Thankful to Protestant posters

[Maxply]

I’d just like to say I’m glad there are Protestants posting here. It’s good to get a better understanding of where they are coming from. For many Catholics, it’s hard to see the denominational differences and/or we just don’t comprehend the “figure it for yourself” approach for individual congregations and believers or understand the extent to which the “DIY” approach exists in the different denominations.

(I look at what I just wrote, and I’m sure someone will take a negative construction to it. I just mean there are issues that some denominations permit their individual churches and members decide for themselves.)

 

[Adam14]

I’d just like to say I’m glad there are Protestants posting here. It’s good to get a better understanding of where they are coming from. For many Catholics, it’s hard to see the denominational differences and/or we just don’t comprehend the “figure it for yourself” approach for individual congregations and believers or understand the extent to which the “DIY” approach exists in the different denominations.

(I look at what I just wrote, and I’m sure someone will take a negative construction to it. I just mean there are issues that some denominations permit their individual churches and members decide for themselves.)

Thanks for the comments Max. I agree with you. I’m Lutheran, but it helps me understand my own Lutheran beliefs, as well as others, when I get on sites as this one and learn. I’ve learned a lot about Catholocism off of this site…there’s a ton of good info. To me, I’ve never really given much thought to other denominations…just believe what I believe. This site helps me enforce and question my own beliefs…and I mean question in a good way. Right now, I’m about as close to being Catholic as I can be without actually converting (I’ve gone from Baptist, to Lutheran now). There’s just a few things I still “question” about the Catholic church. But who knows…I may end up Catholic before it’s all said and done Right now though, I just don’t feel like I’d be a “real” Catholic without agreeing with 100% of the teachings.

But thanks to everyone on here that gives all this good info. I know it gets a little heated between Catholics/non-Catholics on here, and much of it is silly banter (from both sides), but I have nothing but respect for your church and I’m interested in learning more as I continue to try to figure out exactly what I myself believes.

 

[JonNC]

Thanks for the comments Max. I agree with you. I’m Lutheran, but it helps me understand my own Lutheran beliefs, as well as others, when I get on sites as this one and learn. I’ve learned a lot about Catholocism off of this site…there’s a ton of good info. To me, I’ve never really given much thought to other denominations…just believe what I believe. This site helps me enforce and question my own beliefs…and I mean question in a good way. Right now, I’m about as close to being Catholic as I can be without actually converting (I’ve gone from Baptist, to Lutheran now). There’s just a few things I still “question” about the Catholic church. But who knows…I may end up Catholic before it’s all said and done Right now though, I just don’t feel like I’d be a “real” Catholic without agreeing with 100% of the teachings.

But thanks to everyone on here that gives all this good info. I know it gets a little heated between Catholics/non-Catholics on here, and much of it is silly banter (from both sides), but I have nothing but respect for your church and I’m interested in learning more as I continue to try to figure out exactly what I myself believes.

ditto

 

[BlestOne]

I think the thing that was the most surprising to me was that we seem to speak two different languages… it is hard sometimes to understand how we can communicate at all… same with the Moslem’s here. The differences are really smaller than we think in alot of ways… It took me a while to understand why Protestants thought we worshiped Mary or why Moslem’s don’t believe us and vice versa… it seems to be in the definitions of our words… I strive to remember what the differences are in terms when talking to others.

A while back we had a thread that made alot of headway on this… simple definitions like worship… were totally different!

I have learned alot here too… which seems to be why I keep coming back to read more and more…

 

[James1982]

Thanks for the comments Max. I agree with you. I’m Lutheran, but it helps me understand my own Lutheran beliefs, as well as others, when I get on sites as this one and learn. I’ve learned a lot about Catholocism off of this site…there’s a ton of good info. To me, I’ve never really given much thought to other denominations…just believe what I believe. This site helps me enforce and question my own beliefs…and I mean question in a good way. Right now, I’m about as close to being Catholic as I can be without actually converting (I’ve gone from Baptist, to Lutheran now). There’s just a few things I still “question” about the Catholic church. But who knows…I may end up Catholic before it’s all said and done Right now though, I just don’t feel like I’d be a “real” Catholic without agreeing with 100% of the teachings.

But thanks to everyone on here that gives all this good info. I know it gets a little heated between Catholics/non-Catholics on here, and much of it is silly banter (from both sides), but I have nothing but respect for your church and I’m interested in learning more as I continue to try to figure out exactly what I myself believes.

You know, it seems like a lot of the Protestant posters who come here with a motive other than fighting Catholics have one foot in the Tiber already. Maybe it’s just a nice place for non-Catholic, Catholic sympathizers to refine their faiths… The bible tells us to do it after all.

2Co 13:5
Test yourselves {to see} if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you–unless indeed you fail the test?

There seem to be plenty of “but for” Protestants on here… As in “but for birth control, I’d be Catholic” etc. Nothing wrong with that, though. I’m sure the Catholics are thankful for the low hanging fruit, so to speak. Many full-fledged Catholics struggle their whole lives with some of this stuff; for curious Protestants it’s sometimes much worse, since you don’t have the whole trust factor with the Church yet.

As for me, the water is still a bit cold for my tastes. I don’t feel much like swimming today, perhaps later.

 

[JonNC]

I think the thing that was the most surprising to me was that we seem to speak two different languages… it is hard sometimes to understand how we can communicate at all… same with the Moslem’s here. The differences are really smaller than we think in alot of ways… It took me a while to understand why Protestants thought we worshiped Mary or why Moslem’s don’t believe us and vice versa… it seems to be in the definitions of our words… I strive to remember what the differences are in terms when talking to others.

A while back we had a thread that made alot of headway on this… simple definitions like worship… were totally different!

I have learned alot here too… which seems to be why I keep coming back to read more and more…

This is a really good post, BlestOne.
For example, many times in threads about Faith alone, or the Eucharist, I find myself listening to some of the Catholics here and thinking, “that doesn’t sound much different than what I believe, or what my confessions say.” Sure, there are differences, but so much of it is semantics.
Jon

 

[AgnosTheist]

Sure, there are differences, but so much of it is semantics.

One good example is the

Faith Alone (Protestant) vs Faith+GoodWorks (Catholic)

when you go into the details, both are really the same thing. Faith causes the believer to do good things.

 

[JonNC]

One good example is the

Faith Alone (Protestant) vs Faith+GoodWorks (Catholic)

when you go into the details, both are really the same thing. Faith causes the believer to do good things.

To an extent you are right. Often the difference is where the importance of works comes in. The Lutheran confessions say talk of the importance of works comes in as part of sanctification, that justification is apart from works. Some protestants want to eliminate works from the process altogether. OSAS, and the like.

Jon