Ex protestant then athiest, now maybe wanting to believe?

[semiathiest]

I APOLOGIZE FOR THE VERY LONG POST, BUT I NEED SPIRITUAL HELP BAD, AND I AM ALL ALONE, BOTH OF MY PARENTS DIED IN THE LAST FEW YEARS AND THEY DIED THINKING OF ME AS AN ATHEIST. I AM NOW TRYING TO CHANGE MY WAYS AND FIND THE CORRECT FAITH. I APOLOGIZE FOR ALL THE QUESTIONS, I CAN EITHER 1)PAYPAL A FEE TO WHO EVER HELPS ME WITH ALL MY QUESTIONS, OR 2)DONATE TO THE SITE IN GENERAL. BUT I REALLY NEED HELP AND HAVE NO ONE TO SPEAK TO, I WOULD RESEARCH ALL OF THIS MY SELF BUT THERE IS SO MUCH CONFLICTING ANSWERS THAT IT MAKES ME WANT TO STAY AN ATHIEST I JUST WANT TO BE A REGULAR BELIVER LIKE EVERYONE ELSE,THANKS IN ADVANCE******
**

Hi,

Dear readers please do not be too harsh on me lol. To start, this is my first time joining any religious website or reading any EVER. I found out about this website because as of late I have been falling asleep each night listening to Catholic Answers Podcast.

About me:
27 years old.

Raised mostly by my mother from age 5 and up just me and her alone. My mothers side of the family is all Pentecostals.

My fathers side of the family was all catholic, I’m pretty sure roman catholic.

I think I was even baptized catholic as a child. Was also Baptized Pentecostal at age 13.

My mother passed away in 07 and my father in 08. Both of them kind of passed away thinking I was an atheist and it bugs me a bit now. I never had the discussion with my father but did so with my mother and family of pastors many times. I was frowned upon.

My Atheism Stage.
Being from brooklyn I would wear jeans, sometimes a little baggy, pentecostals would say its bad (at the time). I would listen to a love song that involved kissing and it was considered bad. Pentecostals would sometimes spread propaganda sheets about a certain company being of the devil etc etc. just different things that kind of bugged me. So it made me want to rebel and kind of prove that all of it was fake etc and my curious rebel athiest stage came.

Against Catholics:
While a pentecostal, I was trained that confessing to a priest is out of order since the bible says something about confessing to no one but god? (not sure if I remember this right)

The rosary would be made fun of because they feel you guys are worshiping mary. They also feel you guys worship saints. so both of those things were drilled in me and to this day it makes me uncomfortable.

Pentecostals also trained me that the catholic church has statues and the bible says something about no idols or statues or something.

I never fully read about the whole martin luther stuff and how protestant churches came to be but as a kid when it was told to me it made so much sense.

Anyways. I as a bday gift to my self recently purchased an apologetics bible out of curiosity and now I kind of want to go back to religion, but I am confused as to the correct way. so if you can help me with the following questions. you might be responsible for helping me come back to god and I hope you do help me. Sorry for the long unedited post lol.

Questions I need help with.

1. Faith in general. How do you deal with it, when some person who thinks they are beyond educated makes you feel bad for believing in what they feel is a myth?
2. So lets say I decided to go on faith. As a person who was raised a pentecostal and my whole family is pentecostal. I would look horrible for becoming a catholic. Even though they all say denomination doesn’t matter, but I know how they really feel. SO back to my question. I accept by faith. How do I justify the catholic church, even if you guys say you were the original ones, I heard a lot of corruption has happened which has changed it. How would i overcome those objections when pressed?
3. I on my weird quest for belief, took an online faith test LOL. which said i’d be a great fit for the Episcopalian denomination. They seem like a mix of some pentecostalism with some catholic stuff. Maybe that’s my fight fit.?

4)From what I hear the Episcopalian church seems like catholics without alot of the extra fluff, maybe i’m wrong?

5)I enjoy the fact that most priests in your churches are very knowledgeable as I can hear from the catholic answers podcast, as compared to a lot of Pentecostal pastors I grew up watching, where it feels anyone can now be a pastor. I am guessing all priests go through strict studying?

6)Without the whole “my faith is better than yours” stuff. Do you guys take the Episcopalian church serious? aside from the women priests (which I don’t see as a sin).or priests getting married (which I don’t see the bad in that)

1. How do you guys feel about non denomination churches? where its just bible based?

8)besides the catholic church with rosaries and statues and stuff, do you guys take serious any other denomination that doesn’t do all of that, which may share your beliefs?

9)How do i justify to Pentecostals, when they ask me why would I want to go with a denomination that doesn’t fully follow the bible and adds theirs own things to the faith?

My apologies for this long text but I have a feeling this may be the website to help me with my spiritual struggle, unlike a lot of athiest. I WANT TO be a faithful religious person. I have alot of christian traits in everyday life.

 

[minion]

1. Faith in general. How do you deal with it, when some person who thinks they are beyond educated makes you feel bad for believing in what they feel is a myth?

I would look up “Peter Kreeft” on youtube and on his site at: peterkreeft.com/home.htm

He makes many convincing arguments against atheism. To this day, I’ve never heard the Cosmological Argument refuted to my satisfaction, or else I would’ve became atheist.

1. So lets say I decided to go on faith. As a person who was raised a pentecostal and my whole family is pentecostal. I would look horrible for becoming a catholic. Even though they all say denomination doesn’t matter, but I know how they really feel. SO back to my question. I accept by faith. How do I justify the catholic church, even if you guys say you were the original ones, I heard a lot of corruption has happened which has changed it. How would i overcome those objections when pressed?

From a Pentecostal Pastor that converted…I think might be good to watch:

youtube.com/watch?v=mxDumU0TSrY

1. I on my weird quest for belief, took an online faith test LOL. which said i’d be a great fit for the Episcopalian denomination. They seem like a mix of some pentecostalism with some catholic stuff. Maybe that’s my fight fit.?

There is no fit. Truth is truth. How you or I may feel about truth is irrelevant. I used to support “feel” abortion was okay under certain circumstances for example. Now I realize it’s shredding an unborn baby to pieces in a woman’s womb and sucking it up in a vacuum cleaner. Murder.

4)From what I hear the Episcopalian church seems like catholics without alot of the extra fluff, maybe i’m wrong?

I used to heavily lean to Episcopalian beliefs myself. But, if a denomination bends to the cultural status quo (ex. contraception, abortion) when it didn’t before, does it really hold truth?

Try learning the beginnings of each of the churches (including Catholicism), to help orient your research.

5)I enjoy the fact that most priests in your churches are very knowledgeable as I can hear from the catholic answers podcast, as compared to a lot of Pentecostal pastors I grew up watching, where it feels anyone can now be a pastor. I am guessing all priests go through strict studying?

Seminaries, etc. In my experience though, a lot of priests say lots of bad theology even at mass…even as a simple RCIA student, I’m finding Catholicism goes as deep as you’re willing to dig. Question everything, your own faith, and Catholicism. Keeping researching. Don’t “research” by googling the first anti-Catholic website you can find like my friend did. But genuinely look, for the Early Church fathers, saints, etc.

6)Without the whole “my faith is better than yours” stuff. Do you guys take the Episcopalian church serious? aside from the women priests (which I don’t see as a sin).or priests getting married (which I don’t see the bad in that)

From what I’ve seen on this board, they’ll say the Episcopalian Church holds some truth, but not the fullness of the truth. And generally, when man looks to himself for truth rather that an authority (God), perversions happen, and vices become virtues.

From what I understand, the Catholic Church holds that they don’t have the authority to ordain women. I believe widowers can become priests, but once ordained as a priest, he acts on behalf of Jesus, and to do so must live a similar life (unmarried) to carry out the sacraments. Maybe a better person can answer this for you.

1. How do you guys feel about non denomination churches? where its just bible based?

Bible-only (Sola Scriptura) is a Protestant notion, and does not fly, since the Bible can be interpreted incorrectly, resulting in hundreds, if not thousands of denominations contradicting each other. I interpret it incorrectly every time I read the book. I will happily leave the grunt work to the Magisterium and Church that has existed for 2000 years, over a Church that began in the late 1800’s and telling me I worship the Whore of Babylon. Sometimes I wonder if certain denominations busy foisting anti-Catholic vitriol think the Bible just fell out of the sky.

8)besides the catholic church with rosaries and statues and stuff, do you guys take serious any other denomination that doesn’t do all of that, which may share your beliefs?

I think they’re missing out. As long as you don’t worship a rosary or statue as God, and have an image with you to help strengthen your faith, I don’t see the problem. Guadalupe converted millions to Catholicism, and the image is held dear.

Keep in mind, a Catholic isn’t required to pray the rosary or keep statues if it makes them uncomfortable.

And really, are some Protestants any different? When I used to go to a Protestant church for school, they rebuked people who let their Bible collect dust on the shelf. They’re practically doing the same thing for a bunch of paper bounded together.

9)How do i justify to Pentecostals, when they ask me why would I want to go with a denomination that doesn’t fully follow the bible and adds theirs own things to the faith?

Ask them where in the Bible it says to follow the Bible alone.

Good luck

 

[grannymh]

I APOLOGIZE FOR THE VERY LONG POST, BUT I NEED SPIRITUAL HELP BAD, AND I AM ALL ALONE, BOTH OF MY PARENTS DIED IN THE LAST FEW YEARS AND THEY DIED THINKING OF ME AS AN ATHEIST. I AM NOW TRYING TO CHANGE MY WAYS AND FIND THE CORRECT FAITH. I APOLOGIZE FOR ALL THE QUESTIONS, I CAN EITHER 1)PAYPAL A FEE TO WHO EVER HELPS ME WITH ALL MY QUESTIONS, OR 2)DONATE TO THE SITE IN GENERAL. BUT I REALLY NEED HELP AND HAVE NO ONE TO SPEAK TO, I WOULD RESEARCH ALL OF THIS MY SELF BUT THERE IS SO MUCH CONFLICTING ANSWERS THAT IT MAKES ME WANT TO STAY AN ATHIEST I JUST WANT TO BE A REGULAR BELIVER LIKE EVERYONE ELSE,THANKS IN ADVANCE********

Hi,

Dear readers please do not be too harsh on me lol. To start, this is my first time joining any religious website or reading any EVER. I found out about this website because as of late I have been falling asleep each night listening to Catholic Answers Podcast.

About me:
27 years old.

Raised mostly by my mother from age 5 and up just me and her alone. My mothers side of the family is all Pentecostals.

My fathers side of the family was all catholic, I’m pretty sure roman catholic.

I think I was even baptized catholic as a child. Was also Baptized Pentecostal at age 13.

My mother passed away in 07 and my father in 08. Both of them kind of passed away thinking I was an atheist and it bugs me a bit now. I never had the discussion with my father but did so with my mother and family of pastors many times. I was frowned upon.

My Atheism Stage.
Being from brooklyn I would wear jeans, sometimes a little baggy, pentecostals would say its bad (at the time). I would listen to a love song that involved kissing and it was considered bad. Pentecostals would sometimes spread propaganda sheets about a certain company being of the devil etc etc. just different things that kind of bugged me. So it made me want to rebel and kind of prove that all of it was fake etc and my curious rebel athiest stage came.

Against Catholics:
While a pentecostal, I was trained that confessing to a priest is out of order since the bible says something about confessing to no one but god? (not sure if I remember this right)

The rosary would be made fun of because they feel you guys are worshiping mary. They also feel you guys worship saints. so both of those things were drilled in me and to this day it makes me uncomfortable.

Pentecostals also trained me that the catholic church has statues and the bible says something about no idols or statues or something.

I never fully read about the whole martin luther stuff and how protestant churches came to be but as a kid when it was told to me it made so much sense.

Anyways. I as a bday gift to my self recently purchased an apologetics bible out of curiosity and now I kind of want to go back to religion, but I am confused as to the correct way. so if you can help me with the following questions. you might be responsible for helping me come back to god and I hope you do help me. Sorry for the long unedited post lol.

Questions I need help with.

1. Faith in general. How do you deal with it, when some person who thinks they are beyond educated makes you feel bad for believing in what they feel is a myth?
2. So lets say I decided to go on faith. As a person who was raised a pentecostal and my whole family is pentecostal. I would look horrible for becoming a catholic. Even though they all say denomination doesn’t matter, but I know how they really feel. SO back to my question. I accept by faith. How do I justify the catholic church, even if you guys say you were the original ones, I heard a lot of corruption has happened which has changed it. How would i overcome those objections when pressed?
3. I on my weird quest for belief, took an online faith test LOL. which said i’d be a great fit for the Episcopalian denomination. They seem like a mix of some pentecostalism with some catholic stuff. Maybe that’s my fight fit.?

4)From what I hear the Episcopalian church seems like catholics without alot of the extra fluff, maybe i’m wrong?

5)I enjoy the fact that most priests in your churches are very knowledgeable as I can hear from the catholic answers podcast, as compared to a lot of Pentecostal pastors I grew up watching, where it feels anyone can now be a pastor. I am guessing all priests go through strict studying?

6)Without the whole “my faith is better than yours” stuff. Do you guys take the Episcopalian church serious? aside from the women priests (which I don’t see as a sin).or priests getting married (which I don’t see the bad in that)

1. How do you guys feel about non denomination churches? where its just bible based?

8)besides the catholic church with rosaries and statues and stuff, do you guys take serious any other denomination that doesn’t do all of that, which may share your beliefs?

9)How do i justify to Pentecostals, when they ask me why would I want to go with a denomination that doesn’t fully follow the bible and adds theirs own things to the faith?

My apologies for this long text but I have a feeling this may be the website to help me with my spiritual struggle, unlike a lot of athiest. I WANT TO be a faithful religious person. I have alot of christian traits in everyday life.

In my humble opinion, my first suggestion is to flat out believe in God. Yes, I know you have a lot of questions about this faith or that faith. What I am referring to is the belief that God personally loves you. I am referring to the belief that you can personally love God.

God is calling you to share in His life in happiness eternal. Jesus Christ lived and died on earth so we could answer God’s call. The most amazing thing about Jesus Christ is that He continues to be truly present to us in the Catholic Eucharist.

 

[Gusto]

1. Faith in general. How do you deal with it, when some person who thinks they are beyond educated makes you feel bad for believing in what they feel is a myth?

Blaise Pascal PENSEE’S 1660
“There is enough light for those who only desire to see, and enough obscurity for those who have a contrary disposition.”

What I believe doesn’t fit in with their defintion of myth.

1. So lets say I decided to go on faith. As a person who was raised a pentecostal and my whole family is pentecostal. I would look horrible for becoming a catholic. Even though they all say denomination doesn’t matter, but I know how they really feel. SO back to my question. I accept by faith. How do I justify the catholic church, even if you guys say you were the original ones, I heard a lot of corruption has happened which has changed it. How would i overcome those objections when pressed?

Follow the TRUTH wherever it leads.
Truth matters!

I have one simple question for any Christian:
Who decides what the Christian faith is?
An individual OR
The Church

The answer is obviously the Church - then we need to see what characteristics the Church has using the New Testament.

The Church is not a museum of saints but a hospital of sinners. If it was perfect then it became impefect once I joined. You are right some members have done some bad things but I am catholic because of what it teaches not because of the example of some people. Imagine using this principle - no one would be Christian in the 1st Century because of what Judas did!

1. I on my weird quest for belief, took an online faith test LOL. which said i’d be a great fit for the Episcopalian denomination. They seem like a mix of some pentecostalism with some catholic stuff. Maybe that’s my fight fit.?

You will find variations in “faith” practice but look to the origins of Episcopalian to help you decide. It began/grew from what decision???

4)From what I hear the Episcopalian church seems like catholics without alot of the extra fluff, maybe i’m wrong?

Misleading generalisation that comes from a quick glance at appearance.

5)I enjoy the fact that most priests in your churches are very knowledgeable as I can hear from the catholic answers podcast, as compared to a lot of Pentecostal pastors I grew up watching, where it feels anyone can now be a pastor. I am guessing all priests go through strict studying?

7 years study I believe.
Keep listening to Catholic Answers podcasts.

6)Without the whole “my faith is better than yours” stuff. Do you guys take the Episcopalian church serious? aside from the women priests (which I don’t see as a sin).or priests getting married (which I don’t see the bad in that)

I see them as well meaning Christians who unfortunately don’t have the whole truth nor do they have single leadership.
The second point has lead to much confusion within their ranks.

1. How do you guys feel about non denomination churches? where its just bible based?

Non denominational church may preach a verse in the Bible to mean whatever they have been taught - right or wrong even though another non denominational church may teach the opposite.

Every denomination will say they teach the correct meaning from the Bible

8)besides the catholic church with rosaries and statues and stuff, do you guys take serious any other denomination that doesn’t do all of that, which may share your beliefs?

Some other catholic rites may not use them.
The Greek orthodox may not either.

9)How do i justify to Pentecostals, when they ask me why would I want to go with a denomination that doesn’t fully follow the bible and adds theirs own things to the faith?

I have one simple question for any Christian:
Who decides what the Christian faith is?
An individual OR
The Church

Of course, it was not the Pentecostals who came up with the infallible teaching of the Trinity.
Who did?
Whatever church it was needs to be seriously considered.

Pentecostals have a wonderful love for Jesus and I would love it if some of their fervour was given to my “brothers and sisters” in the pews.

In catholicism, entertainment is a low priority when it comes to worship.

My apologies for this long text but I have a feeling this may be the website to help me with my spiritual struggle, unlike a lot of athiest. I WANT TO be a faithful religious person. I have alot of christian traits in everyday life.

It is a journey.
Some days are better than others but I liken it to going on an organic diet and the toxins of life are slowly sweated out of my body and I feel so much better for it. The air seems cleaner even though I work/live alongside non-Christians.

Follow the TRUTH wherever it leads.
Truth matters!

God bless and enjoy the journey.

 

[Tietjen]

Questions I need help with.

1. Faith in general. How do you deal with it, when some person who thinks they are beyond educated makes you feel bad for believing in what they feel is a myth?

This is perhaps the toughest question you asked and one that causes many people to reject religion as a whole. Faith is about believing in something even when there is no proof to support a belief. For example, if left to my own personal beliefs/desires/wants, I would not believe that artificial contraceptives were bad. In my mind, I say that no one is hurt/killed if contraceptives are used, it is simply a prevention used to avoid pregnancy (“No harm / No Foul”). HOWEVER, because I have faith in the Church and I accept the authority given the Church by Christ; I suppress my opinion on the matter and obey. More than that, I accept that I do NOT have to understand every minor detail of the matter to accept it as truth. Yes, I still have questions but when it comes down to it, I know that the Church has been given to us by God to guide and protect us; and because I accept this, I can and do accept all the dogmas.

1. So lets say I decided to go on faith. As a person who was raised a pentecostal and my whole family is pentecostal. I would look horrible for becoming a catholic. Even though they all say denomination doesn’t matter, but I know how they really feel. SO back to my question. I accept by faith. How do I justify the catholic church, even if you guys say you were the original ones, I heard a lot of corruption has happened which has changed it. How would i overcome those objections when pressed?

Catholics don’t view Catholicism as a denomination. A denomination is a subgroup and the Catholic Church is the original and not a subgroup. It’s kind of like a tree planted by Christ… the leaves and branches of that tree are not seen as individual trees and the tree itself is not seen as a branch. On how you “justify the Catholic Church…” you study unbiased sources of history. Its actually amazing the amount of incorrect information which cites the “corruption” of the early Church. That doesn’t mean that the Church hasn’t had erroneous people, any and all institutions comprised of human beings has its share of wrong doers. But, we go back to the faith issue… Faith in the promise made by God that the Holy Spirit will be with and guide the Church until the end of time.

1. I on my weird quest for belief, took an online faith test LOL. which said i’d be a great fit for the Episcopalian denomination. They seem like a mix of some pentecostalism with some catholic stuff. Maybe that’s my fight fit.?

Again, it comes back to “the tree” issue. The Episcopalian Church is a “branch” from the Anglican Church which is a branch that came off the tree of the Catholic Church. It holds some of the characteristics of the tree but it is not the tree itself. It possess some of the truths of the Christian faith but lacks many truths that God has provided Christians which can only be obtained from the tree itself.

4)From what I hear the Episcopalian church seems like catholics without alot of the extra fluff, maybe i’m wrong?

What is the “extra fluff?” Apostolic succession is not fluff. It’s the very roots of the tree. Without it, there can be no tree.

5)I enjoy the fact that most priests in your churches are very knowledgeable as I can hear from the catholic answers podcast, as compared to a lot of Pentecostal pastors I grew up watching, where it feels anyone can now be a pastor. I am guessing all priests go through strict studying?

Absolutely. Usually, someone seeking the priesthood will have to go to seminary for 6-8 years depending on their level of education. Various orders require differing ordination processes.

{{{ CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE }}}

 

[Tietjen]

6)Without the whole “my faith is better than yours” stuff. Do you guys take the Episcopalian church serious? aside from the women priests (which I don’t see as a sin).or priests getting married (which I don’t see the bad in that)

Of course we take the Episcopal Church seriously. They are still our brothers and sisters as are those Pentecostal Churches that you grew up in. All Christian Churches can be traced back to The Church which was founded by Christ. They all hold some amount of truth and cannot be dismissed as a whole. We may not always agree on every issue (what family does) but that doesn’t mean that we don’t take them seriously or that we disassociate ourselves completely from them.

1. How do you guys feel about non denomination churches? where its just bible based?

The Catholic Church uses and accepts three infallible sources which all complement one another when it comes to our faith. Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium. It’s a 3-legged stool which is more stable than the one legged stool of sola scriptura (Scripture alone). While Catholics believe that the Scripture is error free, we also recognize that individuals can interpret it in various ways which leads to confusion and error. Therefore we have Sacred Tradition which works with Sacred Scripture to help understand the truth being presented. And finally we have the Magisterium, which is the teaching authority of the Church. The Magisterium is comprised of the Pope and the Bishops of the Church. Christ promised to protect the teaching of the Church when he said, “He who hears you, hears me; he who rejects you rejects me, he who rejects me, rejects Him who sent me” (Luke 10:16). Since the promises of Christ can’t fail we know that when the Church presents some doctrine as definitive or final, it comes under this protection. And thus… a 3-legged stool to rest solidly upon.

8)besides the catholic church with rosaries and statues and stuff, do you guys take serious any other denomination that doesn’t do all of that, which may share your beliefs?

Yes.

9)How do i justify to Pentecostals, when they ask me why would I want to go with a denomination that doesn’t fully follow the bible and adds theirs own things to the faith?

You shouldn’t go with a denomination that doesn’t fully follow Sacred Scripture. But that isn’t the case with Catholicism. First, it isn’t a denomination. Second, it certainly follows Scripture (in fact it is the Church that defined Old and New Testament Canon). Even Martin Luther gives credit to the Catholic Church for the Bible:

My apologies for this long text but I have a feeling this may be the website to help me with my spiritual struggle, unlike a lot of athiest. I WANT TO be a faithful religious person. I have alot of christian traits in everyday life.

No need for apologies. It stands to reason that you will have a lot of questions. I’d encourage you to consider studying more of the Church history, beliefs, etc. Much of what you have heard or have been taught is not correct, judging by the questions that you have asked so far. That is not your fault, but before you make a decision it is best to understand the facts. God bless and take care.

 

[Bob_Crowley]

About me:
27 years old.

Raised mostly by my mother from age 5 and up just me and her alone. My mothers side of the family is all Pentecostals.

My fathers side of the family was all catholic, I’m pretty sure roman catholic.

I think I was even baptized catholic as a child. Was also Baptized Pentecostal at age 13.

My mother passed away in 07 and my father in 08. Both of them kind of passed away thinking I was an atheist and it bugs me a bit now. I never had the discussion with my father but did so with my mother and family of pastors many times. I was frowned upon.

In one sense, what they thought of your atheism or anything else when they died is irrelevant. You’re not going to answer to them. You’re going to answer to God.

Otherwise you’re basing your life on other peoples’ opinions. They shift with the wind.

My Atheism Stage.
Being from brooklyn I would wear jeans, sometimes a little baggy, pentecostals would say its bad (at the time). I would listen to a love song that involved kissing and it was considered bad. Pentecostals would sometimes spread propaganda sheets about a certain company being of the devil etc etc. just different things that kind of bugged me. So it made me want to rebel and kind of prove that all of it was fake etc and my curious rebel athiest stage came.

There are a few things some pentecostals / fundamentalists do that annoy us too. Some of them are not averse to calling Catholics “of the devil”. It’s arrogant, a lie, and in turn, they’ll answer for that as well.

Against Catholics:
While a pentecostal, I was trained that confessing to a priest is out of order since the bible says something about confessing to no one but god? (not sure if I remember this right)

From the Bible -

John 20:23 NIV “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

This was stated by Christ to His disciples, our Apostles. By apostolic authority, this power has been handed down through the church via the church magisterium. Christ gave them this authority.

The rosary would be made fun of because they feel you guys are worshiping mary. They also feel you guys worship saints. so both of those things were drilled in me and to this day it makes me uncomfortable.

The rosary is a form of prayer called a mantra, and is simply composed of four parts -

1. The Apostles Creed, which was the original statement of faith in the early church.
2. The Lord’s prayer which Christ Himself taught us to pray.
3. The Hail Mary which is simply comprised of the archangel’s greeting to Mary, followed by Elizabeth’s greeting to Mary when Mary visited her, and John jumped in the womb, and finally a request for Mary to pray for us.
4. The Glory be to the Father.

I bet the Fundamentalists don’t mind asking their mates to pray for them, but they draw a line in the sand about asking the Mother of God to pray for them. If you were God, whose prayer do you think you’d take more seriously - His own Mother, whom He sent an archangel to call “Blessed”, and whom declares of herself in the Bible, “From now all ages will call be blessed”, or some anymous Johnny-come-lately?

Pentecostals also trained me that the catholic church has statues and the bible says something about no idols or statues or something.

There are statues from time to time, but I can assure you that after about 15 years or so as a Catholic coming from a Protestant background, I have yet to see a single Catholic bow down and worship one. They’re a symbol, and that’s all they are.

In earlier times, when people couldn’t read, pictures and statues told the story. Of course, the Protestants didn’t even start their Reformation until printing had just been invented. And that had a lot to do with it. As well as politics - the church had a lot of assets in those days an increasingly poverished aristocracy wanted to get their hands on.

And if we want to stretch a point, even a printed word on paper is a symbol, and can become an idol. How about, “Mao’s Little Red Book” of fairly recent history?

I might leave it at that for the moment, as you ask a lot of questions, and it’s probably better if we answer them bit by bit.

 

[Bob_Crowley]

I never fully read about the whole martin luther stuff and how protestant churches came to be but as a kid when it was told to me it made so much sense.

There was corruption in the Church in those days, and had the Church had the courage and integrity to reform itself from within, the Reformation would never have happened. However Martin Luther wasn’t all kindness and light either.

And politics had a lot to do with it, as noted above. Henry VIII was at one stage called the “Defender of the Faith”, but when the Pope wouldn’t let him divorce Catherine of Aragon, Henry decided to break away. It had nothing to do with spirituality, and everything to do with politics. This was the start of the Anglican Church, or in the USA, Episcopaleans. Same bird, different feathers.

This has a bearing on some of your other questions below.

Anyways. I as a bday gift to my self recently purchased an apologetics bible out of curiosity and now I kind of want to go back to religion, but I am confused as to the correct way. so if you can help me with the following questions. you might be responsible for helping me come back to god and I hope you do help me. Sorry for the long unedited post lol.

Questions I need help with.

1. Faith in general. How do you deal with it, when some person who thinks they are beyond educated makes you feel bad for believing in what they feel is a myth?

Faith is a gift, and depends on conviction by the Holy Spirit. It does not depend on education, as both educated and un-educated people can have faith. If it depened on education, then it would be a simple process - study Theology 101, and if you get a pass grade, hey, presto! You’ve got faith, and all of a sudden, God must exist.

It doesn’t work that way. If you really want to find out if God exists, ask Him to give you a few hints. He won’t show Himself to you directly, but you might find some intriquing things coming your way.

1. So lets say I decided to go on faith. As a person who was raised a pentecostal and my whole family is pentecostal. I would look horrible for becoming a catholic. Even though they all say denomination doesn’t matter, but I know how they really feel. SO back to my question. I accept by faith. How do I justify the catholic church, even if you guys say you were the original ones, I heard a lot of corruption has happened which has changed it. How would i overcome those objections when pressed?

Like I said, **you can’t decide to go on faith. ** It’s a gift.

As for the Catholic Church, my own policy is that it’s** closest **to the truth. But I didn’t go shopping around to see which one most closely fitted my Myers-Briggs profile. I was pushed into it spiritually.

God didn’t set up a smorgasboard, and then say “See which one you like the most.” He set up the truth, and that’s what He expects you to find.

Christ set it up on Peter, after his statement of faith, regardless of any nonsensical garbage with which the opposition tries to explain it. He was setting up an office with authority. What’s the use of having a church if you don’t give it any authority.

1. I on my weird quest for belief, took an online faith test LOL. which said i’d be a great fit for the Episcopalian denomination. They seem like a mix of some pentecostalism with some catholic stuff. Maybe that’s my fight fit.?

As stated above God didn’t set up a smorgasboard.

4)From what I hear the Episcopalian church seems like catholics without alot of the extra fluff, maybe i’m wrong?

Their liturgy and church structure has strong similarities to the Catholic Church. I’ve heard it said some of their High Church people are more Catholic than the Catholics. They also accept the Eucharist in a similar sense to the Catholic Church.

If the Protestant Churches ever reunify, the Anglicans / Episcopalians’ would find it easiest to adapt to the Catholic Liturgy and structure.

However the Queen of England is the titular head of the Anglican Church. Apart from a complete lack of reference in the Bible to this particular state of affairs, and while admitting she herself has shown a solid devotion to duty, I’m not sure which of her heirs should step into her shoes - Divorced Charles, Andrew or Anne, Harry with his pants down, party girl Beatrice with plunging neckline etc. etc. - and none of whom have anything like the singular role of Church head as the Popel does.

5)I enjoy the fact that most priests in your churches are very knowledgeable as I can hear from the catholic answers podcast, as compared to a lot of Pentecostal pastors I grew up watching, where it feels anyone can now be a pastor. I am guessing all priests go through strict studying?

I think I remember a priest saying they study for seven years or something like that. And it’s pretty intense.

6)Without the whole “my faith is better than yours” stuff. Do you guys take the Episcopalian church serious? aside from the women priests (which I don’t see as a sin).or priests getting married (which I don’t see the bad in that).

We accept them as Christians, who believe in Christ.

More later.

 

[Bob_Crowley]

1. How do you guys feel about non denomination churches? where its just bible based?

We accept them as Christians, but would have some differences of opinion on how they intepret the Bible. The Bible calls for unity; Christ declared very clearly Peter was the Rock on which He would base His church; Mary is called blessed by Gabriel, and says of herself she would be called blessed by all ages; lying is a sin (last time I looked it was anyway) and when fundamentalists tell lies about us, that’s not Biblical; priests get their authority to hear confessions and absolve people of sin from Christ as per His declaration to His disciples; Mary is our spiritual mother as exemplied when Christ spoke to the disciple whom He loved" (which is short hand for all disciples) and said, “Behold, your mother”; Purgatory is implied in the parable on unforgiveness when Christ said, “And there you will stay, I tell you, **until **you have paid every last penny of your fine.”

I could go on, but we still accept them as Christians.

Incidentally there are charismatic Catholics - speaking in tongues, laying on of hands etc. etc.

8)besides the catholic church with rosaries and statues and stuff, do you guys take serious any other denomination that doesn’t do all of that, which may share your beliefs?

I’ll just quote the Catholic Catechism here -

Paragraph 818 under “Wounds to Unity” -

“However one cannot charge with the sin of the separation those who at present are born into those communities [that resulted from the separation] and in them are brought up in the faith of Christ, and the Catholic Church accepts them with respect and affection as brothers … All who have been justified in Baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers in the Lord by the children of the Catholic Church.”

9)How do i justify to Pentecostals, when they ask me why would I want to go with a denomination that doesn’t fully follow the bible and adds theirs own things to the faith?

You don’t have to justify yourself, or us, to them. Who set them up as your or our judge?

 

[Delaine75]

I see there are some really excellent answers here already so I don’t add on to what’s already been answered, but might I suggest you speak to a local Catholic priest with these questions? He could really help you to see the light, so to speak. And it probably wouldn’t hurt to attend some RCIA classes as well (this does NOT mean you are committing yourself to the Catholic Church; there is a period of inquiry that lasts several months where you are free to ask any questions and learn more about the Catholic faith, why we do this or that, why we believe this or that, etc. And you can take RCIA for as long as you want to. I know people who have taken it 2 or 3 years in a row, and some cradle Catholics take it just as a “refresher course” to learn about things they were never taught growing up.

My best to you!

 

[Myqyl]

Others have given the line by line answers so I’ll leave that to them. I would like to add the following advice :

1 ~ Take some time each day and read the Bible. I assume from your upbringing you likely have read much of it, but possibly on a “verse” basis… I’d suggest reading the Gospels, cover to cover, straight through… Don’t get hung up on looking up specific verses… The Bible is not a collection of verses… It is God’s Word.

2 ~ Take some more time each day to pray. Formal prayers are nice, but don’t work for everyone. Be sure to “Have a little talk with Jesus” everyday.

3 ~ If there is a Church nearby that has the opportunity for Euchiristic Adoration then GO!!! That is the best place to do suggestion 1 & 2.

God bless and know that you are in my prayers.

 

[Bookcat]

“Life is not a simple product of laws and the randomness of matter, but within everything and at the same time above everything, there is a personal will, there is a Spirit who in Jesus has revealed himself as Love.”

–Pope Benedict XVI (Encyclical on Hope)

“We believe in God. This is a fundamental decision on our part. But again the question has to be asked: is this still possible today? Is it reasonable? From the Enlightenment on, science, at least in part, has applied itself to seeking an explanation of the world in which God would be unnecessary. And if this were so, he would also become unnecessary in our lives. But whenever the attempt seemed to be nearing success - inevitably it would become clear: something is missing from the equation! When God is subtracted, something doesn’t add up for man, the world, the whole universe. So we end up with two alternatives. What came first? Creative Reason, the Creator Spirit who makes all things and gives them growth, or Unreason, which, lacking any meaning, yet somehow brings forth a mathematically ordered cosmos, as well as man and his reason. The latter, however, would then be nothing more than a chance result of evolution and thus, in the end, equally meaningless. As Christians, we say: “I believe in God the Father, the Creator of heaven and earth” -I believe in the Creator Spirit. We believe that at the beginning of everything is the eternal Word, with Reason and not Unreason.”

– Pope Benedict XVI (12 Sept 2006 Homily in Regensburg)

"The resurrection, then, is not a theory, but a historical reality revealed by the man Jesus Christ by means of his “Passover”, his “passage”, that has opened a “new way” between heaven and earth (cf. Heb 10:20). It is neither a myth nor a dream, it is not a vision or a utopia, it is not a fairy tale, but it is a singular and unrepeatable event: Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary, who at dusk on Friday was taken down from the Cross and buried, has victoriously left the tomb. In fact, at dawn on the first day after the Sabbath, Peter and John found the tomb empty. Mary Magdalene and the other women encountered the risen Jesus. On the way to Emmaus the two disciples recognized him at the breaking of the bread. The Risen One appeared to the Apostles that evening in the Upper Room and then to many other disciples in Galilee. "

–Pope Benedict XVI Urbi et Orbi message 2009

Jesus Christ is the Logos…the word…the meaning of our life and everything.

Make sure you read the messages from world youth day with Pope Benedict XVI

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2011/august/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20110818_accoglienza-giovani2-madrid_en.html

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2011/august/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20110820_veglia-madrid_en.html

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20110821_xxvi-gmg-madrid_en.html

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/travels/2011/index_madrid_en.htm

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/youth/index_en.htm

In Jesus of Nazareth is* true life! *

 

[Porknpie]

SemiAethiest -

First welcome. I believe that the Holy Spirit is guiding you to ask the questions & answers that you seek. Lot’s of good answers already. I would add:

• Go visit your local Catholic church and speak with the Priest. He will be most welcoming and can help you on a local level. He may invite you to join RCIA (Rite for Christian Initation for Adults), a weekly class that started in August that educates those outside the Church wanting to more about the faith and/or are interested in becoming Catholic at Easter. This a terrific way to learn and reflect in a no pressure atmosphere with other people considering joining the Catholic church.
• Lots of reading choices but I always recommend “Catholicism for Dummies” (from the Dummie series). Ignore the title somewhat. This was written by two Catholic Priests and explains a lot of the church beliefs in an easy to read format.
• Other good books to read in addition to the Dummy book are Patrick Madrid “Where is that in the Bible” and “Why is that in Tradition”
• Also, on the catholic.com homepage you will see a link for “Read”. Take a look at the available “Tracts”, that can help explain many questions that you have. They are categorized by subject.

Praying for you.

 

[semiathiest]

Wow,

You guys are great. I have not read all the answers yet, but I will do so in few. One of you linked me to the alex jones video (former pentecostal now catholic) I listened to it last night before sleeping, that was pretty cool.

I will read your answers in a few, thank you soo much for even considering an answer for my post.

 

[LOVINGTRUTH]

… sorry I pressed the wrong button… also look at the Lives of the Saints. Contrary to common belief, a Pope does not choose who becomes a Saint, but rather, it is the life and death of this one person that makes him a Saint and what the Church does, it just recognizes him as such. What we call the Communion of Saints is something tangible and real. It is through the Saints, the people that preceded us that we learn about God His love, compassion, mercy and justice. It is through their life experiences (whether mystical or not) and their ultimate choices that we know about God and how to reach Him. One last thing, if most of the recognized Saints were fervent believers of the Catholic Church and really, deeply understood its Teachings and because of it they were able to literally “change the world” through these Teachings applied to their lives, then who are we to deny their knowledge and sacrifices? Think of a Don Bosco, a John Paul II, Mother Theresa, St, Francis of Sales, St Theresa D’Avila, St Augustine D’ Hippo, and so on… I could go on forever… these are people that have bettered the world and have proclaimed the Kingdom of God with their lives.
Remember the most important thing: God Himself never ever wrote anything, including the Bible, He guided the writers with His Spirit (Holy Spirit). He used men to write not Himself. Jesus (being Jesus) could have very well written the Gospels, but He did not. He used people like you and I that really deeply believed in Him, and these people were witnesses of Him. They were part of that Communion of Saints that the Catholic Church puts forward.
Also: as far as tradition vs Sola Scripture: in the Bible itself in the Letters of the Apostles, the authors write themselves that not everything will be written down but many things will be imparted by voice instead. Tradition and Scriptures are what God gave us. Scripture to base ourselves and to communicate with Him directly (prayerful reading, Rosary (which is nothing but meditating on the life of Christ and HIs mother), and tradition so that we trust one another and have need of one another. In other words Jesus’ greatest commandment: Love God and love neighbour.

God is calling you and He will never never tell you what to do. He will guide you to the right choice. Just loose yourself in his arms without too many questions. God likes humility and trust, not questions and doubts.
in Christ and Mary

 

[LOVINGTRUTH]

hello again, somehow the first part of my e-mail went lost…
to help you in any case read Catholic Controversy by St. Francis of Sales. He addresses pretty much all the questions you have raised.
hope it helps
Lovingtruth

 

[pablope]

*********I 2)DONATE TO THE SITE IN GENERAL.

THANKS IN ADVANCE***************
**

 

[Mystophilus]

1. Faith in general. How do you deal with it, when some person who thinks they are beyond educated makes you feel bad for believing in what they feel is a myth?

There are various routes, but the one which I prefer is, first, to invest in an education myself, and thus learn how very many really smart people have been religious, and, second, to point out that the existence of God is actually as impossible to disprove as it is to prove. Faith is a choice, and it need not be an irrational one (as faithlessness sometimes is, too).

1. I on my weird quest for belief, took an online faith test LOL. which said i’d be a great fit for the Episcopalian denomination. They seem like a mix of some pentecostalism with some catholic stuff. Maybe that’s my fight fit.?

First, those texts tend to be very simplistic, and thus not very reliable. Second, “Episcopalian” is a broad group: if you talk to Izdaari and Anna Scott here, for example, you will see two very different kinds of Episcopalian.

4)From what I hear the Episcopalian church seems like catholics without alot of the extra fluff, maybe i’m wrong?

I think that it would be much more accurate to say “with a lot of different fluff”.

There has just recently been a discussion of this here.

5)I enjoy the fact that most priests in your churches are very knowledgeable as I can hear from the catholic answers podcast, as compared to a lot of Pentecostal pastors I grew up watching, where it feels anyone can now be a pastor. I am guessing all priests go through strict studying?

One of the (many) reasons why I became Anglican was precisely this: “quality control” makes a huge difference in the traditional way of the expert, professional priesthood.

9)How do i justify to Pentecostals, when they ask me why would I want to go with a denomination that doesn’t fully follow the bible and adds theirs own things to the faith?

If they are at all willing to listen, point to the fact that Catholicism does follow the Bible: it just takes advantage of two thousand years of expert discussion of the Bible, rather than relying upon how it looks to someone reading it now in English.

 

[angelic06]

There is no need to promise money (“PayPal” or anything of the sort). As Christians, it is our duty to help each other on the right path, the path to godliness.

 

[zz912]

Dear readers please do not be too harsh on me lol. To start, this is my first time joining any religious website

Welcome, hope you stick around for a long time! (FYI for future reference, if you break up your questions into individual threads, you will get easier-to-follow answers and the thread won’t get too clogged.

My mother passed away in 07 and my father in 08.

Sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine the awfulness. My prayers are with you.

While a pentecostal, I was trained that confessing to a priest is out of order since the bible says something about confessing to no one but God?

You should do both. The Bible explicitly says to confess, and Jesus explicitly gives His Apostles the authority to forgive and retain sins. And the Bible explicitly shows the passing on of apostolic authority from generation to generation.

The rosary would be made fun of because they feel you guys are worshiping mary. They also feel you guys worship saints. so both of those things were drilled in me and to this day it makes me uncomfortable.

The rosary is not mandatory. It also is a prayer of Scripture verses that focus on the life of Christ through the eyes of Mary. She was present at all the biggest moments of His life, and followed Him perfectly. It is a way of meditating on His life and who He is, and asking His mother to pray for us. The Bible is explicit about Christians praying for one another, and we don’t cease to exist when we die. The saints are in Heaven and are praying to God on our behalf. We do NOT worship the saints. Period. Any Catholic who does so commits a mortal sin. We give them honor, just as we are to give honor to our mother and father in the 10 Commandments. We honor them, and ask them to pray for us to God, and to take our prayers to God (which is explicitly shown in the book of Revelation). It is not required to pray to saints, but why wouldn’t you want to? Any friend of God is a friend of mine!

Pentecostals also trained me that the catholic church has statues and the bible says something about no idols or statues or something.

The Bible says not to worship statues. We don’t. We have statues to remind us of Christ and the saints. They help to focus the mind in prayer. Just as you can have a picture of your parents, and maybe even kiss the picture out of love and remembrance, it doesn’t mean you are worshipping them.

I never fully read about the whole martin luther stuff and how protestant churches came to be but as a kid when it was told to me it made so much sense.

Well of course being raised protestant, you will hear a positive retelling of Martin Luther. (I was raised Baptist, and I was told that he brought about a needed cleansing or correction of the Church. The truth is that the abuses he complained about were already not allowed, and the Church worked to clean them up. But that did NOT give him authority to break away from the Church, or to create his own personal theology.

Anyways. I as a bday gift to my self recently purchased an apologetics bible out of curiosity and now I kind of want to go back to religion, but I am confused as to the correct way. so if you can help me with the following questions. you might be responsible for helping me come back to god and I hope you do help me.

I hope so! This website is here to ask your questions and learn. Again, you will get clearer responses if your questions are broken into separate threads, and you can research them much more in depth that way to learn more.

1. Faith in general. How do you deal with it, when some person who thinks they are beyond educated makes you feel bad for believing in what they feel is a myth?

I’m beyond educated, and I have faith. I don’t worry about those that scoff. If you look at the 2000 year history of the Church, you will find some of the greatest minds of all time. I’m always skeptical of those who claim to be soooooooo smart and look down their noses at those who believe. Usually when you start discussing religion with them, their actual knowledge about religion or Catholicism is woefully ignorant.

1. So lets say I decided to go on faith. As a person who was raised a pentecostal and my whole family is pentecostal. I would look horrible for becoming a catholic. Even though they all say denomination doesn’t matter, but I know how they really feel. SO back to my question. I accept by faith. How do I justify the catholic church, even if you guys say you were the original ones, I heard a lot of corruption has happened which has changed it. How would i overcome those objections when pressed?

The important thing is to follow the truth. The reaction of others is outside your control. Some will deride your decision, and others will accept. You can’t control that. Just follow the truth, and follow God’s calling. And I have yet to find any institution that hasn’t had corruption in it. The Church has humans in it, and as such will have problems as we are imperfect.

Have you heard the one about how the Church is full of sinners? The answer is “No it’s not! We’ll slide over and make room for you too!”

1. I on my weird quest for belief, took an online faith test LOL. which said i’d be a great fit for the Episcopalian denomination. They seem like a mix of some pentecostalism with some catholic stuff. Maybe that’s my fight fit.?

Don’t look for what denomination fits you, but look for the Church that God built. Looking for the denomination you like best is crafting God in your image and wishes.

cont…