Question From a Protestant

[guanophore]

Hi,

I was raised Roman Catholic (baptised and confirmed) but am now a Protestant, although i’m not about protesting anything. I’d like to understand the religion i left years ago when i was a teen. I’m not sure if this is the place where it is OK to ask.

Yes, you are in the right place. I think you must have been protesting SOMETHING at some point, or you would not have left! What was it that drew you to the protestant realm, that you were not finding in the Mass?

 

[guanophore]

I guess by your question it’s OK for me to ask! Thank you.

Well, what do you think about Protestants? Do you think God has a place in heaven for some of them?

what I think about Protestants is really irrelevant, and what I think God has for them is too. However, the Catholic Catechism teaches us this:

catholic.com/library/Salvation_Outside_the_Church.asp

 

[guanophore]

Do you see many Protestants posting replies, here?

Yes, there are a couple knock down drag outs going on now. If you search typical areas of disagreement you can find them. Put in the words:

sola scriptura
authority
purgatory
assumption
salvation by works

and you can see some rapid dialogue with Catholics and Protestants.

 

[KennC]

I never felt i could ever be good enough to get close to God.

Oddly enough this is how I felt leaving the Protestant Church as a teen.

 

[guanophore]

Hey, Water. Wow, that’s a personal question. Maybe i’ll tell you the full story some time.

For now i guess i could briefly say that as a teen i never felt close to God, but wanted to be. I did not think i could be a priest, because i knew i wanted to be married. I never felt i could ever be good enough to get close to God.

When i moved away from home a Protestant told me God wanted to get close to me and that all i had to do was ask Him to forgive me and i’d be heaven bound.

After that, i spent years living like the devil but thinking i was going to heaven. Another Protestant quoted a passage from Galatians where Paul said God cannot be mocked. I read it for myself and saw myself in a different light and knew i had to make a change. I made a commitment that night to make a u-turn in the road of my life. I’m still not sinless but i try to sin less and less.

This is the same reason I left the Catholic Church as a teen. I desperately wanted a “personal” relationship with God. I was also hungry for scripture, which I did not get as a Catholic.

 

[water]

This is the same reason I left the Catholic Church as a teen. I desperately wanted a “personal” relationship with God. I was also hungry for scripture, which I did not get as a Catholic.

Thirsting for His Word is what all should go for.

I’ve have found that Jesus is closer than I to myself for every time I receive not only His Word but also His Blood and His Body at a Holy Mass.

I can not find this true combination anywhere else other than at a Catholic mass.

 

[Socrates4Jesus]

… I’m curious, how much anti-Catholicism, if any, did you experience in your Protestant background?

I’ve met some people who you might call anti-Catholic who believe Catholicism to be a religious cult. I’ve met others who believe Roman Catholicism to be another world religion different from Christianity, like Orthodox Judaism and Islam.

 

[Socrates4Jesus]

Welcome. In your search for answers regarding the Church Christ founded, may you be drawn ever more closer to the love of God, and the truth that is His will.

Thanks for welcoming me, HM!

 

[Socrates4Jesus]

Zooey is really helpful. She has a really good understanding of the Catholic faith, and once directed me to scriptural meditations of the Rosary, which I still use today. AllForHim also has a good understanding of the Catholic faith. You might want to PM them.

Thanks PM.

 

[Socrates4Jesus]

Oddly enough this is how I felt leaving the Protestant Church as a teen.

Interesting, KC. From what denomination did you come?

 

[FCEGM]

Hi,

I was raised Roman Catholic (baptised and confirmed) but am now a Protestant, although i’m not about protesting anything. I’d like to understand the religion i left years ago when i was a teen. I’m not sure if this is the place where it is OK to ask.

Hi, and welcome to CAF!

There are lots of good people here who will be more than happy to try to answer your questions, but a good place to begin would be with reading through some of the articles available in the CAF library. The articles there address the beliefs and practices of Catholics as well as address the issues that Protestants raise. I hope you find your time here enjoyable, informative and transformative.

 

[Socrates4Jesus]

This is the same reason I left the Catholic Church as a teen. I desperately wanted a “personal” relationship with God. I was also hungry for scripture, which I did not get as a Catholic.

Guanophore:

Why do you think it was difficult for you to draw near to God while you were a Catholic?

 

[Socrates4Jesus]

Hi, and welcome to CAF!

There are lots of good people here who will be more than happy to try to answer your questions, but a good place to begin would be with reading through some of the articles available in the CAF library. The articles there address the beliefs and practices of Catholics as well as address the issues that Protestants raise. I hope you find your time here enjoyable, informative and transformative.

Thanks FC.

 

[VociMike]

By the way, you will also find many Catholics here who are former Protestants. You will find that they have a very good understanding of the Protestant world, both its ups and its downs.

 

[Superstar905]

Guanophore:

Why do you think it was difficult for you to draw near to God while you were a Catholic?

See, I believe that as a teen the reasons some get drawn away is due to society, immaturity, etc. I also think that it comes down to the individual person. Some are told the truth, shown the truth, even smacked on the head with the truth, yet they don’t see.

We have to be open and receptive to the truth. We have to be yearning for that relationship with the Lord. Our parental upbringing is important in fostering this, but ultimately the Holy Spirit is what will take you there.

You are now seeking explanations, truth, whatever it is, and that is the work of the Holy Spirit. I happen to think that Catholicism is true, so I’m biased, but you at least seem to be sincere which cannot be said for every Protestant that comes here. I think its important that above all, you pray pray pray.

God Bless you.

 

[guanophore]

Thirsting for His Word is what all should go for.

I’ve have found that Jesus is closer than I to myself for every time I receive not only His Word but also His Blood and His Body at a Holy Mass.

I can not find this true combination anywhere else other than at a Catholic mass.

Yes, but at the time, my heart was deadened, and I went through the motions under protest, and found it without life in myself. I blamed it on the church, instead of myself. I got angry when they would read the good Friday Passion, and stand there reciting the words of the crowd, as if they were willing to crucify Jesus all over again.

 

[Superstar905]

Interesting, KC. From what denomination did you come?

Thats the other thing. How do you choose between a protestant denomination? I have found that many protestants through my experiences end up church hopping, because they find a church that fits their particular beliefs for that moment in time. They then change as their pwersonal beliefs change, or a pastor comes in who they don’t see eye to eye on in aspects of the faith.

With the protestant churches, there is no protection in doctrine, teachings on faith and morals. This is highlighted by the fact that Contraception is now consdered acceptable by some, actually most protestant denominations. Not to say that individual catholics are angels, as I know many who were born and raised Catholic and in the sacraments, who engage in pre marital sex, drugs, etc.

The church will take you so far, its up to you to carry on. Jesus gives us each that choice, and you can only look at yourself in the mirror when you make that choice.

 

[guanophore]

Guanophore:

Why do you think it was difficult for you to draw near to God while you were a Catholic?

Looking back, I think it was mostly personal. I attended Catholic school, and had some very hard core nuns. Being an angry child, I managed to get in trouble a lot, and learned the ruler.

I came from a family that was very disfunctional and disordered, but on the outside, “acted” Catholic. It seemed very empty to me.

 

[Socrates4Jesus]

… We have to be open and receptive to the truth. We have to be yearning for that relationship with the Lord. Our parental upbringing is important in fostering this, but ultimately the Holy Spirit is what will take you there.

You are now seeking explanations, truth, whatever it is, and that is the work of the Holy Spirit. I happen to think that Catholicism is true, so I’m biased, but you at least seem to be sincere which cannot be said for every Protestant that comes here. I think its important that above all, you pray pray pray.

God Bless you.

Well said, Superstar! You sound like several Protestants i know. Do you think that the same Holy Spirit that speaks to you speaks to them, too?

 

[Superstar905]

Well said, Superstar! You sound like several Protestants i know. Do you think that the same Holy Spirit that speaks to you speaks to them, too?

The Holy Spirit speaks to all who are open and willing to listen. We have free will, and can take it from there. You know the saying, you can take the horse to the water, but can’t force it to drink.

Now, that said, I don’t believe that Protestant denominations have followed the guidance of the Holy Spirit. If that so, the it would be better known as the Holy Spirit of confusion since they all have many conflicting beliefs depending on the denomination.

Jesus said the gates of Hell would not prevail against his church, and that the Church is the Pillar and Bullwark of Truth. He selected and commissioned apostles to lead his church, and that succession continues today through the Bishops of the Catholic (and orthodox) Church.