How do you counter this?

[Stylus]

Here is what my friend says defending the fact that it’s okay that he left Catholic Church.

“We’re all worshiping the same God”

“I get more out of this church. The Catholic Church was just sit, stand, kneel, sit, stand, kneel, hear the same readings over and over again.”

He also says that he knows some Catholics who leave their religion in Church when they leave, and that the protestants take their religion with them and live their faith.

I don’t debate with him, but it would be good for me to have some answers.

 

[CatholicSam]

One thing: THE EUCHARIST!! I would sit, stand, and kneel all day to receive this most Precious Treasure! I would gladly endure “the same readings” (which are not the same every day!) for a chance to receive the Body and Blood of Christ!

A secondary thing: The Catholic Church is the One True Church, while Protestant Churches are lacking the fullness of the faith.

 

[steveandersen]

Stylus:

…He also says that he knows some Catholics who leave their religion in Church when they leave, and that the protestants take their religion with them and live their faith…

while I’m sure that does he know both types of people I’m sure he also knows some where the opposite is true…and what does what someone else does with their faith have to do with him?

I mean if Protestants jumped off a bridge would be he that too?

 

[DreadVandal]

Stylus:

Here is what my friend says defending the fact that it’s okay that he left Catholic Church.

“We’re all worshiping the same God”

“I get more out of this church. The Catholic Church was just sit, stand, kneel, sit, stand, kneel, hear the same readings over and over again.”

He also says that he knows some Catholics who leave their religion in Church when they leave, and that the protestants take their religion with them and live their faith.

I don’t debate with him, but it would be good for me to have some answers.

How does he know we all worship the same God the way Jesus intended us to worship him? If it doesn’t matter, then why leave? Why not stay? And what is he getting out of the new church that he wasn’t before? Make sure that he justifies his answers with painstakingly thorough biblical exegesis. If he can’t do that, then suggest that he should be more concerned with truth and less concerned about “getting something” out of worship.

 

[awalt]

He is doing what he thinks is best for him, instead of letting God guide what is best for him. Jesus established the One Holy Apostolic Church in the Bible, how can he say that his church is the Body of Christ?

You may see if he will read the Lamb’s supper by Scott Hahn - it is such a great Biblical description of the Mass, and when Hahn went through it he was a Protestant! If you read that book with an open mind, there is NO WAY you can see the Mass as a bunch of standing, sitting, kneeling, etc.!

Good luck!

 

[marcadam]

Some discussion-starting rejoinders:

“We’re all worshiping the same God”

But not all in the same way–and not necessarily in the way that he told us to.

“I get more out of this church. The Catholic Church was just sit, stand, kneel, sit, stand, kneel, hear the same readings over and over again.”

Did you ever think there was more to it than simple appearances?

He also says that he knows some Catholics who leave their religion in Church when they leave, and that the protestants take their religion with them and live their faith.

Which is by no means true of all Catholics or all protestants, by a long shot.

I don’t debate with him, but it would be good for me to have some answers.

 

[Agricola]

“We’re all worshiping the same God”

Its not a question of whether its the same God then, is it? It becomes a question of worship. How we worship, and how we live, are very different from the way Protestant denominations do. Christ established a Church for a reason. If we follow the teachings of the Church faithfully, then we will get to heaven.

“I get more out of this church. The Catholic Church was just sit, stand, kneel, sit, stand, kneel, hear the same readings over and over again.”

Your friend obviously did not know, or care to know about the Faith before he left. Catholicism is not limited to the motions of the congregation during Mass. It offers the sacraments! It offers many paths to heaven… different charisms… millenia of knowledge and experience… and the promise of Christ: “… the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matt. 16:18)

Oh yes… and the readings… well, what good are any readings if you’re not going to listen to them? The cycle of readings covers more of the Bible than your friend thinks. I’m sure he’ll find that there is more diversity in the readings in Mass than in any Protestant services.

Stylus:

He also says that he knows some Catholics who leave their religion in Church when they leave, and that the protestants take their religion with them and live their faith.

Unfortunately this is exactly what your friend did. He did not investigate the Faith. If he had, he would not have left under the impression that there was nothing more to Catholocism than liturgical motions. Perhaps you could offer an ecumenical exchange, where he listens to you explain how the Church is the Pillar of Truth, and the path ordained by Christ Himself, and he can try to explain his denomination’s peculiarities. Perhaps he would see his mistake.

Hey, and all the people who post on this forum are living proof that Catholics do not leave their faith at the door of the church!

Stylus:

I don’t debate with him, but it would be good for me to have some answers.

Tell him that it is his duty as a follower of Christ to investigate his faith, and to start from the very beginning… the Gospel according to Matthew is a good place to start. If he asks why a Catholic would be pointing to the Bible, simply tell him that the Bible points to the Church as the source of Truth in this world. Its there, all he has to do is read it.

Don’t give up on him. It may take years, and some back an forth, but if he is truly seeking the Lord, he will come Home. I’ll pray for him.

God bless,

Agricola

 

[Ruthie]

*“We’re all worshiping the same God”
*
Yes, we are, in a limited sense. Read John 6:22, to the end of the chapter, to see what Protestants are missing. They celebrate communion as a symbolic event, symbolizing a relationship with God. The Eucharist is not a symbol.

• “I get more out of this church. The Catholic Church was just sit, stand, kneel, sit, stand, kneel, hear the same readings over and over again.”

He wasn’t listening, if he thinks it was the same readings over and over. As someone else said, go to Mass daily for 3 yeears and you will have heard about 90 per cent of the Bible.

• He also says that he knows some Catholics who leave their religion in Church when they leave, and that the protestants take their religion with them and live their faith.*

This problem is not restricted to Catholics. Tell him to look around, and he’ll find it in his new church, too.

In fact, Protestantism, with its “Once saved, always saved,” makes it very easy to do this, since some of them think that once you’ve answered the altar call, you’tre saved, that’s it, and you can sin with impunity. In the Catholic church, we call that the sin of presumption.

Good luck. Pray for him.