Why are ex-Catholic's bitter about the Church?

[Dewman]

I belong to a non-denominational Christian motorcycle club and a group of us were discussing the Purpose Driven Life book by Rick Warren and what it meant to each of us. One of the member’s an ex-Mormon made a comment about converting to be a Christian from Mormonism and stated that once you leave the Mormon faith you never look back and then when on to say the same thing about the Catholic Church. His reference was the guilt feelings that both faiths put on their members and that wasn’t to his liking. Another member an ex-Catholic agreed with him. At the time I didn’t want to get into an arguement with them and unfortunately I did not stand up and defend my faith (lack of knowledge to make the right responses).
Why is it that ex-Catholics are so bitter about leaving the Catholic Church; is it because you have to work at salvation and they are taking the easy path in their minds? What would have been a good response to them about once you left you never look back? Based on their comments; enen though we are supposed to be a non-denominational orgainzation, I question their love for fellow Christians who are Catholic. The overall purpose of the Christian Motorcyclist Association is to find the lost souls on the highways and byways of the motorcycle community and help them to find salvation through Jesus; this is consistent with our faith as well; I do believe. How should I make a stand with my beliefs in a primarily Protestant group;
A. Stand up for my Catholic faith but do it lovingly; afterall the organization is Christian in a heavy Mormon state, Utah?
B. Move on from this organization and find better ways to spread the truth about Jesus. (Motorcycling is my hobby and it is nice to be able to work my hobby into sharing the faith),
I have been Wrestling with this for a long time; I feel that I am pulled to help anyone who has either lost their faith in Jesus or has never found it; yet I have mixed emotions of running with non-Catholics who feel that you are saved through faith alone. I wonder if I would be best served to stay with the group and maybe my beliefs would rub off on them versus their beliefs falling on me.
I feel strongly about the Catholic Church as the true Church that Jesus founded so I don’t fear falling into their way of thinking.
Sorry for so many questions; any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Mickey]

Dewman:

I belong to a non-denominational Christian motorcycle club and a group of us were discussing the Purpose Driven Life book by Rick Warren and what it meant to each of us. One of the member’s an ex-Mormon made a comment about converting to be a Christian from Mormonism and stated that once you leave the Mormon faith you never look back and then when on to say the same thing about the Catholic Church. His reference was the guilt feelings that both faiths put on their members and that wasn’t to his liking. Another member an ex-Catholic agreed with him. At the time I didn’t want to get into an arguement with them and unfortunately I did not stand up and defend my faith (lack of knowledge to make the right responses).
Why is it that ex-Catholics are so bitter about leaving the Catholic Church; is it because you have to work at salvation and they are taking the easy path in their minds? What would have been a good response to them about once you left you never look back? Based on their comments; enen though we are supposed to be a non-denominational orgainzation, I question their love for fellow Christians who are Catholic. The overall purpose of the Christian Motorcyclist Association is to find the lost souls on the highways and byways of the motorcycle community and help them to find salvation through Jesus; this is consistent with our faith as well; I do believe. How should I make a stand with my beliefs in a primarily Protestant group;
A. Stand up for my Catholic faith but do it lovingly; afterall the organization is Christian in a heavy Mormon state, Utah?
B. Move on from this organization and find better ways to spread the truth about Jesus. (Motorcycling is my hobby and it is nice to be able to work my hobby into sharing the faith),
I have been Wrestling with this for a long time; I feel that I am pulled to help anyone who has either lost their faith in Jesus or has never found it; yet I have mixed emotions of running with non-Catholics who feel that you are saved through faith alone. I wonder if I would be best served to stay with the group and maybe my beliefs would rub off on them versus their beliefs falling on me.
I feel strongly about the Catholic Church as the true Church that Jesus founded so I don’t fear falling into their way of thinking.
Sorry for so many questions; any advice would be appreciated.

In my experience, the ex-Catholic needs to justify his/her decision to leave the Church (including the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist). Many will go to extremes to prove that their decision was the correct one. There is much pride and ego invovled here and debates can quickly descend into uncharitable arguments. How do you respond? That’s a tough one. Try to break it down. Ask them what they mean by certain comments. Then attempt to respond in Christian love and charity to their specific concerns. Good luck to you my friend.

Peace and blessings,
Mickey

 

[Kendy]

Well, I felt like the church didn’t really make Christ and the gopels real for me so I resented that for a very long time. I know a couple of ex-catholics who attend my old church, a vineyard church, and they feel the same way.

In fact, I still attend a Vineyard bible study and yesterday, a new member came in. She had just had a “born again” experience and was really excited. She told us that she had grown up catholic so I asked her what her childhood experience of the faith was like, and she said it was never really a part of their lives. Just there, but she didn’t really feel like it was real. She didn’t seem bitter. She didn’t criticize the church. But she always made a distinction between when she was catholic and now that she’s Christian, like they are two separate things.

I have another friend who is a former catholic who also attends the Vineyard, and she says I am the only catholic she knows who takes the faith seriously.

It’s funny because half of the time on CAF, I feel like people think I am a heretic but for my protestant friends, I am the only serious catholic they know.

Kendy

 

[aixia]

I actually would disagree that it’s necessarily about wanting to “take the easy route.” It’s incredibly hard emotionally to leave a church you’ve been raised in, especially when it’s something like Catholicism which has very strong ethnic ties for many. The guilt that can weigh on you when you make the decision to leave all that behind can be extremely tough to deal with, even if you know your decision to be the right one for you. (Please, this is not to open discussion about the choice being wrong, this is about what someone believes to be the right decision for them.)

Also, I have to say, there are an awful lot of “holier than thou” Catholics that make it all too easy to be bitter at the Church. When you have people of your own faith group telling you that you’re believing wrong and you’re doing everything badly, then you want out just to be away from them. It’s not so much bitterness at the Church, but bitterness at Catholics.

It may not be everyone’s experience, but it’s certainly a common one I think.

 

[jim1130]

Kendy:

Well, I felt like the church didn’t really make Christ and the gopels real for me so I resented that for a very long time. I know a couple of ex-catholics who attend my old church, a vineyard church, and they feel the same way.

In fact, I still attend a Vineyard bible study and yesterday, a new member came in. She had just had a “born again” experience and was really excited. She told us that she had grown up catholic so I asked her what her childhood experience of the faith was like, and she said it was never really a part of their lives. Just there, but she didn’t really feel like it was real. She didn’t seem bitter. She didn’t criticize the church. But she always made a distinction between when she was catholic and now that she’s Christian, like they are two separate things.

I have another friend who is a former catholic who also attends the Vineyard, and she says I am the only catholic she knows who takes the faith seriously.

It’s funny because half of the time on CAF, I feel like people think I am a heretic but for my protestant friends, I am the only serious catholic they know.

Kendy

Peace.
For me, growing up Catholic, I spent 8 years in a Parochial school and 4 years at a Catholic HS. My parents never really reinforced Catholicism at home as if it that was the responsibility of the parish and schools. Also, by attending 12 years of Catholic schools, I was surrounded by Catholics, my best friends were all Catholic, and I lived in a large Catholic community. We read the Bible, but never committed chapters and verses to memory.

Then I moved to a state that has a 10% Catholic population and VERY strong Baptist and evangelical fundamentalist population. They could throw out chapters and verses the way Roger Clemens throws fastballs. It was unsettling, to say the least.

I had grown up knowing that Catholicism was made of the Bible, Tradition, and the Pope/Magesterium, and here were these very strong-willed and determined people whipping out Bible verses to show me I was wrong (EVERYTHING was about the Bible). And because of my personal insecurity I acquiesced more than I should. I think that these people mean well, but what I also think is that their interest in you is more about converting you to add to their stable of ex-Catholics.

What I am trying to say is that for some ex-Catholics they feel as if they had been cheated because they did not learn the “simplicity” of the OSAS mentality that depends solely on the bible. And in their vulnerability they succumbed to the pressures and are angry at the Catholic Church for being “dishonest,” as based on their new-found friends’ interpretations of the error of Catholicism.

For me, I am Catholic and proud of it. Sadly, I am now completely intolerant of the non-Catholics because of what many tried to do to me. I almost fell completely for their deceitful ways, misinterpretations, and outright hatred and hostility toward Catholicism. I am not a perfect Catholic and if my sins were grains of sand they would cover a beach, but I am going to stay loyal to the Church founded by Christ.

Peace.

 

[Kendy]

aixia:

I actually would disagree that it’s necessarily about wanting to “take the easy route.” It’s incredibly hard emotionally to leave a church you’ve been raised in, especially when it’s something like Catholicism which has very strong ethnic ties for many. The guilt that can weigh on you when you make the decision to leave all that behind can be extremely tough to deal with, even if you know your decision to be the right one for you. (Please, this is not to open discussion about the choice being wrong, this is about what someone believes to be the right decision for them.)

Thank you so much for saying this. Leaving the church 10 years ago was agony. I spent months praying about and I walked away in tears.

And as for easy, the baptist church I joined was a lot stricter than the catholics at the parish where I was confirmed. I was not looking for an easy way out.

Catholicism for me was showing for an hour of mass. What could be easier than that? I actually left because I wanted someone to challenge me to live up the mandates of scripture. No one had done that at that point.

Kendy

 

[Church_Militant]

Dewman, I have two good suggestions for you.

1. Go to The Bible Christian Society site and get all 14 of the CDs that John Martignoni offers. (They’ll set you back a whopping $1 a piece for s&h). Start with his conversion story (because I think you’ll identify with what John says there.) and then listen to them all. There are Biblical notes to go with 11 of them here.

2)Go to The San Juan Catholic Seminars site and spend the $50 or so that that great set of studies will set you back, and then get out a ruler, pencil, and pen or highlighters, and STUDY them. You’ll never again feel like you don’t know what to say in answer to such situations.

Why do exes talk like that? As a revert from that very thing, I can tell you that in my case it was gross ignorance of what the Catholic Church teaches and why, she does. It was the beginnings of my study of apologetic materials that informed my faith and led me home to Christ’s church. The more I learned the more I wanted to know and to me our most holy faith is like a huge and very beautiful diamond that every day I get to explore another fact.
Feel free to PM me if I can help.
Pax tecum,

 

[Le_Cracquere]

If you’re an ex-Mormon, ex-Catholic, ex-Evangelical, or ex-ANYTHING, you stand a higher chance of being bitter about what you left. Someone full of warm fuzzy feelings about his old church is not half as likely to leave it in the first place. So the “bitter ex-[fill in the blank]” phenomenon is sort of self-selecting. Anyone who has moved on from the church in which he was raised does so at least partly because he felt something missing. It’s only human for this perceivede absence to lead to hard feelings, and sometimes to a loss of charity toward one’s original faith.

If I finally become an ex-Evangelical and enter the Catholic Church, God grant that I’ll be able to talk about my boyhood church in the same spirit that I’d have them talk about me.

 

[Della]

Le Cracquere:

If you’re an ex-Mormon, ex-Catholic, ex-Evangelical, or ex-ANYTHING, you stand a higher chance of being bitter about what you left. Someone full of warm fuzzy feelings about his old church is not half as likely to leave it in the first place. So the “bitter ex-[fill in the blank]” phenomenon is sort of self-selecting. Anyone who has moved on from the church in which he was raised does so at least partly because he felt something missing. It’s only human for this perceivede absence to lead to hard feelings, and sometimes to a loss of charity toward one’s original faith.

If I finally become an ex-Evangelical and enter the Catholic Church, God grant that I’ll be able to talk about my boyhood church in the same spirit that I’d have them talk about me.

This is true for a lot of people. The difference is, though, that some religious groups are hostile environments for the psyche and really ought to be avoided at all costs. Of course, anyone who came from a background of manipulation, coercion, and judgmentalism will feel badly about their past church affiliation, even if it was only the people who acted that way and not how the denomination normally treats people, if you know what I mean.

For the OP, why not form your own motorcycle club to help people you find along the way, but whom you direct to organizations that can help them with their needs and to invite them to come to Mass with you? It’s just a thought.

 

[Mickey]

Della:

For the OP, why not form your own motorcycle club to help people you find along the way, but whom you direct to organizations that can help them with their needs and to invite them to come to Mass with you? It’s just a thought.

:clapping:

 

[coyote]

aixia:

Also, I have to say, there are an awful lot of “holier than thou” Catholics that make it all too easy to be bitter at the Church. When you have people of your own faith group telling you that you’re believing wrong and you’re doing everything badly, then you want out just to be away from them. It’s not so much bitterness at the Church, but bitterness at Catholics.

It may not be everyone’s experience, but it’s certainly a common one I think.

YES! Not so much pride and ego, but disappointment, disallusionment and disgust.

 

[Daniel_Marsh]

Hi Dewman, I have known many ex-mormons and I think your mormon friend is not being honest about not hating mormonism. In Utah, LDS are basically conditioned to lie about their “sins”. For example, can you guess how many sex offenders live around Salt Lake City? try 638 are they all non-mormons?

familywatchdog.us/

 

[kujo313]

I left the RCC 21 years ago because I didn’t feel the Holy Spirit there. I also felt lied to and let down.
I would be singing “Shout from the highest mountain the glory of the Lord”, and I had to be quiet while I was in there. I couldn’t even say “Amen” in agreeing with my pastor.
Everything was the same, week after week. Mass after mass. Sometimes, there would be a “special mass” for something or somebody, and it’ll be the same things said the week before.

I’d recite the Profession of Faith. “We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ… God from God. Light from Light. True God from True God. Begotten, not made. One inbeing with the Father. Through Him (Jesus), all things were made… By the power of the Holy Spirit, He came down from Heaven.”
“God from God. Light from Light. Through Jesus, all things were made.” When Jesus died on the cross, the curtain was torn from top to bottom. I believe that God, Himself, tore it. No more would we have to go through any more rituals or curtains to get to God. Before, in Old Testament times, a lamb would be sacrificed on the altar for the forgiveness of our sins. Then came the Lamb of God, and He sacrificied His Lamb for the forgiveness of our sins. Instead of God accepting our sacrifice, WE had to accept His Sacrifice: Jesus, God’s chosen Lamb. With all of that, and Jesus saying time and time again in John’s Gospel to ask the Father in His name, and Jesus being our only mediator between us and God,… why go to anybody else? Why ask Mary to intercede to Jesus for me to get to God when Jesus said we can go directly to God?

Why go farther into looking at Mary’s life when the Kingdom of Heaven should be our focus? It’s like buying a candy bar just to keep the wrapper and not eat the chocolate.
I felt that the reason that Mary and Joseph are hardly mentioned is because that’s all we need to know about them. Our focus should be on Jesus fulfilling ALL of the prophecies of the Messiah.

I was given the Gospel of John by my mother and I read that nobody goes to the Father but by Jesus. Yet, I was told in the RCC that Mary said to wear a scapular if I wanted to escape hell. I was given a rosary. Why should I ask Mary all of them times to pray for me? Is she forgetful that I have to repeat myself all them times? Allzeimers?
John’s Gospel taught me to pray to God, through the Holy Spirit, in the Name of Jesus. Do not pass “go”, do not go through anybody else.
I read in my Bible that Peter, the first “pope” denied Jesus three times. Then he was rebuked by Paul for eating with the gentiles until Paul showed up. Then he would back off when being watched. I thought, "a pope denying Jesus and living like a hypocrite until corrected by Paul? What kind of “pope” is that?

Then I wondered, “Why should we be looking so hard and far into her life when our focus should be on preaching the Gospel to the lost? Why does it matter if Mary died or not? It would not change the Gospel?”

Finally, Peter says in his letters that ALL of us BELIEVERS are kings and priests (1 Peter 2:5)

1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Sure, I needed to be in a temple, a part of the Church, but I felt empty in the RCC. They would not accept my brother, who was a born-again Christian. He prayed daily to the Father, preached the Gospel and lived his life according to the Word.
But since he didn’t accept some of the ways of the RCC, the RCC said he was going to Hell.

I learned that if you break one of God’s laws, you break them all. I saw the RCC looking too far into Mary’s life and wander away from God. I saw statues of Mary and recited prayers to Mary. Yet, the ONLY thing that mattered about that woman was that she said “yes”.
Jesus showed us the Way, taught us to pray, and died for us so we can be one with God.

There are many things that the RCC taught me that I feel is right. But to make “traditions” that was not told to us by Jesus and backed by His disciples is wrong.
There is the back-and-forth arguement of accepting Mary as my “mother”. Jesus told only John to do it, nobody else did it. Nobody followed it or wrote about it (Paul, John, James, Peter said nothing about it.)

I cannot belong to a religion that says that they are the “true Church” and yet they have more than one way to get to Heaven besides Jesus. (scapular. dont you deny it. If you do, start another thread. I’d love to see that one)

Jesus said in John 10:7-9 that all who came before Him are thieves and robbers and nobody followed them. Mary was born before Jesus. Prayers, statues and devotions are said to Mary, but the first disciples didn’t do that to her.

Mary should be given an honorable mention, but that is all.

 

[onesimplemind]

And now Kujo knows everything.

 

[Eden]

kujo313:

I left the RCC 21 years ago because I didn’t feel the Holy Spirit there. I also felt lied to and let down.
I would be singing “Shout from the highest mountain the glory of the Lord”, and I had to be quiet while I was in there. I couldn’t even say “Amen” in agreeing with my pastor.

This is also true of the worship of early Christians. They were not singing “Shout from the highest mountain”. I hope they knew what they were doing.

Everything was the same, week after week. Mass after mass. Sometimes, there would be a “special mass” for something or somebody, and it’ll be the same things said the week before.

O.K. Now I see why you have an aversion to the testimony of early Christians. Their style of worship is boring for you. You are correct, there is nothing very new happening at Mass each week. In fact, the same thing has pretty much been happening since at least 155 A.D.

Around that year, St. Justin Martyr wrote an outline of the celebration of the Eucharist for the pagan emperor Antoninus Pius. In the Catechism there is a step-by-step outline in the words of St. Justin Martyr. Were you to take this text and line it up against the order of the Mass that we use today, you would find very little difference - and that only in the details (see section 1345 of the Catechism).

 

[kujo313]

Eden:

This is also true of the worship of early Christians. They were not singing “Shout from the highest mountain”. I hope they knew what they were doing.

O.K. Now I see why you have an aversion to the testimony of early Christians. Their style of worship is boring for you. You are correct, there is nothing very new happening at Mass each week. In fact, the same thing has pretty much been happening since at least 155 A.D.

Around that year, St. Justin Martyr wrote an outline of the celebration of the Eucharist for the pagan emperor Antoninus Pius. In the Catechism there is a step-by-step outline in the words of St. Justin Martyr. Were you to take this text and line it up against the order of the Mass that we use today, you would find very little difference - and that only in the details (see section 1345 of the Catechism).

Ain’t gonna look up catechism.

1 Timothy 2:8
Psalm 98:4
PSALM 150 !!

Matthew 21:15-16
Luke 19:37

John the Baptist tells of Jesus that He will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire!  "Tongues of fire" as in Acts 2?

Finally, 2 Samuel 6:14

“Then David danced before the LORD with all his might.”

It was good enough for King David to dance before the Lord. A KING! DANCING! I bet he didn’t care if people around him said “he can’t dance!”

In Acts 2, the people was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke so loudly that a crowd heard them outside. The people looked at the praises and said that they was drunk with wine. The praises that those people were doing in the upper room! People thought they was DRUNK!
Loud praises in the assembly is of the Lord! HOW can you be still and quiet in front of a God that has done so much for you? Many people, including myself has seen miracles (or been part of a miracle) and cannot sit still.
If the Holy Spirit wants us to sing, we sing. If the Holy Spirit wants us to dance, we dance. If the Holy Spirit wants us to shout, we shout. If the Holy Spirit tells some one to address the assembly in another tongue, we anxiously await the interpretation.

1 Thess 5:19

 

[Tmaque]

Daniel Marsh:

Hi Dewman, I have known many ex-mormons and I think your mormon friend is not being honest about not hating mormonism. In Utah, LDS are basically conditioned to lie about their “sins”. For example, can you guess how many sex offenders live around Salt Lake City? try 638 are they all non-mormons?

familywatchdog.us/

Daniel, I’m ex-Mormon and I do not hate the LDS Church. I also disagree with you that “LDS are basically conditioned to lie about their “sins””. This is simply false on it’s face. LDS are encouraged to confess their sins to their bishop. As far as sex offenders go, LDS offend at the same rate as the rest of us. They don’t claim to be perfect.

There is much to admire in the LDS Church. If we Catholics were as devout and diligent as the average LDS, our church would be exploding with growth. The LDS Church is filled with loving, well intentioned, God fearing, selfless people, and I think very highly of the organization and I love the people(mostly because they’re my family and many friends).

 

[Tmaque]

kujo313:

I left the RCC 21 years ago because I didn’t feel the Holy Spirit there. I also felt lied to and let down.
I would be singing “Shout from the highest mountain the glory of the Lord”, and I had to be quiet while I was in there. I couldn’t even say “Amen” in agreeing with my pastor.
Everything was the same, week after week. Mass after mass. Sometimes, there would be a “special mass” for something or somebody, and it’ll be the same things said the week before.

I’d recite the Profession of Faith. "
Why go farther into looking at Mary’s life when the Kingdom of Heaven should be our focus? It’s like buying a candy bar just to keep the wrapper and not eat the chocolate.
I felt that the reason that Mary and Joseph are hardly mentioned is because that’s all we need to know about them. Our focus should be on Jesus fulfilling ALL of the prophecies of the Messiah.

I was given the Gospel of John by my mother and I read that nobody goes to the Father but by Jesus. Yet, I was told in the RCC that Mary said to wear a scapular if I wanted to escape hell. I was given a rosary. Why should I ask Mary all of them times to pray for me? Is she forgetful that I have to repeat myself all them times? Allzeimers?
John’s Gospel taught me to pray to God, through the Holy Spirit, in the Name of Jesus. Do not pass “go”, do not go through anybody else.
I read in my Bible that Peter, the first “pope” denied Jesus three times. Then he was rebuked by Paul for eating with the gentiles until Paul showed up. Then he would back off when being watched. I thought, "a pope denying Jesus and living like a hypocrite until corrected by Paul? What kind of “pope” is that?

Then I wondered, “Why should we be looking so hard and far into her life when our focus should be on preaching the Gospel to the lost? Why does it matter if Mary died or not? It would not change the Gospel?”

Finally, Peter says in his letters that ALL of us BELIEVERS are kings and priests (1 Peter 2:5)

1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Sure, I needed to be in a temple, a part of the Church, but I felt empty in the RCC. They would not accept my brother, who was a born-again Christian. He prayed daily to the Father, preached the Gospel and lived his life according to the Word.
But since he didn’t accept some of the ways of the RCC, the RCC said he was going to Hell.

I learned that if you break one of God’s laws, you break them all. I saw the RCC looking too far into Mary’s life and wander away from God. I saw statues of Mary and recited prayers to Mary. Yet, the ONLY thing that mattered about that woman was that she said “yes”.
Jesus showed us the Way, taught us to pray, and died for us so we can be one with God.

There are many things that the RCC taught me that I feel is right. But to make “traditions” that was not told to us by Jesus and backed by His disciples is wrong.
There is the back-and-forth arguement of accepting Mary as my “mother”. Jesus told only John to do it, nobody else did it. Nobody followed it or wrote about it (Paul, John, James, Peter said nothing about it.)

I cannot belong to a religion that says that they are the “true Church” and yet they have more than one way to get to Heaven besides Jesus. (scapular. dont you deny it. If you do, start another thread. I’d love to see that one)

Jesus said in John 10:7-9 that all who came before Him are thieves and robbers and nobody followed them. Mary was born before Jesus. Prayers, statues and devotions are said to Mary, but the first disciples didn’t do that to her.

Mary should be given an honorable mention, but that is all.

There is NO requirement in the Catholic Church to be devoted to, pray to, or even acknowledge Mary in any special way. It is no sin.

I absolutely deny that a scapular can get you to heaven. It’s NOT true.

You found things you didn’t like in your little corner of the Catholic world so you just made up a new version of Christianity, the Church of Kujo. You have no claim to truth, you have nothing, just your opinion. You have lost your historical tie to Christ. You are now just another one, among hundreds of thousands of little protestant denominations that all believe something different. Congratulations.

 

[Tmaque]

Dewman:

I belong to a non-denominational Christian motorcycle club and a group of us were discussing the Purpose Driven Life book by Rick Warren and what it meant to each of us. One of the member’s an ex-Mormon made a comment about converting to be a Christian from Mormonism and stated that once you leave the Mormon faith you never look back and then when on to say the same thing about the Catholic Church. His reference was the guilt feelings that both faiths put on their members and that wasn’t to his liking. Another member an ex-Catholic agreed with him. At the time I didn’t want to get into an arguement with them and unfortunately I did not stand up and defend my faith (lack of knowledge to make the right responses).
Why is it that ex-Catholics are so bitter about leaving the Catholic Church; is it because you have to work at salvation and they are taking the easy path in their minds? What would have been a good response to them about once you left you never look back? Based on their comments; enen though we are supposed to be a non-denominational orgainzation, I question their love for fellow Christians who are Catholic. The overall purpose of the Christian Motorcyclist Association is to find the lost souls on the highways and byways of the motorcycle community and help them to find salvation through Jesus; this is consistent with our faith as well; I do believe. How should I make a stand with my beliefs in a primarily Protestant group;
A. Stand up for my Catholic faith but do it lovingly; afterall the organization is Christian in a heavy Mormon state, Utah?
B. Move on from this organization and find better ways to spread the truth about Jesus. (Motorcycling is my hobby and it is nice to be able to work my hobby into sharing the faith),
I have been Wrestling with this for a long time; I feel that I am pulled to help anyone who has either lost their faith in Jesus or has never found it; yet I have mixed emotions of running with non-Catholics who feel that you are saved through faith alone. I wonder if I would be best served to stay with the group and maybe my beliefs would rub off on them versus their beliefs falling on me.
I feel strongly about the Catholic Church as the true Church that Jesus founded so I don’t fear falling into their way of thinking.
Sorry for so many questions; any advice would be appreciated.

Dewman, I’m ex-LDS. I’m a firm believer that God puts us in situations like this for a reason. It may just be to show people how believing Catholics behave. You may be there to simply plant a seed or you may be there for something bigger, only God knows. You have the truth on your side, there is zero doubt about that. I suggest you dive into the CA tracts, learn the reasoning behind Catholicism, and be prepared when the opportunity presents itself on a particular subject. I’ll pray for you.

 

[Rebecca_New]

Mickey:

In my experience, the ex-Catholic needs to justify his/her decision to leave the Church (including the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist). Many will go to extremes to prove that their decision was the correct one. There is much pride and ego invovled here and debates can quickly descend into uncharitable arguments. How do you respond? That’s a tough one. Try to break it down. Ask them what they mean by certain comments. Then attempt to respond in Christian love and charity to their specific concerns. Good luck to you my friend.

Peace and blessings,
Mickey

I think it is just the opposite of this. I think the ex-Catholic does not know what they are leaving. I went to Mass for 20 years and did not know the Real Presence. I married a Baptist and left the Faith for no real reason, as a married couple we never went to any church. Maybe that is why our marriage failed. As I became more active in the Catholic Faith again I had a conversion experience that opened my mind to the Real Presence and it was a totally new concept to me. Thank you, Lord, I see the light! :bowdown: