Why are Ex-Catholics so angry about their CC and Catholic Converts are not?

[Mary3]

I agree with the other answers about people wanting to continue in lifestyles that are incompatible with Catholic teachings. It has also been my experience that some are just uniformed / misinformed of what the Catholic Church teaches, and so they leave. I always remember one Protestant woman whose mother was raised a Catholic. She left the Church in a huff. Somehow she got the idea that when her husband divorced her (and she never remarried), she could no longer receive Holy Communion. I don’t know if she got the idea from another Catholic, a priest, or just made it up herself. She had done nothing to prevent her from being in communion with the Church, but she harbored a grudge against the Church for the rest of her life. And consequently raised a family of anti-Catholic children who were no better informed than she.

 

[RonRule]

Ex-catholics generally feel they were denied or not taught the central truths of the Gospel itself.

Ex-protestants generally feel they are now completed Christians – that they were taught many of the basics back in protestantism, but have now united to the fullness of faith of the Church.

Those generalities given, I have to say that as a convert to Catholicism myself from an evangelical background, I have plenty of moments where I’m angry about what I didn’t receive.

• Sure, I was taught the Bible – but I was mostly taught proof-texts, strung together as arguments for a largely anti-historical, anti-sacramental, extremely individualistic American “gospel”.
• Yeah, I was taught to love Jesus – as interpreted by Paul as interpreted by Charles Ryrie.
• My father has spent most of his adult life going through the trials of starting his own “New Testament Church” by his and few of his acquaintances’ interpretation alone.
• I was never directed to the Church Fathers for counsel.
• I was guilt-tripped into embarrassing and wacky evangelistic techniques (see Jesus Camp).
• I was taught that Young Earth Creationism was a non-negotiable “essential” to Christianity.
• Etc. etc. I could go on all day.

But I try not to be angry, and to see the good in what I was given. There have been many converts previous to me that have set a good example in this area. We are called to highlight our shared views with our separated brethren.

 

[cecilia97]

And they are probably haunted by that faint suspicion that they, not the community, were wrong.

In my experience with ex-Catholics, I think this is the key. They seem to carry around a shame about their decision to leave, and assume that current Catholics will judge them. Or they may have left because of a run-in with an uncharitable or unknowledgable Catholic, and they hold that against the whole Church. And, in turn, they worry that the Church is holding something against them.

Also, you’ll meet a lot of ex-Catholics who were evangelized away from the Church because they did not understand their own faith and were led to believe the Church is doing something wrong…Marian dogmas come to mind.

More education wouldn’t hurt all around.

 

[JesusforMadrid]

Can you give us any examples of Scott Hahn being disparaging, uncharitable or calling evangelicals bigots?
.

Yes I can. There are many, but an example is his book The Lamb’s supper. In it, he mentions his coming to Catholicism from an “anti-Catholic” background. So he was an anti-Catholic bigot, he says (we don’t have any written material to confirm this).

Yet, in this work, he takes a couple of swipes that I find rather “anti-Evangelical.” I say that for if the same arguments were made against Catholic doctrine they would quickly be labeled “anti-Catholic.” He particularly jabs at sola scriptura (pp. 47-48, 54). Look it up.

 

[JesusforMadrid]

Do not feel too sad for us…you have a very serious problem in Spain…enjoy as long as you can .

No country in the world is more determined to disappear. The country’s fertility rate of 1.12 live births per female is the lowest in the world. As recently as 1975, at the death of strongman Francisco Franco, the fertility rate stood at 3 births per female in 1976. By 2050 Spain will have lost a quarter of its population**.** Germany and Italy, whose fertility rates fell earlier than Spain’s, will lose a third, according to economist Anthony Scholefield.

Half a millennium after the Reconquista, when Spanish Catholicism expelled the country’s Muslims, Spain has no choice **but to ask the Muslims to return and take possession of its land by stages. **

** truth is…**Muslims will not be converting to Christainity. Especially not to evangelicalism.
Did you ever read or hear about those bad old Catholic Crusades and the **reason why **they took place ? Or why the Catholic Church has always rejected the birth control pill or abortion? Soon it may be very clear to us all.
.

.

True, the situation in Spain is desperate, although I don’t think it is primarily a demographic problem but rather a spiritual problem. I have seen few countries in the world that are so anti-clerical, indeed, anti-Roman Catholic. The Roman Catholic Church brought this partly on itself for allying itself with Franco, so it is paying now for its past sins. But it is not just this: Europe as a whole is now a post-Christian continent and that trend has affected all countries, both those with Roman Catholic majorities and those with evangelical one.

The number of Muslims in Spain is actually relatively small compared to other European countries such as France, Germany and the UK. The largest immigrant groups are from South America and Romania. Interestingly, many of these are evangelicals (Pentecostals from South America and Baptists from Romania). The largest evangelical churches (and fastest growing) are dominated by South American immigrants.

 

[Catherine_S]

Yes I can. There are many, but an example is his book The Lamb’s supper. In it, he mentions his coming to Catholicism from an “anti-Catholic” background. So he was an anti-Catholic bigot, he says (we don’t have any written material to confirm this).

Yet, in this work, he takes a couple of swipes that I find rather “anti-Evangelical.” I say that for if the same arguments were made against Catholic doctrine they would quickly be labeled “anti-Catholic.” He particularly jabs at sola scriptura (pp. 47-48, 54). Look it up.

He said he was an anti Catholic bigot **not **evangelicals as a group are anti catholic .

Better get back on topic…why x Catholics are so angry at the CC church and Converts are not.

Thank you for your response.
.

 

[KarenNC]

I think MariaG makes an excellent point. It is the perspective of the person—did they leave because they believed they felt that they found something better, more complete or more in line with their experience of reality vs did they leave because they felt that where they were lied, betrayed them, abandoned them in some way, actively deceived them in some fashion.

For instance, I left Christianity because I came to realize that I had spent years if not decades trying to make my experiences of reality fit into a mold that was never designed for them. I did not leave in anger or with a feeling of betrayal. I also left as an adult, in my thirties. I am non-Christian, but have never been anti-Christian. The Christian religion is simply not relevant to my spiritual life except for comparative purposes, just as Shinto or Buddhism is for a Catholic.

 

[Mannyfit75]

Have you read Scott Hahn? I find him pretty disparaging. Not necessarily angry, but basically accuses Evangelicals of being bigots. I find him fairly uncharitable.

My church is basically 90% ex-Catholic (I live in Spain). I cannot think of one who is angry. Many feel sad for RCs that they do not enjoy what we enjoy. But angry, no.

I admit that I feel at times somewhat angry with the RC church, but I also feel angry about my own church sometimes. Righteous anger is not so bad…

Yes, I have Scott Hahn’s conversation story and he gives a very good case for Catholicism.

Ex-Evangelical Christians who become Catholic Christians have more charity than Ex-Catholics who become Fundamentalist Christians. Their anger makes them uncharitable.

I have seen it in this thread, and other threads. I see Catholic Converts embrace their former faith, and their love for Jesus feels more complete as a Catholic Christians.

You wonder why I remain Catholic? It is because new converts to Catholicism only strengthen my faith in Jesus Christ. They were searching for the Truth, and they found it in the ancient Christian Church.

Angry Ex-Catholics are intimidating and does not serve Protestants because they spread misconception about the Catholic Church.

Many of these Ex-Catholics are poorly Catechized, and most misunderstood many of the Catholic Church doctrine.

It does sound harsh but what kind of a Christian is it to express his angry against very old Christian Church we call Catholic. Conversion is done out of love not anger.

 

[catsrus]

I haven’t know a lot of ex Catholics but the ones I have known have been EXTREMELY vicious towards The Church.
If they’ve talked about it, it always (every single time!) came down to them not being able to live by or to accept the Church’s teaching on the usual topics; homosexuality, abortion, no divorce, blah, blah, ad nausum.

 

[JesusforMadrid]

He said he was an anti Catholic bigot **not **evangelicals as a group are anti catholic .

Better get back on topic…why x Catholics are so angry at the CC church and Converts are not.

Thank you for your response.
.

Read my citations. He seems angry with Evangelicals. He is an important RC apologist. So, it is not just ex-Catholics that are angry.

What I will grant you is that there are a whole lot more Ex-Catholics than Ex Evangelicals, so their anger seems more ubiquitous.

 

[MariaG]

Read my citations. He seems angry with Evangelicals. He is an important RC apologist. So, it is not just ex-Catholics that are angry.

What I will grant you is that there are a whole lot more Ex-Catholics than Ex Evangelicals, so their anger seems more ubiquitous.

Could you post them since many of us do not actually have that book, as good as it is. (Read a borrowed copy)

 

[MariaG]

Many feel sad for RCs that they do not enjoy what we enjoy.

Respectfully, as a former Evangelical Christian, there is absolutely no need to feel sorry for Catholics since we enjoy all that you do and more.

God Bless,
Maria

 

[Mannyfit75]

Respectfully, as a former Evangelical Christian, there is absolutely no need to feel sorry for Catholics since we enjoy all that you do and more.

God Bless,
Maria

I second that. What beauty is it to received Jesus Christ every Sunday during Mass. You can also do Holy Hour and spend time with him, not to mention the Eucharistic Adoration.

 

[cestusdei]

To be honest I don’t give my former denomination much thought. I occasionally read an article about them, but that’s about it. I still have family it it. I guess conversion to Catholicism is more of a positive thing. It is embracing something more rather then just “protesting” and rejecting things.

 

[exoflare]

Yes I can. There are many, but an example is his book The Lamb’s supper. In it, he mentions his coming to Catholicism from an “anti-Catholic” background. So he was an anti-Catholic bigot, he says (we don’t have any written material to confirm this).

I don’t see the problem there. If he said he was “anti-Catholic” who are you to say he is lying? As if this were some outlandish claim that required extensive proof.

Yet, in this work, he takes a couple of swipes that I find rather “anti-Evangelical.” I say that for if the same arguments were made against Catholic doctrine they would quickly be labeled “anti-Catholic.” He particularly jabs at sola scriptura (pp. 47-48, 54). Look it up.

“Look it up” - the trademark reply of the one with no answers.

It just so happens I have the book right here and there is nothing on those pages even remotely “anti-Evangelical”! If there is, then cite it here for us yourself. Did you just pull some pages out at random hoping nobody would bother checking for themselves??

 

[Wildkit]

Look it up" - the trademark reply of the one with no answers.

It just so happens I have the book right here and there is nothing on those pages even remotely “anti-Evangelical”! If there is, then cite it here for us yourself. Did you just pull some pages out at random hoping nobody would bother checking for themselves??

That’s not fair!

 

[Mirdath]

While some of the reasons given in this thread so far may be true for some former Catholics, they aren’t true for all.

My own experience leaving the Church was a rather gradual process. I’d been raised pretty hard-line Catholic (perhaps even more so than most people here!), had large chunks of the Baltimore Catechism memorized, read a lot of the bible and ECF, was an altar server, etc… but I started to realize that I wasn’t really finding any sort of ‘religious’ experience there. The dark night of the soul, one might say – and I didn’t make it out a newly-forged Catholic like you’re supposed to.

It hurt, but it didn’t leave me angry at anyone or anything. I’m actually far more at peace, both with myself and with the world, now outside the Church than I ever was in it.

 

[mozier]

In my experience, it was all based on anger and betrayal. I had gone through a seminary experience that could only be described as being word-for-word from Michael Rose’s “Goodbye, Good Men.” Then there was an ex-girlfriend who accused me of horrible things, none of them true. When I begged a priest who knew my innocence to please help me, he “didn’t want to get involved.” So I left the church in deep anger and hate. And fueled by David Cloud’s and Jack Chick’s work, I was very Anti-Catholic for years. Thanks be unto God for my return to the fold.

Evangelicals and Fundamentalists, though, usually have no such experiences that will lead them away from their churches and into the Catholic Church. Instead, they are usually influenced either by their own reading or by a good example from a devout Catholic. Anger and hate are usually just not factors in their conversions.

 

[RNRobert]

Yet, in this work, he takes a couple of swipes that I find rather “anti-Evangelical.” I say that for if the same arguments were made against Catholic doctrine they would quickly be labeled “anti-Catholic.” He particularly jabs at sola scriptura (pp. 47-48, 54). Look it up.

He does criticize Sola Scriptura, true, but Catholics here have criticized Sola Scriptura as unbiblical. He **never **attacks Evangelicalism per se, or any particular Evangelical churches the way ex-Catholics malign the Church.

 

[RNRobert]

I

Evangelicals and Fundamentalists, though, usually have no such experiences that will lead them away from their churches and into the Catholic Church. Instead, they are usually influenced either by their own reading or by a good example from a devout Catholic. Anger and hate are usually just not factors in their conversions.

I agree. When reading about Protestants who converted to Catholicism, I never heard them say an unkind word about their former religious affiliation, they had nothing but good things to say about their experiences as a Protestant. It was just that they had a desire to love and serve the Lord, and, as the title of convert Tom Howard tells it, *Evangelical is Not Enough. *They found the fullness of the faith in the Catholic Church.