Things I admire about protestants

[Glorfindel]

And another Amen!

 

[Glorfindel]

Oh, we DO have better hymns! Sorry but it’s true!

 

[redrosetea]

I don’t like hymns I like chant

 

[tGette]

Oh, we DO have better hymns! Sorry but it’s true!

Wait a minute…you cannot be saying what you like about yourself!

This thread is not “Things I admire about my denomination”

Though, I humbly agree!

I don’t like hymns I like chant

Me too! Well…I like hymns, but there is something “enchanting” about chanting.

 

[Glorfindel]

I don’t like hymns I like chant

I admit Chant is cool!

 

[redrosetea]

There is a chant DVD out …Monks in Germany made it…It is simply called chat and it is wonderful

There is also a new DVD soon to be released by 3 priest from Irelnad simply called …the priests…they have a website if you want to give it a listen…I have preordered their DVD …they signed a million pound contract with sony…all of the proceeds go to charity and a percent of the profits

Their voices are amazing and they do sing hymns, but they are in Latin

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

I am really sick of hearing this. Why must a great service and a service about God be mutually contridictory?

Why can’t one do both? Why is it not the standard to do both?

Guess what Pervo. A Protestant service is also about God first and formost!

Protestants just seem to want more out of there services and are less tolerant for dry than we are. With Catholics the Real Presence is rapidly becoming another excuse to be mediocre.

Cyberwolf, EXCELLENT POINT! I have been hearing how the Protestant liturgies or services may be full of great preaching, full of beautiful music, loaded with fellowship afterward, chuck-full of lovely and dignified prayer, but…they don’t have the priesthood that is valid to consecrate the Eucharist so therefor everyone involved is spinning their wheels, wasting their time, and the shabang is really for naught.

When I was in the Anglican church, we had a 500 year old liturgy full of old English responsorials and liturgical expressions straight out of the Renaissance times. The music was on an organ only. The prayers of the people, collects, psalms, everything, was done with so much dignity, care and love. And we approached the altar to take the Eucharist kneeling as the sun came through the fabulous stained glass image of Christ coming out of His tomb. Pretty amazing stuff.

But after a steady dose of EWTN, Catholic Answers, Scott Hahn, etc. I came to feel that the Anglican priesthood was defective, didn’t have valid orders, and thus their Eucharist was invalid as well. I also didn’t like some liberal elements of some parishoners and the unsteady and often confusing “theology” of the worldwide communion.

After being back in the Catholic Church now for around six years, our Mass is full of guitar-strumming music that drives me nutsoid, boring and urbane homilies, people who don’t sing often times or look dead/bored, music that is often part Spanish even though we’re at an English Mass (!!), the wording of the actual liturgy is corney thanks to Vatican II, and my wife find ourselves totally unimpressed with the Catholic American English liturgy in general.

Now I know what response I get every time I say this: “You don’t go to Mass for YOU! You don’t go to get entertained! You’re not there to learn anything! You’re not there for fun!”

All true…but you’re dead spot on with your point…why can’t we go to experience the presence of Christ, the Sacrifice of Christ, AND learn something deep and meaningful as well as enjoy the experience with dignified music and preaching?

Catholics often say “why must it be either/or with praying to Mary AND Christ?” They’re right! Then why must it be either/or with making the Mass focused on the Eucharist AND having a didactic, beautiful, thoughtful, engaging experience?

Outstanding point…

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

Things I admire about protestants:

Their love of God’s grace

Their focus on Grace rather than constantly focusing on everyone else’s faults, failures, and sins (something Catholics especially in CAF are obsessed with labeling Catholics “Cafeteria Catholics” or doomed to hell for voting for Obama or wearing Levis to Mass)

Fellowship

They are generally far more pastoral than Catholics. The priests/pastors/deacons of protestant churches tend to go that extra mile for visits to the hospitals, home, etc. They give better counsel and offer more of their time. That’s my experience, just my own.

Many protestants know and love the scriptures intimately (although about as many protestants nowdays are as ignorant of scriptures as Catholics are IMO)

Protestants want to please God every bit as much as Catholics in my experience. Many in CAF try to label an Anglican or Lutheran someone who just “can’t hack” the rigorous demands of Catholicism. That’s not how they usually see it. They have a certain belief, different from ours, and they try to serve God through it.

There are many things I DO NOT like about protestantism that keep me leary about it and distrustful. But these factors I appreciate.

 

[Reuben_J]

Protestants are often more serious about there faith and about growing there churches. There is a strong tendancy not to use prayer as an excuse for doing the leg work that evanglisim requires.

Also Protestants generally beat out Catholics over being spiritual.

I don’t know but I guess this is merely a personal impression, one that I don’t agree with. Perhaps you are having the Sunday Catholics in mind, in which case, you’re quite close. But it would be not much different with Protestants who are in that category either.

I’ve some experiences with Protestant friends on evangelization ministry in hospitals praying for the sicks. Some of the patients were non-Christians. What surprised me, and yes I admired their courage, that they simply asked the sick patients to accept Jesus on first encounter. I thought it was exploiting considering the patients were in no way to really object to the suggestion. When we went back for the debriefing, the report was that patients whom they prayed-over had accepted Jesus! Catholics would certainly approach this differently. It is rather impractical though possible, for a person to accept Jesus in a two-minutes encounter. But this is how Protestants in my group did it.

And about being spiritual, nah, I don’t think so Protestants are better or Catholics are better. It really depends on who they are. I remember bringing a priest friend to a retreat years back. He was surprised to see lay people can pray for very long time which even among the priests themselves they seldom reached that level of passionate and focus in prayer.

I am just saying a few examples but I don’t think Protestants are better than Catholics in these areas.

What I can say that Protestants are really good at is their tithing. We are being known, and not wrongly, that when it comes to offerings, we are giving tips. That is, we would look into our pockets for loose change! Seriously, Protestants do give more. We can see, despite their sometimes small parish, they do have very good chapel and their pastors can live rather lavishly. One starts to wonder where the money comes from, if not for the parishioners. It’s good to be Protestants pastors,I think. Not to mention being uncelibate!

 

[Reuben_J]

I actually admire them because they seem to have so much faith DESPITE not having the Real Presence. I don’t know how they do it!! I couldn’t live or exist without the Eucharist. I thank God daily for giving us our daily bread.

Ironically, I agree with you. It is not that they have bigger faith than us but for the fact that they don’t have the Sacraments, The Church and Mary to help them they still are quite enthusiastic. For that I admire them. But that only exposed what they are missing. How much more then if they have what we have.

I have some experiences with Protestants due to my regular participation in inter-faith gatherings with them. We are quite discreet and exclude Mary and the Eucharist in these gatherings for obvious reason. However I always thought that the worship is not complete. It’s like chewing your food without swallowing it. In my heart I am glad that as Catholics we have all that they have in worship, and more, what we have they don’t.

 

[O.S.Luke]

We can see, despite their sometimes small parish, they do have very good chapel and their pastors can live rather lavishly. One starts to wonder where the money comes from, if not for the parishioners. It’s good to be Protestants pastors,I think. Not to mention being uncelibate!

There are a few pastors in very LARGE parishes who might live lavishly. But as a Protestant pastor, I’ve never personally known another Protestant pastor ANYWHERE who lived “lavishly.” Our kids usually wear clothes from Walmart, we often struggle to pay bills like our church members, we drive used cars with lots of miles on them, and wonder how we are going to send our kids to college - just like our church members. And some Protestant churches and parishes still have the unofficial mantra of “keeping our pastor humble” by paying them less than a fair salary and stipend.

It is good to be a pastor - it is a calling from God and it is a humble privilege to serve Him. And I am blessed to serve a church that is generous in its giving. My denomination owns colleges, universities (such as Duke, Emory, SMU, Boston U), hospitals - all which local congregations support. Bishops and conference (i.e. diocesan) extension ministries and staff are supported. The average UM Church gives 12%-18% of its budget to support the larger denomination and Church.

Like all things, there are certainly exceptions. But as a rule, most Protestant pastors don’t live lavishly - they live very humbly, and most live more humbly than their parishioners.

O+

 

[Reuben_J]

There are a few pastors in very LARGE parishes who might live lavishly. But as a Protestant pastor, I’ve never personally known another Protestant pastor ANYWHERE who lived “lavishly.” Our kids usually wear clothes from Walmart, we often struggle to pay bills like our church members, we drive used cars with lots of miles on them, and wonder how we are going to send our kids to college - just like our church members. And some Protestant churches and parishes still have the unofficial mantra of “keeping our pastor humble” by paying them less than a fair salary and stipend.

I retract my statement. It’s not made the way it looks like it is intended. Nevertheless I sincerely apologize. My statement is stereotype perhaps because of the nature of this thread and partly because of my ignorance. I admire pastors and honor them for the work they do in serving the Lord.

 

[jblake]

O.S. Luke;:

But as a Protestant pastor, I’ve never personally known another Protestant pastor ANYWHERE who lived “lavishly.”

Then you haven’t had the misfortune of coming across the denomination whose ministers wear Savile Row suits, are gourmands, drive BMWs, and have three full time servants, whilst their missionaries get by living in their rust bucket that serves as transportation, fasting four days a week, and wearing hand me downs from their flock, because the little that they receive is used to buy essentials for their flock.

xan

jonathon

 

[jblake]

turtle18;:

The Catholic Church leads the way in ministering to the poor, the sick, the disadvantaged, the ailing. If you don’t see that you need to look harder.

Half a dozen denominations claims to have that status. However, only one of them — which doesn’t like to claim that status — has the name recognition for that field of service.

The problem with the outreach is that it is focused on the marginalized.

The big issue is: “How effective is that outreach?”

xan

jonathon

 

[O.S.Luke]

Then you haven’t had the misfortune of coming across the denomination whose ministers wear Savile Row suits, are gourmands, drive BMWs, and have three full time servants, whilst their missionaries get by living in their rust bucket that serves as transportation, fasting four days a week, and wearing hand me downs from their flock, because the little that they receive is used to buy essentials for their flock.

xan

jonathon

I believe I said that I knew there were exceptions. And I drive a BMW… albeit one that’s 20 years old that I paid $1000 for and rebuilt. They use them as taxi cabs in Germany.

 

[redrosetea]

If you can’t offer something nice to say about Protestants please start your own thread

I started this to make peace not to hurl insults…

 

[sahara]

There is much we can learn about our separated brothers who rightly point out that our Church may not “feel” welcoming to new converts or to people who are seeking Truth. There should be a better balance in having reverence for celebrating Mass and showing respect for the liturgy with showing the love of Christ to each other after Mass. It’s not necessarily about having a “social hour” after mass but rather sincerly demonstrating the love of Christ to one another as Christ commanded us to do. This should not only be preached but it would be helpful for the Church to have practical instruction on how Catholics should treat one another and new converts as brothers and sisters in Christ. This may seem like something that should be already understood but it helps to be reminded. People are attracted to certain demoninations in Protestantism simply because of the people and personalities of the preachers and not so much because of doctrine.

 

[inJESUS]

I don’t know any Protestant but i like Joyce Meyer.

 

[CWBetts]

I am really sick of hearing this. Why must a great service and a service about God be mutually contridictory?

Why can’t one do both? Why is it not the standard to do both?

Guess what Pervo. A Protestant service is also about God first and formost!

Protestants just seem to want more out of there services and are less tolerant for dry than we are. With Catholics the Real Presence is rapidly becoming another excuse to be mediocre.

How can being in the presence of Jesus Christ be mediocre??? Yes Protestants areentheusiastic and sincere, but they are missing something.

 

[emeraldcoast]

Things I admire about protestants:

Their love of God’s grace

Their focus on Grace rather than constantly focusing on everyone else’s faults, failures, and sins (something Catholics especially in CAF are obsessed with labeling Catholics “Cafeteria Catholics” or doomed to hell for voting for Obama or wearing Levis to Mass)

Fellowship

They are generally far more pastoral than Catholics. The priests/pastors/deacons of protestant churches tend to go that extra mile for visits to the hospitals, home, etc. They give better counsel and offer more of their time. That’s my experience, just my own.

Many protestants know and love the scriptures intimately (although about as many protestants nowdays are as ignorant of scriptures as Catholics are IMO)

Protestants want to please God every bit as much as Catholics in my experience. Many in CAF try to label an Anglican or Lutheran someone who just “can’t hack” the rigorous demands of Catholicism. That’s not how they usually see it. They have a certain belief, different from ours, and they try to serve God through it.

There are many things I DO NOT like about protestantism that keep me leary about it and distrustful. But these factors I appreciate.

Thank you!

God Bless!