Question?? Do you feel uncomfortable around Evangelicals??

  • Thread starter Thread starter uofl19
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
U

uofl19

Guest
The reason I bring this up is, yesterday while at my Wife’s Non-Denon Church. I had one of those moments. 1st of all my wife is not converting and I’m not converting away from Catholicism either. That was a sticky issue for both of us up front. With much counselling we agreed to work through these barriers. That is why it took us over 3 yrs to decide to get married.

Anyways, yesterday during the guest pastor’s sermon at the end, he asked everyone to go and lay their hands on someone that is on their mind and just go pray for them. Now only maybe a dozen or so people did this out of a couple of hundred. However, one of them was me. The man who did this, is a nice guy, he does not come across as some Holy Roller or anything. He has a newborn about a month older than my newborn and we are about the same age. He knows I’m Catholic. It was a nice gesture and I shook his hand and thanked him for thinking of me but I have to admit, I was HIGHLY uncomfortable with it. All he prayed for me was for to know Jesus loves me and that he was thinking of me in the struggles of being a new father. Doesn’t sound like much harm.

Am I overreacting here?? Is this a possible ploy for wanting me to get more involved their?? I have to admit, I have a good friend of mine who is the youth pastor their. He has pretty much given up that I would convert. He leaves me alone. So besides him, I really don’t socialize much with anyone their and I keep to myself because I don’t want to risk getting into a situation where they MAY try some type of evangelization.

Also, who do you find feels more uncomfortabe?? Evangelicals around Catholics or Catholics around Evangelicals?? I have to admit I think it’s Evangelicals around Catholics. I have seen many Catholics socialize around Evangelicals but Religion never really comes up but when an Evangelical is around a group of Catholics they feel rather intimidated and I think my wife fits into that group. How she ever married me is beyond me but she still does not like to be in a situation where she is with a group of nothing but Catholics. Unless it’s a Parish Picnic, she loves those
 
If this is the sort of thing they do in your wife’s church, and you attend with her, then ya gotta put up with it. I realize you could not help reading between the lines – “Jesus, show this poor ignorant son of the antichrist the truth and save his soul.”

Squirming only annoys them.
 
Sometimes Catholics can read more into that kind of thing that evangelicals intend. There’s really no way to know for sure.

Edwin
 
Well, I have never stuck around long enough to really get to know the people. I used to Protestant church hop trying to see what they were all like.

The only weird experience I had was I went into a church one time and I knew the pastor. And he knew I was Catholic. So when I sat down he gave me the crazy eyes. I don’t know if it was shock or what, but it made me pretty uncomfotable. As soon as the service was over I ran out the back.

If your wife attends that church you might just have to deal with it. Just remember they mean well. Some of them may be concerned for you. In dealing a lot with the more extreme Protestants, some of them think we are all on the path to hell. While I think they are silly in thinking that, if you thought you KNEW someone was going to hell, wouldn’t you want to put them on the straight and narrow?

Whenever something you don’t like happens, just smile and remember that you are doing it for your wife.

Adam
 
I was raised Baptist, then became Covenenter, but am now in RCIA and will be confirmed Holy Saturday, just so you know where I’m coming from.

There are protestants who think Catholics are NOT Christians.

There are protestants who think SOME Catholics MAY be Christians.

I would have to say, IN MY EXPERIENCE, MOST protestants think that there are probably SOME Catholics who are Christians, but that MOST are not. They also think that Catholicism has too many faults, number one being they don’t have Sola Scriptura. So MOST feel it is their duty to get Catholics “saved” and attend their particular protestant church.

Others may disagree, this is just MY experience.
Click to expand...
 
In 1995 (?) I went to the Promise Keepers rally in DC. I was on a 24 hour roundtrip bus ride with 50 evangelicals men-I was the only Catholic on the Bus. We had , to say the least, some interesting conversations on the trip-my seatmate for instance, told me he had just completed an 8 part course on evangelizing catholics and wanted to share it with me. His first question was did I know what the Immaculate Conception was. I proceeded to give him the docrtine in detail, the Scriptrual support for it and worked in some disucssion in the concept of the sanctified tabernalce in the OT. That was the last I hears of his 8 part course.

The highlight of the trip was during the rally the leader said we should all make ammends to anyone from another faithwho’s faith we had doubted or questioned(or something along than line). I had 50 men walk up an apologize!

So the quick answer to your questrion is no.
 
40.png
uofl19:
The reason I bring this up is, yesterday while at my Wife’s Non-Denon Church. I had one of those moments. 1st of all my wife is not converting and I’m not converting away from Catholicism either. That was a sticky issue for both of us up front. With much counselling we agreed to work through these barriers. That is why it took us over 3 yrs to decide to get married.

Anyways, yesterday during the guest pastor’s sermon at the end, he asked everyone to go and lay their hands on someone that is on their mind and just go pray for them. Now only maybe a dozen or so people did this out of a couple of hundred. However, one of them was me. The man who did this, is a nice guy, he does not come across as some Holy Roller or anything. He has a newborn about a month older than my newborn and we are about the same age. He knows I’m Catholic. It was a nice gesture and I shook his hand and thanked him for thinking of me but I have to admit, I was HIGHLY uncomfortable with it. All he prayed for me was for to know Jesus loves me and that he was thinking of me in the struggles of being a new father. Doesn’t sound like much harm.

Am I overreacting here?? Is this a possible ploy for wanting me to get more involved their?? I have to admit, I have a good friend of mine who is the youth pastor their. He has pretty much given up that I would convert. He leaves me alone. So besides him, I really don’t socialize much with anyone their and I keep to myself because I don’t want to risk getting into a situation where they MAY try some type of evangelization.

Also, who do you find feels more uncomfortabe?? Evangelicals around Catholics or Catholics around Evangelicals?? I have to admit I think it’s Evangelicals around Catholics. I have seen many Catholics socialize around Evangelicals but Religion never really comes up but when an Evangelical is around a group of Catholics they feel rather intimidated and I think my wife fits into that group. How she ever married me is beyond me but she still does not like to be in a situation where she is with a group of nothing but Catholics. Unless it’s a Parish Picnic, she loves those
Click to expand...
I don’t find any fault with it. Now, if he would have prayed that you turn away from idol worship and canibalism, then I would be a little upset. Bottom line is, he did not. I think it was a nice gesture.

However, I know what you are going through. As a convert Catholic, I get that uncomfortable feeling from time to time around my girlfriends parents. Anytime I bring up anything about my parish, it gets really quiet. I think it puts them off. But, that is my faith, so they just have to deal.

I think you just had an encounter with a Christian that wanted to do something nice for you. Still, if I had two words of advice to give you…“Constant Vigilance.”
 
I have a funny story that comes from the protestant side:

My girlfriend’s aunt was on a plane and was the type of person who just wanted to rest, not talk. Her seat-mate kept talking and didn’t get the hint. Finally exasperated, she leaned into him and asked, “Are you SAVED?”

The man never said another word. :rotfl:
 
Thanks for your replies!! Good answers!! Honestly, in knowing this guy, I don’t think he is doing any type of harm and I doubt he thinks because I’m Catholic I am going to hell. If you knew him, I don’t think you would think that either. I remember attending his wedding and he even had plenty of beer on tap!! HAHA!!

I will just take it as him doing a nice gesture towards me and be aprreciative the next time I see him.

I guess the thing that made me feel a little uneasy is because the pastor always says something like "The Lord is speaking to me and telling me that there is someone here that (fill in the blanks) to me that is a little weird. Can’t anyone feel that?? I can stand up and say at work. I feel that someone is having back pain and chances are that is correct. IThe whole deal just seems a little Benny Hinn’ish to me.
 
Well, MOST my Baptist friends and family think it’s fine that I am and my wife are converting. But that’s what happens when you grow up in an area where there are plenty of Catholics. I’ve only heard one negative comment so far, though we haven’t told many people we aren’t close to. A friend of the family who directs the local office of the Southern Baptist Mission Board reacted in shock and disappointment saying “Oh, how could they when they were raised such strong Baptists?”

I think I will have a hard time going to another Baptist church but I think overall most Catholics I grew up with were more at ease in my church than vice versa. When protestants go to a Catholic Church, (or at least everyone I know who’s had the experience including myself) the worry is always "When do I stand up/sit down? Should I kneel? Are they bowing their heads/why are they not bowing their heads? Should I just sit right now?

I’m still trying to get all that right, by the way, even though I have been a regular at mass for several months! Every time I think I have it down Whoa what was that prayer they just said?:o 😃
 
40.png
estesbob:
…I had 50 men walk up an apologize!
…QUOTE]

WOW!!

Awesome story!

I think *most * of these protestants are not spiteful.
They ARE interested in truth.
We just have different ideas about what the facts are.

I think their hearts seek truth and truly want the best for us.
They just don’t realize the err of their own faith.

michel
Click to expand...
 
40.png
cazayoux:
40.png
estesbob:
…I had 50 men walk up an apologize!
…QUOTE]

WOW!!

Awesome story!

I think *most *
Click to expand...
of these protestants are not spiteful.
They ARE interested in truth.
We just have different ideas about what the facts are.

I think their hearts seek truth and truly want the best for us.
They just don’t realize the err of their own faith.

michel

I NEVER get upset when they try to “evangelize” me. I know they are doing it out of love and concern. I do, however, very emphatically tell them that i am a devout practicing catholic an have no interest whatsoever in joining their faith, I had to do this recently wth a long time Muslim client who wanted me to meet with his Iman and discuss the problems with the Trinity!
Click to expand...
 
40.png
estesbob:
40.png
cazayoux:
I NEVER get upset when they try to “evangelize” me. I know they are doing it out of love and concern. I do, however, very emphatically tell them that i am a devout practicing catholic an have no interest whatsoever in joining their faith, I had to do this recently wth a long time Muslim client who wanted me to meet with his Iman and discuss the problems with the Trinity!
Click to expand...
Oh boy!
Click to expand...
 
I was stationed in the deep south for many years, in a very small town. There was only one small Catholic Parish in the county, if you didn’t count the one on the Navy Base.

As it was a very small town, you got to know nearly “everybody”. A trip to WalMart to buy screws and coat hangers turned into a three hour trip because of all the people I would run into.

I was also “well known” for my zeal for the Catholic Faith, so from time to time, I would run into folks who were protestant, and get questioned about the Church. Sometimes it was done in honest curiosity, sometimes it was malicious.

Fundamentalists and Evengelicals don’t bother me. They forced me to dig into my faith (I was poorly catechised and had many misconceptions myself, as well as a “cafeteria attitude”, but I firmly believed in God) and learn the truth for myself. Instead of believing what they told me my Church’s teachings were, I researched and studied history and theology and the Catechism. I found incontravertable evidence on all fronts that the Catholic Church is THE Church, established by Christ, and then handed down from the Apostles.

I am a skeptic, and somewhat of a pessimist - I don’t fall for something easily. Only after my head is convinced, does my heart follow. Maybe that puts me in the same category as Thomas, who had to “see to believe”, but that’s the way I am. No excuses.
 
Have you ever had a 300 pound Muslim yell in your face that “Christ is not God” on Christmas day? I have, I find evangelicals pretty easy to deal with comparitively.
I have to admit, I feel all of my protestant friends secretly think I have a hidden person inside me that worships Mary and who more than likely howls at the moon when its full. I say hidden, because conversation we agree with and uplift each other.
Conversely, the other day a Protestant friend told me of two Catholic ladies who asked her why she didn’t believe in the Virgin birth.
I often wish I could feel comfortable praying for people out loud in front of them the way my Protestant friends can.
 
40.png
estesbob:
In 1995 (?) I went to the Promise Keepers rally in DC. I was on a 24 hour roundtrip bus ride with 50 evangelicals men-I was the only Catholic on the Bus. We had , to say the least, some interesting conversations on the trip-my seatmate for instance, told me he had just completed an 8 part course on evangelizing catholics and wanted to share it with me. His first question was did I know what the Immaculate Conception was. I proceeded to give him the docrtine in detail, the Scriptrual support for it and worked in some disucssion in the concept of the sanctified tabernalce in the OT. That was the last I hears of his 8 part course.

The highlight of the trip was during the rally the leader said we should all make ammends to anyone from another faithwho’s faith we had doubted or questioned(or something along than line). I had 50 men walk up an apologize!

So the quick answer to your questrion is no.
Click to expand...
This is such a good example! My difficulty is that I don’t have enough time to explain our faith. Everything in the Evangelical world is so cut and dry, packaged and ready to go, easy to explain. No one wants to get into a conversation of any depth. Its funny because I contribute alot to the group I’m in (a non-denom bible study) and everyone always likes what I say and agrees, but they don’t go deeper. They all know I’m Catholic. When they start talking OSAS or sola scriptura its very uncomfortable because I don’t believe it and I don’t get the chance to teach them my beliefs on it. I get “cut off” from the leader so we can finish the rest of our questions. I’d love to be on an extended bus ride talking about Catholic beliefs!
 
Carrie Andrews:
I often wish I could feel comfortable praying for people out loud in front of them the way my Protestant friends can.
Click to expand...
Matthew 6:5-8
5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
 
My answer is no as well. But I was borned and raised in an anti-catholic denomination.

I use to be uncomfortable when I was asked by people I use to know from back then when they asked me to come to their church. I would lie and say sure. This bothered me as it should. So I developed a counter question.
“Great Idea. I’ve got a better Idea. You believe in ‘more the merrier’ in relationship to worshiping God?”
Click to expand...
They always say yes to this.
So I say:
“Well i’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine. Our church has an 8:00 A.M. service and lets out at 9:00 A.M. This gives you plenty of time to get to your Sunday School. So next Sunday, you come to my service at 8:00 A.M. and I will in turn come to your service at 11:00 A.M.”
Click to expand...
The reaction to this is nearly priceless. :cool:
 
I often wish I could feel comfortable praying for people out loud in front of them the way my Protestant friends can
Click to expand...
To me growing up, the general praying time in a Congregational Holiness church was more like a competition on who could be the most bolsterous and the loudest.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top