Have you explored other religions?

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tqualey said:
Hi, Dontknow,

You certainly have a curious position for one who claims to be a Catholic.

Sorry, to hear that - it sounds like you are no longer a member of the Catholic Church! And, yes, I am serious. Ultimately we all will be judged on how we respond to Faith God has given to us (for some interesting reading, try the 25th Chapter of Matthew’s Gospel).

Let me demonstrate how this plays out in the ‘real’ world…

You either BELIEVE that Christ is the Son of God - or you don’t

You either BELIEVE that Christ has the Power and Authority of God - or you don’t

You either BELIEVE that Christ founded His Church on Peter (Matt 16:18) - or you don’t

You either BELIEVE that Christ’s Holy Spirit gave His Power to the Catholic Church as recorded in Acts 2 - or you don’t

You either BELIEVE that Christ’s Church (and, that would be the Catholic Church) is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic - or you don’t - and finally…

You either BELIEVE that Christ can neither deceive or be deceived and in setting up the Catholic Church as He did He has established The Way you are to come to Him - or you don’t

… and if ther is anything here listed that you do not believe … you are not a Catholic and will need to find some place that you can believe in - and have a really good story prepared for when you meet Christ as ***your ***Divine Judge to say why you did not believe what He has said.

Honest, that is the way it is going down - and, you can BELIEVE that! 👍

God bless
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*You have stated the truth. It is bold and strong. But this is how it is. There can be no compromise regarding truth - Faith is NOT a matter of opinion. The truth is the truth.

Who said it was easy to be Catholic?!!

Cinette:):love:*
 
dontknow said:
If it would make it better for you than just ignore that piece of my profile then. You can define me anyway you’d prefer I guess - really has no impact on me.

I find it impossible to call everyone else’s Christian based Faith wrong and ours the only one that is correct - sorry.
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*You are a relativist my friend and that is a big problem…for you!

You cannot say that people with different beliefs that contradict one another, are all right! Apply some logic and reason and you will see that what you say is wrong!

You are comparing the Church Jesus founded with denominations that arose out of a church founded by a rebel of the Catholic Church. Are you serious? Do you really believe that all different Christian churches are right just because they call them Christians and believe in Jesus? What is the point in believing in Jesus if you do not believe in his teaching (the correct interpretation of his teaching)??

Cinette:):love:*
 
FaithG said:
Doesn’t anyone else here just get worn to the bone listening to people argue the same points over and over? Let’s just face the fact that people have different belief systems, and we don’t have to convince everyone that our own way is right. To consider yourself right and everyone else wrong is exceedingly narrowminded – and besides, you’re not going to win converts that way anyhow!
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*Sometimes I do get “worn to the bone” repeating myself but then I realise that I am repeating myself to different people. You can explain some truth a thousand times and then someone will pop up and ask the question.

I was away from the CC for 27 years and I understand what it is to be a Catholic ignorant of the Faith. Its like when you see a person standing at the edge of a precipice - do you tell him to take a step forward? You will explain the consequences of course!

Yes we do have “to convince everyone that our “own” way is right” especially if it is the truth! You would be surprised about winning converts. During my journey back to the Church there were things people said to me that STUCK and I would ponder them…

No my friend you are dead wrong! I appreciate these forums because we are anonymous and can state the truth without reserve. Why are you on these forums? Are you not looking for answers? Or are you here to contest answers?

Cinette:):love:*
 
FaithG said:
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I may remind our dogmatic Catholic brothers that the Catholic church itself says, in the catechism, that the church must be “all things to all people”. Catholic tradition is supposed to adapt to the native culture of an area as much as feasibly possible without adulterating core principles. (Yes, I have read the catechism, even though I’m not Catholic. I enjoy exploring other points of view, but even though I probably agree with 80-90% of it, that last 10% keeps me where I am.)

*One can teach the truth and respect the culture - this is called enculturation. To be “all things to all people” doesn’t mean we need to wear different hats “Mormon” “JW” “Hindu” etc etc. Think about it!

Cinette:):love:*
…
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tqualey said:
Hi, CMatt25,

And just how do you see it? i am really not sure I caught the difference you were making 😃

God bless
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Perhaps because there might not be a great difference in how we arrive at our faith beliefs Tom when we admit we all see it as we see it. 👍
 
FaithG said:
… (Yes, I have read the catechism, even though I’m not Catholic. I enjoy exploring other points of view, but even though I probably agree with 80-90% of it, that last 10% keeps me where I am.)

*I’m back! Answering your post in bits and pieces! I was torn away by my husband calling me for morning Mass "Its late - c’mon we have to go!!..

Then on our way back I thought about what you said about the 10% and it reminded me of my husband’s journey. He had been attending Sunday Mass for about 9 years when a fellow parishioner approached him one day and asked him why he didn’t convert (I thought that would never happen). Shortly after that the Parish Priest organised for another Parishioner (university lecturer) to take care of 3 potential converts - the other two were received into the Church the following Easter and my husband stayed back. When asked why he responded "I cannot answer truthfully that I believe all that the Catholic Church teaches (that is one of the questions asked at the ceremony). The Parishioner who had first approached my husband said “But if you believe 70% that is enough - what you need to do is step out in Faith” It took another two years and my husband was received into the Church. He had no further problem with the 30%!!!

And you only have 10%!!!:D*
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CMatt25 said:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (Jn 3:16)
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*Hey Matt this is a typical example of something quoted out of context. I was not contesting that there is no point believing in Christ!!! Did you not see the part where I added "…if you don’t believe his teachings…!!
 
I have been a Catholic for most of my life, and I have been looking at JW’s and trust me its NOT like they say on this website. Go there and Make Up Your Own Mind. Do what I am doing and go to their meetings, ask questions, have a regular discussion with them, and then make up your own mind afterwards. Its all free.

Advantages of being one of Jehovah’s Witnesses

They use the name of God, Jehovah. (Its in the catholic encyclopedia)

The world has a very high divorce rate, about 50-70% of marriages break up. Jehovah’s Witnesses are also affected with this problem, but to a much smaller degree not quite gone, but heavily reduced

Other religions are killing each others in wars, and they are often racial based wars.

Jehovah’s Witnesses do not have racial problems. It has been eliminated

They operate in 236 countries peacefully

Prove it. Attend any large convention

They follow the moral laws of God’s Word. Homosexuals: Lesbians: People living together not married: Teenagers just going from one to the next: Sexual diseases and AIDS (Aids is killing off nearly entire countries, such as in Africa): Unwanted pregnancies: Abortions are killing millions

Jehovah’s Witness have avoided nearly all of this.

Other churches support war. Churches are still supporting the killing of people of their own faith! (Ex: Catholics killing Catholics)

Jehovah’s Witnesses have nothing to do with wars of any kind. They do not go to fight, and they love to be peaceable. We refuse military service worldwide

Abusive language, and dirty speech is common. So called ‘Christians’ use this kind of language. Even ‘ministers’ of various religions speak this way. So called ‘Christians’ tell dirty jokes and swear

Jehovah’s Witnesses have nearly but eliminated this kind of filthy talk. The Bible speaks about ‘clean speech.’

Addictive Drugs are used by persons all over the world. Even so called ‘Christians’ use mind altering drugs. This may include alcohol. Look at the state of young people today. Drugs, alcohol are destroying millions of lives

Jehovah’s Witnesses have nearly eliminated these problems

Violence in the home and family is causing huge amount of damage to families. Wife bashing is common. Domestic Violence is so common that governments are trying their best to control it.

Jehovah’s Witnesses do not have this as a big problem, and once again have nearly eliminated this problem. If this was to occur, then strong action is taken to correct it fast.

Young people have no hope. Suicide is the answer for young ones. In some countries, suicide is a huge problem, and thousands of teenagers are taking their own lives.

Jehovah’s Witnesses do not have this as a problem. Their young ones have a bright future, and the Organisation offers them plenty of help

Teenage rebellion is common everywhere. Look at their clothing, and speech. Many are disrespectful to adults, and refuse to follow the counsel from the parents. These days, teenagers often swear at their own parents

Jehovah’s Witnesses handle this. Although being a teenager is difficult at the best of times, they do not have this as a huge problem. JW teenagers show proper respect towards their parents. They usually don’t use dirty filthy speech.

Look at some of the False Teaching! Example: Hellfire: Would a loving God and heavenly father burn his children forever and ever in a flaming eternal torment? No

They have never supported false teachings like this. It is not in the Bible. They follow the Bible! They actively and openly expose these lies

Smoking is killing millions of people earth wide. Governments have introduced laws in some countries to try and control this problem. Cancer is a killer in most cases

Jehovah’s Witnesses published about hundreds of articles over several decades about this problem. They introduced a recommendation that any person wishing to get baptised, be free of this filthy habit. Thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses stopped smoking many decades ago and its no longer a problem

So called ‘Christians’ vote for man’s political governments. They say: ‘Thy kingdom come’ and in the next breath, they go and vote for man instead, and shun the Almighty God. They compromise their own faith in God

Jehovah’s Witnesses remain true to their loyalty to Jehovah God. They really mean it when they say ‘Thy Kingdom come.’ Remember that Jesus Christ himself was politically neutral, and his apostles were also neutral

Most people support worldly holidays such as Christmas etc…Are these holidays Biblically supported? No, they are not in the Bible

Jehovah’s Witnesses do not follow these false teachings. Look at the history of Christmas. Go to your local library. It is not a Christian celebration, and in fact was observed by ‘pagans’ prior to the birth of Jesus Christ! It is not a Bible teaching.

It’s a fact that most religions do not have Earth wide unity. Ideas vary from one city to another.

Jehovah’s Witnesses are part of an Earth wide family. We have the same Bible truth Earth wide and are totally united.

Jehovah’s Witnesses are loved by millions of people. They are also hated by some.

Jesus Christ himself said that ‘you will be objects of hatred on account of my name’

Jehovah’s Witnesses expect that people will not always like the message, and the public preaching and door to door ministry does upset some people

They follow the directive in Matthew 24:14: ‘This good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the nations, and then the end will come.’ It is good news, because Jehovah God has promised to remove and destroy the wicked

Hope that helped, and I am about to leave this church. Its not following the scriptures, and neither are most of the hundreds of millions of its followers.

I do respect of course that there are lots of good Catholics that are none the wiser, and are most sincere, but sincerity does not make it right.

BibleLoyal
 
bibleloyal said:
I have been a Catholic for most of my life, and I have been looking at JW’s and trust me its NOT like they say on this website. Go there and Make Up Your Own Mind. Do what I am doing and go to their meetings, ask questions, have a regular discussion with them, and then make up your own mind afterwards. Its all free.
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I had some good JW friends. We used to argue scripture-but in good-natured fashion. I was impressed enough with them and with the kinds of things you list as their advantages that I attended some Kingdom Hall meetings and seriously studied their material on a few specific subjects. This was years before re-entering the Catholic Church.

I was actually surprised to find how shallow some of their “reasoning from scripture” ended up being- I had really expected something more substantial and just plain truthful. Anyway, I couldn’t in good conscience remain there although I continued to admire certain aspects of their lives including their fellowship and commitment to witnessing to their faith, even if I couldn’t agree with it.
 
“I was actually surprised to find how shallow some of their “reasoning from scripture” ended up being- I had really expected something more substantial and just plain truthful. Anyway, I couldn’t in good conscience remain there although I continued to admire certain aspects of their lives including their fellowship and commitment to witnessing to their faith, even if I couldn’t agree with it.”

There is absolutely no question that cannot be answered by Jehovah’s Witnesses. I have found that they are highly detailed in their answers if you really want the answers.

You were not serious enough to get the answers, and it sounds like even if you got them, you would not have wanted to hear it? I dont know that, but if you were serious you would have got the answers and pushed for them, like I have done and very well too

Many people just choose a nice and comfy religion in the end, because it is so much easier to be a Catholic.

As opposed to being one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, it means getting up on a Sunday Morning and going out in the door to door work (like Jesus and the Apostles and early disciples) or Saturday or during the week, or all three! It means voluntary giving of time in the door to door preaching, and when push comes to shove with some people, it really is so much easier to change to another religion where that is not required.

Point is what would Jehovah God say about that? Or doesnt he matter?

Matthew 24:14: “Good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited Earth till the end” and the apostles and disciples did this door to door as the book of Acts explains.

Get serious and go back and get it sorted out.

BibleLoyal
 
Cinette said:
*You are a relativist my friend and that is a big problem…for you!

You cannot say that people with different beliefs that contradict one another, are all right! Apply some logic and reason and you will see that what you say is wrong!

You are comparing the Church Jesus founded with denominations that arose out of a church founded by a rebel of the Catholic Church. Are you serious? Do you really believe that all different Christian churches are right just because they call them Christians and believe in Jesus? What is the point in believing in Jesus if you do not believe in his teaching (the correct interpretation of his teaching)??

Cinette:):love:*
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Actually… All I was doing was merely originally responding to the original question of the post until additional questions came up.

My spiritual direction and conversations take place with my Pastor, Deacon, Sister, & attending priests. Fortunately when I converse with them, they are much better at discussing then they are at trying to tell me/people they are wrong - this or that, etc…

Granted, these types of questions have always and will continue to stir debate and questions. If not - everyone would believe the same thing and then there would be no reason for this.

I personally would find it hard telling a wonderful Rabbi he is wrong. And, please before anyone posts all the reasons they find the Jewish Religion wrong - save the server space on CAF and send your reasons to all the Rabbi’s instead where you think the problem is.

Peace
 
dontknow said:
Actually… All I was doing was merely originally responding to the original question of the post until additional questions came up.You should make sure that your responses make sense!

My spiritual direction and conversations take place with my Pastor, Deacon, Sister, & attending priests. Fortunately when I converse with them, they are much better at discussing then they are at trying to tell me/people they are wrong - this or that, etc…Ask them if Sola Scriptura is right. Ask them if Sola Fida is right. Ask them if they believe in consubstantiation is and why. Ask them if the Pope is the AntiChrist. Ask if the Catholic Church is the Whore of Babylon. I bet they will tell you that all these things are wrong and are lies. You will never hear the Catholic Church tell lies about other religions. Yes they will tell you they are wrong but that is because it is true.

Granted, these types of questions have always and will continue to stir debate and questions. If not - everyone would believe the same thing and then there would be no reason for this.We should all believe the same things - Jesus said that one day there will be "one Shepherd and one flock!

I personally would find it hard telling a wonderful Rabbi he is wrong. And, please before anyone posts all the reasons they find the Jewish Religion wrong - save the server space on CAF and send your reasons to all the Rabbi’s instead where you think the problem is.

Peace
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*I would never tell a Rabbi that the Jewish religion is wrong. No our Faith is based on the Jewish Faith - it is the fulfillment of the Jewish religion. Pity that they did not recognise Jesus as the Messiah which, as a Christian Catholic, you should believe. The Jews were wrong to reject Jesus yes. The Mass is also based on the Passover celebration. We recognise the OT, they reject the NT - we have both.

Cinette:):love:
 
You should make sure that your responses make sense!

Sorry - I’ll try to do better next time.
 
Cinette said:
  • Pity that they did not recognise Jesus as the Messiah which, as a Christian Catholic, you should believe. The Jews were wrong to reject Jesus yes. The Mass is also based on the Passover celebration. We recognise the OT, they reject the NT - we have both.
Cinette:):love:
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If they are not Christian Catholic - for the record - you’re saying they are wrong.
 
I don’t think we need to, Our holy father is a much more learned and holy man than myself, and that he knows very much about the faith that I do not , and therefore, I think we should listen to his teachings and not investigate anything outside the church.
 
Cinette said:
*Don’t you think that the Jews were wrong about Jesus?

:)*
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Just because I disagree with them does not make them wrong and Catholics correct.

My mind just does not work that way - I’m sorry but it doesn’t.

To make a comparison (not nearly as important in the terms of faith) but because I drive a foreign car in the USA and completely and totally refuse to purchase an American Made car doesn’t make me wrong or right - it just is.

This will be my last post on this but thanks for conversing with me.
 
Hi, Bibleloyal,

Sorry to hear that you have become an apostate… you are quite right, when you say that sincerity does not make it right. People can be sincerely deceived. I will add you to my prayer list.

Now, let me see if I have this right…

JW’s live good and healthy lives, do not encourage or act in war, support the family, and do good works for the less fortunate. Great! Truly more such activity is needed through out the world. 🙂

But they do not believe we have an immortal soul - so all of those biblical statements about the Saints in Heaven and those who have soaked their robes in the Blood of the Lamb mean nothing.

But, you do not believe Christ when He says that He and the Father are One and then talks about the Holy Spirity as a distinct Person.

But, there there are this revelations in 1914 and predictions of the Second Coming and the Great Disappointment and a list of things where deceiving the innocent and possibly defrauding others seems to tarnish the clean living image.

I would recommend that you do some serious praying about what it is you are thinking of doing - if you have not done so already. It sounds to me like you have not only entered into the traditions of men, but have come to believe that God has made all of these obvious mis-statements in the inerrant Bible (which you received from the Catholic Church in about 400AD).

Actually, I think there is a CAF site where former JWs can talk to one another. While I can not give you the ins-and-outs of it - they certainly can. Botton line: I sincerely believe you are leaving the Church founded by Jesus Christ on Peter - and Christ never came back and said, “You are no longer in charge, Peter!” after Peter denied Christ.

God bless
bibleloyal said:
I have been a Catholic for most of my life, and I have been looking at JW’s and trust me its NOT like they say on this website. Go there and Make Up Your Own Mind. Do what I am doing and go to their meetings, ask questions, have a regular discussion with them, and then make up your own mind afterwards. Its all free.

Advantages of being one of Jehovah’s Witnesses

They use the name of God, Jehovah. (Its in the catholic encyclopedia)

The world has a very high divorce rate, about 50-70% of marriages break up. Jehovah’s Witnesses are also affected with this problem, but to a much smaller degree not quite gone, but heavily reduced

Other religions are killing each others in wars, and they are often racial based wars.

Jehovah’s Witnesses do not have racial problems. It has been eliminated

They operate in 236 countries peacefully

Prove it. Attend any large convention

They follow the moral laws of God’s Word. Homosexuals: Lesbians: People living together not married: Teenagers just going from one to the next: Sexual diseases and AIDS (Aids is killing off nearly entire countries, such as in Africa): Unwanted pregnancies: Abortions are killing millions

Jehovah’s Witness have avoided nearly all of this.

Other churches support war. Churches are still supporting the killing of people of their own faith! (Ex: Catholics killing Catholics)

Etc., etc, etc.
I do respect of course that there are lots of good Catholics that are none the wiser, and are most sincere, but sincerity does not make it right.

BibleLoyal
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