What was the turning point in your conversion to Catholicism?

[VeryBlessed]

IMO, there’s no way Sola Scriptura could have come to be except after the invention of the printing press. And If Christianity was meant to be lived out from a sola scriptura foundation, then what was God thinking, launching Christianity some 1500 years before the invention of the printing press? Because owning a Bible was unthinkable before the invention of the printing press. How could God have left the church so completely bereft of authority? No scriptures in the hands of common people, and no authoritative church to work through to guide people into all truth? How could that have been? Jesus told us authoritatively that the Holy Spirit would lead us into all truth. If nobody can get their hands on a Bible because they’re all hand-copied, how could Jesus have possibly meant to lead us into all truth via sola scriptura?

 

[Peebo]

The only thing I would add is that you say she is a Protestant minister…I assume she is being paid a salary…if that is the case then for her to admit that she is wrong and the Catholic church is the one true church would mean she is out of a job…no job…no pay…if that is the case she might not want to know the truth.

 

[Justin_Mary]

am in dialogue with a protestant minister and we talk about every aspect of the Catholic faith. She says we teach false doctrine, including: Trinity, confession, Mother of God, consecration of the Eucharist, Petrine Primacy, tradition, etc,…

I’d start by telling her we all adhere to some tradition. Ours started 2000 years ago (earlier than that really since it is rooted in Judaism) hers… she seems to be starting it now.

& pray. We can only hear what we are ready to hear, so pray.

 

[po18guy]

First: prayer. For as long as it takes.

Words fail to convince. Normally, they cause only the further digging in of heels. Time to implore the Holy Spirit to grant her the grace of faith - a faith that is full, complete, historic and linear from today all the way back to the Apostles.

Oh, you could ask her where Jesus founded His Church upon any form of writing; where He commanded the running to the bible to solve disputes. Truthfully the bible points always to the Church, not the other way around.

But first, prayer. Before the Blessed Sacrament if possible.

 

[Sundiver]

I asked her about her ministry. She has a Youtube channel, she wrote a small book about how to arm yourself against false doctrine, and she is thinking about counseling people. But, she does not have a church or an office. She does the ministry for free.

 

[Wesrock]

Yes I know, it is confusing. She does not say she is with any church. She was with the local Baptist community but she said they are teaching false doctrine too.

She says Jesus had a,“flesh suit,” and that when he was talking to the Father that Jesus is the Father. It sounds like a New Age Avatar concept.

Well, she definitely doesn’t fit with Baptists.

Sounds like she believes a mix of patripassianism and gnosticism.

 

[Peebo]

ok…thanks…so is she of any particular Protestant denomination… has she set herself up as an authority on scripture and scriptural interpretation…where does she get her authority from…the Catholic church has had an unbroken line of successors from St.Peter…to whom Christ…(the founder of the Catholic church)…gave the keys to the kingdom of heaven…that whatever he binds on earth will be bound in heaven…and whatever he loose on earth will be loosed in heaven…and he (Christ) would send the Holy Spirit to guide his church until he returns…and so it has stood for 2000 years…and yet she is going to counsel people against false doctrines of the Catholic church…which is guided by the Holy Spirit… good luck on that lady…lol

 

[Sundiver]

I’ve invited her to discuss her beliefs on CAF. I don’t know if she will. I let her know I am going to talk about these ideas on CAF.

 

[Sundiver]

Apparently she is not Protestant or with any denomination. She is very isolated in her interpretation of the bible. I have talked to many protestants and I have never come across this kind of maneuvering with the use of the bible. She reminds me of the Jehovah’s witness to some degree. However, she says the Jehovah’s witness are teaching false doctrine.

As for the authority of Peter, we have gone over that lightly. We might get into it more in depth at some point, if she is still talking to us. I hope she comes on CAF and posts some questions. I will do an invite to everyone on this post if she does.

I thank God I’m Catholic. I’ve tried to imagine the confusion protestants and others endure?

 

[Sundiver]

I also recommend Steve Ray, after listening to his talks I was really convinced I should become Catholic.

I’ve never heard of Steve Ray. I looked him up on Youtube and I am going to watch. I did mention Dr. Scott Hahn to her.

 

[Peebo]

Getting back to your original question…I am a former Pentecostal…27 years ago…2 things stood out for me…the authority Christ gave to Peter…

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah​

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter,[a] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[b] will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[c] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[d] loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

When I asked my Pastor about this he would just laugh and brush it off as not important…“Jesus is the rock… Peter doesn’t necessarily mean a rock…could be just a tiny pebble also…chuckle… chuckle”… and yet we were Bible believing Christians who took the Bible literally…well…unless we disagreed…as others have stated…the Eucharist…no way round what Christ said and what he meant…even many of his followers left him over what he said…yet once again…“well…it doesn’t really mean that”…end of discussion…don’t bring up that passage of scripture…not knocking my former Pentecostal friends…there are some truly devout Christians there…they would make phenomenal Catholics if they made that leap of faith…and of course as I moved farther into my Catholic faith I found so much more than I could have imagined as a Pentecostal.

 

[Convert5]

It was a process of a few years for me, but it all began with the discovery of the Church Fathers, of whom I had never heard in my 50 years of Protestantism. I discovered that the Catholic Church did not have its origin in the Middle Ages or with Constantine.

That being said, I have family members who shrug when I point to verses or passages that point to the Catholic Church. For them, it’s just another interpretation devised by men. As such, one has to somehow address the issue of authority within the Church. For me, it’s a consideration of scripture, TOGETHER WITH Tradition and the authority of the Magisterium. I also came to realize that sola scriptura and Protestantism was unworkable and could not have been God’s plan for the Church.