Does conversion upset you?

[Telstar]

Whenever one of these subjects comes up I like to post this. Many have already seen this, sorry, but it is a good story.

That was a good one!

 

[Darryl_B]

I am an Evangelical that attends a Assembly of God congregation. I love to see new faces walk through doors and worship.

I notice Protestants joining the Catholic or Orthodox Church on CAF and I am not angry about. Some of my Protestant friends become outraged by this. I also notice how Catholics get angry when a Catholic leaves the and becomes Protestant. I have experienced that first hand on this forum. It saddens me but I move past it.

My thought process is this…I am happy that the person is in church and worships Jesus! If that individual find Jesus in the RCC or Southern Baptist Church then I glad to know they are seeking Christ in their life.

Do any non Catholics get upset when you see a Protestant joining the Catholic or Orthodox Church? Does it feel like “we lost one and they gained one” kind of mentality?

Please keep this civil and respectful.

When I converted (although I consider it reverting on behalf of my great great great grandparents) there was complete silence among anyone close. Complete and utter silence from my protestant family and friends with one brief exception.

I used to have your thought process, (happy that the person is in church and worships Jesus) but quite frankly as a protestant you have no other choice than to adopt that thought process. The reason being, it is the only way one can move location to a different country, different city, different town, different suburb even. On doing so a protestant will generally join a different autonomous church with a different name, but with “affiliations”.

On the other side of the coin, when I hear of Catholics trying out new stuff, it makes me sad, I mourn for them. We search for things we think we should have, until at some point we try to find our way home.

 

[Thomas1981]

I think that, as with many other things, you find that some people go to one extreme and some go to another.

I don’t think that anyone ought to get upset about someone converting (or, at least, not very upset). But on the other hand, it seems to me that there is something wrong with a Catholic [resp Protestant] not being bothered at all by someone leaving Catholicism [resp Protestantism].

I think what tends to get people upset is when someone who was never really properly catechized in the beliefs of their original faith goes over to another and then starts bad-mouthing their previous denomination based on falsehoods and a perception that they need to bash the other side to be accepted as a “real” member of their new congregation.

 

[Thomas1981]

On the other side of the coin, when I hear of Catholics trying out new stuff, it makes me sad, I mourn for them. We search for things we think we should have, until at some point we try to find our way home.

What makes me sad is that sometimes people want to “try out new stuff” because they can’t bring themselves to obedience to any doctrine. They think that a new church will be more “flexible,” but then they usually will find something else that upsets them and doesn’t match exactly with what they want (since there is no church that made just for you!). Those types of people I think are the most likely to never really be happy in a church and just fall away all together, because they don’t recognize their great sin of pride.

 

[aidanbradypop]

What makes me sad is that sometimes people want to “try out new stuff” because they can’t bring themselves to obedience to any doctrine. They think that a new church will be more “flexible,” but then they usually will find something else that upsets them and doesn’t match exactly with what they want (since there is no church that made just for you!). Those types of people I think are the most likely to never really be happy in a church and just fall away all together, because they don’t recognize their great sin of pride.

A friend was raised Catholic and now is “spiritual” with no religious beliefs except there is a God. I have seen Evangelicals do the same. It is sad.

 

[Peter_J]

They think that a new church will be more “flexible,” but then they usually will find something else that upsets them and doesn’t match exactly with what they want (since there is no church that made just for you!).

I’ve seen a similar phenomenon, a number of times, in people who have gone either from Catholicism to Orthodoxy or from Orthodoxy to Catholicism. In most of those cases I eventually had to figure that they simply believed that they knew better than both Churches.

 

[wmscott]

I have seen in my own family (can’t hide from family) that have left the Catholic faith out of a matter of convenience, because it fit their life style, or because of divorce, or because the “rules” were not in line with “Their” thinking. It was all about them and what they wanted.

 

[aidanbradypop]

I have seen in my own family (can’t hide from family) that have left the Catholic faith out of a matter of convenience, because it fit their life style, or because of divorce, or because the “rules” were not in line with “Their” thinking. It was all about them and what they wanted.

I think that happens in a lot of cases. Also in some cases the RCC is just not for them. Whether that be doctrinal differences or what have you.

 

[exnihilo]

I haven’t known anyone close who converted. But it wouldn’t have upset me. I have always had a respect for the Catholic church. There are also many public figures (not politicians of course) that I knew were Catholic and who I greatly respected.

There were those who warned me and tried to scare me off when they knew i attended RCIA at a Catholic parish sometime ago. They became quiet when i told them i wanted to be an Orthodox i still find this funny that they became quiet, i think because they barely know about Orthodoxy.

I was at a party held by a Baptist friend of mine and he and those from his church mentioned a family in their church had converted to Orthodoxy. They didn’t seem that distressed about it though I imagine they would be if that family had become Catholic. I think there is a great ignorance, at least where I live, of Orthodoxy. I think folks have no idea how close it is to Catholicism.

I experienced this first hand coming into the Catholic Church from the Southern Baptist Church. My dad is a retired Southern Baptist preacher and my older brother is still preaching. I was a music minister in a non-denominational Protestant church for 7 years. When I announced to my family that I was attending RCIA and coming into the Catholic faith, a lot of my Baptist family and friends stopped talking to me. My dad told me that I was going to hell because the Catholic Church was the anti-christ.

I’ve always wondered how a Baptist could get upset at a Catholic convert. If you believe Jesus Christ is your personal Lord and Savior how could anything you do, including joining the Catholic Church, jeopardize your salvation?

 

[Thomas1981]

I’ve always wondered how a Baptist could get upset at a Catholic convert. If you believe Jesus Christ is your personal Lord and Savior how could anything you do, including joining the Catholic Church, jeopardize your salvation?

Just spit-balling it here, but I would suspect that the Baptist hostility towards Catholicism has deep historical roots. Baptists are mostly from the South, and likely descendants of the Scots-Irish settlers. The Scots-Irish were moved from England to colonize the Ulster Plantation in Northern Ireland, and were like a Protestant spearhead in Catholic Ireland. I suspect that the anti-Catholicism among Baptists is a historical remnant from that.

 

[JustaServant]

I’ve always wondered how a Baptist could get upset at a Catholic convert. If you believe Jesus Christ is your personal Lord and Savior how could anything you do, including joining the Catholic Church, jeopardize your salvation?

Simple. They just tell you that you were never saved in the first place and need a “genuine conversion”. I’ve heard that myself. Or, they just say you are “backslidden” or “put on a shelf” until you repent.
Some just say you are now an apostate and there is no hope for you.

 

[aidanbradypop]

Just spit-balling it here, but I would suspect that the Baptist hostility towards Catholicism has deep historical roots. Baptists are mostly from the South, and likely descendants of the Scots-Irish settlers. The Scots-Irish were moved from England to colonize the Ulster Plantation in Northern Ireland, and were like a Protestant spearhead in Catholic Ireland. I suspect that the anti-Catholicism among Baptists is a historical remnant from that.

Maybe, but I would say that Catholicism claims to have the fullness of truth and so do the Baptist. They are so different that there are bound to be major disagreement.

 

[Peter_J]

I was at a party held by a Baptist friend of mine and he and those from his church mentioned a family in their church had converted to Orthodoxy. They didn’t seem that distressed about it though I imagine they would be if that family had become Catholic. I think there is a great ignorance, at least where I live, of Orthodoxy.** I think folks have no idea how close it is to Catholicism**.

Interesting. I don’t want to rehash my experiences over the years, but suffice it to say that my Orthodox friends often express shock at Catholic exaggerations of the similarities, so I guess it has been the opposite of your experiences. I have even heard Catholics claim that “the Orthodox really know that we are right, but pretend not to” (or words to that effect).

Edit: Another thought about “folks [Protestants] have no idea how close [Orthodoxy] is to Catholicism”: perhaps those folks have a self-serving bias.

 

[Thomas1981]

Maybe, but I would say that Catholicism claims to have the fullness of truth and so do the Baptist. They are so different that there are bound to be major disagreement.

Sure, but there seems to be something of an irrational element to it…

 

[aidanbradypop]

Sure, but there seems to be something of an irrational element to it…

From a doctrinal standpoint, both believe each other to be wrong. There lies the problem I believe.

 

[exnihilo]

Simple. They just tell you that you were never saved in the first place and need a “genuine conversion”.

I’ve heard that myself. That is an interesting position when considered against to the complaint I’ve encountered leveled against Catholic doctrine that it is not really ‘good news’ if you don’t have certainty of your salvation or have to work it out in some way.

Interesting. I don’t want to rehash my experiences over the years, but suffice it to say that my Orthodox friends often express shock at Catholic exaggerations of the similarities, so I guess it has been the opposite of your experiences. I have even heard Catholics claim that “the Orthodox really know that we are right, but pretend not to” (or words to that effect).

Edit: Another thought about “folks [Protestants] have no idea how close [Orthodoxy] is to Catholicism”: perhaps those folks have a self-serving bias.

Do those Orthodox friends at least recognize the Catholic church is more similar to their faith than Protestantism?

Some might have a bias. But I think it is mostly an opinion held out of ignorance. I find the average Protestant doesn’t really know his church history. Of course the same could be said for the average American regarding secular history. When I do hear claims made against the ‘Roman’ Catholic church I often wonder why those making the claim don’t say Catholic and Orthodox church. For instance I don’t think I’ve ever heard (not that it never happens but in my common experience) a Protestant condemn the Orthodox church for the intercession of saints.

 

[CompSciGuy]

We are so far removed from the times of the reformation that there is this sense of “every church is equally good” among evangelical protestantism as a way of coping with the many theological differences. However, as Catholics we understand the Catholic Church to hold the full deposit of the faith, and we are saddened by all of the schisms that have driven wedges in the body of Christ. When I meet a person who was Catholic but has converted to Protestantism, I am saddened by it, because this means this person no longer enjoys the benefits of Catholicism, especially the sacramental life of the Church. Usually it is also because the person was raised with a very poor faith formation, and an evangelical came and took advantage of their lack of understanding of the faith (whether intentional or unintentional; most Protestants are just as unaware of the Catholic faith as many Catholics are). The ideal that I would like to see is for a person to grow deeper in their Catholic faith rather than making an uninformed decision to seek the Lord in another church. It doesn’t always work out that way; however, often times these ‘converts’ end up becoming reverts when a knowledgeable Catholic comes along and shares their faith in a way that the lapsed Catholic has never heard before.

 

[Vanez]

I haven’t known anyone close who converted. But it wouldn’t have upset me. I have always had a respect for the Catholic church. There are also many public figures (not politicians of course) that I knew were Catholic and who I greatly respected.

I was at a party held by a Baptist friend of mine and he and those from his church mentioned a family in their church had converted to Orthodoxy. They didn’t seem that distressed about it though I imagine they would be if that family had become Catholic. I think there is a great ignorance, at least where I live, of Orthodoxy. I think folks have no idea how close it is to Catholicism.

I personally think that if by converting to Orthodoxy, or Roman Catholicism, or Protestantism makes someone to feel closer to God and to put hope, trust, faith more in Him, then others can’t try to convince them that their churches are much better and that this person is lost. After all, it is about our personal relationship with Him.

But on the other side, i got them people who first did not even care if I existed in that church became people who suddenly came to me, whether they told bad stuff about RCC, or invited me to join their cell groups. Before I told them that I left the church and was attending RCIA, not one of them had invited me to cell group, not one of them cared that I stood there, and if they greeted me, all they asked about was my sister, instead of “how are you?”

The storm is over now, though! I am happy they still talked to me. Now they come to me with encouraging messages and Bible verses, they’re nicer to me since i left. For a moment i thought where were you in these years of me, attending the church? My personal relationship is different, i’m ADD patient, can’t focus in long talk without a break, and it’s not because of them i left the church. It’s all about personal relationship, as i said.

 

[Peter_J]

Do those Orthodox friends at least recognize the Catholic church is more similar to their faith than Protestantism?

Well, I don’t think they would say otherwise, but I think that generally Orthodox wouldn’t bring up that question in the first place. Or perhaps they would, but the form would be more like “How far has each Non-Orthodox group fallen into error?”

As I say, I think each of us tends to have a self-serving bias.

 

[HelenRose]

I became a Catholic 25 years ago and this has been my experience.

The converts from a Protestant Church, my Church was the Church of Christ, have generally become Catholic while still loving the faith they came from. When I became a Catholic, I lost nothing of my love for the Bible, my love for Jesus, my wonderful experiences as a child growing up in a loving Christian life.

Everything I had, I still have and so very much more. I do have to admit that sometimes I miss the wonderful congregational singing. I have discussed that with other Protestant Converts. We laugh about it but say, “But we have the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ.” We are satisfied beyond words.

I have noticed that the opposite is true when people leave the Catholic Church. They take nothing with them. I have never quite understood why there is such a difference.