Question for Catholics: SInner's Prayer and Altar calls

[Tommy999]

So you chose as options for the poll some answers that in your opinion are ‘less charitable’?

Yes, but I figured some folks might still believe them.

 

[spedteacherita]

I would say a gimmick on par with the** ‘if you died right now are you assured of your salvation’ gimmick.**

Both of them, I assure you, is very deeply held as a positive factor in many Protestant’s faith. I know there are people who are out there who will take it and try to use these in order to mess with people but it isn’t commonplace. I have many relatives who have come to Jesus during an altar call and are very active and spiritually happy at the church they happen to attend. My altar call, you might say, was my baptism that happened when I was 21 as I “went forward” and was baptized in front of my congregation.

I have had a few disagreements with people with the “if you died right now are you assured of your salvation” ‘gimmick’ as you call it. I trust in the promises that Jesus gives us that if we follow Him, confess our sins, and lead a Godly life I WILL go to heaven if I were to die tonight. I won’t debate it right now because that’s not what the OP was looking for and we would end up at a stalemate anyway.

God bless, Johnny.

Rita

 

[spedteacherita]

Whether all Catholics revere the Eucharist much as we should is totally irrelevant. The point is our separated bretheren have traded the ability to obey our Lord’s instructions in John six for emotional highs and man-made prayers . Nothing, absolutely nothing that can be more awesome than holding the creator of universe in your hands and then consuming his body

This is a problem I’ve never heard from my Catholic friends on here. I never heard that man-made prayers were something distasteful as they sound in your post. Can you help me understand what is wrong with “man-made” prayers?

Thanks,

Rita

 

[johnnyc176]

I know there are people who are out there who will take it and try to use these in order to mess with people but it isn’t commonplace.

In the south USA it is very commonplace and you hear protestants use them on CAL.

 

[estesbob]

This is a problem I’ve never heard from my Catholic friends on here. I never heard that man-made prayers were something distasteful as they sound in your post. Can you help me understand what is wrong with “man-made” prayers?

Thanks,

Rita

I was referring to the “sinners prayer”

 

[slh3016]

With all due respect, Bob, I don’t think it is irrelevant at all. I think you confuse evangelization with man-made abuses of it.

In my experience with evangelicalism, I think a strong point is the evangelization message, as in Rev Billy Graham’s messages at crusades. However, there also is a need of sacramentalization within the evangelical Protestant world, in my opinion. Evangelical Protestants are weaker in this area and need to get stronger.

**The Catholic Church is strong in the area of sacraments and evangelical Protestants could learn from it in this area, in my opinion. **

I definitely don’t know about what your tradition believes about the sacraments, but, from my experience in a Southern Baptist church, they don’t believe in “sacraments”, per se. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are referred to as ordinances.

My question is, though, how can you get stronger in the area of sacraments when a) you don’t believe in sacraments and b) you lack the proper apostolic authority to even administer the sacraments?

So, to me, to get stronger in this area, you inevitably have to become Catholic or Orthodox

On the other hand, my observation is that there are many Catholics who have been sacramentalized but not evangelized. Many Catholics fit into this category, I would venture to guess.

I don’t think you are wrong in this assertion. Catholics need to be evangelizing and they should be doing that, especially in light of the Pope Francis’s call to evangelize. I have no doubt that if more Catholics were strong in their faith and their apologetics, more people would come to the Church.

 

[Tommy999]

I definitely don’t know about what your tradition believes about the sacraments, but, from my experience in a Southern Baptist church, they don’t believe in “sacraments”, per se. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are referred to as ordinances.

My question is, though, how can you get stronger in the area of sacraments when a) you don’t believe in sacraments and b) you lack the proper apostolic authority to even administer the sacraments?

So, to me, to get stronger in this area, you inevitably have to become Catholic or Orthodox

I don’t think you are wrong in this assertion. Catholics need to be evangelizing and they should be doing that, especially in light of the Pope Francis’s call to evangelize. I have no doubt that if more Catholics were strong in their faith and their apologetics, more people would come to the Church.

In regards to sacraments, I wish my church would have something like Reconciliation, for starters. As it is, we are supposed to confess to God directly on our own, which I do, but I don’t seem to get the closure that I feel I need when I confess my sins directly to God.

I’m sure I could go to the pastor, but only people with major problems do that at my church, like couples having marriage problems, or people with addictions, etc.

Some Protestants have small groups and/or an ‘accountability partner’, but I don’t think it’s the same as Confession in the Catholic sense. I guess you could say I feel I am missing out on something that I’ve never had but feel the void, if that makes any sense.

 

[slh3016]

In regards to sacraments, I wish my church would have something like Reconciliation, for starters. As it is, we are supposed to confess to God directly on our own, which I do, but I don’t seem to get the closure that I feel I need when I confess my sins directly to God.

This is exactly how I feel and I am looking very forward to being able to go to confession next Easter, God willing! From what I understand, the priest (in apostolic succession) in the confessional is acting in persona Christi (in the person of Christ) and when you confess, he, by and through the power of Jesus Christ alone and not of himself, declares your sins forgiven. He is the messenger of Christ.

Scott Hahn has a wonderful lecture that you can find on youtube explaining confession from a Catholic point of view.

Part 1 can be found HERE.

Part 2 can be found HERE.

Part 3 can be found HERE.

or you can purchase and download it in its entirety HERE.

It was life-changing for me.

I’m sure I could go to the pastor, but only people with major problems do that at my church, like couples having marriage problems, or people with addictions, etc.

Some Protestants have small groups and/or an ‘accountability partner’, but I don’t think it’s the same as Confession in the Catholic sense. I guess you could say I feel I am missing out on something that I’ve never had but feel the void, if that makes any sense.

Here is a an article about accountability groups from a Protestant perspective that we came across a few years ago and why they are generally not as productive (and likely counter-productive) as one would hope they could be.

Article

Hope these help!

 

[pablope]

In regards to sacraments, I wish my church would have something like Reconciliation, for starters. As it is, we are supposed to confess to God directly on our own, which I do, but I don’t seem to get the closure that I feel I need when I confess my sins directly to God.

I’m sure I could go to the pastor, but only people with major problems do that at my church, like couples having marriage problems, or people with addictions, etc.

Some Protestants have small groups and/or an ‘accountability partner’, but I don’t think it’s the same as Confession in the Catholic sense. I guess you could say I feel I am missing out on something that I’ve never had but feel the void, if that makes any sense.

Well…Tommy…there is a reason God said this in Job:

Job 42:

7 After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. 8 So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted Job’s prayer.

 

[estesbob]

In regards to sacraments, I wish my church would have something like Reconciliation, for starters. As it is, we are supposed to confess to God directly on our own, which I do, but I don’t seem to get the closure that I feel I need when I confess my sins directly to God.

I’m sure I could go to the pastor, but only people with major problems do that at my church, like couples having marriage problems, or people with addictions, etc.

Some Protestants have small groups and/or an ‘accountability partner’, but I don’t think it’s the same as Confession in the Catholic sense. I guess you could say I feel I am missing out on something that I’ve never had but feel the void, if that makes any sense.

Tommy,: not only are you missing out on the forgiving of sins but you are missing out on the abundance of grace Imparted by the sacraments. I go to confession as much for the grace I receive as I do for the forgiveness sins. The same with the Eucharist. I find during periods where I cannot attend daily mass my spiritual life suffers .

 

[JonNC]

=slh3016;12915875]Yes, it could probably be more accurately stated than what I did, but, to be fair, though, while the precepts of the ABC formula can be found, there is not a place in Scripture that says, “Recite this prayer and your sins will be forgiven” or “Repeat after me and you’ll be saved”, etc. It’s misleading, at best.

Yep, agreed. As I said, it isn’t the prayer its the assumptions regarding it.

Again, I’ve seen it firsthand and experienced it. I’m not saying that the Holy Spirit is not truly working, heaven forbid, but there is a problem when pulpit preachers and revivalist preachers use these methods to promote themselves for their next gig. They’ll hurry people through the prayer to add them to the number of those who “got saved” during their event and many times, those who “got saved” are not followed through properly with the instruction.

Not defending them. While not intending to read anyone’s heart, the practice has the appearance of what you state.

Seven years ago, my grandfather, who was an alcoholic, among other things, his entire life died. I was devastated because, to my knowledge, he did not have a relationship with Jesus. He had never lived a God-fearing life AT ALL. I was in anguish. Then my mom, who is not even a Christian, comes beside me at the funeral home and says, “I just thought I’d let you know this so you’d feel better but your uncle Greg just told me that your grandpa told him once that he got saved when he was 12 years old. So, now you don’t have to worry about this anymore.” Did I feel better? NO!!!

I pray the Lord has had mercy on your grandfather.

So, yes, altar calls and sinner’s prayers can be a great starting point for someone’s faith journey, such as myself who went forward during a revival, BUT, again, when not followed by proper instruction/catechesis, they provide a false sense of security.

We agree.

Jon