Why should I become a Catholic?

[skrlife]

I was raised Pentecostal and now I am non-denominational. I was a pagan for two years after leaving the Pentecostal faith. I became a Christian again after my pagan phase. Now, before I became a Christian, I was drawn to the Catholic faith. But, I was rudely talked to by the Catholics on this forum as well as in real life. Which pulled me directly from the faith, and became Protestant. Now, I loved the Catholic tradition, so I am wondering, why should I even become one?

Considering the following things (now, I hope I don’t come off as rude or ignorant. I admit that I am uneducated in this. Which is why I am asking):

• You pray to Mary, which contradicts the Bible, when you are only supposed to worship God.
• Catholicism is full of guilt. Confessing your sins and getting a list out every night, ticking off every sin you have done isn’t…
• You have to go to Mass every Sunday, or you’re going to hell… (I can’t even afford to go to a protestant church right now. The bus costs too much. And the most local Catholic church around me is too far.)
• You have to confess to a priest. Why can’t we just confess to God? Not to a human.
• Purgatory (which, what I have been told, isn’t Biblical)
• Extremely strict rules. Very fundamentalist.
• I have constantly heard Catholics say they are closest to God, or that only Catholics go to heaven. Which sounds very arrogant. Excuse any ignorance here, but this is what I have been told my Catholics themselves. I don’t understand. We all believe in Jesus and the Word, that’s that. It doesn’t matter what denomination you are apart of.

Again, I apologise if I come off as rude or ignorant. But all the Catholics I spoke to, apart from one, were rude to me. Which was horrible.

Answer my questions, please.

EDIT: To elaborate on the fact that I cannot go to church… The Catholic church most close to me is far away. I have to take 3 buses to get there, which costs too much. I can’t afford it. Honestly. Because I can’t even go to the most local church around me. That would mean I’d be sinning every week. I can’t take any money out of the bank to go to a Catholic church because then I would be in debt. I have loans to pay.

EDIT 2: I just saw this: independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/one-hell-of-a-deal-pope-francis-offers-reduced-time-in-purgatory-for-catholics-that-follow-him-on-twitter-8713666.html

I also read the comments. A lot of the reason why I choose not to be Catholic.

 

[Tantum_ergo]

I was raised Pentecostal and now I am non-denominational. I was a pagan for two years after leaving the Pentecostal faith. I became a Christian again after my pagan phase. Now, before I became a Christian, I was drawn to the Catholic faith. But, I was rudely talked to by the Catholics on this forum as well as in real life. Which pulled me directly from the faith, and became Protestant. Now, I loved the Catholic tradition, so I am wondering, why should I even become one?

Considering the following things (now, I hope I don’t come off as rude or ignorant. I admit that I am uneducated in this. Which is why I am asking):

• You pray to Mary, which contradicts the Bible, when you are only supposed to worship God. Prayer is not worship. Prayer is simply communication. We pray to Mary just as we might pray (ask) to you, asking you to join us in praising and loving God. So it doesn’t contradict the Bible at all. St. Paul ‘prayed’ to others by asking them to follow God. Please, look up the etymology of the word "pray’.
• Catholicism is full of guilt. Confessing your sins and getting a list out every night, ticking off every sin you have done isn’t…it isn’t guilt. It is MINDFUL discerning. Eating right is ‘full of guilt’. You have to ‘confess’ each time you’re on the scale that you ate a donut, didn’t walk the treadmill. . .no, wait. Speaking of and seeing those things helps you see what you need to do right, and where you might have drifted away.
• You have to go to Mass every Sunday, or you’re going to hell… (I can’t even afford to go to a protestant church right now. The bus costs too much. And the most local Catholic church around me is too far.) if you CANNOT get to Church on Sunday, you are not obligated. God does not ask the impossible. That being said, look into finding rides with people from church. Ask the priest for help.
• You have to confess to a priest. Why can’t we just confess to God? Not to a human. Well, this is something God ASKED us to do. He gave the apostles (and their successors) the authority to ‘bind and loose’ sin. He didn’t give us that authority, probably because so many of us are able to deceive ourselves into thinking that the sin ‘wasn’t all that bad’, or that we’re really sorry. . and then we turn around and do it again. And in going to the priest, we ARE going to God. . .not that the priest is God, but that God works through the priest.

Remember, God didn’t have to come to us by being born of a woman (Mary). . .He choose to do that instead of coming to us ‘directly’ as a full blown ‘adult’ man.

• Purgatory (which, what I have been told, isn’t Biblical) It is referenced (Maccabbees) and it is simply a purgation of sins because (as the Bible tells us) NOTHING UNCLEAN may enter heaven.
• Extremely strict rules. Very fundamentalist.Well, some people DO NOT KNOW the fundamentals, and they need to be reinforced.
• I have constantly heard Catholics say they are closest to God, or that only Catholics go to heaven. Which sounds very arrogant. Excuse any ignorance here, but this is what I have been told my Catholics themselves. I don’t understand. We all believe in Jesus and the Word, that’s that. It doesn’t matter what denomination you are apart of.It does matter, because quite honestly, if you were offered the chance to see part of a play, or the whole, wouldn’t you choose the WHOLE thing? Same with truth. If you’re offered ‘all truth’, or ‘some truth’, wouldn’t you want all? That being said, individual Catholics making arrogant claims doesn’t mean it’s real teaching. Indeed if you look in the catechism it by no means claims that ‘only Catholics go to heaven.’

Again, I apologise if I come off as rude or ignorant. But all the Catholics I spoke to, apart from one, were rude to me. Which was horrible.

Answer my questions, please.

EDIT: To elaborate on the fact that I cannot go to church… The Catholic church most close to me is far away. I have to take 3 buses to get there, which costs too much. I can’t afford it. Honestly. Because I can’t even go to the most local church around me. That would mean I’d be sinning every week. I can’t take any money out of the bank to go to a Catholic church because then I would be in debt. I have loans to pay.

Again, if you can’t get there, you are NOT obligated. Again, I urge you to talk to the priest and see if you can’t get a ride in with somebody, at least part of the time. And God bless you. I hope I helped. Please remember too, I tried to express authentic teaching. If I messed up in any way, it is MY fault, not the teaching of the Church. Thanks.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I was raised Pentecostal and now I am non-denominational. I was a pagan for two years after leaving the Pentecostal faith. I became a Christian again after my pagan phase. Now, before I became a Christian, I was drawn to the Catholic faith. But, I was rudely talked to by the Catholics on this forum as well as in real life. Which pulled me directly from the faith, and became Protestant. Now, I loved the Catholic tradition, so I am wondering, why should I even become one?

Considering the following things (now, I hope I don’t come off as rude or ignorant. I admit that I am uneducated in this. Which is why I am asking):

• You pray to Mary, which contradicts the Bible, when you are only supposed to worship God.
• Catholicism is full of guilt. Confessing your sins and getting a list out every night, ticking off every sin you have done isn’t…
• You have to go to Mass every Sunday, or you’re going to hell… (I can’t even afford to go to a protestant church right now. The bus costs too much. And the most local Catholic church around me is too far.)
• You have to confess to a priest. Why can’t we just confess to God? Not to a human.
• Purgatory (which, what I have been told, isn’t Biblical)
• Extremely strict rules. Very fundamentalist.
• I have constantly heard Catholics say they are closest to God, or that only Catholics go to heaven. Which sounds very arrogant. Excuse any ignorance here, but this is what I have been told my Catholics themselves. I don’t understand. We all believe in Jesus and the Word, that’s that. It doesn’t matter what denomination you are apart of.

Again, I apologise if I come off as rude or ignorant. But all the Catholics I spoke to, apart from one, were rude to me. Which was horrible.

Answer my questions, please.

EDIT: To elaborate on the fact that I cannot go to church… The Catholic church most close to me is far away. I have to take 3 buses to get there, which costs too much. I can’t afford it. Honestly. Because I can’t even go to the most local church around me. That would mean I’d be sinning every week. I can’t take any money out of the bank to go to a Catholic church because then I would be in debt. I have loans to pay.

EDIT 2: I just saw this: independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/one-hell-of-a-deal-pope-francis-offers-reduced-time-in-purgatory-for-catholics-that-follow-him-on-twitter-8713666.html

I also read the comments. A lot of the reason why I choose not to be Catholic.

Just curious, but how was anybody on this forum rude to you when this is your first post?

 

[skrlife]

Just curious, but how was anybody on this forum rude to you when this is your first post?

I had an account before, but then I abandoned it. So I made a new one. I didn’t want to use my first one, just in case some people recognise me.

 

[skrlife]

Again, if you can’t get there, you are NOT obligated. Again, I urge you to talk to the priest and see if you can’t get a ride in with somebody, at least part of the time. And God bless you. I hope I helped. Please remember too, I tried to express authentic teaching. If I messed up in any way, it is MY fault, not the teaching of the Church. Thanks.

Hmm… Your arguments are very convincing. Still not sure.

 

[Semangelof]

To give Catholicism a fair shot I would release what you have heard from Protestants over their belief and read their own beliefs on each issue from their own words. Catholics and Protestants don’t speak the same language and so many things get lost in translation.

I wouldn’t be bothered by the rude Catholics, there is enough rude protestants to even the score.

 

[skrlife]

I wouldn’t be bothered by the rude Catholics, there is enough rude protestants to even the score.

I’m currently on two Christian forums, though, and I’ve only encountered one rude protestant. The Catholics on those forums were nice too.

 

[Semangelof]

I’m currently on two Christian forums, though, and I’ve only encountered one rude protestant. The Catholics on those forums were nice too.

The rude ones can be hard to catch. They come on here and do “drive bys” then peel off into the night.

 

[MaryT777]

To give Catholicism a fair shot I would release what you have heard from Protestants over their belief and read their own beliefs on each issue from their own words. Catholics and Protestants don’t speak the same language and so many things get lost in translation.

I wouldn’t be bothered by the rude Catholics, there is enough rude protestants to even the score.

The OP needs to read the non Catholic threads where it is noted the Pope is in the office of the Anti Christ. Lutherans are really true Catholics etc.

No need to make a decision based on posters on a message board. Better to look for the truth and note the Church is a hospital for sinners. If you find a Church with no sinners you don’t belong.

Mary.

 

[Razanir]

• You pray to Mary, which contradicts the Bible, when you are only supposed to worship God.
• Catholicism is full of guilt. Confessing your sins and getting a list out every night, ticking off every sin you have done isn’t…
• You have to go to Mass every Sunday, or you’re going to hell… (I can’t even afford to go to a protestant church right now. The bus costs too much. And the most local Catholic church around me is too far.)
• You have to confess to a priest. Why can’t we just confess to God? Not to a human.
• Purgatory (which, what I have been told, isn’t Biblical)
• Extremely strict rules. Very fundamentalist.
• I have constantly heard Catholics say they are closest to God, or that only Catholics go to heaven. Which sounds very arrogant. Excuse any ignorance here, but this is what I have been told my Catholics themselves. I don’t understand. We all believe in Jesus and the Word, that’s that. It doesn’t matter what denomination you are apart of.

1. Prayer is not the same thing as worship. Technically, if you ask your neighbor to pray for you, you’re praying to them. From a Catholic viewpoint, there are three groups of people in the Church. The Church Militant (here on Earth), the Church Penitent (Purgatory) and the Church Triumphant (in Heaven). We can all pray for each other.
2. If you can’t afford buses to get to Mass, you aren’t required to go. That said, you should still try to go a couple times per year (such as on Easter).
3. Jesus gave the apostles the ability to forgive sins (or more accurately, Jesus can forgive sins through them). The ability just “passes down” to validly ordained priests.
4. I offer two basic defenses of Purgatory:
   4a) Prayer for the dead. If a soul’s in Heaven, they’re already there and don’t need our prayers. If a soul’s in Hell, they’re already lost beyond all hope. Hence, if there is a point to praying for the dead, there must be a third position– that of Purgation
   4b) The basic concept of Purgatory is actually quite sound. You sin your entire life. Do you really think we are worthy to stand in God’s presence? Purgatory is like a last stop before Heaven where we are completely 100% cleaned of any and all sin. It’s where we are made spotless and truly worthy to stand in God’s presence.
5. The Church will not condemn anyone to Hell. The ONLY people whose salvation or lack thereof it affirms are the saints, who by definition, are in Heaven. That said, the Catholic Church also doesn’t think Protestantism is a particularly easy way to get into Heaven.

 

[Bonnie]

*]Extremely strict rules. Very fundamentalist.

I’m leaving all your other questions as others have answered them so well. But this one? All I can say is, “What?”

I grew up Baptist and Pentecostall. It has been a long time, but I recall a couple of rules: no dancing and no rock music. I’m glad the Catholic Church doesn’t have those rules because, old as I am, I love rock music and dancing!

Other “rules” we had in common with Catholics and other Christians - the Ten Commandments.

So what are these “extremely strict rules” you’ve encountered in the Catholic Church?

 

[getysbg]

Hi! Most of your concerns/objections could be answered in a couple of RCIA classes. BUT, pick up a copy of “Catholicism for Dummies”. Written by two priests, it will answer every question you asked plus a few more that you’re probably thinking about. Most converts to the faith had the same concerns/objections. Personally, I became a Catholic because I just couldn’t refute the explanations when they were presented in a calm, serious way. Another book is “Catholicism vs Fundlementalism” by Keating. Total cost for both should be around 35 but they usually can be found in public libraries.

Good luck and keep pushing for the truth! We have it - you just have to cross over the line and come home.

 

[Bonnie]

EDIT 2: I just saw this: independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/one-hell-of-a-deal-pope-francis-offers-reduced-time-in-purgatory-for-catholics-that-follow-him-on-twitter-8713666.html

I also read the comments. A lot of the reason why I choose not to be Catholic.

I haven’t read the comments (dial up is real slow today so I can’t get to the article), but I did read the article when it was published last month. You do realize the headline was inaccurate, don’t you? No one gets an indulgence just for following the Pope on Twitter. What was announced was that Catholics could get the information about indulgences on Twitter and other social media. In the past, you found out about indulgences from the Enchiridion (Handbook) of Indulgences or from your priest.

To gain an indulgence involves one’s intention, prayer, going to Confession & Mass, along with a few other particulars, such as going on a pilgrimage or whatever.

 

[bsroufek]

After preaching about the Eucharist in John Ch 6 and the disciples left Him, Jesus asked the Apostles if they were going to leave also. St. Peter repled, “Lord, where can we go? You have the words of everlasting Life?”

That’s why you should become Catholic, assuming of course that you’re given the Faith in at least most of the Church Doctrine: this is the One, Holy Church founded by Christ and the Apostles and, as Jesus promised, continues “until the end of time”.

God bless.

 

[Della]

I was raised Pentecostal and now I am non-denominational. I was a pagan for two years after leaving the Pentecostal faith. I became a Christian again after my pagan phase. Now, before I became a Christian, I was drawn to the Catholic faith. But, I was rudely talked to by the Catholics on this forum as well as in real life. Which pulled me directly from the faith, and became Protestant. Now, I loved the Catholic tradition, so I am wondering, why should I even become one?

Considering the following things (now, I hope I don’t come off as rude or ignorant. I admit that I am uneducated in this. Which is why I am asking):

• You pray to Mary, which contradicts the Bible, when you are only supposed to worship God.No we don’t. We only offer worship to God. Real worship means to offer a sacrifice and the only sacrifice we offer is the one Christ offered–himself. We ask for Mary’s intercession, which means we ask her to pray for us. Prayer is not necessarily worship–worship is only one form of prayer which we do not offer her. We give her exalted honor for her faithfulness which gave us our Lord Jesus, but we don’t worship her.
• Catholicism is full of guilt. Confessing your sins and getting a list out every night, ticking off every sin you have done isn’t…An examination of conscience merely means going over the day in your mind to be sure you didn’t deliberately disobey God. It’s like brushing your teeth every night or eating right, as someone else cited. It’s good for us because it keeps us honest about ourselves.
• You have to go to Mass every Sunday, or you’re going to hell… (I can’t even afford to go to a protestant church right now. The bus costs too much. And the most local Catholic church around me is too far.)As others have said, if you can’t go you aren’t obliged to go.
• You have to confess to a priest. Why can’t we just confess to God? Not to a human.We do go directly to God with our minor sins, but for serious ones we go to confession because we will be certain to be absolved and we can receive good counsel to help us not seriously sin again. Besides this, there are graces God gives us in confession.
• Purgatory (which, what I have been told, isn’t Biblical)No surprise, you’ve been told wrong about that.
• Extremely strict rules. Very fundamentalist.Just the opposite. I was a Fundamentalist Pentecostal who couldn’t do much of anything. When I became Catholic all things were lawful but not all things are beneficial as St. Paul tells us.
• I have constantly heard Catholics say they are closest to God, or that only Catholics go to heaven. Which sounds very arrogant. Excuse any ignorance here, but this is what I have been told my Catholics themselves. I don’t understand. We all believe in Jesus and the Word, that’s that. It doesn’t matter what denomination you are apart of.Again, you’ve been told wrong. All baptized Christians are considered as imperfectly joined to Christ’s Church. The fullness of truth subsists within the Catholic Church because it was founded by Christ himself on St. Peter and the Apostles.

Again, I apologise if I come off as rude or ignorant. But all the Catholics I spoke to, apart from one, were rude to me. Which was horrible.

I’m sorry to hear this. I hope you find us helpful in your quest to know the truth about the Church. :tiphat:

Answer my questions, please.

It’s hard to go into any depth when you’ve asked so many diverse questions. If you’d like you could start a new thread on each topic so we can respond more fully to each one.

EDIT: To elaborate on the fact that I cannot go to church… The Catholic church most close to me is far away. I have to take 3 buses to get there, which costs too much. I can’t afford it. Honestly. Because I can’t even go to the most local church around me. That would mean I’d be sinning every week. I can’t take any money out of the bank to go to a Catholic church because then I would be in debt. I have loans to pay.

Again, if you can’t go you aren’t obliged to go. As someone else suggested, contact the parish to see if they can arrange transportation for you.

EDIT 2: I just saw this: independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/one-hell-of-a-deal-pope-francis-offers-reduced-time-in-purgatory-for-catholics-that-follow-him-on-twitter-8713666.html

I also read the comments. A lot of the reason why I choose not to be Catholic.

The secular media is not a good place to learn about Catholic teaching and practices. And it hardly matters what uninformed people have to say about such things based on their own ignorance and an article in a newspaper. If you want to learn about authentic Catholic teaching about indulgences you should read about it on Catholic Answers or read about in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. You should get your information from the “horse’s mouth” if you want to know what we really believe.

 

[skrlife]

After reading everyone’s two cents, I’m officially interested in Catholicism again.
I’ll start learning about it tomorrow.

 

[TK421]

I was deterred by the things I saw in Catholics until it one day it occurred to me how much of a double standard I was showing towards overlooking the bad qualities in protestant groups. Once that emotional barrier was overcome I was free to focus on the merits of the faith itself.

If you want Heaven on Earth, you will never find a church home. Many people, to their doom, never involve themselves in any church in any sect of Christianity precisely for that reason. I hope you keep exploring the faith.

 

[getysbg]

After reading everyone’s two cents, I’m officially interested in Catholicism again.
I’ll start learning about it tomorrow.

That’s great! Ask questions, and if the answer doesn’t seem right, ask again! Be prepared for backlash from friends, etc. It’s always OK to admit you don’t have an answer, but get one and get back to them.

John

 

[Razanir]

We do go directly to God with our minor sins, but for serious ones we go to confession because we will be certain to be absolved and we can receive good counsel to help us not seriously sin again. Besides this, there are graces God gives us in confession.

Hmm… Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the difference really just mortal v venial?

 

[Ridgerunner]

After reading everyone’s two cents, I’m officially interested in Catholicism again.
I’ll start learning about it tomorrow.

One thing you really need to keep in mind is that, while a lot of Catholics are very kindly (many more kindly than I am, I must admit) many are also very committed. And among those who are committed, most are very definite about what they believe and know why they believe it. Rare is the committed Catholic who will temporize, let alone compromise with much that Protestantism has to offer. Part of that has to do with the fact that the Catholic Church really does claim to have the truth, and further claims the authority to teach the truth. Truly committed Catholics are on all fours with that and will not accept views contrary to the teachings of the Church. Some might think of that as hostility, but it really isn’t. It’s conviction.

Having said that, I welcome you to your journey.