What do you miss being a convert from Catholicism to Protestantism?

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FaustinaClare said:
Esdra

I can’t speak to converting from catholicism to protestantism. I can tell you why I would never switch back if that helps at all.If being a baptist is what you need to feel close to Jesus who am I to judge?

I WAS a Baptist and all I saw was shallowness and selfishness among the people my age and among a lot of the elders of the church. Maybe I’ve just had bad experiences. What can God do for ME ME ME. I have heard people say that they don’t like to go to church unless it makes THEM feel good. That makes me sick. They were more interested in Me, Myself and I and not the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

I’m not saying all Baptists are bad. All of my family members are protestants and are good God-fearing people. I am also not saying that you have to be Catholic to get to Heaven.

Personally though when I came to the Catholic Church I felt truly at home. There is NOTHING that I miss from being a Baptist. I’m still working on my selfish ways, however, the worship of the mass is Christ centered. I have never had the fullness of worship as I have had in the Catholic church.

It is wrong for the creation to feel that they need to be entertained and placated by the Creator. We are here to worship and thank HIM! He gave His life for us! So what if the music at Mass doesn’t make you feel all lovey dovey. You should be loving Christ not the music.

That is of course my personal opinion. God Bless you on your journey.
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Hi,

yes, I know that some Baptist congregations in the US are like you have described above.
I have discussed that topic btw. with a Presbyterian (a doctor who had written his thesis upon Evangelicalism) and he said, that he had found out that what I call here Baptists are indeed something quite different in Europe than in the US (mostly they don’t even call themselves Baptists, but “Free Evangelical Church” or similar.
So, I have never experienced something like that what you have written above so far. Also not the I, me, myself centered thinking.
Our pastor always keep saying: We can pray and also should for each other, but it’s Jesus who has the last word. Jesus’/God’s are different from ours (also concerning granting of prayer…).

Well, it’s just my way. And I am so glad that I have finally found Him.

By the way:
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faustinaclare:
We are here to worship and thank HIM! He gave His life for us! So what if the music at Mass doesn’t make you feel all lovey dovey. You should be loving Christ not the music.
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well said. that’s what it’s all about during mass/ service, whatever.
And I can tell you that we do that every Sunday. 🙂

in Christ,
Esdra
 
As a convert to Catholicism I don’t miss all the confusion and shallowness that exists in a baptism or any protestant church. I don’t miss trying to explain away the church fathers to prove they don’t look like catholics when they do. I don’t miss trying to explain many verses of scripture as being a metaphor when the early christians took them to be real, such as baptism of water saves, the eucharist is real spiritual food and drink. I don’t miss trying to come up with a creative explanation as to why Paul says we are not justified by works and james says we are. I don’t miss everyone trying to establish his or her own interpretation as authoritative. I don’t miss only nibbling at crumbs.

Now I have the fullness of truth. I can read the early church fathers and learn from them, I can read scripture at face value and understand what it means. No protestant truly understands what scripture means. For if you did then you would not be protestant.
 
jmcrae said:
The Catholic Church (at least, as it’s practiced in my parish) feels like “Christianity for grown-ups” to me. I feel like that when I left my Protestant church to become Catholic, that I was finally graduating from Sunday School and getting to go to “real Church.” 🙂
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That’s how I feel…as a Baptist who is considering conversion to Catholicism. My Catholic wife and I go to both Baptist service and Catholic Mass on Sundays, and the differences are day and night. Mass just seems so much more mature. I know if I did convert, I would miss that hallelujah, orans posture during hymns, preacher in suit-and-tie, greet everyone around you type of service. That’s what I grew up in. You hear so many conversations before and after service. With Mass…it is more reverent and nobody should be talking in the sanctuary before or after Mass (although some do).
jmcrae said:
Practices I couldn’t live without are: going to Confession, when I need to. Mass every Sunday morning. 24/7 Adoration available whenever I want to go. All the different cultures coming together in one place, to all thank God together in one voice. Being able to go to Mass any day of the week, if I feel like it. Praying the Rosary whenever I want to. 🙂
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I enjoy seeing the Eucharist, whether it is during Mass or in adoration. I almost feel shameful that I cannot partake in it. I just have to sit there 😦 and pray for forgiveness in case that really is Christ being offered on the altar. I think about my Baptist upbringing that says it is merely symbolic…but then I read those scriptures and think how in the world could so many folks think that Jesus was NOT talking about his actual body and blood? This past Sunday was the Lord’s Supper at the Baptist church we’re visiting (we moved here and haven’t yet transferred our letter). The preacher read 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 and I just sat there thinking there has to be more than just symbolism. During the sermon, I went through every apostles’ account of the Lord’s Supper for comparison. During brunch after Baptist service, I opened my Answers4Catholics iPhone app and started reading the apologetics. But I digress…

I, too, enjoy seeing all the different cultures at Mass. Baptist church seems so segregated (unintentionally, I know). Preaching styles seem to drive only a select demographic to that particular church. There are many exceptions, but the Southern Baptist Convention churches I have attended were like that.

One thing I have always admired is the uncountable ways in which y’all send prayer, praise, and honor to God: through His Son, through the saints, through Mary, etc. You can pray the Rosary, perpetual adoration, daily Mass, Confession… It’s amazing.

-Mark
 
jphilapy said:
I don’t miss trying to come up with a creative explanation as to why Paul says we are not justified by works and james says we are.
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what? You think Paul says something opposite of James? I think people on both sides of this debate just collectively facepalmed
 
Matorin said:
what? You think Paul says something opposite of James? I think people on both sides of this debate just collectively facepalmed
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Only Protestants who believe in Sola Fides think Paul is saying something opposite to James.
 
FaustinaClare said:
…Maybe I’ve just had bad experiences…
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I personally think that many people make the choice to leave a belief system based on their personal bad experience. In Scripture it says ‘by their fruits you shall know them’ with the implications being that if there is bad fruit being produced in this faith system, it is time to move away from it. The problem is that every faith system has ‘bad apples’ in it. The old saying that one bad apple will spoil the whole bunch isn’t all that inaccurate. However, if we see good fruit in the people found in a belief system (Scripture says ‘You will know they are Christian by their love’), one tends to remain in that belief system because of the love experienced there.

So what is one to do? Does one become unaffiliated with any organized faith system because bad apples are found in each and every one of them? Do we remain in an ‘imperfect’ faith system (meaning we know there are teachings that you know in your heart are false) because we have witnessed love between the congregants?
 
Matorin said:
what? You think Paul says something opposite of James? I think people on both sides of this debate just collectively facepalmed
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I didn’t say they say something opposite. Only in protestantism do they say something opposite. In Catholicism they are synchronized.
 
jphilapy said:
As a convert to Catholicism I don’t miss all the confusion and shallowness that exists in a baptism or any protestant church. I don’t miss trying to explain away the church fathers to prove they don’t look like catholics when they do. I don’t miss trying to explain many verses of scripture as being a metaphor when the early christians took them to be real, such as baptism of water saves, the eucharist is real spiritual food and drink. I don’t miss trying to come up with a creative explanation as to why Paul says we are not justified by works and james says we are. I don’t miss everyone trying to establish his or her own interpretation as authoritative. I don’t miss only nibbling at crumbs.

Now I have the fullness of truth. I can read the early church fathers and learn from them, I can read scripture at face value and understand what it means. No protestant truly understands what scripture means. For if you did then you would not be protestant.
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AMEN AMEN AMEN AMEN! :clapping:
 
Stylteralmaldo said:
So what is one to do? Does one become unaffiliated with any organized faith system because bad apples are found in each and every one of them? Do we remain in an ‘imperfect’ faith system (meaning we know there are teachings that you know in your heart are false) because we have witnessed love between the congregants?
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I didn’t leave the Baptist church b/c of my bad experiences. I stuck with it b/c I didn’t know any better. Once I found the TRUTH in the Catholic Church then I left. I wasn’t one of those protestants who didn’t like one thing and left and then got fed up at that church and left again. I stuck with it until I was shown the error of my ways.

I’m just saying, now that I know the truth I look back on my experiences as a Baptist and it was miserable. Other people don’t think they had or are having a miserable experience so I just put that statement in there to cover myself.
 
Well…I’m not a convert to the Catholic Church, but this is what I would miss if I left.
The body, soul and devinity of our Lord Jesus Christ truely present in the Eucharist.
When I take part in communion with the Lord and it brings tears to my eyes…I know in my heart I have received Jesus in the most intimate way.
Now we must eat the Lamb that is the Eucharist. :yup:
Jesus said, “Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you have no life within you”
(John 6:53)
 
Bluegoat said:
You know, just because someone misses something, does not mean they are being critical. A question was asked and answered - nothing was implied about something being wrong with Catholic services, or that there was anything wrong with the Sacraments. Obviously this person is still a Catholic, so I am not sure why you feel the need to attack him or her for answering what was missed.
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You need to read the OP. I believe the person stated that he/she has left the Catholic Church and joined the Baptists. The OP says he/she misses the Sacraments and the Rosary, I believe.

I don’t think anyone is being attacked here, either. Those who are answering are in love with the Catholic Church and all the graces to be gained from it, and can’t understand why anyone would leave. In my mind, it’s like trading in the Hope Diamond for a glass doorknob. I was away from the Church for 38 years, and I know how empty the Protestant churches are, simply because they do not have the Blessed Sacrament.

I would echo the sentiments raised here, and also say that I would miss the community of saints - the Church militant, the Church suffering and the Church Triumphant. How wonderful it is to know we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses, just as Paul wrote in Hebrews 12:1. No Protestant Church, none of which believes in the Community of Saints, would ever truly understand this. When I am at Church and praying to the Blessed Sacrament, I try to be cognizant of the fact that I am surounded by angels and saints who are more real than the people next to me, because they are eternal and we are all mortal.
 
Esdra said:
Hi folks,

as most of you know, I am a convert from Catholicms to Protestantism (to be accurate to Baptists).

I really like my new brothers and sisters in Christ. The community is just great. Everybody’s coming to you, talking to you (also if he doesn’t know you), asking you how you are etc.
This is one of the points, I really missed in Catholicism - the community.

But now to my question:
2 things I really liked and still do like from Catholicism is adoration in the real presence and praying the rosary - well simply just all meditative and a little bit mystic stuff…
You won’t find these two things in Protestantism (at least not at Pentecostals and Baptitsts!).
And actually I do miss that… I mean there is no meditation among evangelicals. It’s all about singing (worship - 'though I like that really very much!). - But I simply have the feeling that meditation is completely lacking among Evangelicals.

So, I’d like to start a sort of discussion here:
To the Evangelicals/Protestants, I’d like to adress the following question (First and for most Converts in this case. As I assume that “born Evangelicals” even don’t know Catholic practices):
What do you miss from Catholicism, which isn’t in your Church?

And to the Catholics the following:
What do you especially love in Catholicism? Without which pracitices “you couldn’t live”?

Hope my questions are clear! 😉

I am looking foreword to an intersting discussion,

Esdra
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The Catholic Church to me is what water is to a fish.
 
Esdra said:
Hi folks,

as most of you know, I am a convert from Catholicms to Protestantism (to be accurate to Baptists).

I really like my new brothers and sisters in Christ. The community is just great. Everybody’s coming to you, talking to you (also if he doesn’t know you), asking you how you are etc.
This is one of the points, I really missed in Catholicism - the community.

But now to my question:
2 things I really liked and still do like from Catholicism is adoration in the real presence and praying the rosary - well simply just all meditative and a little bit mystic stuff…
You won’t find these two things in Protestantism (at least not at Pentecostals and Baptitsts!).
And actually I do miss that… I mean there is no meditation among evangelicals. It’s all about singing (worship - 'though I like that really very much!). - But I simply have the feeling that meditation is completely lacking among Evangelicals.

So, I’d like to start a sort of discussion here:
To the Evangelicals/Protestants, I’d like to adress the following question (First and for most Converts in this case. As I assume that “born Evangelicals” even don’t know Catholic practices):
What do you miss from Catholicism, which isn’t in your Church?

And to the Catholics the following:
What do you especially love in Catholicism? Without which pracitices “you couldn’t live”?

Hope my questions are clear! 😉

I am looking foreword to an intersting discussion,

Esdra
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I don’t have a whole lot that I actually do miss now that I haven’t gone to mass in a couple of years.
I used to miss the fact that there are no pre-written prayers and I used to get exceedingly nervous when I had to pray aloud but that has passed.
I don’t miss the eucharist as I lost faith in the real presence. I also don’t miss the rosary, even though I used to pray it at least daily when I was still a Catholic.
There are no practices I couldn’t live with that I don’t have now.
As a matter of fact I like some of the practices in my current community better than the ones I had in the Catholic Church in Germany. The choir sings every week (right now mostly to encourage the congregation and that works). There is a focus on Scruipture including Bible drill and Sunday school.

I don’t think that there is anything that I really do miss.
 
Brooklyn said:
You need to read the OP. I believe the person stated that he/she has left the Catholic Church and joined the Baptists. The OP says he/she misses the Sacraments and the Rosary, I believe.

I don’t think anyone is being attacked here, either. Those who are answering are in love with the Catholic Church and all the graces to be gained from it, and can’t understand why anyone would leave. In my mind, it’s like trading in the Hope Diamond for a glass doorknob. I was away from the Church for 38 years, and I know how empty the Protestant churches are, simply because they do not have the Blessed Sacrament.

I would echo the sentiments raised here, and also say that I would miss the community of saints - the Church militant, the Church suffering and the Church Triumphant. How wonderful it is to know we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses, just as Paul wrote in Hebrews 12:1. No Protestant Church, none of which believes in the Community of Saints, would ever truly understand this. When I am at Church and praying to the Blessed Sacrament, I try to be cognizant of the fact that I am surounded by angels and saints who are more real than the people next to me, because they are eternal and we are all mortal.
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I wasn’t responding to the OP. I was responding to a convert to Catholicism who said he or she missed singing hymns, and didn’t even say that the CC should have hymns.
 
Brooklyn said:
You need to read the OP. I believe the person stated that he/she has left the Catholic Church and joined the Baptists. **The OP says he/she misses the Sacraments and the Rosary, I believe. **…]
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WHAT? I am sorry, but I NEVER stated that I miss the sacraments !
I only miss all that contemplative/meditative stuff which is to be found in Catholicism, like adoration or praying the rosary or simply other contemplative meetings (I just don’t know how you call that I am thinking of concretely now - neither in German, nor in English…)

There are no sacraments in the Catholic sense, at least I don’t believe in such a thing…
**I don’t think anyone is being attacked here, either. ** Those who are answering are in love with the Catholic Church and all the graces to be gained from it, and can’t understand why anyone would leave. In my mind, it’s like trading in the Hope Diamond for a glass doorknob. I was away from the Church for 38 years, and I know how empty the Protestant churches are, simply because they do not have the Blessed Sacrament.
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Yes, with this point I can agree with you (the one that you didn’t attack me - the other one of course not.) - But I guess this discussion leads us away from my Opening Post.
Actually I primarly wanted to know from Catholics who converted to Protestantism, if they also have the feeling that meditative/contemplative stuff is missing in Protestantism.
I would echo the sentiments raised here, and also say that I would miss the community of saints - the Church militant, the Church suffering and the Church Triumphant. How wonderful it is to know we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses, just as Paul wrote in Hebrews 12:1. No Protestant Church, none of which believes in the Community of Saints, would ever truly understand this. When I am at Church and praying to the Blessed Sacrament, I try to be cognizant of the fact that I am surounded by angels and saints who are more real than the people next to me, because they are eternal and we are all mortal.
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Esdra
 
I’m a convert to Catholicism.

I miss the worship music and the sense of community found in a intensely bible reading based protestant congregation.

I miss fellowship with my immediate family who have not joined me (yet) in swiming the Tiber.

What I have found (and what is priceless to me) is a liturgical experience and the sacraments which have immersed me in a more intimate and intense spiritual relationship with God and led to a richer prayer experience. Most importantly, I was very drawn to the Eucharist and this has become the focal point of my personal weekly (if not more frequent) direct communion with God and the greater community of Catholic believers.

Interestingly, biblical Judaism was extremely liturgical, and the book of Revelation reveals a very liturgical experience in Heaven and in the world to come . . . I couldn’t understand why we would live in a “( )” where liturgy would be abandoned?

Blessings to you in your search and walk with God.

Brian
 
Sorry for the confusion. I misunderstood the OP. I thought he/she was asking what former Protestants missed after converting to the Catholic Church which why, somewhat tongue in cheek, I said “congregational hymn singing.” I didn’t mean to derail the thread…
 
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