Former SDA Thinking of converting to Catholic

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tabbytru

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Hello. I was born and raised Seventh Day Adventist even attended SDA Academy. I started having doubts about my beliefs for a few years now and, have stopped attending the church, since then i have attended a few different churches trying to find the right one.

I have been having a problem with them because they all believe differently and even they have varying beliefs with in there own denominations.

I have always been afraid of the Catholic Church because of the Adventist beliefs that the Pope is the Anti Christ and all of the stories about them . But i have been searching for the true church, so i started looking into who started the churches that we have today and they all of course came out of the Catholic church.

I then wondered who started the Catholic Church. I found that it came out of Jesus’s ministry. I found Catholic answers and it has helped me to debunk some of my concerns about the church from being SDA . I have recently called my local Catholic Church to ask about learning more about the faith.

I admit that i am abit scared because i do have the SDA church beliefs in my head but I no longer believe most of them. I am very nervous about this step that i am taking but yet I hope that i will finally find the true church to belong to 🙂
 
Hi, tabbytru. I’m also a convert, and traveled a road similar to what you have described (but, coming from SDA, your road was far longer and steeper than mine - heck, I was Anglican).

You are always welcome here to raise any questions or concerns.

FWIW, we don’t get many SDA’s here. I’ve been around for a while, and I don’t recall anybody who identified as having an SDA background.

Welcome to the Forum (and, hopefully one day, to the Church).
 
Good evening!

I am a lifelong Catholic, but I’m married to a convert. She was nervous, just as you are; but thanks to a magnificent priest, all of her questions were answered and she’s even a cantor for two masses every Sunday!

My advice to you is; locate a Catholic priest… set up an appointment to talk with him… and ask your questions. He will be able to guide you and will have the answers you need.

God bless you on your journey!
 
I was never an SDA but was harmed by them and their belief system.

Two of my friends joined when they were stumped into believing the Church altered Christ’s teaching as well as many other things. It is very hard to dialogue with a SDA because they have reduced Christian faith to text form of Sacred Scripture when in fact it took many people many years to bring us the Bible through the Church, who painstakingly worked to insure that we receive in the Word is truly of God and meant for all people.

The restorationist movement is primarily American coming out of the 1800’s. They can never tell you exactly when and where the Church began to fall away.

Pray out the Holy Name of Jesus, and ask to be delivered from any sense of guilt in regards to the direction you are now taking to the only Church instituted by Christ and established 2000 years ago.

We are to grow in understanding of our faith. The Church is as a mother who guides and nurtures us to Christ, but is not an end in herself. On the contrary to SDA ideas about Catholicism, it has been so easy for us to love our priests and put them on pedestals. The reality is that all of us are sinners, but what is important is that we always return to Christ’s mercy, learn from our mistakes and sins, and to keep enduring in the Lord, trusting in His strength and mercy.

I will pray for you this evening…

If there was one phrase Christ said over and over again, it was ‘do not be afraid!’

Be in peace, know the Lord surrounds you with His love and He will guide you.
 
Seraphim73 said:
Stories?
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Yes stories. Many SDAs have been raised with untrue ideas about the Catholic church. (They don’t seem too aware of Orthodoxy at all). Things like ‘whore of Babylon, and the Great Beast’.

A lot of it comes from Ellen White’s book the Great Controversy which is filled with exagerations and mistruths about the Catholic church.

I really feel bad for the OP, she has been raised with these stories and likely going through a lot of mental conflict now.

:grouphug::hug1:
 
Soon after becoming Catholic I naively attended an end of times lecture in a new community I had moved to. I didn’t realize it was being put on by a local SDA church. It lasted 4 days. By the end of day 2 the anti-catholic anti-pope themes came out.
Don’t get me wrong they were very nice people.
They just think the Catholic church is the Whore of Babylon!
There is a good book recommended to those who want to learn about the Catholic church called Catholicism for Dummies.
I am not being rude-that is the title.
You can also read the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
As someone else suggested you can contact a local Catholic church and possibly attend an RCIA class.
 
Hi Tabby,

I have, over the last 15 years or so encountered a number of folks who have held much the same ideas as you have been taught and in many cases have answered their issues.

You are welcome here and you have certainly come to a good place to get the answers you are seeking. I promise…we don’t bite, though we may sometimes bark a bit. 😃

I’m going to link you to a number of Catholic articles that respond with facts to some of the stuff you have been taught.

Let’s start with Sunday worship…
In general then, I can suggest,
Though Jack Chick is not SDA, that article covers a lot of the same or similar allegations.

Then we can look at …
There’s a lot more that are available at this link.

Feel free to PM me if this doesn’t answer your issues or you have any other questions.

We’re all here to help anyone who really wants the facts.🙂
God bless you.
 
Thank you everyone for your help, I have grown up being scared of the Catholic Church because of being told that the pope is the anti Christ and that the Catholic church is going to prosecute us and we would have to go into hiding.

I have been taught that under the pope’s hat that he wares is the number 666 that the pope is against god and speaks blasphemes him based on revelation.

I have been told that the knights of Columbus and the Jesuit priests and trained as an army to kill all those who will not follow the future Sunday law.

I have called my local catholic church and the classes will start in September. But honestly from what i have been told about Catholics i am a little scared of them.

I have started to learn a little and was glad to find out that the catholic church does not worship idols or Mary or the pope. That is just some that i have heard.

When it comes to the sunday vrs. saturday i have spent two years dealing with that issue but i am finally good with sunday i was very worried about saturday not being the sabbath . but i have studied it and have finally realized that the bible does say sunday now
 
“Be Not Afraid.” I will keep you in my prayers. We are your friends here, and only want the best for you Tabby.
 
tabbytru said:
Thank you everyone for your help, I have grown up being scared of the Catholic Church because of being told that the pope is the anti Christ and that the Catholic church is going to prosecute us and we would have to go into hiding.

I have been taught that under the pope’s hat that he wares is the number 666 that the pope is against god and speaks blasphemes him based on revelation.

I have been told that the knights of Columbus and the Jesuit priests and trained as an army to kill all those who will not follow the future Sunday law.

I have called my local catholic church and the classes will start in September. But honestly from what i have been told about Catholics i am a little scared of them.

I have started to learn a little and was glad to find out that the catholic church does not worship idols or Mary or the pope. That is just some that i have heard.

When it comes to the sunday vrs. saturday i have spent two years dealing with that issue but i am finally good with sunday i was very worried about saturday not being the sabbath . but i have studied it and have finally realized that the bible does say sunday now
Click to expand...
Isn’t it interesting that people have to LIE about the Catholic Church?
I think you’re finding that out now, but seriously consider the implications. Not only about whether to trust anything else they’ve said, but also considering Christ’s warnings:

Joh 15:18 "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also.
21 But all this they will do to you on my account, because they do not know him who sent me.
 
tabbytru said:
Thank you everyone for your help, I have grown up being scared of the Catholic Church because of being told that the pope is the anti Christ and that the Catholic church is going to prosecute us and we would have to go into hiding.

I have been taught that under the pope’s hat that he wares is the number 666 that the pope is against god and speaks blasphemes him based on revelation.

I have been told that the knights of Columbus and the Jesuit priests and trained as an army to kill all those who will not follow the future Sunday law.

I have called my local catholic church and the classes will start in September. But honestly from what i have been told about Catholics i am a little scared of them.

I have started to learn a little and was glad to find out that the catholic church does not worship idols or Mary or the pope. That is just some that i have heard.

When it comes to the sunday vrs. saturday i have spent two years dealing with that issue but i am finally good with sunday i was very worried about saturday not being the sabbath . but i have studied it and have finally realized that the bible does say sunday now
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Check these out:

Catholic writer John Coffey has tried to address some of these issues in a series of lectures entitled “Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Catholic Church.” He addresses issues such as the JW attitude towards Catholicism, the historicity of the Catholic Church, the papacy, Catholics and the Bible, and the Virgin Mary… the transcript of those lectures (over 300 pages) can be downloaded from this filesharing site:

filesend.net/download.php?f=101035150a85894d56beb0577be6aa86

Coffey also wrote a response to JW doctrine, entitled The Gospel According to Jehovah’s Witnesses, written from a generic Christian viewpoint that can be downladed from here:

filesend.net/download.php?f=f9951760cfc22b2cf70dda67dbf24054
 
tabbytru said:
Thank you everyone for your help, I have grown up being scared of the Catholic Church because of being told that the pope is the anti Christ and that the Catholic church is going to prosecute us and we would have to go into hiding.

I have been taught that under the pope’s hat that he wares is the number 666 that the pope is against god and speaks blasphemes him based on revelation.
Click to expand...
Here’s another link that I think you’ll find helpful. Pope Fiction
I have been told that the knights of Columbus and the Jesuit priests and trained as an army to kill all those who will not follow the future Sunday law.
Click to expand...
I have called my local catholic church and the classes will start in September. But honestly from what i have been told about Catholics i am a little scared of them.
Click to expand...
🙂 Boy did they ever load you up with some propaganda. Be not afraid though…we have seen and heard it all before and, as a Knight of Columbus, I can assure you that our purpose is not military in any way. We serve as a charitable apostolate that helps supply various needs of widows and orphans just to name a few. The guys I serve with are some of the best cooks I’ve ever seen…so if the local parish has dinners served by us Knights, by all means go and eat. I told my wife at out first meal with them that we should have converted sooner…the Protestants never fed us that well.😃
I have started to learn a little and was glad to find out that the catholic church does not worship idols or Mary or the pope. That is just some that Ihave heard.
Click to expand...
Yeah that is more of what I have seen, heard, and dealt with.
You may find My Testimony of interest, though I was never SDA, the Mary worship thing was what really set me on the road home to my Catholic faith.
Also I have written articles on things like Iconoclasm: Or: Catholics Worship Graven Images NOT and THE PAGANIZATION OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH UNDER CONSTANTINE

Here’s another one that I feel sure you’ll be interested in. Do Catholics Read the Bible?

We’re praying for you, so stick around. We are happy to help.
 
Hi Tabby,
I would encourage you to attend a local Sunday mass just to check it out. It also helped me to call up my local parish and set up an appointment with a priest. As I left that first meeting he gave me a stack of stuff to read about Catholicism, which I devoured.

I am almost 49 years old and was just confirmed as a Catholic this past Sunday. God worked on me for a long, long time, and it sounds like He is working on your heart as well. You’ll be in my prayers. 🙂
 
betsybug354 said:
Hi Tabby,
I would encourage you to attend a local Sunday mass just to check it out. It also helped me to call up my local parish and set up an appointment with a priest. As I left that first meeting he gave me a stack of stuff to read about Catholicism, which I devoured.

I am almost 49 years old and was just confirmed as a Catholic this past Sunday. God worked on me for a long, long time, and it sounds like He is working on your heart as well. You’ll be in my prayers. 🙂
Click to expand...
Welcome to the Catholic church! Your journey is just beginning.
I was received into the Catholic Church in 2008.
I was 56. I wanted to be Catholic since I was a t
eenager. Instead I ended up being a lapsed episcopalian for
over 30 years. I wish someone could have told me years ago that you could convert! I have continued to study and learn about the faith.
There have been bumps in the road these past 6 years but I spend a lot of time at the adoration chapel.
 
Hi Tabbytru,

If people using God as a veil to hide their malice, can make up stuff like that, I hope that you come to see it as a lie…to keep you from the Church Christ instituted, and keeping you from receiving the One True Lord in Word and Sacrament.

He is truly with us. Our focus of worship is on the Holy Trinity and not on the failings of other people. We all are people of failure and sin, but we continue to remain and grow in the Lord and trust in His mercy.

I would follow the directives other here have shared with you.

As Jesus said so many times, ‘Be not afraid!’

I could bring up some experiences in re of the SDA’s but won’t…it would disturb my peace and anyone reading it…the past is past. They are in need of God’s redemption and mercy as well.
 
tabbytru said:
Thank you everyone for your help, I have grown up being scared of the Catholic Church because of being told that the pope is the anti Christ and that the Catholic church is going to prosecute us and we would have to go into hiding.
Click to expand...
We have scripture to inform us who the antichrist is: 1 John 2:22
King James Version (KJV)
22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

Now, there have been some popes who were, by all accounts, scoundrels. But, not a single one of them ever denied Christ, or that He had come in the flesh, or denied the Father and the Son. As to fear of Catholicism and persecution, Catholicism is a minority faith in the US. And, we know how minorities have been thought of and feared without reason. And, who is it that is being persecuted these days?

Bishop Sheen spoke of how to determine the true Church:
** “If I were not a Catholic, and were looking for the true Church in the world today, I would look for the one Church which did not get along well with the world; in other words, I would look for the Church which the world hated. My reason for doing this would be, that if Christ is in any one of the churches of the world today, He must still be hated as He was when He was on earth in the flesh. If you would find Christ today, then find the Church that does not get along with the world. Look for the Church that is hated by the world as Christ was hated by the world. Look for the Church that is accused of being behind the times, as our Lord was accused of being ignorant and never having learned. Look for the Church which men sneer at as socially inferior, as they sneered at Our Lord because He came from Nazareth. Look for the Church which is accused of having a devil, as Our Lord was accused of being possessed by Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils. Look for the Church which, in seasons of bigotry, men say must be destroyed in the name of God as men crucified Christ and thought they had done a service to God. Look for the Church which the world rejects because it claims it is infallible, as Pilate rejected Christ because He called Himself the Truth. Look for the Church which is rejected by the world as Our Lord was rejected by men. Look for the Church which amid the confusions of conflicting opinions, its members love as they love Christ, and respect its Voice as the very voice of its Founder, and the suspicion will grow, that if the Church is unpopular with the spirit of the world, then it is unworldly, and if it is unworldly it is other worldly. since it is other-worldly, it is infinitely loved and infinitely hated as was Christ Himself. But only that which is Divine can be infinitely hated and infinitely loved. Therefore the Church is Divine.”
**
Click to expand...
 
tabbytru said:
Thank you everyone for your help, I have grown up being scared of the Catholic Church because of being told that the pope is the anti Christ and that the Catholic church is going to prosecute us and we would have to go into hiding.

I have been taught that under the pope’s hat that he wares is the number 666 that the pope is against god and speaks blasphemes him based on revelation.

I have been told that the knights of Columbus and the Jesuit priests and trained as an army to kill all those who will not follow the future Sunday law.

I have called my local catholic church and the classes will start in September. But honestly from what i have been told about Catholics i am a little scared of them.

I have started to learn a little and was glad to find out that the catholic church does not worship idols or Mary or the pope. That is just some that i have heard.

When it comes to the sunday vrs. saturday i have spent two years dealing with that issue but i am finally good with sunday i was very worried about saturday not being the sabbath . but i have studied it and have finally realized that the bible does say sunday now
Click to expand...
I was raised in an sda kin-religion, christadelphian. But by the grace of God I am now Catholic and do see the Catholic Church as the wonder and witness and beauty that I would expect to find in the True Church. It took me twenty years of misdirections to get here Easter 2014 by the grace of God, and thanks to Catholic apologetics. I pray for all souls that they won’t have to seek God in the wrong direction that I did for so long.
 
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