Is it ok to study under a Protestant philosopher?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jcnava15
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
J

Jcnava15

Guest
Long story short, I am about to begin studying Apologetics/Philosophy from a well respected Christian Philosopher, who is a Protestant. I met with him today and had a very engaging 3 hour conversation on Christianity, and faith in general

I really connected with him, and he seems like a nice guy, and genuine Christian. However I talked to him about Catholicism, and while he had nothing rude, or bad to say about Catholics, he said he does have some concerns about it.

I have a deep love for Catholicism, and and have been led by the Holy Spirit to Catholicism. I’m a baby Catholic, and I know at some point though Catholicism Vs Protestantism will come up.

What do you think?
 
It is difficult to connect with someone who shares the same love of Christ and when one does it is natural to want to continue that bond. This I know.

The red warning flag here is " he does have ***some concerns ***about it." Meaning, anxious, troubled, disagreement. I can only conclude that being a Philosopher He will have seeminly valid arguemnts against our faith that will appear to be sound.
Please rethink this and pray about this.

You are in my prayers my friend
 
I love our protestant brothes and sisters, however unless you are steadfast in your faith, I personally would not study under him. Even then I probably wouldn’t. There are enough Catholic teachers, and spiritual advisers that I wouldn’t waste my time. I see nothing good coming out of this. Find a good Catholic spiritual advisor, there is much to learn about the Catholc faith, and I am afraid you might get sidelined even if only temporalily. Life is short, let’s make the most of it.
Embrace our Catholic Faith.
Hope this helps.
God Bless
Elvis
 
It’s always great to have connections with other Christians.

but…

Apologetics is the explaining of our faith. How can he instruct you on explaining our faith if it’s not his ?

In my opinion it’s just an opportunity for him to single out your faith in class and lob objections while leaving you either to defend yourself in front of your peers, or without any recourse at all because of a classroom environment where he holds primacy of place as the teacher. In short, you’ll be his demonstration dummy. :eek:
 
Chris_Etzel said:
It’s always great to have connections with other Christians.

but…

Apologetics is the explaining of our faith. How can he instruct you on explaining our faith if it’s not his ?

In my opinion it’s just an opportunity for him to single out your faith in class and lob objections while leaving you either to defend yourself in front of your peers, or without any recourse at all because of a classroom environment where he holds primacy of place as the teacher. In short, you’ll be his demonstration dummy. :eek:
Click to expand...
This isn’t in a class room, this is more like a private mentorship. I’m going to talk to him about my concerns.

The reason he has took me “under his wing” so to say is that before I discovered my catholic faith, I was struggling with doubts, and he and another philosopher were helping me with my doubts.

I will definitely pray about it, I ask you to pray for me too.
 
Jcnava15 said:
I have a deep love for Catholicism, and and have been led by the Holy Spirit to Catholicism. I’m a baby Catholic, and I know at some point though Catholicism Vs Protestantism will come up.
Click to expand...
If this is true, there is no way you should study with him. If you aren’t rock solid in your Catholic faith and theology, you will lose your faith and imperil your soul. If you need help sorting some things out, find a good priest.
 
I would be very wary of this, because you are attracted to his persona, rather than the content of his teaching. As a protestant, his teaching, at least in part, will lead you away from your Catholic faith. As well, there are thousands of differing protestant opinions of what the bible means. In 2 Peter 1:20, Saint Peter himself says that no matter of scriptural prophecy is of any private interpretation. And, protestantism relies upon private interpretation, since they deny Church authority.
 
Our first focus should be, what is the true purpose of this study? Next, are there any other philosophers within reason that can fulfill the same requirements as the Protestant philosopher. If our purpose of study is to understand things outside of our own environment, to see as they see, then this may be a good resource. If it’s for further understanding of Catholicism then this may be a weak point to pursue. Proximity and a personal relation are usually a very high plus and hard to beat. It’s not often that you can get personal instruction for questions not seen.
If he has reserves then it means he doesn’t have answers in those areas. Yes, there are questions in his mind that are still unresolved. He will also have teachings taught to him that were accepted by him but not completely understood. I’m not saying he isn’t a good instructor but were all human. If you both have a common understanding of not trying to pull each other to the other group there shouldn’t be a problem. The problem will occur when one tries to convince the other to change sides or one is not strong enough to stand by truths of the faith.
Remember the story of the Apostles finding some men casting out devils in Christ’s name and the Apostles asked them to quit because they would not come with them? What did Christ tell them? “For he that is not against us is for us”. Mark 9:38-40
Also remember Paul mentioned we are of the same body though he complained that some see themselves as the feet while others see themselves as the head and then other as the hand and many complained who was the most important. Remember we should not separate ourselves from Christ, he is one body but many members as described in 1 Corinthians Chapter 12. You need to learn what member you are and grow from there.
Enjoy the search.
 
As a former Protestant, who once converted many Catholics over to the Protestant side (something I did innocently and with good intention but deeply regret),I would warn you to stay away. Unless your faith is strong enough to avoid attempted conversions. Though he will certainly have great intentions, he will try and convert you. The fact that he has already told you he has some concerns, should raise flags. The bottom line is he believes you are in the wrong church, that our priests are invalid and that the Eucharist is not our Lord.
Our beloved Pope once said, “what unites us, is greater than what divides us.” So love him, indeed, but do not study under someone who holds irreconcilably different beliefs than your own. Choose another that is in line with our faith and our Church.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top