Evangelizing to good Protestant friend

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Hi I have a very good friend who is Protestant and has been “church shopping”, so to speak. She has been going to a Lutheran church lately and is attracted to the fact that they say the Apostles’ Creed and the Our Father, etc. I think that it would be awesome if she became Catholic, and basically I am wondering what the best thing to do from here would be?

I would love to give her a book that basically lays out what Catholics believe, without being too aggressive or anything, because she is not anti-Catholic, mostly I think she just wants to know what the Church teaches.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a book to give to a Protestant about Catholicism that I guess is what I would term a “gentle defense” of the Faith? I don’t want to be too pushy or anything, I just want to help her understand what Catholicism is.
 
Undomiel said:
Hi I have a very good friend who is Protestant and has been “church shopping”, so to speak. She has been going to a Lutheran church lately and is attracted to the fact that they say the Apostles’ Creed and the Our Father, etc. I think that it would be awesome if she became Catholic, and basically I am wondering what the best thing to do from here would be?

I would love to give her a book that basically lays out what Catholics believe, without being too aggressive or anything, because she is not anti-Catholic, mostly I think she just wants to know what the Church teaches.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a book to give to a Protestant about Catholicism that I guess is what I would term a “gentle defense” of the Faith? I don’t want to be too pushy or anything, I just want to help her understand what Catholicism is.
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Hello undomiel, The little 30 page book from CA maybe something for you to consider since you mention that she is shopping around. ‘Pillar of Fire Pillar of Truth’. God bless you both. :)Carlan
 
I church-shopped for years as a Protestant. I kept thinking that someone had to be getting it right, but I was always disappointed until I found the Catholic church. My journey to Catholicism might have been shorter, though, if someone had invited me to Mass. One book that was helpful to me was Scott Hahn’s Rome Sweet Home. But attending Mass was a big thing for me. God bless! Debbie
 
Surprised by Truth is the one that might do it for her. Also let her know about the Real Presence in the Eucharist – something that various Lutherans might try to claim (consubstantiation) but emphasize the clarity and fullness of the Catholic teaching on this!
 
“Catholicism for Dummies” and a date for Midnight Mass should do it! :christmastree1:
 
hahaha, those three books mentioned above are the very three I would have mentioned !

Or as I refer to them, “the blue book”, “the purple book”, and “the yellow book”…

😃

If I may, I would recommend that these books be given in the following order:

The purple book first (Surprised by Truth), because it contains the conversion stories of many people, from all walks of life and from various religious backgrounds.

The blue book second (Rome Sweet Home), because it delves deeper into the conversion story of a intensely protestant couple, who struggled for years as first the husband, and then finally the wife, converted.

Lastly, the yellow book third (Catholicism for Dummies), to give a general but well-written introduction to the basics of the Catholic Church, presuming the first two books have piqued the interest of your friend.

Btw, you may wish to have a copy of the yellow book for your own library, as even strong Catholics can learn many things from it…

Finally, if all these fail to even initiate some semblance of interest, then the best option you have left is to pray. And on this note, I ask anyone reading this post to pray for my friend from my Catholic high school, whose name is J. Bailey, who became a born-again Christian but rejects the true Church established by Christ Himself.

Please pray for him, because there is no more appealing to his intellect…
 
Undomiel said:
Hi I have a very good friend who is Protestant and has been “church shopping”, so to speak. She has been going to a Lutheran church lately and is attracted to the fact that they say the Apostles’ Creed and the Our Father, etc. I think that it would be awesome if she became Catholic, and basically I am wondering what the best thing to do from here would be?

I would love to give her a book that basically lays out what Catholics believe, without being too aggressive or anything, because she is not anti-Catholic, mostly I think she just wants to know what the Church teaches.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a book to give to a Protestant about Catholicism that I guess is what I would term a “gentle defense” of the Faith? I don’t want to be too pushy or anything, I just want to help her understand what Catholicism is.
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I second “Surprised by the Truth”…

amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=surpised+by+the+truth

They are excellent books, with about a dozen conversion stories that are simple and explain how people moved to the Church of Christ. Each has a different journey, and pieces of them are bound to resonate with your separated friend.

Do not push, that is the best advice I can think of to give you. Be there for your friend and be ready for her questions.

Good luck,

fdesales
 
I have no idea of your level of knowledge of the Catholic faith, so don’t take this personally, but I’d also recommend that you, yourself bone up on what’s in those books so that you don’t come off as the stereotypical “dumb Catholic” who goes to mass without fail but has little idea behind the meaning of various aspects. As a convert, this was one of the biggest letdowns for me. I saturated myself in Catholic apologetics, history, and devotions and it was always a bit of a surprise when I would want to discuss something I’d learned with a “cradle” Catholic friend and discovered they had no idea what I was talking about. When I was a Baptist, it was also a key thing that many of us would snicker about when we discussed Catholics.
 
’Catholic and Christian’, by Alan Schreck is a good book which explains the basic beliefs of Catholicism for Protestants and other non Catholics. It is also written for Catholics, to help them to understand their faith better.
 
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