Ex-Catholic Fundamentalists

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porthos11

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Can someone explain the Ex-Catholic Fundamentalist ™ phenomenon?

I mean, is it me, or are former Catholics-turned-fundamentalists the most bigoted and virulent kind, filled with such hate rarely found in cradle Protestants? This does appear to be the case in these forums.

Just wondering because it seems like former Protestants look at their former communities with love and fond memories; no Catholic convert I know spits out fire and brimstone at Protestants.

Any explanation why?
 
One thing I have heard over the years is, “A Catholic who is thinking of leaving the church knows very little about her two weeks before he/she leaves and then knows everything about her two weeks after they have left”.
 
It’s even more interesting when you contrast the former Catholic’s attitudes with former Fundamentalists who convert to Catholicism. These converts always speak fondly of their previous faith and how important it was in their eventual conversion to Catholicism.

Kris
 
J.R.:
One thing I have heard over the years is, “A Catholic who is thinking of leaving the church knows very little about her two weeks before he/she leaves and then knows everything about her two weeks after they have left”.
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hello,

you missed few most important words with the entire quote i.e"…after they have left and all are negative!"

silvano
 
Fundamentalists attract Catholics when Catholics are young adults. This is because Fundamentalists offer young adults two things which the Catholic does not offer. One of these two things is what all young adults want very much. And the other thing is what young adults of good character want.

The Catholic Church generally refuses and even strongly opposes offering these two things to young adults. Check with your own parish. Does it offer these two things to young adults?

When the Catholic Church tries to offer these two things to adults, it does it in a very haphazard and ineffective way. This is because most Catholics believe that young adults do not want these two things. This is true even though one of the two things is important to all young adults. And the other thing is important to all young adults of good character.

Fundamentalists, on the other hand are very well organized and very effective in offering young adults these two things. Offering these two things to young adults is very important to Fundamentalists. They have paid professionals in charge of offering these two things to young adults.

When the Catholic Church decides to offer these two things to young adults, there will be an increase in the number of vocations to the priesthood and religious life. And the Catholic Church will produce Catholic marriages, again.
 
Chris Jacobsen:
Fundamentalists attract Catholics when Catholics are young adults. This is because Fundamentalists offer young adults two things which the Catholic does not offer. One of these two things is what all young adults want very much. And the other thing is what young adults of good character want.
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Okay, I’ll bite. 🙂 What are they?
 
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porthos11:
Can someone explain the Ex-Catholic Fundamentalist ™ phenomenon?

I mean, is it me, or are former Catholics-turned-fundamentalists the most bigoted and virulent kind, filled with such hate rarely found in cradle Protestants? This does appear to be the case in these forums.

Just wondering because it seems like former Protestants look at their former communities with love and fond memories; no Catholic convert I know spits out fire and brimstone at Protestants.

Any explanation why?
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First, I question whether claimants like those on Former Catholics for Christ and other websites of that ilk were ever practicing Catholics. They were certainly never educated Catholics! Their ignorance is profound.

Secondly, perhaps subconsciously or perhaps not, Fundamentalist kids may be kicking their Mother in the shins. The Church is a Mother, and sets the rules of behavior. What better way to rebel against your Catholic Mother (and Father) than to leave the Mother Church and become a rabid Fundamentalist? Catholic parents have a lot of pain over children who are out of the Church. And the rebels love it. They have a smug “I’m saved and you’re not” attitude and shoot Bible verses at their parents like bullets.

Fundamentalism is attractive because it gives simple answers to hard theological and moral questions. All one has to do is believe and one achieves instant and permanent salvation. And one doesn’t have to be concerned about things like remarriage after divorce or contraception or even abortion in some cases. Past, present, and future sins are forgiven through the simple act of believing – no penance, no penalty, no purgatory – wow, such a deal! Say the sinner’s prayer, and you’re home free – forever!

JMJ Jay
Ex-Southern Baptist, ex-agnostic, ex-atheist, ecstatic to be Catholic!
 
It is my impression that converts to a faith (regardless of religion), tend to be more zealous about their new beliefs than those who were “born” into a faith.

Think about it. from another perspective, many of the finest and most articulate Catholic apologists today are in fact converts **from **Protestantism.

Gerry 🙂
 
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porthos11:
Can someone explain the Ex-Catholic Fundamentalist ™ phenomenon?

I mean, is it me, or are former Catholics-turned-fundamentalists the most bigoted and virulent kind, filled with such hate rarely found in cradle Protestants? This does appear to be the case in these forums.

Just wondering because it seems like former Protestants look at their former communities with love and fond memories; no Catholic convert I know spits out fire and brimstone at Protestants.

Any explanation why?
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When I first became a “Christian” a term I don’t apply to myself as much as I use to, I was just so grateful to find life I tended to love everyone and accept everyone. I learned this was stupid and I need to change. I became brethren, very very good people, and I deeply miss them. It was in the Early 80’s and the Jesus is coming back trade was in high swing. We were very zealous and wanted to preach to the world. But I knew Catholics as well; I had no great love for the church and many reasons to hate it, very personal reasons of which none were doctrinal.

I hated to hate so I made an effort to understand what Catholics thought. I found many Catholics think much like we did except they did not have this desire to convert people. Well as we all started to grow and people got married and the zeal started to fade the singles groups was pretty much tossed on the heap because it committed the unpardonable sin, it became irrelevant. That blunted alot of people, actually that gutted alot of people and ruined a many lives, that of course is irrelevant to but back to your question.

You see Jesus did not come back, and we really wanted him to, it was a profound disappointment. I was spared from this to some degree because God lead me to a ministry with the elderly and as far as I was concerned I saw Jesus ever day I was there, like you Catholics think of Jesus in the Eucharist, I see Jesus in these folks. I am on my face day after day thanking God for keeping a bottom feeder like me around, despite me not because of me.

Well to get back to where the anger comes from, you see, againstnest just can not build, being in a constant state of againstness, with full zeal, with afterburners on, fighting the enemy at every turn. It makes you angry, it also can make you crazy, suicidal, depressed, hate filled, etc. I have seen many run through the grinder, I helped turn the hand crank on some to my shame.

That is where the anger comes from, the older faiths, though they have their zealots as well, tend to be more relaxed and into the move for the long hall. That is what revivalism can do to people, there is always a new theme and we all march to it or at least try.

For many this tends to mellow and people grow. For some of us it kills in a spiritual sense. Now this is a simplistic, emotional, and somewhat jaded view, which I admit up front so take it with a grain of salt.

Take care.
 
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porthos11:
Can someone explain the Ex-Catholic Fundamentalist ™ phenomenon?

I mean, is it me, or are former Catholics-turned-fundamentalists the most bigoted and virulent kind, filled with such hate rarely found in cradle Protestants? This does appear to be the case in these forums.

Just wondering because it seems like former Protestants look at their former communities with love and fond memories; no Catholic convert I know spits out fire and brimstone at Protestants.

Any explanation why?
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Sure, its sort of like when a young man breaks up with his girlfriend. He doesn’t want to loose face, so he makes up stories about how much of a tramp she is. Doesn’t have to be true, he just want to make her look bad so that he feels better about himself. If he were to make her out to be really great, people would wonder why he left her. They would question his intelligence. Same so with leaving the Church. Those who fall away go to great leangths to disparange the Church because, after all, if the Church was so wonderful, why did he leave? He doesn’t want the split to be perceived as his fault, so he blames the “biblical inconsistencies” of the Church, which is probably where you get all these “Whore of Babylon” theories.
 
I haven’t read many of the posts so forgive me if Im repeating. We Catholics must be honest with ourselves about the good and bad in the RCC in the US today. You seriously wonder why people don’t have nice things to say about their Catholic experience? If I had to single out the most important things it would be that the SENSE OF COMMUNITY that should exist often does not. Most “Catholics” attend Church once a week at best, and then have nothing else to do with the people in their parish. There is no particular bond other than being a vaguely familiar face at church. No dialogue, no relationship, no shared experience, nothing. This is radically different at many Protestant denoms. The emphasis is on relationships entirely: the relationship with Jesus and with each other (fellowship). People actually become friends and their lives intertwine as a result of their church. And when this happens they look back at the Catholic Church and see a hollow shell. It sounds so rediculoulsy obvious that it shouldn’t be this way, but I have not found it to be so in the Catholic church for a large majority of the people who belong. And once this element is missing and people are just on their own - not learning their faith, not reading Scripture, etc. their faith remains adolescent and they become somewhat alienated in it and come to associate that reality as their impression of what the Church is - a place where they go once a week and leave most of what they gain from it.

Phil
 
As one who was a cradle Catholic, became an evgangelical and came back to the Church 2 years ago, it is true that Catholics that have left are always negative in some way of their former faith.
and all of them I have seen have a primary misunderstanding of the Church in one or another area of theology.
There are some nominal Catholics who leave because of divorce and want to get remarried but have been unable to have a decree of nullity in their previous marriage.
But by and large, i have seen that former Catholics suddenly think that because they now read the bible that they suddenly know everything, and they never admit to themselves that they failed in their own responsibility as adults for their faith formation as Catholics.
I was one who did just that, so i oughta know.
When i started taking responsibility for learning the faith, i couldn’t ignore just how Catholic the bible was.

Evangelicals who claim the bible alone, never seem to realize that they aren’t reading the bible alone. they are reading the evangelical interpretation of the bible alone. Some complained that they didn’t like the Church telling them what to believe, but yet they don’t rezlize that evangelicalism does just that, only it makes them think that they are interpreting it for themselves.

it was trully baffling, when i, as an evangelical protestant started interpretating the bible from the Catholic point of view and I was told that my interpretation was wrong. Yet no one could tell me why my own rendering was wrong and theirs was right.
I honestly think that when faced with that dichotomy, most evangelicals are afraid of what the answer might be so they mostly shied away from me.

funny, but my pastor, whom i was friends with as an evangelical, suddenly stopped contact with me, and I haven’t spoken to him in well over a year now since becoming Catholic again after he realized I was serious about what I was doing.
 
Chris Jacobsen:
Fundamentalists attract Catholics when Catholics are young adults. This is because Fundamentalists offer young adults two things which the Catholic does not offer. One of these two things is what all young adults want very much. And the other thing is what young adults of good character want.

The Catholic Church generally refuses and even strongly opposes offering these two things to young adults. Check with your own parish. Does it offer these two things to young adults?

When the Catholic Church tries to offer these two things to adults, it does it in a very haphazard and ineffective way. This is because most Catholics believe that young adults do not want these two things. This is true even though one of the two things is important to all young adults. And the other thing is important to all young adults of good character.

Fundamentalists, on the other hand are very well organized and very effective in offering young adults these two things. Offering these two things to young adults is very important to Fundamentalists. They have paid professionals in charge of offering these two things to young adults.

When the Catholic Church decides to offer these two things to young adults, there will be an increase in the number of vocations to the priesthood and religious life. And the Catholic Church will produce Catholic marriages, again.
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What are the two things?

/
 
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Philthy:
I haven’t read many of the posts so forgive me if Im repeating. We Catholics must be honest with ourselves about the good and bad in the RCC in the US today. You seriously wonder why people don’t have nice things to say about their Catholic experience? If I had to single out the most important things it would be that the SENSE OF COMMUNITY that should exist often does not. Most “Catholics” attend Church once a week at best, and then have nothing else to do with the people in their parish. There is no particular bond other than being a vaguely familiar face at church. No dialogue, no relationship, no shared experience, nothing. This is radically different at many Protestant denoms. The emphasis is on relationships entirely: the relationship with Jesus and with each other (fellowship). People actually become friends and their lives intertwine as a result of their church. And when this happens they look back at the Catholic Church and see a hollow shell. It sounds so rediculoulsy obvious that it shouldn’t be this way, but I have not found it to be so in the Catholic church for a large majority of the people who belong. And once this element is missing and people are just on their own - not learning their faith, not reading Scripture, etc. their faith remains adolescent and they become somewhat alienated in it and come to associate that reality as their impression of what the Church is - a place where they go once a week and leave most of what they gain from it.

Phil
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I think you are sooo right about a lack of community feeling in most parishes. My wife is a recent convert and continually points out that we havn’t made a single friend at the parish we attend. We try to introduce ourselves, we hit the pancake breakfast and the donuts after mass…but everyone has a ‘seperation of Church and Real Life’ kind of attitude. There are so many people we see every single week at mass…and we don’t even know their names. We all say our “peace be with you’s”, shake hands and then ignore each other…

How can we change this? I am NOT a leader, and I don’t like to be the center of attention, but I’m almost to the point of wanting to do something about it. We NEED a protestant style Young Adults group or a singles group. We need more ‘fellowship’…I think that many many people are turned from the Church due to a perceived ‘cold-shoulder’ given by the parish…

Anyway, just my rant…
Thanx for listenin!😃
 
Hello this is my first post, and I feel so compelled to post just to find out…

--------What are the two things?---------

Anyways, me and my brother were both cradle Catholics not very well catechized (sp?). He recently has converted to a pentacostal type church, which has started up near where he lives. (he works with some people from the church)

I am happy with the enthusiastic way he has found faith, what disturbs me is his backlash to the Catholic faith. He has now a extreme dislike for the Catholic Church. And denounces anything remotely reminiscint of Catholic doctrine.*

The positive side of this is, this caused me to doubt my faith. I have constant desire to need things completely explained to me for me to understand. So I started to read up on the Catholic Church and and proud to have found a new understanding and love for the Catholic Church.

I don’t worry about my brother as his church’s pastor is a good man trying to teach a good message, though with a pretty shaky doctrine.
*(I believe all this is just part of his journey and he will come home)

Scylla
(a man and his family coming home)
I might post a better, more readable version in the converts thread.
 
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Isidore_AK:
I think you are sooo right about a lack of community feeling in most parishes. My wife is a recent convert and continually points out that we havn’t made a single friend at the parish we attend. We try to introduce ourselves, we hit the pancake breakfast and the donuts after mass…but everyone has a ‘seperation of Church and Real Life’ kind of attitude. There are so many people we see every single week at mass…and we don’t even know their names. We all say our “peace be with you’s”, shake hands and then ignore each other…

How can we change this? I am NOT a leader, and I don’t like to be the center of attention, but I’m almost to the point of wanting to do something about it. We NEED a protestant style Young Adults group or a singles group. We need more ‘fellowship’…I think that many many people are turned from the Church due to a perceived ‘cold-shoulder’ given by the parish…

Anyway, just my rant…
Thanx for listenin!😃
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Perhaps God is calling you and your wife to lead such a group.
Teh very reason your church have no groups is becuase no one has stepped in to fill the void. Perhaps you are to be called to fulfill this void. Just a thought we catholics ccomplain a lot of what we don’t have and don’t do much to fill that need just my two cents.
 
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Isidore_AK:
I think you are sooo right about a lack of community feeling in most parishes. My wife is a recent convert and continually points out that we havn’t made a single friend at the parish we attend. We try to introduce ourselves, we hit the pancake breakfast and the donuts after mass…but everyone has a ‘seperation of Church and Real Life’ kind of attitude. There are so many people we see every single week at mass…and we don’t even know their names. We all say our “peace be with you’s”, shake hands and then ignore each other…

How can we change this? I am NOT a leader, and I don’t like to be the center of attention, but I’m almost to the point of wanting to do something about it. We NEED a protestant style Young Adults group or a singles group. We need more ‘fellowship’…I think that many many people are turned from the Church due to a perceived ‘cold-shoulder’ given by the parish…

Anyway, just my rant…
Thanx for listenin!😃
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Hey Isido-

It’s not about “us” - it’s about our Lord’s Church. Let’s not let fear and avoidance of dislikes dictate how we solve problems.
You and I have been given a knowledge(lack of community in RC parishes) - a “talent” so to speak; we must be the “good stewards” of that talent that Christ calls us to be, No? Why not be bold in the name of Jesus and take a step onto a road that you otherwise would not? When you do so in His name, and then look back at what you’ve accomplished in a year or two - how much greater will He be in your heart and how much more will you glorify Him?

Phil

PS Send me a PM if you want to discuss strategies and tactics for implementation…
 
I can give some unscientific observations from my personal experience. In my experience the Catholics I know that have left Catholicisim for the Protestant Church have typically done so in large part because they knew serious Protestants who were very serious about their religion. While doctrinal differences accompany the conversion, I think at an existential level, the Catholic-to-Protestant converts see people living out their faith in a very serious way, which they had not seen before. This leaves them with the impression that what they are entering in the real deal and what they are leaving is fake.

Then, the convert is often taught that the Catholic view of justification is false and any who accept it are not justified before God. This creates a sense of revulsion that the Catholic Church is doing more harm than good by locking people into an empty bondage.

The Protestants I have know that have become Catholic typically take a different path. Usually it starts with a doctrinal or biblical problem. They end up converting because they believe that Catholic doctrine is true and resolves one or more problems they perceived in their Protestant Church. With Vatican II’s affirmation of other churches and ecclesial communities, there is no need to revolt against all that they came from. They can see Protestantism is incomplete but still a good steping stone to something better. Anyway, I have not personally known any that came to Catholicism by seeing Catholics who were serious about their faith and saying, “hey this is the real deal.” It has always been more intellectual. Indeed, converts are often dismayed at the lack of piety and devotion, among the clergy as well as the laity.

T. More
 
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Isidore_AK:
I think you are sooo right about a lack of community feeling in most parishes. My wife is a recent convert and continually points out that we havn’t made a single friend at the parish we attend. We try to introduce ourselves, we hit the pancake breakfast and the donuts after mass…but everyone has a ‘seperation of Church and Real Life’ kind of attitude. There are so many people we see every single week at mass…and we don’t even know their names. We all say our “peace be with you’s”, shake hands and then ignore each other…

How can we change this? I am NOT a leader, and I don’t like to be the center of attention, but I’m almost to the point of wanting to do something about it. We NEED a protestant style Young Adults group or a singles group. We need more ‘fellowship’…I think that many many people are turned from the Church due to a perceived ‘cold-shoulder’ given by the parish…

Anyway, just my rant…
Thanx for listenin!😃
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I believe there was this Methodist pastor. White I recall who grew his church to over 10000 people. He new every one by name.WOW! When I was in the rcc church I dont think I could call 5 people by thier first names. I think a mens or ladies fellowship night would be great place to start.We talk about unity in the body of Christ but I guess its in spirit only. 😦
 
I think I have it figured out! The two things are:
  1. rollerblades
  2. video games
That HAS got to be the answer. What else could there possibly be that EVERY young adult wants but the Church will not give to them! Just the other day, I saw the youngsters a playin’ the games and a ridin’ the rollerblades right there on the MTV!

Think about it: have you ever seen a parish hand out rollerblades and video games to their young’ins ?

How do you spell young’ins?

If a Catholic cannot provide an answer, then that’s THREE things the Church cannot give them! :whacky:
 
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