How did some protestants tried to convert you?

[Iheartcoffee]

I haven’t had outright attempts to convert, but rather, attempts to show me that something I believe isn’t true. I let it roll right off. Usually they mean well even though they are misinformed. I actually try to get people to take their arguments to these message boards because I think that will allow them to see many of Catholic Answers’ articles on the topics they want to discuss.

 

[Stillsosola]

Jehovahs witnessses with thier watchtower books and telling me Jesus wasnt divine that he is just a messenger and calling him thier brother

Protestants since I used to live in Florida alot of Chick tracts were given to me, I was asked if I was saved my granny lent me the left behind series which I found to be ill written

Here in mexico a pentecostal group lives near my home and they are always arguing with me at my door about spiritual warfare idolatry and such

But something I find very rewarding is they dont realize that I went to a protestant school for 3 yrs and had to memorize scripture for bible class so I can blast thier socks of quoting scripture something they claim catholics cant do since according to them we are not allowed to read our bibles

 

[Linusthe2nd]

What do some of them did? One thing I remember is that one denomination brought pamphlets and comics about Revelation.

The only approach ever made was an invitation to " fellowship. " I think that is a big thing in Protestantism, it is also a " hook " to make people feel so loved that it would make them feel guilty if they didn’t take the bate hook, line, and sinker. Emotion is a huge element in Protestantism.

Linus2nd

 

[powerofk]

Jehovahs witnessses with thier watchtower books and telling me Jesus wasnt divine that he is just a messenger and calling him thier brother

Protestants since I used to live in Florida alot of Chick tracts were given to me, I was asked if I was saved my granny lent me the left behind series which I found to be ill written

Here in mexico a pentecostal group lives near my home and they are always arguing with me at my door about spiritual warfare idolatry and such

But something I find very rewarding is they dont realize that I went to a protestant school for 3 yrs and had to memorize scripture for bible class so I can blast thier socks of quoting scripture something they claim catholics cant do since according to them we are not allowed to read our bibles

Hah! That’s why we need to read our Bibles. Oddly enough, we Catholics that attend church on a regular basis actually know the Bible BETTER than most Protestants! Sure, we might not know chapters and verses, but we understand the entirety of the scriptures better because we hear them as extended passages that (at least with the 2nd reading and Gospel during Ordinary Time) continue on generally from where they left off the previous week. This allows us to actually understand what the scriptures are saying as a whole instead of taking chapters and verses out of context. What hits us hard is when Protestants, assuming we don’t know our Bible (as it was the Catholic Church that decided on the canonocity of the books in the New Testament in the first place), hammer us with chapters and verses taken out of context.

 

[Kliska]

The only approach ever made was an invitation to " fellowship. " I think that is a big thing in Protestantism, it is also a " hook " to make people feel so loved that it would make them feel guilty if they didn’t take the bate hook, line, and sinker. Emotion is a huge element in Protestantism.

Linus2nd

This is a bit confusing; is it a bad thing to ask someone to fellowship with them? There’s a RC friend of my family who invites us to go to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve with her family… is that also to be seen as a hook?

 

[SecretaryMonday]

In my mother’s case, an acquaintance handed her the first volume of the Left Behind series, saying that it would change her life.

She handed it back a little later, saying that:

1. the idea of God taking people up that way and leaving their clothes was silly, and the God she believed in wasn’t silly
2. as a literature professor, the book was very poorly written.

End of conversion attempt. She’s awesome that way.

Has she read Right Behind and the sequel Supergeddon by Nate Wilson?

Also, if you look at the verses that mention some being “taken” and others “left,” I think “taken” usually means destroyed…if you get left behind, that’s a good thing.

 

[JonNC]

Originally **Posted by Linusthe2nd **
The only approach ever made was an invitation to " fellowship. " I think that is a big thing in Protestantism, it is also a " hook " to make people feel so loved that it would make them feel guilty if they didn’t take the bate hook, line, and sinker. Linus2nd

Linus,
You make it sound so conspiratorial. Fellowship can mean different things in different communions. One cannot make blanket statements about “Protestantism” because it is not an actually entity.

Emotion is a huge element in Protestantism.

Again, depends on what you mean. I find myself choked up a bit every year during our All Saints Sunday worship, remembering loved ones. If you visited a Lutheran worship (mass), however, you would find it strikingly similar to Catholic mass, and not the kind of raucous “praise the Lord” type service of the Nazarenes, for example.

This is a bit confusing; is it a bad thing to ask someone to fellowship with them? There’s a RC friend of my family who invites us to go to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve with her family… is that also to be seen as a hook?

Fellowship has different meaning in different communions. If by fellowship one means a worship service, I would not regularly attend worship at another communion’s church, though I might attend once.

Jon

 

[horselvr]

Well, I find it a great opportunity when a non-Catholic knocks on my door to tell me “their truths” about Catholicism. I have had Baptists, Anglicans, Mormons, Non-Denom’s, Evangelical Fundamentalist------quite the steady stream at my door. They all tell me Catholicism is of the devil and that I am doomed and that basically I need to save myself, from myself and the Catholic Church and that their church is the true church. Yada yada.

They just can’t resist when they see St Francis out by the pasture fence. I actually enjoy the conversations. and as long as they are respectful, so am I.

 

[dronald]

They “all” do this? I just have a hard time believing that all Baptists, Anglicans and Evangelicals tell you Catholicism is from the devil.

 

[Reuben_J]

Linus,
You make it sound so conspiratorial. Fellowship can mean different things in different communions. One cannot make blanket statements about “Protestantism” because it is not an actually entity.

Jon

Hi Jon. Linus is right in some cases though I agree with you that the definition of fellowship does vary according to different communions, as you said.

Actually all ‘fellowship’, if they are for the purpose of gathering people together and especially if ‘others’ are included, they are for the purpose of evangelization, one way or the other, subtle or candid.

Catholics like Linus and that included me, I mean as long as you live in a multi- Christian denominations country, are often the targets of such fellowship. Of course the targets are by no means Catholics only.

The more aggressive brand of Christians do use this to recruit members and it seldom covertly. You will get follow-up and phone calls. When I was a raw young man then I often came for such fellowship on invitation from friends or words that were passed around.

I don’t think it is really a bad thing though. In our hearts, whether one is Protestant or Catholic, we do desire that people come to the faith that we have, Probably what is discussed here is on how discreet is the approach or do Christians really have to evangelize Christians of different denominations.

 

[horselvr]

dronald: I really hope you are not trying to imply that I am lying. I would hate to think that. I am stating that ANY protestant that comes to my door is not there to play tiddly winks. No, they are at my door to try to plant untruths within me about Catholicism and to use their pamphlets as their weapon.

Again, it is a great opportunity for dialog and I am very cordial as long as they are----much as I am here with you.

 

[laircy]

I was in public with some friends and these Protestants came up, talking about Jesus. I mean, there was nothing I really disagreed with that they were saying, except a little bit too much emphasis on faith and anti-works. I said faith without works is dead. They said yes, the works are a result of faith. Well yeah, I agreed then. Somehow they didn’t get the message that I wasn’t some heathen and they made me repeat after them a sinner’s prayer. They gave me a booklet with the Gospel of John in it and a little preface on basic things. And a line for writing the date I “got saved” on (lol). A few minutes after they finally left, someone else from their group came up to us. I told the girl I was Catholic and she said she went to a mass once, “Isn’t it a little… boring?” That was her best argument. No it’s not, I said, once you understand it. I think she may have been a little ignorant of Catholicism, self-admittedly, but not against it. She didn’t talk with us as long.

 

[horselvr]

Too bad I wasn’t in the lunch line. LOL

 

[Church_Militant]

What do some of them do? One thing I remember is that one denomination brought pamphlets and comics about Revelation.

You can read about a life changing D) effort by one guy by reading My Testimony.

I wonder what Protestants would say if we reversed the question? I’ve never had a Catholic approach me to talk about Jesus.

Is there a Catholic rule or reason to this that I’m not aware of or maybe it’s just my location?

We just generally don’t play that way, though that does not apply to yours truly because I will talk with anyone at any time about Our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ. I suppose I come by it naturally, having both Irish and Polish ancestors means I’m Catholic in my DNA and having been away from the faith for 35 or so years and been deeply involved in both the Southern Baptist and Assembly of God, I know all about their evangelism. Now when they approach me they open themselves up for serious counter evangelism.

I keep a good selection of Catholic Tracts of several kinds with me when I go out and share the faith with anyone who even remotely opens the door for it.

Examples of the tracts I use are at the following links.
God’s Love for You
Top Ten Questions Catholics are Asked
Questions Catholics Are Asked: Are You Saved?

Too bad I wasn’t in the lunch line. LOL

O man, you and me both! It would have been on like Donkey Kong! They’d have very shortly decided that they urgently needed to be somewhere else. That other girl would have been invited to sit with my wife and I at Mass and I’d even loan her my copy of Dr. Edward Sri’s awesome book A Biblical Walk Through the Mass
I ain’t scared…

 

[Adamski]

What do some of them do? One thing I remember is that one denomination brought pamphlets and comics about Revelation.

I find the most common way is talking about what we agree on and then saying well we both love jesus and we have this great stuff going on at my evangelical church why don’t you come to our bible study

 

[horselvr]

I always counter that with sure—but first come to Mass with me.

They don’t know how to answer this shocking invitation without just coming out and saying, “I would’nt be caught dead”. Of course they never say this but they will stammer a lot (at least those I have come in contact with). I will tell you though the expression on their face is worth this exchange and I always maintain eye contact with them so they know the invitation is sincere.

There was only one preacher that came close to meeting his maker with me and that was the preacher down the road at the “Tell it to Jesus Church”. His granson and my son (age 9)went to school together and he decided to take the boys to lunch without my permission. At lunch he and his grandson proceeded to tell him that he was going to hell and that I as a single Mom needed a man to bring me to the correct church because Catholics worship Mary, Saints blah, blah. He also told my son that he was going to baptise him in his protestant church to save him from his Mother (me) and the Catholic Church and hell.

Oh yea, Katy Bar the Door. I don’t think he will ever forget me and the education he got on Catholicism.

 

[SecretaryMonday]

There was only one preacher that came close to meeting his maker with me and that was the preacher down the road at the “Tell it to Jesus Church”. His granson and my son (age 9)went to school together and he decided to take the boys to lunch without my permission. …

How scary! You must have been so upset…and MAD…

 

[horselvr]

Yes, I was quite upset when my son told me because first this preacher was trying to invoke distrust between me and my child and to shake his confidence in me to make the sound decisions in his life and he also was planting a seed of disharmony between my son and his love of the Catholic Church and all she upholds in her teachings.

I had to do some real praying and asking the Holy Spirit to guard my words when confronting this preacher because those two seeds he was trying to plant were extremely dangerous.

 

[dronald]

dronald: I really hope you are not trying to imply that I am lying. I would hate to think that. I am stating that ANY protestant that comes to my door is not there to play tiddly winks. No, they are at my door to try to plant untruths within me about Catholicism and to use their pamphlets as their weapon.

Again, it is a great opportunity for dialog and I am very cordial as long as they are----much as I am here with you.

This is a lot different than saying any Anglican that speaks to you says Catholicism is from the devil. I’m not calling you a liar, I’m saying that this is extremely hard to imagine.

 

[dronald]

I always counter that with sure—but first come to Mass with me.

I wish this would happen to me. I would be far more comfortable when I go to Mass.