Non-Catholics, why did you join the forums?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Polak
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined because I’m very inspired by the lives of the Saints and used to read about them (and their writings)on my own. I wanted to learn more about them and the faith that inspired them in a more interactive way. I also continue to be here because it’s generally a forum that is sane and well-moderated. People tend to want to do and believe the right thing even if they disagree, and people seem generally well-intentioned and helpful. I feel sometimes the combination of all of these things is a rarity on the internet.
 
Last edited:
I joined to continue my decades long godwill relationship with others, whether Catholic, a non Catholic or a seeker in general, further recognizing there may be a some who have no interest in Christianity or religion in general, nonetheless are sincerely friendly.

Kind regards to all.
 
A while ago I met a couple about my own age ( older) in one of our ancient monastic ruined abbeys and we got talking. I realised after a while that one was RC one was C of I … They attend each others churches and the lady said something that took my breath away with its truth and has stayed with me ever since. " We are so few and if we do not work together we will lose everything. "

All that matters to me is the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God Saviour. If you believe in Him, love Him and strive to live His teachings then you are my brother or sister. Period, There is nothing beyond that He is all and all and all. I come here occasionally as a retreat from a strange lost world but before long the arguments and claims etc turn me away . My life is set apart in so many ways through illness and age and needful isolation and is a deeply stable one and filled with grace. So I will be here a while and will enjoy a little as I am doing, then back to my stronghold and deep solitude. NB I have excellent support and guidance in this. And fully “approved” and respected by all “officials” I know!
 
Last edited:
I was a Protestant when I joined. I had stumbled on to Al Kresta’s show on WDEO and recognised his voice from when he was on the Protestant station. His show was followed by Catholic Answers, and before too many days I realised that there were some theological issues I needed to deal with. So I showed up here, and crossed the Tiber… perhaps the very next Easter, if not the one after.
 
Hello,

I’m not catholic & I joined because this was the one site I found that I could come to and learn about catholic apologetics & how members of the catholic church defend their faith. It seems that most catholic members are in agreement on the majority of issues, and that’s something you do not find on “individual” or “blog” type websites. It’s nice to hear it from the “masses” (pun intended) if you will.
 
Polak said:
I am however curious, why non believers or people of other faiths, chose to join a Catholic forum.
Click to expand...
My wife (fiancee back then) is catholic. I wanted to get a better idea of her faith without hounding her with stupid questions. For instance I found out the significance of communion to Catholics. Also that “catholic guilt” and such are not really things.
 
I joined because i felt like God was calling me to have a deeper prayer life and a more devout life in general. And from an outsiders perspective, catholics are very good about making their lives revolve more around their religion than i was brought up with in the southern baptist church.

I came to learn about catholic prayers and customs and such and start to practice on my own what i like, really. Like the holidays. I’m excited to observe pentecost for the first time in my life this weekend! At home, on my own, but its exciting nonetheless.
 
Haven’t seen you around for a while, Her Crazier Half.
Not sure if we’ve been inseparate threads but it’s good to see you again. Best wishes to you and your wife.
jt
 
I am here because I am interested in belief. I like it here because people are generally willing (well, some of the time) to attempt an explanation of their belief in rational terms and to consider challenges to that. This deepens by understanding of how it is possible for people to hold beliefs.

I try not to ‘believe’ anything although I think there is an inbuilt (evolved) human instinct to believe and to believe in non rational explanations especially for things that cause distress or anxiety (like death and danger). I have other inbuilt instincts that I also try to control!

Instead of belief I try to ‘conclude from evidence’. I see nothing that requires a god(s) as an explanation so conclude that on the available observations there is no god(s). But people here come to different conclusions and I appreciate their efforts to explain why to me.

I also quite enjoy seeing disputes about things in which I have absolutely no opinion being fought over intensely by the partisans of different opinions. Is intinction acceptable? Is Mary the ‘mediatrix’ of all graces? Is the doctrine of infallibility in any way applicable to Vatican ll?
 
Wow. Had no idea anyone noticed my presense in these visual places.

I’ve been fine. Just dealing with all the fun stuff IRL. You know, liked this end of the world stuff going on and such.
 
I find Catholicism interesting and I enjoy some of the philosophical discussions.
 
You always had thoughtful comments and I appreciated that.
Take care,
jt
 
Last edited:
I joined because I love dialogue on faith and religion. I left the RC church in 2008 and came here looking for something. Maybe I was hoping to find something that would convince me to return. I haven’t found that. I feel much goodwill here. I also experience hostility. More or less there is tolerance here. I appreciate the unwavering commitment to support all life and experience unity on that issue here.

Another thing that I experience here is general level-headedness. I’ve checked out Protestant sites, but they tend to be sola scriptora Evangelicalism - and I have no time for that.
 
Polak said:
I am however curious, why non believers or people of other faiths, chose to join a Catholic forum.
Click to expand...
My interest in Catholicism began about 8 or 10 years ago and was an extension of my lifelong interest in my Scots and Welsh heritage (hence my forum name, though we Celts had Chieftains, not Warlords, but this way it matches my real initials 😃). It started with a book on the ruins in the UK of medieval castles, grew to include derelict monasteries and cathedrals, which in turn awakened a desire to know what life would have been like in an abbey. This in turn led to a tremendous growth in the number of books I was acquiring toward finding out about all this and it wasn’t long before I went to a nearby monastery for a weekend (I have since done this a number of times and if anyone was wondering, life in a monastery is not all that different from the way it was 600 years ago). However I did not attend my first Mass for several more years.

Initially my focus was on the Eastern Orthodox view but after about a year I found the Western Church and it’s history more interesting. Throughout this time I remained a devout Christian, and had been since early childhood, but was discovering that everything I had been taught about Catholicism (all by hostile non-Catholics I should add) turned out to be wrong. Since 2007 I have been heavily involved in Christian discussion boards, including a Catholic one on Delphi Forums which I still contribute to. I discovered the CA forum after listening to many YouTube broadcasts of the CA program and have been here for around a year and a half.

Although non-Catholic I very much enjoy my continued intense study of the faith and like to feel I have something to offer here once in a while. I attend Mass exclusively (well, not quite, I did go with my wife to a Baptist service a few months ago and likely will again if she would like). Among my protestant friends online, I have managed to change many of their minds about what exactly the Roman Catholic Church teaches and what it does not. By remaining Protestant my credibility with them is high and I cannot be accused of “just being brainwashed”.

I was once told by a Catholic priest that I know more about the Church than most parishioners, which tells me I must be absorbing a lot more of my studies than I had thought. However, my time on this forum is an ongoing learning experience and I have learned whose opinions to watch for when I want the true Canon Law answer to any one question. 😄
 
Last edited:
I think i joined mostly for the stimulating conversations. There’s such a great mix of world views and philosophies that i can truly entertain a topic from several different angles. This is not something i can get from my protestant friends and family
 
Being a cradle Catholic, I joined years ago to learn more about my faith. I’ve enjoyed reading and learning about the Catholic faith, as well as other faiths such as Lutheran, which I lean towards. Over the years, I have tried to embrace the Catholic faith, but in the end something still doesn’t reach me. I’ve recently come back to read the forums and try again.
 
I’m influenced by people like the 17th century Carmlite Brother Lawrence, also Therese of Liseaux (as well as many others of similar spirituality but protestant faith). I came because I wanted to talk to people who sought God, who longed for more of God and who walked with God.

The person of Jesus Christ is the everything of my faith and spirituality, there are many Catholics who are the same and I find I can fellowship with them. Some aspects of Catholicism I find challenging and difficult to fellowship with, there is a lot of ritualism and what I would call “distractions” and there is a lot of that here too, but I can pick and choose what I read and that’s great.
 
If you ever start to feel the pull – and converts here know what I am talking about by “pull” (lol), it never goes away.

You have been warned 🤣
 
How is that situation working out, Ian? Did your son cross the Tiber?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top