Why are you a Catholic(or just Christian)?

[do_justly_love_mercy]

Sorry but I am not going to waste my time in long readings of very twisted interpretations of history. Any specific concrete point I can discuss but part of the Protestant strategy is to drag you into nebulous argumentation with multiple angles. That’s all they can do when history is not on their side.

You are clearly very hostile toward Protestantism. Protestantism has been around for over 500 years and is the second largest branch of Christianity. You do not have to agree with their arguments, but it is unfair to use terms like “twisted” and “nebulous”.

 

[Anesti33]

Dan_Defender:

Sorry but I am not going to waste my time in long readings of very twisted interpretations of history. Any specific concrete point I can discuss but part of the Protestant strategy is to drag you into nebulous argumentation with multiple angles. That’s all they can do when history is not on their side.

You are clearly very hostile toward Protestantism. Protestantism has been around for over 500 years and is the second largest branch of Christianity. You do not have to agree with their arguments, but it is unfair to use terms like “twisted” and “nebulous”.

Actually, the Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest Church of Christianity. Protestantism is not a Church or a communion, just a loosely-related collection of different beliefs with many, many branches in itself.

 

[do_justly_love_mercy]

Actually, the Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest Church of Christianity. Protestantism is not a Church or a communion, just a loosely-related collection of different beliefs with many, many branches in itself.

That’s why I said “branch”. You are correct that the Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest Church, followed by the Anglican Communion. However, all the Protestant denominations combined do make up the second largest branch of Christianity. By “Protestantism”, I mean all the denominations deriving from the 16th-century Reformation, e.g. Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Pentecostals, etc. Despite their many differences, they do nonetheless make up a coherent group of denominations.

 

[fredystairs]

“Coherent “ in what way? From my perspective I do not believe you could get the different denominations that you list in your post to agree on any two points of doctrine, say the Eucharist and Baptism. They would be widely divergent in their theology.

Pax

 

[do_justly_love_mercy]

They are coherent insofar as they all trace their origins to the Reformation of the early 16th century. The comment to which I was replying was claiming that there is essentially no such thing as Protestantism and that one cannot speak of Protestantism as a major branch of the Christian religion. The point that I was making was that, while the various Protestant denominations do indeed disagree among themselves, one cannot deny that they are all indeed Protestant.

I get the impression that some people on this forum are hostile toward Protestants and will interpret Protestant history and theology in such a way as to make out that Protestantism has less historical importance, and less intellectual integrity, than it does. The fact is that Protestants, collectively, including Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, etc., outnumber Eastern Orthodox almost four to one.

 

[Dan_Defender]

The fact is that Protestants, collectively, including Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, etc., outnumber Eastern Orthodox almost four to one.

Not four to one.
(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

 

[do_justly_love_mercy]

There are about 800 million to 1 billion Protestants and about 210-230 million Eastern Orthodox, so that is indeed about 4 to 1. Even the most cautious estimate would be 3.5 to 1. The most liberal would be 4.8 to 1. On any view, Protestantism has a lot more followers than Eastern Orthodoxy. I am not sure why you are so keen to dispute that. As I said, you seem to be pretty hostile toward Protestants.

 

[Dan_Defender]

I provided the Pew Research graph. Provide the source of your affirmations and quit the ad hominem stuff.

 

[do_justly_love_mercy]

The World Christian Database records a total of 996,676,000. The Encyclopedia of Protestantism records a total of 833,457,000.

My posts were not “ad hominem stuff”. I was just trying to understand where you are coming from. You seem to have a pretty hostile attitude, and it seems that you are trying to reduce the number of Protestants because you have some personal agenda that is anti-Protestant.

 

[Dimmesdale]

After vacillating in between various worldviews, I’m leaning towards Catholicism again.

I think Catholicism is a superior form of Christianity for a number of reasons. One is that it takes human virtue seriously. Whereas many Protestants, and especially Calvinists, seem to lay an emphasis on “total depravity”, the idea that we are completely “dead” in our sins (with no qualification) and that our only hope is to give up on trying to be good by surrendering to Jesus, I think a healthier approach is to say that, while no sinful human being is perfect, and is in fact very flawed/compromised, he or she has some measure of goodness, of virtue, to bring to the table, that life is not all vain or futile, that our works/decisions/virtues actually do mean something, and determine our fate. That we have, in a word, freedom. Free will.

Also, I recently took communion and felt myself enlivened. I think there is power in the Eucharist. If the Eucharist is “only a symbol” then I would say, along with Flannery O’Connor (herself a learned author and symbolist), “to he** with it.” Jesus’ institution of this sacrament, the emphasis he laid on its reality, the seemingly unequivocal and uncompromising language in the Gospels , along with all the miracles and so on, seems to validate it, along with my experience. If it were only a symbol, it would be meaningless. Protestants don’t take it seriously for that very reason, and it seems to me Catholicism and Orthodoxy give it the proper respect.

Those are just two reasons, but I think there are more. Maybe I’ll post later…

 

[Dimmesdale]

I should warn you you NEED to be a member of the Catholic Church to take Communion and is a sin to take it while not in communion with the church. This is since you need to go to confession first to be absolved of your sins. This is to show respect to the Lord as you have to be in a worthy state for communion. I understand though that you probably didn’t realise this, though.

But I am a member. I was baptized Catholic as a baby (and confirmed), then drifted away. I’ve recommitted myself though… Hopefully I won’t drift away anymore. I believe all official church teachings, or at least am trying my best not to doubt anything.

I do need to start regularly going to confession though…

 

[IWantGod]

I was wondering why do people become Catholic(or just Christian in general)?

I found the metaphysical question of existence and value to be important.

I looked at the world, my experiences, the teachings of the church, and the logical consequences of not believing. I weighed up the question of what is most likely true about reality, and i came to the conclusion that while i cannot have certain knowledge about that question i still found that what the church teaches is the only thing worth believing while i am here in this reality; because it is the only thing that truly sanctifies and justifies my value as a living person. In fact it is the only thing that justifies me doing anything at all.

If the church isn’t correct there are certain metaphysical consequences that follow which renders my experiences as a person meaningless, pointless, and without any objective moral value. The world just becomes a sandbox in which the human race is just something that’s happening and into which we project our subjective fantasies and pursue our desires, ultimately culminating into nothing. But nothing in my experiences suggests to me that the world is really like that.

That’s why i am a Catholic.

 

[libbeylu]

I am a cradle Catholic…I was born on an Holy Day of Obligation…“The Immaculate Conception”, and Baptized two days later. I Love my Faith! I Pray my Rosary every day, and Pray all the time. I periodically thank God for everything and a day does not go by that I don’t tell Him that I LOVE him above all else. I also Pray for forgiveness of my sins. I guess The Catholic Faith was instilled in me…and now, I am hearing all the hardships facing everyone and feel so sad. I pray for all and realize how my life have changed in the past five months and if I get the Virus, death may be sooner for me than I anticipated. I haven’t attended Church because I am elderly and informed not to go…I miss it…

 

[mary77]

I was taught as a child to trust in God by my most devout Catholic Mother who instilled in me a sense of recognition in authenticity and goodness I have only found in the things taught by Christ.

 

[QuietKarlos]

But I am a member. I was baptized Catholic as a baby (and confirmed), then drifted away. I’ve recommitted myself though… Hopefully I won’t drift away anymore. I believe all official church teachings, or at least am trying my best not to doubt anything.

My bad it seemed like you weren’t by your last message. Teaches me to make assumptions!

 

[Dimmesdale]

It’s ok, brutha.

Good to be circumspect to some degree in this day and age…

 

[Dario_Western]

I was raised one by my mother. She is a Roman Catholic, and she took me to Catholic churches and schools when I was a child and in my teenage years. My younger brother and sister were raised the same way by her.

There are many reasons why some people become Catholic (or Christian). Maybe some of them turn to Christ because of spiritual brokenness, or reform when they’ve lived a life of crime, or they have witnessed a supernatural event.