Why Is Catholicism So Unattractive to Evangelicals?

[multitude]

Self-reflection and criticism applies to everyone. Which is precisely why I mentioned that they have three fingers pointed back at them with regards to Pharisee accusations. That’s not particularly deep.

 

[Patti_M]

I get to receive the Eucharist I don’t know of any better relationship with Christ there is

Agree 100%! If we could only make it known to our brothers & sisters in Christ how thrilling it is to receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ they might understand that ours is an inward faith, very deep and personal. It refreshes and restores my relationship with God and it is not something easily put into words, I’m not a poet but I’m sure there are writings from gifted and talented artists who have expressed this relationship. You could almost be addicted to it.

 

[Peter_J]

JustaServant;13263050:

That’s…a little simplistic.
I grew up with and around nominal Catholics who had no interest in spiritual matters, no morality and no interest in following what the Church taught. It did indeed, as a young guy in his twenties appear very much dead and ‘going through the motions’.
On the other hand, walking into an evangelical church was like walking into a different world, and appeared to have everything I believed lacking in the Catholic Church.
Now, years after coming back to the Church I can see much of my reaction was youthful exuberance and ignorance. But that doesn’t mean the negative things I saw should be easily dismissed. Evangelicals don’t see a Catholic spiritual life lived out, celebrated, and wholeheartedly embraced.
But being evangelical all those years, make me a better Catholic today.
And Catholics solve nothing by denying what Evangelicals see.
There’s an old saying that sometimes it’s more fruitful to listen to your enemy rather than your friend. Because your friend will not identify your faults because he does not want to hurt your feelings. But your enemy will point out your faults no problem.

This is a great post.

Catholics should not disregard the criticism of Evangelicals.

True. But it also helps to have a sense of humor, especially when you hear a lot of
“You’re wrong.”
“You’re wrong.”
“You’re wrong.”
“You’re wrong.”
“You’re wrong.”
“You’re wrong.”
“You’re wrong.”
“You’re wrong.”

(See also my earlier comments about devil-rhetoric being used against the Eastern Orthodox, I won’t rehash them in this post.)

 

[Patti_M]

Years ago we were taught to be quiet and reverent when going to mass. Don’t turn around and look at other people, say your prayers and be quiet. Why is this so hard for protestants to understand? I know that they talk loudly and drink coffee inside their churches but we (maybe I should say, I was) were taught to be respectful in the presense of our Lord. Now after mass, out in the the foyer, it is pure pandemonium, lots of talking and excitement, imho.

 

[Michael68]

I believe that Catholicism is unattractive to Evangelicals is because of the lies they have been taught concerning Catholicism i.e., we worship Mary, we have a works based salvation, the Eucharist is just a symbol, etc.

 

[Michael68]

Years ago we were taught to be quiet and reverent when going to mass. Don’t turn around and look at other people, say your prayers and be quiet. Why is this so hard for protestants to understand? I know that they talk loudly and drink coffee inside their churches but we (maybe I should say, I was) were taught to be respectful in the presense of our Lord. Now after mass, out in the the foyer, it is pure pandemonium, lots of talking and excitement, imho.

Imo, evangelicals don’t know how to act during a real worship service.

 

[FollowChrist34]

So you are saying that Catholicism is “right?” So if anyone “chooses” to be another denomination other than Catholic, they are “wrong.”

I don’t believe this for a second, speaking for myself. I think God knows his Church - it is comprised of all who truly love and obey him - those who open their hearts and are truly transformed and allow Christ to dwell in them. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist, psychiatrist or mystic to see evidence of this in a person (or lack of it) - I don’t care what a Christian calls himself or how often he goes to Church or how well he spits out the Catechism. In short, God either “works” in you or he doesn’t.

 

[Michael68]

I have attended many denominations (including Catholic) and i have found that individual churches rarely live up to the ideals of their vision, much less God’s will for them. I am not a Pentecostal because i found a great Pentecostal church. It is the lives lived by the pioneers of the movement that inspire me to be like them. I would never even know how much God could do with a man except by studying the lives of such giants as John G.Lake, and Smith Wigglesworth. If they were Pentacostals then certainly i should be if i want to be anything like them. (I have a very long way to go) , but someone has to set the bar high.

To be honest, i think most Pentecostal churches are poor examples and many are caught up in prosperity teaching (although it is God’s will for us to prosper) . Most do not have the strength of worship to bring in tangible presence of God. Recall the story of how smoke filled the temple and the people could not stand? It was the Glory Cloud of God. We should have the manifest presence of God . We need to believe for a greater anointing. There are many Godly servants that lead by example today I would name Heidi Baker, Mel Bond, James Goll, Steven Brooks, Dr. Jim Richards, the late Katherine Kuhlman, and many less known.

It is God working in people that attracts and inspires me,not smells and bells.

Smells and Bells? Sorry but this is offensive. If you don’t like it fine. But really, you need to put the Mass down?

 

[Graceful_Lamb]

Years ago we were taught to be quiet and reverent when going to mass. Don’t turn around and look at other people, say your prayers and be quiet. Why is this so hard for protestants to understand? I know that they talk loudly and drink coffee inside their churches but we (maybe I should say, I was) were taught to be respectful in the presense of our Lord. Now after mass, out in the the foyer, it is pure pandemonium, lots of talking and excitement, imho.

What Protestant denomination drinks coffee inside church and talk loudly? I have been. Protestant my entire life, and I have never witnessed these things in church.

 

[Graceful_Lamb]

I don’t believe this for a second, speaking for myself. I think God knows his Church - it is comprised of all who truly love and obey him - those who open their hearts and are truly transformed and allow Christ to dwell in them. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist, psychiatrist or mystic to see evidence of this in a person (or lack of it) - I don’t care what a Christian calls himself or how often he goes to Church or how well he spits out the Catechism. In short, God either “works” in you or he doesn’t.

There are some Catholics who seem to think that being Catholic is everything. It isn’t. Having a good relationship with God, following His commandments, praying for others, and helping others IS!

 

[FollowChrist34]

There are some Catholics who seem to think that being Catholic is everything. It isn’t. Having a good relationship with God, following His commandments, praying for others, and helping others IS!

I agree with you - but not all Catholics are like that.

And you have to agree that there are plenty of suspect (or pseudo) Protestants too. None of us is perfect. We all battle our own human will - pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed, sloth, every breathing moment until our death.

The Protestant does have a little bit of an advantage in that they stand before God 24/7, not “Scripture, Tradition, the Sacraments, the Church Hierarchy and the CCC.” I think this makes it easier for many to be good Christians. (I don’t think being a good Christian requires all that much guidance - the real battle is with your will. It is not rocket science - the right thing to do.)

The chief temptation for the Protestants is to succumb to your own will and end up talking and bonding with yourself instead of God (look at mainstream Protestants and secular culture - do you see a difference? I don’t). I know Evangelicals who don’t seem to even believe they sin. I am shocked at how into materialism they are - they usually get the morality part ok. And they don’t always help the poor. I think Catholics tend to do social justice stuff a little better - but they are so proud of knowing so much about their CCC that they fall into sort of a works mentality - they read their CCC and do the sacraments - heaven is secured. If you sin, no prob, just go to confession. This can really stifle a real, mature relationship with God if mismanaged.

 

[Graceful_Lamb]

I agree with you - but not all Catholics are like that.

And you have to agree that there are plenty of suspect (or pseudo) Protestants too. None of us is perfect. We all battle our own human will - pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed, sloth, every breathing moment until our death.

The Protestant does have a little bit of an advantage in that they stand before God 24/7, not the “Scripture, Tradition, the Sacraments, the Church Hierarchy and the CCC.” I think this makes it easier for many to be good Christians. (I don’t think being a good Christian requires all that much guidance - the real battle is with your will. It is not rocket science - the right thing to do.)

The chief temptation for the Protestants is to succumb to your own will and end up talking and bonding with yourself instead of God (look at mainstream Protestants and secular culture - do you see a difference? I don’t). I know Evangelicals who don’t seem to even believe they sin. I am shocked at how into materialism they are - they usually get the morality part ok. And they don’t always help the poor. I think Catholics tend to do social justice stuff a little better - but they are so proud of knowing so much about their CCC that they fall into sort of a works mentality - they read their CCC and do the sacraments - heaven is secured. If you sin, no prob, just go to confession. This can really stifle a real, mature relationship with God if mismanaged.

Totally agree!

 

[Patti_M]

Imo, evangelicals don’t know how to act during a real worship service.

I’ll take it further, I don’t consider what they do (singing, clapping hands, sometimes shouting) as worshipping, more like a pep rally. Don’t get me wrong, it’s very uplifting but not worship to me. I’m sure I’ll hear about this comment but maybe that’s the real divide between us, we don’t worship the way protestants do.

 

[Eric_Hilbert]

Some of you seem to be a little bit confused about the purpose of the article and the thread itself. This is not a free-for-all to bash non-Catholics or the way they worship. Disagree and debate if you wish, step over the line and you will be slammed.
Read the article and discuss it like adults.
It really is that simple.

 

[JustaServant]

What Protestant denomination drinks coffee inside church and talk loudly? I have been. Protestant my entire life, and I have never witnessed these things in church.

Generalization to be sure.
Now I have been in a few rural Baptist churches in which Cletus and Joe were talking rather loudly before the service about their "fishin’ " trip.
But coffee? Never.
The few times I have been in Episcopal services, I noticed they observed a time of silence before the service. I can’t speak for Lutheran churches.

 

[FollowChrist34]

Generalization to be sure.
Now I have been in a few rural Baptist churches in which Cletus and Joe were talking rather loudly before the service about their "fishin’ " trip.
But coffee? Never.
The few times I have been in Episcopal services, I noticed they observed a time of silence before the service. I can’t speak for Lutheran churches.

The Lutheran Mass as it has been traditionally performed is actually quite similar to the Catholic Mass. I can’t speak to the ELCA modern folks. Remember the Lutherans were originally Germans and Scandinavians - - not big into freewheeling coffee drinking during Church ceremonies. Pretty sober folk by Catholic standards. Not as bad as the Presbyterians or Methodists of course. (joke!)

There is an African American tradition in a lot of Protestants churches to be more open and spontaneous during worship. I don’t have a problem with it in the context of their churches. You can see this if you watch traditional African ceremonies too. I think American Protestant churches - particularly in the South - kind of picked up on this. It can be very inspiring. The music is great in its own way - but I also love traditional Catholic music. I cry during Amazing Grace.

Whenever there a lot of babies screaming at key points in the Mass drowning out the priest I always tell myself, well, it’s life, right? A glorious thing. Not saying I don’t prefer a quiet, controlled Mass, but I don’t know whether God cares to be honest.

 

[JustaServant]

Getting back to the article.
The Pharisees were mentioned in the first point and the author makes the same observation I made years ago when I stood in a pulpit myself. Unfortunately those sermon notes are long gone.
My study of Jesus and the Pharisees was eye-opening to because it was easy for me, as a Baptist at the time, to point an accusing finger at anyone I disagreed with and pronounce them Pharisees.
But ‘Pharisee’ is not about the other guy, it’s about me. Do I just see someone’s ‘religion’? Or do I see them as a person? Do I just see their sin? Forgetting about my own clay feet?
Maybe what the author is getting at is the word ‘humility’, a word the historic Pharisees knew nothing about.
How easy it is for us to fall into that trap.

 

[JustaServant]

The Lutheran Mass as it has been traditionally performed is actually quite similar to the Catholic Mass. I can’t speak to the ELCA modern folks. Remember the Lutherans were originally Germans and Scandinavians - - not big into freewheeling coffee drinking during Church ceremonies. Pretty sober folk by Catholic standards. Not as bad as the Presbyterians or Methodists of course. (joke!)

There is an African American tradition in a lot of Protestants churches to be more open and spontaneous during worship. I don’t have a problem with it in the context of their churches. You can see this if you watch traditional African ceremonies too. I think American Protestant churches - particularly in the South - kind of picked up on this. It can be very inspiring. The music is great in its own way - but I also love traditional Catholic music. I cry during Amazing Grace.

Whenever there a lot of babies screaming at key points in the Mass drowning out the priest I always tell myself, well, it’s life, right? A glorious thing. Not saying I don’t prefer a quiet, controlled Mass, but I don’t know whether God cares to be honest.

I knew a preacher who said once “I haven’t seen a baby yet I can’t out preach”.

 

[Vic_Taltrees_UK]

Are Catholic churches better thought of where Catholics are a smaller percentage of the population?

Are Catholic churches better thought of where Catholics are a thorough mixture and not predominantly of one ethnic background?

 

[JustaServant]

Just found the quote I was thinking of earlier:

“Pay attention to your enemies, for they are the first to discover your mistakes.”
Anitsthenes, 371 B.C.