Question for Protestants(Mainly Methodists)

[Loren_1of6]

My mother was raised a Methodist and even became a Methodist missionary in Brazil for several years. When she decided to convert to the Catholic Church, her parents wished her well and did not try to change her mind. She is still close with the members of hte church she grew up in and none of them seem to have a problem with her being Catholic.

This is one example of the opposite situation the OP mentions.

 

[heisenburg]

I think what needs to be done here is a separation between the Methodist Church as a whole, and its individual members.

As a Whole, the Methodist Church, regardless of branch, is one of the more more gentle and kindest groups of Christians if you ask me. They don’t seem to suffer some of the “Too Close to the source” effects that some Lutherans and Anglicans have, and they seem to be far more stable in theology and less extreme in beliefs as say a Baptist or Non Denom Evangelical… (not criticizing, just commenting.)

In otherwords, it has been my experience that the Methodist Church is the best example of Christian Charity and love among the protestant Denoms. I know there are Denoms much closer in theology the the CC, but you don’t here as much animosity between say the Catholic Church and the Methodist Church (as a whole) as compared to say the Catholic Church and the Anglican Church.

THat being said, its members are quite diverse. You may have an individual in a Methodist church that is a verily anti-catholic as a fundi-nondenom-onesness church. Why? They may GO to a Methodist Church, but they may have been brought up something else. It is Doubtful that someone brought up a Methodist would be so negative as it is not a general practice to berate the Catholic Church as some other Denoms do

In Christ

 

[BrianH]

Well you said it, how exactly is my theology messed up? Who do most Protestants you know say the Whore of Babylon is, if not the RCC?

You know, I have never heard it brought up in conversation!
I have heard it said that is symbolic of false or humanistic religion but really…you seem to hang around some interesting people.

 

[Pixie_Dust]

Wow I have never met a protestant in person that believed that. (seen their websites online though) what sort of protestants do you know?

Every Baptist church I attended from 1992-2004 taught me that the Catholic Church is the Whore of Babylon. It’s a common fundamentalist view.

 

[FaithofAbraham]

You know, I have never heard it brought up in conversation!
I have heard it said that is symbolic of false or humanistic religion but really…you seem to hang around some interesting people.

Have you ever invited a Jehovah’s Witness in to talk when they come to the door? They’ll tell you all about it. Aside from those of other denominations who say the same. That’s the common view since there’s only one city well-known for sitting on seven hills, that’s Rome.

Revelation 17:9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

 

[psyche23]

Wow I have never met a protestant in person that believed that. (seen their websites online though) what sort of protestants do you know?

I’ve heard it many times actually. I went to school in the “Bible belt” for a while where they also believe that Catholics eat babies and are cannibals. It’s hard to combat such crazy thinking becuase they are so convinced that they are right and we are wrong, no matter how you explain it. At least for those types of extremists.

 

[psyche23]

I am not sure which denomination of Methodist you are attending. No one ever discusses Catholics in my church, my interest in debating Catholics is highly unusual. As a matter of note, we take the confirmation classes to the Catholic Church every year and speak with their priest, we must not be too anti-Catholic.
You can hear anything about anything depending upon the flavor or your church.
I have three brothers, all Catholic, one brother says the priest in his parish is obsessed with talking about the need for women priests and married clergy, is that normal or an exception? Of course it is an exception, on any church, on any day, you can have exceptions to about any normal way of doing things. Which denomination is this Methodist church and if it is United Methodist, which conference?
BH

 

[mercygate]

I have mentioned this in the past and was told by a fellow Catholic on this site to get over it. Well I guess I can’t.
I was away from the Church for a while, attending Methodist services, and all the while I heard about how bad Catholics are, not how great Methodists are. ( I came back Ash Wednesday 2006) Anyway my questions (actually 2)to you are… Are you taught somewhere that Catholicism is just wrong? Do you think any progress for Christianity is slowed by Catholicism? The reason for my asking is due the fact that I have attended “Sunday School” at a local Methodist church and regardless of the topic of study the members of the class somehow get to “well the Catholics this and the Catholics that”.
You profess the Creed but I want to know are Catholics included in the one holy catholic and apostolic church? (I guess I have 3)
For the Catholics who are ready to say “why are going to their Sunday School?” I don’t want to hear, “just quit going” as I am trying to understand. I still go to Mass and confess and try to be a good Catholic, it just bothers me and I can’t seem to get over it.

Why not PM our official resident Methodist, Zooey. She’s a mine of good information. She lives in the UK, though. That might color her views.

 

[dawgfan]

I’ve heard it many times actually. I went to school in the “Bible belt” for a while where they also believe that Catholics eat babies and are cannibals. It’s hard to combat such crazy thinking becuase they are so convinced that they are right and we are wrong, no matter how you explain it. At least for those types of extremists.

Its also hard to combat such crazy thinking that the “Bible Belt” fundamentalists are any different than fundamentalists in other parts of the US.

 

[mercygate]

Its also hard to combat such crazy thinking that the “Bible Belt” fundamentalists are any different than fundamentalists in other parts of the US.

Right. And because we Catholics take so much heat from crazy fundamentalists (as opposed to non-crazy fundamentalists – of which there are many), we tend to think of all Protestants as the same, when nothing could be further from the truth.

 

[psyche23]

Right. And because we Catholics take so much heat from crazy fundamentalists (as opposed to non-crazy fundamentalists – of which there are many), we tend to think of all Protestants as the same, when nothing could be further from the truth.

I agree. It’s hard for me sometimes to seperate the two even though I know logically they’re vastly different, simply because of what my encounters have been like. Of course I’ve met some wonderful Protestants, I’ve just had more experience with the ones that scare me

 

[KarenElissa]

My mother was raised a Methodist and even became a Methodist missionary in Brazil for several years. When she decided to convert to the Catholic Church, her parents wished her well and did not try to change her mind. She is still close with the members of hte church she grew up in and none of them seem to have a problem with her being Catholic.

This is one example of the opposite situation the OP mentions.

I had a similar experience as Loren’s mother. I was United Methodist, and VERY active there, before I converted and have had nothing but love and support from people at my old church. I still baby-sit for the preschool there often, and various other church thing occasionally. And have remained close friends with many people there.

I am surprised to hear such things at a Methodist church. I’ve attended many and never heard anything like that. There might be points of disagreement that would come up in conversations about theology, but never the anti-Catholic kind of stuff.

 

[mercygate]

I had a similar experience as Loren’s mother. I was United Methodist, and VERY active there, before I converted and have had nothing but love and support from people at my old church. I still baby-sit for the preschool there often, and various other church thing occasionally. And have remained close friends with many people there.

I am surprised to hear such things at a Methodist church. I’ve attended many and never heard anything like that. There might be points of disagreement that would come up in conversations about theology, but never the anti-Catholic kind of stuff.

I am a member of the board and a moderator for a Cartusian interest group on the 'net. One of our most trusted moderators is a former missionary of the United Methodist Church and is still in the UMC.

On these Forums, Mozart-250 (a conservative Wesleyan) and Zooey (Methodist) are fine citizens.

 

[inthecloud]

is one of the more more gentle and kindest groups of Christians if you ask me. They don’t seem to suffer some of the “Too Close to the source” effects that some Lutherans and Anglicans have, and they seem to be far more stable in theology and less extreme in beliefs as say a Baptist or Non Denom Evangelical…

In my experience this is true. And Bishop Wesley was a early champion of ecumenism. There must be some sour grapes like everywhere but they are mostly cool.

Right. And because we Catholics take so much heat from crazy fundamentalists (as opposed to non-crazy fundamentalists – of which there are many), we tend to think of all Protestants as the same, when nothing could be further from the truth.

Sadly depending of the area of the USA or country were you live, you will get your idea of protestants from those groups. In many Catholics minds Protestant=fundamentalist.

 

[Harpazo]

In my experience this is true. And Bishop Wesley was a early champion of ecumenism. There must be some sour grapes like everywhere but they are mostly cool.

Sadly depending of the area of the USA or country were you live, you will get your idea of protestants from those groups. In many Catholics minds Protestant=fundamentalist.

As far as I know, Wesley was never a bishop, but took it upon himself to ordain his own ministers. The Anglican bishop of London wouldn’t ordain any of his followers in America, so Wesley did it, even though he said it was necessary for there to be Apostolic succession for Sacraments.

Most, if not all, of the Methodist churches in my area of SW Virginia that I have attended, are borderline fundamentalist baptist. Don’t get me wrong, they’re lovely and well-intentioned people. I’m grateful for their strong Christian witness, but they instilled a lot of anti-Catholicism and were adamant about Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide. I went to several camps at the center for the whole of the South Eastern Jurisdiction where their guest speakers advocated OSAS and Sola Scriptura.

I know those views are not for all Methodists, but one of the major things affecting my conversion to the Church was their lack of authority and lack of history. To me and others it became apparent that these things were believed by a majority of the Methodists in this area of the US, and no one really could do a thing about it.

I love Methodists and would love to see them come into full union with Christ and His Church. Perhaps one day we’ll see a “Wesleyan-Rite” in the Catholic Church?

Pace e Bene
Andrew

 

[dawgfan]

Perhaps one day we’ll see a “Wesleyan-Rite” in the Catholic Church?

Pace e Bene
Andrew

Let’s not go too overboard. You completely lost me at the end of the post.

 

[Harpazo]

Let’s not go too overboard. You completely lost me at the end of the post.

I didn’t mean for it to sound as radical as it did.

Meaning if a large group of Methodists converted “en masse.” (no pun intended ) Would this not be the same as the Anglican usage?

Pace e Bene
Andrew

 

[HannahLisa]

I went to a Methodist church for two years. I never heard anything anti-Catholic. I grew up in the Episcopal church, and again, nothing anti-Catholic. The most I remember hearing about the Catholic Church was that they were great people, but their theology was “messed up” in some respects.

The “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church” is included in the creed because the other meaning of “catholic” is “universal”. That is what Methodists and other Protestant denominations mean when they say “catholic” in the creeds.

 

[dawgfan]

I didn’t mean for it to sound as radical as it did.

Meaning if a large group of Methodists converted “en masse.” (no pun intended ) Would this not be the same as the Anglican usage?

Pace e Bene
Andrew

There’s no direct history between Methodists and Catholics like there are between Anglicans and Catholics.

Besides the Anglican Use is very limited. There are far more Anglican/Episcopal priest converts that celebrate the Latin Rite than the Anglican Use.

Also, Methodists have as much gaps to fill in their liturgy if they covert to Anglicanism as the do to Catholicism (any rite)…so why not go Latin?

 

[TAB19]

Which denomination is this Methodist church and if it is United Methodist, which conference?
BH

FUMC in N.Texas. Central Texas Conference, I think.

My wife and her family are Methodist. She was raised in an east Texas FUMC where I hear the same “shots” if you will. Not just from her family so I know it isn’t just them.