Protestantism makes me sad

[Lief_Erikson]

No it doesn’t make me sad as I consider each person has to walk their own path and the destination will not be the same for everyone.

That’s one of the saddest things of all, that some people won’t make it to Heaven but will end up in Hell. And some of them will end up there because of heresy (Gal. 5:19-21). Some people have willfully suppressed the truth (Rom. 1:18), and some people simply don’t know it. Their ignorance protects them from full culpability for their sin (Luke 12:48).

What does make me sad is people who do not walk the path or who stop walking.

I have no idea how you define “the path,” but if by “the path” you mean Jesus, who said, “I am the Way,” and who is the true and only road to Heaven (Acts 4:12), I agree with you that it is sad that people don’t walk the path. That’s part of the topic of this thread, the sadness of division from Christ. The Church is His Body (1 Cor. 13, 27), so division from her is division from Christ.

Ys, I’m sure that there are some churches who teach against Catholicism (and probably any other Christian Church or religion) but I can say that in my 45 years as a Protestant I never heard any other Church being condemned or spoken against.

Never heard the Inquisition or Indulgences used to smear Catholicism? Or those terrible Medieval Ages? Or our supposed abuse of the sciences? Or the history of the Papacy? Or our “worshipping” saints, wood and stone idols and pieces of bread? Or how our leaders are fabricating a religion to earn money and maintain power? Or any of the rest . . . ? Catholicism is probably the most commonly and unjustly attacked religion there is. Nowadays, people often attack it for its conservative moral values, especially on issues like women becoming priests, or contraception and abortion.

I have never been surprised that there are many Churches as I always thought they catered for different types of people. I always enjoyed the learned sermons of my Presbyterian Church which gave me food for thought but was put off by the music and same liturgy each week in the Anglican Church.

These are just styles of worship. But doctrinal differences, that’s where the divisions become problems. Because Jesus said, “I am the Truth,” and He called on all Christians to be wholly one with no divisions. He called on us to be one as He and the Father are one (John 17), which is unity with no divisions. St. Paul also wrote that we should have no divisions amongst us. At the same time, he was swift to criticize the wrong beliefs of those he believed were in error, such as Christians who continued to practice the Old Testament Law, and pagan idol worshippers (Romans 1). Differences on beliefs about spiritual truth are not “fine,” for these are divisions from Christ, in whom is salvation. Differences over music or the theological depth of messages received in church are all right, though. Paul wrote about this when he said, “I will become all things to all men so that in some way I might save them.” He was willing to live according to the customs of the people he met, according to new cultures, like Vatican II did when it changed the format of elements of the Mass in an effort to draw more people into the Church. But this kind of diversity is very different from division in spiritual truth.

Of division in matters of spiritual truth, Jesus said, “whoever does not come to me scatters.” In the same way, those that are not part of the Catholic Church have scattered into thousands of denominations.

Don’t think its appropriate to generalise about how people become close(r) to God and what deepens this closeness. Sometimes it tells us more about ourselves than the person we are talking with.

In the Catholic Church is the fullness of life and salvation. However, outside of the Church, in other religions, there are elements of truth that can draw men and women closer to God. There are commonalities between the major religions, points that they agree on, where the other religions have it right. So people can indeed come closer to God outside of the fullness of the Catholic Church . . . but every spiritual truth that draws them closer to God emanates from the Catholic Church, for it is the “pillar and foundation of truth” itself (1 Tim. 3:15).

And maybe if we talk about adding to what people have we will find them more willing to consider new ideas/aspects than telling what they have is either wrong or incomplete. Also if we talk about what we have got rather than what we consider they lack.

Well, unfortunately there are some beliefs Protestants hold to that have to go, for the truth to settle in. Jesus said the devil is the Father of Lies. Jesus also said, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). There is an absolute truth. Beliefs that don’t correspond to it are wrong. This doesn’t mean we need to pick up a hammer and go bop anyone who’s wrong on the head with it, judging them for their errors. We should indeed be encouraging and try to help them out of errors without condescension or disrespect. And if they aren’t willing to talk with us, we shouldn’t force our faith down their throats. Prayer is the principle method I use when evangelizing. I do my research, know what I believe, and I share that knowledge when people ask me questions. If they appear open, I may actually approach them about religion and talk about it with them amiably. But prayer is the main thing.

The Spirit alone can reach people’s hearts.

 

[Holly3278]

I see so many Protestants who love God, but being deceived by some false teachings and kept away from the Eucharist and Mary… it really makes me sad does anyone else feel that way? it’s especially sad that this is all because of some historical events 500 years ago…Jesus loves all these people and wants them to come into the Church, but they’re being taught against it

I believe it’s not their fault at all, but rather what they’ve been taught… but that’s what makes the Reformation tragic

I feel the same way. It is not their fault that they are separate from the Eucharist and Mary unless they were once Catholic and then left the Catholic Church for the Protestant church. Most Protestants are born in to the Protestant sect of Christianity. Many of them are totally ignorant of what the Church teaches and many of them have actually been taught things that are in contradiction to what the Church teaches. What I mean is that many of them have been taught that the Church believes a certain thing while the Church actually believes the opposite. It’s a very sad thing indeed.

A reformation was needed in the Church 500 years ago but the reformation that took place went way too far. Thanks to heretics like Martin Luther, we now have many Christians who have been deceived about Christian theology.

Thankfully, I do truly believe with all my heart that God will be merciful to those who believe false doctrines in total ignorance. God in His mercy would not, in my opinion, condemn someone to Hell for believing a Protestant doctrine with all their heart out of total ignorance. However, I do believe that certain Protestant doctrines could have the potential to send people to Hell. The one I am thinking about in particular is the once saved always saved doctrine (also known as eternal security). People could continue to sin and not repent of their sins thinking that God has already forgiven them and that they are going to Heaven no matter what. I do still think that God will be merciful to such people though. But He is also completely just and so He will judge the heart.

May God bring all Protestants into the one true Church.

It is important that we witness to our Protestant brethren and show them the Truth in the best way that we know how. One way that I do this is I put out these brochures on a table in my apartment complex where other poeple put literature. The brochures are claled “Top Ten Questions Catholics Are Asked”. It is a pamphlet put out by Our Sunday Visitor which you can find here:

catalog.osv.com/Catalog.aspx?SimpleDisplay=true&ProductCode=P9

Here is the product description on the page so that you know what these pamphlets are about:
Our Sunday Visitor catalog:

We Catholics are often asked tough questions about our Faith and its relationship to the Bible. Here are the ten most popular questions, with clear, insightful answers that should clear things up, both for yourself, and for the questioner. Questions include: Are your beliefs found in the Bible?..Why do you obey the pope?..Why do you worship Mary…Are you saved?..and more.

I plan on ordering some of these pamphlets from TAN Books too:

tanbooks.com/shop_image/large/conf1025x.jpg

Click the picture of the booklet to go to the TAN Books catalog page where you can find this pamphlet and the same with the next one:

tanbooks.com/shop_image/large/cath1024x.jpg

May God bless you all richly!

Holly

 

[Lutheranteach]

That is very sad
I know what you mean about the brokenness. It’s odd that sometimes we can actually feel that… and just makes it more horrible.

Know that many protestants feel the same way about you when they attend a mass.

 

[japscarousel]

Protestants are to reform the Church. If they only had the patience and humility. Rebellion does not come from God. They shifted from the reform to ‘destruction’, that is disunity… However, sects make me sad the most.

Know that many protestants feel the same way about you when they attend a mass.

please make this clear. Do protestants attend Mass?

 

[poetryforjesus]

Dear Monica, I am distressed about this very much lately. I know that the Lord has led me to Catholicism because He’s had pity on me, because I was on the verge of death. However, I also believe that the protestants who truly seek the Lord will come home to the Catholic Church. Those who truly seek will find. That is what makes me sad, because when my protestant friends are stubbornly refusing to see the simple truth laid out before them, they are going against the loving will of God out of love for their own wisdom.

It is clear to me that when protestant refuse to see the simple truth of salvation not by faith alone, when they adamantly reject any church authority, when they cling to the idea of once saved always saved, their love for God is terribly wanting. The focus of their faith is not so much on the living God who loves us so much and who is so worthy of all our love and more. Their focus is on the guarantee of their own salvation, on how they can be comforted and assured of their destiny, on how they can make salvation easy to themselves and others. it makes me sad because they refuse to see reality. They would rather assure themselves of eternal security than to wait for God to assure them.

When a person simply refuses to see the beauty of Catholicism when it is clearly laid out before them, there is something terribly twisted. I don’t know what it is. I can’t see their soul, but there has to be something distorted.

Another reason for sadness is that protestants do not believe they can be actually made holy. They believe that Christ’s righteousness will cover them, and that’s it. I wish they would read the lives of the Saints and be astonished. They are missing their potential, for sure.

But then, I don’t know if I’m living out my potential, either. God help us.

 

[Holly3278]

Know that many protestants feel the same way about you when they attend a mass.

Personally, I could care less what any individual Protestant thinks about me. What I care about is what Protestantism as a whole or as a part thinks about Catholicism. It is my job to help get rid of anti-Catholicism in this world. I admit that I can only do a small part to get rid of anti-Catholicism but I do what I can.