The Catholic Church is winning the most converts from...

[Peace-bwu]

puzzleannie:

to make this poll accurate we would need responses from those in the foreign mission fields. In my experience in over 12 yrs involved in RCIA most of those adults received into the Church are members of mainline Protestant denominations, most of whom are already baptized. Those who are unbaptized are almost 100% from nominally or culturally Catholic families, who have been surounded by Catholics all their lives, and now are seeking baptism and the other sacraments. We had one young man who had converted to Islam from a fundamentalist Christian sect, went all through RCIA, even became a catechist at another church, who went back to Islam. We have had 2 Jews in that time period. The largest group of adults in our classes however are baptized, uncatechized Catholics seeking confirmation and/or first communion, usually in order to get married in the Church.

Great post, this is insightful and accurate.

 

[ichabod]

PaulDupre:

When I watch “The Journey Home”, it seems that we have a disproportionate number of former Presbyterian pastors who have come home to Rome. I wonder why that is.

As an ex-Mormon, I am very happy to see the number of former Mormons who have found the truth of the Church established by Jesus. I am a member of several on-line forums and e-mail groups about Mormons who are investigating Catholicism or have already come home. The numbers always surprise me, and I’ve learned that Utah has become a hotbed for Catholic evangelism and conversion. Praise Jesus!

I think that there the number of pastor converts from Presbyterianism may be partly due to there proximity to catholicism - a lot of those that I have spoken with from the anglican communion consider themselves to be “catholic with a small c”, but as there churches fracture due to doctinal beliefs, they continually have to re-evaluate their membership. The embrace of divorce, contraception and abortion has been gradual and sporadic, but there have been some very public singular events with the ordination of homosexual clergy. If you believe that you have the liberty to disagree on the unimportant things, what happens when you disagree on the important things? Do you relegate the important things to the “unimportatnt things pile”?

The closer you think you are to being on the right path, the more these events affect your outlook.

 

[Amadeus]

Or, maybe because the host of “The Journey Home” has been instrumental in those conversions.

Marcus Grodi is a former Presbyterian minister. So is Prof. Scott Hahn; and his wife, Kimberly, is the daughter of a Presbyterian elder/minister!

 

[StJeanneDArc]

Amadeus:

Or, maybe because the host of “The Journey Home” has been instrumental in those conversions.

Marcus Grodi is a former Presbyterian minister. So is Prof. Scott Hahn; and his wife, Kimberly, is the daughter of a Presbyterian elder/minister!

I thought I read somewhere that their Presbyterian seminary used to be a monastery and was bought by the Presbyterians some time ago. It could be that they studied at a facility that was once consecrated by the Catholic Chuch. All those prayers by the monks that used to live there apparently had some effect.

Of course, I could have my facts wrong.

 

[Kielbasi]

Itwasn’t on the poll, but I would think that proportionately anyhow, that there would be a high number of converts from Eastern Orthodoxy.

Theoretically they are fairly close to Catholic belief in some of the critical areas, and Catholicism offers a mass that is less redundant and more to the point than the orthodox liturgy.

 

[alyssa]

I thought I read somewhere that their Presbyterian seminary used to be a monastery and was bought by the Presbyterians some time ago. It could be that they studied at a facility that was once consecrated by the Catholic Chuch. All those prayers by the monks that used to live there apparently had some effect.

I thought that, too!

 

[flameburns623]

You missed one: Secularism. Read Catholic apologietics from the past 100 years and you find they nearly always focus far more energy in refuting skepticism and atheism than in any other department. And most of the famous converts were secularists, not Evangelical Protestants–Tom Merton, Dorothy Day, Frank Sheed, etcetera, etcetera. The conversion of Evangelicals is a somewhat latterly phenomenom. I think it is related to the rather sterile environment of Evangelicalism–how often can one pray the Sinner’s Prayer or walk the “Romans Road”?–coupled with the capitulation of most liturgical Protestant/Reformational churches to liberal theology. The Orthodox are also seeing a defection of Evangelical Protestants to their ranks, for the same reason: both the RCC and the Orthodox are willing to honor traditional Christian theology and practice, but provide room for a rich and mature spirituality. The Lutheran Church/Missouri Synod is experiencing significant growth at last word–for, I suspect, the same reason. If traditionalist Anglicans could stop their infighting and create a similar and credible church structure, they could attract more of this Evangelical ‘boil-off’.

Sorry-not trying to ‘hijack’ this thread with peripheral speculations. I do think that Christians of all stripes need to stop focusing on sheep-stealing from other denominations and focus more on those who are definitely perishing–the irreligious and those who belong to non-Christian faiths. (But of course, Roman Catholics think that ‘good Buddhists’, ‘good Hindus’, ‘good Muslims’, ‘good Jews’ and other ‘good’ non-Christian religionists are ‘saved already’–rendering the preaching of the Good News of Christianity to such souls to the status of ‘Bad News’).

 

[Church_Militant]

I hear that places like Nigeria in Africa are really coming to the Faith.

 

[Annunciata]

Evangelical Protestantism
I find them to be the strongest believers, (as in potentially good Catholics) Once they get past the Mary stuff, Sola Fide, and Sola Scriptura that is. … At least those I have been blessed to know

 

[Ahimsa]

(But of course, Roman Catholics think that ‘good Buddhists’, ‘good Hindus’, ‘good Muslims’, ‘good Jews’ and other ‘good’ non-Christian religionists are ‘saved already’–rendering the preaching of the Good News of Christianity to such souls to the status of ‘Bad News’).

Why would it be considered ‘Bad News’?

 

[Sarah_Jane]

(But of course, Roman Catholics think that ‘good Buddhists’, ‘good Hindus’, ‘good Muslims’, ‘good Jews’ and other ‘good’ non-Christian religionists are ‘saved already’–rendering the preaching of the Good News of Christianity to such souls to the status of ‘Bad News’).

“The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men. **Indeed, she proclaims, and ever must proclaim Christ “the way, the truth, and the life” **(John 14:6), in whom men may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things to Himself.” (Nostra Aetate)

 

[katolik]

flameburns623:

Sorry-not trying to ‘hijack’ this thread with peripheral speculations. I do think that Christians of all stripes need to stop focusing on sheep-stealing from other denominations and focus more on those who are definitely perishing–the irreligious and those who belong to non-Christian faiths. (But of course, Roman Catholics think that ‘good Buddhists’, ‘good Hindus’, ‘good Muslims’, ‘good Jews’ and other ‘good’ non-Christian religionists are ‘saved already’–rendering the preaching of the Good News of Christianity to such souls to the status of ‘Bad News’).

Are you kidding me, sir??? That’s heresy to belive that all “good” other religionists go to heaven.

 

[Curious]

Along these lines, I was wondering if any the Catholics here have found members certain denominations/groups more receptive to catholic apologetics than others. I know every person is different, but if you HAD to lump them together, in your regular everyday conversations (or regularly scheduled debates ), do you find any group of protestants that generally seem more open to what you have to say?

 

[Chris_in_Mich]

What do the terms; Evangelical Protestantism, Fundamental Protestantism, and Mainline (Liberal) Protestantism mean? How do they differ?