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Pfaffenhoffen
Guest
I meant only it makes no sense in the Latin rithe, the question. Forget it…
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Pfaffenhoffen
Guest
antonio damasio in his book the error of descartes say that we think with the heart.
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ShaunCathConvrt
Guest
Well, the world to me turned upside down when I attended the life of the spirit seminar before. There’s a portion of the seminar called “The Baptism of the Holy Spirit” wherein I shouted, “I am sorry Mama Mary.” So that was the starting point of my conversion. I was a protestant for 15 years and was against with the catholic faith. And now, here I am, a seminarian in a Marian congregation. Please pray for me bros and sis in Christ! God Bless you all! And may Our Lady pour out here blue mantle of love upon u! 
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cemiller
Guest
I apologize, I must have misuderstood.
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LinuxUser
Guest
I left just recently. I thought at one time the institution was Christian but with all the Liberalism and Traditional fighting and the history of many bad popes that I found in Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy (Recommended by Roy5) than if you like something that traditional minded Catholics hate or don’t like something they love your a liberal or bad Catholic, I don’t need that or want it… This institution can not be the holder and bearer of truth (Many Christians in it though). Went to the new mass and hated it so I left finally. Also I don’t feel the Catholic Church is compatible with American ideals when they want on to accept everything with docility, America was and is just the opposite. We were founded on rebellion and it’s in our blood and Protestantism is much more American.If you were once Catholic and are now Protestant, what made you change frome one to the other? If you were once Protestant and are now Catholic, what made you change? Please don’t reply with “Because it is the true way,” because that isn’t helping me determine the reason you left.
Thank you!!!
There are things that Catholics look done on. As an example I am a Creationist but most Catholics think I am out of my gourd and another is I support the DP but looked down upon by many Catholics. It easier being with those who share your belief so leaving was all I have left and reverting to Protestantism in which I was raised
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geoformeo
Guest
Dear Linux: I do think your decision to leave the Church is ungrounded, and possibly too hasty. Let me try to help.
“The history of many bad popes”…ummm, can you name more than 5 bad popes? 5 is not “many”, especially considering there have been 265 of them. So are you telling me that you would not take a 260/265 (98%) on a test any day of the week? By comparison, show me a single monarchy or other institutional head (US presidents, for example) with a better record. You will find far more abuse of power anywhere else, not to mention no other institution has been around for 2,000 years.
It appears to me that you are worried far too much about what others think of you, rather than how you appear in the eyes of God. You are a precious child of God, and He wants you in communion with His Church. So long as you are faithful to the Church teachings, it matters not what people say about you. The Church is not “Traditional” or “Liberal”; the Church just Is. You can’t go find the “Liberal Catholic” section in the Catechism. Either you are a faithful Catholic, or you are a wayward Catholic. And the only thing that matters is where you stand with God.
God bless you, and I am praying for you.
Let’s start with this: have you read the Catechism? That is official Church teaching, so if you have a question about something, that is the first place to turn. “Liberal and Traditional fighting” has no bearing whatsoever on whether the Church is the fullness of Truth, the original Church Christ started or not.
“The history of many bad popes”…ummm, can you name more than 5 bad popes? 5 is not “many”, especially considering there have been 265 of them. So are you telling me that you would not take a 260/265 (98%) on a test any day of the week? By comparison, show me a single monarchy or other institutional head (US presidents, for example) with a better record. You will find far more abuse of power anywhere else, not to mention no other institution has been around for 2,000 years.
It appears to me that you are worried far too much about what others think of you, rather than how you appear in the eyes of God. You are a precious child of God, and He wants you in communion with His Church. So long as you are faithful to the Church teachings, it matters not what people say about you. The Church is not “Traditional” or “Liberal”; the Church just Is. You can’t go find the “Liberal Catholic” section in the Catechism. Either you are a faithful Catholic, or you are a wayward Catholic. And the only thing that matters is where you stand with God.
Why not? Because people in the Church sometimes make mistakes? Do you not recall how even when Christ, God Himself was physically here on Earth, that even He couldn’t stop His closest friends from betraying Him and handing Him over to be crucified? People make mistakes. The truly Christian thing to do is forgive and pray for those who persecute you.
My goodness, there are only a handful of changes, most of them very minor. So you are willing to throw away the Eucharist because you don’t like the liturgy? Do you fully understand what the Eucharist is?
So you are first and foremost American, and not Christian? Last I checked, Jesus was all about docility (blessed are the peacemakers…). Who cares if American ideals don’t jive with Catholic teaching? Christ and His Church supersede any and all political, social, and moral ideologies. What happened to the 1st Commandment? God, then country, remember?
I, for one, would fight you tooth and nail over Creationism, but I would also acknowledge your right within the Church to adhere to that position. I’m afraid the only DP I know of is “double play”. Care to enlighten me? What is this DP you speak of?
I agree that it is easier being with those who share your belief, but it is of no consequence if that belief you share is wrong. What matters is Truth, not feelings. I admit that being a faithful Catholic is not easy, but it is right, and that makes all the difference.
God bless you, and I am praying for you.
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LinuxUser
Guest
DP = Death Penalty and as for the rest I was a catholic for over a decade and know the CCC well, studied it well. I am a Christian first and always;as for the bad popes try a time in the early middle ages any time. Christ has revealed the truth through his Scriptures not an institution. Truth does matter but not found in the CC
God bless
God bless
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geoformeo
Guest
If you know the CCC well, then you should understand the Church’s position on the Death Penalty and it should not be that big of a deal; like every moral position the Church takes, there will be opposition.
Bad Popes in early middle ages: you did not specify a single pope, and all you did was throw out a blanket time frame. The early middle ages spanned from approximately 400 AD to 1000 AD. Bear in mind that there were no Protestant churches at this point in history, either before nor immediately after this period. The Catholic Church before this time was the same as the Catholic Church after.
Even if the Church had 600 years of consecutively bad popes, that only bolsters the case for the Holy Spirit being with the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church; that even bad leadership would not allow the gates of hell to prevail against it. But, for the sake of argument, let’s look at this a minute. According to the list of popes in the front of my NAB, there were 100 popes during this 600 year period. Of these 100 popes, 36 of them are canonized saints; that’s of course not even to mention those who have not been formally canonized. Your sweeping accusation is unfounded.
“Christ has revealed His truth in the Scriptures, not an institution”: where is that in the Bible? Do you not know that it was precisely the “institution” of the Catholic Church that infallibly wrote half of and compiled what you refer to as “the Bible”? Are you of the mind that Christ would grant His Holy Spirit to the Church for that one time event of the compilation of Scripture, and then rescind it entirely? Where is that in the Bible?
Obviously, you are feeling guilty about having left the Church, otherwise you wouldn’t spend time on a Catholic forum. And so far, you have yet to provide any valid evidence of a reason to leave the Church. Have you talked to a priest about your concerns? Please seek answers. The Church needs you!
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LinuxUser
Guest
You is a silly guy. I have no guilt and am now free in Christ now that I have left.
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CMatt25
Guest
“Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.”
scborromeo.org/ccc/para/846.htm
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CMatt25
Guest
Where can someone find that it wasn’t always so?
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lutherlic
Guest
The vast majority of popes were wonderful gifts to the Church. Many are Saints. A comparably small number were “bad”, such is the nature of imperfect humans. St. Peter had his flaws too, yet was selected by our Lord as the rock to build His Church upon. BTW, for a review of the book you read that is not based in anti-Catholicism, see Why the Papacy Endures.
You don’t like infighting. Who does? Good luck finding a Christian community that has none (if you think that you have found one, you just haven’t been there long enough). What sets Catholics apart is the truth of our doctrine, the authority of the Magisterium, and the sacraments - particularly the Eucharist. These are all missing from the wide spectrum of schismatic Christian communities and are serious loses.
I disagree completely on the compatibility of the Church and “American ideals”. But let’s say for the sake of argument, you are right. You would seriously choose an increasingly secular, anti-Christian political system over Christ’s Church?
Lastly, for a good article on creationism see What is the Catholic Position on Creationism and Evolution?
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JustaServant
Guest
Wow.
Hate much?
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Happy_Convert
Guest
That’s a somewhat complicated question but I’ll “take a stab” at answering it. I think that my interest in Catholicism was piqued when I first heard John Paul II speak on the evils of abortion. I grew up Baptist and had been taught that abortion is an intrinsic evil. Later, I learned about Bl. Mother Teresa and her work with the poor in India. She served as a shining example of Christianity and charity towards others. I also love to study history and through my studies, I slowly came to realize that the early church more closely resembled the Catholic Church than it did any of the modern Protestant churches. Finally, I couldn’t get away from the realization that all of the modern Protestant churches are branches which have grown out of the vine which is the Catholic Church.
When I finally mustered up the courage to attend Mass for the first time, I was shocked by how scriptural it really is. I was further drawn to Catholicism by the real sense of community that I observed there. I was also lucky enough to find myself under the guidance of a priest who is himself a convert. He was able to answer many of my questions and help me to see that doctrines like the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Assumption of Mary are strongly supported by sacred scripture. I think that the real clincher was a careful study of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of St. John. Hope this helps.
God Bless and Merry Christmas!:knight1:
When I finally mustered up the courage to attend Mass for the first time, I was shocked by how scriptural it really is. I was further drawn to Catholicism by the real sense of community that I observed there. I was also lucky enough to find myself under the guidance of a priest who is himself a convert. He was able to answer many of my questions and help me to see that doctrines like the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Assumption of Mary are strongly supported by sacred scripture. I think that the real clincher was a careful study of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of St. John. Hope this helps.
God Bless and Merry Christmas!:knight1:
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manualman
Guest
Could be a problem of hazy vocabulary. Does “open gay priest” mean:
- Acknowledges his homosexual inclination publicly, but explains that he nevertheless believes it is a disordered inclination that must be controlled with self discipline (similar to alcoholism) for both celibate priests and laymen alike.
- Same as above, but silent on the implications for laymen.
- Has a gay lover living with him in the rectory.
Catholics DO have a problem with #2 and especially #3. On topic, that fidelity to the truth of Scripture as regards homosexual relations applied in a compassionate manner sets catholicism apart from most other groups that either rationalize homosexual behavior or demonize homosexuals personally.
Myself, I was at one time strongly attacted to the zeal, community and imminent sense of God’s love and presence in an evangelical community. But their Sunday services always felt empty without the Eucharist and their insistence on ‘Bible Alone’ authority models just utterly clashes with how Acts (especially) portrays the structure of the Church as apostolic. The bible NOWHERE demonstrates the model of people obtaining scrolls, learning about Christ and appointing their own leaders and establishing a local church based solely on Scripture. It demonstrates the exact opposite; it is always the apostles that lead and the bishops to whom they delegate authority to lead, instruct and nurture the faithful. I’ve yet to find the passage that says when that model was to stop. So I’m still catholic.
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kfamily1977
Guest
I grew up in a secular home and joined the Church as a teen and was in RCIA. As a child we sometimes went to a Lutheran church but I felt like it was not the TRUE Church. That is why I joined. It has been really hard for me to stay in the Catholic Church…really hard. I really wanted to have a happy family that attended church together but no matter if we go to Catholic or non-Catholic some of us are not happy. I am feeling quite strong to pull completely out of going with my husband to his church, as well as pulling the kids out too…it is just hard. I know one of my teens will not leave though.
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Candlepower
Guest
I became an Anglican about 8 yrs.ago from being a cradle Catholic because Anglicanism fervantly kept the traditions of the Early Church while bringing practice and belief back in line with the NT. Contrary to what most Catholics believe or hear, the Anglican church today is NOT the face of King HenryVIII, but rather the daunting work of Queen Elizabeth who brought Roman Catholics and Protestants together in England to form the Via Media better known as the middle way. I love my Anglican church and would never leave it. It is truly filled with the Holy Spirit.If you were once Catholic and are now Protestant, what made you change frome one to the other? If you were once Protestant and are now Catholic, what made you change? Please don’t reply with “Because it is the true way,” because that isn’t helping me determine the reason you left.
Thank you!!!
K
Kathryn_Ann
Guest
**Reading and studying the history of the Church, and seeing my daughter go through RCIA, I then saw my grand-daughter baptized in the Catholic faith and became convinced I was being called to become a Catholic. I went through RCIA and all my hopes were confirmed. I saw that when I was a “Protestant,” I had no idea exactly what it was that I was protesting.
I gained so much as a Catholic Convert: an understanding of all the Sacraments, veneration of Mary, and most importantly, a full understanding of the divine continuity of the faith given by Christ in the handing of the keys of the Kingdom to Saint Peter. All important was my new understanding of the Holy Eucharist not as mere symbol, but of receiving the Precious Body and Blood of our Saviour, The Real Presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. **
I gained so much as a Catholic Convert: an understanding of all the Sacraments, veneration of Mary, and most importantly, a full understanding of the divine continuity of the faith given by Christ in the handing of the keys of the Kingdom to Saint Peter. All important was my new understanding of the Holy Eucharist not as mere symbol, but of receiving the Precious Body and Blood of our Saviour, The Real Presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. **
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jmcrae
Guest
The list of 73 books that we today call “The Bible” was first written in 405 AD, by Pope Innocent I, and was given to St. Jerome, to locate the books (he traveled to every library in the civilized world to get authentic copies) to translate into Latin.
Prior to that time, they were just individual books, more likely than most others to be used at Mass, but otherwise not set apart or distinguishable from ordinary books.
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