Was considering the Catholic Church

[bbarrick8383]

Having spend the first 18 years of my life listening to a slew of Church of Christ preachers and Sunday school teachers, I can tell you first hand that it is not a cult or cult like. They do not directly declare themselves as being the only ones going to heaven. Some of them may, as they do not have centralized leadership telling them what to say and do. They are the ultimate sola scriptura Church. If it’s not in the Bible they dont do it. Their teachings are very basic:

You have to be baptised to go to heaven.

That’s it.

They dont use music in their Church because they say that it does not clearly identify music in the New Testament being used during worship. Generally, in all the Church of Christs I have been to, and the Pettijohn camp they have every year in So. Oklahoma these people are extremely friendly, extremely conservative, and in most cases old. They think that Church of Christ is how Jesus would want things and that all other churches have lost their way. There is no traditions there.

As for me, I’m joining RCIA this year. I grew up in the CoC and I didnt like the “sheltered” way of life they tend to lead.

BTW, www.coctocatholic.com is a good place to go.

 

[BMCD]

My son was married in that church and they have a TV church here the more I hear of them the more I think of it as a cult,the Tv church pick one denomination a week and just bash it Cathloic,Baptist, Luthern I use to watch it for laughs…I<m not shure but I do not think they believe in the Trinity I may be wrong I also think I ask if we had any on this board to see all they believe but never got a answer,if I remember they say it was started in 70ad. and is the Church Jesus build and we all know that is wrong… they also use Rom 16:16 to say its the church. this argument is easily to dismiss its just a geographical reference to local congregations. WATCH out for this group

The problem with the Church of Christ is that there is no organizing body outside of each individual church so beliefs can vary wildly from congregation to congregation. I attended Church of Christ schools from preschool through college and all of the churches I had contact with believed in the Trinity. In fact, the preacher at my congregation basically said to look to the Catholic Church for the correct teaching on the Trinity. They also believe that baptism is absolutely essential (though it is believer’s baptism), and they take communion every Sunday (though it is seen as a symbol). The ban on musical instruments is pretty standard for the churches I have been a part of (I don’t agree on this issue and many younger Church of Christ members don’t either).

That being said you may have encountered a Church of Christ group whose beliefs vary wildly from mine. I don’t buy the whole historical argument from the Church of Christ because it was started in the early 19th century by Alexander Campbell and Barton Stone. I have been considering converting to Catholicism off and on for about two years now because the Church of Christ historical argument backfired very badly

 

[scooter469]

Having spend the first 18 years of my life listening to a slew of Church of Christ preachers and Sunday school teachers, I can tell you first hand that it is not a cult or cult like. They do not directly declare themselves as being the only ones going to heaven. Some of them may, as they do not have centralized leadership telling them what to say and do. They are the ultimate sola scriptura Church. If it’s not in the Bible they dont do it. Their teachings are very basic:

You have to be baptised to go to heaven.

That’s it.

They dont use music in their Church because they say that it does not clearly identify music in the New Testament being used during worship. Generally, in all the Church of Christs I have been to, and the Pettijohn camp they have every year in So. Oklahoma these people are extremely friendly, extremely conservative, and in most cases old. They think that Church of Christ is how Jesus would want things and that all other churches have lost their way. There is no traditions there.

As for me, I’m joining RCIA this year. I grew up in the CoC and I didnt like the “sheltered” way of life they tend to lead.

BTW, www.coctocatholic.com is a good place to go.

Thank you so much

 

[scooter469]

scooter, My heart goes out to you,just keep praying and I will keep you in my prays keep your hear up and may Our Lord bless you and your husband, but stay awayd from this group you may not find it convincing but many have. and BTW They note that when a husband takes a bride she acquires his surname , Since the Church is called ,especially by Cathloic,the bride of Christ,they argue that the true Church,s name will be the Church of Christ,please Christ is a title not a name to be right it must be the Church of Jesus…keep in touch and let us know how it is going,bless You

I will and thank you.

 

[Bill_Pick]

Having spend the first 18 years of my life listening to a slew of Church of Christ preachers and Sunday school teachers, I can tell you first hand that it is not a cult or cult like. They do not directly declare themselves as being the only ones going to heaven. Some of them may, as they do not have centralized leadership telling them what to say and do. They are the ultimate sola scriptura Church. If it’s not in the Bible they dont do it. Their teachings are very basic:

You have to be baptised to go to heaven.

That’s it.

They dont use music in their Church because they say that it does not clearly identify music in the New Testament being used during worship. Generally, in all the Church of Christs I have been to, and the Pettijohn camp they have every year in So. Oklahoma these people are extremely friendly, extremely conservative, and in most cases old. They think that Church of Christ is how Jesus would want things and that all other churches have lost their way. There is no traditions there.

As for me, I’m joining RCIA this year. I grew up in the CoC and I didnt like the “sheltered” way of life they tend to lead.

BTW, www.coctocatholic.com is a good place to go.

Why do they say its the church that Jesus build and was started in 70ad. and why do they bash all other christian denominations. I got this from their TV station here in town…

 

[scooter469]

all humans are evil… selfish, sometimes cold, etc… The Church is not an organization designed primarily for socializing. It is established on Earth to show people the way to God… through Jesus Christ… I understand that a Church should have “loving” people in it (define: loving, though ), but, well, we must separate sin from sinner and sinner from Church… Nobody practices every single thing Jesus commanded us to… which, by the way, is why there is Purgatory… for those who try…
a “tad”??? hmm… I’d say that is very judgmental, but on the other hand, they are closer to the truth than other denoms… because some people seem to think, for example, that virtually everyone is going to Heaven, when Jesus said the opposite… He said there are few who find their way to that narrow road leading to eternal life (Mt 7:13, Lk 13:24…) catholics hear 1 psg from the Old and 1 or 2 from the New Testament every day except Monday(priest’s day off)… some Churches even have Mass on Monday… Cathedrals… Also, sometimes Catholics just don’t SEEM friendly because they are more focused on Christ (or definitely SHOULD be) than they are humans… There is already too much focus on humans in this world (Angie & Brad, etc… ). When i go to Church, i want to focus on God…(which is why i hate some of the vat II changes… ). Besides, Humans don’t need me to focus on them… they need Jesus… As you know, humans cannot save us… Wehn we die we can’t take our friends, family, etc… we will only (hopefully) have Jesus…

I post the daily/Sun Mass readings every day and very few people (on Non-Catholic forum) go there or if they do, they rarely respond… so don’t tell me this Catholic is not interested in the Bible… If a person attends daily/Sun Mass for 3 yrs straight s/he will hear the entire Bible…

I have felt this way… still do on occassion… but i just try to focus on Christ… it’s not always easy because people (Christians) ARE JEsus… as per Mt 25:31… so whatever they do to us feels like (and IS) being done to us by Christ… in a very real sense… I know that may sound weird but i feel it to be true…

I’ve found the best way to be focused on Christ is to spend time with Him at the Blessed Sacrament… in total silence… Have you heard of that? Have you ever done it?

it would be nice to know a little of your spiritual background… (haven’t gone through all the posts yet)…

Thank You. I was baptised Catholic at the age of 10. At 19 I got married and started going to non denominations, baptists, etc. Now in 2006 my husband moves us from Louisiana to rural Arkansas in the Ozarks of Ark. We live in a very remote area that only has baptist and coc denominations. We went to baptist for awhile then coc. The rest is history.

I miss my family back home, gone into a depression, and stopped going to church at all. Read my Bible and blog. Listen to Christian Radio, and Christian TV…

 

[elizabethw4]

I read through many of the replies here and I’m dumbfounded with some comments. In the original post and in others, the focus on being Catholic, or not, seems to be based on the attitude of bloggers, parishiners, individual people.
I would suggest that there seems to be a lack of knowledge to the teachings of the Magistruim…the Catechism of the Church. Believe me I am sadden when fellow Catholics do or say things that ARE NOT IN AGREEMENT WITH THE CHURCH.

But I would never leave.

Have we forgottan that Jesus is the Holy Eucharist? That, though at times our shepherds have failed to lead us correctly…we still have the sacraments, our Pope, our traditions, the Bible…my goodness folks. We have The Blessed Sacrament of Holy Eucharist. We go to receive Him!
I may not agree with the attitude of some…but do you honestly believe that you won’t find the same happening with Baptist, Methodist, Protestant faiths?

I have heard it said that the battles between Christains won’t be Catholics vs Protestants (for example) but it will be Catholics among Catholics.

We are a people of a single faith, led by our Pope (instituted by Jesus)…let us not forget.

God bless you all.

"I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrections of the body, and the life everlasting.
Amen

 

[Middleman]

I have been following along in this blog to see if I should turn to the Catholic Church. But after reading how some of the Catholics are on this blog , I am now not so sure.

I have been going to Church of Christ Church, not Universal, just COC and have been disappointed on how smug they can be towards others Faiths. They think that they are the only ones going to heaven and that the rest of the world is going to hell. I felt that they were a tad judgmental and just did not seem right to me.

But now I see that there are Catholics here on this blog that are the same way. I tend to lean more towards the Lutherans, Baptists, on this blog. They tend to be kind hearted and knowledgable. I for one think that reading the Bible is very important.

The Bible I have is a Catholic Bible, New American Bible, picked out for me by Monsignor Gerald Lefebve. He is the family Priest since I was 10yrs of age.

I also have a NIV bible and King James. The only difference is that my Catholic Bible has more books. But the books that my NIV has says the same thing that my NAB says.

I also have the New Living Translation which I enjoy reading also…

I wish this blog was more interested in sharing Bible Studies instead of debating on who’s Church was here first. I always thought Church meant people that were Christians.

Thanks for reading this

Confused Lura

I can see where you’re coming from. This site certainly hasn’t strengthened my faith. It actually has fueled some doubts.

 

[Bill_Pick]

I read through many of the replies here and I’m dumbfounded with some comments. In the original post and in others, the focus on being Catholic, or not, seems to be based on the attitude of bloggers, parishiners, individual people.
I would suggest that there seems to be a lack of knowledge to the teachings of the Magistruim…the Catechism of the Church. Believe me I am sadden when fellow Catholics do or say things that ARE NOT IN AGREEMENT WITH THE CHURCH.

But I would never leave.

Have we forgottan that Jesus is the Holy Eucharist? That, though at times our shepherds have failed to lead us correctly…we still have the sacraments, our Pope, our traditions, the Bible…my goodness folks. We have The Blessed Sacrament of Holy Eucharist. We go to receive Him!
I may not agree with the attitude of some…but do you honestly believe that you won’t find the same happening with Baptist, Methodist, Protestant faiths?

I have heard it said that the battles between Christains won’t be Catholics vs Protestants (for example) but it will be Catholics among Catholics.

We are a people of a single faith, led by our Pope (instituted by Jesus)…let us not forget.

God bless you all.

"I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrections of the body, and the life everlasting.
Amen

elabethvwh4, are you pointing out the errors to your cathloic friends they may need help also.

 

[elizabethw4]

Bill Pick my intention isn’t to pick out the errors of others or to be in judgement of them. We are all in the need of help…absolutely. Prayers, formation, guidance we all need it. Not any one of us is perfect and believe me I am on a journey to be holy everyday.

But this forum is NOT THE PLACE FOR PROPER FORMATION. All people seeking the Catholic Church should seek out the spiritual direction of their pastor, RCIA programs, read the catechism of the Catholic Church, read any Dr. Scott Hahn’s books or Dr. Brant Pitre’s. We need to grow in holiness…all of us! And do what we do, and say, for the greater Glory of God.

The more I learn about Catholism the more in love I am. God is so wonderfuly merciful, infinitely great to have given us the Church, the Bible, everything. I will say again we have Jesus in the Holy Eucharist…

God bless.

 

[BareKnuckler]

I have been following along in this blog to see if I should turn to the Catholic Church. But after reading how some of the Catholics are on this blog , I am now not so sure.

I have been going to Church of Christ Church, not Universal, just COC and have been disappointed on how smug they can be towards others Faiths. They think that they are the only ones going to heaven and that the rest of the world is going to hell. I felt that they were a tad judgmental and just did not seem right to me.

But now I see that there are Catholics here on this blog that are the same way. I tend to lean more towards the Lutherans, Baptists, on this blog. They tend to be kind hearted and knowledgable. I for one think that reading the Bible is very important.

The Bible I have is a Catholic Bible, New American Bible, picked out for me by Monsignor Gerald Lefebve. He is the family Priest since I was 10yrs of age.

I also have a NIV bible and King James. The only difference is that my Catholic Bible has more books. But the books that my NIV has says the same thing that my NAB says.

I also have the New Living Translation which I enjoy reading also…

I wish this blog was more interested in sharing Bible Studies instead of debating on who’s Church was here first. I always thought Church meant people that were Christians.

Thanks for reading this

Confused Lura

I know how ya feel, when I came here, back when I was a Christian, I was very into researching the RCC, and even wanted to take a RCIA, but after seeing how a lot of the Catholics on here were, and reading more on the RCC, I lost interest and was usually disgusted. Now, I am no longer a Christian, and worship my own things, and refuse to give people anyway to classify me, cause I love how people feel the need to do it, its very amusing.

Quote for ya: Every human being is the author of his own health or disease. -Siddhārtha Gautama (Buddha)

 

[JPUSC]

I know how ya feel, when I came here, back when I was a Christian, I was very into researching the RCC, and even wanted to take a RCIA, but after seeing how a lot of the Catholics on here were, and reading more on the RCC, I lost interest and was usually disgusted. Now, I am no longer a Christian, and worship my own things, and refuse to give people anyway to classify me, cause I love how people feel the need to do it, its very amusing.

Quote for ya: Every human being is the author of his own health or disease. -Siddhārtha Gautama (Buddha)

I’m sorry you left Christianity partly as a result of the people on these forums. Let me assure you that as a Catholic myself, I was pretty turned off by the negativity in these forums and disgusted by many of the things I came across. The people here are not representative of the 1.131 billion Catholics in the world.

At least I hope you still believe in God, and that’s the only thing that matters.

 

[yellowbird]

Bare Knucker,
I’m interested in your quote… we are the author of our own disease. So a young child battling cancer… did she somehow bring that on herself? Is that what you believe?

Or how about my dear friend Brad, father of two who, at age 42, has only months at best to live after painfully enduring every single thing medical science suggested. It would literally take a miracle for him to live to see his next birthday. Did he somehow author or create the tragic situation he finds himself in?

 

[Bill_Pick]

Bill Pick my intention isn’t to pick out the errors of others or to be in judgement of them. We are all in the need of help…absolutely. Prayers, formation, guidance we all need it. Not any one of us is perfect and believe me I am on a journey to be holy everyday.

But this forum is NOT THE PLACE FOR PROPER FORMATION. All people seeking the Catholic Church should seek out the spiritual direction of their pastor, RCIA programs, read the catechism of the Catholic Church, read any Dr. Scott Hahn’s books or Dr. Brant Pitre’s. We need to grow in holiness…all of us! And do what we do, and say, for the greater Glory of God.

The more I learn about Catholism the more in love I am. God is so wonderfuly merciful, infinitely great to have given us the Church, the Bible, everything. I will say again we have Jesus in the Holy Eucharist…

God bless.

Thank You for your answer but as a Cathloic when I first come to this board I said some thing that was not a Cathloic teaching and another Cathloic set me right and I was very thankful after doing my research I see I was wrong.Never said it again and I still thank her…so that is what I was talking about we all need help at times smile and again thank you for answering me and may Our Lord bless you,have a great week end whats left

 

[yellowbird]

At least I hope you still believe in God, and that’s the only thing that matters.

Even the Devil “believes” in God.

 

[elizabethw4]

Thank You for your answer but as a Cathloic when I first come to this board I said some thing that was not a Cathloic teaching and another Cathloic set me right and I was very thankful after doing my research I see I was wrong.Never said it again and I still thank her…so that is what I was talking about we all need help at times smile and again thank you for answering me and may Our Lord bless you,have a great week end whats left

I agree wholeheartedly. Thank you, Bill Pick…have a blessed weekend too.

 

[JPUSC]

Even the Devil “believes” in God.

God wouldn’t unjustly judge someone at the end of one’s life if he knew the motivations behind him leaving Christianity.

 

[yellowbird]

God wouldn’t unjustly judge someone at the end of one’s life if he knew the motivations behind him leaving Christianity.

I’m not judging anyone… I’m just saying that “belief” in God doesn’t necessarily mean someone is right with God… the Bible says the demons believe in God and we all know the location of their eternal home.

God is both merciful and just - you are so right. However I would not want to be the person standing before Him explaining why I rejected His Son. Good reasons? I can’t honestly think of one. Certainly nothing along the lines of… "Well you see, there was this Catholic internet forum… and some of the people who posted things were really jerks so that’s sort of why I decided I no longer cared about Jesus at all… "

 

[bbarrick8383]

Why do they say its the church that Jesus build and was started in 70ad. and why do they bash all other christian denominations. I got this from their TV station here in town…

You will get different answers on the first question, they do not have anything set in stone like the catechism that explains their beliefs. Some believe that the true teaching that Jesus taught have been tainted with man made traditions. Some think that Church of Christ was the first Church that ever existed and was forced “underground” in a sense. Which is kind of silly to me.

Some younger CoC’s can be a little arrogant and bash other religions. They have even distanced themselves from the attitude that this Church was founded with. The Church and people I grew up with were very friendly and never said a bad word about other Church’s. Even though they do not have a centralized authority, there is a bulletin that most of them subscribe to. I do not remember the name of it, but I think it is published in Texas. They pass them out with the Church’s regular bulletin, it always has some good stories and information in it.

A baptist preacher once told me that he hated discussing scripture with a CoC preacher. He said before he had time to pull his Bible out to read the scripture, the CoC preacher would quote it off the top of his head. Most of the preachers I knew growing up, knew their Bible very well, it is the only book they study.

 

[OneTrueCathApos]

I know a married couple, she is a devout Catholic, he a Baptist. They attend seperate churches and get along quite nicely.