No doubts about converting from LCMS

[mikecnorthwest]

I posted back in December about my conversion from the LCMS and asked for help with book recommendations. Thanks to everyone who responded, it was very helpful. Earlier in December I had emailed a question to Pastor Jonathan Fisk about my planned conversion. He is a more orthodox LCMS pastor that I used to enjoy listening to on Youtube.

So here’s an update. I’m two months into a fantastic RCIA program and on track to enter into full membership in June. I have zero doubts about my conversion and feel very at home with the Church. I did not really expect to get an answer to my question from Pastor Fisk but much to my surprise he recently answered it on Youtube. The link will be below if you want to view it. With the benefit of my studies, and my RCIA class, I’m now able to have a much clearer perspective on the LCMS teachings regarding the RCC. Pastor Fisk also left no doubt as to the LCMS view on the RCC, unfortunately.

youtu.be/KxTglbyabk0

 

[Mikeydell]

Congratulations on your upcoming conversion to Catholicism. After watching the video for just 2 minutes I turned it off. If this guy is the best spokesperson that the LCMS has to offer then I’ll proudly proclaim and profess my Catholic Faith until I die!

Like the song says, “Give me that good old time religion…it was good for my father and it’s good enough for me”!

God bless!

Mike

 

[MaryT777]

Congratulations and enjoy your journey home! I will listen to the Utube link later
Mary.

 

[Porknpie]

Congratulations on your upcoming conversion to Catholicism. After watching the video for just 2 minutes I turned it off. If this guy is the best spokesperson that the LCMS has to offer then I’ll proudly proclaim and profess my Catholic Faith until I die!

Like the song says, “Give me that good old time religion…it was good for my father and it’s good enough for me”!

God bless!

Mike

I held my nose until he said “the Jesuits are basically not even Trinitarians.” Having been taught by Jesuits, I can personally attest to the error of that statement. Then I turned him off. In defense of the LCMS, I have known a several very fine pastors who who reflect God’s love and who carry themselves in a most humble way.

If you want to listen to a wonderful Jesuit, select the “My Favorite Jesuit” link in my signature line.

Welcome Mike CNW

PnP

 

[Celtic_Maiden]

Welcome Home. You compare the Lutheran and the Catholic Church as some what similar. Well if I wore the same dress as my friend I suppose that would be considered somewhat the same except the hair colour /shoes/tights/jewellery etc would be different.
Luther brought with him the teachings of the Catholic Church that he liked, then those he felt different about he changed to his own likings and taste.

Personally and I say personally I feel the reason why Luther left the monks was because of a sex problem he was not able for celibacy anymore in spite of taking the vow of celibacy. He left no not by himself, or with his vow of celibacy intact , or carrying his big heavy Bible, but with an ex nun not exactly the thing to do for a man with vows, he had a gripe with the Catholic Church but thought it was OK to run off with an ex nun, instead of putting some of the problems he thought to his Superior, said nothing and legged it, but not before committing the sin of scandal/calumny/and making all sorts of accusations which he pinned up on a sheet of paper for all the neighbours to see, thank God he was no relation of mine, I have plenty of dirt on my relations that does not mean I would write them down for the whole Parish to read about them.

I think if Luther came back to day he would not recognize his Church what he left, as for his idea of immorality one could commit immorality 10,000 times a day and it would not matter due to once saved always saved.

Catholicism is Christianity at its fullest expression.

Catholicism is pre denominational , we are the Originals.

The One you Seek , Seeks you.

From one Convert (Jewish) to another May you always walk with the Lord.

 

[Catholic1954]

I only 55 lasted 1 minute, 55 seconds with the pastor, too much drama. Welcome Home to the Catholic Church, where you belong!

 

[Peter_J]

So here’s an update. I’m two months into a fantastic RCIA program and on track to enter into full membership in June. I have zero doubts about my conversion and feel very at home with the Church. ]

Cool. If you feel like sharing, I would be very interested in hearing how you chose to go to Rome rather than Orthodoxy (or wherever else you may have been considering).

 

[mikecnorthwest]

Cool. If you feel like sharing, I would be very interested in hearing how you chose to go to Rome rather than Orthodoxy (or wherever else you may have been considering).

Hi Peter. My wife of 25 years is Catholic and so is her whole family. I was born/raised LCMS and would often tell my wife that I wished the LCMS was more Catholic. Of course when I was young and thought I knew it all I didn’t even consider converting. Now my arrogance and humility seemed to have equalized so I am able to answer the tugging on my faith that God has been giving me all these years. My two daughters, 14 and 16, are also converting.

 

[Peter_J]

I posted back in December about my conversion from the LCMS and asked for help with book recommendations. Thanks to everyone who responded, it was very helpful. Earlier in December I had emailed a question to Pastor Jonathan Fisk about my planned conversion. He is a more orthodox LCMS pastor that I used to enjoy listening to on Youtube.

So here’s an update. I’m two months into a fantastic RCIA program and on track to enter into full membership in June. I have zero doubts about my conversion and feel very at home with the Church. I did not really expect to get an answer to my question from Pastor Fisk but much to my surprise he recently answered it on Youtube. The link will be below if you want to view it. With the benefit of my studies, and my RCIA class, I’m now able to have a much clearer perspective on the LCMS teachings regarding the RCC. Pastor Fisk also left no doubt as to the LCMS view on the RCC, unfortunately.

youtu.be/KxTglbyabk0

I just finished watching … I think I have heard of him before but never knew much about him. Frankly, I don’t think I would have watched through to the end, except that it was interesting to me inasmuch as he reminds me of many Catholics I’ve encountered (in a mirror image kind of way).

 

[House_Harkonnen]

Welcome Home. You compare the Lutheran and the Catholic Church as some what similar. Well if I wore the same dress as my friend I suppose that would be considered somewhat the same except the hair colour /shoes/tights/jewellery etc would be different.
Luther brought with him the teachings of the Catholic Church that he liked, then those he felt different about he changed to his own likings and taste.

Personally and I say personally I feel the reason why Luther left the monks was because of a sex problem he was not able for celibacy anymore in spite of taking the vow of celibacy. He left no not by himself, or with his vow of celibacy intact , or carrying his big heavy Bible, but with an ex nun not exactly the thing to do for a man with vows, he had a gripe with the Catholic Church but thought it was OK to run off with an ex nun, instead of putting some of the problems he thought to his Superior, said nothing and legged it, but not before committing the sin of scandal/calumny/and making all sorts of accusations which he pinned up on a sheet of paper for all the neighbours to see, thank God he was no relation of mine, I have plenty of dirt on my relations that does not mean I would write them down for the whole Parish to read about them.

I think if Luther came back to day he would not recognize his Church what he left, as for his idea of immorality one could commit immorality 10,000 times a day and it would not matter due to once saved always saved.

Catholicism is Christianity at its fullest expression.

Catholicism is pre denominational , we are the Originals.

The One you Seek , Seeks you.

From one Convert (Jewish) to another May you always walk with the Lord.

Personally and I say personally I feel the reason why Luther left the monks was because of a sex problem he was not able for celibacy anymore in spite of taking the vow of celibacy. He left no not by himself, or with his vow of celibacy intact , or carrying his big heavy Bible, but with an ex nun not exactly the thing to do for a man with vows, he had a gripe with the Catholic Church but thought it was OK to run off with an ex nun, instead of putting some of the problems he thought to his Superior, said nothing and legged it, but not before committing the sin of scandal/calumny/and making all sorts of accusations which he pinned up on a sheet of paper for all the neighbours to see, thank God he was no relation of mine, I have plenty of dirt on my relations that does not mean I would write them down for the whole Parish to read about them.

Have you read the 95 Thesis? They are hardly false accusations or scandal.

Also he pinned his "scandalous paper for all the neighbors to see in 1517. He married Katarina Von Bora in 1525.

If he left only because of his raging sex drive, why would we wait through another 8 years of celibacy? Why not marry right away?

 

[mikecnorthwest]

I certainly do not wish to bash Pastor Fisk. He is young and perhaps full of zeal. Unfortunately I do think he represents the official position of the LCMS though. This anti-Catholic bias was something that I always overlooked but now I realize I was just avoiding having to confront my own arrogance.

 

[Peter_J]

I certainly do not wish to bash Pastor Fisk. He is young and perhaps full of zeal. Unfortunately I do think he represents the official position of the LCMS though. This anti-Catholic bias was something that I always overlooked but now I realize I was just avoiding having to confront my own arrogance.

I’ve never been Lutheran, but I think I need to object to this statement … Just like I would object if someone claimed that the anti-Lutheran posters on this forum were representative of the official position of the Catholic Church.

 

[benjohnson]

Pastor Fisk will be awesome in a few years when he settles down a bit - he’s quite brilliant, but need to broaden his delivery to a wider audience rather than just the addled younger generations.

Perhaps a yin to Michael Voris’ yang.

That said, Pastor Fisk overstepped the line (in my opinion) when he turned his message into an attack and tarred and feathered the broader Catholic church with the sins of a few notorious Catholics.

There’s enough convincing theology to convince a Lutheran to remain a Lutheran frankly, without having to demean the theology and practices of other Christian that may be misguided (from our standpoint) but are still beloved children of God.

Pastor Fisk is correct to bring up the condemnations of Trent as a sharp deciding line between catholics in communion with the Bishop of Rome, and those that are not.

But he’d be much more convincing if he argued persuasively along those lines rather than slide into violating the 8th commandment - in my opinion.

As much as I like Pastor Fisk and even have given his book to several Catholics to help them in their Catholic faith as a counter to this secular world, on behalf of Lutherans who would like to see closer relations with our steadfast Catholic friends, I apologize for this rant of his as much as I’m able to.

 

[mikecnorthwest]

I’ve never been Lutheran, but I think I need to object to this statement … Just like I would object if someone claimed that the anti-Lutheran posters on this forum were representative of the official position of the Catholic Church.

Peter… The official LCMS teaching is that the papacy is the antichrist. I always hid behind the caveat that LCMS teaches that the office, not the man, is the antichrist but Pastor Fisk seems to lay that bare. Most lay persons in the LCMS have a hard time with this but I would say that most LCMS pastors teach this.

 

[Celtic_Maiden]

Have you read the 95 Thesis? They are hardly false accusations or scandal.

Also he pinned his "scandalous paper for all the neighbors to see in 1517. He married Katarina Von Bora in 1525.

If he left only because of his raging sex drive, why would we wait through another 8 years of celibacy? Why not marry right away?

Who gave Luther a Mandate to start his own Church - Only his own arrogance, self importance, did Our Lord ask him - No. What presumption, and arrogance, Mentally unstable would be the best guess…

 

[House_Harkonnen]

Who gave Luther a Mandate to start his own Church - Only his own arrogance, self importance, did Our Lord ask him - No. What presumption, and arrogance, Mentally unstable would be the best guess…

Sure. He could have been mentally ill, we don’t know either way. Psychohistory is an interesting speculative field, but ultimately doesn’t profit anything.

And sure, I can buy the argument that he shouldn’t have started his own church.

But I find the “he was a perverted sex fiend” to be a silly argument, and not an exercise in loving ones neighbor.

Do you have anything to back up that assertion other than that he got married 8 years after the 95 Theses?

 

[benjohnson]

I certainly do not wish to bash Pastor Fisk. He is young and perhaps full of zeal. Unfortunately I do think he represents the official position of the LCMS though. This anti-Catholic bias was something that I always overlooked but now I realize I was just avoiding having to confront my own arrogance.

I’m a bit grumpy about Fisk’s behavior there - it’s one thing to proclaim the Gospel with vigor and quite another thing to dwell in an ad-hominum against brother Christians as Pastor Fisk did in this particular video.

There is still a sharp dividing line between official Catholic theology and Lutheran theology that is very important - but for Lutherans that trust and believe in their own confessions, they should strive to be convincing and not so acerbic that it drives others away.

The image of Pastors as sheepherders is fitting - gather the flock is a gentle process, not done with strum and drag. Once the flock is gathered, a sheepherder will use the rod of the crosier from time to time - but only after the flock trusts him.

In this case, Pastor Fisk’s delivery has failed in it’s purpose.

…

That said, I can understand the dismay at the ‘church grown movement’.

 

[JackieO123]

Lutheranism is just another heresy. You did good joining the RCIA.

 

[Peter_J]

I’m a bit grumpy about Fisk’s behavior there - it’s one thing to proclaim the Gospel with vigor and quite another thing to dwell in an ad-hominum against brother Christians as Pastor Fisk did in this particular video.

Thank you for saying that, Ben. I feel much the same way about certain Catholic bloggers.

 

[steido01]

This Lutheran wishes you well, and prays that you and your family find peace in your new home - more importantly, I hope that you find yourself nourished in both Word and Sacrament across the Tiber. The Gospel exists there also, even if not as clear as we Lutherans understand it to be.

From this layperson’s perspective, Pastor Fisk could have represented his neighbor more charitably. Forgive him; we are all sinners in need of our Savior - who we all profess together.