I am thinking of becoming a Baptist..

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Hi Nicole,

God has promised us in His word, the Bible, that “seek and we shall find”. it’s such a good thing to search for God. there are so many churches and denominations out there- and not one of them is perfect. if the church was perfect, we couldn’t belong, as we are not perfect. 🙂 so many people have commented here on what you should do…but again…why listen to us? we are all telling you something different, we are not perfect…we could change our opinion tomorrow. but do u know what? “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever”. ask God to guide you to the church which he wants you at. speak to the baptist minister, find out what they believe, and if the Bible supports their views. do the same with your priest. a good book i’ve found is “nothing in my hand i bring” by Ray Galea. it highlights the differences between catholic and protestant beliefs, and it is written by a catholic who was searching like you. don’t stop searching Nicole until you are sure you are in the place God wants you to be. He won’t let you down 🙂 God Bless you.
 
pegchiu said:
i am a baptist, and thinking to be a catholic.

i found it’s funny when i read Michael commenting the Baptish church gives emotional stimulus by singing. no offense, but just heard the similar words from my Protestant friends commenting catholic church gives emotional stimulus by rituals. 😛

nicole, i dont think anyone on earth, even the pope or the catholic church would know who is going to heaven who is going to hell. no one has the right to have such claim. that’s God’s business.

do you believe God loves u and to a extent that He sent Jesus, His son to die for you on the cross that your sin is cleansed?

God loves u. i dont really think God cares where you worship Him. But He does of course want you to know Him more and better.

i am thinking seriously about the meaning of Eucharist. that’s why i am very interested in the catholic teaching.
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Well said!

I was baptized as a child in a Baptist Church, but have also come home to the Catholic Church. Before you (Nicole) blindly accept Baptist beleifs and Calvinism (along with heretical predestinariansim), you should study and research the differences carefully. If you use your emotions as the primary guide of your life, you are doing your family a disservice. Having said that, if you feel that something is missing within your own Catholic parish, why don’t you first attempt to take steps to make your own parish more welcoming to newcomers, etc?
 
cthulhubryan said:
While I strongly agree with you about the Catholic church and the intellectual basis for faith as this is one of my major reason for being in RCIA, I must make one correction to the above statement.

Chesterton was Catholic, but Lewis was Anglican much to Tolkien’s distress. Tolkien, who was Catholic and wrote in a Catholic structure for Middle Earth, worked hard to bring Lewis to the Church (Lewis was a disaffected member of the Church of Ireland) and while Tolkien did get Lewis back to Christianity Lewis went to the Anglicans instead of the RCC.

This does nothing to detract from the wonders and the apologetic value of Lewis’ works.
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That’s interesting. I wonder why he went Anglican instead of Catholic? (Oh, and by the way, Bryan, “Roman Catholic Church” is actually a slangname given to the Church by Anglicans in the 1500’s. Its official and real name is “the Catholic Church”, “the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church”, or simply “the Church”.)
 
Matariel said:
That’s interesting. I wonder why he went Anglican instead of Catholic? (Oh, and by the way, Bryan, “Roman Catholic Church” is actually a slangname given to the Church by Anglicans in the 1500’s. Its official and real name is “the Catholic Church”, “the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church”, or simply “the Church”.)
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Read Joseph Pearce’s CS Lewis and the Catholic Church…
 
NicoleCook said:
I went to a Baptist church on Sunday and had a great time with my husband and kids. They wewre all so welcoming and I had the best time ever! I loved bible study. the singing. and just everything. We are thinking of going there from now on. Is that a sin?? As long as we stilllove God and make Jesus a central figure in our life…I can’t imagine going to churhc on sundays, bible studys once a week, and living to serve others and still going to Hell…any resposes??
thx!
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Hello Nicole,

“I can’t imagine going to churhc on sundays, bible studys once a week, and living to serve others and still going to Hell…any resposes??”

I would not be concerned as to whether you are a Catholic or a Baptist, but rather a Christian. You cannot work your way to heaven (I’m not saying you said that); it is a gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. God does not make things complicated.

searchgodsword.org/desk/?language=en&query=%22through+faith%22&section=2&translation=nas&oq=%2522is%2520grace%2522&new=1&sr=1

May God bless you with is peace and joy!
 
Matariel said:
Actually, we look at it all the time-- we’re a part of it! 😉

Oh, and by the way I wouldn’t recommend joining some of the larger Baptist sects, during the 70’s, some of them, such as the Southern Baptists wavered on abortion. :eek:
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Southern Baptists also used to be soft on race issues, but they have since repented and asked the African American community to forgive them. Some of the greatest scholars, preachers and missionaries of all time were or are Southern Baptists. Take a look at J P Boyce’s abstract of theology and your head will spin. (Figuratively speaking, of course)
 
beckycmarie said:
Dear Nicole,

I am so sorry to hear of the trauma you experienced in your first marriage. If you were forced into your first marriage, then getting an annullment should not be difficult. In the meantime, don’t leave the Church. You can’t get the Eucharist in the Baptist Church.

As others have said, you can receive the Eucharist now if you agree to go to confession then live as brother and sister until the annullment is complete and your marriage is convalidated. If you don’t wish to do that, then you could still go to Mass and not receive Communion. You could make a spiritual Communion instead.
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Could someone tell me what a “spiritual Communion” is? (Can you have this if you aren’t Catholic?)
mlz
 
I would not see anything wrong in becoming a baptist, I was a bapist myself, but I try not to judge denominations by what the general population does. For example, my baptist church is pretty welcoming, but the one 30 miles away will shun you for not wearing a suit, completely different, yet same denomination affiliation.
 
mlz said:
Could someone tell me what a “spiritual Communion” is? (Can you have this if you aren’t Catholic?)
mlz
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Of course a non-Catholic can partake of Spiritual Communion! Great Graces are received from it!
But a belief in the Eucharist as the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord is part of it.

Spiritual Communion is something one does when one is unable to receive (not in a state of Grace or a non-Catholic) the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.

From Fisheaters.com:
In all these instances, we are encouraged to make what is known as a “spiritual Communion,” an act expressing what was described by St. Thomas Aquinas as “an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament and in lovingly embracing Him.” In a spiritual Communion, we, with contrite, humble hearts, ask our Lord to come to us in the same way He would if we were able to receive the Sacrament. This can be done as often as one likes, informally in one’s own words or through one of the traditional prayers which appear below.
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What is the value of this practice? The graces received may be as great as – or greater than – those received by some people in the actual Sacrament. Though, of course, the Sacrament itself is inherently greater, our disposition toward the Sacrament affect whether and how we receive its fruits. For example, imagine a woman who is unable to be with her husband but who desires him as contrasted with a woman who has her husband’s presence but doesn’t care for him. Which husband would be more apt to pour out his love for his wife?
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An Act of Spiritual Communion
My Jesus,
I believe that You
are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment
receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen.

Links to MORE Acts of Spiritual Communion
 
Catholic90 said:
On your first post you stated this:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=4698509#post4698509

Get the first marriage annulled, live like brother and sister until then, then get your marriage blessed, and stay Catholic! Not necessarily the easiest route and maybe not the answer you want to hear, but probably the best way to go.

How could you go from being a traditional Catholic who allegedly is tormented not receiving the Eucharist to a religion that generally bashes Catholics?
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This is sad. I do not mean to judge but i find many Catholics who fall-out of their marriage vows, naturally cannot receive the Eucharist and for that reason alone, they leave the Church or the Christian faith altogether. What happened to patience, love and longing for God in the Church He helped to build? Not being able to receive the Eucharist is only a temporary setback. Isn’t it better to have absolved your previous marriage in an appropriate manner than to live life in sin? Joining a different Christian church that does not have valid orders and practices will not help absolve that guilt.
 
NonCatholic said:
Hello Nicole,

“I can’t imagine going to churhc on sundays, bible studys once a week, and living to serve others and still going to Hell…any resposes??”

I would not be concerned as to whether you are a Catholic or a Baptist, but rather a Christian. You cannot work your way to heaven (I’m not saying you said that); it is a gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. God does not make things complicated.

searchgodsword.org/desk/?language=en&query=%22through+faith%22&section=2&translation=nas&oq=%2522is%2520grace%2522&new=1&sr=1

May God bless you with is peace and joy!
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They should put that post at the top of this website. It is the secret to the confusion in the majoirty of discussions here.
 
cathopologist said:
This is sad. I do not mean to judge but i find many Catholics who fall-out of their marriage vows, naturally cannot receive the Eucharist and for that reason alone, they leave the Church or the Christian faith altogether. What happened to patience, love and longing for God in the Church He helped to build? Not being able to receive the Eucharist is only a temporary setback. Isn’t it better to have absolved your previous marriage in an appropriate manner than to live life in sin? Joining a different Christian church that does not have valid orders and practices will not help absolve that guilt.
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Joining a church that is Christ-centered is the best bet; just like Jesus will and already has, if you have received Him, forgive any past sins. Jesus is the only able to wash you “whiter than snow”. I was living in sin with my current wife before we were married, but neither of us knew Christ at the time; although we thought we did. Since we have both dedicated our lives to serving the Lord Jesus and we have a better marriage than I could ever have imagined and I praise God for it!
 
NicoleCook said:
I went to a Baptist church on Sunday and had a great time with my husband and kids. They wewre all so welcoming and I had the best time ever! I loved bible study. the singing. and just everything. We are thinking of going there from now on. Is that a sin?? As long as we stilllove God and make Jesus a central figure in our life…I can’t imagine going to churhc on sundays, bible studys once a week, and living to serve others and still going to Hell…any resposes??
thx!
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Don’t put man before God.

The Eucharist should BE the central part of faith since IT IS Jesus and the only way for you to really and actually receive Him.

Its nice to feel welcomed, but in the end it is about God and not the fun you have with other humans.

God Bless
 
NonCatholic said:
Joining a church that is Christ-centered is the best bet; just like Jesus will and already has, if you have received Him, forgive any past sins. Jesus is the only able to wash you “whiter than snow”. I was living in sin with my current wife before we were married, but neither of us knew Christ at the time; although we thought we did. Since we have both dedicated our lives to serving the Lord Jesus and we have a better marriage than I could ever have imagined and I praise God for it!
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You obviously missed the update thread where Nicole tells us God has led her to stay within the Catholic Church. It is in this forum. Search for it and read it.
 
Thanks for letting us know Nicole made a decision.
mlz said:
Could someone tell me what a “spiritual Communion” is? (Can you have this if you aren’t Catholic?)
mlz
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Spiritual Communion is contemplating receiving the Eucharist. And praying and thinking about it.

Here is a link to reflect on the prayer you should say. [there are other types of prayers you might want to peruse]
Spiritual Communion

Spiritual Communion Prayer
My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You.
Never permit me to be separated from You.
 
Nicole,

Jesus is concerned about having a place in your heart to rest in.

If you allow Him to come in, which by your words, He has found a place to rest His Head in. (Head meaning His government, His kingdom)

My advice, is to work it out, meaning the gift is there, develop it, grow in it and let God lead you wherever He wants you to go.

Listen, if church were the only place to find God, then He would make His residence there only.
But as it is, His residence is in each one of us.
We can take Him to where ever He leads us, who knows, a good place to be is at the gates of hell, where there we maybe able to save a few.

I pray the blessing upon you, your new husband, children and may God prosper you as your spirit prospers.

Bye the way, I was a catholic to age 13, found Christ to be my personal; Savior, understood His salvation for me, got Baptized and been growing ever since in spirit, and it all started in the Baptist Church.

I am now a believer with no church affiliations, a believer in the body, spiritual body of Christ and one where there are no distinctions, only hearts for God.

Peace>>>AJ
 
Please remember that it is not a church that saves you but Christ. John 3:16
 
Without a Body, you cannot function. The Church is a visible Body of Believers who come together to celebrate and worship the love for God and partake in the Eucharist.

God established the Church so a Believer may find comfort, not only through His presence in the Church but also through the community of Believers. Christ did not intend for anyone to be anti-social or else He would not have told His followers to go to the four corners of the earth to spread His message and establish churches.

By the way, NicoleCook has already made up her mind and has decided on staying Catholic. Praise Our Lord for answering her cries for help.

Perhaps the Moderators could close this thread so as to avoid further attempts at proselytizing our sister in Christ and avoiding unnecessary arguements.
 
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