My girlfriend is a Baptist

[lutherlic]

There is mixed advice here for the OP.

However, if the OP is still following - I recommend that he carefully map all the responses into 2 categories. First, those who are Catholic, faithful, married and have personal experience in this matter. Second, all the others (particularly in the second group those who are not yet married and defending their own mixed relationship). I think the answers to his question will break down cleanly along these lines.

FWIW - in my case it was fairly easy to respect each other’s faith and be respectful of the differences. Then after 13 years we were finally blessed with our daughter. At that point the long glossed-over differences became very important. A decision had be made to baptize the child in one church or the other. Someone was going to feel less connected with their child and unavoidably resentful, even though the non-Catholic was Lutheran (vs. a fundamentalist). I was the Lutheran and the battle left lasting damage, even though I eventually (and happily converted) after 31 years of marriage. We were lucky that our families didn’t meddle too much but that is often not the case. Marriage is hard and mixed faiths is a time bomb - many relationships don’t survive it.

nhylan - I urge you to make an appointment with your priest and bounce off him the idea of getting married in an Anglican church. Don’t just do this without at least being correctly informed.

 

[nhylan]

There is mixed advice here for the OP.

However, if the OP is still following - I recommend that he carefully map all the responses into 2 categories. First, those who are Catholic, faithful, married and have personal experience in this matter. Second, all the others (particularly in the second group those who are not yet married and defending their own mixed relationship). I think the answers to his question will break down cleanly along these lines.

FWIW - in my case it was fairly easy to respect each other’s faith and be respectful of the differences. Then after 13 years we were finally blessed with our daughter. At that point the long glossed-over differences became very important. A decision had be made to baptize the child in one church or the other. Someone was going to feel less connected with their child and unavoidably resentful, even though the non-Catholic was Lutheran (vs. a fundamentalist). I was the Lutheran and the battle left lasting damage, even though I eventually (and happily converted) after 31 years of marriage. We were lucky that our families didn’t meddle too much but that is often not the case. Marriage is hard and mixed faiths is a time bomb - many relationships don’t survive it.

nhylan - I urge you to make an appointment with your priest and bounce off him the idea of getting married in an Anglican church. Don’t just do this without at least being correctly informed.

I am the Anglican in this relationship lol, my Fiance is Roman Catholic.

 

[beehumble]

… Trust me, I am not illusioned to think that all mixed religion marriages work. However, neither do all Catholic marriages. The point I am trying to make is this, marriage is hard, not matter who you marry. Some marriages are going to be more difficult than others…

Yes it is very hard, so why knowingly make it even harder. I worry for kids not getting the sacraments. It is a shame to deprive them of the Eucharist. Perhaps you should agree in front of both HER and your parents that the kids will be Catholic?

You have examples where it worked. I know a couple of family members that were told by their spouses before marriage they would convert - they stalled it off, never did, and now one’s kids are being raised Methodist, the other Lutheran. So that is my experience with it. My kid’s cousins do not have the Eucharist, which I find sad.

 

[Redratfish]

Yes it is very hard, so why knowingly make it even harder. I worry for kids not getting the sacraments. It is a shame to deprive them of the Eucharist. Perhaps you should agree in front of both HER and your parents that the kids will be Catholic?

You have examples where it worked. I know a couple of family members that were told by their spouses before marriage they would convert - they stalled it off, never did, and now one’s kids are being raised Methodist, the other Lutheran. So that is my experience with it. My kid’s cousins do not have the Eucharist, which I find sad.

I never thought I would hear a Catholic use the saying, “why make it harder?” If I used that saying, abortion, ABC, and almost every other thing the Church is against, I would be for. You do it because you truly love someone. That is what marriage is for. I made my life harder when I made a vow against ABC and abortion, why do that? Because I feel strongly about it, thats why.

I worry more about the Catholics who are not religious, but marry other non religious Catholics. I would rather marry a devout Baptist, than a non religious Catholic. In both cases, the child may not receive the sacraments. However, the Baptist at least has a history of being devout. In the area I live, there are VERY few devout Catholics.

While the experience you have it very sad, and I truly do feel sorry for your nieces and nephews, from what I can tell from here, and from online sources, they are not the norm.

 

[shannin]

I have been in a serious relationship now for over 4 years. I love my girlfriend and we talk often of a future together and getting married. But, we still run into problems and issues when it comes to religion and where our future will take us since she is a Baptist and I am a Catholic. I love her and know that God gives us love and so there must be a way to reconcile or at least come to understandings. I don’t know exactly what my question is but I was hoping for some advice on where to go with this and how to approach it next time we have a discussion or debate. I would love to hear anyone’s advice especially someone coming from a similar situation. Thanks

I dated a Baptist for over 2 years. He was a wonderful man and I thought the world of him because of his supposed high morals, honesty and how knowledgable he was about the Bible. As our relationship progressed he started to let his twisted views known about the Catholic Church.

The problem was that (because I thought so much of him) he created very serious doubts in my mind concerning Mary, the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Father and many more Church teachings. I started attending his Baptist Church services with him. The Baptist church service consisted mostly of singing one song after another and a very strong sermon from the minister. I also heard a lot of Catholic-bashing among members of his church.

I did eventually return to the Church, stronger than ever. When I first went back to my Church, I remember weeping during Mass because of the sheer beauty of it. However, if I would have married him, there would have been serious problems. I thank God that the marriage never occurred.

Baptists may not come right out and say it at first, but they strongly disagree with the Catholic faith. They are extremely well-versed in the Bible and believe in once-saved-always saved and sola scriptura.

If your faith means a lot to you, please talk to a priest before you consider getting more serious with her. I will pray for both you and your girlfriend.

There is nothing more fulfilling and satisfying than having a sacramental Catholic marriage - a marriage centering around the truths of the Church - bringing up our children in the Church - attending Mass once a week as a family. Please, please be very careful. I will pray for you both.

Many blessings.

 

[CWBetts]

I dated a Baptist for over 2 years. He was a wonderful man and I thought the world of him because of his supposed high morals, honesty and how knowledgable he was about the Bible. As our relationship progressed he started to let his twisted views known about the Catholic Church.

The problem was that (because I thought so much of him) he created very serious doubts in my mind concerning Mary, the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Father and many more Church teachings. I started attending his Baptist Church services with him. The Baptist church service consisted mostly of singing one song after another and a very strong sermon from the minister. I also heard a lot of Catholic-bashing among members of his church.

I did eventually return to the Church, stronger than ever. When I first went back to my Church, I remember weeping during Mass because of the sheer beauty of it. However, if I would have married him, there would have been serious problems. I thank God that the marriage never occurred.

Baptists may not come right out and say it at first, but they strongly disagree with the Catholic faith. They are extremely well-versed in the Bible and believe in once-saved-always saved and sola scriptura.

If your faith means a lot to you, please talk to a priest before you consider getting more serious with her. I will pray for both you and your girlfriend.

There is nothing more fulfilling and satisfying than having a sacramental Catholic marriage - a marriage centering around the truths of the Church - bringing up our children in the Church - attending Mass once a week as a family. Please, please be very careful. I will pray for you both.

Many blessings.

You just painted a target on your forehead by suggesting Catholics should remain faithful to the teachings of the Church.

 

[shannin]

You just painted a target on your forehead by suggesting Catholics should remain faithful to the teachings of the Church.

Huh?

 

[CWBetts]

Huh?

On this thread, it seems that those who suggest that Catholics should marry Catholics are branded as “intolerant” for following the wisdom of the Church.

 

[jpink1019]

Christian reuinification in the future,

wouldn’t it be awesome??

 

[jpink1019]

People don’t “get saved” in an instantaneous event. Salvation is a lifetime effort and one must persevere to the end (Mt 10:22).

Relativism – the belief that one religion is as good as another – is rampant in Protestantism. A practicing Catholic is not a relativist. Catholics know that their Church alone was founded by Jesus Christ and teaches the full Revelation of God. Jesus gave us seven sacraments to help us get to heaven, and they are available only in the Catholic (and Orthodox) Churches.

All Protestant organizations, by contrast, are man-made and are based on their founder’s (or founders’) interpretation of the same incomplete Bible cut by Martin Luther. And all teach conflicting and competing doctrines. All claim to teach the truth, but no two agree on what the Bible means. The Catholic Church wrote the New Testament during the first Christian century and canonized and formed the Bible when she was nearly 400 years old. She is its only rightful interpreter.

The only assurance of salvation is to be Catholic and to follow the teachings of the Catholic Church. A Catholic who knows his faith would never expose his children to the relativisim of Protestantism. His (or her) solemn obligation is to raise his children in the True Faith.

A Catholic may feel his religion doesn’t matter while the hormones are pumping, but when reality sets in, he may find himself facing a lifetime of regret. It’s best to settle the religion question before marriage – and, unfortunately, many who agree to raise the children Catholic prior to the marriage do not fulfill their promise once the ring in on the finger. And the battles begin.

i am sorry but u jump to conclusions and misunderstand what the person was trying to say about salvation.

 

[jpink1019]

It is a tragedy when someone leaves the Catholic Church. The Non-denominational movement is an innovation of the 20th century and hos no grounding in Scripture or Tradition. It does not foster unity, because there is no unity between any two congregations. It is impossible to know what a non-denominational pastor teaches without an in-depth discussion with him. Non-denominationalism undermines church discipline, and is truly the end result of the Protestant Reformation: a heretical free-for-all with all manner of false teachings flaying about. It is for this very reason why Catholic/Protestant marriages should be avoided. It is an opportunity for the devil for Satan to wrest a Catholic away from Holy Mother Church.

this is very unfair

 

[jpink1019]

Without wanting to get into the particulars in this thread, if you’re interested I"m sure there are a number of threads you can scan for. But you make an assumption in here, and that is that salvation is a one time event which occurs sometime in the past, there for whatever “chruch” you go to doesn’t really matter much.

To the Catholic this is a gravely erroneous belief, and very highly problematic for the original poster. I could not recommend this course of action.

this is again another misunderstanding.
when you are “Saved” you accept christ. But everyone works out their own salvation from then on. If anything the christian walk becomes harder. It isn’t once get saved you are done working… -_- far from it.

 

[CWBetts]

this is very unfair

Wow. That added a lot to the conversation. You obviously disagree, so refute it. Where am I wrong?

 

[jpink1019]

Wow. That added a lot to the conversation. You obviously disagree, so refute it. Where am I wrong?

I meant simply what i said. It is unfair.
do you consider where the Holy Spirit can work?
How many of these churches have you been to? How many “non denominational” people have you met? how can you judge so many people to this extent?
“all manner of false teachings?”
“heretical free for all??”
how dare you make such a sweeping accusation.
Christ had love and compassion for “heretics” and lost people.
what you said does nothing more than create division.

 

[oneGODoneCHURCH]

I meant simply what i said. It is unfair.
do you consider where the Holy Spirit can work?
How many of these churches have you been to? How many “non denominational” people have you met? how can you judge so many people to this extent?
“all manner of false teachings?”
“heretical free for all??”
how dare you make such a sweeping accusation.
Christ had love and compassion for “heretics” and lost people.
what you said does nothing more than create division.

It maybe unfair, but it is fairly accurate. I have been to many non-doms. yes many there are truely searching for the Lord. the Holy Ghost can work anywhere. However If the person/ (or in the case of a lot of non doms) persons that are the leader(pastor) has no more than their personnal interpation of scripture. Then one is open to many false teachings and a heretical free for all.

 

[jpink1019]

It maybe unfair, but it is fairly accurate. I have been to many non-doms. yes many there are truely searching for the Lord. the Holy Ghost can work anywhere. However If the person/ (or in the case of a lot of non doms) persons that are the leader(pastor) has no more than their personnal interpation of scripture. Then one is open to many false teachings and a heretical free for all.

You are assuming that they merely look to their own interpretation.
sigh What heretical teachings are you aware of?

 

[oneGODoneCHURCH]

You are assuming that they merely look to their own interpretation.
sigh What heretical teachings are you aware of?

Denial to the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. To start.

 

[Redratfish]

On this thread, it seems that those who suggest that Catholics should marry Catholics are branded as “intolerant” for following the wisdom of the Church.

I never said you were intolerant, you are stating your opinions, and I am stating mine. I said that many people are not giving the OP (if he is still even looking at this topic) advice that he wanted, but rather telling him what he is doing is wrong.

I also am only pointing out that the Church does not forbid it marriage between different religions. It does warn that is may be more difficult. You telling that to the OP is fine advice, telling him that he shouldn’t date his girlfriend at all, is not advice at all.

I dated a Baptist for over 2 years. He was a wonderful man and I thought the world of him because of his supposed high morals, honesty and how knowledgable he was about the Bible. As our relationship progressed he started to let his twisted views known about the Catholic Church.

The problem was that (because I thought so much of him) he created very serious doubts in my mind concerning Mary, the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Father and many more Church teachings. I started attending his Baptist Church services with him. The Baptist church service consisted mostly of singing one song after another and a very strong sermon from the minister. I also heard a lot of Catholic-bashing among members of his church.

I did eventually return to the Church, stronger than ever. When I first went back to my Church, I remember weeping during Mass because of the sheer beauty of it. However, if I would have married him, there would have been serious problems. I thank God that the marriage never occurred.

Baptists may not come right out and say it at first, but they strongly disagree with the Catholic faith. They are extremely well-versed in the Bible and believe in once-saved-always saved and sola scriptura.

If your faith means a lot to you, please talk to a priest before you consider getting more serious with her. I will pray for both you and your girlfriend.

There is nothing more fulfilling and satisfying than having a sacramental Catholic marriage - a marriage centering around the truths of the Church - bringing up our children in the Church - attending Mass once a week as a family. Please, please be very careful. I will pray for you both.

Many blessings.

There is nothing wrong with what shannin said. She gave a history of her experience in the same sort of position. She gave the advice to see a priest about it, and that she will pray for them. Whats wrong with that? It is not bad at all, the people I said were intolerant were the ones who posted stuff like: **“Run from her, now. Or your kids will never have the Holy Eucharist, knowledge of Mary, and you will find yourself held to account for your kids not getting to fully know Jesus the way you did. **”

 

[jpink1019]

Denial to the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. To start.

I dont’ know what to say.
There is much evidence of God moving through people regardless of whether they hold this belief. Do we call these men and women heretics? who follow Christ?
And what if God is clearly moving through a group of people? What is to be said of these who may clearly hold great faith? Are they heretics?

 

[oneGODoneCHURCH]

I dont’ know what to say.
There is much evidence of God moving through people regardless of whether they hold this belief. Do we call these men and women heretics? who follow Christ?
And what if God is clearly moving through a group of people? What is to be said of these who may clearly hold great faith? Are they heretics?

No one has denied God being able to work thruogh these groups. Nor has anyone denied God working in those that ar in these groups. And just because a person believes somthing that is heresy does not make them a heretic.