Should you attend a Protestant service?

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Be careful in taking threads in directions they weren’t intended. I doubt the original poster wanted a major discussion on whether it was appropriate to attend Protestant churches on a regular basis. The poster wanted to know whether it was sinful or not and the answer is that it isn’t sinful.

As I stated in my original post in my role as a Scoutmaster I have attended Protestant and Catholic services with groups of boys that were from various denominations. I was able to do more teaching about the Catholic faith to both Catholics and non-Catholics then I ever have after people saw a United Methodist service.

I was able to point out differences, what one had versus the other and the Catholics actually felt they were missing something at the Protestent service and were wondering why they felt that way. They also wondered why the felt more “welcome” in a Protestant church then their own. When I explained to them some of the reasons (i.e. the Catholic church in our area is very large, you can get lost) they understood the differences. Several boys in the troop later told me that they felt going to that service strengthened their Catholic faith.

When the Protestant scouts then went to a Catholic church, they had a lot of questions and a lot of misunderstandings about the Catholic church were cleared up.

Yes it can be “dangerous” going to a Protestant church but a person well grounded in the faith should have no problem. It can actually strengthen their faith.
 
Perhaps we should let all original posters speak for themselves.

IMO, it is important to think through the reasons for attending any non-Catholic service. Often, when we walk into a Protestant Church, we are giving directly implied personal consent for the teachings of their faith. While that may not be a sin, it is certainly something Catholics should think about.

Certainly, if we are going to attend a funeral or wedding, then there is no such implied consent; however, when we sign-up for and attend Protestant ministries, or attend Protestant services that are not in any way obligatory (weddings and funerals), then we are giving personal consent to the teachings of that Church.
 
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TPJCatholic:
I wonder how we are going to entice people to become interested in the fullness of Jesus’ truths if we continue to support lesser traditions of that truth?
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But we (and they) are worse off if they never hear the full truth at all. Most people (Catholics included!), have misunderstandings about what it really means to be a Catholic. How will they learn from us if we don’t show them? After all, we are the Body of Christ, not the structure we worship in, and we are called to witness to that Truth in our lives. They will become interested by our example.

Remember that Protestants still hold true to many of the fundamental Truths of our faith. It is in only a few things (albeit crucial things) that we differ. The division can only be healed through love, and completely rejecting them does not show love. It also is a terrible disservice to the multitudes of good they do in the name of Christ.

Remember, hate the sin, love the person.

javelin
 
dream wanderer:
I grew up in that atmosphere.I repeat… there is nothing new they can teach me. and I"m also just not interested.
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That is your perrogative, just don’t ever believe you have it all figured out, lest you fall into complacency or self-righteousness.

I’m not accusing, just cautioning…🙂

javelin
 
javelin,

Protestants have a deep love for the Lord…all true Christians share that same important point. I agree completely that we are to love all people, and I am not advocating “rejecting” anyone or any group. Rather, I am saying that we need to be lovingly firm in our faith. When we come across wish-washy in our faith practices, then those people around us will pick-up on that attitude.

I feel Catholics are better served to learn more about their faith and to adhere to it as closely as they can. Supporting non-Catholic faiths is not a sin, yet it is a way to water down all Christian faiths. When Catholics attend Protestant services that are no obligatory, they are essentially saying that they do not see a major difference between the Catholic faith and the Protestant faiths. That is something that our loving Protestant bethren will most certainly pick-up on and it will solidify their thoughts that there is no need to be Catholic.

Jesus is either truly Present in the Eucharist, or the Catholic faith is a lie. Jesus either truly forgives sins in the sacrament of reconciliation, or the faith is a lie–etc, and on-and-on. Those are not small points, they are gifts that can lead to salvation–no small matter at all and our loving Protestant friends do NOT hold those truths. We cannot help anyone receive the fullness of Jesus’ saving truths by supporting faith systems that do not hold the full truth.
 
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TPJCatholic:
Perhaps we should let all original posters speak for themselves.

IMO, it is important to think through the reasons for attending any non-Catholic service. Often, when we walk into a Protestant Church, we are giving directly implied personal consent for the teachings of their faith. While that may not be a sin, it is certainly something Catholics should think about.

Certainly, if we are going to attend a funeral or wedding, then there is no such implied consent; however, when we sign-up for and attend Protestant ministries, or attend Protestant services that are not in any way obligatory (weddings and funerals), then we are giving personal consent to the teachings of that Church.
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I am certainly willing to discuss both occasional and regular participation.

TPJCatholic, I agree with you that this is something that should not be decided upon lightly. In my case (as with many), I am confronted with doing so out of a need to show love toward my wife and help her through a difficult time in her faith.

Sure, some people there may assume that I believe everything that they do, but I cannot control what they think. I choose to participate in Bible study as a show of reverence for the Word of God, and to show the Bible Christians that Catholics are not ignorant of the Word. I try to make clear any differences of opinion on interpretation without being confrontational. I am not there simply to convert them, but to show them and my wife that the Catholic faith has everything that their faiths possess, and yet more. If God chooses to move their hearts, then that is His will, and I would be honored to be used in that way.

In Marauder’s defense (for defending me), my original post was asking specifically what the Church’s position was, and it is good to know there is not a blanket instruction to avoid attending all Protestant churches.

Now that I think of it, though, I am not talking about “churches” or sects that are far afield of mainline Protestantism. There are definitely places I would never want to attend because of what goes on during their “services”. Some of those can be downright dangerous.

God’s blessings!
javelin
 
javelin,

Thanks for the reply. Just keep in mind that every Protestant Bible study bases its study on flawed interpretations and they use flawed Bible versions as well.

This conversation is similar to conversations I have had about weddings. Is it appropriate to attend a wedding that is being officiated by a justice of the peace? From a Catholic point of view it would be wrong to attend that wedding because it is not a true sacramental marriage. Likewise, when we choose to attend a Protestant Bible study, we are giving personal assent to their teachings, to their use of flawed interpretations and to their use of Bible versions that often have agendas built in.

IMO, Catholics need to help develop studies that have the same personal attractions of the Protestant studies, while remaining tied to the full faith. We should be trying to “rock ths socks off” of every Protestant Christian so that they will feel eager to become Catholic. It is about souls and their salvation, not about personal gain.
 
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TPJCatholic:
Is it appropriate to attend a wedding that is being officiated by a justice of the peace? From a Catholic point of view it would be wrong to attend that wedding because it is not a true sacramental marriage.
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Minor tangent.

Actually that isn’t the Catholic viewpoint at all. The actual Catholic viewpoint is that we shouldn’t attend a wedding officiated by a justice of the peace if one of the parties is Catholic. If neither party is Catholic we are allowed to attend wherever they have the wedding. The Catholic church recognizes valid marriages outside the church when neither party is Catholic.

If one or more of the parties is Catholic you are still allowed to attend if you are sure that not attending will cut off all future contact and the ability to bring the person back into the church.

Catholic Answers has addressed this issue on their radio show hundreds of times.
 
Greetings Church

Greetings Metal
Metal, I think you may have misunderstood me. I do attend Mass and the Eucharist. I would never ever go to another Church, instead of going to Mass. I am a convert of 50 years and am a former Protestant. I have no intention of ever going back.

And, by the way, I will be talking to Father about starting a Prayer group. I am recovering from cancer surgery and being ill for quite sometime, or I would have done this sometime ago.

I do not attend Praise and Worship services often but there are times I feel the need.

I have already said it is NOT to be entertained. That is all I will say on this as it annoys me to be told by people why I do things when you do not even know me.

I will say this though and it may give you a hint. During the time I had lung cancer and during my recovery, I have never had a single Catholic come and pray with me. I take that back, Father and our Deacon did visit me in the hospital and prayed with me. However, it is one of the most comforting things I can think of when a Christian (and evangelicals do this a lot) comes to me and asks if I would like them to pray with me. They don’t do as most Catholics do, say I will remember you in my prayers (and you wonder if they ever do) but stop what they are doing, find a quiet place and pray then and there.

We might be able to learn from our separated brothers and sisters.
 
marauder,

I agree–that is precisely the point, we are speaking about what “Catholics” should do.
 
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robertaf:
I will say this though and it may give you a hint. During the time I had lung cancer and during my recovery, I have never had a single Catholic come and pray with me. I take that back, Father and our Deacon did visit me in the hospital and prayed with me.
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I’m sorry to hear that happened to you. I am a Minister of the Sick that goes to the hospital in my area (a non-Catholic Hospital) about once a month. All the hospitals in my area have someone, either Priest, Deacon, Nun, or EMHC visit them every day while in the hospital (unless the person never indicated Catholic on their admit forms.) It sounds like someone let you down.

It’s actually the experience in the hospital I am involved with that very few people, other then Catholics actually get visits by religious people while in the hospital unless their church knew they were there. I have been called to the bedside of non-Catholics that “just want to talk to someone religious” on multiple occasions.

Praying for you.
 
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TPJCatholic:
When Catholics attend Protestant services that are no obligatory, they are essentially saying that they do not see a major difference between the Catholic faith and the Protestant faiths. That is something that our loving Protestant bethren will most certainly pick-up on and it will solidify their thoughts that there is no need to be Catholic.

Jesus is either truly Present in the Eucharist, or the Catholic faith is a lie…
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But when they know that the catholic is attending their service *in addition *to the Mass, that sends a strong message that something special takes place at the Mass that their service cannot hope to replace. I would guess that there are few Protestants that attend two services every weekend!

I am approaching it in Love and Truth, and am going to do the best I can with what God gave me.

And robertaf, I agree with you completely! God bless you in your recovery!

javelin
 
javelin,

I feel it does not work that way. People are inclined to view their own traditions as being the “best.” In your example, the Protestants that knew the Catholic was going to also go to Mass, would likely feel sorry for them–that the poor Catholic feels compelled to go to Mass.

I feel the response would be more productive if the Catholic declined the offer to attend the Protestant service, while giving a very loving reason why. Example:

George to Mike

George: Hi Mike, would you like to attend my Church service with me this Sunday?

Mike: Well George, you know I am a Catholic.

George: Sure, but hey we both love Jesus, right? So, why don’t you join us?

Mike: George, that is truly a nice offer, however, I have to say no because the Catholic faith is so wonderful and so rich that it would just not feel right to go anywhere else. I get so excited when I receive Jesus’ actual Body and Blood that I just could imagine ever passing that by. Thank you so much for inviting me, you are welcome to join me at Mass–perhaps we could share our love for Jesus there?
Okay–so that might be a bit hokey on the dialogue scale…but I think you get my point. We Catholics, imo, need to stand really strong in our faith and find a way to express our love for our faith in a way that will attract more people into the Church. Supporting Protestant services just will not do that, imo.
 
javalin
Yes, copland, that is certainly possible. But an exposure to something different can also lead one to search more fervenly than ever for the correct answers. I would only suggest attending a Protestant service if the Catholic’s home parish has a sufficient support system in place, where Catholics feel comfortable asking questions and seeking guidance. If that is the case, then complete groundedness is not necessary (IMHO).
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I think our Church, in general, treats us too much like children in our faith, who must be protected at all costs from everything that might lead us astray. Granted, the poor formation that most Catholics have received is largely the fault of the Church itself, and that poor formation is what makes many Catholics ill-equipped to venture out beyond their parish walls without fear of being “picked off” by a devout and clever evangelical protestant or secular “theology”. However, there seems to be no plan for continuing formation to fix this glaring problem. I’m thinking another discussion on this topic is probably in order.
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In Faith,
javelin
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I speak as one who is still labeled “Protestant.” I am still attending a Protestant church with my family, but I am looking to be a Catholic one day. I have ministered in Protestant churches and I know the protestant faith pretty well. I know the mindset of (especially Southern Baptist) about how to “evangelize” Catholics.

I agree that many Catholics don’t know their faith well enough, and for some reason the Church has not equipped the flock like it should for the last century. But I do see a turn! I see converts coming to the Catholic Church more frequently. And what I have learned is that Protestants know very little about the Catholic faith but have been told that it is the whore of Babylon, or some big conspiracy theory about the Church. I truly do believe that these converts to the Cathoic Church will play a part on helping the Church place much more emphasis upon equipping the flock better.

But you know, I guess there is a similarity in the protestant churches here in America. I have been aggrevated with protestants in the past for not learning their faith like they should. I used to wonder why a Christian would not want to learn all they could about something so important as their religious faith. I always felt that we all should be professionals of our religion. I never could figure out why people like me loves to spend hours a day learning more about their faith while many “christians” can’t seem to take 5 minutes a day to read a passage of Scripture. I don;t say that out of trying to be some “holier than thou” freak, because I fall very short of being Christlike at times. I just say that because I do get a little destressed with the lack of desire to learn God’s Word among Christians.
 
I often attend my Evangelical friends’ church on Sunday mornings and I have found deep and lasting friends within this body of separated brethren/sisters. However, I do have to keep my mouth shut a lot of times when they start teaching different doctrines or different interpretations of Bible passages.

I’ve also found it pointless to attend Protestant Bible studies since almost all of their doctrines differ so vastly from Catholic doctrines that you find almost no common ground beyond, “Jesus is Lord.”

Instead, me and a few of my friends started a Catholic bible study. It’s still in the works but soon it will smooth out as we find good resources and a good leader. Meanwhile though we are studying solidly Catholic teachings and not being confused or annoyed with incorrect teachings.
 
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javelin:
That is your perrogative, just don’t ever believe you have it all figured out, lest you fall into complacency or self-righteousness.

I’m not accusing, just cautioning…🙂

javelin
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Why caution me? And why assume I ‘know it all’? The last thing I was is for Protestantisms to invade the Catholic Church. If I thought if they had anything worthwhile I would have stayed there.

They don’t have the Real presence, the have myriad interpretations…half of their services are full of short term emotional highs. Its so shallow compared to attending Mass.

There is very little we can learn from them.

dream wanderer
 
Greetings Church,

For 3 years, I worked with my Diocese in Ecumenism.
To begin with, I am not asking anyone if they agree or disagree with this work. I am going to make a point.

We were trained in the process of dialoguing. We were not there to argue the differences in what we believe. We were instructed to explore all the areas where we agreed. I, personally dialogued mostly with clergy. I was even given permission to enter into a Bible study with a Seventh Day Adventist pastor. I was given permission to dialogue with a lady from Islam.
Mostly I talked to Lutheran, Episcopal, Baptist and Evangelicals.

Unless you have been involved with this, I would guess you have little idea on how much we do agree on. With some of these religions, little at all divide us. Many of these divisions could be put behind us if we did a little more praying. We made excellent strides with the Lutherans.

It was Jesus desire that we be one. He prayed for it. I join Him in that prayer and pledge to do all I can within the limits of obedience to do whatever I can.
 
When I am back home on Sundays visiting my parents, I attend their Baptist service with them in addition to Mass. I do so for several reasons.
  1. I grew up in that church and many of the people there are dear to me.
  2. While my parents attended Easter Vigil this past April to see my Baptism, they don’t attend Mass with me. By attending with them, I can still worship with my family, even though it is not the fullest form of worship available to me.
  3. I am not scared of hearing something wrong, since I heard it all growing up any way.
  4. While I don’t attend Sunday school, my being there gives everyone at that church a chance to ask me something about Catholicism.
 
I would only attend a Protestant service in obligatory situtions, such as weddings. I don’t agree with them but I do appreciate the sincerety in their beliefs. However, I have noticed that when you do attend their services they think they have “scored a point” and feel like they should be more friendly and invite you to this or that. Now, I am not an ecumenical type of person. I think it takes someone very knowledgeable, patient and prayerful to take on such endeavors. I can not take for example the slightest disrespect addressed to our Blessed Mother. I boil inside. Ironically, it takes several mental “Hail Mary”'s to calm me down. Attending protestant services doesn’t edify me or bring in prayerful spirit in me, so I avoid it.

I have also realized that when I talk to protestants about the Church fathers for example, I feel like I am speaking a different language since none of the people I spoke with (and I mean none) have heard of them. The only thing I tell my separated brethren then is to be sincere and obedient to the teaching of their churches. Because obedience fosters humility in us and it is only through our humility that the Lord speaks to us. Even, when they disagree with their pastor’s teaching I can only say pray about it and be humble and obedient and believe in miracles. I always encounter disapproval about the obedience part. And yet it is obedience that sets one free. As a child, I knew that I could ask and get anything from my father when I was obedient. It worked then when I was a child and it works now with my heavenly father.

KidaneMehret - ora pro nobis
(Our Lady of Perpetual Help -pray for us)
 
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