Why Is Catholicism So Unattractive to Evangelicals?

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Michael68 said:
I think that reverence is mistaken for coldness. There is no talking or carrying on in the sanctuary and maybe this is misunderstood.
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If everyone were silent and praying, I would agree with you. But if everyone were talking and periodically giving you the stink eye, that would be coldness. This happened to a friend who was raised Buddhist. She was gradually becoming convinced of the truth of Christianity and was exploring the different Christian churches. The stink eye and cold shoulders were seen in abundance in the Catholic Church she attended. Needless to say she is now an Evangelical.
 
z_0101 said:
You can find this in any church in any denomination.

Only works for some… as much as I like my Parish, we have a clique that will smile to your face and stab you in the back. I pray for them at each Holy Hour.
There are others; however, that are warm and welcoming once someone makes the effort. I’ve always wondered why the newcomer has to make the first move?
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I agree. There are some that talk nice to your face and stab you in the back. Sadly that is everywhere not only in churches. I figure that is their problem and their sin so I don’t worry about it but only pray for them.

As for making the first move, I figure some folks are just shy.
 
EIF5A said:
I think many Protestants believe that in the end, it doesn’t really matter what “type” of Christian you are, as long as you profess belief in Christ as God and Savior. Of course, as you mention, some groups see themselves as being more “true”, but most don’t believe that Christians outside of their church are excluded from salvation
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I agree that many don’t think it matters what kind of Christian you are so long as you believe in ‘mere Christianity’. But at the same time they must believe that their particular set of beliefs is in some way superior. Or they must believe that they have the fullness of the Christian faith. They could for instance think they are superior just because they are less dogmatic or that they don’t make essential what they say is non-essential.
EIF5A said:
In regards to the imagery and devotions, I tend to agree as well. All those pictures and statues kind of disturbed me at first when I entered a Catholic church for the first time. (And the giant Crucifix with Jesus nailed to the Cross.) I guess a facet of the heresy of iconoclasm has crept in to the Protestant church somehow disguised as fidelity to the Ten Commandments (graven images and whatnot).
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I think the Reformed/Calvinist tradition has a theological element that encouraged iconoclasm. I don’t know that it was, at least in the beginning, actually iconoclastic. I think there was the notion that nothing created could be worthy of God. And the notion that created things could detract from the worship of God. I think Pietists also had some of this. But I’m sure there were also certainly some brutish men who really did like to smash things for the sake of smashing.
 
FollowChrist34 said:
I concede that it is much easier and more enjoyable to go to a Protestant Church than a Catholic one as an outsider - no contest. You have to be really determined and really self-motivated to join a Catholic Church (think of it as a form of penance 😉 I have.) - and the saddest thing is you just turn into the same thing you dislike! :o That said, I am always friendly to what look like new people at Mass as much as I can - but I don’t go up and welcome them - too busy with my own schedule. Besides, if they are Catholic I’ll just freak them out and waste their time. 😃
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I agree for many it might be easier. But if you are a more private or introverted person it could be nice to be able to just go to Church anonymously. There are lots of complaints about the unfriendliness of Catholic Churches, and most might dislike what they perceive, but it is possible some people do enjoy or benefit from the anonymity, at least at first.
Tommy999 said:
The lack of Catholics with a personal relationship with Christ. The majority of Catholics I know in real life are folks I would label “Cultural Catholics” who are Catholics because they were born that way and for whom religion is a set of rituals that include bowing, kneeling, signing, and rote prayers, etc. Then they generally go out into the real world and you’d have a hard time telling they were Christians. It’s like their faith is a compartmentalized piece of their identity that they take out for Mass and then tuck back into their shirts on the way out the door.
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There are certainly lots of cultural Catholics. But there are plenty of cultural Protestants as well. At Christmas lots of Protestants churches are busier than they are the rest of the year, just like Catholic Churches. If you consider Evangelicals to be a subset of Protestantism then comparing them to the faithful, active subset of Catholics would be a more fair comparison.
Tommy999 said:
Some may call me unrealistic, but I feel that if all evangelicals became Catholics but were able to keep and draw on their personal relationship with Christ that they already gained, it would be a needed “shot in the arm” of enthusiasm and zeal to Catholicism that would aid the current ‘New Evangelization’ effort that is taking place under the leadership of Pope Francis.
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It would be a shot in the arm. A good read might be The Spirit and Forms of Protestantism. It talks about the good in Protestantism and how it will be best expressed and achieved in Catholicism.
 
Tommy999 said:
Same to you, FollowChrist34. Yes, it was a LCMS parish that we visited, by the way.

I have been trying to explain to my wife that she should consider Mary and the saints as our heavenly prayer partners and that Mary deserves honor and respect for saying ‘Yes’ to God when she didn’t have to do that and for being there for Jesus not only at his birth but at the cross also, along with raising and loving him every step along the way.

She still thinks that Catholics go beyond honoring her and delve into worshipping her in the adoration sense, which we are against, but that’s another topic for a different thread because I know Catholics deny doing that in the way that some Protestants believe Catholics do.
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(actually I think the Mary dilemma is spot on for this thread) The only thing I would add on that: I know this is an incredible stumbling block for Protestants - my Evangelical friend even snarled once at me about worship of Mary in an unguarded moment (or maybe it was the margueritas - we have Mexican dinner get togethers every couple of months). 😃 I snapped right back though - no worries. That was the end of it - we switched the topic.

I am not a really Orthodox, traditional dyed in the wool cradle Catholic, so to be honest the Mary thing mystifies me a little bit. And I will actually tell you that I see Catholics who seem to take it to adoration (in every denomination people get their faith wrong - even if they sometimes know they are doing it wrong). But it doesn’t freak me out or anything, probably because I have been around rosaries, etc. since I was a kid. I have never had anything but deep love and affection for Mary myself - so I don’t have a bone in my body that would go against her. She is the Mother of God. So I am kind of in the middle on this one I guess.

You need to talk to a really good Catholic apologist on the Mary thing maybe with your wife. Sounds like you already know the explanation though. Again, I go through periods of praying to Mary, periods of praying to Jesus. And I always pray to Mary as the Mother of God.

The saints I have never had an issue with either - though to me they are inspiration - the intercession thing I believe but don’t really emphasize at all in my inner prayer life.

Lastly, the other great thing about the Catholic Church is the access to the history of the Church and its wisdom and knowledge - the fathers of the Church, etc. Augustine, Aquinas, Desert Fathers, the writings of the saints. There is so much to the Church - even some of the Protestants, Luther, Kierkegaard. I think all Christians should take advantage of this.
 
Graceful_Lamb said:
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.
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My wife carries coffee into her mega church service every week. Some Churches have a coffee bar.
 
Graceful_Lamb said:
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!
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All those things are part of being Catholic.
 
JustaServant said:
Good article. I’ll start with the second point first:

patheos.com/blogs/albertlittle/why-catholicism-is-so-unattractive-to-evangelicals/
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I do not know of any other relationship that can be as deep as the one who goes to the Mass and the Divine Liturgy to receive literally the Lord Jesus Christ. If there be problems within Catholicism and Orthodoxy it can be traced to a lack of this relationship within the Eucharist. How do wake up the people into a relationship with Jesus Christ based on the Eucharist? It is my understanding that Evangelicals do not have the Eucharist so that their relationship with the Lord Jesus must be based on a different model. If I can add some thoughts here that might help us Catholics, Orthodox and Eatern Christians to get into a more lively relationship with the Lord Jesus (which I mean to help wake the rest of us up) we need more simpler methods in teaching about the effectiveness and power that comes from the Eucharist. Why don’t we build our foundation when we go to Church around this great Sacrament? We go to this Sacrament but we need teachings to help us to tap into it’s power. I find the teaching and preaching Sunday to Sunday and even the catechism programs as well as Sunday School do not personally involve us into a relationship with Jesus based on what the Mass and the Divine Liturgy can give us. We need better equipped teachings to help us understand what is exactly going on at every Eucharist. I bet you if the people understood the Mass and the Divine Liturgy the way the Lord would want us than even the Evangelicals will probably look us up. The problem as I see it is this lack of understanding of so many people that leaves them dry and if we will only work around this great Sacrament like the Evangelicals who speak fluently about their relationship with the Lord I am sure the majority of the people will want to get into a relationship with the Lord Jesus. It is to my understanding we need to reinforce Eucharistic teachings to a level of understanding where both child, youth and adult will know what is going on and not only know what is going on but to participate personally into the very person of Jesus Christ.
 
chimo said:
I do not know of any other relationship that can be as deep as the one who goes to the Mass and the Divine Liturgy to receive literally the Lord Jesus Christ. If there be problems within Catholicism and Orthodoxy it can be traced to a lack of this relationship within the Eucharist. How do wake up the people into a relationship with Jesus Christ based on the Eucharist? It is my understanding that Evangelicals do not have the Eucharist so that their relationship with the Lord Jesus must be based on a different model. If I can add some thoughts here that might help us Catholics, Orthodox and Eatern Christians to get into a more lively relationship with the Lord Jesus (which I mean to help wake the rest of us up) we need more simpler methods in teaching about the effectiveness and power that comes from the Eucharist. Why don’t we build our foundation when we go to Church around this great Sacrament? We go to this Sacrament but we need teachings to help us to tap into it’s power. I find the teaching and preaching Sunday to Sunday and even the catechism programs as well as Sunday School do not personally involve us into a relationship with Jesus based on what the Mass and the Divine Liturgy can give us. We need better equipped teachings to help us understand what is exactly going on at every Eucharist. I bet you if the people understood the Mass and the Divine Liturgy the way the Lord would want us than even the Evangelicals will probably look us up. The problem as I see it is this lack of understanding of so many people that leaves them dry and if we will only work around this great Sacrament like the Evangelicals who speak fluently about their relationship with the Lord I am sure the majority of the people will want to get into a relationship with the Lord Jesus. It is to my understanding we need to reinforce Eucharistic teachings to a level of understanding where both child, youth and adult will know what is going on and not only know what is going on but to participate personally into the very person of Jesus Christ.
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👍
 
Catholicism offers a very personal and rich relationship with God.

The liturgy of the daily mass has readings all of us can contemplate at home, if not able to attend daily mass. Here is a link to this week’s readings.

usccb.org/bible/readings/091315.cfm
 
It would be helpful for all of us, but especially evangelical Christians, to read about the lives of saints. And not just Catholic saints, but Orthodox saints, too.

Regardless of denomination, charity, self-sacrifice, prayer, penance, and helping the poor and the needy are common denominators in Christianity. How can someone read about some of the saints and not receive some sort of grace?

How can mere humans achieve some of the things without divine assistance?
 
Joyful_Song said:
Catholicism offers a very personal and rich relationship with God.

The liturgy of the daily mass has readings all of us can contemplate at home, if not able to attend daily mass. Here is a link to this week’s readings.

usccb.org/bible/readings/091315.cfm
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There are other religions out there where people can have “a very personal and rich relationship with” God. Also, I think it is individual as well. Just because someone is {insert religion here} doesn’t mean that they have a great relationship with God.
 
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