Non-Christians - would a miraculous experience convert you?

[Sufjon]

Sufjon,
Just wondering if you had ever heard of litanies.

Hi Littlepilgrim: Yes, I have. Some of what you listed below even sounds familiar to what I have heard said at Mass in Catholic churches. Not exactly, but similar - “Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.” I have heard those said.

Since God is infinite one word or name could never say everything about Him even while believing in one God.

Absolutely right - sounds very much the same idea. BTW - the prayers (or litanies, if that’s what they’re called) that you listed below are very beautiful! So I figured no harm in posting them again

This is the Litany of the Holy Ghost:

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Father all powerful, have mercy on us
Jesus, Eternal Son of the Father, Redeemer of the world, save us.
Spirit of the Father and the Son, boundless life of both, sanctify us.
Holy Trinity, hear us

Holy Ghost, Who proceedest from the Father and the Son, enter our hearts.
Holy Ghost, Who art equal to the Father and the Son, enter our hearts.

Promise of God the Father, have mercy on us.
Ray of heavenly light, have mercy on us
Author of all good, have mercy on us
Source of heavenly water, have mercy on us
Consuming fire, have mercy on us
Ardent charity, have mercy on us
Spiritual unction, have mercy on us
Spirit of love and truth, have mercy on us
Spirit of wisdom and understanding, have mercy on us
Spirit of counsel and fortitude, have mercy on us
Spirit of knowledge and piety, have mercy on us
Spirit of the fear of the Lord, have mercy on us
Spirit of grace and prayer, have mercy on us
Spirit of peace and meekness, have mercy on us
Spirit of modesty and innocence, have mercy on us
Holy Ghost, the Comforter, have mercy on us
Holy Ghost, the Sanctifier, have mercy on us
Holy Ghost, Who governest the Church, have mercy on us
Gift of God, the Most High, have mercy on us
Spirit Who fillest the universe, have mercy on us
Spirit of the adoption of the children of God, have mercy on us

Holy Ghost, inspire us with horror of sin.
Holy Ghost, come and renew the face of the earth.
Holy Ghost, shed Thy light in our souls.
Holy Ghost, engrave Thy law in our hearts
Holy Ghost, inflame us with the flame of Thy love.
Holy Ghost, open to us the treasures of Thy graces
Holy Ghost, teach us to pray well.
Holy Ghost, enlighten us with Thy heavenly inspirations.
Holy Ghost, lead us in the way of salvation
Holy Ghost, grant us the only necessary knowledge.
Holy Ghost, inspire in us the practice of good.
Holy Ghost, grant us the merits of all virtues.
Holy Ghost, make us persevere in justice.
Holy Ghost, be Thou our everlasting reward.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Send us Thy Holy Ghost.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, pour down into our souls the gifts of the Holy Ghost.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, grant us the Spirit of wisdom and piety.

V. Come, Holy Ghost! Fill the hearts of Thy faithful, R. And enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.

Let Us Pray
Grant, 0 merciful Father, that Thy Divine Spirit may enlighten, inflame and purify us, that He may penetrate us with His heavenly dew and make us fruitful in good works, through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who with Thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, liveth and reigneth forever and ever. R. Amen.

Your friend,
Sufjon

 

[Incomplete]

First of all, thank you for your entire answer. If I may ask a follow-up question to this part of your resonse: If the Pope did as God asked because he was convinced it really was God’s voice, would that change your beliefs too, since he is someone you trust? (Or we can use a different example like your favorite priest, if that is someone you trust more than the pope since you know him personally.)

I do trust the Pope quite a bit, and I trust my favorite priest implicitly. That being said, just because either one of them was convinced that they had heard God’s voice doesn’t mean I would be convinced they had heard it.

Since I will never be able to talk to the Pope personally, I don’t think I would be convinced by him. At the very least, he would have to have some kind of witnesses or something else backing it up (like Paul had with the healing.) Even then, it’s doubtful.

My favorite priest is actually quite skeptical in nature, which is one reason I trust him a lot. I know that he is more like you in that the likelihood that he would believe without doing a lot of contemplation is highly unlikely. So maybe, but only maybe, over time I would come to believe him. Because in his case, if he stated this, we would be talking. A lot. I’d get details, and it would be easier to come to my own conclusion as to what really happened.

It probably would not take much to figure out if he was sane or not. So the next step would be to figure out whether it was really God or if, instead, it was Satan. Even though I do believe my priest to be a pretty holy man, I would not rule that out. The same with the Pope. He could be hearing from Satan. (In retrospect, I doubt that if he heard God’s voice saying Christianity was wrong, I doubt he would believe it was from God.)

I do realize that a lot of Christians point to the Bible as reason to believe in God. I’m not one of them. And I do understand that some would hear what Paul says and not believe. I probably would have been one of them.

But for Paul himself, I understand why he would believe that quickly. More to the point of your original question, it is certainly possible that if I myself thought God was telling me that Catholicism was totally wrong…I don’t know that I’d be convinced it was God. I might think it was Satan. So I’d get spiritual direction and pray a lot. But the one thing something like that WOULD do is convince me of God’s existence. Because even if it was Satan, if he exists, then I am pretty certain that God does too.

I’m glad to see you post the litanies again. I agree; they are very beautiful.

 

[Tony888]

I should’ve thought of that! :doh2: There’s quite a few LDS on this site. (I lump you together with Christians in my mind although I know it’s a bit more complicated than that.)
Yes a sales pitch (ha!) to another religion would be my question for you. To make it more interesting than converting to RCC, let’s say God came to you and said Tony! Jesus was a special guy but guess what - he’s not the messiah! The Jews were and are right! Forget Jesus, he doesn’t matter to your salvation.

Would you be like oh okay I better find myself a copy of the Torah ASAP. Shalom! or…?

Well, If I had a vision where Jesus told me not to “be Christlike” and not follow the commandments, I’d question whether the vision was real.

I can’t see Jesus reminding us to follow his teachings but not telling us to “switch denominations”