Ex-Catholic Fundamentalists

[mercygate]

SPOKENWORD:

Thanks Jimmy for being concerned with my soul. I can only come home when He calls me. God Bless

Listen tenderly, Spokenword!

That sound like a still, small voice behind the earthquake and the fire . . . What is it saying?

“Forgive the jerks who offended you. If they offended you unjustly, they offended ME! Why do you persecute me? It hurts you tokick against the goads. I am here for you: my Church, my Sacraments, my Love. You’re only one good confession away. I’m here.”

 

[SPOKENWORD]

mercygate:

Listen tenderly, Spokenword!

That sound like a still, small voice behind the earthquake and the fire . . . What is it saying?

“Forgive the jerks who offended you. If they offended you unjustly, they offended ME! Why do you persecute me? It hurts you tokick against the goads. I am here for you: my Church, my Sacraments, my Love. You’re only one good confession away. I’m here.”

Lord have MERCY[the] GATE is open. God Bless.

 

[mercygate]

SPOKENWORD:

Lord have MERCY[the] GATE is open. God Bless.

 

[Philthy]

StubbleSpark:

Oh, and here is stab at what the two things are that Protestant churches offer that Catholic Churches do not (and they are tempting):

1. Freedom to sin
2. Freddom to reinvent God

That’s been my personal experience…

Close! I think it’s more like:

1. Freedom to use birth control!
2. Freedom to redefine how Christianity functions in real life.

When you think about it - number two sums it up…

 

[Philthy]

SPOKENWORD:

True,but its nice to know that you are known as part of the flock by name. God Bless.

Of course it’s nice - for you. And Im sure your priest wishes he knew everyone’s name. All my patients are the same way. If someone doesn’t know your name why do you blame them? Perhaps you need to make yourself known. Grow up.

Phil

 

[password]

I know when my husband (then boyfriend) left the catholic faith, he had felt that everything he was taught and brought up on was a lie. He felt betrayed.

He left after we had started a premarriage bible study which sort of forced him to read scripture for himself.

 

[password]

My mother left the church after her father payed the priest to annul his marraige of fifteen years because he wanted to marry a younger woman, leaving my mother and her sister illegitimate bastard children. This hurt her very deeply.

Then you have the history of the catholic church and the abuse of power, constantly changing rules. I don’t hate Catholics at all. We are not called to hate anyone, but I merely wish to understand them.

 

[Catholic4aReasn]

password:

I know when my husband (then boyfriend) left the catholic faith, he had felt that everything he was taught and brought up on was a lie. He felt betrayed.

He left after we had started a premarriage bible study which sort of forced him to read scripture for himself.

Hi password!

Sounds like it also forced him to interpret scripture for himself. Reading scripture for onesself is great! However, non-Catholics, by necessity, also interpret it for themselves which is why there are so many conflicting and contradictory interpretations all claiming to be the truth. If everyone can interpret scripture for himself then every individual interpretation is equally valid throwing absolute truth right out the window.

I’m sorry that your husband felt that Catholicism was a lie. Hopefully one day he will come to know his feeling it was a lie didn’t make it a lie. Hopefully one day he’ll come home!

In Christ,
Nancy

 

[Catholic4aReasn]

password:

My mother left the church after her father payed the priest to annul his marraige of fifteen years because he wanted to marry a younger woman,

The bad behavior of individuals has absolutely no effect whatsoever on the truth of what the church teaches.

leaving my mother and her sister illegitimate bastard children. This hurt her very deeply.

Children are illegitimate when the parents are not legally married. Her parents were legally married therefore they were not illegitimate. They were not bastards. How sad that they, and you, were lead to believe that they were.

Then you have the history of the catholic church and the abuse of power,

The abuse of power of individuals within the church has no effect on the truths taught by the Church.

constantly changing rules.

No Catholic doctrine has changed in 2000 years. Practices should and do change as the old ones no longer function to bring Christians closer to God. The Church exercises her power of binding and loosing in the changing of practices.

I don’t hate Catholics at all. We are not called to hate anyone, but I merely wish to understand them

Are you trying to understand Catholics or Catholic teaching?

In Christ,
Nancy

 

[SPOKENWORD]

Philthy:

Of course it’s nice - for you. And Im sure your priest wishes he knew everyone’s name. All my patients are the same way. If someone doesn’t know your name why do you blame them? Perhaps you need to make yourself known. Grow up.

Phil

So you do agree.You have got to admit that your patients have a nice feeling when you recognize them by name.It makes them feel like you know them. Now you need to stop and recognize that fact. Whos being childish? God Bless

 

[cestusdei]

Password,
As an ex-Protestant minister I can tell tales of woe too. It was my reading of the Bible that led me to the Church. Others who “read the Bible for themselves” have found themselves drinking poison koolaid at the behest of Brother Billy Bob. As for annulments, I am on the marriage tribunal. I don’t get paid at all. An annulment does not render children illegitimate. If one party believes that they didn’t get justice they can appeal all the way to Rome. I have “won” cases where the annulment was not granted. I do think you need to understand Catholicism better and this is the right place to do it.

 

[RiverRock]

Philthy:

Close! I think it’s more like:

1. Freedom to use birth control!
2. Freedom to redefine how Christianity functions in real life.

When you think about it - number two sums it up…

I think, after all is said and done, these points sum it up. Nobody in America (especially) wants ANYONE or certainly not some group from Rome, telling them what to do or say. In the Catholic Church we must face unpleasant truths about ourselves and DEAL with them, make corrections, and GROW in understanding about them. We are not given license to sin now and have fun, and maybe, if you get around to it, confess it later, and still end up at square one. You cannot re-create Christ’s Church by starting anew, otherwise what he told us was a lie. If I had my human preferences, I too, would rather sin marrily along, and still believe (however falsely) that I’m still “saved”. But I know Jesus wants better from us. He wants us to strive for perfection, to be Saints. While you still may do wonderful things (works) in a Protestant Church, it’s not enough. We must pray for the Holy Spirit to open our hearts to the whole truth. Mass is not entertainment and I think that a lot of Protestant “fellowship” services boarder on that. Mass is a shared encounter with Christ. In that sense, we are fellowshipping. If I think a true encounter with the flesh of the Son of God is boring, I’m going to have a lot of explaining to do when I die.

 

[Desert_Dweller]

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.

Ok Chris,

If I must venture a guess to get you to come back and answer your own riddle, I would say…

1. Young adults want to be around other young adults. I believe fellowship is a word that Fundamentalists use often. This comes in the form of bible study groups, trips, concerts etc.
2. Young adults of good character want some responsibility. They want to be a part of spreading their faith. Which incidentally is much easier for Protestants/Fundamentalists due to the simplicity of their faiths (simple only when compared to Catholicism. Not when talking about substance.)

Chris Jacobsen:

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.

I doubt my guesses would accomplish all of that, but it is all I could come up with for now. So now come back and tell us what you think. But it better be good after making us wait a whole month.

 

[password]

Are you trying to understand Catholics or Catholic teaching?

In Christ,
Nancy
NANCY,
I’m trying to understand both. Alot of the terminology is foreign to me. All I know is I’m tired of church hopping looking for the right church.

 

[Panis_Angelicas]

SPOKENWORD:

Does your pastor know your name? I though its the pastors job to know thier sheep? Jesus said I call you by name,why not our pastors? By the way the church doesnt have the claim to Jesus Christ. He is for All christians. How can I give up what I have living in me,that is Jesus Christ. God Bless.

The Church has as much claim to Jesus Christ as you have to your spouse. The Church is the Bride of Christ, and as we all know, He only established One Church, and He only has One Bride.
Must a pastor know each member of his flock by name? I doubt that Robert Schuller knows every member in the Crystal Cathedral.
What’s important is that Jesus Christ knows all who have eaten His Body and drunk His blood. “I know My sheep and they know Me.” “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.”
Do you eat the Body and drink the Blood of Christ?
How do you have Jesus Christ living in you, then?
And who would ask you to give It up, if indeed, you had Christ living within you?

 

[puzzleannie]

My guess at the 2 things:
The fundamentalist preacher on the radio tells you that all you have to do to solve all your problems, have all your sins forgiven, get rid of your additions, and be assured of salvation, no matter what else you do for the rest of your life, is to get down on your knees, accept Jesus Christ, say the Sinners Prayer. Done.
No classes, no 2 year preparation, no stewardship, no rules and regs, no sacramental donation, no candles, no Sunday obligation. The easy way out is so appealing. No need to tell another human being your sins, just talk to God directly. No need to accept any earthly authority, interpret scripture for yourself. it is so darn easy, and so undemanding.

The second thing is the need every young adult has, as part of the growth process, to break away from parental controls and choices, and to find his own identity, by denying his family’s faith, culture, even ethnicity sometimes. Coming to terms with authority is part of every adolescent’s struggle to grow up, and what is more gratifying than rejecting an authority as strong as the Catholic Church?

 

[SPOKENWORD]

Panis Angelicas:

The Church has as much claim to Jesus Christ as you have to your spouse. The Church is the Bride of Christ, and as we all know, He only established One Church, and He only has One Bride.
Must a pastor know each member of his flock by name? I doubt that Robert Schuller knows every member in the Crystal Cathedral.
What’s important is that Jesus Christ knows all who have eaten His Body and drunk His blood. “I know My sheep and they know Me.” “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.”
Do you eat the Body and drink the Blood of Christ?
How do you have Jesus Christ living in you, then?
And who would ask you to give It up, if indeed, you had Christ living within you?

You mean to tell me all those that recieved Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior do not have Christ living in them.? I believe you are looking for what is already in you. For we are the temple of the Living God.As a true christian Christ already lives and dwells in me.Thats why the curtain was torn in the tabernacle making himself available to all christians and not the select few. When Jesus FILLED me with the Holy Spirit He gave me the FULL dose. Its now up to me to draw closer to Him by this wonderful Gift He gave me. God Bless.

 

[cestusdei]

We believe Jesus founded one Church not many. He wanted unity not chaos. If you are baptized then you have some relationship to the Catholic Church albeit not full communion. If you want the fullness of Jesus Christ then heed the words of St. Ignatius of Antioch “where Jesus Christ is there is the Catholic Church”.

 

[StubbleSpark]

As my prejudices against Catholicism started to melt away in my conversion process, my feelings turned from ones of rejection to feelings of awe. More and more, Catholics struck me as being super-Christians – kind of like the special forces are among the regular military-types. Slowly I began to realize that there is nothing wrong with wanting to be more than a mere Christian. I wanted to be a BETTER Christian.

The Protestant way is too easy, and too soft. I was not going to let my doubts about whether I could manage the more narrow path keep me from trying. Even though I had no faith in my own ability to conquer my sins, I jumped in anyway.

I was scared. At times I struggled. I even fought with God over my very self (personhood). But the important point was not so much that I was fighting – it was that I was WITH GOD. Even if we were fighting, I was still in His arms.

I would never have faced these challenges had I remained Protestant – there was no necessity and no concept of reward for such struggles. No impetus for the deep plunge. I would have stayed on the land, enjoying the sun and sights of the beach until the setting of the sun.

Thanks to the Bride of Christ, I now plumb the depths and race along the shimmering surface of God’s Love. I have been granted many graces that have changed my life. I earned none of them. I deserved much worse. Yet all I can do is be thankful to God for His gifts which He grants IN SPITE of my sinful nature.

Now, I am both more humble and more confident in the Living Presence of the Holy Spirit shining THROUGH me to the world. And I think that it is this light in Catholics that inspires so much venom in the hearts of our fundamentalist counterparts (to get the thread back on track). In their minds, it emanates IN SPITE of our beliefs and confounds their every prejudice about what we think and believe. This is the secret of their hate – a vain jealousy at the sight of such confidence and competence in the hearts and minds of these super-soldiers for God.

 

[mercygate]

Stub – I read you loud and clear about the “special forces” and also about the humility thing. Humility comes through humiliation and turning your back on what you firmly believed when you learn that it is incomplete or downright in error is a true humiliation. Good for the soul, huh?