What teachings would the Catholic Church have to drop for you to be a catholic

[SteveGC]

…we may be separated in ideology and disagree on " what is what…this means this…"…but we have the same Lord.

And Catholics worth their salt would be equally as glad that you also have found the Lord, that He, for you as for us, is your all in all.

This has never been the issue. It’s not whether or not you can “find” Jesus in this place or that place, and it’s not about how you “feel” about Him. It’s about how Jesus wanted his flock to be shepherded on earth. We don’t, as you suggest, have a “common” faith, for faith is much more than simple belief (which Satan also shares). You would downplay our separated “ideologies” and disagreements, but the Lord does not. These separations and disagreements are not, as you might suspect, trivial. There are salvific consequences about our divisions, about what we are being taught, and what we believe and follow. Baptism, perpetual repentence and confession, moral guidance, etc. These things are not insignificant. They must be addressed head on, for our take on them has eternal implications. It’s not enough that we “Christians” all have “found” Jesus in our separated corners of the world. That’s only part of the story. Unification in belief, in practice, in worship…this is the significant reality that we are called to make manifest - that brings us to forums like this to discuss our differences with one another.

God Bless

 

[Cinette]

I don’t reject “priesthood”…I reject the Catholic understanding of priesthood…I believe in the priesthood of all believers Catholics also believe in the priesthood of all believers but that is not the ordained priesthood… I don’t reject Jesus’ intention when he established the church…I reject the Catholic definition “church”…I believe I am part of God’s assembly of believers But that is exactly what Church is - an assembly of believers!!…God’s redeemed…those baptized by His Spirit into One Body is the Church…there is only One ChurchThere is only one Church - only Protestants have distanced themselves from that Church and have splintered into numerous “churches” and continue to do so..

Yes, prejudice is a pitiful thing…but I don’t ignore the scriptures…they are part of my daily spirituality. The writers of the gospels sought to put into words the emerging understanding of what this faith meant. You cannot ignore the writers of the Gospel and who established the canon.

I have not done myself a disservice…don’t fear about that…and don’t be sad…I have found that “In Him we live and move and have our being”…that is enough for me…In him I have all that I need…"abundantly more than I could hope or ask…"You sound like a very nice guy and I hope you will continue in pursuit of the fullness of truth.

If through the ministry of the Catholic church you have found peace in Christ…I rejoice with you as we have a common faith in Christ. He is our all and in all…we may be separated in ideology and disagree on " what is what…this means this…"…but we have the same Lord.

Amen :hug1::hug3::clapping:

 

[Publisher]

And Catholics worth their salt would be equally as glad that you also have found the Lord, that He, for you as for us, is your all in all.

This has never been the issue. It’s not whether or not you can “find” Jesus in this place or that place, and it’s not about how you “feel” about Him. It’s about how Jesus wanted his flock to be shepherded on earth. We don’t, as you suggest, have a “common” faith, for faith is much more than simple belief (which Satan also shares). You would downplay our separated “ideologies” and disagreements, but the Lord does not. These separations and disagreements are not, as you might suspect, trivial. There are salvific consequences about our divisions, about what we are being taught, and what we believe and follow. Baptism, perpetual repentence and confession, moral guidance, etc. Thes]e things are not insignificant. They must be addressed head on, for our take on them has eternal implications.

It’s not enough that we “Christians” all have “found” Jesus in our separated corners of the world. That’s only part of the story. Unification in belief, in practice, in worship…this is the significant reality that we are called to make manifest - that brings us to forums like this to discuss our differences with one another.

God Bless

This is where we differ…while I would agree with you on “perpetual repentance”…whether I am dunked in water or sprinkled with water or receive grape juice or wine or cracker or bread is not what unites me to Christ( and no…I am not making light of your conviction of the Body and Blood of Christ as found in your eucharist…)…if those issue have “salvic” implications for you…I would counsel you to pursue those issues to your own soul’s peace…as I have mine.

I am not afraid for my soul…I know Whom I have trusted and am persuaded that he is able to keep what I have committed to him against that day.

 

[SteveGC]

This is where we differ…while I would agree with you on “perpetual repentance”…whether I am dunked in water or sprinkled with water or receive grape juice or wine or cracker or bread is not what unites me to Christ( and no…I am not making light of your conviction of the Body and Blood of Christ as found in your eucharist…)…if those issue have “salvic” implications for you…I would counsel you to pursue those issues to your own soul’s peace…as I have mine.

I am not afraid for my soul…I know Whom I have trusted and am persuaded that he is able to keep what I have committed to him against that day.

But you see, this is the protestant Christian mantra…“Me and Jesus”. There is little real thought and contemplation on what it Truly means to be the Body of Christ. What’s ironic is that protestants shout from the hilltop that the “church” is the body of believers, but know not that body themselves, nor do they really care…so long as they themselves are good with Jesus. In a way, it’s a very selfish Christian outlook. Not that individual protestants are uncaring for their neighbor, nor giving of themselves to the needy, etc. But selfish in the sense that they pay little credence to Christ’s longing and prayer that we all be ONE. For example, I talk about unification of belief, practice and worship, and your talk about unification is just being unified to Christ. Well, all devout Christians are unified to Christ, in some fashion or another. Once again, this is only part of the story.

But I get it. You don’t think solidarity in salvific belief is important to Christ. God Bless you on your Christian walk with Jesus.

 

[Publisher]

But you see, this is the protestant Christian mantra…“Me and Jesus”. There is little real thought and contemplation on what it Truly means to be the Body of Christ. What’s ironic is that protestants shout from the hilltop that the “church” is the body of believers, but know not that body themselves, nor do they really care…so long as they themselves are good with Jesus. In a way, it’s a very selfish Christian outlook. Not that individual protestants are uncaring for their neighbor, nor giving of themselves to the needy, etc. But selfish in the sense that they pay little credence to Christ’s longing and prayer that we all be ONE. For example, I talk about unification of belief, practice and worship, and your talk about unification is just being unified to Christ. Well, all devout Christians are unified to Christ, in some fashion or another. Once again, this is only part of the story.

But I get it. You don’t think solidarity in salvific belief is important to Christ. God Bless you on your Christian walk with Jesus.

I’m not aware of a “Protestant mantra”…it’s not “me and Jesus”…we share in His Body…“where two or three meet together in…” his name, He is there. I do believe we should be one…“by this all men shall know you are my disciples, that you love one another…” None of us will hold 100% the same beliefs…none of us will “practice” our perspective rituals exactly the same way every time…but we can always be joined to him in love for one another. If you believe the “right practice” and “right belief” is the way to go…I’m all for it…it doesn’t resonate with me however.

I join together each First Day with those who seek to live in the Light…and walk in the Light. My faith and your faith isn’t something we believe…it’s something we do…what makes us different than the “demons which also believe” is that we live the life of Christ out in our world…it is that one thing that sets us apart…that we love one another…we share his life with those we come in contact with…each person we meet wears the face of Jesus…that is what make us One.

I do not have to share your belief tradition to work side by side with you to “feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and those in prison”…I don’t have to make the sign of the cross as the “sign of our faith”…but if our hands move to offer comfort to those in need, if our hands are extended to comfort instead of hurt, we make the “ritual sign of our faith” everytime we touch others with gentleness and mercy. The “ritual sign of our faith” is made evertime we extend a hand to offer water in his name…or food…or a blanket…these are the things that make us one.

I do believe in solidarity…“that we love one another”…that is the salvic belief I would share with you…“by this shall all men know you are my disciples”…I will always stand in solidarity with you in that respect.

 

[Janet1983]

There seems to be so much in common across all Christians that i wondered what would need to be changed about the Catholic church before you would consider converting e.g. stop the focus on Mary as key for many but what else would need to change…

For me to ever even consider becoming catholic again after being there for 23 years (baptized, confirmed and through school education) the church would have to go through radical changes…

Abolition of the following:

1. Veneration of the saints, especially Mary
2. Praying to saints (addressing someone else than God in a prayer is praying to that person… e.g “Hail Mary”… They cannot hear these prayers anyway… it is far better to ask a brother or sister in Christ who is among the living to pray)
3. Current definition of “saint” as every member of the true church is a saint already and we are justified through Him… Paul talks to and about the members of the churches as saints.
4. Transubstantiation…
5. Adoration of the eucharist (blasphemy) instead of focusing on the Word of God
6. Perpetual adoration
7. Special priesthood…
8. Only the church and especially the pope can interpret scripture
9. Infallibility of the pope when he is speaking ex cathedra
10. Sacraments as a means of salvation (works do follow once we are saved because we are already saved)
11. Infant baptism
12. Confession to a priest (though I think that general spiritual guidance and help is appropriate when sought… confessions however are to be made to God)
13. Forgiveness of sins through the church
14. Prayer for the deceased (if they are in hell it is too late… if they are in heaven there is no need)
15. Purgatory (It is either heaven or hell… either a full atonement through the sacrifice of the Lord or none)
16. Classification of sins (the wages of sin is death)
17. Salvation as a graduate process
18. Apocrypha
19. Teachings about Mary, including her staying a virgin after Jesus was born, the assumption that she was without sin and the she ascended into heaven with her body and soul
20. Excluding women from the clergy
21. Forced celibacy of the clergy
22. The church as the Church of Christ instead of realizing that the Church are truly all Christians that are saved and atoned for by the blood of Christ
23. Not accepting other Christian churches are equally valid and right while declaring that somebody who was raised in a totally different religion can obtain salvation if he was truly seeking after God… (Jesus said “I AM THE WAY” and He meant it)
24. Not opposing the evolution theory
25. Traditions as equally important as God’s Word in the Bible
26. Not acknowledging that salvation is only by the pure grace of God
27. Not acknowledging the absolute inerrant Word of God as manifested in the Bible

Well those would be some…
I would turn back to the church if these things weren’t there… These were the reasons for me turning away in the first place… Without these I could reconcile with the church without conflicting with my conscience…
Thanks you for asking and reading through this…

In Him,
Janet

 

[SteveGC]

I’m not aware of a “Protestant mantra”…it’s not “me and Jesus”…we share in His Body…“where two or three meet together in…” his name, He is there. I do believe we should be one…“by this all men shall know you are my disciples, that you love one another…” None of us will hold 100% the same beliefs…none of us will “practice” our perspective rituals exactly the same way every time…but we can always be joined to him in love for one another. If you believe the “right practice” and “right belief” is the way to go…I’m all for it…it doesn’t resonate with me however.

I join together each First Day with those who seek to live in the Light…and walk in the Light. My faith and your faith isn’t something we believe…it’s something we do…what makes us different than the “demons which also believe” is that we live the life of Christ out in our world…it is that one thing that sets us apart…that we love one another…we share his life with those we come in contact with…each person we meet wears the face of Jesus…that is what make us One.

I do not have to share your belief tradition to work side by side with you to “feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and those in prison”…I don’t have to make the sign of the cross as the “sign of our faith”…but if our hands move to offer comfort to those in need, if our hands are extended to comfort instead of hurt, we make the “ritual sign of our faith” everytime we touch others with gentleness and mercy. The “ritual sign of our faith” is made evertime we extend a hand to offer water in his name…or food…or a blanket…these are the things that make us one.

I do believe in solidarity…“that we love one another”…that is the salvic belief I would share with you…“by this shall all men know you are my disciples”…I will always stand in solidarity with you in that respect.

And I wholeheartedly agree with you, Publisher. I sincerely do. Amen.

Funny, however, that Catholics (for the last 500 years) in far too many circles, have been excluded from this protestant “body of believers” who share in this faith and put Love into action out into the world. Ironic as well, since we hold that we are the “original” Body. I’m not talking about you personally, but protestant society as a whole, has developed and nurtured a “Catholic OR Christian” mentality.

Of course, I see the problem. You can’t fathom the aspects of unity that I hold as significant, because you simplify the Gospel and the apostolic teaching down to essentially the 2 great commandments, Love God (through Christ) above all else, and Love thy neighbor. And these, no doubt, are significant commandments, the mark of any good Christian. They infer faith and devotion to our Lord Jesus, and putting our faith into action through all the world. To you, this also covers our salvific necessities. If we could simplify it down to just that, then in actuality we really have been unified all along, and there’s not much to worry about with our physical, denominational divisions.

But I don’t simplify Christianity to those two fundamentals. I do believe there are Christian beliefs (dogmas of the faith) that must be unified. We’re leaving out far too many salvific necessities - those which I previously listed, and others. I do believe that to be outside the Catholic faith is to be outside of authentic apostolic (Holy Spirit-protected) universal teaching on faith and morals.

And so, we stand at an impasse. You’re content in our unity (although many like you are not including us)…and we are not content with the obvious disunity. I’m sure you feel confident in your salvation by your devotion to our Lord. I would not even hint at taking that away from you, or challenging it. I would simply suggest you take a hard look at your “body of believers”, and see just how unified they really are, what they truly believe, keeping in mind that the more you simplify what it means to be Christian, the easier it is to believe that our many differences are satisfactory to our Lord.

God Bless

 

[Peter_J]

Regarding Purgatory, there is really no division on the matter. The DOGMA of Purgatory as proposed by the Catholic Church is acceptable to the Orthodox.

That is not what the Catholic Encyclopedia says. The Catholic Encyclopedia correctly states:
“The modern Orthodox Church denies purgatory…”(Hanna, Edward J. Transcribed by William G. Bilton, Ph.D. Purgatory. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XII. Published 1911. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Nihil Obstat, June 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York).

I note that both of you (and myself) are Catholics. Perhaps this would be a situation where we should take JonNC’s advice (even if he is a Protestant ) that he gave on the “Taking matters into our own hands” thread …

Rule #1: Don’t attempt to tell someone else what they believe. Instead, let them tell you and actually listen to what they say.

 

[Publisher]

And I wholeheartedly agree with you, Publisher. I sincerely do. Amen.

Funny, however, that Catholics (for the last 500 years) in far too many circles, have been excluded from this protestant “body of believers” who share in this faith and put Love into action out into the world. Ironic as well, since we hold that we are the “original” Body. I’m not talking about you personally, but protestant society as a whole, has developed and nurtured a “Catholic OR Christian” mentality.

Of course, I see the problem. You can’t fathom the aspects of unity that I hold as significant, because you simplify the Gospel and the apostolic teaching down to essentially the 2 great commandments, Love God (through Christ) above all else, and Love thy neighbor. And these, no doubt, are significant commandments, the mark of any good Christian. They infer faith and devotion to our Lord Jesus, and putting our faith into action through all the world. To you, this also covers our salvific necessities. If we could simplify it down to just that, then in actuality we really have been unified all along, and there’s not much to worry about with our physical, denominational divisions.

But I don’t simplify Christianity to those two fundamentals. I do believe there are Christian beliefs (dogmas of the faith) that must be unified. We’re leaving out far too many salvific necessities - those which I previously listed, and others. I do believe that to be outside the Catholic faith is to be outside of authentic apostolic (Holy Spirit-protected) universal teaching on faith and morals.

And so, we stand at an impasse. You’re content in our unity (although many like you are not including us)…and we are not content with the obvious disunity. I’m sure you feel confident in your salvation by your devotion to our Lord. I would not even hint at taking that away from you, or challenging it. I would simply suggest you take a hard look at your “body of believers”, and see just how unified they really are, what they truly believe, keeping in mind that the more you simplify what it means to be Christian, the easier it is to believe that our many differences are satisfactory to our Lord.

God Bless

George Fox wrote ““all christians are believers, both Protestants and Papists;” The Lord opened to me that if all were believers, then they were all born of God, and had passed from death to life; [becoming a new creature, old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new] and that none were true believers unless that had happened; and though others said they were believers, yet they were not.”

And while we don’t use the word “papist” any longer, consider it a term of 17th century England…I don’t know what other Protestants have to say about “excluding” Catholics from this body of believers…but among Friends those who have faith in Christ are believers…whether “Protestant or Catholic”…

 

[Singinbeauty]

There seems to be so much in common across all Christians that i wondered what would need to be changed about the Catholic church before you would consider converting e.g. stop the focus on Mary as key for many but what else would need to change…

This is like asking would I would decide to marry a guy if he cut off his left arm. How can you ask a church that follows Christ to cut off it’s beliefs just so you would attend???

The question makes no sense.

The Catholic Church does not need to change for me. When / If God leads me to it I will go, until then I choose to stay on the path He has given to me to walk with Him…

 

[Peter_J]

Funny, however, that Catholics (for the last 500 years) in far too many circles, have been excluded from this protestant “body of believers” who share in this faith and put Love into action out into the world. Ironic as well, since we hold that we are the “original” Body.

Are you familiar with the expression “What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander”?

 

[Peter_J]

(addressing someone else than God in a prayer is praying to that person…

Thank you, Janet1983! I have been trying for quite some time to convince Protestants of that.

Like you said, addressing someone in prayer is praying to that person – which is why I always say that Christian began praying to Mary and the other saints in heaven long before we started using the phrase “praying to the saints”.

 

[Craig_Kennedy]

That isn’t what he is asking. He is asking non-Catholics to answer to know what it would take.

Very well said and I will respond in this context.

I am NOT a Catholic although I DO recognise the authentic spirituality of some Catholics who practise their faith. I could NOT, in deepest conscience, become a Catholic. The following are the MAIN reasons why:

1. Too much focus on Mary in prayers, hymns and devotionals. This has the practical effect of diminishing the GLORY OF CHRIST’S FINISHED WORK.
2. The doctrine of TRANSUBSTANTIATION is forced upon the biblical teaching to comply with a philosophical model. The idea of a fresh “unbloody” sacrifice of Christ upon the altar is totally foreign to scripture. This doctrine is a MAJOR bar to considering joining the Catholic church.
3. The doctrine of Salvation by WORKS in co-operation with the working of the Holy Spirit (SYNERGISM) is at entire odds with God’s plan of salvation by GRACE ALONE.
4. The idea of an INFALLIBLE MAGISTERIUM is not supported by scripture and I would venture to say that any enquiry into the feasibility of joining the Catholic church would collapse at this point.
5. The sacerdotal notion of CONFESSION is alien to the ethos of the NEW TESTAMENT and destroys Christ’s work of advocacy at God’s right hand.
6. The idea that only CELIBATE MALES can be God’s ministers is NOT defensible from scripture.

These are the MAJOR reasons why I could never be a Catholic. There are, of course, others but these would be the main ones. I do NOT consider the Catholic Church to be the One, true Church; however, I DO recognise that some Catholics belong to the Lord and are numbered among God’s people (THE TRUE UNIVERSAL CHURCH).

I believe that this answers the posed question with honesty and clarity.

Blessings In Christ, Craig

 

[SteveGC]

George Fox wrote ““all christians are believers, both Protestants and Papists;” The Lord opened to me that if all were believers, then they were all born of God, and had passed from death to life; [becoming a new creature, old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new] and that none were true believers unless that had happened; and though others said they were believers, yet they were not.”

And while we don’t use the word “papist” any longer, consider it a term of 17th century England…I don’t know what other Protestants have to say about “excluding” Catholics from this body of believers…but among Friends those who have faith in Christ are believers…whether “Protestant or Catholic”…

That’s all fine and good. As I alluded to, the exclusion of Catholics in the protestant idea of “body of believers” is not universal among protestants, but it is quite widespread nonetheless. Regardless, the primary point still remains…that mere belief, faith and even devotion to our Lord outside of the instrument He chose to lead the faithful, in many circumstances, over-simplifies the Gospel message, and the apostolic teaching essential for Christian development in preparation for the beatific vision and eternal life.

You say “The Lord opened to me that if all were believers, then they were all born of God, and had passed from death to life”. And I say, “that’s odd…The Lord opened that to me too, but He also opened to me what “believing” really means…and that Baptism is an essential in the salvific plan, as is His Church on earth”. So, here we both have the Lord opening things up to us, that are quite different…what are we to make of that? This is not just you and I disagreeing here…we are representative of the divided body of devout Catholics and devout Protestants. One of us is wrong, one of us has either over-simplified it, and as a result, will fail to properly shepherd the flock who succomb to an ‘easy believism’ theology…or one of us has made it too complex and ritualistic and obligatory, hence failing the flock who succomb to idolatry and empty “works”.

Well, as a former evangelical, and now a Catholic…I can tell you that the latter is not true. Once you open yourself up to authentic Catholic teaching, it becomes quite obvious that The Church is authentically Christ-centered, historic and biblical.

Bottom line, every Christian follows men. One way or another, we all follow humans, not Bibles. The only thing we do with our Bibles is attempt to “validate” what we first have learned from humans, and then read it, and receive guidance from it, through that filter unless and until we become convinced of some other human(s). So, really the question that remains is…what humans can we trust? If we acknowledge that Christianity is not something initially developed in a person by means of them, their Bible and prayer to the Spirit - then we MUST ask the question, who on earth can we really trust with teaching us? Seems like the answer lies in apostolic succession. But that’s just me (and of course millions of other Catholics).

God Bless

 

[bobzills]

For me to ever even consider becoming catholic again after being there for 23 years (baptized, confirmed and through school education) the church would have to go through radical changes…

Abolition of the following:

1. Veneration of the saints, especially Mary
2. Praying to saints (addressing someone else than God in a prayer is praying to that person… e.g “Hail Mary”… They cannot hear these prayers anyway… it is far better to ask a brother or sister in Christ who is among the living to pray)
3. Current definition of “saint” as every member of the true church is a saint already and we are justified through Him… Paul talks to and about the members of the churches as saints.
4. Transubstantiation…
5. Adoration of the eucharist (blasphemy) instead of focusing on the Word of God
6. Perpetual adoration
7. Special priesthood…
8. Only the church and especially the pope can interpret scripture
9. Infallibility of the pope when he is speaking ex cathedra
10. Sacraments as a means of salvation (works do follow once we are saved because we are already saved)
11. Infant baptism
12. Confession to a priest (though I think that general spiritual guidance and help is appropriate when sought… confessions however are to be made to God)
13. Forgiveness of sins through the church
14. Prayer for the deceased (if they are in hell it is too late… if they are in heaven there is no need)
15. Purgatory (It is either heaven or hell… either a full atonement through the sacrifice of the Lord or none)
16. Classification of sins (the wages of sin is death)
17. Salvation as a graduate process
18. Apocrypha
19. Teachings about Mary, including her staying a virgin after Jesus was born, the assumption that she was without sin and the she ascended into heaven with her body and soul
20. Excluding women from the clergy
21. Forced celibacy of the clergy
22. The church as the Church of Christ instead of realizing that the Church are truly all Christians that are saved and atoned for by the blood of Christ
23. Not accepting other Christian churches are equally valid and right while declaring that somebody who was raised in a totally different religion can obtain salvation if he was truly seeking after God… (Jesus said “I AM THE WAY” and He meant it)
24. Not opposing the evolution theory
25. Traditions as equally important as God’s Word in the Bible
26. Not acknowledging that salvation is only by the pure grace of God
27. Not acknowledging the absolute inerrant Word of God as manifested in the Bible

Well those would be some…
I would turn back to the church if these things weren’t there… These were the reasons for me turning away in the first place… Without these I could reconcile with the church without conflicting with my conscience…
Thanks you for asking and reading through this…

In Him,
Janet

So if the Catholic Church abolished these teachings you would come back to the Church?

 

[Cinette]

So if the Catholic Church abolished these teachings you would come back to the Church?

It would not be the Catholic Church! Maybe Janet should put her prejudices aside and take a look at the Catechism of the Catholic Church. There are answers and explanations for everything we believe.

Otherwise I find Janet’s list very funny indeed.

 

[famdigy]

There seems to be so much in common across all Christians that i wondered what would need to be changed about the Catholic church before you would consider converting e.g. stop the focus on Mary as key for many but what else would need to change…

This is exactly the thing which is wrong with Christianity. Christians willing to change their teachings just to attract more followers.

This is what I believe happened when Paul wanted to encourage pagan Romans to adopt Christianity, he changed the fundamentals of original Christianity to include pagan teachings

 

[Cinette]

For Janet 1983!

*There are some things in your list which could be an option like celibacy - I have often thought that there should be an Order for married priests - just like in the Maronite Church (married men can become priests but priests can’t marry - not quite that but a specific Order for married priests). You must remember that a man’s first responsibility is to his family and that can conflict with a priest who, as shepherd of a flock, has a responsibility to his flock first. So that can be problematic. I have always admired the priesthood - when you think of what they give up and sometimes it can be a lonely life.

However, we adhere to the Church Jesus established and obey his commandments and precepts. We cannot dictate to Him. We need to obey.

I am a very rebellous person by nature but I find the teachings of the Catholic Church to be true and reassuring.

As for Our Lady - she is our beloved Mother. My husband who was atheist and communist had no problem in accepting Our Blessed Mother.

Maybe one day you too will have a change of heart.

God bless *

 

[SteveGC]

Wow, Janet. No offense, but…23 years and you still didn’t figure out what the Catholic Church teaches? Ever crack open a Catechism in that 23 years?

 

[ConfusedTim]

Very well said and I will respond in this context.

I am NOT a Catholic although I DO recognise the authentic spirituality of some Catholics who practise their faith. I could NOT, in deepest conscience, become a Catholic. The following are the MAIN reasons why:

1. Too much focus on Mary in prayers, hymns and devotionals. This has the practical effect of diminishing the GLORY OF CHRIST’S FINISHED WORK.

Re the first point - I am genuinely trying to understand why Mary isn`t a perpetual virgin in many protestants eyes. Can you please give me your views on the attached which i picked up elsewhere on this site? i.e. which bits are at odds with your understanding

Thanks

catholic.com/library/Mary_Ever_Virgin.asp