Is it okay to go to a christian church and a catholic church?

[kill051]

Anyone here on CAF who believes that all Protestants have benign and open-minded attitudes toward Catholics, need only study the history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland to have that mistaken idea destroyed forever.

 

[TC3033]

I hope you’re not going to paint all non-Catholics with a broad brush for something happening in Northern Ireland…

I was completely raised open-minded towards Catholics… From my point of view, we’re all Christians trying to get to Heaven in the best way we know how.

I didn’t even know that there was really a whole Catholics vs. non-Catholics thing until after getting engaged and then married…

 

[somecanadian]

As usual I’m late to the party.

Which denomination of christian church? I’m sure everyone has already mentioned that the Catholic Church IS a Christian church but I honestly think that was just a mistake on your part and not a deliberate attempt to de-legitimize Catholicism.

Are they Baptists? Baptists believe many things we don’t. They also tend to be anti-Catholic. I once attended a Catholic Bible study and the only thing they talked about was how their teaching was right and Catholic teaching was wrong.

Pentecostals? Last time I went to a Pentecostal church they taught that you aren’t going to heaven unless you speak in tongues.

Salvation Army? They reject baptism, among other things.

Lutheran? They don’t believe in the Eucharist in the same way we do and reject Papal authority.

Non-denominational? They reject infant baptism.

ALL of the above reject Catholic teaching on Mary, purgatory and praying to the saints (and often teach and preach untruths about those respective practices).

Protestants can be deeply in love with Christ. They can be staunch believers and holy. They do not have the fullness of truth. Going to a Protestant church to learn and grow in faith is like eating a vegen burger when you have a craving for meat.

Or having a small chunk of carrot instead of a full salad when you’re hungry.

You will be missing much. They will, however, love like no other and probably make you feel more at home and more welcome than any Catholic parish.

But… do you sacrifice the fullness of truth for comfort?

PS: Depending what denomination you attend you might encounter the belief that masturbation is good, pre-marital sex isn’t sinful and gay sex is perfectly fine. Just as an aside. They are not as different as some claim but not as similar as others claim.

 

[kill051]

Going to a Protestant church to learn and grow in faith is like eating a vegen burger when you have a craving for meat.

Several years of veganism when I was in college resulted in anemia, violent blood sugar swings, persistent infections and dangerously low blood pressure. The spiritual maladies that I would incur were I to exchange the rich, nourishing meat of Catholicism for the thin, watery scraps of Protestantism do not bear thinking about.

 

[somecanadian]

Oh dear. I didn’t mean that analogy as an insult to any vegens btw!!! I’m a meat lover myself so it was just the first thing that popped into my head.

Just throwing that out there in case anyone misunderstands my intent with that.

Also, kill, sorry you went through that. Sounds horrible.

 

[TC3033]

But… do you sacrifice the fullness of truth for comfort?

Kinda cherry-picking one line, but sometimes ya.

For me, you can say that. It’s been tough to embrace, ponder the “fullness” or even think about converting to a religion where the church where my wife goes has done so much to push me away for the only reason of not being the correct flavor of Christian. It’s tough to think about a church having the fullness when they don’t want you there unless you’re the right type of Christian. IDK, maybe that’s just me and my experiences.

 

[kill051]

Also, kill, sorry you went through that. Sounds horrible.

Thanks, canadian. I’m sure everyone’s system reacts differently to veganism. My system just happens to function best on an omnivorous diet. Also, like you, I meant no insult to vegans. I based my analogy purely on my own personal experience.

 

[somecanadian]

Fortunately the Church is not a museum for saints.
Unfortunately the Church is a hospital for sinners.

This truth makes it feel even more real to me. I’ve made the connection before but Jesus’ chosen disciples weren’t perfect, and nor should we expect our fellow Christians to be.

When I look at Christianity, I see a clear trail right to Catholicism and I can’t imagine going anywhere else knowing that they have only existed for the last 500 years (and only popped up some 1500 years AFTER Christ). How can I trust they know anything about Christianity when they are so far removed from it?

Catholicism, however, can be traced directly to Christ and I know it is THE Church He started. So I trust.

If I weren’t Catholic, I would be orthodox for the same reasons stated above but I could never be Protestant again. There is too much confusion, too much each man for him/herself… too much reliance on one persons maybe educated, maybe not interpretation of Scripture (that, ironically, was compiled and protected by the very Church they reject).

 

[TC3033]

I guess that’s one place we’re going to differ. If I’m not really welcome there, not invited to activities, may have well not been in the room at baptism classes for my youngest, don’t want me to be part of parish life, etc…all for not being the right type of Christian I don’t feel a pull to be part of that community. I get more of a push (and honestly so is my wife)

She (we) actually prefer my church back home when it comes to sermons…by the maybe/maybe not educated priest (he is BTW). We get something to think and talk about when we leave and how the lesson applied to real life, rather than the awkwardness of “So, what did you think when he said I don’t respect women because I’m not Catholic”…

Like I said, I was never raised to look down at other Christians, the whole exclusion thing and reading and hearing about non-Catholics at my wife’s church is just odd to me.

 

[somecanadian]

Well, I hope God blesses you no matter what decision you make.

For me Protestant churches were never fulfilling. I always felt an emptiness. I had community and friends and love but I would leave services crying because there was just something MISSING. It is only in the Catholic Church that I find the Eucharist, and only in the Catholic Church where I find solid truth.

Do I miss the community aspect? Absolutely but I don’t miss the constant sensation that something was ‘missing’.

I have recently begun to be more active in my parish. Joined RCIA as a ‘helper’. FOUND A BIBLE STUDY! (I had no idea one existed). And just in general am doing my part to integrate. My hope is to start building that community I miss but even if I don’t I won’t leave because I’ve felt the emptiness of Protestantism and it just doesn’t work for me.

 

[Vico]

I was born and raised catholic and I still practice my catholic faith but I have recently been going to a christian church not because I want to change my religion but because I want to expand my faith. My family and I have had several arguments about this topic, they see it as be betraying everything that my family has taught me.

We have a responsibility to not express religious indifference, that is, the Catholic faith is preferred over all others. It could give scandal to others.

 

[TC3033]

I guess that’s my feeling too. I feel empty when I leave the Catholic church with my wife.

Since I can’t be active in the parish because I’m not Catholic, that also makes it difficult to feel any sort of belonging.

 

[Londoner]

Baptists believe many things we don’t. They also tend to be anti-Catholic.

This surprises me. I assumed that Baptists in Canada would be more like Baptists in the UK and less like Baptists in the USA. I could believe that many American Baptists could be anti-Catholic, but I’m surprised to hear that it is the same in Canada. In the UK the Baptists tend to be one of the more theologically open-minded denominations and in particular committed to ecumenical dialogue with other Christians, including Catholics.

 

[somecanadian]

The only Baptist church I ever stepped into had Jack Chick brochures in their foyer. I wasn’t Catholic at the time but I looked at them and knew they were fake.

That service that we sat in was saying: If you aren’t a member of this church, you’re wasting space by sitting in the pews.

So I got up, walked out and never returned.

I DID however attend one of their bible studies and the entire study was dedicated to bashing the Catholic Church. Again, wasn’t Catholic at the time but even I knew what they were saying was wrong so I ended up spending the entire bible study arguing with their leader over their falsehoods.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Yep, so then why would some say that non-Catholics aren’t Christians if (from the above) that’s not the teaching of the Church…?

Because this is an opinion board. There are people who have extreme opinions here. There are people who give their own opinions rather than the official teaching of the Church. People here are not professional CAF apologists.

When in doubt, please refer to the current, official Catechism of the Catholic Church.

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I DID however attend one of their bible studies and the entire study was dedicated to bashing the Catholic Church.

Yeah, there are certain Protestant radio stations I can bring in where every program turns into a bash on the Catholic Church.
There are others where you never hear that stuff.
I once heard my own nephew slag on the Catholic Church and be quickly shushed by his mother saying “Auntie Bear is a Catholic, shhhhh”. I’m pretty sure he picked that up at their church.

 

[Londoner]

Right, that doesn’t sound anything like British Baptists. Any British Baptists I know would have no time for nonsense like Jack Chick. Also, the idea that only members of the church have any business sitting in their pews suggests that this was a Strict Baptist church (also called Strict and Particular Baptist), which refers not to their strictness of their theology as such but to the strictness with which they define church membership and admission to communion. Strict/Strict and Particular Baptists are a small and eccentric subset of Baptists and not remotely representative of Baptists as a whole (indeed, most Baptists would not be welcome in their churches). It sounds like the ‘Baptist’ church you visited was about as close to mainstream Baptists as the Society of St Pius X is to mainstream Catholicism. Like I say, they could also be more like some American Baptists, e.g. Southern Baptists, who are not actually part of the Baptist World Alliance.

 

[Aulef]

So if someone tells me that Christ died and resurrected by Himself and also says that He isn’t God, do I have to consider this person an incomplete christian (or something like this)?

 

[Peeps]

This kind of Catholic bashing would hopefully not fool a Catholic. When someone is ridiculed, they are not likely to stick around long, as you demonstrated by walking out. No one wants to be ridiculed.

What is more likely to fool a Catholic (or anyone who is not a member of their community) is when the church members are kind, gentle, friendly, and loving, and the music is beautiful (often with lighting effects that make the church (generally no artwork or stained glass) look ethereal, and the message (sermon) is well-organized (three distinct points), calm, and rational and appears to be taken straight out of Scripture (many Evangelical Pastors will preach while holding an open Bible).

This kind of atmosphere will draw someone in much faster than “bashing”. That’s what I am trying to get across to the OP. Protestants are often very friendly, which is one reason why I enjoy playing in their churches–they’re nice and they invite me out! So much fun!

BUT…OP…be careful!

I was Protestant for 47 years and I’ve been Catholic for 14 years, and I have done a lot of study over the years, and I read any Catholic apologetic books that I can get my hands on and listen to CDs by people like Tim Staples, and attend conferences (when they are in my area), and I’ve read the articles and listened to the lectures on Catholic Answers for years. I’ve also read the Catholic Bible through twice now, and the Catechism, and I’ve attended my parish’s Bible study and I attend any missions that my parish offers.

I know my Catholic faith well.

PLUS–from years of being Protestant, I know what lurks under the surface of the friendliness! Don’t get me wrong–most Protestants are completely sincere in their friendliness. But things can turn real quick–you just try to give public testimony about Catholicism, or speak up in the Sunday School class to correct a misconception about Catholicism–ooh, boy, you can end up called into the office and meeting with the Church Board and get grilled!

Again, most Protestant churches aren’t trying to undermine the Catholic faith. They are trying to get souls saved, but they are doing it incorrectly by teaching an incomplete Gospel. And they want others to reject any Gospel but their incomplete version.

As I have said before, if you are young and still have a lot of religious education to learn, I would stay away from Protestant worship services, and stick with attending the occasional Christian concert (which is probably Protestant-based since there seem to be very few touring Catholic musical groups).

But even at the concert, stay alert and be aware of the power of emotion to sway your logical thinking and cause you to make some kind of decision or commitment based on your feelings.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Christian churches do not teach that “Christ is not God”.

You sound like you are confusing Christian Protestant churches with non-Christian churches.

Please do some research.