Protestants: why do you participate on a Catholic forum?

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HeWillProvide said:
What drew you to participate on a Catholic forum instead of one from your own denomination, or of another denomination, like Mormon, Buddhist, Muslim, etc.??
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When I came across this forum some six months ago I was an Evangelical without a church home and seriously thinking about converting to either Orthodoxy or Catholicism. I was more drawn to Orthodoxy but I had by no means ruled out Catholicism. I’ve spent most of my time in the Non–Catholic Religions forum and have been greatly helped by any number of posters. There are some very smart people who log on here as well as some who are obviously pure in heart. I’ve no complaints.

Appreciatively,
Mick
👍
 
denwiles said:
Well we are not welcome to your church! I served in a Catholic Church and I never felt so unwelcomed in my life. I have 5 Children and they were forbidden to go to the youth. I couldn’t get people to smile at me. I started coming to this site while I was attending a Catholic Church. And then I seen Catholics bashing Protestants on this site and wondered
'How can people say they have the real presence of Jesus and be so mean?" Jesus said you will know them by the fruit they bear. Well I’m still waiting. People are nice as long as you agree, but as soon as you don’t they let you have it. So I went back to my Protestant Church with lots of Hugs and Kisses. I really don’t know how long I will be on this site.
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If you look for mean and hypocritical people you will always find them, and I have a feeling you are always looking.
 
denwiles said:
Well we are not welcome to your church! I served in a Catholic Church and I never felt so unwelcomed in my life. I have 5 Children and they were forbidden to go to the youth. I couldn’t get people to smile at me. I started coming to this site while I was attending a Catholic Church. And then I seen Catholics bashing Protestants on this site and wondered
'How can people say they have the real presence of Jesus and be so mean?" Jesus said you will know them by the fruit they bear. Well I’m still waiting. People are nice as long as you agree, but as soon as you don’t they let you have it. So I went back to my Protestant Church with lots of Hugs and Kisses. I really don’t know how long I will be on this site.
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Hi Denwiles,

You will find this anywhere and everywhere you go. If you look for it you will find it. However if you look for people who are not so snobbish you can also find this as well. Also, if everyone has a different opinion to you then don’t take it as a personal attack, you seem to do this on the threads that i have read where you have been involved.
 
jbelokur said:
If you look for mean and hypocritical people you will always find them, and I have a feeling you are always looking.
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Wow. You must be pretty good, to be able to determine that from a single post on an internet forum. Ease up, dude.
 
denwiles said:
Well we are not welcome to your church! I served in a Catholic Church and I never felt so unwelcomed in my life. I have 5 Children and they were forbidden to go to the youth. I couldn’t get people to smile at me. I started coming to this site while I was attending a Catholic Church. And then I seen Catholics bashing Protestants on this site and wondered
'How can people say they have the real presence of Jesus and be so mean?" Jesus said you will know them by the fruit they bear. Well I’m still waiting. People are nice as long as you agree, but as soon as you don’t they let you have it. So I went back to my Protestant Church with lots of Hugs and Kisses. I really don’t know how long I will be on this site.
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I certainly understand how that would be a turn off. But it exists in many different churches. I’m a convert and I’ve been in really warm and friendly protestant churches and some pretty cold ones to. Luckily my experience in Catholicism has been pretty friendly. I’d go regardless but it still makes a big difference.
 
To the OP, I can say that this forum helped me a great deal in my conversion to Catholicism. I learned a great deal about the faith, and the presence of various protestants from my former denomination helped to present a mirror for the beliefs I was raised in verses those of the Church.
 
why not have them? it encourages good dialogue and wh knows, maybe they will convert to the catholic faith by getting some answers here.
 
denwiles said:
Well we are not welcome to your church! I served in a Catholic Church and I never felt so unwelcomed in my life. I have 5 Children and they were forbidden to go to the youth. I couldn’t get people to smile at me. I started coming to this site while I was attending a Catholic Church. And then I seen Catholics bashing Protestants on this site and wondered
'How can people say they have the real presence of Jesus and be so mean?" Jesus said you will know them by the fruit they bear. Well I’m still waiting. People are nice as long as you agree, but as soon as you don’t they let you have it. So I went back to my Protestant Church with lots of Hugs and Kisses. I really don’t know how long I will be on this site.
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Dennis,

Sorry to hear of your experiences. I’m a convert to the Catholic Church and I will admit that some of the people at the Catholic Church that I attended were “less than friendly” and others were very friendly. From my experiences, I can say that Catholics in general could certainly stand to learn something from Protestants about reaching out to the newcomers and about pro-active evangelism.

Part of this is due to substantially different social structures. For many Protestants, a large part of their social network revolves around fellow Christians and their church activities. I’ve found that they have a stronger sense of community whereas Catholics are generally not as involved in their parish. Our priest has been trying to initiate more involvement, but there is some resistance to change. Nonetheless, I do believe it will come.

Regarding the bashing, I can safely say that the bashing goes both ways. This doesn’t justify anyone - it’s just a sad fact that some Catholics and Protestants are yet unable to intelligently and gracefully debate their differences. Some people just get overly defensive rather than maintaining rationality.

Even some of my closest Protestant friends ostracized me when I first joined the Catholic Church - it was disappointing, but I have managed to mend a few bridges. The biases stem mostly from ignorance and/or fear and as I mentioned previously, it goes both ways.

Despite your negative experiences, I would encourage you to remain and ask the questions that you need answers to. I would also ask that you seek out what is good in the Catholic Church - look past the “unfriendlies” because Christ is there despite their character flaws. If you seek him, you will find him - that’s a promise that he answers in his time.

God Bless,
Claude
 
A thirst for truth.

Honestly, is there any religious site anywhere on the web that provides such diversity of opinion?

If there are any Catholic Answers moderators lurking, I tip my hat to you::clapping:
 
tampagrl said:
With all due respect, that sounds a little defensive. S/he was just asking a question and I’m actually curious to read the answers, too. 🙂
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Well, asking that question on a forum called “Non-Catholic religions” is a little like mailing a formal dinner invitation to someone, and when they show up demanding to know what they are DOING there.

Given the number of people who have posted far more aggressive forms of that question lately, couched in highly critical terms (like…“why are you on a Catholic forum? Why don’t you take your [insert epithet here] to your own group?”), it’s hard not to feel defensive when we are asked that question.

Especially since the short answer is: we are here because you invited us.

Diana
 
pigtown said:
I grew up in the Catholic Church and can certainly understand what you are saying. Some people are very friendly and welcoming but you’ll find that in any church. We live out in the country and the nearest Catholic church is about 12 miles away. When we do go it’s like we don’t even exist so we don’t go very often. It’s not comforting at all. We prefer a church where the Word of God is spoken, where children are valued from conception on (a pro-life church) and where everyone is welcomed and made to feel at home. I did not have that feeling in Catholic churches in big cities or small towns. In fact, when I lived in a different country and didn’t know the language I was told by a priest that it didn’t matter if I understood anything or not but my body had to be in Church every Sunday! That was a huge turn-off for me!
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Thats soooo sad!
The whole body of Christ is sick. The WHOLE BODY of Christ… that means every denomination or church or house church or whatever… there are problems every where,
WHY?
Its written:
Not one limb is sick without that the whole body suffers.
The body of Christ is torn into pieces… its a catastrophe. When unity is missing, we all suffer the different effects either with doctrine or with tepidity, lack of fellowship or something else. I also found the life and fellowship in the Catholic Church is often missing. But I did find some that are great, and where the priest knows the name of everyone and people sit together long after Sunday mass.
I became a Catholic in Medjugorje… a church that had everything the first Christians testified: miracles, love, peace, unity, enthusiasm, great preaching, fellowship, Eucharist and sound doctrine… for the most part.
I became Catholic not because my parishioners should make me feel good, although fellowship is a hugely important thing… but I am where I am because Jesus called me there.
You can sit at any bar or country clup and have fellowship if thats all you want. What I am seacrhing for is Truth… that Truth is Christ… and He is the reason.
 
JesusforMadrid said:
A thirst for truth.

Honestly, is there any religious site anywhere on the web that provides such diversity of opinion?

If there are any Catholic Answers moderators lurking, I tip my hat to you::clapping:
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And brother,
It’s also our privilege to have you among us. 🙂
but let it not end on the net… Catholics and Evangelicals must come together and pray and worship and read Scripture together without fear in the real life.

🙂
 
GraceDK said:
And brother,
It’s also our privilege to have you among us. 🙂
but let it not end on the net… Catholics and Evangelicals must come together and pray and worship and read Scripture together without fear in the real life.

🙂
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Det gjor vi faktisk her i spanien saa jeg er ganske tilfreds. Med hilsen.
 
The whole body of Christ is sick. The WHOLE BODY of Christ… that means every denomination or church or house church or whatever… there are problems every where,>>>GraceDK
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That is an interesting observation which has salvation!

Jesus “Broke” the bread into pieces and said, “This is my body”. Why would it be done that way if it were not the truth that His body was going to be divided.

Careful, His physical body was not divided, but His spiritual body, the church is.

But here is the beauty of it all, that with the cup of wine (His blood) all drank of the same.

Meaning that though divided; His blood covers them all.

Now, what’s the problem?

Blessing’s, AJ
 
JesusforMadrid said:
Det gjor vi faktisk her i spanien saa jeg er ganske tilfreds. Med hilsen.
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That is speaking in foreign tongue, as was like with the Apostles at the day of Pentecost.

God did allow for some to interpret, otherwise, for many of us, there is no edification.

Blessing’s, AJ
 
JesusforMadrid said:
Det gjor vi faktisk her i spanien saa jeg er ganske tilfreds. Med hilsen.
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This is good news brother. So good you ought to say it in English.
We also do this in Denmark… though not all… And I have travelled to many places and met many who were afraid to enter “the Lion’s nest” of the others… 🙂
I often visit the Pentecostals in my own town… they have meant so much to me and they welcome me with open arms saying: We are proud to have you here… because Ansgar, the catholic, came to preach the Gospel to the Danes first". these brothers have the humility… if all had that we could get very far… Today i listened to talk on the radio with the Danish Jewish Rabbi Michael Melchior… this is also a holy man in many ways I believe.
What are you doing in Spain? 🙂

Shalom to you and your house:)
 
look3467 said:
That is an interesting observation which has salvation!

Jesus “Broke” the bread into pieces and said, “This is my body”. Why would it be done that way if it were not the truth that His body was going to be divided.

Careful, His physical body was not divided, but His spiritual body, the church is.

But here is the beauty of it all, that with the cup of wine (His blood) all drank of the same.

Meaning that though divided; His blood covers them all.

Now, what’s the problem?

Blessing’s, AJ
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With all due respect brother,I do not agree on your analysis of the breaking of the Bread. Jesus many times makes explicit the prayer that we all BE ONE like the Father and Jesus are One. As long as we are divided under the Holy Name we are causing scandal to our Cause and we are the laughing stock of people of other religions…
The Spirit of God is neither confusion nor division.
 
HeWillProvide said:
What drew you to participate on a Catholic forum instead of one from your own denomination, or of another denomination, like Mormon, Buddhist, Muslim, etc.??
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I came here to see if what I understood about the Catholic Church was true or not. I love to learn, read Scripture, and share faiths. That’s why I’m here.
God Bless
 
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