Non-Catholics: Why are you here?

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samiam1611 said:
Short version: too strict.

Extended version: I don’t like how the Church tells people how to act and that if they don’t follow the rules, they are offending God and might even go to Hell. Even when one’s conscience says it’s okay to do something, the Church basically says nope you’re wrong. I don’t understand why the Church is so bossy, and I even more can’t understand why people let Her boss them around.
:hmmm:
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The RCs I know don’t seem to feel that they’re being bossed around, neither (a propos another thread) do they seem to feel persecuted. Perhaps I know “the wrong sort of catholic”.

I wouldn’t “hate to be a catholic”. In fact if I’d been born RC, I’d probably still be RC now, with or without my 35 years of agnosticism in between. But I’m Anglican and nothing I’ve seen/read on this forum would make me want to convert.
 
To try to understand Roman Catholics better. To try to understand why I do not have the faith even though I was raised a RC. It has helped. I am now joyfully back at an Episcopalian Church and have a better understanding why I am spiritually stronger as an Episcopalian.
 
My first post!

I joined CAF because my daughter has been dating a Catholic boy for quite some time now. Both of them love the Lord and are on fire to win other souls for Christ…they have that most important thing in common. He has been the first Catholic person I have met that I have seen a true love for the Lord in his heart. Most of my Catholic friends are faithful in the required “rituals” of the Catholic church but have never shown that they are really Godly people so I really never had the best impression of Catholicism (however, I hate when people judge a faith by the actions of humans who profess to hold that faith).

I stumbled upon this forum while seeking to learn more about the Catholic faith since my daughter has become involved in her boyfriend’s youth group (and he at hers). It has been a great resource to understand what Catholics believe. As with any faith, there are people who make you smile at their love for Jesus and their attitude/witness for Him on these boards… and those who make you shake your head.
 
Where to start… with a Synopsis:

I was raised Catholic, Apostolic and Roman, in that order, or so I was told. After my Confirmation, I immediately became an Altar Boy and in a year I was standing at the right side of our Monsignor (Franciscan) and helping others become Altar Boys. In High School, I attended various retreats and was very much involved in various leadership activities. When I entered college I thought I’d go into Seminary, but because of deep personal reasons I didn’t, but I was allowed to participate part-time as long as I took class electives selected by the Seminary Fathers. Again, personal struggles in my life got in the way and I walked away from the Church after my 4th year in college.

After leaving the RCC, I looked for God in all the wrong practices and places for some years. Some time in 2002 I came back to the Church, but this time around to Protestant denominations (Presbyterian and Pentecostal). Last year I left the Protestant Churches and joined an Inter-denominational Church.

I thirst for the Word of God like never before and I have engaged in a precious walk with Lord again.

My thirst has made me realize that I need my fundamentals straight. While I don’t agree with everything the RCC practices and/or interprets (at this point), I have great respect and reverence for the Church Fathers and understand the great sacrifices made by the early Church to preserve not only scriptures, but tradition as well.

So I have come here to see how my “old” brothers in Christ are doing today and what is being practiced. And seeking to learn what the Lord is doing with His Roman Apostolic Church ;). I’m having a strong calling to ministry and have already started a project that I hope to launch next year with our Lord’s blessing!

Absolutely love the forum and the participation, as well as the resources.

God Bless You,

Jose
 
Hi

My name is Angelika
I’m here to learn about the Catholic church.
My spouse is a catholic and I want to convert to the catholic church.
 
meltzerboy said:
Great response! I agree with almost everything you say, except I feel the greatest threat in the world is not secular atheism but religious intolerance. In addition to learning about Catholicism, building bridges between faiths is another reason why I’m here. Like you, I’m also a comparative religions geek.
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I too am a comparative religions geek:). I believe the biggest threat to humanity is that many do not realize they have a spiritual side. There is great potential for humanity if most can work on connecting with our Creator through a spiritual practice that brings them closer to Him. Granted fundamentalism of any kind can be a problem in that this is often used for political agendas or personal gain. It is when people stop thinking and become unaware due to religious dogma that they shut down their acceptance of others. Jesus Christ never did that. Thus I am a follower of Him.

An interesting note: I recently heard that the Virgin of Međugorje when asked one time who was the most spiritual person in the crowd said it was a Muslim woman who was in attendance there that day.
 
Dear Mathematoons -

Curiosity is why I am here. I happened onto your site yesterday and was appalled to read
the way Catholics talk about non-catholics. Over the years, because of the way Catholics seem to speak with such authority, I have prayed to God, asking Him “Should I join the Catholic Church?” The answers, when I prayed that prayer, have never come back in the affirmative.
I think it is better for the different Christian religions to find common ground and try to get along. I think satan enjoys seeing Christians fighting among themselves. It would be nice if we could politely solve our differences and give old satan the boot.

Respectfully,
yourBrotherInChrist
 
Bc that’s the role of parents. To develop our conscience, to teach us right from wrong…oh wait religion does that too doesn’t it? But sometimes I think religion oversteps its bounds. In principle, AND in practice.
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Perhaps, but the basic concept is there. I’m just saying we should be a little more cautious about unilaterally rejecting what the Church teaches just because it doesn’t seem appealing. I’m confident the Church doesn’t reject birth control simply because it doesn’t want people to use condoms. One of the things my professor amazed me with is how sometimes the theology that at first seems curious is actually so brilliantly logical, and that disregarding it has a lot of unintended consequences on society as a whole.

Not saying that you’re flippantly disregarding teaching, it’s just food for thought.
Yep that’s a good explanation. If I’m right though, you have made your life unnecessarily hard…of course if I’m wrong, I will spend an eternity in hell
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How do you mean? You won’t go to hell simply for having an unorthodox opinion on moral issues.

I think, dear Samiam, you look at the Church simply as the office that either helps you get to heaven, or hell. But God is merciful. The Church knows that. But we must abide by God’s rule. He’s not looking for mistakes so on Judgment Day he can simply go ‘AHA! Gotcha!’
 
I thought this was for non-Catholic viewpoints. I wasn’t aware that Protestants were not welcome om this forum
goodbye
 
billt9 said:
I thought this was for non-Catholic viewpoints. I wasn’t aware that Protestants were not welcome om this forum
goodbye
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Of course protestants are welcome. I have over 7000 posts. Over the last few years, I’ve felt pretty welcome - challenged by some, not treated very nice by a small few, but generally very welcome.

Hang around a while. 😉

Jon
 
Conor7 said:
I came here because I was seriously considering converting, but since joining this forum have reconsidered. Despite that, I still really enjoy the forum and like how it challenges me to really consider and define my beliefs.
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Why have you reconsidered?
Mikayla
 
samiam1611 said:
A lot of what I knew/know about Catholicism is like the opposite of my opinions so for some reason it is interesting to me to hear other people explain themselves. While it would be kind of cool to “convert” someone (one guy said in a PM, “feel free to convert me!”) I have no expectations nor intentions of doing that.

I guess the main reason I joined this forum can be summed up like this: I would hate being Catholic, so I wanted to know why other people choose to be.

Why do you think you would hate being catholic?
Mikayla
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samiam1611 said:
Short version: too strict.

Extended version: I don’t like how the Church tells people how to act and that if they don’t follow the rules, they are offending God and might even go to Hell. Even when one’s conscience says it’s okay to do something, the Church basically says nope you’re wrong. I don’t understand why the Church is so bossy, and I even more can’t understand why people let Her boss them around.
:hmmm:
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Just because the church has rules doesn’t mean they are trying to be bossy. If you don’t mind saying, what rules do not want to folow?
Mikayla
 
GeorgeTheWild said:
I found the CAF while researching how the Catholic Church felt about interchurch marriages. I started posting because there was a thread in this forum called “Do Baptists really hate Catholics?” that I thought needed addressing. Needless to say, there have been plenty of opportunities to correct misconceptions held by my Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ. This forum also always provides an opportunity to learn more about the beliefs of the RCC which satisfies my intellectual curiosity.
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I never found that Baptists hate Catholics individually, but certain Baptists, many Baptists, hate what they think are the teachings of the Catholic Church; ergo, the Church herself. I was so prejudiced against the Church because of Baptist teaching that for years I refused to know any more about her than the misconceptions I was taught. I was raised on that Whore of Babylon, pope is the Antichrist, pope can’t save you, Catholics are going to hell stuff.

There are as many kinds of Baptists are there are stars in the sky (well, almost:D). And beliefs and attitudes vary among the denominations and even within denomnations.

That was my experience.:twocents:

Glad you’re here to learn. You’ll find the Catholic Answers library a treasure trove of informatioin. And they’ve got great books.

May God be with you,

Jim Dandy
Ex-Southern Baptist, ex-agnostic, ex-atheist, ecstatic to be Catholic!
 
Swiss_Guy said:
Well, without CAF, I wouldn’t be converting in the future. :cool:
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CAF was instrumental in my conversion also. I spent two years mostly lurking but also reading a lot, too. Mass and what have you can be intimidating for the curious non Catholic. CAF provided a place to come and be unnoticed while learning about the faith.

I like the discussion topic of this thread. I have noticed that there are some very uncharitable moments on this forum that could be terribly off-putting to non Catholics and Catholics alike. I have noticed, too, that there some non Catholics here who come to antagonize instead of having honest discourse.

Maybe non Catholics who come here should understand that people make mistakes. There are Catholics here who feel besieged by some non Catholics who are out to antagonize. Catholics, there are non Catholics here who have been mistreated by Catholics and you should, at all times, try to be charitable towards them.

I think some mutual understanding could go a long ways.
 
Izdaari said:
Yeah, this. There is a remote possibility that I might convert to Catholicism, though Orthodoxy is more likely. But mainly I don’t consider the divisions between our faith traditions to be a good thing, and I don’t think any of the three traditions has all the answers.
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I thought Christ came to earth to teach us the Truth concerning our salvation. But you say there is no Truth? .Then is Christianity a guessing game, in your opinion?

BTW, there are separate, autonomous, ethnic, nationalistic, cultural Orthodox Churches, each with its own hierarchy, and no overarching principle of unity that binds them together. Every patriarch is the ultimate authority for his particular Church and no other. Which do you prefer? Ukrainian? Romanian? Greek? Russian? Ethiopian? Coptic? or one of the others? And the Orthodox have caved in on contraception, which they held as a go-to-hell serious sin for centuries. And the Orthodox can have three marriages and two divorces, in spite of what Jesus had to say about adultery in Mt 5:32. Personally, I needed a Church that teaches with the authority of Christ and hasn’t changed its mind. Because He hasn’t.

But, to each his own.🙂 God be with you on your search

Glad you’re with us,

Jim Dandy
 
I don’t know about you guys but I like the different cultural divisions within the Church. I think it’s cool that the Orthodox Church has different branches for each country. I like that there’s a Serbian Orthodox and a Greek Orthodox, and each has the same Church in their country, adapted to their own culture.

And I like that about the Catholic Church as well. I like it’s Western character. I’m a Westerner and I feel 2,000 years of Western civilization and Christian history, and it’s awesome. I think everyone wants to feel at home within their own church. Isn’t it natural? God allowed different nations for a reason, after all.
 
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