Should I go to Baptist church event?

[Maximilian75]

Very much agreed.

Uniting the faith has to start somewhere.

 

[Arwing]

You are under an moral obligation to not expose yourself to needless temptations, or threats to your Faith.

Which one would not necessarily be doing. For someone whose faith is not well formed, something like this would be a potential threat to the faith. I don’t know the OP, but I agree that in this case, for a teenager, it is probably best to exercise caution.

It may be a temptation or threat to the faith to even read certain other theological viewpoints, and so for such a person I would advise against that. But that doesn’t mean everyone (i.e. those for whom it is not a threat) has to avoid doing so.

 

[Maximilian75]

When did I say anything of the sort?

Now, to return to your original point concerning the P-B CIC

How can the Church be reunited if we cannot even attend Protestant services?

 

[TheLittleLady]

First thing, the majority of Baptist fellowships/sectors/etc use a Trinitarian water baptism making them of the Christian religion, as is Catholicism.

If you are well grounded in your faith and in Scriptural Apologetics, you could likely hold your own against a room full of Baptists. Be aware,their goal IS to convert you.

 

[Maximilian75]

We aren’t compromising anything by doing that, though.

If not by attending their services, realizing that their Communion is not true and we don’t fulfill our Sunday obligation by attending, but still going as a start to dialog, where do you reccomend starting?

 

[BridgetN]

It may be a temptation or threat to the faith to even read certain other theological viewpoints, and so for such a person I would advise against that. But that doesn’t mean everyone (i.e. those for whom it is not a threat) has to avoid doing so.

I know some people who wanted to read books on other Religions beliefs so that they could confute their arguments. They needed to ask a priest beforehand though.

Same case here I think yb21 should ask a priest about this.

 

[TheLittleLady]

Then a big nope. It is VERY rare for teenagers to be equipped to withstand the conversion pressure you will find from this group.

 

[whichwaytogo47]

First thing, the majority of Baptist fellowships/sectors/etc use a Trinitarian water baptism making them of the Christian religion, as is Catholicism.

If you are well grounded in your faith and in Scriptural Apologetics, you could likely hold your own against a room full of Baptists. Be aware,their goal IS to convert you.

I agree. Usually when I see a baptism there, they baptize in the name of the father, the son, and Holy Spirit (without the sign - verbal). They dunk a person in a swimming pool instead of pouring water over the head. When you are brought back up, the water comes over you and it is full immersion baptism.

 

[Crusader30]

Even with a valid baptism a protestant still lacks the appropriate understanding of the Christian Reglion which is always Catholic

 

[whichwaytogo47]

Even with a valid baptism a protestant still lacks the appropriate understanding of the Christian Reglion which is always Catholic

And God understands the heart. We as Catholics shall not forget that.

Only God can judge. We shall not presume on someone’s salvation or judge. We shall bring people towards proper doctrine.

 

[Crusader30]

God will grant them the Graces nesscary to convert but they must be willing to do so

 

[whichwaytogo47]

God will grant them the Graces nesscary to convert but they must be willing to do so

We can both agree on that. But what we must realize is that conversion is mainly from not believing in God to believing in God and thus following Him. This is ideal in the Catholic Church Ordinary Mass.

But you’re still Christian or following Christ if you attend Protestant services, Eastern Orthodox, or Latin services. You’re just not getting the full picture as in the Catholic ordinary mass which is a mass intended to be spoke in one’s own language rather than the universal Latin language. Again she should go with her friend.

 

[whichwaytogo47]

It’s true that if it’s not clear that someone was baptized (truly) in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, that they will be baptized in the Catholic Church; aka a conditional baptism is preformed.

The Bible says that if you’re not born of the water and the spirit, you will not be saved. Baptism isn’t just by water; it can be by fire or desire as well though water baptism is the preferred method. The other two are more of necessity than of being the optimal way to being brought into God’s kingdom - the Book of Life.

Again, it is not surprising why Protestants do label us as legalism.

 

[whichwaytogo47]

Same case here I think yb21 should ask a priest about this.

I concur. My writings was assuming she was an adult. If she is a minor, she must be obedient to her parents. If she were to attend, she needs not only her parents permission but their supervision as well. She needs to be explicitly taught why they do certain things. As an adult, it’s wise to get the guidance of your priest. It’s wise to get wisdom thru a Catholic retreat. A protestant service need not result in a conversion. That’s more from a weak heart or invalid biblical teaching that leads a Catholic to consider converting to the Protestant faith.

But the only reason why she should go is if she was an adult. That said, if she indeed is an adult over age 18 or 21, than she should invite them to a parish picnic for an afternoon of fun as well. But yes, if this is youth group, her parents need to be 1) okay with it and 2) be willing to chaperone her to the event. It would be great if her friends were equally okay with coming to the parish picnic.

 

[whichwaytogo47]

So how is a person that gets confirmed with their class receiving the sacrament in an efficacious manner? My prudential judgment is that they wouldn’t be. If they can understand what they’re receiving the gifts of the Spirit and are ready to be an adult in the Church, I think confirmation is a great sacrament as you receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. That said, you will only use these gifts if you have the correct religious disposition (not necessarily training but willingness to follow the faith). In other words, any practical Catholic should be confirmed. Practical means following the tenants of the faith in your heart not necessarily in your religious education. Being a practical Catholic means going to Sunday mass, observing Lent, prayer, and going to confession at least once a year. It’s actually doing the minimum of what we should do as practicing Catholics.

I think one of the best forms of prayer is Eucharistic Adoration. I also think it’s prudent to open an RSV (not the revised edition) or Douray Rheims Bible or the New American Bible (again not the revised edition) as these are authoritative Catholic texts. The Catholic Catcheism for Adults is another great resource on learning the faith. I really enjoy EWTN.

 

[whichwaytogo47]

This is excellent. Thank you (name removed by moderator).

I really appreciate you quoting St Thomas Aquinas. Whenever I had any doctrinal battles with my Protestant friends, he was my go to in order to support my conclusions. I enjoy the diversity of thought. In our RCIA class and on Catholic missions, you needed to speak positively of Protestants and needed to limit critiques. I belong to a church that is named after a saint who was a Protestant who converted to Catholicism.

Thanks for speaking also about disposition since that means a lot to me. I think we need to really look at disposition and encourage disposition so that the person not only receives a valid sacrament but also are able to be a child of God. Of course they can go to confession and as long as they’re sincerely repentant, they can be brought back into sanctifying grace.

 

[lilypadrees]

What do you want to do, yb21? Instead of asking us what you should do in every situation, you need to start making your own decisions.

Do you want to go to this Baptist event?

Is your Catholic faith strong enough that you will not be swayed from it by attending this event? Or are you using this event to decide whether or not you will continue attending this Baptist church after the event is over?

 

[Arwing]

Indeed, although as she is still a teenager she would also need to clear it with her parents.

But yeah when one has to ask, I think that’s probably a sign that one should stop and think about what’s involved with some of this stuff and where it might lead, talk it over with one’s parents, and maybe a priest. It does seem though to be better than some young people who would likely jump right into things for various reasons but not the right ones, without giving it a second thought. Hopefully her other Catholic friends give these matters some real thought and put them to their parents as well.

 

[DarkLight]

First thing, the majority of Baptist fellowships/sectors/etc use a Trinitarian water baptism making them of the Christian religion, as is Catholicism.

If you are well grounded in your faith and in Scriptural Apologetics, you could likely hold your own against a room full of Baptists. Be aware,their goal IS to convert you.

I would add perhaps some awareness of the methodology of conversion. Depending on the church, I’ve dealt with some where the conversion is pushed through sort of tricky ways to get you to agree to them. (Although I expect that would do little harm. The “sinner’s prayer” as I learned would probably make a lovely act of contrition. The real problems are the denial of the need for sacraments and the assurance of eternal security.)