Personal Relationship with God

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I was told by a evangelical that Catholics do not know God. That they don’t have a personal relationship with God. “Catholics are more concerned with procedure then with knowing God. The Catholic church is much the same as the Pharisees. Even though they have truth in doctrine, they do not know God.”

As a Catholic I know that this is not true. I know that it is extremely personal. If it wasn’t personal it would merely be a philosophy and not religion. It is important to me that I represent my faith for others so that they know that Catholics have a very personal relationship with the lord.

i know this type of post can get people fired up. I ask that it stays peaceful. thanks.

I would like to hear from evangelicals why they have the perception that Catholics do not have a personal relationship with God.
 
Don’t you want to hear from Catholics, too? Like, giving their witness? Actually, I doubt that it would convince anyone else unless we are giving the witness of personal holiness in our lives filled with charity for others.

What you might receive as negative feedback here would be the result of misinformed teaching our evangelical brothers have received from their pastors or others. It is difficult to correct that concept just by saying, “not true!” We need to love them where they are and have been taught, and overcome this by positively witnessing through our actions that we “know” Jesus.
 
suupah said:
I was told by a evangelical that Catholics do not know God. That they don’t have a personal relationship with God..
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it is the height of arrogance for one human being to presume to judge the spiritual condition of another, unless it is a person–the priest–who has been given authority from Christ himself for the spiritual welfare of the individual. if this person comes from what bills itself as a bible based denomination, this person needs to read their bible more carefully, esp. Christ’s warning about judging others. Not everyone who calls to me “Lord, Lord” will be saved, he says.
 
Decree Ad Gentes
Second Vatican Ecumenical Council
November 18, 1965
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Wherever God opens a door of speech for proclaiming the mystery of Christ [1], there is announced to all men [2] with confidence and constancy [3] the living God, and He Whom He has sent for the salvation of all, Jesus Christ [4], in order that non - Christians, when the Holy Spirit opens their heart [5], may believe and be freely converted to the Lord, that they may cleave sincerely to Him Who, being the “way, the truth, and the life” [6], fulfills all their spiritual expectations, and even infinitely surpasses them.
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This conversion must be taken as an initial one, yet sufficient to make a man realize that he has been snatched away from sin and led into the mystery of God’s love, who called him to enter into a personal relationship with Him in Christ.
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[1] cf. Col. 4:3
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[2] cf. Mark 16:15; 1 Cor. 9:15; Rom. 10:14
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[3] cf. Acts 4:13, 29, 31; 9:27, 28; 13:46; 14:3; 19:8; 26:26; 28:31; 1 Thess. 2:2; 2 Cor. 3:12; 7:4; Phil. 1:20; Eph. 3:12; 6:19, 20
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[4] cf. 1 Thess. 1:9-10; 1 Cor. 1:18-21; Gal. 1:31; Acts 14:15-17, 17:22-31
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[5] cf. Acts 16:14
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[6] John 14:6
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suupah said:
I was told by a evangelical that Catholics do not know God. That they don’t have a personal relationship with God. “Catholics are more concerned with procedure then with knowing God. The Catholic church is much the same as the Pharisees. Even though they have truth in doctrine, they do not know God.”

**Suupah, don’t have to bother what your told you, coz your personal relationship with God, is between you and God, nothing to compare!!😃 **

As a Catholic I know that this is not true. I know that it is extremely personal. If it wasn’t personal it would merely be a philosophy and not religion. It is important to me that I represent my faith for others so that they know that Catholics have a very personal relationship with the lord.

i know this type of post can get people fired up. I ask that it stays peaceful. thanks.

I would like to hear from evangelicals why they have the perception that Catholics do not have a personal relationship with God.
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Well it is all becoz of personal perception, just becoz you don’t practise that way they do ,so question will arise
 
I used to think this way because my in-laws are Catholic and never really seemed to do anything outside of the church. They just went to Mass every Sunday and then that’s it. 😦
I am heavily involved in my church and we do activities throughout the week all the time.
Plus, whenever I would mention something from the Bible, all I got was blank stares, even though I was just quoting scripture and not interpretting it.
I realize not all Catholics are like this and I’m glad to see you live your faith as we do as non-Catholics. 👍
 
Evangelicals think that partly because we use different language, and partly because a lot of Catholics really DO just go through the motions on Sunday.

For a Fundamentalist Evangelical, the relationship we have with Christ in the Eucharist and in Confession is somhow “tainted” by the “needless intervention” and “empty ceremony” of Church action. They have no patience for the idea that the Church must be both physical and spiritual.

Often, when they discover authors, like Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, Thomas a Kempis or even Thomas Merton, they are staggered to learn that Catholics have a more intense personal spirituality, expressed more widely than they could ever imagine.
 
As a former Southern Baptist, I can tell you that the conventional wisdom among evangelicals is that liturgy=vain repetition. They don’t see that even they have an “order of worship” that repeats each week, sometimes for years at a time! They think that because they can change their worship services as they please that their worship is more “alive”. But you should see the uproar if a preacher changes one small thing on the program!

They also have no sense of the sheer AGE of the Christian faith and so do not value the things passed down from the Fathers. I was never taught ANYTHING about church history in the Baptist church. Entire centuries were completely ignored until the Reformation!

Its amazing to me now but that’s the way I thought back then.
 
Blue_Serenity said:
Plus, whenever I would mention something from the Bible, all I got was blank stares, even though I was just quoting scripture and not interpretting it.
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Sometimes, some people are not feeling comfortable to discuss about Bible with those who are not of the same faith. I think it is better to approach one by discussing about the similarities first, that way he/she will be more opened to you.
 
so only 24 people here have a personal relationship with God, thats not good.

Maybe there are a few more?
 
Just because a prayer is “scripted” doesn’t make it insincere. When I spoke my wedding vows to my wife, they were all “scripted” — I didn’t make them up on the spot — but I meant every word of them from my heart!
 
I am Catholic and Yes I know God and have a personal relationship with him …
 
Hi,

I think I would agree with Blue that many catholics we see just go to church on Sunday and that is it. I even have catholic friends who bash the church.:eek: So I guess we cant understand that if you say you have a personal relationship and then dont show it on the outside–love, mercy, help the needy, help the church, etc. It just begs the question if they are just playing church.

Now with that said, I would never presume to judge someone’s faith because I dont know them. Everyone’s spiritual walk is different and at different stages. Eight years ago people would have never known that I had a personal relationship with Christ because I did not show it mainly because I was an immature christian. Now I wear my christianity on my sleeve because I have grown in Christ and I feel more comfortable telling people where I stand and who I am in Christ.😃
Sadly some christians never mature in their faith so it appears to some they have none. When in fact they do they just havent moved forward in their walk with Christ. I found the only thing they made me mature was studying the bible and gaining knowledge as to who God was and what He wants from me.👍 AMEN!!
 
A personal relationship is just that “personal”. Just because a person does not appear to have a relationship with God does not mean that they don’t. We are only human. We do not have the ability to see everything that goes on around us.
 
ALLFORHIM said:
So I guess we cant understand that if you say you have a personal relationship and then dont show it on the outside–love, mercy, help the needy, help the church, etc. It just begs the question if they are just playing church.
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Some shows the outside of what they are doing, but there are those who are behind the walls yet they have far more personal relationship with Christ - those I am talking about are the Nuns. Their lives are devoted to contemplative live and praying. Sadly to say, I have read posts at another forums who said “those nuns are just sitting in the pew all days” and doing nothing. :eek:

We are called to serve Christ, and each call is different.
 
I couldn’t really vote.

I am not sure what a ‘bible’ christian is but the way it is spouted around here sometimes it isn’t a very good title to have.

I am a Christian. I have a personal relationship with God but do I know Him? That’s a big fat NO on that one. None of us KNOW God. We don’t know how he works or why for the most part. I am in the process of getting to KNOW God but by no means have acheived this goal. Do I know OF God? Yes, and seek His wisdom and guidance every day.

Thank you.
 
Blue_Serenity said:
I used to think this way because my in-laws are Catholic and never really seemed to do anything outside of the church. They just went to Mass every Sunday and then that’s it. 😦
I am heavily involved in my church and we do activities throughout the week all the time.
Plus, whenever I would mention something from the Bible, all I got was blank stares, even though I was just quoting scripture and not interpretting it.
I realize not all Catholics are like this and I’m glad to see you live your faith as we do as non-Catholics. 👍
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I can really understand where you are coming from here. I have at numerous occasions been surprised at many Catholics complete lack of knowledge of scriptures and personal beliefs that 1)are not taught by the church and 2) are not taught in the bible. It leaves me with the question: where are your beliefs coming from.

Part of the reason that many Catholics do not know scripture is because the traditions and practices were developed largely before wide spread literacy. I guarantee you that most Catholics that attend mass and pay attention know the biblical stories and themes very well even though they can’t quote chapter and verse.
 
crosstimbers said:
As a former Southern Baptist, I can tell you that the conventional wisdom among evangelicals is that liturgy=vain repetition. They don’t see that even they have an “order of worship” that repeats each week, sometimes for years at a time! They think that because they can change their worship services as they please that their worship is more “alive”. But you should see the uproar if a preacher changes one small thing on the program!

They also have no sense of the sheer AGE of the Christian faith and so do not value the things passed down from the Fathers. I was never taught ANYTHING about church history in the Baptist church. Entire centuries were completely ignored until the Reformation!

Its amazing to me now but that’s the way I thought back then.
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My friend gets frustrated because i use history to justify the Catholic church. But to me, History events are critical when establishing authority
 
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