my grandmothers beliefs...

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chsngtailodogma

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and the rest of my family’s beliefs…

my grandmother is pentecostal. she was a pentecostal sunday school teacher, she took me to church on sundays, she would always be cramming things like hell and the rapture and the dead rising and oh man all kinds of things a young child would be terrified of. not to mention how scary it was to go to church and have people convulsing and speaking in tongues and yelling, dancing, eating, and whispering(loudly) prayers alongside people shouting amens and hallelujas… it was so scary for me. at home she’d put her hands on the tv to be healed, and start swaying and chanting halleluja or whatever popped into her head i’m assuming. i remember vividly the pink-haired woman. i used to have nightmarish daydreams about her grabbing someone through the tv screen. i remember watching faith healers smacking people on their heads and pushing people over in the name of jesus and then they were “healed”. felt something was wrong about all of it. it gave me the creeps.

then i recently found this article on the 'net. i thought it was interesting. it didn’t help me feel any better about my family’s religion. i’ll link it.

cultlink.com/sentinel/crouchvoice.htm

my question is this:
if, to the best of your knowledge, you are worshiping how god wants you to, i’m assuming he’ll have mercy. but hasn’t he warned about religions like this? i firmly believe that my grandmother loves god with all her heart. god is the biggest part of her life. she is also the sweetest woman you are likely to meet (although excruciatingly judgmental). my family thinks i’m going to hell for being catholic. they are sad for me. ANYway, my grandfather passed away a couple years ago and i’m concerned about him. my question is this~ what happens to people if they follow a false religion with all good intentions?

no offense to any charismatics or pentecostals out there! it’s just how i feel!😛
 
I am a Charismatic, and a Catholic, no offense taken, that style of worship is not for everyone.

Your Grandfather’s soul is in the hands of a just and loving God. If you have a Cathecism handy read paragraph 838 and 847.
 
i do not have a catechism handy, but i’ll look it up if i can locate one. thanks for the kind words and for not being offended.
 
chsngtailodogma said:
and the rest of my family’s beliefs…

my grandmother is pentecostal. she was a pentecostal sunday school teacher, she took me to church on sundays, she would always be cramming things like hell and the rapture and the dead rising and oh man all kinds of things a young child would be terrified of. not to mention how scary it was to go to church and have people convulsing and speaking in tongues and yelling, dancing, eating, and whispering(loudly) prayers alongside people shouting amens and hallelujas… it was so scary for me. at home she’d put her hands on the tv to be healed, and start swaying and chanting halleluja or whatever popped into her head i’m assuming. i remember vividly the pink-haired woman. i used to have nightmarish daydreams about her grabbing someone through the tv screen. i remember watching faith healers smacking people on their heads and pushing people over in the name of jesus and then they were “healed”. felt something was wrong about all of it. it gave me the creeps.

then i recently found this article on the 'net. i thought it was interesting. it didn’t help me feel any better about my family’s religion. i’ll link it.

cultlink.com/sentinel/crouchvoice.htm

my question is this:
if, to the best of your knowledge, you are worshiping how god wants you to, i’m assuming he’ll have mercy. but hasn’t he warned about religions like this? i firmly believe that my grandmother loves god with all her heart. god is the biggest part of her life. she is also the sweetest woman you are likely to meet (although excruciatingly judgmental). my family thinks i’m going to hell for being catholic. they are sad for me. ANYway, my grandfather passed away a couple years ago and i’m concerned about him. my question is this~ what happens to people if they follow a false religion with all good intentions?

no offense to any charismatics or pentecostals out there! it’s just how i feel!😛
Click to expand...
I’m not Latin, so I can only give an Orthodox view.

First, for the sake of argument I’m going to hypothesize that you were Orthodox, in which case those in the Ark of Salvation can reach out and grab those outside. We call it prayer, and death doesn’t stop that. Although your grandfather couldn’t be canonized (in which case we woud know he was in heaven) God doesn’t tell us who is in hell, so you can’t despair of his salvation. The Lord’s hand is not shortened that He cannot save, and Christ descended into Hell to release the captives. He can still do so.

Yes, following false religion is a bad thing and leads to all sorts of unpleasantness, but “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” Phillipians 4:8.

To much is given, much is expected, so I would worry less about your grandfather and grandmother,etc. and more about your prayers for them. Let God sort it out. Plus you have the saints to do the heavy lifting with you.

Since you are not Orthodox, I’ll leave it to the Latins to adjust the statement to your beliefs.
 
Here, I’ll post it for you.
838 “The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the baptized who are honored by the name of Christian, but do not profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter.”[322] Those “who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in a certain, although imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church.”[323] With the Orthodox Churches, this communion is so profound “that it lacks little to attain the fullness that would permit a common celebration of the Lord’s Eucharist.”[324]
Click to expand...
847 This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church:
Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation.[337]
Click to expand...
 
The Church teaches that they may be saved through the mercy of God. CCC 847 says “Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation…” There have been many threads on the issue of being saved when you are “outside the Church”; if you do a search you will see that many Catholics are divided on this issue. I, personally, put all my hope in Jesus Christ as a merciful Savior and do not worry so much about Christians who love God with all their hearts and seek to serve Him the best way they know how. Of course, it is still our duty to evangelize and talk with them about the Church-- but I still trust that God will be merciful.

Some recommendations: Pray for your grandfather and you should even offer a Mass for him. I would also pray to the Blessed Mother for her intercession to convert your family. I pray for the conversion of my family every day. Also, immerse yourself in the Word of God. Since pentecostals do not respect the authority of the Church, you would likely need to talk to them from a scriptural standpoint. Here is a helpful website. Many, many protestant pastors are converting to the Catholic faith. If they can do it, so can your family!

God Bless You

PS. Many former protestants have written fantastic apologetic books to help protestants make sense of Catholicism. Take a look at the works of Scott Hahn, Steve Ray, Jimmy Akin and Patrick Madrid. If you follow their conversion stories, you may pick up on some ideas to bring up to your family that will make them want to research further.
 
Btw This Rock (look at the top of your screen) had some articles about “out of pentacostalism” which might help.
 
I too was raised pentecostal. I remained in that religion until I was in my 40’s. Then thank God I became Catholic!! My grandmother was a devout pentecostal woman that lived with me until just before she died in March.

I was concerned for her soul and the souls of my entire family (they are all pentecostal). I went to the Ask an Appologist section of CAF and ask a lot of questions… I felt much better about my family and their eternal fate after that.

I was worried about the “speaking in tongues” and whether or not that behavior that I witnessed as a child many many times was going to send all these people to hell.

I was relieved of my worries after speaking with one of the priest.

My Grandmother must have been really surprised when she ended up in purgatory and it was ok to wear pants, cut your hair, wear makeup, and wear jewelry… I pray for her to spend eternity with Jesus whom she loves very much.
 
thanks so much guys!👍 they are a goofy lot but ya know… they’re family! hehe:shrug:
 
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