go ahead and use it.

 

[Bill_Martin]

It only starts with looking at pictures of nature drawn by a Protestant; next thing you know you’ll be nailing 95 theses to your church’s door. I’d say burn it.

 

[The_Old_Maid]

What your dad gave you is much better than what my sister unwittingly gave me - the entire Left Behind set of books! I’m one of the few Catholics in the family & all she knew about the books is that they were Christian & she knows I like to read. She meant well!

A relative tried to do that to me too, but I knew it was half meant as a “disciplinary gesture,” and half meant better.

I’d say take the prayer journal and enjoy. That and Upper Room are largely written to be at peace with everyone if they can because that means a larger audience. If anything in there does triggers your praydar, you can always pray over it. I’ve read Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish materials and my head didn’t go boom.

Besides, if your father gave you a nonreligious book that he thought you’d enjoy (cats, baseball, history, etc.), you’d probably read it, right?

But if this really is a Romans 14 issue for you (not scrupulosity so much, but maybe), then set it aside for a while and see if your comfort level changes.

 

[Mayita30]

Hello. This may seem like a silly question, but I am a faithful Catholic, so I would like some advice from fellow Catholics. For my birthday, my Dad gave me an Our Daily Bread prayer journal as one of my gifts. I know Our Daily Bread is made by RBC Ministries and they are strictly Evangelical Protestants. Now mind you, I’ve never encountered anything blatantly anti-Catholic in their literature other than their beliefs obviously in Protestant doctrines. And in this prayer journal, its mainly blank lined pages for recording your prayer life, with the occasional page with a picture of nature and a Bible verse from a protestant version of the Bible. My question is, can I use this gift without contradicting my Catholic faith or causing scandal? It is a nice journal and I probably could put it to good use and I also don’t want to offend my Dad. My Dad is Presbyterian and he knows that my family and I are Catholic, so it annoys me that he would get me something that is Protestantish, but I know he means well. What are your thoughts on this?

God bless!

I don’t think your Dad had any bad intention. Just thank him for it. A nice gesture of thanking someone will never hurt. Besides, a good Catholic should always obey the commandments and that includes to Honor your father and your mother.

 

[truetofaith]

It only starts with looking at pictures of nature drawn by a Protestant; next thing you know you’ll be nailing 95 theses to your church’s door. I’d say burn it.

I hope you are just joking!

 

[Winter_Warlock_1]

My view is: accept the gift, read and enjoy it. If it is just daily prayers and not trying to convert you or change your view on God. If it is just prayer and meditations on the love God has for us or giving thanks to God of all of the blessings he has granted to you / us, then what can be wrong with giving Praise to God.

It would be if a friend of yours – who was not Catholic – knew that you were having a rough time and offered to pray to God that He grants you the strength to carry your cross or that He show that you are not alone but that He is with you. Would you tell that friend – no, you cannot pray for me? Just my view.

May God grant you peace and happiness.

Winter

 

[Aggie414]

It would be if a friend of yours – who was not Catholic – knew that you were having a rough time and offered to pray to God that He grants you the strength to carry your cross or that He show that you are not alone but that He is with you. Would you tell that friend – no, you cannot pray for me? Just my view.Winter

I’ve actually had an acquaintance whose son was dying of cancer say that she “only wanted true Christians praying for her son.” She made it perfectly clear that Rosaries or any other type of prayer were not wanted. I said one anyway for her son. I know she was hurting so I didn’t take it too personally, but Winter’s post sure makes the point about accepting all prayer as it is intended – with love.

 

[dreamer29]

Oh Dear ,it pains me that you feel you have to ask at all . Your Dad sound like a lovely man ,and you could learn a great deal from him about charity .

benotagoat, I strongly agree with you. You said it perfectly in my opinion.

 

[KD8TZC]

As others have said, I would thank your Father for this thoughtful and loving gift, but I don’t see any issues with reading it as long as you can pick out what is not really in our teachings.

I have a set of William Barclay commentaries for the gospels. Mr Barclay was not Catholic, but his works are beautifully done and inspirational. But, it is like eating a turkey leg. There is a lot of meat on the leg, but occasionally there is a tendon or other item that you need to eat around or spit out. It is the same here.

Just because someone’s or somethings faith is different than ours, doesn’t mean that we can’t learn from it. Just be careful.

PAX

John

 

[Mickey_Finn]

It sounds like a nice gift why not use it. If you read a passage that isn’t exactly correct. You can always make corrections in the margins.

ATB