Former protestant, thinking about converting?

[kibblerz]

So I have realised why so much of the people I know don’t live a christian life, it’s the protestant way of thinking. I hate the idea that you can keep sinning and be forgiven, Jesus says not all who say “lord lord” will get into heaven. Many of them say it is by faith we are saved and has nothing to do with good works while I believe true faith means to follow the morals in the bible such as helping the poor and lame. I truly feel to enter heaven you must be able to follow Jesus to the cross because he also does tell the rich man to give all he owns to the poor and because the man couldn’t do so Jesus said that it is easier for a camel to walk through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go to heaven. I’ve been thinking of orthodox and catholic lately now especially since many protestants are far to worldly to spread the gospal, they tell me to not talk about religion and stuff around non-believers… They are far to caught up in worldly stuff it’s depressing, so I’ve been thinking about other branches, I have concerns about catholicism though.

Statues seem to be like idol worship

The pope is a ridiculous idea

catholic church has a pretty evil past when it comes to the crusades and killing people who didn’t agree

confessionals… I really hate the idea that many catholics think that they need a median to confess to christ, especially since you don’t truly know the heart of the one your confessing too. I also see it as a huge roadblock with building a relationship with christ, I mean we should all confess straight to Jesus, not to some man. I got baptized in the holy spirit confessing straight to Jesus, I feel like it’s much better to have an intimate conversation with him than to have a “medium”. I find the idea of confessionals very bad in building your own relationship with christ, a good relationship you can trust him with your secretes. I’d rather have a relationship with christ than a man in a box.

infant baptism… I was baptized at the age of 6, far too young to be baptized, I’m 14 and want to be rebaptized bt the idea of baptizing as an infant seems silly. I believe that baptism should not be till someone can truely comprehend it, or else it’s symbolism is worthless.

So I would be glad to hear some justfication to these please

 

[cheezey]

So I have realised why so much of the people I know don’t live a christian life, it’s the protestant way of thinking. I hate the idea that you can keep sinning and be forgiven, Jesus says not all who say “lord lord” will get into heaven. Many of them say it is by faith we are saved and has nothing to do with good works while I believe true faith means to follow the morals in the bible such as helping the poor and lame. I truly feel to enter heaven you must be able to follow Jesus to the cross because he also does tell the rich man to give all he owns to the poor and because the man couldn’t do so Jesus said that it is easier for a camel to walk through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go to heaven. I’ve been thinking of orthodox and catholic lately now especially since many protestants are far to worldly to spread the gospal, they tell me to not talk about religion and stuff around non-believers… They are far to caught up in worldly stuff it’s depressing, so I’ve been thinking about other branches, I have concerns about catholicism though.

Statues seem to be like idol worship

The pope is a ridiculous idea

catholic church has a pretty evil past when it comes to the crusades and killing people who didn’t agree

confessionals… I really hate the idea that many catholics think that they need a median to confess to christ, especially since you don’t truly know the heart of the one your confessing too. I also see it as a huge roadblock with building a relationship with christ, I mean we should all confess straight to Jesus, not to some man. I got baptized in the holy spirit confessing straight to Jesus, I feel like it’s much better to have an intimate conversation with him than to have a “medium”. I find the idea of confessionals very bad in building your own relationship with christ, a good relationship you can trust him with your secretes. I’d rather have a relationship with christ than a man in a box.

infant baptism… I was baptized at the age of 6, far too young to be baptized, I’m 14 and want to be rebaptized bt the idea of baptizing as an infant seems silly. I believe that baptism should not be till someone can truely comprehend it, or else it’s symbolism is worthless.

So I would be glad to hear some justfication to these please

I will let others do most of the typing, but I have a question for you. You have stated that you want change, are interested in Catholicism, and then listed some concerns with Catholicism. What are the positive attributes of Catholicism for you?
And I’d be cautious in using words like ‘ridiculous’ when referring to someone else’s faith.
Please.

 

[MichaelHowling]

Hi Kibblers

Lets start with statues.

Man is both a physical and spiritual being. We needs signs and symbols and physical things to help us enter it, to grasp, to lift our spirits up ! We see in the old testament…most noteably with when God asks the temple to be built or with the ark of the covenant…to place angels on it, to laden with gold, or that one time when people were being bitten by poisonous snakes and God asked a statue of snake be placed on a pole…and all who looked at it would be heald.

Was God breaking His own command asking for statues to be built ? No. The physical around us can tell us a whole lot about the spiritual! When you go to a beautiful church …it can make you think you’re stepping into heaven! These are reasons why catholic churches have statues. They are not worshipped…which is strictly forbidden by the church (the church teaches worship is reserved for God alone)…they help us remember our spiritual family, they help lift our mind and hearts to God. I have pictures of my family in my wallet …is the idol worship ? I even will kiss a picture of my wife when I miss her…I love my wife…not a picture. And the picture simply helps me remember her and bring myself closer if only for a moment. The same with our statues in our churches…and since they are not worshipped, just like the angels on the ark of the covenant (although the symbols was held with high honors because of what it represented) , we are not commiting idolatry.

Now the pope.

What’s sooo ridiculous ? In the old testament God established a priesthood, a high priest and leader…Moses was initially a leader for the people.

Mathew 23
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you.

The reason I brought all the above up is to show that God did first create a hiearchial chain of command from the very begnining…and these priests guarded the law and taught and ruled over the people and the people HAD TO FOLLOW.

Now, Mathew 16
17Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood* has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. 18k And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,* and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. 19l I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.* Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

This is probably the most important scripture on this subject. Jesus being the king gives the keys to peter…this is important because the king is leaving and by giving the keys…He’s putting peter in charge. This position has been passed down ever since!
1.St. Peter (32-67)
2.St. Linus (67-76)
3.St. Anacletus (Cletus) (76-88)
4.St. Clement I (88-97)
5.St. Evaristus (97-105)
6.St. Alexander I (105-115)
7.St. Sixtus I (115-125) Also called Xystus I
8.St. Telesphorus (125-136)
9.St. Hyginus (136-140)
10.St. Pius I (140-155)
11.St. Anicetus (155-166)
12.St. Soter (166-175)
13.St. Eleutherius (175-189)
14.St. Victor I (189-199)
15.St. Zephyrinus (199-217)
16.St. Callistus I (217-22) Callistus and the following three popes were opposed by St. Hippolytus, antipope (217-236)
17.St. Urban I (222-30)
18.St. Pontain (230-35)
19.St. Anterus (235-36)
20.St. Fabian (236-50)
21.St. Cornelius (251-53) Opposed by Novatian, antipope (251)
22.St. Lucius I (253-54)
23.St. Stephen I (254-257)
24.St. Sixtus II (257-258)
25.St. Dionysius (260-268)
26.St. Felix I (269-274)
27.St. Eutychian (275-283)
28.St. Caius (283-296) Also called Gaius
29.St. Marcellinus (296-304)
30.St. Marcellus I (308-309)
31.St. Eusebius (309 or 310)
32.St. Miltiades (311-14)
33.St. Sylvester I (314-35)
34.St. Marcus (336)
35.St. Julius I (337-52)
36.Liberius (352-66) Opposed by Felix II, antipope (355-365)
37.St. Damasus I (366-83) Opposed by Ursicinus, antipope (366-367)
38.St. Siricius (384-99)
39.St. Anastasius I (399-401)
40.St. Innocent I (401-17)
41.St. Zosimus (417-18)
42.St. Boniface I (418-22) Opposed by Eulalius, antipope (418-419)
43.St. Celestine I (422-32)
44.St. Sixtus III (432-40)
45.St. Leo I (the Great) (440-61)
46.St. Hilarius (461-68)
47.St. Simplicius (468-83)
48.St. Felix III (II) (483-92)
49.St. Gelasius I (492-96)
50.Anastasius II (496-98)
51.St. Symmachus (498-514) Opposed by Laurentius, antipope (498-501)
52.St. Hormisdas (514-23)
53.St. John I (523-26)
54.St. Felix IV (III) (526-30)
55.Boniface II (530-32) Opposed by Dioscorus, antipope (530)
56.John II (533-35)
57.St. Agapetus I (535-36) Also called Agapitus I
58.St. Silverius (536-37)
59.Vigilius (537-55)
60.Pelagius I (556-61)
61.John III (561-74)
62.Benedict I (575-79)
63.Pelagius II (579-90)
64.St. Gregory I (the Great) (590-604)
65.Sabinian (604-606)
66.Boniface III (607)
67.St. Boniface IV (608-15)
68.St. Deusdedit (Adeodatus I) (615-18)

 

[MichaelHowling]

69.Boniface V (619-25)
70.Honorius I (625-38)
71.Severinus (640)
72.John IV (640-42)
73.Theodore I (642-49)
74.St. Martin I (649-55)
75.St. Eugene I (655-57)
76.St. Vitalian (657-72)
77.Adeodatus (II) (672-76)
78.Donus (676-78)
79.St. Agatho (678-81)
80.St. Leo II (682-83)
81.St. Benedict II (684-85)
82.John V (685-86)
83.Conon (686-87)
84.St. Sergius I (687-701) Opposed by Theodore and Paschal, antipopes (687)
85.John VI (701-05)
86.John VII (705-07)
87.Sisinnius (708)
88.Constantine (708-15)
89.St. Gregory II (715-31)
90.St. Gregory III (731-41)
91.St. Zachary (741-52)
92.Stephen II (752) Because he died before being consecrated, many authoritative lists omit him
93.Stephen III (752-57)
94.St. Paul I (757-67)
95.Stephen IV (767-72) Opposed by Constantine II (767) and Philip (768), antipopes (767)
96.Adrian I (772-95)
97.St. Leo III (795-816)
98.Stephen V (816-17)
99.St. Paschal I (817-24)
100.Eugene II (824-27)
101.Valentine (827)
102.Gregory IV (827-44)
103.Sergius II (844-47) Opposed by John, antipope (855)
104.St. Leo IV (847-55)
105.Benedict III (855-58) Opposed by Anastasius, antipope (855)
106.St. Nicholas I (the Great) (858-67)
107.Adrian II (867-72)
108.John VIII (872-82)
109.Marinus I (882-84)
110.St. Adrian III (884-85)
111.Stephen VI (885-91)
112.Formosus (891-96)
113.Boniface VI (896)
114.Stephen VII (896-97)
115.Romanus (897)
116.Theodore II (897)
117.John IX (898-900)
118.Benedict IV (900-03)
119.Leo V (903) Opposed by Christopher, antipope (903-904)
120.Sergius III (904-11)
121.Anastasius III (911-13)
122.Lando (913-14)
123.John X (914-28)
124.Leo VI (928)
125.Stephen VIII (929-31)
126.John XI (931-35)
127.Leo VII (936-39)
128.Stephen IX (939-42)
129.Marinus II (942-46)

 

[MichaelHowling]

130.Agapetus II (946-55)
131.John XII (955-63)
132.Leo VIII (963-64)
133.Benedict V (964)
134.John XIII (965-72)
135.Benedict VI (973-74)
136.Benedict VII (974-83) Benedict and John XIV were opposed by Boniface VII, antipope (974; 984-985)
137.John XIV (983-84)
138.John XV (985-96)
139.Gregory V (996-99) Opposed by John XVI, antipope (997-998)
140.Sylvester II (999-1003)
141.John XVII (1003)
142.John XVIII (1003-09)
143.Sergius IV (1009-12)
144.Benedict VIII (1012-24) Opposed by Gregory, antipope (1012)
145.John XIX (1024-32)
146.Benedict IX (1032-45) He appears on this list three separate times, because he was twice deposed and restored
147.Sylvester III (1045) Considered by some to be an antipope
148.Benedict IX (1045)
149.Gregory VI (1045-46)
150.Clement II (1046-47)
151.Benedict IX (1047-48)
152.Damasus II (1048)
153.St. Leo IX (1049-54)
154.Victor II (1055-57)
155.Stephen X (1057-58)
156.Nicholas II (1058-61) Opposed by Benedict X, antipope (1058)
157.Alexander II (1061-73) Opposed by Honorius II, antipope (1061-1072)
158.St. Gregory VII (1073-85) Gregory and the following three popes were opposed by Guibert (“Clement III”), antipope (1080-1100)
159.Blessed Victor III (1086-87)
160.Blessed Urban II (1088-99)
161.Paschal II (1099-1118) Opposed by Theodoric (1100), Aleric (1102) and Maginulf (“Sylvester IV”, 1105-1111), antipopes (1100)
162.Gelasius II (1118-19) Opposed by Burdin (“Gregory VIII”), antipope (1118)
163.Callistus II (1119-24)
164.Honorius II (1124-30) Opposed by Celestine II, antipope (1124)
165.Innocent II (1130-43) Opposed by Anacletus II (1130-1138) and Gregory Conti (“Victor IV”) (1138), antipopes (1138)
166.Celestine II (1143-44)
167.Lucius II (1144-45)
168.Blessed Eugene III (1145-53)
169.Anastasius IV (1153-54)
170.Adrian IV (1154-59)
171.Alexander III (1159-81) Opposed by Octavius (“Victor IV”) (1159-1164), Pascal III (1165-1168), Callistus III (1168-1177) and Innocent III (1178-1180), antipopes
172.Lucius III (1181-85)
173.Urban III (1185-87)
174.Gregory VIII (1187)
175.Clement III (1187-91)
176.Celestine III (1191-98)
177.Innocent III (1198-1216)
178.Honorius III (1216-27)
179.Gregory IX (1227-41)
180.Celestine IV (1241)
181.Innocent IV (1243-54)
182.Alexander IV (1254-61)
183.Urban IV (1261-64)
184.Clement IV (1265-68)
185.Blessed Gregory X (1271-76)
186.Blessed Innocent V (1276)
187.Adrian V (1276)
188.John XXI (1276-77)
189.Nicholas III (1277-80)
190.Martin IV (1281-85)
191.Honorius IV (1285-87)
192.Nicholas IV (1288-92)
193.St. Celestine V (1294)
194.Boniface VIII (1294-1303)
195.Blessed Benedict XI (1303-04)
196.Clement V (1305-14)
197.John XXII (1316-34) Opposed by Nicholas V, antipope (1328-1330)
198.Benedict XII (1334-42)
199.Clement VI (1342-52)
200.Innocent VI (1352-62)
201.Blessed Urban V (1362-70)
202.Gregory XI (1370-78)
203.Urban VI (1378-89) Opposed by Robert of Geneva (“Clement VII”), antipope (1378-1394)
204.Boniface IX (1389-1404) Opposed by Robert of Geneva (“Clement VII”) (1378-1394), Pedro de Luna (“Benedict XIII”) (1394-1417) and Baldassare Cossa (“John XXIII”) (1400-1415), antipopes
205.Innocent VII (1404-06) Opposed by Pedro de Luna (“Benedict XIII”) (1394-1417) and Baldassare Cossa (“John XXIII”) (1400-1415), antipopes
206.Gregory XII (1406-15) Opposed by Pedro de Luna (“Benedict XIII”) (1394-1417), Baldassare Cossa (“John XXIII”) (1400-1415), and Pietro Philarghi (“Alexander V”) (1409-1410), antipopes
207.Martin V (1417-31)
208.Eugene IV (1431-47) Opposed by Amadeus of Savoy (“Felix V”), antipope (1439-1449)
209.Nicholas V (1447-55)
210.Callistus III (1455-58)
211.Pius II (1458-64)
212.Paul II (1464-71)
213.Sixtus IV (1471-84)
214.Innocent VIII (1484-92)
215.Alexander VI (1492-1503)
216.Pius III (1503)
217.Julius II (1503-13)
218.Leo X (1513-21)
219.Adrian VI (1522-23)
220.Clement VII (1523-34)
221.Paul III (1534-49)
222.Julius III (1550-55)
223.Marcellus II (1555)
224.Paul IV (1555-59)
225.Pius IV (1559-65)
226.St. Pius V (1566-72)
227.Gregory XIII (1572-85)
228.Sixtus V (1585-90)
229.Urban VII (1590)

 

[MichaelHowling]

230.Gregory XIV (1590-91)
231.Innocent IX (1591)
232.Clement VIII (1592-1605)
233.Leo XI (1605)
234.Paul V (1605-21)
235.Gregory XV (1621-23)
236.Urban VIII (1623-44)
237.Innocent X (1644-55)
238.Alexander VII (1655-67)
239.Clement IX (1667-69)
240.Clement X (1670-76)
241.Blessed Innocent XI (1676-89)
242.Alexander VIII (1689-91)
243.Innocent XII (1691-1700)
244.Clement XI (1700-21)
245.Innocent XIII (1721-24)
246.Benedict XIII (1724-30)
247.Clement XII (1730-40)
248.Benedict XIV (1740-58)
249.Clement XIII (1758-69)
250.Clement XIV (1769-74)
251.Pius VI (1775-99)
252.Pius VII (1800-23)
253.Leo XII (1823-29)
254.Pius VIII (1829-30)
255.Gregory XVI (1831-46)
256.Blessed Pius IX (1846-78)
257.Leo XIII (1878-1903)
258.St. Pius X (1903-14)

259.Benedict XV (1914-22) Biographies of Benedict XV and his successors will be added at a later date
260.Pius XI (1922-39)
261.Pius XII (1939-58)
262.Blessed John XXIII (1958-63)
263.Paul VI (1963-78)
264.John Paul I (1978)
265.John Paul II (1978-2005)
266.Benedict XVI (2005—)

Peter was seen as the first…that’s why they stopped at the tomb and permitted peter to enter first, that’s why everytime in scripture after he recieves the keys…anytime the apostles are listed . Peters name is first OR it will say something like" Peter and the apostles". If you look at the first Christians…they put strong emphasis on Peter. This office was passed down …just like Moses’ office was passed down…so the “gates of hell will NEVER prevail of it” , or when Jesus gave the commision to “teach all nations” (that takes quite a while!) and that CHrist would be with them “even until the end of the age”.

Now to confessionals

One of the most beautiful sacraments!
Why do we catholics use it…because Christ gave it to us for a reason.

“Jesus therefore said to them again, Peace be unto you: as the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit: whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose sins you retain, they are retained” (John 20:21-23

To forgive or not to denotes these first priests of Jesus would have to listen to the confession…= confession.
Is this crazy that sinners go to the priest ? Of course not! That’s how God had it in the old testiment! They would bring their sacrifice (we have Christ as our eternal sacrifice) and the priest would absolve them of their sins by prayers and sacrifice. Why would God give us this sacrament. ??? Because He knew us humans. We need to hear we are forgiven, we need to repent with trust to God (which is aided by us going to a person to do this)…this kind of move takes trust, we recieve special grace to strengthen us by using this sacrament And we have a chance for spiritual counciling from a spiritual elder. I could go on and on…but the proof is in the pudding!!! Look at all the saintly catholics that have ALL used confession frequently! All the known saints have…there is something to be said there!

INFANT BAPTISM

We baptize babies to make a point…“It is not you who chose me, but I who chose you”. It’s Gods call…it’s His will that we all be saved. We were both born in this physical world world without a choice.
What was the form of baptism in the old covenant ??? It was circumcision…they did that after the 8th day of birth. After circumcision, they became a jew…a member of the spiritual family.

So too with baptism. And since baptism is a sacrament, it does what it symbolizes…washes the soul as white as the snow and confers sanctifying grace on that individual and adoption from God…why would you want to wait for this!

We as catholics DO have a sacrament where you freely choose Christ and wish to be a “soldier” for Him. It’s called confirmation. This sacrament raises and strengthens the spiritual life of the individual started from their baptism.

---

Good reasonable questions friend! I hope this helps. Honestly, we could spend weeks going through each of these topics one at a time. I just scratched their surface.

If you ever need anymore help… don’t hesitate to post again or email me: MichaelHowling@gmail.com

God bless on your

 

[cheezey]

Mr Michael Howling:
Well, that was fairly quick. Thank you for starting the ball rolling…

 

[MichaelHowling]

lol…no prob

my fingers hurt

AND KIBBLERS…if you choose not to read all that… LOL, don’t tell me! Just nodd and smile and say " very interesting" .

lol

God bless

 

[FOlson]

catholic church has a pretty evil past when it comes to the crusades and killing people who didn’t agree

Kibblerz, this seems to be the one issue you had that Michael didn’t cover. (good job by the way) So I’ll give it a try.

Please remember that the Catholic Church is guided by the holy spirit, but run by men in a fallen state. If you read the gospels and the acts of the apostles, it is obvious that St. Peter was far from perfect. This can also be said of the other apostles.

I also read that the Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky had said that communism kills more people in a day than the inquisition had for the centuries that it was in existence. It’s estimated that communsim killed 25 million in the Soviet Union and 50 million in China in the 20th century. Millions killed for christian beliefs.

What’s also noteworthy is that we sometimes forget that the early church was a church of martyrs. All of the apostles were martyred, with the possible exception of John the Evangelist. In Pagan Rome, christians were martyred and it led one Roman, Tertullian, to state that the blood of martyrs is the seed that grows the church.

It’s also interesting that the idea of caring for the sick (hospitals) started out as a catholic idea. Education at one time was only for the nobles and the church came up with the idea of educating the masses. That is why there are many Catholic hospitals and schools around to this day.

Hopefully that helps and God bless.

P.S. It might help to know what denomination of protestant you were.

 

[Bossilla]

Statues seem to be like idol worship

The pope is a ridiculous idea

catholic church has a pretty evil past when it comes to the crusades and killing people who didn’t agree

confessionals… I really hate the idea that many catholics think that they need a median to confess to christ, especially since you don’t truly know the heart of the one your confessing too. I also see it as a huge roadblock with building a relationship with christ, I mean we should all confess straight to Jesus, not to some man. I got baptized in the holy spirit confessing straight to Jesus, I feel like it’s much better to have an intimate conversation with him than to have a “medium”. I find the idea of confessionals very bad in building your own relationship with christ, a good relationship you can trust him with your secretes. I’d rather have a relationship with christ than a man in a box.

infant baptism… I was baptized at the age of 6, far too young to be baptized, I’m 14 and want to be rebaptized bt the idea of baptizing as an infant seems silly. I believe that baptism should not be till someone can truely comprehend it, or else it’s symbolism is worthless.

So I would be glad to hear some justfication to these please

I’ll try to address what I can in my knowledge base. Hopefully my answers will make some logical sense.

Statues- can be idols if used inappropriately, I do admit. But for the moment, remember that God in the Old Testament told Moses to make a bronze serpent so that all who look upon it will be healed of the snake bites. It wasn’t an idol until people placed the bronze serpent above God. If you use saint statues and crucifixes to remind you of the Lord God, I don’t think it is an affront to justice. Your TV is more likely to be an idol. There are good temptations which lead you to God such as a sudden urge to pray and then there are bad temptations which lead one away from God such as addictions. It is generally understood that statues are good temptations which cause one to think of God, rather than one who worships wood, clay, etc.

The pope- I’m not sure what you find ridiculous exactly?

Any philosophy/spirituality has had a dark past if examined over several hundred years. If you wish to examine an event in the past, you have to have the entire background and not just the event. Yes, the crusades were a dark history, but neither you, nor I lived then. We did not experience the panic when the Turks were invading and it wasn’t as though those Christians had news crews like we have today. The church had to rely on hearsay and that hearsay was that these invaders were a horrible threat to their lives. One could even make the argument that they thought they were using self-defense to defend the weak. Pope John Paul II has already publicly prayed for the souls of the crusaders (and the interrogators from the inquisition) and asked forgiveness for that time. It is time to unbind those poor Christians their sins and allow God to forgive them as well.

Any sacrament, including confession, is an outward sign of an inward grace. We believe that the priest speaks in the person of Christ when he says, “Through the ministry of the Church, may God grant you pardon and peace. I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Go in peace.”
God’s forgiveness isn’t something tangible- you can’t touch it, see it, smell it, or taste it. That is why we need confession. We need something tangible to show that we are forgiven. Even Jesus, when he forgave a lame man gave the outward sign of physical healing.
Also, Jesus gave the apostles the ability to forgive sins in his name (John 20:23, Matthew 16:19, Matthew 18:18 ) and the priests are acting upon this authority. Even if you do not agree that priests specifically have this authority, you, as a Bible believing Christian must at the very least believe that those who receive the Holy Spirit have this authority (James 5:16). Therefore, if you do not confess to a priest, you /have/ to confess to another Christian who you are 100% certain has received the Holy Spirit so that they can loose you of your sins in Jesus’s name.
Have you never wondered if a friend forgave you of a slight you may have done with good intentions or unintentionally? You may say, “Oh, they forgive me. We’re friends!”, but if it was a dark enough deed, you may really and truly wonder if you’re being presumptuous. You long to hear the voice of your friend saying, “I forgive you…Just don’t do it again.” If sin is something so evil that it keeps you from the Lord God, then it follows that you would wish to be doubly sure you are forgiven.

Infant baptism is actually the result of a huge debate in Christian history. Early Church fathers battled it up and down for a long time. (I actually read up on it in college and the debate fascinated me.) In the end, it was decided in favour of infant baptism because of Luke 18:16. “Let the Children come to me and do not prevent them, for the kingdom belongs to ones such as these”. Someone else can probably better elaborate this.

I hope to impress upon you that Christians aren’t meant to be singular and independent. It isn’t “Jesus and me and to Hell with thee!” Christians are meant to be communal and to depend on one another.
The Catholic church is made of both sinners and saints. The sacraments ensure that both become dependent upon God and each other. It is my humble hope that you will find community with us, sinners.

 

[stevekehl]

What you are feeling is called conviction. The Holy Spirit convicts us when we see or do things that are wrong. This is how the Holy Spirit instructs and guides us. (John 14:26) So I wanted to address a few things you said.

So I have realised why so much of the people I know don’t live a christian life, it’s the protestant way of thinking. I hate the idea that you can keep sinning and be forgiven,

This is simply not true. It is against Scripture and orthodox doctrine no matter what your denomination is. Paul, writing in Romans asks shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound? God forbid! (6:1,2) There are numerous other passages where we are told we are dead to sin (Romans 6:2 & 11, 1 Peter 3:18), we are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), if we sin against a brother we sin against Christ (1Corinthians 8:12), that we can’t be slaves to sin and Jesus (John 8:34 and Matthew 6:24)

Many of them say it is by faith we are saved and has nothing to do with good works while I believe true faith means to follow the morals in the bible such as helping the poor and lame.

We are saved by grace through faith and not works, but that doesn’t mean works are not important. Works do not credit anything toward salvation, they do serve as a testimony to the faith we have, show God’s love to the world, perfect our faith and relationship with God, and spread the Gospel to the world. Don’t hide your light under a bushel.

I truly feel to enter heaven you must be able to follow Jesus to the cross because he also does tell the rich man to give all he owns to the poor and because the man couldn’t do so Jesus said that it is easier for a camel to walk through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go to heaven.

Don’t let the material things of this world become more important to you than knowing Jesus. Put Him first, which may put you in uncomfortable situations,maybe even danger. The reward of eternity with God is worth it.

I’ve been thinking of orthodox and catholic lately now especially since many protestants are far to worldly to spread the gospal, they tell me to not talk about religion and stuff around non-believers… They are far to caught up in worldly stuff it’s depressing,

If people in your church are telling you to keep Jesus to yourself you need to find another church. Flat out. If you deny Jesus before men He will deny you before God.
(Matt 10:23). We are commanded to witness to others(Matt. 28:19-20)

so I’ve been thinking about other branches,

Find a church where you are comfortable, where Sunday school and sermons are based on Scripture, study your Bible and pray. I know being 14 will limit the distances you can cover to get to a church, but God is faithful in answering prayer. God Bless your journey.

 

[po18guy]

If you can, get a copy of Catholicism for Dummies. It is an excellent and easily understood explanation of the Catholic faith. It covers all of your concerns (which all converts such as me have shared with you) and many more. Even if you never convert, it is far better to know the truth of the faith, rather than age-old tales that have been told.

 

[kibblerz]

I will let others do most of the typing, but I have a question for you. You have stated that you want change, are interested in Catholicism, and then listed some concerns with Catholicism. What are the positive attributes of Catholicism for you?
And I’d be cautious in using words like ‘ridiculous’ when referring to someone else’s faith.
Please.

The ups of catholicism are to me that entering heaven includes works also. I also want to get into ministry which exorcisms and such arn’t very common things in the protestant religions it seems. I have seen more catholics act in everyday life as it were sunday than protestants, some of these doctrines kind of scare me though, much like playing with fire.

 

[kibblerz]

So many of my reasons were actually justified it seems. The thing with confessionals is talking straight to god, when I confess straight to him I am far more emotional than I would be confessing to another person. I end up crying sometimes because I can feel the holy spirit and his forgiveness ^^ It isn’t my church though that keeps it to themselves, it’s more like my friends. I have one catholic friend and she is much stronger in her beliefs than any of my several protestant friends, many young protestants don’t want to share the gospal. I know it is by faith, but I believe works are needed to reflect faith, and that you need to be able to give to the poor and follow christ even to death, but when someone clings to earthly items and won’t give to people who need it, that’s because of little faith and a greedy heart.

 

[Chantal25]

Why don’t you research about the history of the early church etc…

Protestant church started because of a King that wanted to be able to divorce.

Evil, is the one that split the Catholic church and also destroy the important teaching that is a necessity for you to go to Heaven, not to count that the Catholic church is the church that contain all the blessed sacrament.

You cannot judge the Catholic church from the people because she is spiritual.

You need to pray and you are the one to do the work and seek for the answer.

All the best!

p.s i recommend this book, totally well done.

catholicchurchsupply.com/church-supplies/history-of-the-church-student-textbook-complete-course-edition/sku/31045/fuseaction/store.itemdetails/imagesize/sm

 

[po18guy]

The first thing to do when examining the Catholic Church is to separate Church teaching from the behavior of Church members. Since she is a Church of sinners, her behavior is always in need of reformation. Concentrate rather on what the Church teaches, which cannot change and does not need changing.

As to confession, Paul forgave sins in the person of Christ, just as is done today (2 Corinthians 2:10). The Apostle James teaches us to confess our sins to one another (James 5:16). Christ told each sinner that their sins were forgiven - we are supposed top hear those words of absolution (Matthew 9:2, Mark 2:5, Luke 5:20, Luke 7:48).

Remember also that the bible does not tell us that we may believe only what is written. As well, the bible does not tell us the books that should be contained within it. Rather, the bible tells us that it is incomplete (Luke 3:18, John 20:30, John 21:25, Acts 2:40, 1 Corthinans 11:34, Ephesians 6:21, Colossians 4:7 etc.). Where is that which is missing? Paul told us to hold fast to the Traditions were were taught, whether oral or written (2 Thessalonians 2:14). No Protestant community has those oral traditions - they were discarded in the reformation. No Protestant community has the authority or ability to hold a Church council, as in **Acts 15 **- that was also discarded in the reformation, as were many other things. For all the good that is in many Protestant communities, there is much missing. It is that lack that you feel in your spirit.

 

[MichaelHowling]

Hi kibblers

On confessionals:
It seems now you understand that the catholic church’s position is biblically proven. It seems you would like to confess to God alone because you feel that to be more powerful for you. Ok! That’s fine…BUT : There is a reason why Christ instituted this sacrament. He knows what we humans need. That being said,you need to know that the church does in fact teach that we are to confess our sins to God. We are a religon that calls us to a very personal relationship with God. As a matter of fact…it’s a suggested practice to speak with God and acknowledge our failings and ask for help at least twice a day.

Confession is not taking this from you.

The church teaches you CAN be forgiven by God outside the sacrament of confession IF you have what is called “perfect contrition” …meaning, you are sorry for offending such an awsome God PURELY for His own sake…not because you fear reprisal, hell or want something from Him.

But it’s hard to sometimes know if you’re really in this state and so the church calls us to use the sacrment Christ gave us …a sacrament He gave us for a reason.

Also, the sacrament of confession isint JUST about you and God. Like in the old testament when someone sinned or was sick…they were told to go to the priest…so to do we catholics do likewise. Why ? Because when you sin…not only do you harm the relationship between you and God…you also harm the relationship of Gods people…whom you are part of one body with! So you go to the representative of the people to ask forgiveness as well…the priest.

Also, because it is a sacrament…you get soooo much more than forgiveness! You receive grace to be more spiritually strong, you recieve counciling, you receive the blessing and prayers of the church, you are forgiven and welcomed back by the “intermediary” of the churches people. Like I said before…when you meet a good catholic…look at what has helped them. Mother teresa, st. francis of assis (perhaps your catholic friend)…they went to confession frequently. IT HELPS! Christ knew what He was doing!

Now you say that you FEEL better when you confess to God. Well…keep in mind we are talking about an act of the will here…not feelings. You will have no doubts about where your will lies when you put your trust in God and come to His representative and open your heart to a complete “sinner” stranger and ask for help not knowing what this stranger can give you …relying only on God working in Him.

God bless

 

[MichaelHowling]

Good point po18

As I said kibblers: look at the saints…they all used confession frequently. Look to the ones who take the medicine to see evidience if the hospital knows what they’re doing…not to the sick who refuse it.

A good majority of catholics don’t use confession. If you do come to the church… I’m sorry to say that you very well may see …a bit of a MESS!

That does not mean the catholic church isin’t what christ gave for the salvation of men…it just means that people aren’t properly using what He gave.

 

[cheezey]

Good point po18

As I said kibblers: look at the saints…they all used confession frequently. Look to the ones who take the medicine to see evidience if the hospital knows what they’re doing…not to the sick who refuse it.

A good majority of catholics don’t use confession. If you do come to the church… I’m sorry to say that you very well may see …a bit of a MESS!

That does not mean the catholic church isin’t what christ gave for the salvation of men…it just means that people aren’t properly using what He gave.

 

[kibblerz]

Thanks for the info guys, I am really starting to think about becoming catholic now there is just too much missing in protestant religions, my mom feels the same way when it comes to not enough Jesus in her life ^^ of course she isn’t a fan of the catholic church, I’m surprised how many legit reasons you guys actually had thanks alot