Do Protestants cry more than Catholics about God and their Faith?

[flameburns623]

Some general responses:

1. White, English-speaking Roman Catholics are probably more-reserved than Black, Hispanic or some Asian Roman Catholics: we llive in a more reserved and private culture.
2. Some Roman Catholics probably DO find the RCC dry and leave for more-expressive communions. On the other hand, some Protestant converts have found the quiet spirituality of Roman Catholicism much more genuine than the gregarious emotionalism of many Protestant sects.
3. It’s not just Pentecostals who hold emotional services. African-American services of almost any stripe are often quite flamboyant, expressive, and emotional. Baptists can be quite expressive. Smaller sects of various denominations are often given to emotionalism. I have seen Mormons blubbering, especially on Fast and Testimony Sunday, even though Mormons are generally a pretty subdued and formal lot.
4. One problem with such emotional sorts of services is that they often lose their genuiness over time. One learns to cry-on-cue, and if one doesn’t there is often no small degree of peer pressure to ‘get right with the Spirit’.
5. I believe a lot of Roman Catholics who wish to remain faithful to their Church but who feel a need for a more personal and expressive form of worship often attend Charismatic prayer groups, get involved with the Cursillo Movement, or similar small-group sorts of worship in addition to Sunday Mass.

My :twocents: . :tiphat:

 

[Reuben_J]

Jocelyn:

I sometimes cry at mass. The only person who can tell is my husband. (I hope!!) I wouldn’t want anyone else to see me, as I am a private person.

Yes, and when you come out of the church with teary eyes, and it can be quite embarassing, eh? My wife does sometimes cry, and I sometimes I decide to be quite wicked and say after the mass “the Lord touches somebody today ,” . But you can see the peace the envelopes her and infecting everybody else. Ah, the power of the Eucharist.

God bless.

 

[Reuben_J]

deb1:

I have had very emotional moments when I cry during my prayers and when I had difficulty not crying during mass. So, the emotion can be there. I would feel embarrassed to begin crying during mass, so I try not to.

As far as very emotional Protestant experiences…many are very sincere, warm people that are trying to please God. At the same time, even when a person is sincere that is no proof that an emotinal experience is of God. I know that the members of cults and more primitive religions have these strong emotional reactions. One of the news shows had a report on the Kabbalah. The members cried and danced just like they do in Pentecostal churches.

When I was looking for a church, I attended a Pentecostal service a few times. Before the service there was an hour long singing session, with some of the songs having a chant like quality. The music minister encouraged people to ‘feel the holy spirit.’ And move and dance to the music. It was very beautiful but it also struck me to be similar to the ancient cultures that have members that go into trances after spending awhile singing and dancing.

If a person (or a group) goes into a trance during prayers or worship, I would say it is not from God. As I said, emotion can be induced, or one may go into a guilt trip and ended up crying.

Music is powerful form of worship if utilized properly for the simple reason of praising God. A pure heart would help. If situation permits during prayer meetings, rather than the Eucharist, an open expression of movement during the singing of praise or worship songs,would allow one into deeper experience of prayer.

Music and dance by itself as tools for worship is nothing new as we know that King David did sing and dance as he worshipped. However, I agree that there must be a balance in order that it will not become just another song fest.

 

[Reuben_J]

spiritblows:

The lady on TV was talking about her struggles and how God had helped her. She was very emotional, bordering on maudlin. I’ve seen that on other Protestant shows. When I was young I used to watch the PTL club and Tammy Faye Baker would cry alot, and her mascara would run. Now there’s a new wife of an Evangelist who looks a lot like Tammy Faye, I think it’s Paul Crouch’s wife. She also cries a lot. I don’t think you’d ever see anything that dramatic on a Catholic show.

This seems to be a part of a certain segment of Protestant culture. Yes, it is certain types of churches that are more emotional.

In my experience I do encounter such occurances. It distract the congregation and what we do, there will be some leaders/helpers who will “pull” the person aside and calm her down. But I say this kind of experience should not be habitual for any person. You can be overwhlemed at some realisation that may bring that emotion, but it’s not reasonable that it should happen everytime ortherwise that person may need help or ministry to address the real cause of her emotion.