Methodism and Catholicism

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komeeks18

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I was raised Baptist, but have been attending an United Methodist church, and I absolutely love it since it does have liturgical elements which I had never been exposed to. I agree with most of the Methodist theology, but I used to be dead set on converting to Catholicism after years of research. Since beginning to attend this Methodist church, I no longer have the desire to convert and have many doubts about Catholic theology, but I just don’t know what to believe anymore! Is everyone meant to be Catholic Christians? :confused:
 
I’m going through the same thing. I was very close to becoming Catholic, with RCIA sessions booked and everything. For whatever reason my friends continued to be loving, supportive, and my Church kept teaching me new things.

All I’m asking for is a push from God if He wants me to be Catholic, and why, oh why does He keep sending me the most amazing people from my Church. Why does God keep sending me Atheists who are converting because we introduced them to my Church. Why does our Church do such an amazing job feeding the homeless and doing missions in Pakistan where they face death.
 
Beautiful testimony 👍

Sounds like the poster is happy in a Methodist parish and benefits from that expression of the catholic faith.

The Order of St Luke is an example of Methodism: saint-luke.net/
 
komeeks18 said:
I was raised Baptist, but have been attending an United Methodist church, and I absolutely love it since it does have liturgical elements which I had never been exposed to. I agree with most of the Methodist theology, but I used to be dead set on converting to Catholicism after years of research. Since beginning to attend this Methodist church, I no longer have the desire to convert and have many doubts about Catholic theology, but I just don’t know what to believe anymore! Is everyone meant to be Catholic Christians? :confused:
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I was raised a Methodist. There are a lot of good men and women in the Methodist Church. I was sad to leave my old church, but in the end, the Methodist Church does not have the fullness of the Christian Faith. Probably most importantly, John Wesley specifically denied the real presence of our Lord in the Eucharist.
Transubstantiation, or the change of the substance of bread and wine in the Supper of our Lord, cannot be proved by Holy Writ, but is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a sacrament, and hath given occasion to many superstitions.
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The belief in the Real Presence is highly documented in early Christian writings. It is truly fundamental to the Christian Faith. I suggest you pick up Jimmy Akin’s The Fathers Know Best. It is a great book that will show you the truth of Catholicism through the Church Fathers. I also suggest you check out Eucharistic Miracles and Eucharistic Phenomena in the Lives of the Saints by Joan Carroll Cruz.

Remember, your local Catholic Parish might not have the most activities, the most fired up members, etc. but it has the fullness of the truth. Our most important duty is to follow God and, in the word’s of the Blessed Mother, “Do whatever He tells you.” John 2.6. He told us to Eat His Flesh and Drink His Blood, and we should! God Bless.

-JMR
 
komeeks18 said:
I was raised Baptist, but have been attending an United Methodist church, and I absolutely love it since it does have liturgical elements which I had never been exposed to. I agree with most of the Methodist theology, but I used to be dead set on converting to Catholicism after years of research. Since beginning to attend this Methodist church, I no longer have the desire to convert and have many doubts about Catholic theology, but I just don’t know what to believe anymore! Is everyone meant to be Catholic Christians? :confused:
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I was actually wondering what happened to you the other day while I was looking through my “friends” list.

Welcome back!!!

We all have our own journeys, and I pray that whatever path you choose will be the path God wants for you. :hug3:

This is a place to get answers, to find support, and to just be heard. Take advantage of it.

As far as knowing what to believe… if you pray on it enough, God will show you the way.
 
I deeply love the Methodist and the Episcopal Churches. I have only been to these and the Baptist Church two times. I love the Methodist emphasis on charity. The people seemed very nice, but once we were outside the doors, it felt, at least to me, that “school was out.”

Being Catholic for me, picks up where others are others are just getting started. The amount of ministries we have to choose from is incredible. Being Catholic is a way of life, not just a Sunday event, at least if you are doing it right.

I have never felt the presence of Christ in another Church the way I have in a Catholic Church. The doctrine, rather than sounding “strict” sounds instead… correct. You have true obedience to the Lord and to God there, where at other places, it all seems so… optional.

I think you should attend where you feel the best, what works for you. Just because it is our path doesn’t mean has to be yours. Who knows, attendance at one church may simply be preparation for the other. If you are young or curious, you might not be ready for the kind of commitment that the Mother of God asks from us in return for her most gracious blessings and those of her Son our Lord.

Stay focused, listen to your heart, and ask God what is right for you.:aok:
 
Here’s my take on both of your situations:

You are both experiencing a beautiful part of what it means to follow Christ and to live amongst those who have a living faith in him. There’s nothing that can be taken away from the testimony your follow Methodists are providing - it’s a beautiful example of the body of Christ at work.

That said, we are all called to follow God to the best of our abilities. If it is true that Jesus founded the Catholic Church on Peter and has maintained it through the Holy Spirit for the last 2000 years, then God wants us to be part of the one Church, so that the world may believe (rough paraphrase of John 17:21). As we read through Saint Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians, we can see the four marks of the Church clearly emerge: the Church is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.

Even though the example of your fellow Methodists is a beautiful one, we must also consider what it means to be splintered in our Christian faith. Christ wants us to be one, and we have the choice whether to be part of unity or part of division. If you feel led to explore the possibility of becoming Catholic, please do not deny that prompting of the Holy Spirit. Christ needs good men and women to reinvigorate his Church, and many of these have been converts through the Church’s history. We would welcome you home with outspread arms to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
 
komeeks18 said:
Is everyone meant to be Catholic Christians? :confused:
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My :twocents::
All Christians, the original Apostles and their successors were all Catholic Christians. Ideally we are all called home to the only Church that Jesus himself established.

I just wanted to address that one point before I hit the hay.
G’night. :yawn:
 
komeeks18 said:
I was raised Baptist, but have been attending an United Methodist church, and I absolutely love it since it does have liturgical elements which I had never been exposed to. I agree with most of the Methodist theology, but I used to be dead set on converting to Catholicism after years of research. Since beginning to attend this Methodist church, I no longer have the desire to convert and have many doubts about Catholic theology, but I just don’t know what to believe anymore! Is everyone meant to be Catholic Christians? :confused:
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Komeeks,

Welcome back. You’ve been in my thoughts and prayers. I can’t sleep so here I am answering you in the middle of the night. :yawn:

From the United Methodist website. Link here.

The Bible - Methodist
We believe that the Bible is the primary authority for our faith and practice.

Catholic: the bible no where says this. Christ established a Church, Catholic, One in faith, built upon St Peter and promised to lead it to all Truth. This includes leading the Catholic Church, led by the Holy Spirit to canonized scripture. The Methodists are holding a Catholic book.

Baptism - Methodist
Baptism is a symbol of new life and a sign of God’s love and forgiveness of our sins.

Catholic - Baptism cleanses us from Original sin. This is the Apostolic faith, taught by Christ himself,

Communion - Methodist
The Lord’s Supper is a holy meal of bread and wine that symbolizes the body and blood of Christ.

Catholic - The Eucharist is the summit of our Faith. The Christian belief from day one is that the bread and wine become the actual, resurrected Body and Blood of our Lord in the Eucharist. John 6 is clear. Nothing Symbolic. You need an ordained Priest to receive this sacrament. Ponder this. You receive Jesus just as he intended for us and instructed us in the Catholic Church. Read Brand Pitre’s book, a quick read, titled Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist. A must read for all considering the Catholic faith or questioning the Eucharist. Great Christmas gift, quite awesome.

That’s all for now, sleepy I am. Follow the Truth and it will set you free.

PnP
 
jmr_1985 said:
Probably most importantly, John Wesley specifically denied the real presence of our Lord in the Eucharist.
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No, he did not. Just read the eucharistic hymns of John and Charles Wesley, and it is clear that they believed in the real presence. They did not accept the Catholic teaching of transubstantiation, but they clearly believed and taught that Christ is truly present in the consecrated elements.
 
Anglicanism would welcome you. I would suggest one of the Churches under the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA, Convocation of Anglicans in North America, PEARUSA, Forward in Faith, Reformed Episcopal)
 
Porknpie said:
Komeeks,

Welcome back. You’ve been in my thoughts and prayers. I can’t sleep so here I am answering you in the middle of the night. :yawn:

From the United Methodist website. Link here.

The Bible - Methodist
We believe that the Bible is the primary authority for our faith and practice.

Catholic: the bible no where says this. Christ established a Church, Catholic, One in faith, built upon St Peter and promised to lead it to all Truth. This includes leading the Catholic Church, led by the Holy Spirit to canonized scripture. The Methodists are holding a Catholic book.

Baptism - Methodist
Baptism is a symbol of new life and a sign of God’s love and forgiveness of our sins.

Catholic - Baptism cleanses us from Original sin. This is the Apostolic faith, taught by Christ himself,

Communion - Methodist
The Lord’s Supper is a holy meal of bread and wine that symbolizes the body and blood of Christ.

Catholic - The Eucharist is the summit of our Faith. The Christian belief from day one is that the bread and wine become the actual, resurrected Body and Blood of our Lord in the Eucharist. John 6 is clear. Nothing Symbolic. You need an ordained Priest to receive this sacrament. Ponder this. You receive Jesus just as he intended for us and instructed us in the Catholic Church. Read Brand Pitre’s book, a quick read, titled Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist. A must read for all considering the Catholic faith or questioning the Eucharist. Great Christmas gift, quite awesome.

That’s all for now, sleepy I am. Follow the Truth and it will set you free.

PnP
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RyanBlack said:
No, he did not. Just read the eucharistic hymns of John and Charles Wesley, and it is clear that they believed in the real presence. They did not accept the Catholic teaching of transubstantiation, but they clearly believed and taught that Christ is truly present in the consecrated elements.
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Right, regarding what Ryan said.

Thanks for posting the link to the UMC website, PorknPie. To be fair, though, the snippet you quoted about the Eucharist and Baptism doesn’t accurately represent the depth and breadth of actual UMC teaching about those sacraments. To get that, you need to click on the link, read the summaries posted, and then click on the links given with the summaries. The one on Holy Communion is 43 pages long but it makes very clear that it’s far from just a symbol and remembrance to Methodists. It’s considered a mystery in which Christ’s real presence is made manifest, and real graces are conveyed beyond our understanding by a mystery of God. Transubstantiation, however, is not taught.

I believe Methodists would consider themselves to be validly ordained in the same line as Anglicans–in the early American period, the ordination would have first come through Bishop Francis Asbury, if I remember correctly.
 
AbideWithMe said:
Right, regarding what Ryan said.

Thanks for posting the link to the UMC website, PorknPie. To be fair, though, the snippet you quoted about the Eucharist and Baptism doesn’t accurately represent the depth and breadth of actual UMC teaching about those sacraments. To get that, you need to click on the link, read the summaries posted, and then click on the links given with the summaries. The one on Holy Communion is 43 pages long but it makes very clear that it’s far from just a symbol and remembrance to Methodists. It’s considered a mystery in which Christ’s real presence is made manifest, and real graces are conveyed beyond our understanding by a mystery of God. Transubstantiation, however, is not taught.

I believe Methodists would consider themselves to be validly ordained in the same line as Anglicans–in the early American period, the ordination would have first come through Bishop Francis Asbury, if I remember correctly.
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As do women priests, I doesn’t matter what they consider themselves, it matters whether they have orders or not and they don’t, because the line was broken by the Anglicans when they rejected the sacramental nature of orders when Cranmer changed the rite of ordination in 1550. Further, the explicit rejection of transubstantiation (and thus of the Sacrifice of the Mass, no sacrifice no priesthood) in he 39 articles also is enough to invalidate Anglican orders. The Anglicans also ‘ordain’ women, which we know to be impossible.

From the 39 Articles

Transubstantiation in the Supper of the Lord, cannot be proved by Holy Writ; but is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a Sacrament, and hath given occasion to many superstitions

The Body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten, in the Supper, only after an heavenly and spiritual manner. And the mean whereby the Body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper, is Faith.
 
komeeks18 said:
I was raised Baptist, but have been attending an United Methodist church, and I absolutely love it since it does have liturgical elements which I had never been exposed to. I agree with most of the Methodist theology, but I used to be dead set on converting to Catholicism after years of research. Since beginning to attend this Methodist church, I no longer have the desire to convert and have many doubts about Catholic theology, but I just don’t know what to believe anymore! Is everyone meant to be Catholic Christians? :confused:
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Ask yourself which Church, Catholic or Methodist, is the Church Christ established in Matthew 16, built of the rock of Peter. Remember this is a visible Church, the BODY of Christ - not his Spirit (cf. Col 1:24, Eph 4:11), it’s something you can take your brother to which can settle a disagreement (cf. Matt 18:17). - something a ‘church of all believers’ can’t do (try to settle the question of justification by going to the church of all believers and see how many different answers you get).

Remember, we are obligated to join the Catholic Church if we know she is the true Church, to do otherwise is to reject the will of Christ.

God bless! And keep on the journey. I spent some time in Methodism myself on my journey. Great people.
 
PietroPaolo said:
As do women priests, I doesn’t matter what they consider themselves, it matters whether they have orders or not and they don’t, because the line was broken by the Anglicans when they rejected the sacramental nature of orders when Cranmer changed the rite of ordination in 1550. Further, the explicit rejection of transubstantiation (and thus of the Sacrifice of the Mass, no sacrifice no priesthood) in he 39 articles also is enough to invalidate Anglican orders. The Anglicans also ‘ordain’ women, which we know to be impossible.

From the 39 Articles

Transubstantiation in the Supper of the Lord, cannot be proved by Holy Writ; but is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a Sacrament, and hath given occasion to many superstitions

The Body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten, in the Supper, only after an heavenly and spiritual manner. And the mean whereby the Body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper, is Faith.
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I understand what you’re saying from a Catholic standpoint, but my point was what Methodists believe.

Interestingly, the linked 43 page Methodist document I was referencing above does clearly call the Eucharist a sacrifice re-presented. But yes, Methodists do believe it’s a holy, indescribable mystery but not transubstantiation as defined by the CC.
 
komeeks18 said:
I was raised Baptist, but have been attending an United Methodist church, and I absolutely love it since it does have liturgical elements which I had never been exposed to. I agree with most of the Methodist theology, but I used to be dead set on converting to Catholicism after years of research. Since beginning to attend this Methodist church, I no longer have the desire to convert and have many doubts about Catholic theology, but I just don’t know what to believe anymore! Is everyone meant to be Catholic Christians? :confused:
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What doubts about Catholic theology? Please be more specific.
 
AbideWithMe said:
Right, regarding what Ryan said.

Thanks for posting the link to the UMC website, PorknPie. To be fair, though, the snippet you quoted about the Eucharist and Baptism doesn’t accurately represent the depth and breadth of actual UMC teaching about those sacraments. To get that, you need to click on the link, read the summaries posted, and then click on the links given with the summaries. The one on Holy Communion is 43 pages long but it makes very clear that it’s far from just a symbol and remembrance to Methodists. It’s considered a mystery in which Christ’s real presence is made manifest, and real graces are conveyed beyond our understanding by a mystery of God. Transubstantiation, however, is not taught.

I believe Methodists would consider themselves to be validly ordained in the same line as Anglicans–in the early American period, the ordination would have first come through Bishop Francis Asbury, if I remember correctly.
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Hello Abide,

I was not trying to be “unfair” as I simply copied and pasted what their website states (I did not look nor have time to read an additional 43 pages). Summarize this for me: Do Methodists believe that the bread and wine is turned into the actual body and blood of Christ per the words of John 6? Why would one believe John Wesley’s view some 15 centuries after the Church Christ established taught otherwise?

In all candor, additionally, women ministers are very problematic both from scripture and Tradition. This is even a more recent invention that modernism has brought forward in the last few years. Only 50 years ago per the link here.

PnP
 
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