Stumbling Block for Protestants?

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ufamtobie said:
JonNC,

You mention above “Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between pride, and heartfelt belief”. JonNC, so are you battling this within yourself, "to tell the difference between pride and heartfelt belief?

Ufam Tobie
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Aw, come on, now. Jon is one of the good guys.
 
heidi_storage said:
See, I just think that it isn’t necessary for a priest to absolve me of my sins–I think that Jesus provides forgiveness directly. This is what I mean about theological differences.
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What verse(s) in Scripture tell you that it isn’t necessary to have your sins forgiven through a priest?
 
PRmerger said:
What verse(s) in Scripture tell you that it isn’t necessary to have your sins forgiven through a priest?
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To be fair, wouldn’t that be trying to make him/her disprove a negative?

The verses of Scripture would have to say that you must have your sins forgiven through a priest.
 
My reason kind of was looked over so I want to explain again.

I’ve been trying to join the CC but I feel like God wants me to stay in the Church that I’m in. The genuine love I see from everyone whether it be towards me or towards others. The amount I have learned and continue to learn. Just everything seems to point me back to my Church that I honestly love. I had tears in my eyes praising God yesterday with all the believers there, I just love God so much. Why does it seem He really wants me to stay in the Church He brought me to nine months ago?

I have since met the love of my life through this Church and proposed to her on Saturday, she said yes. God has blessed me so much through this Church, I just can’t grasp that He would want me to be Catholic.
 
Per_Crucem said:
To be fair, wouldn’t that be trying to make him/her disprove a negative?

The verses of Scripture would have to say that you must have your sins forgiven through a priest.
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First you’d have to establish your paradigm. Is your paradigm:

-if it’s not in Scripture it’s forbidden?

OR

-if it’s not in Scripture it’s permitted?
 
dronald said:
I have since met the love of my life through this Church and proposed to her on Saturday, she said yes. God has blessed me so much through this Church, I just can’t grasp that He would want me to be Catholic.
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Congratulations! Which church body?
 
dronald said:
My reason kind of was looked over so I want to explain again.

I’ve been trying to join the CC but I feel like God wants me to stay in the Church that I’m in. The genuine love I see from everyone whether it be towards me or towards others. The amount I have learned and continue to learn. Just everything seems to point me back to my Church that I honestly love. I had tears in my eyes praising God yesterday with all the believers there, I just love God so much. Why does it seem He really wants me to stay in the Church He brought me to nine months ago?

I have since met the love of my life through this Church and proposed to her on Saturday, she said yes. God has blessed me so much through this Church, I just can’t grasp that He would want me to be Catholic.
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I say that you go to the Church that Christ established, and then conform your views to Christ’s.

If you stay in a church that makes you feel good, even if you doubt that it is the Church established by Christ, then you are choosing yourself over God.

Remember, we are to hate our brothers in order to love God. (Hyperbolic words of Christ, but true nonetheless.)
 
PRmerger said:
First you’d have to establish your paradigm. Is your paradigm:

-if it’s not in Scripture it’s forbidden?

OR

-if it’s not in Scripture it’s permitted?
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If it’s commanded in Scripture, it’s required. If it’s not forbidden in Scripture, it is permitted.

If you say you must have a priest absolve you in order to be forgiven, then it must be demonstrated in Scripture that it’s a direct command. I understand, of course, that Catholicism would here incorporate Tradition, but I’m just sticking with the text right now.
 
PRmerger said:
I say that you go to the Church that Christ established, and then conform your views to Christ’s.

If you stay in a church that makes you feel good, even if you doubt that it is the Church established by Christ, then you are choosing yourself over God.

Remember, we are to hate our brothers in order to love God. (Hyperbolic words of Christ, but true nonetheless.)
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I don’t trust myself to a decision like this; I have left it all up to God. I pray about it daily and it seems obvious God wants me in the Church that I’m in now. If He really wanted me in the CC He would make it clear and stop showing me how much I can grow and learn and live to help others and worship God through this Church.
 
For me being very anglican there isn’t a Stumbling Block at all in going to Catholic Church. There is no question about it. We have all the sacraments that you guys offer but with freer rules on them. For me though in answer to your question it is attitude rather than Confession as I do ‘use’ our Confession and many do not, but that is their choice and doing no wrong for not going. But I do not use it in purpose of being ‘clean at Mass’ from what I read here as plenty of Catholics use it for. I use it to simply feel healed with God. Mass don’t come into it as far as I am concerned. Caveat: That mayn’t be standard Anglican Answer. Just my ‘use’ of Confession. Certainly though attitude and rigidness could be the two greatest ‘blocks’ and I wouldn’t become Catholic if Church of England Closed. I would remain in my heart Church of England. I love the freedom of being able to participate in the service the way that works for me and I am not made by any church law to feel bad for being me. For me it is about being with God rather than have I done this that or other. Yes I feel guilty at times but Church don’t make me feel bad for it. 😉
 
dronald said:
I don’t trust myself to a decision like this; I have left it all up to God. I pray about it daily and it seems obvious God wants me in the Church that I’m in now. If He really wanted me in the CC He would make it clear and stop showing me how much I can grow and learn and live to help others and worship God through this Church.
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I understand that you may feel this way.

But truth matters, dronald. And if you are in a church that has departed from the fullness of truth, then you are not availing yourself of what Christ has given to you.
 
PRmerger said:
I understand that you may feel this way.

But truth matters, dronald. And if you are in a church that has departed from the fullness of truth, then you are not availing yourself of what Christ has given to you.
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There was a point when I thought Catholicism was correct but I feel God keeps bringing me back to the Church I’m in now. If it is lacking truth then God would remove me from it, so perhaps it does have the fullness of truth.
 
englishredrose said:
For me being very anglican there isn’t a Stumbling Block at all in going to Catholic Church. There is no question about it. We have all the sacraments that you guys offer but with freer rules on them. For me though in answer to your question it is attitude rather than Confession as I do ‘use’ our Confession and many do not, but that is their choice and doing no wrong for not going. But I do not use it in purpose of being ‘clean at Mass’ from what I read here as plenty of Catholics use it for. I use it to simply feel healed with God. Mass don’t come into it as far as I am concerned. Caveat: That mayn’t be standard Anglican Answer. Just my ‘use’ of Confession. Certainly though attitude and rigidness could be the two greatest ‘blocks’ and I wouldn’t become Catholic if Church of England Closed. I would remain in my heart Church of England. I love the freedom of being able to participate in the service the way that works for me and I am not made by any church law to feel bad for being me. For me it is about being with God rather than have I done this that or other. Yes I feel guilty at times but Church don’t make me feel bad for it.
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I submit that you may have joined a church that is fashioned after your own image, rather than joining the Church that Christ established.

If you are in a church that doesn’t make you squirm a bit, and make you change your beliefs to conform to truth, then I respectfully say that you have created a church of the Almighty Self, rather than joined the Church of the Almighty.

For it stands to reason that if there is a God, and if He established a Church, His commandments/revelation/morals/beliefs are not going to be the same as yours, a creature.

And if you can’t say, “I really wish that God hadn’t said that (fill in the blank), but He did say it, so I change my views to conform to His” then you are church shopping for a church that matches your own ideals.

And that is the essence of creating a god in one’s own image. :eek:
 
dronald said:
There was a point when I thought Catholicism was correct but I feel God keeps bringing me back to the Church I’m in now. If it is lacking truth then God would remove me from it, so perhaps it does have the fullness of truth.
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How, exactly, would God tell you to stay in a particular church?
 
The title: “stumbling blocks” suggests that Protestants are interested in reunion with Rome. I am not knowledgeable on the ecumenical interests of most Christians. Is there any desire & ecumenical effort among Baptists, the largest Protestant denomination in America, to dialogue with Catholics?
 
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