How do I choose a Church?

[AlegreFe]

… but we have to keep in mind that in matters of religion (doctrines, teachings, sacraments and such) religions or denominations are not at all the same. To believe that they are all the same leads to error- heresy of relativism.

This is true. Not all “religions” are the same. Only the devil will want someone to believe that the “church” you’re in is okay. “Stay there in that ‘church,’ it’s okay,” the devil says; “come on, stay here in this church, the people here make you feel great and you want to be number one don’t you?” The devil wants everyone to believe his lies.

My sister thinks that what they do is the same as what we do in Mass. She thinks the Eucharist is only a symbol. She says, “…we have ‘communion’ the same way you do…” Poppycock! sorry, just had to use that word. It’s not the same.

Janet Ray once said, (paraphrasing), “how can listening to a sermon be worshipping God?!” She knew there was more to worship than just listening to a preacher give a sermon. She was wise for saying that. And her husband Steve believed that there had to be some sort of authority because of the many denominations out there.

There is no way that all religions are the same. Even if some hold partial truths, it is still not the whole truth. Do you just want Jesus’ hand? or do you want His whole being; body, blood, soul & divinity? Then wouldn’t anyone want the whole TRUTH? because after all we know the Truth is Jesus Christ!

 

[AlegreFe]

She’s in my prayers.

Thank you. I will say a prayer for you. And please don’t forget me. I need all the prayers I can get.

 

[thirdn6]

Thank you. I will say a prayer for you. And please don’t forget me. I need all the prayers I can get.

I’ll pray for you, as well, as I always pray for my sisters who are thousands of miles away from me. I live alone but I’m not lonely.

 

[mikew262]

This is true. Not all “religions” are the same. Only the devil will want someone to believe that the “church” you’re in is okay. “Stay there in that ‘church,’ it’s okay,” the devil says; “come on, stay here in this church, the people here make you feel great and you want to be number one don’t you?” The devil wants everyone to believe his lies.

My sister thinks that what they do is the same as what we do in Mass. She thinks the Eucharist is only a symbol. She says, “…we have ‘communion’ the same way you do…” Poppycock! sorry, just had to use that word. It’s not the same.

Janet Ray once said, (paraphrasing), “how can listening to a sermon be worshipping God?!” She knew there was more to worship than just listening to a preacher give a sermon. She was wise for saying that. And her husband Steve believed that there had to be some sort of authority because of the many denominations out there.

There is no way that all religions are the same. Even if some hold partial truths, it is still not the whole truth. Do you just want Jesus’ hand? or do you want His whole being; body, blood, soul & divinity? Then wouldn’t anyone want the whole TRUTH? because after all we know the Truth is Jesus Christ!

Didn’t someone say" Where 2 or more gather in my name, I will be there?" There was no stipulation concerning Catholic, Baptist, etc.

 

[jmcrae]

Didn’t someone say" Where 2 or more gather in my name, I will be there?" There was no stipulation concerning Catholic, Baptist, etc.

Because to be Christian back then was to be Catholic.

I bet the Arians gathered two or three in His name, too, but they were still not members of the Body; what makes Protestants today think they’re exempt from having to be Catholic?

 

[thirdn6]

Didn’t someone say" Where 2 or more gather in my name, I will be there?" There was no stipulation concerning Catholic, Baptist, etc.

And should you take it as an absolute/final statement? Do you think you’d be able to determine true teachings without the guidance of the Church?
The blind leads the blind and they both fall into the ditch…

 

[mikew262]

Because to be Christian back then was to be Catholic.

I bet the Arians gathered two or three in His name, too, but they were still not members of the Body; what makes Protestants today think they’re exempt from having to be Catholic?

1st point: Wrong, back then when Jesus said those words, there were no Catholics or Christians. Everybody surrounding Jesus was Jewish, later on his followers were known to be Christians, then Catholic.

2nd point: Protestants think the Catholic Church has faulty doctrine. Why would they join a church that they think has faulty doctrine? Its the same reason you are are not a Protestant.

 

[mikew262]

And should you take it as an absolute/final statement? Do you think you’d be able to determine true teachings without the guidance of the Church?
The blind leads the blind and they both fall into the ditch…

It never ceases to amaze me how some of my fellow Catholics think. Do you really think Christ is not present in some form or fashion at a non-Catholic Christian gathering/service? Who is being blind here?

 

[jmcrae]

1st point: Wrong, back then when Jesus said those words, there were no Catholics or Christians. Everybody surrounding Jesus was Jewish, later on his followers were known to be Christians, then Catholic.

2nd point: Protestants think the Catholic Church has faulty doctrine. Why would they join a church that they think has faulty doctrine? Its the same reason you are are not a Protestant.

Actually, the reason I’m not Protestant is that I look at history and see that Christ founded the Catholic Church. From that point on, what I agree with or don’t agree with regarding doctrine is of absolutely no importance - for me, following Jesus Christ is all there is, and to be in His Church is to be as close to Him as I will ever be in this lifetime.

 

[thirdn6]

It never ceases to amaze me how some of my fellow Catholics think. Do you really think Christ is not present in some form or fashion at a non-Catholic Christian gathering/service? Who is being blind here?

Maybe I was misunderstood

Of course I acknowledge that Christ WILL be present when two or more gather in His name. Of course the Holy Spirit is there when people talk about the gospel. But the question is, will those non-catholic gatherings lead to the FULNESS of truth? Should they stop there- on their own? Wouldn’t it be a necessity to include the Catholic church in the picture?

 

[awantz]

To a pastor???:bigyikes:

Validly ordained Priests are acting in persona Christiin absolving sins. How can a (protestant)pastor absolve sins? They just do not have that power!

You were misled.

I don’t need them to absolve my sins. God does that. All I need is God’s forgiveness and the forgiveness of those I sinned against.

 

[awantz]

lol. basically Catholicism in an infancy state.

I can understand that.

 

[jmcrae]

I don’t need them to absolve my sins. God does that. All I need is God’s forgiveness and the forgiveness of those I sinned against.

In the same way that God used Moses to give the Law in the first place, God also uses human priests to transmit His absolution of our sins.

 

[awantz]

In the same way that God used Moses to give the Law in the first place, God also uses human priests to transmit His absolution of our sins.

That may be one way to do it, but it is not the only way. Since Jesus died on the cross, the curtain has been torn and we’ve been given the ability to go directly to God and confess our sins directly to Him.

 

[johnnydigit]

That may be one way to do it, but it is not the only way. Since Jesus died on the cross, the curtain has been torn and we’ve been given the ability to go directly to God and confess our sins directly to Him.

you can tell God that when you see Him, but He’ll tell you that He told you to use the priests, not for Him, but for the better of yourself. there are many benefits to the practice in itself, apart from the supernatural graces. Christians are being so deprived without the Sacraments.

the Sacraments are like a super high tech gym, chocked with a full service snack bar and unlimited Gatorade. your mind, body, and especially soul are trained and built up for the single purpose of entering heaven. there’s even an infirmary for injuries with real Manna.
without the Sacraments, it’s like training barefoot in the desert with a pocket knife. sure you can do that, but why would you? oh, because your fathers taught you the gym teachers are sinful and the instructions on the machines are false…

 

[awantz]

without the Sacraments, it’s like training barefoot in the desert with a pocket knife. sure you can do that, but why would you? oh, because your fathers taught you the gym teachers are sinful and the instructions on the machines are false…

For starters, the road to Heaven isn’t supposed to be easy. Also, I’ve seen that the harder times in my life have been more beneficial to me than the easier ones.
It sounds like you are saying that my parents taught me that Catholics are sinful. Well, that is not true. If it was they would not have given me their approval to marry one. They have said some things to support the Catholic faith. There may be some things in the Catholic faith they don’t agree with, but the certainly don’t call them sinful.

 

[jmcrae]

For starters, the road to Heaven isn’t supposed to be easy.

It already isn’t. Why add extra difficulties when you don’t need to?

Also, I’ve seen that the harder times in my life have been more beneficial to me than the easier ones.

Hopefully you don’t bring on difficult times to yourself on purpose, though. Jesus says, “Sufficient unto the day is the trouble thereof.” Don’t add extra trouble, and don’t purposely do things the hard way. Jesus gave us a Church to make it easier for us, because He already knew how much trouble there already is, in the world.

 

[johnnydigit]

For starters, the road to Heaven isn’t supposed to be easy. Also, I’ve seen that the harder times in my life have been more beneficial to me than the easier ones.
It sounds like you are saying that my parents taught me that Catholics are sinful. Well, that is not true. If it was they would not have given me their approval to marry one. They have said some things to support the Catholic faith. There may be some things in the Catholic faith they don’t agree with, but the certainly don’t call them sinful.

your life would have been even easier if you had the Sacraments Jesus gave to us. “my yoke is easy, and burden light.” that is mainly what protestants are missing, and that is why the protestants who could have used the Sacraments suffer that much more without them. that is why many of them stray from the flock completely. that is a reason that makes us angry, but more so saddened that they could have used them but were taught incorrectly.

what may be fine for you, is not fine for the bunch, and that is what the Church looks out for. even worse is that it may not be fine for your children or your children’s children.
that is a reason why there are so many denominations. the lost stray and search until they find one that resembles them. your children will probably do the same and be all over the map one day. they think they are all following the same path, but in fact they are truncated from the entire truth, the one fold. the surest way to destroy something is to dismantle it slowly, like water to rock. protestantism is like the fissures in the rock, one day carving out the grand canyon until God says it’s enough…

protestant parents hand on misconceptions to their children about the Catholic faith and so the generations suffer, to the “third and fourth generations”. it gets more and more watered down, until the thousands of years of knowledge are all but hidden away and they’re left to start from scratch with only a book. hopefully somewhere in there God gives one of them the grace to break the trend.

i don’t know your situation personally, but if you don’t see that the Church that holds the truth in its entirety is the one with the Sacraments (Catholic and Orthodox), then something happened somewhere that led you away or held you back from seeing it. perhaps you can try to start again from scratch with an unbiased mind and see where it takes you. you’ll be a stronger Christian either way.

 

[awantz]

It already isn’t. Why add extra difficulties when you don’t need to?

Hopefully you don’t bring on difficult times to yourself on purpose, though. Jesus says, “Sufficient unto the day is the trouble thereof.” Don’t add extra trouble, and don’t purposely do things the hard way. Jesus gave us a Church to make it easier for us, because He already knew how much trouble there already is, in the world.

I don’t.

 

[awantz]

your life would have been even easier if you had the Sacraments Jesus gave to us. “my yoke is easy, and burden light.” that is mainly what protestants are missing, and that is why the protestants who could have used the Sacraments suffer that much more without them. that is why many of them stray from the flock completely. that is a reason that makes us angry, but more so saddened that they could have used them but were taught incorrectly.

protestant parents hand on misconceptions to their children about the Catholic faith and so the generations suffer, to the “third and fourth generations”. it gets more and more watered down, until the thousands of years of knowledge are all but hidden away and they’re left to start from scratch with only a book. hopefully somewhere in there God gives one of them the grace to break the trend.

i don’t know your situation personally, but if you don’t see that the Church that holds the truth in its entirety is the one with the Sacraments (Catholic and Orthodox), then something happened somewhere that led you away or held you back from seeing it. perhaps you can try to start again from scratch with an unbiased mind and see where it takes you. you’ll be a stronger Christian either way.

Oviously, the sacraments don’t make like easier, because I know Catholics whose lives are just as hard if not harder than mine.

You are totally wrong about Protestant parents or at least mine.

I have and it took me to a church that is anti-denominational thinking and that is where I attend now.