Why would someone choose a Protestant Religion over Catholicism?

[followingtheway]

I like the fact that one is allowed to think and question in protestant churches with the Bible being the primary authority.

Two loopholes in that argument

1. 
   *] If everyone, is allowed to make their interpretation of the Bible, it’s going to contradict someone else’s. So who’s right? Take the thousands of Protestant denominations that don’t agree with each other, and I love to death but come on, there’s only one truth.
   *] You’re allowed to think in the Catholic Church too, but there’s still only one truth. But I’m sure a Protestant Church wouldn’t like if you deny at teaching of theirs like the iconoclasm, the rapture, the millennium, once saved always saved, sola fide, sola scriptura, and so on…

 

[fhansen]

I’ve never been Protestant, and I’m only college age, so maybe someone here can help me understand something.

When I hear my Protestant friends talk about what their Church/Religion believes and how it works, it seems to be very disorganized and unclear.

There usually isn’t a central book, like the catechism, where people can go to learn about their Church’s theology.

There isn’t a central figure, like the Pope, that is actively speaking on behalf of the Church to many leaders of countries and organizations.

There usually isn’t a uniform doctrine and liturgy that connects the different churches together.

Overall, I just get a feeling that there isn’t much advice/guidelines that the Church gives for everyday life.

It seems that there is the Pastor’s sermon, and that’s about it.

I’m sorry if I wrote this in an insensitive way. I’m having trouble articulating my thoughts and it results in them sounding rather rude.

At about your age I quit the CC because I didn’t know if I believed the gospel she preached, or any other gospel for that matter. I later became Protestant, after spending quite a bit of time in the bible, thinking Luther had things right. Later, after arguing with Christians and quasi-Christians over the meaning of Scripture, with each side often having very plausible but differing interpretations, I came to realize that basing ones’ beliefs on scripture alone was an untenable position-there either had to be another means of discerning the truth or there was simply no way of knowing it for sure. Then the only Churches that could logically, historically vie for the title of “church”, whether I liked it or not, were the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.

 

[tabbey48]

The Protestant Churches I served for many years put great emphasis on the thought from Philippians 2:12Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

The whole Catholic concept of needing anything more than the local church/pastor to guide us was not considered important. The important thing was our individual relationship with God.

It took many years of prayerful study to bring me to the Catholic Church. And it wasn’t the doctrine that was hard for me to accept…it was some of the very same kind of people I occasionally see in this forum–the “everybody’s going to hell except us” crowd-- that made me turn away for a while. It was only when I began to understand the generous and welcoming spirit of the Catholic people–much like Jesus when he was on earth–that I was able to leave the Protestant church which had been my home for so many year and become Catholic.

 

[Kristin234]

Being close to God is what it’s all about.

Thank you! I mean, I respect those that practice Catholicism. Half my family is Catholic and I completely respect that, and if that is what helps them understand the nature of God and it makes them feel that their worship for him is greater when they are a part of the Catholic Church then good for them.

I just don’t like when people jump to conclusions and automatically assume that I go to a Protestant church because I was never strong in my faith or I didn’t understand it. That is what my family actually thought until they started to see the changes that were happening in me. My uncle himself said that he would rather see me going to a Protestant church and getting stronger in my faith everyday than stay in the Orthodox church or join the Catholic Church and feel no passion for Christ - and that is coming from a priest.

And fhansen I wasn’t talking about Protestantism or Catholicism. What you quoted was me responding to PattiDay who said the Bible is full of contradiction. If the Bible is full of contradictions then it cannot be a holy book. That was my point. It had nothing to do with interpretations or Protestant interpretations.

 

[fhansen]

And fhansen I wasn’t talking about Protestantism or Catholicism. What you quoted was me responding to PattiDay who said the Bible is full of contradiction. If the Bible is full of contradictions then it cannot be a holy book. That was my point. It had nothing to do with interpretations or Protestant interpretations.

I understand. My point was that it doesn’t matter whether or not the bible has contradictions or whether or not it’s a holy book if we can’t agree on it’s interpretation-IOW if we still contradict each other even with the bible’s (name removed by moderator)ut.

 

[MarkBrown]

I like the fact that one is allowed to think and question in protestant churches with the Bible being the primary authority.

too sweeping a comment for protestantism. A friend of my oldest daughter stayed with us for a few days as her parents and church cast her out for questioning doctrine…not core doctrine like the Divinity of Christ etc.

Also, in protestant churches, there is not the freedom you think there is. There is alot of pressure to “toe the line” of the denomination, group or individual church.

Mark

 

[MarkBrown]

The Bible is full of contradictions, so to whom do you go with a question?

Some go to the pastor, some the Sunday school teacher, a favorite author…many search for a person or group to validate their interpretation of the scripture. Hence the splintering of so many protestant groups.

I was a Baptist. Laity and clergy at one time. My home church split over differing opinions of scripture, pastor personality, etc. As a Baptist and Anglican minister I got sick of hearing “thats good for you, but I…”

Catholicism has freed me more than protestantism.

Mark

 

[MarkBrown]

are you saying that such behavior is unbiblical or unchristian?

Gal 1:8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach (to you) a gospel other than the one that we preached to you, let that one be accursed! 7

Mat 23:3 "You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

Mat 23:33
But woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men, for you yourselves do not enter in; and those that are going in, you suffer not to enter.

If you are going to proof text to support a position, especially with a “bible” protestant, you better get the scripture references correct. Matt 23:3 and 23:33 do not say what you quoted. A “bible” protestant would write you off as ignorant of the scriptures.

The passages I think you are looking for are Mat 23:13 for the woe to the Pharisees and 23:33 for brood of serpents. You got Gal 1:8 correct.

Now go read the entire passages of these verses. When I was a protestant minister, especially a Baptist, these passages were use to attack the Church which had added to the gospel as Jesus says in Matt 23 and Paul in Gal 1 false teachers added to the Laws of Moses and the Gospel of Jesus.

Most, again most, protestants do not add to the gospel. So these passages do not apply to them. An argument can be made that some, again some, protestants minimize the gospel…ie what is the least I have to do to get by or attain salvation. But then again so do way too many Catholics.

Catholicism is a purer form of the gospel. But I do not discount my protestant past. In prostantism I was introduce to the study of scripture, the love of God and salvation throught Christ. I thank God for my protestant past. It lead me home to the Church.

Sadly the Church did very little to guide me home. If any one wants further info on this pm me so as not to de-rail the thread.

Mark

 

[tabbey48]

MarkBrown quote:

Catholicism is a purer form of the gospel. But I do not discount my protestant past. In prostantism I was introduce to the study of scripture, the love of God and salvation throught Christ. I thank God for my protestant past. It lead me home to the Church.

Thank you, Mark! That may well be the testimony of many of us! God has used a variety of experiences to bring us to the point where we are today. We thank God for them all. Your post reflects maturity and wisdom.

 

[Izdaari]

Awesome find, Jon!

Yes, it is! Ratzinger was one of my favorite Christian writers before (even though I’m not Catholic), and that makes me love him even more. His is an opinion Catholics will have a hard time dismissing… because he’s the Pope now.

 

[Flavius_Aetius]

Being close to God is what it’s all about.

It’s this bend over backwards garbage that made me give up on Catholicism. If by some miracle I would find faith it would never be in any protestant denomination.

 

[Izdaari]

To answer the OP’s question:

I didn’t choose to become Catholic or Protestant. I chose to become Christian after being a student of many different philosophies and religions.

I had accepted Christ as my savior in a Baptist church at about age 12, but during my teens I lost my faith altogether and instead became a seeker after the truth wherever I could find it. I looked at all the major world religions, parapsychology, various forms of paganism and New Age stuff, and many different secular philosophies, including Ayn Rand’s Objectivism.

After all that, I became an agnostic, almost an atheist (though I could never quite bring myself to say for sure that there is no God). I thought at the time that was where I was going to stay. But no… Alan Watts turned me on to Taoism, Zen Buddhism and Vedanta, and the truths they taught showed me that a merely material view of the universe was insufficient. I found pieces of the cosmic jigsaw puzzle that fit into a bigger picture.

In C.S. Lewis’ spiritual autobiography, Surprised by Joy, he explains how, from an intellectual rationalist skeptic starting point, he became convinced that first theism, then Christianity were true. He didn’t want to believe either, but the evidence was too strong. That’s what happened with me too. As with Lewis, the concept of “True Myth” (as explained to him by his Catholic friend, Tolkien) was key.

So… I became Christian again, at age 21, in college, 35 years ago. At the time, it was Protestant by default because that’s the only flavor of Christianity I was familiar with so I took that more or less for granted.

I never did think of Protestantism, Catholicism and Orthodoxy as different religions, just as different Christian traditions, all more or less equally valid. And now, I’m more familiar with all three, and that’s still my opinion. There are things about Catholicism and Orthodoxy I find attractive, some things I think they have right that we Protestants don’t, but I haven’t found them to be more true overall, else I’d convert to one or the other.

 

[mathematoons]

I just don’t like when people jump to conclusions and automatically assume that I go to a Protestant church because I was never strong in my faith or I didn’t understand it. That is what my family actually thought until they started to see the changes that were happening in me. My uncle himself said that he would rather see me going to a Protestant church and getting stronger in my faith everyday than stay in the Orthodox church or join the Catholic Church and feel no passion for Christ - and that is coming from a priest.

Well, that makes sense.

But I don’t understand what it is about the Catholic Church that made you “feel no passion for Christ” and the Protestant church that made you get stronger in your faith. If you’ve already explained it, then I still don’t get it. I’m trying to.

 

[Rightlydivide]

I will answer the question in your header. When people have a conversion experience, it is not traditional to pause it…and examine the thousands of other churches. That would be odd.
The reason they would choose to stay in their church upon examination of other churches would be that they agree doctrinally with their present church, have many friends, see the fruits of the Spirit in the church, and probably many other reasons.

 

[CMatt25]

Two loopholes in that argument

1. 
   *] If everyone, is allowed to make their interpretation of the Bible, it’s going to contradict someone else’s. So who’s right? Take the thousands of Protestant denominations that don’t agree with each other, and I love to death but come on, there’s only one truth.
   *] You’re allowed to think in the Catholic Church too, but there’s still only one truth. But I’m sure a Protestant Church wouldn’t like if you deny at teaching of theirs like the iconoclasm, the rapture, the millennium, once saved always saved, sola fide, sola scriptura, and so on…

1. 
   The one Truth (Jn 14:6) Whom in faith Christians shall meet when He comes again. (1Thess 4:13-18)
   
   Til then we walk by faith. Not by sight. Which is why Catholic and Protestant faiths are called just that. Faith.
   
   Depending on the denomination, some appear to allow more disagreement than others.
   
   God bless you and all who travel their faith journeys with peace.

 

[BartBurk]

Protestants seem happier about their religion than Catholics do.

 

[rikkk1958]

Why did Luther protested? Why some bishops (early church) became heretics?

Knowledge and free will imo is the reason. Some probably thought that their understanding is better than others. When Luther protested, he did not like what the Church was doing. His knowledge provided him enough decision making to be an apostate although adhered to most of the teachings of the Church. His biggest mistake is that he forgets what the Church is all about, the Divinity that was founded by Christ. He did not wish to obey because he thought that his contemporaries at that time may have taught wrong doctrines and decided that some books from the Bible compiled by the Church Fathers should not be included.

As Church member during that time, you may have to ask yourself whom to follow. Some followed the Apostolic tradition which trust Peter as the one given the authority to build the Church. The early Church Fathers did countless hours studying the Scriptures and teachings of the apostles and disciples thus deciding in concerted efforts by the bishops and declared unanimously what dogma to follow. If I was that member I would follow what had begun for the obedience to the instruction of Jesus Christ. Because I believe that they were guided by the Holy Spirit.

 

[Carolus_Martell]

Why would someone choose a Protestant Religion over Catholicism?

If mommy say no, ask daddy, if daddy say’s no, ask grandma ma.

 

[PbloPicasso]

The Bible is the written word of God. It is written by men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. God does not contradict himself. If you believe the Bible is full of contradictions then it cannot be a holy and perfect book. If it is not a holy and perfect book then it is not from God.

Let me apologize for the comment you replied to. Unfortunately, most Catholic fail to learn their faith. i was one of those and fell into that trap as a Catholic early on. There are many Catholics that have adopted heretical thinking. Our best weapon against this is prayer.

The bible does not really contradict itself. That is what atheist tend to adopt in order to justify their apostacy. Scripture in light of truth does not contradict itself. I used to be a fundamentalist and found my way back home to the Catholic Church as a result of many years of bible study.

 

[fhansen]

Protestants seem happier about their religion than Catholics do.

Yes, but it depends on the Catholic. Many Protestants we run into nowadays are newer converts to evangelical type churches. Cradle Catholics, OTOH, who’ve not explored the faith very deeply may often be less certain of-and excited about- why they’re there.