How to testify to Protestant Pastor

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Montie_Claunch

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Guys something really weird has happened and I need your advice on it.

My aunt, whom is a nominal Seventh-day Adventist, and I (I was visiting her) were off shopping at the local food and drug store when we ran aross her pastor.He chit-chatted for a little while and we exchanged email addresses. Saying, “Hello I’m Catholic.” isn’t part of my routine, (The Rosary I ocassonaly slip on my wrist is as close as I get to throwing it out there) and as our little talks went along it hit me that he thinks I’m adventist (I guess using the Aunts Adventist you must be).

Now I am wondering. I would like to testify to him about the Catholic faith. How do you think I should do it? Should I let him continue thinking I am adventist and just throw little thoughts at him (i.e. “You know the Catholics say…about this scripture. What are your thoughts?”) or should I just come out and tell him I am Catholic and risk the I-not-hearing-it alarms going off?

What should I do? How should I do it?
 
Montie_Claunch said:
Guys something really weird has happened and I need your advice on it.

My aunt, whom is a nominal Seventh-day Adventist, and I (I was visiting her) were off shopping at the local food and drug store when we ran aross her pastor.He chit-chatted for a little while and we exchanged email addresses. Saying, “Hello I’m Catholic.” isn’t part of my routine, (The Rosary I ocassonaly slip on my wrist is as close as I get to throwing it out there) and as our little talks went along it hit me that he thinks I’m adventist (I guess using the Aunts Adventist you must be).

Now I am wondering. I would like to testify to him about the Catholic faith. How do you think I should do it? Should I let him continue thinking I am adventist and just throw little thoughts at him (i.e. “You know the Catholics say…about this scripture. What are your thoughts?”) or should I just come out and tell him I am Catholic and risk the I-not-hearing-it alarms going off?

What should I do? How should I do it?
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I would suggest you try and get The Truth About Seventh-day Adventist “Truth” by Dale Ratzlaff ISBN 0-962727546-3-3
 
One way to approach it is to act as though he already knows - for example, if he is discussing a Bible topic, you can say something like (assuming that it’s true, of course) “I heard a really good sermon at Mass on Sunday on that subject. Father had some very interesting points about that; things I had not considered before - for example, had you ever considered …?”

Since this is via e-mail, you can also just talk about your day - “After we finished the family Rosary and sent the kids to bed, we saw the most interesting show on TV …”

Then, when he starts to try to convert you, you can bring out the big guns. 😃
 
Montie_Claunch said:
Guys something really weird has happened and I need your advice on it.

My aunt, whom is a nominal Seventh-day Adventist, and I (I was visiting her) were off shopping at the local food and drug store when we ran aross her pastor.He chit-chatted for a little while and we exchanged email addresses. Saying, “Hello I’m Catholic.” isn’t part of my routine, (The Rosary I ocassonaly slip on my wrist is as close as I get to throwing it out there) and as our little talks went along it hit me that he thinks I’m adventist (I guess using the Aunts Adventist you must be).

Now I am wondering. I would like to testify to him about the Catholic faith. How do you think I should do it? Should I let him continue thinking I am adventist and just throw little thoughts at him (i.e. “You know the Catholics say…about this scripture. What are your thoughts?”) or should I just come out and tell him I am Catholic and risk the I-not-hearing-it alarms going off?

What should I do? How should I do it?
Click to expand...
I wouldn’t suggest continuing to pretend to be Adventist. I just think that it’s dishonest. I mean, you didn’t make him think you were Adventist - it wasn’t your fault that he thought this and I’m not saying you did anything wrong (of course, you didn’t). I just think that if you continue to speak to him, you should in some way inform him that you are not Adventist. As to how to do this, I don’t really know!
 
I would suggest to make certain he does know you are Catholic. Catholics are not allowed to be dishonest and we must try to be good Catholics. Now this doesn’t mean that you turn him off by going all “Catholic”* on him. Hit him with the old, I am Christian too (share your faith) then catch him unaware with a Catholic distinctive.
  • by this I mean blatantly showing you are Catholic to just flaunt it.
Like this…
You can talk to him or email him and share your Christian belief, showing you truly believe that the center of the faith is Jesus. Talk about how Jesus has changed your life, share your love of Jesus and invite him to Church with you, then off-hand mention where it is, by the name he will figure it out.
Most Seventh Day Adventist Churches are not named Christ the King, or St Stephens, Blessed Sacrament or St Mary’s.

In Christ
Scylla
 
Let him know that you are a Catholic and let him know how much you love the Lord. Let your witness to him be based upon all that Christ has done for you spiritually through His Church.

After this go ahead and let nature take its course on the apologetics side of it. Once in awhile give him some more enthusiastic witness to the power of God’s grace in your life and your love for Jesus in the Eucharist.

Adventists are frequently rabid anti-Catholics and have many misconceptions about the Church and Catholic teaching. Do not lose your composure and always speak with understanding and charity. This does not mean you have to be a wimp. Stand firm and make sure he gets the full explanation on everything you discuss.

Also say a prayer to the Holy Spirit for guidance before you engage him or anyone else in a religious discussion.

I’ll say a prayer on behalf of your efforts.
 
Make it a point to talk about how the Holy Spirit is working in your life. Talk about fellowship among believers, answers to prayer. He may be just “treating” you like an adventist for the purpose of evangelising you. Odds are he does know you are catholic. I am betting that the meeting was not by chance in the first place. Your family member who is SDA most likely asked him to reach out to you.

Show him how God is working in your life. Do not argue theology right off. let discussions be natural. Seek to discuss common topics like “how do we know we have truth?” This would naturally allow you to bring in your theory of knowledge, that is using all (name removed by moderator)ut avilable to you.

Since, you do not know what his view of abortion is, ask him if Jesus’ human spirit was present in Luke 1:35 ?

Let catholic distinctives come into play as you discuss everyday moral topics like abortion. How do we know truth? Bring up that pastor who drowned because he believed God was telling him to walk on water. A few years ago some SDA died trying to walk on water too.
worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51760
 
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