How do I choose a Church?

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I don’t want to leave the Catholic Church; I guess I was just asking a hypothetical question. I have several protestant friends that have left their church for another, because that church, according to them, had strayed from what the bible teaches. The last part of my question is my main point, does one look for a church because they believe what you believe. I personally think that is a very arrogant view.
Do I belong to the Catholic Church because it believes what I believe? NO. I belong to the Catholic Church, because from what I can see in the Bible, the writings of the early church fathers, and actual human history, I see that it is the Church that Jesus established. There are some of its beliefs that I struggle with, but I submit my self to its teachings.

John 6: 67-68
Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

The apostles struggled with what Jesus had just taught in the bread of life discourse, but they knew the voice of their master, and submitted to it.

John 10: 26-27
But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

I hear the voice of my master when the Catholic Church speaks, I might struggle with it, but I am not so spiritually proud, that what ever church I attend must fit my interpretation of the Bible.

But if I did leave the Church for some reason, how would I choose a church among all those that I had listed?

I am really curious for some protestant (name removed by moderator)ut, so I could understand more why they attend the particular church they do.

Also, as for the earlier post,I am not spanish speaking (one of my short comings), I just love the clipart on that site.
 
Boy do I love loaded questions:rolleyes: …Anyway, I come from a long history of evangelical “Bible-believing” churches. They were good at preaching Scripture and doing so with passion. The people certainly are devoted to Christ and the; however, they didn’t teach Church History or examine the Holy Fathers. In a few of the churches, the amount of ignorance of the theology of Christianity was quite apparent:eek: ! I do not mean to say that this is the case among all evangelical churches, but this is the case among the ones I attended. Problems arose in almost every church with the pastors. Unfortunately, the lack of hierarchy caused splitting among the congregation. I also dealt with the classic “your intrepretaton+sincerity = your truth” when speculating about Scripture. I would suggest staying in the Roman Catholic Church. The stance there is firm and there is not much room for “individual truth.” Even my Anglican English teacher gave reasons to my Protestant classmates as to why they would want to be Roman Catholic:) . {sigh} If you must attend an evangelical church, then I suggest getting to know what they believe and teach and meet some of the parishioners:thumbsup: .

Prayers in Christ,
Alexi
 
🙂 I see the point to your question. Thanks for clearing that upp and I like that site too.
It is hard to understand what others are asking. I have a friend non-cc who wants me to explain everything to her about the cc before she can decide to come and it is just so hard to get her to understand it all. I guess she just wants to be prepared? good luck :blessyou: dessert I decided I better start using my name of choice
 
runandsew said:
The last part of my question is my main point, does one look for a church because they believe what you believe. I personally think that is a very arrogant view. Do I belong to the Catholic Church because it believes what I believe? NO. I belong to the Catholic Church, because from what I can see in the Bible, the writings of the early church fathers, and actual human history, I see that it is the Church that Jesus established.
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Ok. I fail to see what’s arrogant about belonging to a Church that you believe to teach correct doctrine. Isn’t that what you do as a member of the Catholic Church? And, further, if you came to believe that the Catholic Church was ***not ***the Church that Jesus had established or, alternatively, that it had morphed into something else, would you remain Catholic?
 
Seeing now that you want to know why I as a Protestant chose the churches I chose, a lot of it had to do with my parents. They looked for churches that could “feed” us spiritually and nourish our souls. Later, I chose a Presbyterean church because I yearned for more traditional worship (and the girl I liked went there…:rolleyes: ). I went on a missions trip to Turkiye and saw the great eastern churches and the way the Church worships:) . The key ideas in Protestantism were the preaching of Scripture and the music style.

Alexius:cool:
 
runandsew said:
But if I did leave the Church for some reason, how would I choose a church among all those that I had listed?

I am really curious for some protestant (name removed by moderator)ut, so I could understand more why they attend the particular church they do.
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If you’re serious about your faith, and not just interested in fellowship or good day care or children’s programs for example (which, let’s be honest, are primary concerns for many people Protestant or Catholic…), then you look around at the Churches that are available to you in your area and see which you believe are teaching the truth. If you believe that you have a choice between those Churches, you determine which one you are most comfortable with. Many of the same considerations which go into choosing which Catholic parish you will attend also would factor into the decision here. How close is the Church to your home? Does it appear that the clergy is knowledgeable and knows what they are doing? Is it a friendly church? How are the facilities for children’s education? Etc.
 
I would just stay with the one that has the Real Presence. You all know which Church has it.👍
 
rr1213 said:
Ok. I fail to see what’s arrogant about belonging to a Church that you believe to teach correct doctrine. Isn’t that what you do as a member of the Catholic Church? And, further, if you came to believe that the Catholic Church was ***not ***the Church that Jesus had established or, alternatively, that it had morphed into something else, would you remain Catholic?
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Yes, that is my question, if I found that the Church is not the church that Jesus established, and wanted to change, how would I choose one among all the ones that I listed, what would be my criteria, or my priority. Would I look for one that is close by, would I choose one for the type of music they play, the fellowship they offer, what they teach as doctrine. Do I write a list of my beliefs, and then question the pastor on what their church believes; to see if is a close match?
And I have mentioned before that I have the Catholic Church has some teachings that if I struggle with, but I submit myself to what it teaches.

Maybe arrogant was a strong word, but when I look upon people who change churches, because it doesn’t teach what they believe the bible teaches, I wonder, if the Holy Spirit is leading them to an understanding of what the bible teaches, and it differs from what the Holy Spirit is leading the Pastor to understand, well, can the Holy Spirit contradict itself? Is there more that one truth? Does truth matter, or can it be compromised? Does any church posess the whole truth, or do they all only have partial truth. And how would I know which church I should choose, if it came to that point, if all of them is saying that the Holy Spirit is leading them to the truth, and that truth contradicts itself in these churches.
Things like is Jesus God, or a created being, Is there a Trinity,
infant baptism, only believers baptism, is baptism a symbol, or does it take away original sin, is there a real presence in the Eucharist, is one once saved always saved, is divorce and remarriage allowed, the list can go on and on. But I hope you understand my question.
What if my beliefs lead me to a church which teaches the same beliefs, but they are beliefs which are leading me to eternal damnation?
 
perhaps by thinking of worship:

You worship God in your way…

and I will worship Him in His.

So if proper worship is important to you, and it should be, then there is only one Church in the latter category… and all the break-aways and late-comers belong in the former.
 
rr1213 said:
Ok. I fail to see what’s arrogant about belonging to a Church that you believe to teach correct doctrine. Isn’t that what you do as a member of the Catholic Church? And, further, if you came to believe that the Catholic Church was ***not ***the Church that Jesus had established or, alternatively, that it had morphed into something else, would you remain Catholic?
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Here’s the problem - for me; Jesus said He came to establish His Church and He promised His eternal protection to that Church (I will send my Spirit to guide you into all truth…Lo, I am with you always) So, for one to believe that Church could “morph into something else” would mean that Christ either; a) didn’t know what he was talking about, or b) didn’t have the capacity to make such promises. This would render the Christian movement moot.
 
runandsew said:
What if my beliefs lead me to a church which teaches the same beliefs, but they are beliefs which are leading me to eternal damnation?
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Well, ultimately, this is a question you need to resolve in your own mind, isn’t it? If you believe that the Catholic Church is the one true church then, by all means, you would be wrong to go to any Church other than the Catholic Church. Likewise, if you believe the Catholic Church to be incorrect in some manner, then you need to decide what ***is ***correct and find that Church that most closely espouses that correct teaching (which, of course, in the long run could be the Catholic Church…or not). As always, a prayerful consideration of Scripture should be your primary guide.

Many folks will respond that they are “not their own Magisterium” and “isn’t it great that I can rely on the inerrant teachings of the Magisterium and not my own feeble understanding” and…this is great if you believe in the authority of the Magisterium. Again, even here you ultimately need to be convinced in your own mind that you are correct in relying on the authority of the Magisterium.
 
sterryfamily said:
Here’s the problem - for me; Jesus said He came to establish His Church and He promised His eternal protection to that Church (I will send my Spirit to guide you into all truth…Lo, I am with you always) So, for one to believe that Church could “morph into something else” would mean that Christ either; a) didn’t know what he was talking about, or b) didn’t have the capacity to make such promises. This would render the Christian movement moot.
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…or (c) you are reading the promise incorrectly.
 
rr1213 said:
If you’re serious about your faith, and not just interested in fellowship or good day care or children’s programs for example (which, let’s be honest, are primary concerns for many people Protestant or Catholic…), then you look around at the Churches that are available to you in your area and see which you believe are teaching the truth. If you believe that you have a choice between those Churches, you determine which one you are most comfortable with. Many of the same considerations which go into choosing which Catholic parish you will attend also would factor into the decision here. How close is the Church to your home? Does it appear that the clergy is knowledgeable and knows what they are doing? Is it a friendly church? How are the facilities for children’s education? Etc.
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Comparing the choosing of a Catholic parish to a protestant church is like comparing apples to oranges. The Catholic Church has only one set of teachings not many. If a particular parish is teaching something different they must be reported. You do not have that luxury in Protestanism. Protestant churches teach different things, even within the same denomination.
 
Sabda said:
Comparing the choosing of a Catholic parish to a protestant church is like comparing apples to oranges. The Catholic Church has only one set of teachings not many. If a particular parish is teaching something different they must be reported. You do not have that luxury in Protestanism. Protestant churches teach different things, even within the same denomination.
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If you read my post a little more carefully, you will see that the underlying supposition is that you see “which [churches] you believe are teaching the truth. If you believe that you have a choice between those Churches, you determine which one you are most comfortable with. Many of the same considerations which go into choosing which Catholic parish you will attend also would factor into the decision here.” Assuming that you have found the Churches that you believe are teaching the truth, and you have a choice between them (different congregations, parishes, whatever), then I seriously doubt that the factors you consider differ greatly, if at all, from the factors that most Catholics consider in determining whether to worship at Blessed Sacrament or Sacred Heart.
 
There are Catholics I know that change parishes they attend due to either not liking the Priest, or liking a different type of music, or that they feel more welcome in another parish, but not because of different beliefs, as far as I know. I know that some priest might take a stand on an issue that is different from the Church, (ie. birth control) but he is not suppose to teach these personal beliefs as what the chruch teaches.
 
rr1213 said:
Well, ultimately, this is a question you need to resolve in your own mind, isn’t it? If you believe that the Catholic Church is the one true church then, by all means, you would be wrong to go to any Church other than the Catholic Church. Likewise, if you believe the Catholic Church to be incorrect in some manner, then you need to decide what ***is ***correct and find that Church that most closely espouses that correct teaching (which, of course, in the long run could be the Catholic Church…or not). As always, a prayerful consideration of Scripture should be your primary guide.

Many folks will respond that they are “not their own Magisterium” and “isn’t it great that I can rely on the inerrant teachings of the Magisterium and not my own feeble understanding” and…this is great if you believe in the authority of the Magisterium. Again, even here you ultimately need to be convinced in your own mind that you are correct in relying on the authority of the Magisterium.
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Nicely put! 👍
 
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