Okay I'm a Protestant... but...

[andrewstx]

Does anyone know what happened to the OP?

Likely frightend away.

 

[andrewstx]

Yes, Roswell Georgia. I assume it to be older than Roswell NM since Roswell GA was incorporated as a city nearly 50 years before New Mexico was a state. Most people in the Atlanta area seem to be from somewhere else, so I’m betting there are more “aliens” here.

One thing I am fairly sure of. Roswell GA probably has more Baptists, and Roswell NM likely has more Catholics since it is in New MEXICO.

No insult meant, most of my family is Baptist.

 

[JRKH]

im protestant too and for what its worth , im not trying to offend no one, but please don’t be so vain to think there only needs to be one religion, everybody needs to make their own decisions, about how they pray, worship god,and share the love and live in harmony together.

No offense taken…
However - allow me to suggest that none of the things you mention above are impediments to a person being Catholic. In fact, within the Catholic Church you can find many different ways to pray, to worship God, and share the love and live in harmony…
Much of what you mention is about “practice” not fundamental theology.
At present there are (I believe) more than thirty different Catholic “rites” that are largely independent…Yet are all Catholic.
Within the Latin Rite Church (the largest) there are many different spiritualitys and there is even now a special “Ordinariate” for those coming from the Anglican communion and wishing to retain their form of worship.
So the idea that there needs to be “different religions” in order to have this variety is simply not true.

Where the problem comes in is when there is disagreement on the fundamentals - and by fundamentals I mean things that touch upon salvation, like the real presence, the efficacy of water baptism, apostolic succession and other issues.

Does anyone know what happened to the OP?

Yes - I’ve wondered that too…but I’m sure he is busy if he is an active minister.
Perhaps we will hear from him soon…

Peace
James

 

[Brandall]

One thing I am fairly sure of. Roswell GA probably has more Baptists, and Roswell NM likely has more Catholics since it is in New MEXICO.

No insult meant, most of my family is Baptist.

No offense taken and very accurate. Most of my family is baptist too. It’s been said that there are more Baptists in Georgia that there are Georgians in Georgia. Seriously, somewhere between 5-7 pecent of the population is Catholic and that number grows because so many people are literally from somewhere else.

 

[HMetal]

I think it’s awsome that your hunger for Christ is continual. I am a convert going on 16 years and am still amazed at the truths and doctrines found in the Roman Catholic Church. I have read and devoured a ton of Protestant theology, apologetics, and christian philosophy, to fullfill this hunger I have inside for God’s presence. I did find a lot of answers but none filled the hunger. They were more like appetizers. When I started reading the truths about the RCC, and the myths started fading away, I was and am amazed on how complete the doctrines are. Even more, the peace that I am home gives me more time to live my faith instead of always seeking for it. There are some members on here that have some really good insight and know there stuff. Especially in the apologetic forms. Yep, that was the long winded way of saying welcome. Peace!

 

[PJM]

=Jozefo;11111180]Do you see a difference or a distinction between the Catholic Church and the catholic Church?

My friend, I don’t understand what your asking?

IF by implication you mean the World-wide Roman Catholic church and what some choose to call the American Caholic church; there ARE HUGE differences.

I would be dleighted to discuss them with you, IF your actually open to God’s truth [singular and proveable], please let me know.

God Bless you,
Patrick
PJM here on CAF

 

[Jozefo]

My friend, I don’t understand what your asking?

IF by implication you mean the World-wide Roman Catholic church and what some choose to call the American Caholic church; there ARE HUGE differences.

I would be dleighted to discuss them with you, IF your actually open to God’s truth [singular and proveable], please let me know.

God Bless you,
Patrick
PJM here on CAF

I was asking more about the word ‘catholic’ and how people use it. Catholic is another word for universal, so one can say ‘catholic Church’, referring only to the universal Church. Whereas if someone renders it ‘Catholic’, it signifies a proper name, not an adjective. I was wondering if you recognized the difference, and if it mattered to you.

I’m sure you’re well aware of other Catholic Churches in communion with Rome. I would say that all of them together would constitute the catholic Church, which would include the Roman Catholic Church, and the others in communion with her, and even the Protestant believers but not their corporate bodies.

 

[SingPeace]

If you’re a Protestant, what are you protesting?

Nothing. I just wanted to say hi.

 

[CarolNoel]

Nothing. I just wanted to say hi.

And Hi to you too…

 

[PJM]

=Jozefo;11111577]I was asking more about the word ‘catholic’ and how people use it. Catholic is another word for universal, so one can say ‘catholic Church’, referring only to the universal Church. Whereas if someone renders it ‘Catholic’, it signifies a proper name, not an adjective. I was wondering if you recognized the difference, and if it mattered to you.

I’m sure you’re well aware of other Catholic Churches in communion with Rome. I would say that all of them together would constitute the catholic Church, which would include the Roman Catholic Church, and the others in communion with her, and even the Protestant believers but not their corporate bodies.

YES

To both… but we disagree on the second part of your thoughts.

God Bless,
Patrick

 

[LiseTravis]

Welcome!

 

[jmcrae]

I read Scott Hahn’s book also. It was a good read, biographical of that period of his life and family life at that time. What was not there was specific information about biblical references. Her referred to them, but did not include or explain them. I wonder if he has written a companion book that is more technically complete. Does anyone know?

I don’t think so, but his theological works are a lot more interesting to me, anyway.

I read Rome Sweet Home when I was still Protestant, and I’ll be totally honest; I thought the guy was a flake.

Obviously I’ve come to appreciate him much more since then, and he’s come to be one of my favourite authors, but I don’t think I’d recommend *Rome Sweet Home *to anyone who is still Protestant; they would probably be put off by it.

 

[jmcrae]

Do you see a difference or a distinction between the Catholic Church and the catholic Church?

No. The Nicene Creed was written in Greek, which does not differentiate between upper case letters and lower case letters. Furthermore, it was produced in order to unify the Catholic Church under the Bishop (Sylvester) and the Emperor (Constantine) of Rome, and to put an end to the heresies that were abounding in those days, especially Arianism.

The Nicene Creed says that we believe in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

One - it is visibly unified under one government.

Holy - it pertains to the things of God.

Catholic - it pertains to all people everywhere, and at all times.

Church - it is the orderly assembly of all who submit to the three qualifications noted above.

 

[Jozefo]

No. The Nicene Creed was written in Greek, which does not differentiate between upper case letters and lower case letters. Furthermore, it was produced in order to unify the Catholic Church under the Bishop (Sylvester) and the Emperor (Constantine) of Rome, and to put an end to the heresies that were abounding in those days, especially Arianism.

The Nicene Creed says that we believe in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

One - it is visibly unified under one government.

Holy - it pertains to the things of God.

Catholic - it pertains to all people everywhere, and at all times.

Church - it is the orderly assembly of all who submit to the three qualifications noted above.

Is it ‘Catholic’ the proper name, or ‘catholic’ the adjective, if there is no difference in Greek? See, holy, catholic, and apostolic are all adjectives, but you capitalized them, turning them into nouns. Which is it?

 

[jmcrae]

Is it ‘Catholic’ the proper name, or ‘catholic’ the adjective, if there is no difference in Greek? See, holy, catholic, and apostolic are all adjectives, but you capitalized them, turning them into nouns. Which is it?

Both, together. Just like everything else in the Catholic Church.

There is no “catholic Church” without the Catholic Church. Such a thing could not exist.

 

[jmcrae]

Okay. I’m new here, and I am Protestant. I’ve been reading/skimming through a lot of threads/posts, and it’s obvious to me I’m in a whole new ball park.

Yes - it’s a whole lot bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.

However, I wanted to put this out there - what I believe with all my heart. I hope not to offend anyone here.

I believe that Catholics and Protestants worship and serve the same God and believe in the same Savior, Jesus Christ.

It would be physically impossible to do otherwise, because there is, in fact, only one God, who is the Father, and who is Jesus Christ, and who is the Holy Spirit - one God in three Persons.

Where we differ, I think, is in our understanding of what it means to “worship” Him.

I believe we simply have different traditions; though I know I am over-simplifying things a bit. Catholicism is something I have never studied so a lot of things I read are a bit confusing to me. That said, I just wanted to make it clear that in my own personal private view; all who believe Jesus is the Son of God, was born of the Virgin Mary, gave his life on a cross for the sins of the world, and rose on the third day; having defeated death and the grave are brothers and sisters in Christ.

Amen to that.

I hope that in this forum I might glean some profitable knowledge about the Catholic faith as well as share what I know of my own.

I hope you all will be patient with me as I crawl then hopefully walk at ease through the threads and posts here.

BTW, I have been a minister for 20 years. I hope I am able to be somewhat of an asset as I humbly seek your guidance in my learning more about the Catholic faith.

God bless you all and thank you again for allowing me to post here.

Welcome aboard. Prepare to be inundated with tons of information.

 

[Jozefo]

Both, together. Just like everything else in the Catholic Church.

There is no “catholic Church” without the Catholic Church. Such a thing could not exist.

Well, I appreciate the reply, but it doesn’t make sense. If there is no distinction in the Greek, then how did you decide to make one by capitalizing? They can’t be both. A noun is not an adjective. Even more, a proper noun changes things again, because a name represents a person in law. That’s why I asked.

What if you rendered it, “catholic Church”? All it means is universal Church, which is what the Church claims to be. Why do people insist on capitalizing ‘catholic’ unless they intend for it to be a proper name?

 

[jmcrae]

Well, I appreciate the reply, but it doesn’t make sense. If there is no distinction in the Greek, then how did you decide to make one by capitalizing? They can’t be both. A noun is not an adjective. Even more, a proper noun changes things again, because a name represents a person in law. That’s why I asked.

What if you rendered it, “catholic Church”? All it means is universal Church, which is what the Church claims to be. Why do people insist on capitalizing ‘catholic’ unless they intend for it to be a proper name?

It is a proper name. It became one when Christians started creating their own little churches outside of it, in the 16th century. At that point, we could no longer say, “Christianity.” Now, we have to identify what we’re talking about.

The Four Marks of the Church are that it is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. That’s from the Catechism. I didn’t make that up.

 

[SingPeace]

Wow. I am blown away by all the responses. I never expected to receive so many.

I really just wanted to reach out and say hello. I think sometimes Protestants judge Catholics wrongly, and I wanted someone to know we are not all like that.

I have no desire to become Catholic. I like my denomination of Christianity. I also have no desire to convert anyone who is Catholic to Protestantism.

I’m simply saying hi. Have a wonderful and blessed day! I love you all.

 

[jmcrae]

Wow. I am blown away by all the responses. I never expected to receive so many.

I really just wanted to reach out and say hello. I think sometimes Protestants judge Catholics wrongly, and I wanted someone to know we are not all like that.

I have no desire to become Catholic. I like my denomination of Christianity. I also have no desire to convert anyone who is Catholic to Protestantism.

I’m simply saying hi. Have a wonderful and blessed day! I love you all.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to open new threads.

I think there’s actually a book out there called “Why Do Catholics Do That?” that explains quite a lot of our more esoteric customs.