What are the reasons I should (or shouldn't) become Catholic?

[mercygate]

Honestly, Nella. Do you have to do this in EVERY thread? I keep thinking I’ll wonder into a thread about pie recipes and find you railing against pedophile priests there too. What’s your beef? Give it a break. The guilty are paying for their crimes and the church is making reparations. What will be good enough for you? Public hangings of every last Catholic? Sheesh.

Maybe Nella had a personal experience of abuse by a Catholic priest – or maybe someone she loves was abused. People can become pretty irrational when things like this hit home.

 

[TOP]

Why do you merely point fingers?? The Catholic church knew of these offenders for decades and instead of dealing with it, they moved these priests around and in many cases around the globe. Instead of these priests being kicked out of the church, they just went on to wreck the lives of other young people. You don’t see anything wrong with??

I see it as a great attack by satan on the Church, its people, its future (the children) and you still are a part of that attack. Tim

 

[AgnosTheist]

I see it as a great attack by satan on the Church, its people, its future (the children) and you still are a part of that attack. Tim

the Church had been a very useful tool for the devil. secularism and some healthy dozes of criticism had helped put the Church back on the right tracks.

which is another good reason for not joining it. because left on its own, the RCC had just gotten worst and worst. it needs a sizable amount of non-catholics to scold it if its going bad.

 

[KimL]

Hi there,

You should become Catholic because the Catholic Church is the true Bride of Christ, and together with the Bridegroom, Jesus, they can give you the everlasting life that Adam and Eve lost for us. (It has always been God’s plan for male and female to come together and produce life… including spiritual everlasting life.)

I suspect you have alot of research to do now. Good luck.

No offense; but I find the phrase “Bride of Christ” kind of creepy.

 

[Robby]

The reason you should become Catholic is only because you want to be.

It shouldn’t be because people on an online forum told you it is the right way to go or whatever.

It is your life,live it the way you think is best.

I think some of the responses like The Catholic Church is the only true religion,etc. causes nothing but negative reactions, even incites hatred.

So, if you decide to become Catholic,that’s great.

If you decide on another religion, that’s great also.

Don’t be afraid to be yourself and to make your choices based on WHAT YOU BELEIVE.

 

[TOP]

the Church had been a very useful tool for the devil. secularism and some healthy dozes of criticism had helped put the Church back on the right tracks.

which is another good reason for not joining it. because left on its own, the RCC had just gotten worst and worst. it needs a sizable amount of non-catholics to scold it if its going bad.

Thats twisted beyond comprehension. Seems to me that your a tool as well.

 

[Contarini]

AgnosTheist has asked me to comment on this thread. I will try to keep it brief.

You should become Catholic if
a. You are not a Christian by heritage (since Catholicism is clearly the “default” version of Christianity); or
b. You are convinced that the church to which you currently belong has irrevocably departed from the Faith; or
c. You are convinced that you personally are sinning in not seeking unity with the See of Rome as an individual.

You should not become Catholic if
a. You belong to a church that you believe to be a true and valid expression of Christianity, and
b. You are able to work in a concrete manner toward reunion with the See of Rome without violating your conscience as a member of a separated Christian body.

Edwin

 

[mercygate]

The reason you should become Catholic is only because you want to be.

It shouldn’t be because people on an online forum told you it is the right way to go or whatever.

It is your life,live it the way you think is best.

I think some of the responses like The Catholic Church is the only true religion,etc. causes nothing but negative reactions, even incites hatred.

So, if you decide to become Catholic,that’s great.

If you decide on another religion, that’s great also.

Don’t be afraid to be yourself and to make your choices based on WHAT YOU BELEIVE.

But make sure that WHAT YOU BELIEVE is the truth.

I agree that for people to say “it is the only true religion” are probably offputting. Nevertheless, if “religion” is something other than a personal fuzzy-wuzzy feeling, if it is something to give your life to and base your most important decisions upon, anything less than Truth would be extremely unsatisfyng, not to mention useless at the very least and catastrophic at worst.

Therefore, one ought to believe that his religion is True and believe it on solid grounds.

Catholics do not pound their chests and say “MY Church can beat up YOUR Church!” (Well, I concede that some do!) The Catholic assertion that it is the “One True Church” is solidly grounded in Scripture, tradition, history, and reason.

The idea that one belief system is just as good as any other is simply not true and it is downright dangerous.

 

[AgnosTheist]

AgnosTheist has asked me to comment on this thread. I will try to keep it brief.

You should become Catholic if
a. You are not a Christian by heritage (since Catholicism is clearly the “default” version of Christianity); or
b. You are convinced that the church to which you currently belong has irrevocably departed from the Faith; or
c. You are convinced that you personally are sinning in not seeking unity with the See of Rome as an individual.

You should not become Catholic if
a. You belong to a church that you believe to be a true and valid expression of Christianity, and
b. You are able to work in a concrete manner toward reunion with the See of Rome without violating your conscience as a member of a separated Christian body.

Edwin

Thanks, Edwin. I was hoping to see a little more of actual advantages & disadvantages to the individual. In short your answer goes like the only reason for becoming a catholic is if you become disillusioned with your current belief system. And there is no reason provided why he should prefer catholicism instead of giving up christianity entirely.

 

[AgnosTheist]

Seems to me that your a tool as well.

Indeed, sometimes I just love playing the Devil’s advocate.

 

[Palladio]

The author of the op as he stated yesterday is staying in the RCC.

However, the one and only rational reason to become a Catholic is that what the RCC teaches is true.

Which is why my family is, as of this afternoon, Catholic.

Quick proofs: pro-life, pro-children, pro-marriage…

God bless.

 

[mercygate]

Thanks, Edwin. I was hoping to see a little more of actual advantages or disadvantages to the individual. In short your answer goes like the only reason for becoming a catholic is if you become disillusioned with your current belief system. And there is no reason provided why he should prefer catholicism instead becoming a muslim or giving up religion entirely.

Well, Contarini (Edwin) is very learned. He is not Catholic, so that gives his opinion some objective weight.

You are disappointed that he doesn’t treat the matter as a sales proposition? He said Catholicism is the default version of Christianity. He states that any non-Catholic should stay where he is if he feels that he can work towards reunion with the See of Rome.

The advantage is that in the Catholic Church you are where Christ first placed his saving message, among the direct historical and spiritual descendents of those who walked with him when he came among us as a man; you are directly linked in a sacred chain of faith and doctrine that – whatever other problems the Church may have had – has come down through the Church in the pure, living steam of blood and water that flowed from the side of Jesus Christ as he hung on the Cross.

It don’t get no better than that!

But where you are now, it would be a bit of a journey, and likely a painful one for you. Ask Jesus to cut through the crud and go straight to your heart. Ask Him to show you yourself as he sees you – through the eyes of his love. Then ask him what the Apostle Andrew asked him: Rabbi: Where are you staying? And don’t forget to wait for an answer. In this world, our hearing is pretty bad.

 

[mercygate]

The author of the op as he stated yesterday is staying in the RCC.

However, the one and only rational reason to become a Catholic is that what the RCC teaches is true.

Which is why my family is, as of this afternoon, Catholic.

Quick proofs: pro-life, pro-children, pro-marriage…

God bless.

*AS OF THIS AFTERNOON! *Then you DID it! :extrahappy:God love you and may you rejoice in this decision for the rest of your life in this world and in the next!

And they say the age of miracles is over!

 

[jmcrae]

I’m curious as to what are the reasons that I should or shouldn’t become Catholic in your opinions.

Because it is the Church that Christ established, and Christ is God.

Why should you not want to belong to God’s Church?

 

[Contarini]

Thanks, Edwin. I was hoping to see a little more of actual advantages & disadvantages to the individual. In short your answer goes like the only reason for becoming a catholic is if you become disillusioned with your current belief system. And there is no reason provided why he should prefer catholicism instead of giving up christianity entirely.

Sorry. I was trying to be brief. Obviously the question of why one should hang on to Christianity in general is a separate one. I am considerably more convinced that Catholicism is the true form of Christianity than I am that Christianity is true, by the way (one reason why I can say without hesitation that if I were a non-Christian believing what I believe now I’d become Catholic).

1. Catholicism is one of the four expressions of Christianity with unbroken continuity from apostolic times (i.e., at no point have any of these Communions broken with their previous identity in an obvious and dramatic way–the other three being the Chalcedonian Eastern Orthodox, the non-Chalcedonian “Oriental Orthodox,” and the “Church of the East”).
2. Catholicism is the only form of Christianity centered on the See of Rome, which Christians have historically believed has a special connection with St. Peter and St. Peter’s charge to feed Christ’s flock. This makes Catholicism the one form of Christianity that has a center of unity independent of specific questions concerning the truth or falsehood of individual doctrines. In other words, to decide that the Chalcedonian Orthodox rather than the non-Chalcedonians are right you have to examine the precise merits of each position. This can’t simply be dispensed with in the case of Rome–obviously the primacy of Peter and the Roman succession from Peter must themselves be evaluated, and furthermore are not sufficient basis for blind acceptance in the absence of other factors. But the Papacy does provide a personal focus for communion–assuming that one can establish general reasons for trusting the Papacy, one does not have to keep re-evaluating the precise merits of every issue. This also provides a more concrete understanding of the Church than that found among the Orthodox, and one that emphasizes the bonds of charity rather than the search for absolute doctrinal and liturgical purity, which seems to be in keeping with the New Testament.
3. More specifically, speaking as a Protestant, Catholicism has turned out (in my view) to be right on all sorts of points on which the Reformers were sure it was wrong. The civil authorities were not more trustworthy caretakers of the external affairs of the Church than the Pope and bishops; forensic justification is not the article on which the Church stands or falls; Scripture is not self-interpreting; celibacy turns out to be a key component of a truly Christian view of sex; exuberant and imaginative ritual is an inescapable part of any form of Christianity that takes creation and Incarnation seriously; devotion to the saints and prayer for the dead are part of a healthy belief in the Body of Christ; Rome turned out not to be apostate–on the contrary, in our own day the Popes are the most articulate and persuasive spokesmen for vital Christianity; and the Protestant version of the Gospel turned out to produce endless division and a capitulation to the secular state, rather than the formation of a renewed and unified Church bursting through the parasitic cocoon of the Roman hierarchy (which is what the Reformers seem initially to have hoped for).

Is that more helpful?

Edwin

 

[eliasaph99]

We were talking about love. Buddhists are good examples of a loving people who had no use of Jesus.

Buddhism is, overall, a benevolent philosophy. I have done quite a lot of reading on its philosophy, both about Buddhism in a scholarly and by Buddhists in a more evangelical\apologetical setting.

It is particulary dangerous to make general statements about Buddhism. Probably more so than any other world religion. Its extremely minimal core philosophy means that it has been conformed to an enormous degree to the many places in the world where it is practiced.

As regards the quoted statement above, I don’t think that that’s an accurate statement. For one thing, love is not a prized virtue in Buddhism.

To love something or someone would mean you were attached to it in some way. Part of the goal of Buddhism is to become completely disattached from this world so that your soul is released into Nirvana.

Also, as an example, the Tibetan Buddhist monks historically were not a very loving people. They were warlike overlords who exacted tribute out of the villages in their domain to support their monasteries.

 

[eliasaph99]

That was an admirable step. Past is past, but its still on record. May the Catholic Church continue to better its ways.

It is hard to believe you’re sincere when you continue to dredge up

a) historically inaccurate accounts of events

b) the event which was apologized for as if it occurred yesterday

 

[AgnosTheist]

It is particulary dangerous to make general statements about Buddhism.

It was only meant as a quick example. I know there are details to consider within it.

love is not a prized virtue in Buddhism.

And yet Buddhists are as abundant of this emotion as your common catholic. That is the only point I wanted to make.

 

[AgnosTheist]

It is hard to believe you’re sincere when you continue to dredge up

i dont think you would prefer incessant rants on pedophile priests & the inquisition. so just leave it as that.

 

[eliasaph99]

PBS is reliabe when it claims to quote someone’s exact words. Or else they would be in a lot of trouble.

You are so in denial. Please, just prove their quote wrong if you can. Good luck!

What you cited was not a quote. It was a paraphrase by PBS.