Evangelicals are associated with extremists -- could you explain why?

[God_s_Child]

Thanks to all of you for your responses. Let me try to answer some:

1. The reason I brought up the mega church and having services on Christmas Day is because I read a thread on here about big megachurches not having Christmas Services on Sunday. In no way was I trying to play the “my church is bigger than yours … or better for that matter”.
2. I personally do not believe in once saved always saved. Nor does my church teach that. I know there are some christians out there that do believe that, but for me, being saved goes hand in hand with life changing events. Repentance for sins is necessary for salvation according to the Bible. If you are saved and then go on about your life as before, not being repentful of your sins … were you ever really saved in the first place?

When we “say the prayer” we are told that we must believe in our heart, our soul, and our mind what we are committing to - the Lord Jesus as your Savior. God knows the heart of the person saying the prayer…and he knows that person’s intentions. I believe there are many people who say the prayer who are not saved.

1. The ways that I differ from Catholics are: I don’t believe in bowing down to any statue; I don’t believe in praying to Mary as an intercessor (sp?) before God; I don’t believe that the true body and blood of Jesus Christ is in the Eucharist; I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and that it will lead me to any answers I need to be a Child of God in today’s fallen world.

I study end-time events as compared to Biblical Prophecy (i.e., Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaaiah, Jeremiah, etc. as well as the Book of Revelation. This has been put on my heart by my Father in Heaven, and I have spent most of my 8 years of Christian living to studying the Bible and living in God’s love.

 

[adnauseum]

God's Child:

1. The ways that I differ from Catholics are: I don’t believe in bowing down to any statue; I don’t believe in praying to Mary as an intercessor (sp?) before God; I don’t believe that the true body and blood of Jesus Christ is in the Eucharist; I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and that it will lead me to any answers I need to be a Child of God in today’s fallen world.

As long as you aren’t expecting us here to believe those things too, then you are certainly not an extremist.

 

[Kay_Cee]

Hello, God’s Child, and welcome to the forum!
God's Child:

The ways that I differ from Catholics are: I don’t believe in bowing down to any statue;

Neither do we!

I don’t believe in praying to Mary as an intercessor (sp?) before God;

Actually, it’s more correct to say that we pray *with *Mary to God. You do believe in asking others to pray for you, don’t you? That’s all we do when we pray with Mary.

I don’t believe that the true body and blood of Jesus Christ is in the Eucharist;

Well, we do, mostly because Jesus said so. But that’s a discussion for another thread; in fact, there’s a very long thread going on about it now in Apologetics. You might want to check it out.

I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God,

Great! So do we! See how much we agree about!

and that it will lead me to any answers I need to be a Child of God in today’s fallen world.

Well, we believe it will bring us to a lot answers, but not all of them. It won’t tell us, for example, which books belong in the Bible and which don’t.

I study end-time events as compared to Biblical Prophecy (i.e., Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaaiah, Jeremiah, etc. as well as the Book of Revelation. This has been put on my heart by my Father in Heaven, and I have spent most of my 8 years of Christian living to studying the Bible and living in God’s love.

Sounds great. I hope you spend a lot of time here learning what we have in common.

 

[Semper_Fi_1]

God's Child:

Thanks to all of you for your responses. Let me try to answer some:

1. The reason I brought up the mega church and having services on Christmas Day is because I read a thread on here about big megachurches not having Christmas Services on Sunday. In no way was I trying to play the “my church is bigger than yours … or better for that matter”.
2. I personally do not believe in once saved always saved. Nor does my church teach that. I know there are some christians out there that do believe that, but for me, being saved goes hand in hand with life changing events. Repentance for sins is necessary for salvation according to the Bible. If you are saved and then go on about your life as before, not being repentful of your sins … were you ever really saved in the first place?

When we “say the prayer” we are told that we must believe in our heart, our soul, and our mind what we are committing to - the Lord Jesus as your Savior. God knows the heart of the person saying the prayer…and he knows that person’s intentions. I believe there are many people who say the prayer who are not saved.

1. The ways that I differ from Catholics are: I don’t believe in bowing down to any statue; I don’t believe in praying to Mary as an intercessor (sp?) before God; I don’t believe that the true body and blood of Jesus Christ is in the Eucharist; I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and that it will lead me to any answers I need to be a Child of God in today’s fallen world.

I study end-time events as compared to Biblical Prophecy (i.e., Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaaiah, Jeremiah, etc. as well as the Book of Revelation. This has been put on my heart by my Father in Heaven, and I have spent most of my 8 years of Christian living to studying the Bible and living in God’s love.

Some interesting articles which you should start off with if you’re really up to learning about your Faith:

catholic.com/thisrock/2005/0502sbs.asp
catholic.com/thisrock/2002/0211fea3.asp
catholic.com/library/rapture.asp
catholic.com/thisrock/1990/9002frs.asp
catholic.com/thisrock/1990/9011fea2.asp
catholic.com/thisrock/1994/9405frs.asp
catholic.com/thisrock/2000/0011sbs.asp
catholic.com/library/do_catholics_worship_statues.asp
catholic.com/thisrock/1993/9310fea2.asp

& check out scripturecatholic.com/ as well.

God bless,

 

[Sherlock]

Thanks for your responses, God Child.
God's Child:

1. The reason I brought up the mega church and having services on Christmas Day is because I read a thread on here about big megachurches not having Christmas Services on Sunday. In no way was I trying to play the “my church is bigger than yours … or better for that matter”…

That’s good to know. Thank you for providing me with the context.
God's Child:

1. I personally do not believe in once saved always saved. Nor does my church teach that. I know there are some christians out there that do believe that, but for me, being saved goes hand in hand with life changing events. Repentance for sins is necessary for salvation according to the Bible. If you are saved and then go on about your life as before, not being repentful of your sins … were you ever really saved in the first place?

But don’t you see a problem here? There ARE other Evangelicals who believe in “once saved, always saved”. They claim the Bible and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as their authority, as you do. How do you know that you are right, and they are wrong? You are called to be your brother’s keeper: does it not concern you that a false message, with serious implications for the recipient, is being promulgated? Do you see how relativism, which is opposed to Christianity, runs amok here? About all you can say is, “they have their truth, and I have mine”. This is a serious weakness in Protestantism.
God's Child:

3)The ways that I differ from Catholics are: I don’t believe in bowing down to any statue; I don’t believe in praying to Mary as an intercessor (sp?) before God; I don’t believe that the true body and blood of Jesus Christ is in the Eucharist; I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and that it will lead me to any answers I need to be a Child of God in today’s fallen world.

Well, good heavens, we’re not bowing down “to” a statue: it’s made of plaster or marble or whatever it happens to be made of. We are kneeling (or bowing) out of reverence to the person represented by the statue. And let me ask you: have you ever been to a Catholic Mass? I ask because I sometimes get the feeling from fundamentalists and some Evangelicals that they think we spend our time bowing to statues. That’s news to me: it’s not part of the Mass.
God's Child:

I study end-time events as compared to Biblical Prophecy (i.e., Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaaiah, Jeremiah, etc. as well as the Book of Revelation. This has been put on my heart by my Father in Heaven, and I have spent most of my 8 years of Christian living to studying the Bible and living in God’s love.

I’ve never understood why some fundamentalists and Evangelicals are so caught up in speculation about end times. I mean, I know that I will certainly die and meet my Maker someday, and so I try to grow in holiness day by day and remain in a state of grace so that I will always be ready when that happens. If the Second Coming happens while I’m still alive, great—but since I’m trying to be prepared anyway since I could (theoretically) die tomorrow, I’m not sure what practical difference speculation about the “end times” brings. Maybe you could explain this to me, as I’ve always wondered about the fascination some have with this. Do you subscribe to the theory of the “Rapture” (pre-tribulation dispensationalism?

 

[BillyT92679]

Matt16_18:

That nasty ol’ “works salvation” of the Catholics.

The corporal works of mercy are SATAN’S WORK - could anything be more absurd than believing that?

It’s not just absurd, it’s diabolical itself! The Gospel of Wealth and its corollary in rejecting good works is, in its own way, just as evil as secular humanism. It’s libertarian religiosity, which to me is so awful because it totally rejects the idea that religion is a benefit for all of society. As a matter of fact, it’s kind of worse, because it is easy to see the wickedness of the secular world if you have at least some faith. But if you have faith and follow this nonsense, you are potentially dooming yourself and you would not even realize it.

 

[deb1]

BillyT92679:

It’s not just absurd, it’s diabolical itself! The Gospel of Wealth and its corollary in rejecting good works is, in its own way, just as evil as secular humanism. It’s libertarian religiosity, which to me is so awful because it totally rejects the idea that religion is a benefit for all of society. As a matter of fact, it’s kind of worse, because it is easy to see the wickedness of the secular world if you have at least some faith. But if you have faith and follow this nonsense, you are potentially dooming yourself and you would not even realize it.

So, would the Gospel of Wealth be considered extreme? With most Protestant beliefs I might not agree, but I am able to grasp their line of reasoning. The Gospel of Wealth is not like that. It is nowhere in the bible. Luckily, I don’t think that most Protestants belief this, so I would gather that they are as puzzled by the followers of the Gospel of Weatlh as we are.

Is there a Gospel of Nothing Bad Will Ever Happen to ME Ever? I have actually come across this belief a little more frequently then the above. I knew a woman, for instance, who refused to lock her doors because she was certain that Jesus would protect her from all harm, if she just had enough faith. I often feel bad for these people because I feel like that they are the ones who loose their faith when trouble arises in their lifes.

 

[deb1]

God’s Child, it does not sound like you are an extremest. In fact, your beliefs sound pretty moderate to me. I think one of the problems with the original post is that it was not pointed out what definition of extremist that you were using. To the far left, any devote religious person, who has any morals, is an extemist.

I do believe that there are some extremist among some fundamentalist but they are not in the majority of Christians-either Catholic or Protestants.

 

[gusano]

God's Child:

Thanks to all of you for your responses. Let me try to answer some:

1. The ways that I differ from Catholics are: I don’t believe in bowing down to any statue; I don’t believe in praying to Mary as an intercessor (sp?) before God;
   **I don’t believe that the true body and blood of Jesus Christ is in the Eucharist; **
   I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and that it will lead me to any answers I need to be a Child of God in today’s fallen world.

If Christ is not present in The Eucharist…
Was He mistaken at His last Passover; Matt. 26: 26-28
and John 6: 53, 54 ?
or are you ?

I study end-time events as compared to Biblical Prophecy (i.e., Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaaiah, Jeremiah, etc. as well as the Book of Revelation. This has been put on my heart by my Father in Heaven, and I have spent most of my 8 years of Christian living to studying the Bible and living in God’s love.

Do you study “Present-time events” such as
Romans 12: 1…“OFFER YOUR BODIES as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God, your spiritual worship” ?

• Romans 6: 12, 13
• Rev. 11: 1
  …If we miss Christ in the PRESENT, how will we ever see the future ?

gusano

 

[Sherlock]

deb1:

Is there a Gospel of Nothing Bad Will Ever Happen to ME Ever? I have actually come across this belief a little more frequently then the above. I knew a woman, for instance, who refused to lock her doors because she was certain that Jesus would protect her from all harm, if she just had enough faith. I often feel bad for these people because I feel like that they are the ones who loose their faith when trouble arises in their lifes.

That’s interesting, Deb1. I’ve never come across that particular strain, but it sounds potentially very, very destructive, both on a physical and spiritual level. I will pray for this woman, as I can imagine that her faith will be shaken if something bad does happen.
A friend of mine knew someone who, believing in what could be considered a variant of the “Wealth Gospel”, thought that she didn’t have to study for her classes and tests in college because she believed that if Jesus wanted her to pass, he would make it possible. So, she didn’t study and—surprise, surprise—she failed.

 

[rwoehmke]

debras56:

I am a joyful Catholic convert (March 30, 2002), and was raised in a very Calvinist, somewhat fundamentalist/legalistic Protestant Church.
My brother is an Evangelical Pastor, and I asked him about this notion that Catholics aren’t Christians, and he said that the impression that many Cradle-Catholic-now-Evangelicals in his Church give is that you have to go through “too many layers” to get to Christ. I am still puzzled by that statement.

I think there is a misconception out there that Catholics do not have direct access to Jesus, but must go up the “chain-of-command” the individual Christian>the priest>the bishop>the Pope>Jesus. Also the individual>a Saint/Mary>Jesus. Hope this perhaps solves your confusion. Dick

 

[Kendy]

Once saved always saved?

I am one of the evangelicals who believes that you are always saved. I doubt that I will say anything to convince you of this, but I have felt like this view has been misrepresented on this site so I would like to explain.

First, it is not a license to sin. As Paul says, you don’t sin so that grace may abound because you have been redeemed from sin. A truly saved person is someone who has committed their life to God by submitting to the Lordship in Christ. If you want Jesus Christ as savior for personal fire protection, you are not saved. Jesus must be the Lord of your life, and if you love Him, you will obey his commandments.

Of course, being saved does not mean you are without sin. You will sin and will need to repent to be in right fellowship with God. So, what does once saved mean? How far can you go?

I was saved when I was 14. But three years later, I fell into a sinful lifestyle— extreme guilt and shame and believing that I couldn’t stop kept me from confessing my sins and reconcilling with God. Eventually I stop practicing and then I denied the faith completely for several years. I believe that during that time God remained faithful to me, eventhough I didn’t deserve it. Looking back, I can think of several times that the Holy Spirit convicted me and called me to repetence. I rejected many of these prompting, but one day I didn’t. I had reached a very low point and the Spirit told me to repent, and this time I did. I don’t know why this particular time, but I know that after I was saved God made it particular hard for me to enjoy my sins. I couldn’t get away with things other people got away with. Because I was one of his own, God continually disciplinined me during the times that I was faithless, but He never abandoned me. Knowing that God will never leave me or forsake me makes it easier to serve Him. Because I know His love for me is that infinite, I want to serve Him more, and from experience I also know that He is faithful enough to correct me when I go astray.

BTW, I don’t think one has to believe in eternal security to be a Christian. But I think it’s kind of sad. I am so awed and humbled by God’s eternal devotion to me, and I feel like I would have lost something precious to not have that.

 

[mommyjo2]

This does make you strange, according to my experience. I am married to an Evangelical Christian ( I find him strange but not extremist! )
He and his church and friends all are trying to convert me- and as far as I know they ALL believe that salvation is a one-time event, you are either saved or not saved; there is nothing you can do to lose your salvation. These are baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, and charismatics/Assembly of God.

Interestingly enough, they can’t answer me when I say, if they really believed that they would all commit suicide and go straight to their heavenly reward and skip this miserable life. Many, including my husband, agree that I have been ‘saved’, by accepting Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior, although I am a Catholic, but still try to convert me and get me away from the Church. My other question that has not been answered by them, if I am saved, and can’t lose my salvation, why does it matter if I go to a Catholic church or believe Catholic beliefs? If robbing orphans and killing people will not cause me to lose my salvation,why will wearing a scapular or celebrating All Saint’s Day?

 

[mommyjo2]

Sherlock:

A friend of mine knew someone who, believing in what could be considered a variant of the “Wealth Gospel”, thought that she didn’t have to study for her classes and tests in college because she believed that if Jesus wanted her to pass, he would make it possible. So, she didn’t study and—surprise, surprise—she failed.

This is called the Word of Faith movement, and it is so destructive. If you are poor, or sick, they say it is because you lack faith or have unrepented sin. What really happens is that if you are sick or poor, you are no longer welcome at their church.

Kenneth Copeland, Trinity Broadcasting Network, Joel Osteen, Marilyn Hickey, Benny Hinn etc. all teach this ‘new’ gospel. Particularly entertaining is Creflo Dollar, who teaches that Christ was rich (that’s why he never worried about ‘where to lay his head’) and Judas was actually his treasurer who was embezzling… but that’s another thread!

 

[rbrooks]

God's Child:

Thanks to all of you for your responses. Let me try to answer some:

1. I personally do not believe in once saved always saved. Nor does my church teach that. I know there are some christians out there that do believe that, but for me, being saved goes hand in hand with life changing events. Repentance for sins is necessary for salvation according to the Bible. If you are saved and then go on about your life as before, not being repentful of your sins … were you ever really saved in the first place?

When we “say the prayer” we are told that we must believe in our heart, our soul, and our mind what we are committing to - the Lord Jesus as your Savior. God knows the heart of the person saying the prayer…and he knows that person’s intentions. I believe there are many people who say the prayer who are not saved.

1. The ways that I differ from Catholics are: I don’t believe in bowing down to any statue; I don’t believe in praying to Mary as an intercessor (sp?) before God; I don’t believe that the true body and blood of Jesus Christ is in the Eucharist; I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and that it will lead me to any answers I need to be a Child of God in today’s fallen world.

Gods Child,

Hello and welcome. Since this can of worms was opened, I’ll chime in. My 2 cents on your first question is that a lot of christians, or so called christians bring this label of fundamentalist upon themselves. I lost a lot of “friends” when I became catholic. Fine example of christianity! Anyhow, it is not something that catholics look to place a name on any target or something like that. Our actions is how ones opinion is formed of us. These folks bring it upon themselves.

Next:

Notice in the quote where I emphasized where you mention yourself so much. I believe, I think, me, I, I, I. This is typical of most, if not all protestants. I realize you are not bosting and am not implying so. I am simply pointing out that you and a lot of our non catholic brothers and sisters think that the Holy Spirit has led them into a deeper understanding on an individual level of revelation, than a Church formed by our Lord Himself. (Matt 16:18) The same Church that gave you the Scripture that you believe you can interperet with more understanding than who gave it to you. This is seriously flawed reasoning. The same Spirit has led you and millions of other believers into believing different things according to the same scriptures? How does that happen?

Anyhow, just food for thought. Again, I welcome you and hope you find a community of welocoming and loving christians here to help you understand why WE BELIVE what we believe. (Nicene creed)

God bless you!
Rich

 

[FCEGM]

Kendy:

Once saved always saved?. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .BTW, I don’t think one has to believe in eternal security to be a Christian. But I think it’s kind of sad. I am so awed and humbled by God’s eternal devotion to me, and I feel like I would have lost something precious to not have that.

The OSAS theory gives the believer in it just as much uncertainty as he would bewail among Catholic and Orthodox faithful; in fact, it gives someone who will fall away in the future a false sense of security, since he believes that this cannot happen – then it does. There is a false peace that is detrimental to our salvation. St. Paul did exhort all to “examine yourself, as to whether you are in the faith.” It does us good to wonder, at times, for it instills a godly fear into our lives that forces us to take recourse to our loving and fatherly God. Further, a life in the Sacraments gives us objective moorings upon which to have confidence in our walk with God, not to mention the sanctifying grace which such a life imparts, giving us subjective moorings, as well.

So, obviously, OSAS is not a belief that I can embrace. It is, after all, a novelty, appearing first in the 1500’s with Calvin. I choose the apostolic and patristic witness to that of some Johnny-come-lately. In this I find my delight, and live at peace in the Lord, since we do have the surety that we are children of God in Christ by virtue of our Baptism into His Life, Death and Resurrection, and because of the grace of perseverance which He gives us day to day to do His most Holy Will – often not perfectly, but His Holy Spirit sustains us in the struggle.

We have the surety that He is our loving Father, that Christ is our Savior and Brother, and the Holy Spirit our Guide and Comforter. We have the surety that we are “partakers of the Divine Nature” through our Baptism; through participation in the sacramental life of the Church we are given the moral assurance of salvation if we persevere in Christ – by His grace, not by our own efforts! – to the end. We can not know our perseverance in days to come; only on this day can we know we have persevered. That is a grace for which to constantly pray, for only if we persevere in obedience (“the obedience of faith”), then we have a moral certainty that the reward of eternal life in Christ Jesus will be ours. We can not know we will persevere. I pray that by God’s grace we will.

 

[jpete79]

Kendy:

Once saved always saved?

I am one of the evangelicals who believes that you are always saved. I doubt that I will say anything to convince you of this, but I have felt like this view has been misrepresented on this site so I would like to explain.

First, it is not a license to sin. As Paul says, you don’t sin so that grace may abound because you have been redeemed from sin. A truly saved person is someone who has committed their life to God by submitting to the Lordship in Christ. If you want Jesus Christ as savior for personal fire protection, you are not saved. Jesus must be the Lord of your life, and if you love Him, you will obey his commandments.

Of course, being saved does not mean you are without sin. You will sin and will need to repent to be in right fellowship with God. So, what does once saved mean? How far can you go?

I was saved when I was 14. But three years later, I fell into a sinful lifestyle— extreme guilt and shame and believing that I couldn’t stop kept me from confessing my sins and reconcilling with God. Eventually I stop practicing and then I denied the faith completely for several years. I believe that during that time God remained faithful to me, eventhough I didn’t deserve it. Looking back, I can think of several times that the Holy Spirit convicted me and called me to repetence. I rejected many of these prompting, but one day I didn’t. I had reached a very low point and the Spirit told me to repent, and this time I did. I don’t know why this particular time, but I know that after I was saved God made it particular hard for me to enjoy my sins. I couldn’t get away with things other people got away with. Because I was one of his own, God continually disciplinined me during the times that I was faithless, but He never abandoned me. Knowing that God will never leave me or forsake me makes it easier to serve Him. Because I know His love for me is that infinite, I want to serve Him more, and from experience I also know that He is faithful enough to correct me when I go astray.

BTW, I don’t think one has to believe in eternal security to be a Christian. But I think it’s kind of sad. I am so awed and humbled by God’s eternal devotion to me, and I feel like I would have lost something precious to not have that.

Upon acceptance of Jesus Christ we receieve the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise of eternal life.

What is a promise? A commitment. What is eternal? Forever. If the Spirit left us than the promise to us would not be fulfilled because it was a temporary promise not an eternal one.

We cannot truly accept Christ to turn away later. The reason why is because we became a dwelling place for the Spirit upon acceptance. If we are an eternal dwelling place for the Spirit than why would it not dwell eternally? If it does stay in us than we are assured of Heaven and Salvation.

 

[bookgirl]

jpete79:

Upon acceptance of Jesus Christ we receieve the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise of eternal life.

What is a promise? A commitment. What is eternal? Forever. If the Spirit left us than the promise to us would not be fulfilled because it was a temporary promise not an eternal one.

We cannot truly accept Christ to turn away later. The reason why is because we became a dwelling place for the Spirit upon acceptance. If we are an eternal dwelling place for the Spirit than why would it not dwell eternally? If it does stay in us than we are assured of Heaven and Salvation.

What about the deadly sin that is spoken of in the bible?

 

[gusano]

jpete79:

Upon acceptance of Jesus Christ we receieve the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise of eternal life.

What is a promise? A commitment. What is eternal? Forever. If the Spirit left us than the promise to us would not be fulfilled because it was a temporary promise not an eternal one.

We cannot truly accept Christ** to turn away later.** The reason why is because we became a dwelling place for the Spirit upon acceptance.

Don’t forget,** “We carry this Treasure in earthen vessels.”**
and,
"many of his disciples broke away and would not remain in his company any longer." John 6; 66

The Promise of The Holy Spirit is based in the** Set of our Will,** and persisting till the end.
not on “an experience” based on a short prayer in front of a stage.

When we accept Christ, He does not remove our FREE WILL… (as a lobotomy) …so we can continue on “Cruise-Control”

If we are an eternal dwelling place for the Spirit than why would it not dwell eternally? If it does stay in us than we are assured of Heaven and Salvation.

2 Tim. 2: 11-13
**"You can depend on this;
If we have DIED with him we shall also LIVE with him;
If we HOLD OUT to the end
we shall also REIGN with him.
But…
if we deny him
he will deny us.

If we are unfaithful …he will still remain faithful,
for he cannot deny himself."**

He is Eternal and will endure forever.
We endure a little longer than the grass and the flowers.
…If we Indulge, and become Partakers of HIS DIVINE NATURE, we too will endure forever.

It is not in presumption.
It is in CONNECTION and ENDURANCE.
in, with and through Christ.

God Bless

gusano

 

[David_Zampino]

God's Child:

I am new to your Forum. I am an Evangelical Christian - I am a Child of God.

I have been reading your forums for awhile now, and am confused. I was raised Catholic - strict Catholic! And since I have become an Evangelical Christian, I have spent much time studying my religion of birth, so that I could really understand where I had come from in terms of faith, and where I was heading. I tell you this only because I believe I know both the Catholic Church teachings as well as the Evangelical Free beliefs.

What confuses me is that I notice that Evangelicals are associated with extremists and/or some kind of “strange” faith – could you explain why? And please be nice … because I bruise easily!

Frankly, many people not familiar with the varieties of Protestantism are unaware that “Evangelicalism” does not necessarily eqate to “Fundamentalism”. I suspect that terminology is one of the problems here.

Blessings,