My Twin Brother wants to Convert

  • Thread starter Thread starter JPrez182
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
J

JPrez182

Guest
Hey everyone,
My brother came home from college last weekend, and announced he is going to be “baptised” as a born again baptist and wants all of us to be there for the “big moment”. I don’t know what to do. The faith never really latched on to him deep down, so now I guess he thinks he’s found the real thing. Both of my parents don’t go to church much themselves, so although they are dissapointed, it doesn’t mean much to them deep down. But for me, being a devout Catholic, I don’t know what to do or say. Should I still go for his sake even though I think its crazy?
Thanks for reading!
God Love You!
-Jerry
 
Your brother sounds like he’s heading in the right direction, please show your love for him by attending!
 
If it were my sister leaving the Church established by Christ himself, I would not be there to witness it. JMO.
 
40.png
Cupofkindness:
Your brother sounds like he’s heading in the right direction, please show your love for him by attending!
Click to expand...
I completely disagree with you about this, Cupofkindness.

If it were my brother I would sit down and have a chat with him. Bring Catholicism and Fundamentalism: The Attack on “Romanism” by “Bible Christians” by Kark Keating.
Don’t attack him. Find out why he believes what he believes, then you can have a good conversation about it. I would also explain to him that he has already been baptised once, and doesn’t need to be again.
 
Don’t go!

Tell him you are glad he is developing a relationship with God, but let him know that he dosn’t need to leave the Catholic faith to follow this. ( Perhaps you can give him some of the “Journey Home” info, (or books) from EWTN -.)

Mostly- don’t alienate him. It is likely he will be learning alot of untruths about the Catholic Church. You might be the only good witness. (“If my brother is such a Godly man, ALL Catholics can’t be going to Hell…”) Many conversions to the Catholic faith started with this thought.

Tell him you will love him no matter what, but you can’t in good concious (i know that is spelled wrong) attend his “rebaptism”

Maybe give him a Catechism and ask him if he wouldn’t spend some time understanding more deeply what he would be leaving behind.
 
Better a rabid Baptist than a secular Catholic.

It would be better were he to ignite his Catholic faith. But zeal for the Lord is better than apathy, or hostility.

But you still can’t go.
 
IMHO I would let him know how you feel and why.

If you can get him to read a book one I can suggest is

BORN FUNDAMENTALIST
BORN AGAIN CATHOLIC
by
David B. Currie

I find the references as to why he could not remain a fundamentalist quite enlightening to say the least.

Pray hard before you speak to your brother and speak from the heart.
 
Gently remind him that he only needs one baptism to recieve the graces of God. He had that done already (assuming that he was baptized at infancy) and that his new resurgence in faith is a result of the grace of God working on his soul. 👍
 
“Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).

Now, if he was already Baptized in the Catholic Church, he is already born again (of water and the Spirit.)
If the Baptist Church pours water over the skin of his head/or sprinkles water over the skin of his head/or he is immerced completely into the water and says, “I Baptise you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” …then what’s the point of them doing the same thing again? Only one Baptism is necessary. Plus if they do baptize that way, (and if he were not already Baptized) then, they are doing what the Catholic Church does and he will be entering the Catholic Church even if he doesn’t know it or understand it…YET.
I sure wouldn’t go if it were my brother. I would pray for him, make sacrifices for him, go to Adoration and Holy Communion and speak to Jesus at Mass about it, pray Rosaries, ask the Saints and Angels and the Blessed Mother’s intercession and just generally keep trying to explain my faith to him whenever the opportunity presented itself. I just wouldn’t take part in him formally leaving the Church.
 
40.png
Siena:
Don’t go!

Tell him you are glad he is developing a relationship with God, but let him know that he dosn’t need to leave the Catholic faith to follow this. ( Perhaps you can give him some of the “Journey Home” info, (or books) from EWTN -.)

Mostly- don’t alienate him. It is likely he will be learning alot of untruths about the Catholic Church. You might be the only good witness. (“If my brother is such a Godly man, ALL Catholics can’t be going to Hell…”) Many conversions to the Catholic faith started with this thought.

Tell him you will love him no matter what, but you can’t in good concious (i know that is spelled wrong) attend his “rebaptism”

Maybe give him a Catechism and ask him if he wouldn’t spend some time understanding more deeply what he would be leaving behind.
Click to expand...
This, as hard as it will be is the best response. It does not deny his personal experience and awakening to God’s calling, it rejoices in it with him, but let’s him know that there is something else he may not understand at this time, and keeps the door open for him to walk with you back to the Catholic Church and God’s call.
 
I know that many Baptists belief that Catholics aren’t even Christian, so I think that it sounds like a real slap in the face to say, NOW I am being baptised because your church isn’t even Christian.
 
Sounds like basically the same thing that happened in our family.
Last Easter Sunday my brother was baptised at a nondemon church. The funny thing is that he didn’t tell me. My mom let me know. I wrote another group asking for help on how to respond because I was happy that he finally was seeking Jesus, but I thought he overlooked the Catholic Church.

Our family never went to church so my mom really couldn’t say much to him about leaving the Catholic Church.

So, I got a response to send a card (I lived in a different state at the time) and on the card I wrote, “Peace of Christ be with you on this step you have taken toward the fullness of the faith.” 👍 I was happy he made the step and I meant it. He may come home to the CC eventually. He’s just talking a little longer route. 😉
 
Just wanted to chime in and say that Baptists don’t recognize a LOT of Baptisms - which is why a Presbyterian friend of mine attended a Baptist church for years and years without joining, and never does plan to join because she refuses to be baptized a second time. I just wanted to add this incase anyone thought that the Baptists were solely against Catholics - they don’t think anyone’s baptism is valid unless you were dunked! (And I say all this despite having attended a Baptist church for a year or two myself - but I never considered joining (even before I became interested in Catholicism) because I thought they were too rabid on a few points like this - but then I grew up in a Church where baptism was completely optional :eek: yeah - needless to say my trip into Catholicism has been a complete eyeopener!)
 
40.png
JPrez182:
Hey everyone,
My brother came home from college last weekend, and announced he is going to be “baptised” as a born again baptist and wants all of us to be there for the “big moment”. I don’t know what to do. The faith never really latched on to him deep down, so now I guess he thinks he’s found the real thing. Both of my parents don’t go to church much themselves, so although they are dissapointed, it doesn’t mean much to them deep down. But for me, being a devout Catholic, I don’t know what to do or say. Should I still go for his sake even though I think its crazy?
Thanks for reading!
God Love You!
-Jerry
Click to expand...
Go and be happy for your brother. Even if you don’t agree with his choice, it’s an important milestone in his life. Be there for him.
 
40.png
beckyann2597:
I know that many Baptists belief that Catholics aren’t even Christian, so I think that it sounds like a real slap in the face to say, NOW I am being baptised because your church isn’t even Christian.
Click to expand...
You miss the point of a Baptist baptism. For batistes (and many other denominations) Baptism is a sign that he has chosen to follow Jesus. We do this so all may see that this is our decision and that we do so of our own free will. In being baptized he is not saying his former baptism is invalid, he is simply showing an outward sign of an inward change.

Even though both of our churches practice baptism there are different connotations for each and some of them don’t always translate in the same way.

I’m Mennonite so I would say it would be good to support him. In my family my wife is the only child who still even occasionally goes to the Catholic church. Her siblings have left because they felt it was cold and now one is agnostic and the other Buddhist so there could be worse things than Baptist. I would say for the sake of your relationship support him but letting him know how you feel is your call. You know your brother better than anyone on this board.
 
My first instinct would say don’t go but when my husband went through the RCIA program his Pentecostal mom came to virgil Mass to watch him get baptized. If she would have refused to come it probably would have caused hurt and bad feelings but it wouldn’t have made my husband change his mind.

Be there for your brother, be glad he is searching for God in his life - he may still make it back home to the Catholic church. Just keep praying.
 
It wouldn’t be appropriate for you to attend…even if you want to. It’s against the Church’s teaching to be baptized more than once.

Why not give him a copy of “Surprised By Truth” by Patrick Madrid? I converted to Catholicism (from Baptist) and it helped me greatly. Short, personal stories…you could even find one in there that’s a Baptist that converted and mark it for him and then just ask him to read that one chapter?..at least for starters. 🙂

Will be praying for him…and you…I’m sure this hurts your heart to watch him go thru…
 
I absolutely wouldn’t go and would gently let him know, with as much love as possible, that you can’t support his leaving Christ’s church, whether or not he actually ever practiced his Catholic faith. That, in essence, would be helping lead one of God’s children astray. I’d also probably mention he’s already been baptized and what kind of “religion” would support a re-baptism when only one is needed…

Penitent
 
40.png
Kathryn_0404:
It wouldn’t be appropriate for you to attend…even if you want to. It’s against the Church’s teaching to be baptized more than once.

Why not give him a copy of “Surprised By Truth” by Patrick Madrid? I converted to Catholicism (from Baptist) and it helped me greatly. Short, personal stories…you could even find one in there that’s a Baptist that converted and mark it for him and then just ask him to read that one chapter?..at least for starters. 🙂

Will be praying for him…and you…I’m sure this hurts your heart to watch him go thru…
Click to expand...
I agree about the book; he should also read “Why Do Catholics Do That?” by Kevin Orlin Johnson. If he doesn’t understand Catholic beliefs it will explain them to him. Plus, it’s a little more interesting than the Catechism for someone just learning (or relearning) the faith.

I’d also ask him why he thinks he has to be rebaptised. If the Baptist church has told him his baptism was invalid, ask him to investigate that. Why would they say it’s invalid (I know they have lots of reasons: it wasn’t by immersion, he was a baby, etc.)? Show him how in the Bible WHOLE FAMILIES were baptised and that would include even babies. What makes immersion the only valid means?? He should investigate this…
 
40.png
Siena:
Don’t go!

Tell him you are glad he is developing a relationship with God, but let him know that he dosn’t need to leave the Catholic faith to follow this. ( Perhaps you can give him some of the “Journey Home” info, (or books) from EWTN -.)

Mostly- don’t alienate him. It is likely he will be learning alot of untruths about the Catholic Church. You might be the only good witness. (“If my brother is such a Godly man, ALL Catholics can’t be going to Hell…”) Many conversions to the Catholic faith started with this thought.

Tell him you will love him no matter what, but you can’t in good concious (i know that is spelled wrong) attend his “rebaptism”

Maybe give him a Catechism and ask him if he wouldn’t spend some time understanding more deeply what he would be leaving behind.
Click to expand...
Ditto! :yup:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top