(continued from last post)
- Although many evangelical Protestants SPURN feelings and emotions, there are some sects that are very much “feelings based,” especially the Pentecostal (charismatic) sects. e.g., the Assemblies of God. As we all know, human feelings vary depending on many circumstances, e.g., personal health and well-being. If a Christian has become dependent on certain feelings during a worship service, and these feelings go away (which they inevitably do due to familiarity), the Christian seeks more “experiences” in worship to help them get those good feelings back again.
(Side note–this is one reason I worry when I hear Catholics say, “I
feel more reverent in a TLM” or make some other statement about feelings and God. I was raised in non-emotional evangelical churches, and I am suspicious of anything that smacks of feelings.)
But again, the feelings will eventually dissipate, and THAT’S when the doubts start. The Christian doesn’t “feel Christian,” so they doubt whether they ever really believed in God, and then they start to doubt if there is even a God to believe in. (It becomes even more complicated when they visit a secular venue, e.g., a concert hall, a bar, etc., and have those same great feelings that they once enjoyed in their church. THEN they begin to realize that all of their Christianity was just “feelings” and they fall away because they don’t think it’s real.)
A side issue when it comes to feelings is the hurt that many Protestant Christians have experienced in their church and from Christians. This is the reaons my husband and I parted ways with our Protestant churches. For decades, we gave our very lives and over 20% of our income to our church. We were evangelicals of evangelicals, extremely involved with many ministries, and very successful in these ministries. We LOVED our church and we trusted all the people in it.
Then a woman pastor came along, was threatened by our ministries, and cooked up lies about us. A tribunal was convened, people who had never even met us testified against us, we were ousted from the church, and spurned by our former friends.
Yes, it was extremely hurtful. I had graphic, disgusting nightmares for a year about being stalked, tortured, and executed by my former friends. To this day, I have one daughter who still hasn’t recovered. I still get nervous among groups of Protestants, and I really don’t trust Catholics either, especially when they’re mean or call names. Flashbacks–you dig?
And the problem is, a LOT of Protestants are reporting stories like this of horrific events and situations in their own churches that have hurt them to the point of where they have lost their faith.
There is actually a book out called
Exit Interviews, about Christians who have been hurt by their churches. You can only read a chapter every few days–it’s so heartbreaking. (BTW, the book is out of print–surprise! You have to find it on Ebay or some other online sales site.)
My parents-in-law left their childhood church and stayed away for 14 years after my FIL was accused (falsely) of sexual misconduct. They didn’t lose their faith totally, but it was definitely crippled.
- Lack of catechesis. You think it’s a problem in the Catholic Church?! It’s a million times worse in Protestant churches, especially evangelical churches!
Yes, it seems to Catholics that Protestants are always studying, attending seminars, classes, Sunday school, Bible studies, etc. But many times, these studies are very “man-based,” meaning that a certain well-known teacher writes the study or teaches the study, and a lot of the study is just “fluff” that the Christian already knows.
It is extremely rare to find an evangelical Protestant church that offers a class in “systematic theology.” It is almost impossible to find books in the Protestant book stores about doctrine, theology, and the basis for both. It is very unusual to hear a Protestant sermon about apologetics or doctrine or theology.
Much of the teaching that evangelicals receive is “needs-based.” Marriage, raising children, “Christian political world-view,” finances, recovery from divorce, 12-step addiction programs, entertainment and media in Christianity, worship/prayer/deeper life–THESE are the names of most of the Sunday School classes that you will find offered at most evangelical Protestant churches these days. Nothing too taxing for the brain!
And most of the books in the Protestant catalogs are about these topics, too, except for all the hundreds of fiction books that are now available to Protestant Christians! Just last night, I was in the Protestant bookstore looking for a copy of a Dobson book, and I remarked to my daughter, “What does it say about Christianity when more books on these shelves are FICTION than non-fiction?!”
Anyway, there is nothing wrong with needs-based teaching. But it means that many evangelical have absolutely NOTHING to defend their faith with, and one good attack by a knowledgeable atheist or Muslim or pagan is enough to knock the wind out of them, and TWO good attacks is sufficeint to knock them out of the ring and away from their faith.
Now what does all this have to do with Catholics accusing Protestants of “heresy?” Like I said in an earlier post, be careful. Yes, I believe that many Protestants are very fragile, and you don’t hit fragile people. That’s bullying.
A better approach would be to keep the four scenaria above in mind when you are dealing with Protestants. No matter how strong and assured they LOOK, you don’t know what’s in their hearts. It would be better to err on the side of kindness and charity, and to gently woo them into the Catholic Church rather than battering them with “the TRUTH” and then wondering why don’t wake up and listen. People who have been beaten up don’t generally get up, and sometimes, they die.
