If you are a convert, what drew you to the Church?

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AnnetteJoan

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For me it was various things, but one thing that sto od out for me was the belief in redemptive suffering.

At the time of my conversion, while I was not enduring any physical ailments yet, I did ask the question, why do the good suffer?

In Judaism, the prayers and greetings often expressed a wish that the person would not suffer, or become sick, or become poor, etc. Being sick, childless, poor, etc was seen as a curse from God in Orthodox Judaism, for having violated Torah.

But yet I knew of good people who did occasionally suffer, and I wondered why. Catholicism in the concept of redemptive suffering, means that no suffering is wasted because it can be offered up for someone’s conversion, or for the good of others in other ways, etc.

I also came to understand what St Augustine taught, that God does not allow evil to happen unless He foresees that He will bring good out of it. I have had that proven to me many, many times in my life.
 
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Sometimes suffering is like purifying fire. So we ought to offer our sufferings to God.
Some well-meaning sinners suffer in this life, others in the next one (purgatory), yet others in both.
 
Yes. And remember it is the only Church that can be traced back to Jesus himself. Protestants did not appear until the 15th century. And for the first 300 years, most Christians died for the faith. It is a miracle of history that Catholic Christianity survived and flourished.
 
The history and scholarship of the Catholic Church. The adaptation of Greek and Roman philosophy, the depth and rationality of the faith. Protestantism is too simple. Too unrefined, too dumbed down. Catholicism is just True.
 
In order of relevance:

The Magisterium and Sacred Tradition (logic, authority, internal consistency, unity, order above chaos)
Beauty and Depth (The Communion & Writings of the Saints, Sacred Art, Architecture, Liturgical Depth and Profundity. It is like drinking from a fire hose)
Universality (Whether I am in the US, Italy, Nigeria, or on Mars; in the country or the city; old or young; black or white. There is the Church)
 
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Right. The Protestant churches would loose its foothold if they revealed church history.
 
AnnetteJoan said:
St Augustine taught, that God does not allow evil to happen unless He foresees that He will bring good out of it. I have had that proven to me many, many times in my life.
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Reading this made me really happy for you. I believe it is one of God’s greatest gifts to us to let us see the good that come from evil. Please do me a favour, whenever you see someone troubled by circumstances in life, tell them your story.
 
For me the intellectual, aesthetic and historical heritage of the Church were the initial attraction. In my RCIA class and after my reception into the Church, I gained a greater appreciation of real Catholic theology. I learn more and love my faith more every day.
 
AnnetteJoan, you are promulgating simplistic, and flatly wrong, information about Judaism when you say that sickness, poverty, and being childless are viewed as a “curse” from G-d in Orthodox Judaism, “for having violated the Torah.” I don’t know what kind of upbringing you had, but this is not what Orthodox Jews believe. Or is this your own assumption? Please stop this kind of misinformation. It’s fine that you converted to Catholicism (there are many paths to G-d: and Orthodox Jews do believe this), but must you persistently put down Judaism in your posts?
 
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Other than being convicted by history that the Church’s claims are reasonable at minimum, I found a balanced combination of deep mystical/spiritual tradition (something I yearned for from my dabbling and studying of shamanism, Eastern traditions and Hasidic Judaism), philosophy and intellectualism (I was blown away by JPIIs writing, as well as von Hildebrand and Guardini), and an institution that didn’t shy away from science (something I had deep issues with from my time in Baptist churches which generally took literally the Creation narrative and so rejected a lot of science). Basically Catholicism was my Goldilocks moment; within it are all the things I always loved about religious studies, philosophy and rigorous intellectualism. For a nerd like me how could I say no?
 
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When you have lived your life as an Orthodox Jew in an Orthodox community,as I have, then come back and talk to me about what Orthodox Jews think and believe, ok?

You admit you didn’t so how would you know? Why do you think there are so many agencies to help infertile Orthodox couples in places like Boro Park Brooklyn, Williamsburg, Crown Heights, etc? It is a major shame to a frum wife to be unable to have children, it stems from how the Chasidim see things. I’m stating the truth as I know it from personal experience. Why is that bothersome to you? You don’t need to believe me, just watch any documentary about former Chasidim and what life was like for them, and why they left. I’m not the only one, but I might be one of the few who left for Christianity. This is just one example of what I’m saying. If you did not live in this world, you cannot speak with any authority:

 
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When my pastor couldn’t help me when I
revealed to him my porn/masturbation
addiction, he literally said:" you know what
to do" I knew that something was missing!!
When I finally found the Catholic sacrament
of reconciliation, I know now that it was the
right thing I did to join the One Holy Catholic
and Apostolic Church.
 
AnnetteJoan said:
When you have lived your life as an Orthodox Jew in an Orthodox community,as I have, then come back and talk to me about what Orthodox Jews think and believe, ok?
Click to expand...
Q: Are Jews still waiting for the Messiah?
 
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That the early Church believed in the Real Presence as literal Jesus under the appearance of bread and wine.

Also, I could not envision God Who would leave His own Church in error until the 1500’s when the so-called reformation happened.

The lives and testimonies of saints. They all testified to the Church and Her sacraments. Most/all were devoted to the Blessed Mother of God.

Protestantism was wrong on so many important things. Why should I continue believing in it?
 
Yes, there is some truth in what you say about certain Hassidim. I say “certain” because, as you know, there are several sects, with different social and political beliefs. I did grow up in an Orthodox community; I went to an Orthodox shul. But it was not Hassidic; it was Traditional Orthodox. My grandparents were Traditional Orthodox (not Hassidic, not Modern: there was no such thing as the latter at the time). So I do speak from some experience. You are painting the Orthodox with a broad brush, which is dangerous, especially for those who know little about Judaism in general.
 
I can tell you one thing all Orthodox Jews believe, because this is Talmudic commentary on the Torah (written Torah), and this actually bothered me more than a lot of other things.

They teach that the commandment “to love your neighbor as yourself” only applies to fellow Jews. And before you deny it, you should know that we were taught that in day school and my sisters were also taught it. We were also taught that the righteous of all nations (Gentiles) will have a share in the olam ha’ba (world to come) but only as servants to Jews.

That did not sit well with me at all because I had and have Gentile acquaintances who I care about.
 
All I can say to this is you apparently had a very unfortunate educational upbringing concerning Jewish teaching. Whoever taught you this was woefully misinformed. Gentiles will be “servants to Jews”? This sounds like something out of the pages of Stormfront. I suppose Catholics are not the only ones of whom some are ill-catechized. And the commandment “To love your neighbor as yourself” applies to every human being.
 
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