Why Is Catholicism So Unattractive to Evangelicals?

[Peter_J]

In all fairness, I don’t think anyone is praying TO the image - they are praying to who the image or statue depicts, Mary, Jesus, St. Francis, etc.

Right. It’s more like if you were speaking to your mother on the phone, and decided to take out a photo of her and look at it during the conversation. (Not that very many people do that, what with Skype.)

 

[ComplineSanFran]

Not a great analogy however. I mean a Catholic mass is not an “open house” nor are all invited to partake in the Eucharist. Those that aren’t Catholic who are attending a Catholic mass are invited to observe and in a limited way participate by watching/listening/responding, as say you can at say a concert. But that doesn’t mean you’re invited to come up on stage and jam with the band.

Some churches do allow you to, my own among them. In fact my church encourages you to do so. But that doesn’t mean our rules should apply to another branch of the Christian family who have very long standing and clearly stated rules to the contrary.

My church also has an open table. But I think that if Catholics want people in the door in order to worship with them, and the main part of the worship is the Eucharist (food), then it IS a good analogy. Many Protestant services are basically observational - the concert, as it were. No one expects anyone to go up on stage. Liturgical masses are participatory. Most people go up and receive the food.

 

[Peter_J]

That is not a helpful analogy. I am not sure why people keep using it. First of all, you ARE praying to / communicating with / honoring an image. Many reformed people of faith were taught that it is strictly forbidden. So please don’t try to explain you are just talking with a picture of an ancestor.

For the record, there are some (if not very many) RCs who say that asking someone to pray for you is praying to him or her.

 

[Peter_J]

My church also has an open table. But I think that if Catholics want people in the door in order to worship with them, and the main part of the worship is the Eucharist (food), then it IS a good analogy. Many Protestant services are basically observational - the concert, as it were. No one expects anyone to go up on stage. Liturgical masses are participatory. Most people go up and receive the food.

But only those who are Christians (if I’m not mistaken).

P.S. And then there’s this.

 

[clem456]

My church also has an open table. But I think that if Catholics want people in the door in order to worship with them, and the main part of the worship is the Eucharist (food), then it IS a good analogy. Many Protestant services are basically observational - the concert, as it were. No one expects anyone to go up on stage. Liturgical masses are participatory. Most people go up and receive the food.

Because God himself is just another thing to be consumed?

We don’t believe that what we consume is just another piece of food.

If you know we don’t believe that, why would you expect to consume what we believe to be Christ himself, just because you want to consume it, without even believing what it is, with no preparation for the magnitude of the reality?

 

[ComplineSanFran]

But only those who are Christians (if I’m not mistaken).

My parish, as do others, practice a totally open communion.

 

[Peter_J]

I fear this may be turning into a cacophony.

However, I would like to say one more thing, a pearl of wisdom regarding the other (or other other) issue that was brought up …

It’s nice to see Catholics acknowledge this issue, Clem456, which I believe is a real one. If more Catholic parishes dealt with this issue, I think it would help a lot.

I’ve heard some Catholic friends defend this unfriendliness by saying, “Church is for worshipping the Lord and spending time with Him and not a social club” and things like that. **Why should outward friendliness to those around you (especially visitors) and worship of the Lord be mutually exclusive? **It shouldn’t.

About the time he converted to Roman Catholicism, Scott Hahn mentioned to a Catholic friend how happy he was to attend a mass with “evangelical zeal” and so on. The friend’s reply? “Once you have the real presence of Christ in the holy eucharist, you don’t need the rest.”

Read the whole anecdote here.

 

[Peter_J]

My parish, as do others, practice a totally open communion.

OIC.

 

[Eric_Hilbert]

Please stick with the OP and not turn this into a complaint counter.

 

[SyroMalankara]

What’s the centerpiece in Anglican worship? We know in nondenominational, evangelical, etc it’s the sermon - which we as professed believers are all God ordained to give (?) …

The fact is, Catholics are welcoming however nonCatholic (nonOrthodox) assume the Mass (Divine Liturgy) is the proper place for the social aspect that they so crave. Many Catholic parishes have opportunities for this, but many non parishioners are unaware. We must make this happyhour known

 

[ComplineSanFran]

Because God himself is just another thing to be consumed?

We don’t believe that what we consume is just another piece of food.

If you know we don’t believe that, why would you expect to consume what we believe to be Christ himself, just because you want to consume it, without even believing what it is, with no preparation for the magnitude of the reality?

Because Jesus invited us to, ‘Take, eat.’

The OP asked why Catholicism is unattractive to Evangelicals. I am not an Evangelical and I try not to answer for another person, but if you want to know why there is confusion or disconnect, I am trying to explain some of the reasons I know to be so.

 

[Peter_J]

The OP asked why Catholicism is unattractive to Evangelicals.

Not meaning to be disagreeable, but I would point out this: while the Title is in the form of a question, the actually text of OP is an answer(s) to that question.

 

[Della]

That is not a helpful analogy. I am not sure why people keep using it. First of all, you ARE praying to / communicating with / honoring an image. Many reformed people of faith were taught that it is strictly forbidden. So please don’t try to explain you are just talking with a picture of an ancestor.

Yes, we are praying to/communicating with/honoring–but not the image, the person it represents. That is Catholic teaching. I accept Evangelical’s rationale for what they believe, why can’t they return the favor?

Secondly, you are communicating with the dead. Again, forbidden.

No, we’re not “communicating with the dead” we are communicating with the living. Jesus himself told us that the dead are not dead to God, but living (Mt.22?32, Mk.26c-27a, 1Pt.3:19). Praying to the saints in heaven is a far cry from séances and trying to predict the future through conjuring up ghosts, etc. Evangelicals often conflate Catholic practices with superstition. This is because they repeat what they’ve been told not actually researched it for themselves. I think they should if they want to know the truth of the matter.

So when many Protestants see Roman Catholics do just that, it is going to cause some serious problems.

No one should judge from mere appearances. All too often we do, though. If Evangelicals want to know what Catholic believe and why there’s the Catechism, Catholic Answers and a host of other resources.

As for warmth when coming to or going from Mass, Catholic parishes are often large, with people attending various Mass times who are therefore unfamiliar with those who usually go to another Mass. At our parish we have one Mass Saturday evening and four on Sundays.

OTOH, many Protestant churches have a limited membership with one service on a Sunday along with other services during the week, which almost everyone attends. So when a new person comes, people know they aren’t a member. Also, many Evangelical churches actively recruit other Christians to their churches, so of course they are going to make a fuss over new people. It’s no guarantee that a person will remain involved since many Evangelicals come and go, church hopping from one church to another, looking for the perfect one, as if such a thing even existed.

My parish has greeters, who have been trained to direct people and answer basic questions. We have coffee and donuts after most Masses at which people can get to know others. There are also parish groups and activities people can get involved with.

We assume newcomers have come to worship with us–we don’t think of them seekers who will leave us if we don’t try to get to know them–no one is deliberately ignoring anyone. We gain friends for the sake of friendship, not to lure people into becoming Catholic. If they are interested in Catholicism all they have to do is contact the parish. They will be put in touch with the proper persons for that.

 

[clem456]

I fear this may be turning into a cacophony.

However, I would like to say one more thing, a pearl of wisdom regarding the other (or other other) issue that was brought up …

About the time he converted to Roman Catholicism, Scott Hahn mentioned to a Catholic friend how happy he was to attend a mass with “evangelical zeal” and so on. The friend’s reply? “Once you have the real presence of Christ in the holy eucharist, you don’t need the rest.”

It’s important to distinguish between Scott Hahn’s observation about the Eucharist and “the rest”. He’s not making a distinction between the Eucharist and a welcoming parish as if they are at odds, as if welcoming becomes unnecessary because we have the Eucharist. If anything, having an appreciation of the Eucharist should open the parish up.

 

[Thorolfr]

To answer the original question, “Why is Catholicism So Unattractive to Evangelicals,” one reason I think is that the Catholic Church has long been associated in the minds of Protestants with an authoritarian type of decision making structure rather than a democratic one. I’ve been reading a book about the Glorious Revolution of 1688 in which the Catholic Stuart king of England James II was overthrown and forced to flee to France and over and over, quotes from people living at that time in England equated Catholicism, especially 17th century French style Catholicism, with being very authoritarian.

 

[Della]

To answer the original question, “Why is Catholicism So Unattractive to Evangelicals,” one reason I think is that the Catholic Church has long been associated in the minds of Protestants with an authoritarian type of decision making structure rather than a democratic one. I’ve been reading a book about the Glorious Revolution of 1688 in which the Catholic Stuart king of England James II was overthrown and forced to flee to France and over and over, quotes from people living at that time in England equated Catholicism, especially 17th century French style Catholicism, with being very authoritarian.

Ironic since all churches have a hierarchy, whether they acknowledge the fact or not. I’ve never heard an Evangelical argue against their pastor’s authority over their spiritual well-being. Most accept what their pastors teach them without question.

The “Glorious Revolution” was exactly that–a revolution by those who wanted to grab power, for which they made convenient excuses for themselves. Rebellion never actually negates authority, it merely changes who is allowed to have it.

 

[Peter_J]

It’s important to distinguish between Scott Hahn’s observation about the Eucharist and “the rest”. He’s not making a distinction between the Eucharist and a welcoming parish as if they are at odds, as if welcoming becomes unnecessary because we have the Eucharist. If anything, having an appreciation of the Eucharist should open the parish up.

That’s basically what Hahn told the guy. (I couldn’t copy-and-paste the anecdote because of the way Google Books works, so that’s why I encouraged people to click on the link.)

 

[Thorolfr]

Ironic since all churches have a hierarchy, whether they acknowledge the fact or not. I’ve never heard an Evangelical argue against their pastor’s authority over their spiritual well-being. Most accept what their pastors teach them without question.

The “Glorious Revolution” was exactly that–a revolution by those who wanted to grab power, for which they made convenient excuses for themselves. Rebellion never actually negates authority, it merely changes who is allowed to have it.

Most Protestant and evangelical churches actually “call” their own pastors. They aren’t appointed from above by a bishop, for example, as a Catholic priest is. In my own Lutheran church we recently called a new pastor. He was first interviewed by a call committee and then the members of the congregation voted to call him. Pastors in most Protestant and evangelical churches can also be fired by their congregations and some of them are.

As for the Glorious Revolution, James II wanted to be an absolute monarch like his cousin Louis XIV of France and tried to impose his will without the support of parliament and the English people. Almost no one nowadays still believes in the authority of absolute monarchs.

 

[St_Pancake]

Most Protestant and evangelical churches actually “call” their own pastors. They aren’t appointed from above by a bishop, for example, as a Catholic priest is. In my own Lutheran church we recently called a new pastor. He was first interviewed by a call committee and then the members of the congregation voted to call him. Pastors in most Protestant and evangelical churches can also be fired by their congregations and some of them are.

As for the Glorious Revolution, James II wanted to be an absolute monarch like his cousin Louis XIV of France and tried to impose his will without the support of parliament and the English people. Almost no one nowadays still believes in the authority of absolute monarchs.

Each Baptist Church is autonomous and democratic and I’m grateful to be away from that. I’ve seen it destroy or nearly destroy several good churches. The hierarchy of the Catholic Church was very attractive to me.

 

[Tommy999]

It’s important to distinguish between Scott Hahn’s observation about the Eucharist and “the rest”. He’s not making a distinction between the Eucharist and a welcoming parish as if they are at odds, as if welcoming becomes unnecessary because we have the Eucharist. If anything, having an appreciation of the Eucharist should open the parish up.

Thanks for clarifying, Clem456. Otherwise, I was beginning to think that the implication by Peter J was that the Eucharist is an excuse for not being nice and welcoming to people, kind of like raising money for wounded veterans was the reason why Donald Trump couldn’t debate last night.

Neither one adds up to me.