I need thick skin

[Reid]

I am a new Catholic convert!

I was rasied Southern Baptist, ended up thinking like a Fundamentalist and out to tell everyone that you need to ask Jesus into your heart and you will be saved. The once saved always saved message.

I was even convinced that the Church was a cult, so its hard for me to see the Baptist Church as Christian because of my history, likewise for any other denomination and Mormons, jehova Witness’.

I am learning to look at other Christain groups and other religions in a different light, but how do yall as Catholics handle it so well.

I am trying to get “thick skin” I have been so used to telling people that I am right and you are wrong.

To me a cult is now where any Church follows one man’s doctrine, i.e …Lutherans follow Martin Luther, Calvinest follow the teaching of Calvin and so on…

Am I wrong to think like this, I have read some books about religion that have helped me a lot, but it is so hard to change when something over your life has been planted within y]ou that you are right and they are wrong.

 

[deb1]

Prayer, that is the best advice that I can give you. Ask for God’s grace to change this aspect of your personality. THe good news is that the very fact that you are noticing that such a part of your nature needs changing is an idication that God is already working on you.

I think that it might also help to remember those Baptist that you knew who were humble and Christlike. I remember my Grandmother and an older woman named, Lola, whenever I feel any prejudice toward nonCatholics. One of the problems that you and I probably both have, is that the in your face type of nonCatholic Christians are the ones that get noticed more, both by ourselves and the churches that they are in.

As far as evangilization, the Catholic church seems to have a much humbler view toward gaining converts. Many Protestants approach evangilizing as a win or die situation. They really feel that they need to personally convert you right then or you will go to hell. Catholics seem to understand that sometimes you can only plant a seed, the rest of the process is up to God’s grace. This can make us less conventational in our approach.

 

[Tom]

Reid:

I was even convinced that the Church was a cult

Congratulations and welcome home. One thing I’ve found true in protestors arguments is the use of deception, not outright lies, but deception. To give an example the word you just used “cult”. Protestors have called the Catholic Church a “cult”, they are in a sense correct in that a “cult” can be “A system or community of religious worship and ritual.” We certainly are a community of religious worship and ritual, so we really can’t say we’re not, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but the protestors use this word to describe the extreme, false church, which is false. I hope we can all stop calling each other names and using deceptive language to convey our feelings. We must ask ourselves which Spirit would use deception to teach their message? The Spirit of God? Or the spirit of Satan? A similar deception is the protestors use of the word “Apocrypha”, there is indeed an apocrypha, it is a collection of non Scriptural writings, however the protestors use this word to describe the parts of Scripture they removed in an attempt to confuse and deceive.
Here’s the definition of cult:

dictionary:

5 entries found for cult.
cult ( P ) Pronunciation Key (klt)
n.
A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader.
The followers of such a religion or sect.
A system or community of religious worship and ritual.
The formal means of expressing religious reverence; religious ceremony and ritual. A usually nonscientific method or regimen claimed by its originator to have exclusive or exceptional power in curing a particular disease.
Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing.
The object of such devotion.
An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest.

Reid:

I am trying to get “thick skin” I have been so used to telling people that I am right and you are wrong.

Treat them as brothers, mistaken brothers who need our help, treat them with love and compassion.

Reid:

To me a cult is now where any Church follows one man’s doctrine, i.e …Lutherans follow Martin Luther, Calvinest follow the teaching of Calvin and so on…

Yes, they are also cults, as is the Catholic Church, it isn’t a bad name. it’s like calling someone a “Christian” and meaning it as an insult.

 

[Fidelis]

It’s easy to let enthusaism mutate into triumphalism, and we end up repelling those we want to share the Gospel with, rather than attract them. This does not serve the cause of Christ. Let me recommend a book, available elsewhere on this website. It helped me a lot.

shop.catholic.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/online-store/scstore/p-CB265.html?L+scstore+cwrp1081ff5add5a+1128506519
**How NOT To Share Your Faith: The Seven Deadly Sins Of Apologetics And Evangelization **
by Mark Brumley

There’s also a talk available by the author on this topic:
shop.catholic.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/online-store/scstore/p-CA104.html?L+scstore+cwrp1081ff5add5a+1129400547
**The Seven Deadly Sins of Apologetics **

Finally, here’s a pair of articles on this subject from This Rock magazine:
catholic.com/thisrock/2002/0209fea4.asp
catholic.com/thisrock/1990/9007evan.asp

Hope that helps.

 

[deb1]

Correction, I meant the word confrontational. Sorry…I haven’t had my morning cup of coffee when I wrote the post.

 

[VociMike]

Hi, and welcome home!

I think you need to focus (as do we all!) on speaking the truth in humble charity. Strive to become the least, and your example will speak louder than any words. Become Christ in the world. Every Protestant conversion to Catholicism that I have been witness to has come about at least partially through the witness of Catholics speaking the truth in charity. People really are paying attention to what we say and write, and God will use our witness.