Searching for true faith

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i grew up as a southern baptist. i don’t know much about the catholic church, but i want to. when i saw that pope john paul had died and the massive congregation that came to show their respect and thanks i was astounded. i lived with a baptist preacher and he abused my younger brother, and watched pornography in front of children. i have since relied on the fact that god protects us and loves us. i have yet to find a church that i feel truly comfortable to take my son to. i also am unsure if i want it to be a baptist church like i was raised in. i’m searching for a true faith that will not turn on my son like the baptist church turned on me. please reply. i need support. all i know is that just the thought of pope john paul’s work makes me feel safe again. is this an instinct i can afford to trust?
 
My heart goes out to you and your family. You have suffered tremendously.

I am actually surprised you come to this forum after your experience, especially with the anti-Catholic bias in the media and their hyperbole in referring to the sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church. Yes, they happened, but as you have experienced they happen in other faiths as well.

In answer to your question, however, YES, you CAN trust the Church, for her teachings are of Jesus and the law and morality he set down when he walked the earth 2000 years ago.

But your question isn’t really about faith in God so much as it is about faith in humanity. We the people of the Catholic Church are also of the same humanity of the Baptist Church…we are flawed, we are sinners and we are seeking the presence of God for eternity.

You can always trust God, you can trust the Church to lead you to God, but you will need help to discern the people in your life to lead you correctly.

JPII does and continues to lead people to Christ. I would encourage you to study “Theology of the Body” and the best way to do this is to find the CD’s by Christopher West who presents this work in a format most people can understand. It will open your eyes, help you understand the correct dignity of the human body and therefore help you discern who to trust in your journey.

Please come to the faith of Christ. Bring your brothers and sisters of the Baptist faith with you. God loves, you, Jesus loves, you and the Holy Spirit expresses this love to you every day of your life. We the people of the Catholic Church love you also and we want you to join us and worshp our Lord and Savior in an atmosphere free of abuse.

I’m sorry that you have been hurt by the clergy in your church and I wish I could say it can’t happen in ours. But people are fallible and sometimes our trust is misplaced and people misuse authority they are given for their own personal satisfaction…this always leads to damage to others.

But God has prepared a place for you and if you are here on these forums, then he is calling you to your place within the Church.

Come on home! 🙂
 
yes it is my faith in people in what i consider powerful positions. i have been able to keep my faith in people as a whole. i know you cannot blame one man’s sin’s on the world. my problem became with the church because i was not allowed to attend any baptist church in the area when they found out my family had exposed one of their well respected preachers to being flawed. i have not been able to walk into a church with a feeling of love since i was very young. i long for the unity i felt. my mother has since become a jehova’s witness, and after leaving their church, now believes only in god and not in the congregation and mass rejoicing. her constant pressure defiled my belief in multiple religious groups. i’m afraid this may be very wrong of me. i don’t want to offend anyone’s religion, but how can it be right if you force it on someone? i have known many people who felt pressured into religion and then accepted it. i thought about trying that, but my faith has always been centered on the fact that it’s FAITH. it does not involve pressure or settling. i am trying to look up a catholic church in my area now. i feel like i’m missing out on what is truly important in my faith. ( being able to share it ) i know it isn’t as important as faith itself, but i feel i cannot raise my son properly if i don’t give him a chance to rejoice with others and have support that will never go away. also, i know you mentioned the scandles that have surfaced within the catholic church. i also heard that there was neverending support for the congregation. the fact that the masses were helped in their struggle had a great impact on me. it showed that even though one is flawed is does not flaw the faith itself. i think that is very important
 
You will never regret becoming Catholic. However, you must trust the Church or the holy spirit which guides the Church. The people of the Church can and do fail miserably because of sin, but you can add to the Church through living a faithful life as a Catholic.

Keep praying for guidance, read Scripture and learn that Jesus did establish His Church. Find your nearest Catholic Church and begin learning through RCIA. It takes time, but it doesn’t hurt to learn all you can now and allow God to lead you to the Catholic Church through your knowledge and understanding. Remember to learn to forgive as the Our Father states. Without the ability to forgive, you will not feel comfortable in any Church because all have sinners who will harm in some way. You forgive them. They forgive you and we learn to love each other.
 
Hello confusion, welcome to the forums. I am sorry to hear about what has happened to you. It is sad to see that a preacher of the word of God would subject children to what he did. God loves you, Christ loves you, and we all love you. You are a brother/sister in Christ, and we will be glad to answer any questions you have.

I think it is a good thing to check out a church in your area. Also, you can read the Catechism, which expresses the faith of the Catholic Church very well.
 
:amen:
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confusion:
i grew up as a southern baptist. i don’t know much about the catholic church, but i want to. when i saw that pope john paul had died and the massive congregation that came to show their respect and thanks i was astounded. i lived with a baptist preacher and he abused my younger brother, and watched pornography in front of children. i have since relied on the fact that god protects us and loves us. i have yet to find a church that i feel truly comfortable to take my son to. i also am unsure if i want it to be a baptist church like i was raised in. i’m searching for a true faith that will not turn on my son like the baptist church turned on me. please reply. i need support. all i know is that just the thought of pope john paul’s work makes me feel safe again. is this an instinct i can afford to trust?
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Hey Confusion! 🙂

I am so sorry to hear about your brother. That was the preachers sins. :mad: It has happend in many churches, even, as I suppose you know, in catholic churches. The Roman Catholic Church has, however, laid down lot of work to stop such evil.

The RCC is the largest Church in the world , so no one can guarantie you that it will not happen again (in some of all our churches), but that garantie you will not have in other churches, either. Unfaithful servants there was in the apostles time and there will always be some.

I am glad to hear that the death of our beloved pope John Paul II, has made you to think about that there still can be good sevants of God in Church. We catholics, believe that the RCC was the Church Jesus Christ instituted.

If I were you I would have bought the book: “What Catholics Really Believe” by Karl Keating . It is easy to read and understand, but still it can be wise to pray for God’s guidance while you are reading:
catholicfreeshipping.com/Products/cfs_gensym-66.html

If the book leave you wanting more catholisism, call a priest for questions and conversation. Sign in for a RICA.cource when you feel for it (in the mean time I guess you have started to read more and more catholic books). To convert for catolisism is something you do out of free will. You can even say no to convert after finishing a RICA-course (but, I doubt that you will do that).

You can take your son to as many Masses (sermons) you want to without being a catholic. The day you want to be recieved into church, however, (if that is your wish) he probarly will become catholic together with you (and the rest of your family - if they want to convert, too).

Then he will be given apropriate tuiton according to his age.

I am a convert, myself, and I will never be able to finish my thanks to God for leading me to the Catholic Church!

My best wishes!

:blessyou:
 
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confusion:
i grew up as a southern baptist. i don’t know much about the catholic church, but i want to. when i saw that pope john paul had died and the massive congregation that came to show their respect and thanks i was astounded. i lived with a baptist preacher and he abused my younger brother, and watched pornography in front of children. i have since relied on the fact that god protects us and loves us. i have yet to find a church that i feel truly comfortable to take my son to. i also am unsure if i want it to be a baptist church like i was raised in. i’m searching for a true faith that will not turn on my son like the baptist church turned on me. please reply. i need support. all i know is that just the thought of pope john paul’s work makes me feel safe again. is this an instinct i can afford to trust?
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One way to help discern the Church which Jesus Christ founded is to tract the church back to its roots. This may help.

Do you have any idea when your church was founded and by whom? You may find this enlightening:

If you are a member of the Jewish faith, your religion was founded by about 4,000 years ago.

If you are Latin or Eastern rite Catholic, Jesus Christ founded your Church in the year A.D. 30.

If you are Eastern Orthodox, your sect separated from Roman Catholicism around the year 1054.

If you are Lutheran, your religion was founded by Martin Luther, an ex-monk in the Catholic Church, in 1517.

If you belong to the Church of England (Anglican), your religion was founded by King Henry VIII in the year 1534 because the pope would not grant him a divorce with the right to remarry.

If you are a Presbyterian, your religion was founded when John Knox brought the teachings of John Calvin to Scotland in the Year 1560.

If you are Unitarian, your group developed in Europe in the 1500s.

If you are a Congregationalist, your religion branched off Puritanism in the early 1600s in England.

If you are a Baptist, you owe the tenets of your religion to John Smyth, who launched it in Amsterdam in 1607.

If you are a Methodist, your religion was founded by John and Charles Wesley in England in 1744.

If you are an Episcopalian, your church came from England to the American colonies. It formed a separate religion founded by Samuel Seabury in 1789.

If you are a Campellite Christian Church, your religion was started by Thomas and Alexander Campbell and Barton Stone at a revival held at Bushy Creek.
If you are a Mormon (Latter-day Saints), Joseph Smith started your church in Palmyra, N.Y. in 1830.

If you worship with the Salvation Army, your sect began with William Booth in London in 1865.

If you are a Christian Scientist, you look to 1879 as the year your religion was founded by Mary Baker Eddy.

If you are a Jehovah’s Witness, your religion was founded by Charles Taze Russell in Pennsylvania in the 1870s.
If your Church of Christ, your church broke of from the Campellites in 1906.

If you are Pentecostal, your religion was started in the United States in 1901.

May the peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
 
thankyou very much. just hearing that i’m not crazy for trying to find a church that believes in christ with the fervor i have always felt helps me a lot. my mother thinks i’m looking to become popular and refuses to speak to me about it. i wish she would find some kind of peace with god and the church. thankyou for the book references as well. there’s a christian book store right around the corner from me, and although they said that they don’t have very many books that i’m seeking, they would be glad to order them for me. i’m not so much searching as researching now. thank you for your support. it was one of my main fears. god bless. i will do my best to keep you updated.
 
Confusion,
You couldn’t be making a better decision for you and your family. Keep looking into it and I will pray for you. Truly the Church is the perfect church.
 
thank you for hearing me. i’m not sure what’s really happening with me right now, but i’m happy. i’ve been reading the bible almost every time i sit down it seems. i have a visit set up with a priest at a church close to home. i’m excited, yet a little nervous i must admit. being young i feel confused all the time, which is expected. however, since i’ve started researching about catholicism i have been promoted, i can actually sleep through the night without waking up, and for some reason my aches seem to have drifted away somewhere. i feel like the lord is lifting this huge weight off of my shoulders. i’ll do my best to keep writing. god bless.
 
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confusion:
thank you for hearing me. i’m not sure what’s really happening with me right now, but i’m happy. i’ve been reading the bible almost every time i sit down it seems. i have a visit set up with a priest at a church close to home. i’m excited, yet a little nervous i must admit. being young i feel confused all the time, which is expected. however, since i’ve started researching about catholicism i have been promoted, i can actually sleep through the night without waking up, and for some reason my aches seem to have drifted away somewhere. i feel like the lord is lifting this huge weight off of my shoulders. i’ll do my best to keep writing. god bless.
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God answered my prayer too and when He said SEEK and you shall find indeed He meant it:D I was Church of Christ before I came into Christ’s Church;) 🙂
 
Dear Confusion…

I have also known catholic priests who betrayed the Church by abusing young children - and yet I remain a catholic.
I am still a catholic because I know their sin was their personal sin and not a reflection of the teaching given to the Church through Christ.
Even Jesus had a betrayer among his beloved apostles.

I believe your instincts regarding JPII are right on.
He was influential in keeping me safe in the bosom of the Church, and in leading my protestant husband into the Church as well.
JPII was a shining light in a dark world.
His favorite phrase was “Be not afraid!”

I have a hunch you will also find much comfort from the intercession of Jesus’s beautiful mother.
 
Confusion,

I welcome you, but I also fear for you. If I were not already Catholic, the example of some of the Catholics and parishes that I have seen would have turned me off entirely.

That being said, what really does it for me, and what really impacts non-believers in general, are the lives of the saints. These holy men and woman lead lives of heroic virtue and faith. These are examples that the Church has given us to guide us in true discipleship according to our state in life. They have always been touching stories, and it is these stories that make me want to be a better Christian. All the intellectual arguments in the world are fantastic, but the lives of the saints surpasses them all.

I think of St. Maximillian Kolbe who asked to be executed in place of a man condemned to die in a concentration camp because the man had a family to support.

I think of St. Francis of Assisi who was wealthy but became poor to serve the Church and those in need.

I think of Bl. Mother Theresa of Calcutta who saw the face of Christ in all of the lowliest and most diseased of the “untouchables” in India.

I think of St. Laurence who told his Roman executioners, “You can turn me over, this side is done,” as he was being grilled alive for the crime of being a Christian.

I think of St. Padre Pio, the stigmatic and mystic whom Jesus included intmately in His suffering on our behalf.

I think of St. Edouard the Confessor, King of England, who loved his people and whose touch could heal.

I think of St. Thomas Moore, who would rather be beheaded than accept Henry VIII as his spiritual master.

I think of St. Thomas Becket, murdered in his cathedral by agents of Henry III.

I think of our John Paul the Great, of beloved memory, who embraced children with gentleness, lead us with a discerning prudence, and modeled the faith of a pope who was not from Poland, but rather from Galilee.

And the list goes on. These are our comrades at arms. These are the people with whom we are members of the Catholic Church, because in Christ through the Holy Spirit, we share in the communion of the saints. These are our brothers and sisters. We love you, and we pray for you, our brother.
 
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confusion:
thank you for hearing me. i’m not sure what’s really happening with me right now, but i’m happy. i’ve been reading the bible almost every time i sit down it seems. i have a visit set up with a priest at a church close to home. i’m excited, yet a little nervous i must admit. being young i feel confused all the time, which is expected. however, since i’ve started researching about catholicism i have been promoted, i can actually sleep through the night without waking up, and for some reason my aches seem to have drifted away somewhere. i feel like the lord is lifting this huge weight off of my shoulders. i’ll do my best to keep writing. god bless.
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Please keep us posted and know that our prayers are with you. If you feel comfortable doing this, please ask Jesus’ mother, the Virgin Mary, to pray for you. You may find solace under her mantle.
God Bless you! :blessyou:
 
AMEN AMEN AMEN!!!

Best advice, BEST ADVICE! Course, you gotta research to truly know, on an intellectual level, thath the Church is the one established by Christ, BUT, when you come to know the saints, you KNOW, on a SPIRITUAL level, that the Church is Holy and Sanctifies it’s members with the Sacraments - particularly the Eucharist!👍 I particularly love St. Francis of Assisi for an inspiring conversion story, and St. Therese of Lisieux and St. John of the Cross and St. Gemma Galgani as examples of the hights our love for God can reach. Research the faith, but fall in love with it through the saints. 😉

Praying for you…
~Joy
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KBarn:
Confusion,

I welcome you, but I also fear for you. If I were not already Catholic, the example of some of the Catholics and parishes that I have seen would have turned me off entirely.

That being said, what really does it for me, and what really impacts non-believers in general, are the lives of the saints. These holy men and woman lead lives of heroic virtue and faith. These are examples that the Church has given us to guide us in true discipleship according to our state in life. They have always been touching stories, and it is these stories that make me want to be a better Christian. All the intellectual arguments in the world are fantastic, but the lives of the saints surpasses them all.

I think of St. Maximillian Kolbe who asked to be executed in place of a man condemned to die in a concentration camp because the man had a family to support.

I think of St. Francis of Assisi who was wealthy but became poor to serve the Church and those in need.

I think of Bl. Mother Theresa of Calcutta who saw the face of Christ in all of the lowliest and most diseased of the “untouchables” in India.

I think of St. Laurence who told his Roman executioners, “You can turn me over, this side is done,” as he was being grilled alive for the crime of being a Christian.

I think of St. Padre Pio, the stigmatic and mystic whom Jesus included intmately in His suffering on our behalf.

I think of St. Edouard the Confessor, King of England, who loved his people and whose touch could heal.

I think of St. Thomas Moore, who would rather be beheaded than accept Henry VIII as his spiritual master.

I think of St. Thomas Becket, murdered in his cathedral by agents of Henry III.

I think of our John Paul the Great, of beloved memory, who embraced children with gentleness, lead us with a discerning prudence, and modeled the faith of a pope who was not from Poland, but rather from Galilee.

And the list goes on. These are our comrades at arms. These are the people with whom we are members of the Catholic Church, because in Christ through the Holy Spirit, we share in the communion of the saints. These are our brothers and sisters. We love you, and we pray for you, our brother.
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Hi Confusion. I was a Baptist for 30 years after having been raised a Jehovah’s Witness and leaving them when I was 26. I began watching EWTN on cable TV about 2 years ago and listening to the Philadelphia area Catholic radio station, 1570 on the dial. I began RCIA classes last September. If Catholic TV or radio is not available to you where you live, you can see programs at www.EWTN.com, right on your computer. I pray that you will find your way to the one holy catholic apostalic church. From FormerJW
 
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confusion:
i grew up as a southern baptist. i don’t know much about the catholic church, but i want to. when i saw that pope john paul had died and the massive congregation that came to show their respect and thanks i was astounded. i lived with a baptist preacher and he abused my younger brother, and watched pornography in front of children. i have since relied on the fact that god protects us and loves us. i have yet to find a church that i feel truly comfortable to take my son to. i also am unsure if i want it to be a baptist church like i was raised in. i’m searching for a true faith that will not turn on my son like the baptist church turned on me. please reply. i need support. all i know is that just the thought of pope john paul’s work makes me feel safe again. is this an instinct i can afford to trust?
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…hang in there my friend… the Holy Ghost brought you here didn’t he?

stay tuned… nothing but people with good intentions here, and a crazy Space Ghost… stay away from that character, he could cost you your soul…:eek:

Peace:thumbsup:
 
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