Protestants who have converted to the catholic faith

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Damo73

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Would protestants that have converted to the catholic church, tell me what it was that that made them make such a great leap.I know that i am going to, based upon the history of the church in particular the apostolic succession and the formation of cannon. Even though i have already been called a heretic for believing the catholic church and have had to defend my decision so many times.
 
My wife and I decided to convert because the evidence overwhelmingly supports the claims of the Catholic Church. I’ve read nothing in the writings of the ECFs that leads me to believe that the early church was anything but Catholic. Not to mention, when I dove into sacred Scripture, I realized that it, too, teaches Catholicism.
 
Can I speak for a friend of mine that converted to the Church? She saw all the anti-catholic literature (i.e. chick tracts) that “tell” you what the false catholics teach their mindless hordes. Then she compared it to what Catholics actually teach. She soon began to see through the false anti-catholic literature and understood there had to be a good reason the devil was so desperate in his attacks on the Christ’s Church.
 
The Coming Home Network site has a good forum to ask questions as well. Check them out.
 
I basically found out that the beliefs of the protestant church were not around in the early church.basically it came out of nowhere.I was actually depressed for a couple of months because I really didn’t want it to be come true.
 
I’m not a convert, but on the internet I have seen a fair number of Evangelicals and Fundamentalists convert to Catholicism. Their stories were all the same. They started off trying to convince Catholics of the error of their faith, were surprised that Catholicism had answers to all their objections, and eventually came to see that Catholicism held the fulless of the truth that their faith backgrounds lacked.

By and large, converts seem to make wonderful Catholics.
 
Damo73 said:
Would protestants that have converted to the catholic church, tell me what it was that that made them make such a great leap.I know that i am going to, based upon the history of the church in particular the apostolic succession and the formation of cannon. Even though i have already been called a heretic for believing the catholic church and have had to defend my decision so many times.
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I converted based on what I found in Scripture related to unity, authority, and Apostolic succession/hierarchy. I became convinced that historically, the Church did not fracture into “denominations” when controversy arose, but rather they turned to the bishops and pope who made a final decision (ie, Acts 15) and then the rest obeyed, not started their own church.

Also, I became disheartened with what was going on in my own denomination at the time (Episcopal)-- in the early 1990s. Glad I converted then, as now it is unbearable what that church teaches and practices.
 
Damo73 said:
Would protestants that have converted to the catholic church, tell me what it was that that made them make such a great leap.I know that i am going to, based upon the history of the church in particular the apostolic succession and the formation of cannon. .
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Welcome Home!
turn on EWTN and watch the Journey Home program. Every week Marcus Grodi (a former Presbyterian minister) interviews another person who has made this journey and we hear their stories. He has had guests from every denomination you can think of, and many non-Christians as well.

This Rock magazine (archived here on the CA homepage) also has a conversion story in every issue. For some reason this is the first part of the magazine I turn to, even though I am a cradle Catholic. I am an RCIA director so I like to know as much as I can about those who are making this momentous decision.

If you have questions along they way about RCIA etc, PM me.

I don’t know if you are married, but even if not, you should read Rome Sweet Rome, the conversion story of Scott and Kimberley Hahn. He started his journey the same way you have, looking for the roots in the Early Church of Christian doctrine and practice, trying to shoot down Catholic beliefs.
 
My journey to the Catholic church was long. What prompted my ultimate conversion was my very strict Baptist Pastor. He informed the congregation that we should not see the Passion of Christ.

He gave several reasons. One of which was that Mel Gibson was Catholic and Catholics did not believe in the risen Christ. Having attended a Catholic church in my teenage years, I knew this was false.

I began to look into the Catholic church, mainly to prove that some of his concerns were incorrect.

What I found was a church that was very biblical, much more then my Protestant churches.
 
Damo73 said:
Would protestants that have converted to the catholic church, tell me what it was that that made them make such a great leap.**I know that i am going to, based upon the history of the church in particular the apostolic succession **and the formation of cannon. Even though i have already been called a heretic for believing the catholic church and have had to defend my decision so many times.
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What first attracted me was apostolic succession, particularly the succession of the Popes.

Then I started reading Catholic books, and the writings of the 16th century Protestant “reformers” and knew right away the Catholic Church was the true Church. I wouldn’t call my conversion “such a great leap”. I no had no hesitation at all in converting. My only concern was getting in as soon as possible.

I did experience the typical arguments from family members, but I reacted so strongly in refuting them that they very quickly stopped throwing them at me. My advice has always been to take the offensing against Protestants. That is what I did and it is what I would recommend to you. Of course, be sure that you ue prudence.

Converting to the Catholic Church was the best thing I ever did, and I’m sure it will be for you as well. One other peice of advice I will give you - *and I consider this advice of the utmost importance *- is to find a Traditional Catholic Church (FSSP, for example) and receive your instruction and formation from them. The Church in America is going through a crisis and it is often difficult to find a solid Priest. Traditional Priest are almost always very solid, and will teach you the unwatered down faith.

Tak care now, and God Bless. I will be praying for you.
 
Same story here. I began an intensive bible study (on my own) and found out that the Catholic Church actually wrote, canonized, and spread the bible. Then I started trying to find out what else the Catholics thought, and found that everything I had been told about them was wrong. When the scripture was opened to me (through prayer and study) it all seemed so obvious–the Eucharist, the Pope, everything! I didn’t want to become Catholic, but I had no choice! I had to follow Jesus in the Truth that He established on earth. I’ve never been happier or closer to God than here at home in Rome. 👍
 
~The biblical support of the Eucharist being the true body & blood (John chapte r 6)

~The reverence & holiness of the mass

~The Church’s stand on social issues: birth control, abortion, homosexual marriage, helping the poor, fighting injuctice.

~The beautiful writings of Pope John Paul II.
 
Like many protestant converts to the CC, I started looking at the Early Church writers. (ECF). The earliest writers sounded nothing like the good ole Southern Baptist pastor or professors (Baylor U). They sounded gasp - Catholic! I had read the CCC years before as I was curious what Catholics really believed. But I didn’t convert then. It wasn’t until I had visited an Orthodox Church and felt that I was witnessing something that hadn’t changed in centuries that I became curious about the early Church. I looked at Orthodoxy at first, but something just held me back. Then I looked at the Catholic Church and found it was Home. I haven’t looked back (at Protestantism) since.
 
Damo73 said:
Would protestants that have converted to the catholic church, tell me what it was that that made them make such a great leap.I know that i am going to, based upon the history of the church in particular the apostolic succession and the formation of cannon. Even though i have already been called a heretic for believing the catholic church and have had to defend my decision so many times.
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For me it was the Bible. The only way I could get a coherent, defensible interpretation of it was to read it with the eyes and under the authority of the Church.

Jeremy
 
Wow. Many of the posters in this thread are among some of the more active posters in these forums. It makes me wonder if cradle catholics use Catholic Answer Forums or is it simply converts to Catholicism and Protestants? 😉
 
I was listening to a talk that James White gave on his sister’s conversion to Catholicism. In it, he made the observation that most Catholics convert for emotional reasons. This thread would prove otherwise to him as most of us converted after reading the bible or the early church fathers.
 
djrakowski said:
My wife and I decided to convert because the evidence overwhelmingly supports the claims of the Catholic Church. I’ve read nothing in the writings of the ECFs that leads me to believe that the early church was anything but Catholic. Not to mention, when I dove into sacred Scripture, I realized that it, too, teaches Catholicism.
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Pretty much the same story for me as well. I started the journey in '99 and finally came into the Church April 15, 2001. 👍
 
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