ECT Why shouldn't I convert from Evangelical Protestant to Catholic?

R

RichRock

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CatholicCrusader said:
Jesus said his Church would be "the light of the world." This means his Church must be a visible organization. It must have characteristics that clearly identify it and that distinguish it from other churches. Jesus promised, "I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). This means that his Church will never be destroyed and will never fall away from him. His Church will survive until his return.

Among the Christian churches, only the Catholic Church has existed since the time of Jesus. Every other Christian church is an offshoot of the Catholic Church. The Eastern Orthodox churches broke away from unity with the pope in 1054. The Protestant churches were established during the Reformation, which began in 1517. (Most of today’s Protestant churches are actually offshoots of the original Protestant offshoots.)

Only the Catholic Church existed in the tenth century, in the fifth century, and in the first century, faithfully teaching the doctrines given by Christ to the apostles, omitting nothing. The line of popes can be traced back, in unbroken succession, to Peter himself. This is unequaled by any institution in history.

Even the oldest government is new compared to the papacy, and the churches that send out door-to-door missionaries are young compared to the Catholic Church. Many of these churches began as recently as the nineteenth or twentieth centuries. Some even began during your own lifetime. None of them can claim to be the Church Jesus established.

The Catholic Church has existed for nearly 2,000 years, despite constant opposition from the world. This is testimony to the Church’s divine origin. Any merely human organization would have collapsed early on. The Catholic Church is today the most vigorous church in the world (and the largest, with over a billion members: one sixth of the human race), and that is testimony not to the cleverness of the Church’s leaders, but to the protection of the Holy Spirit.

FOUR MARKS OF THE TRUE CHURCH

If we wish to locate the Church founded by Jesus, we need to locate the one that has the four chief marks or qualities of his Church. The Church we seek must be one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.

The Church Is One (Rom. 12:5, 1 Cor. 10:17, 12:13)

Jesus established only one Church, not a collection of differing churches (Lutheran, Baptist, Anglican, and so on). The Bible says the Church is the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:23–32). Jesus can have but one spouse, and his spouse is the Catholic Church. His Church also teaches just one set of doctrines, which must be the same as those taught by the apostles (Jude 3). This is the unity of belief to which Scripture calls us (Phil. 1:27, 2:2). Over the centuries, as doctrines are examined more fully, the Church comes to understand them more deeply (John 16:12–13), but it never understands them to mean the opposite of what they once meant.

The Church Is Holy (Eph. 5:25–27, Rev. 19:7–8)

By his grace Jesus makes the Church holy, just as he is holy. This doesn’t mean that each member is always holy. Jesus said there would be both good and bad members in the Church (John 6:70), and not all the members would go to heaven (Matt. 7:21–23). But the Church itself is holy because it is the source of holiness and is the guardian of the special means of grace Jesus established, the sacraments (cf. Eph. 5:26).

The Church Is Catholic (Matt. 28:19–20, Rev. 5:9–10)

Jesus’ Church is called catholic ("universal" in Greek) because it is his gift to all people. He told his apostles to go throughout the world and make disciples of "all nations" (Matt. 28:19–20). For 2,000 years the Catholic Church has carried out this mission, preaching the good news that Christ died for all men and that he wants all of us to be members of his universal family (Gal. 3:28). Nowadays the Catholic Church is found in every country of the world and is still sending out missionaries to "make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28:19).

The Church Jesus established was known by its most common title, "the Catholic Church," at least as early as the year 107, when Ignatius of Antioch used that title to describe the one Church Jesus founded. The title apparently was old in Ignatius’s time, which means it probably went all the way back to the time of the apostles.

The Church Is Apostolic (Eph. 2:19–20, CCC 857–865)

The Church Jesus founded is apostolic because he appointed the apostles to be the first leaders of the Church, and their successors were to be its future leaders. The apostles were the first bishops, and, since the first century, there has been an unbroken line of Catholic bishops faithfully handing on what the apostles taught the first Christians in Scripture and oral Tradition (2 Tim. 2:2). These beliefs include the bodily Resurrection of Jesus, the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, the sacrificial nature of the Mass, the forgiveness of sins through a priest, baptismal regeneration, the existence of purgatory, Mary’s special role, and much more —even the doctrine of apostolic succession itself. Early Christian writings prove the first Christians were thoroughly Catholic in belief and practice and looked to the successors of the apostles as their leaders. What these first Christians believed is still believed by the Catholic Church. No other Church can make that claim.


Man’s ingenuity cannot account for this. The Church has remained one, holy, catholic, and apostolic—not through man’s effort, but because God preserves the Church he established (Matt. 16:18, 28:20).

He guided the Israelites on their escape from Egypt by giving them a pillar of fire to light their way across the dark wilderness (Exod. 13:21). Today he guides us through his Catholic Church.

The Bible, sacred Tradition, and the writings of the earliest Christians testify that the Church teaches with Jesus’ authority. In this age of countless competing religions, each clamoring for attention, one voice rises above the din: the Catholic Church, which the Bible calls "the pillar and foundation of truth" (1 Tim. 3:15).

Jesus assured the apostles and their successors, the popes and the bishops, "He who listens to you listens to me, and he who rejects you rejects me" (Luke 10:16). Jesus promised to guide his Church into all truth (John 16:12–13). We can have confidence that his Church teaches only the truth.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE CHURCH

Jesus chose the apostles to be the earthly leaders of the Church. He gave them his own authority to teach and to govern—not as dictators, but as loving pastors and fathers. That is why Catholics call their spiritual leaders "father." In doing so we follow Paul’s example: "I became your father in Jesus Christ through the gospel" (1 Cor. 4:15).

The apostles, fulfilling Jesus’ will, ordained bishops, priests, and deacons and thus handed on their apostolic ministry to them—the fullest degree of ordination to the bishops, lesser degrees to the priests and deacons

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Post adapted from this source: http://www.catholic.com/documents/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth
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That makes a lot of sense, thanks for posting it :)
 
R

RichRock

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CatholicCrusader said:
Bookmark the link. Its the online version of this booklet:

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This is from that booklet:


THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE

All the alternatives to Catholicism are showing themselves to be inadequate: the worn-out secularism that is everywhere around us and that no one any longer finds satisfying, the odd cults and movements that offer temporary community but no permanent home, even the other, incomplete brands of Christianity. As our tired world becomes ever more desperate, people are turning to the one alternative they never really had considered: the Catholic Church. They are coming upon truth in the last place they expected to find it.

Always Attractive

How can this be? Why are so many people seriously looking at the Catholic Church for the first time? Something is pulling them toward it. That something is truth.This much we know: They are not considering the claims of the Church out of a desire to win public favor. Catholicism, at least nowadays, is never popular. You cannot win a popularity contest by being a faithful Catholic. Our fallen world rewards the clever, not the good. If a Catholic is praised, it is for the worldly skills he demonstrates, not for his Christian virtues.Although people try to avoid the hard doctrinal and moral truths the Catholic Church offers them (because hard truths demand that lives be changed), they nevertheless are attracted to the Church. When they listen to the pope and the bishops in union with him, they hear words with the ring of truth—even if they find that truth hard to live by.When they contemplate the history of the Catholic Church and the lives of its saints, they realize there must be something special, maybe something supernatural, about an institution that can produce holy people such as St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Mother Teresa.When they step off a busy street and into the aisles of an apparently empty Catholic church, they sense not a complete emptiness, but a presence. They sense that*Someone*resides inside, waiting to comfort them.They realize that the persistent opposition that confronts the Catholic Church—whether from non-believers or "Bible Christians" or even from people who insist on calling themselves Catholics—is a sign of the Church’s divine origin (John 15:18–21). And they come to suspect that the Catholic Church, of all things, is the wave of the future.

Incomplete Christianity Is Not Enough

Over the last few decades many Catholics have left the Church, many dropping out of religion entirely, many joining other churches. But the traffic has not been in only one direction.The traffic toward Rome has increased rapidly. Today we are seeing more than a hundred and fifty thousand converts enter the Catholic Church each year in the United States, and in some other places, like the continent of Africa, there are more than a million converts to the Catholic faith each year. People of no religion, lapsed or inactive Catholics, and members of other Christian churches are "coming home to Rome."They are attracted to the Church for a variety of reasons, but the chief reason they convert is the chief reason*you*should be Catholic: The solid truth of the Catholic faith.

..............

My thread starter as you know was this 'Why shouldn't I convert from Evangelical Protestant to Catholic?''

The last line of the above statement seems to answer the question...basically I shouldn't convert if I don't want the truth.
 
R

RichRock

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chrysostom said:
no

how would you go about getting music directors to convert?
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I see lol.

Not sure, don't know much about that side of life. Why and why do you need help in that area? Is the music scene in your church that bad? (Joking)

Sorry but your question can be interpreted multiple ways
 
chrysostom

chrysostom

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RichRock said:
I see lol.

Not sure, don't know much about that side of life. Why and why do you need help in that area? Is the music scene in your church that bad?
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there are exceptions
but
for the most part it is really bad

I was able to answer my own question shortly after asking it

we should hire music directors who are not catholic just to get the others to convert
 
R

RichRock

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chrysostom said:
there are exceptions
but
for the most part it is really bad

I was able to answer my own question shortly after asking it

we should hire music directors who are not catholic just to get the others to convert
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I get it :) Bit slow today...must be the effect of all that popcorn watching yesterday's performance from my haters on the thread.
 
zippy2006

zippy2006

New member
Desert Reign said:
1. You need to understand that the church you are joining is endemically full of non-Christians.
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Matthew 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

2. If you think it will be your ministry to convert them from within then you will pay the price for that over the years in frustration. It will be no different to marrying someone who you know deep down is not suited to you and who you think will change as time goes on. They won't.
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We serve God and marry Christ. It is a very fundamental error to despair and leave the Church because you could not "convert" someone, whether they are inside or outside the Church.

I can also think of another reason not to become a Catholic now. It is based on personal experience of several Catholic posters here, being converts, and a few others I have known over the years. In my opinion they spend all their waking hours trying to justify their conversion, trying to uphold the authority of the Catholic church, defending difficult doctrines like the immaculate conception, purgatory, the authority of the pope. They seem to feel a need to do this kind of thing in a way that seems to me to be bordering on the pathological, in a way that no 'born' Catholic would ever do. To me, it is a waste of a life when you do a thing and then spend all your time defending your action instead of doing those things that your action entailed.
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Your problem is with humans, not Catholics.

And speaking of action, I would advise that you consider what will be different in the expression of your faith after you join the Catholic church: will it bring you closer to God? Will it give you more opportunities to serve Christ than you already have? Will it change your attitude to other believers? Will God think any better of you?
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If the Catholic Church is Christ's Church, then of course these things will happen. Furthermore, I think there is ample evidence that the Catholic Church is that Church.

-zip :e4e:
 
Catholic Crusader

Catholic Crusader

Kyrie Eleison
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RichRock said:
This is from that booklet:


THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE

All the alternatives to Catholicism are showing themselves to be inadequate: the worn-out secularism that is everywhere around us and that no one any longer finds satisfying, the odd cults and movements that offer temporary community but no permanent home, even the other, incomplete brands of Christianity. As our tired world becomes ever more desperate, people are turning to the one alternative they never really had considered: the Catholic Church. They are coming upon truth in the last place they expected to find it.

Always Attractive

How can this be? Why are so many people seriously looking at the Catholic Church for the first time? Something is pulling them toward it. That something is truth.This much we know: They are not considering the claims of the Church out of a desire to win public favor. Catholicism, at least nowadays, is never popular. You cannot win a popularity contest by being a faithful Catholic. Our fallen world rewards the clever, not the good. If a Catholic is praised, it is for the worldly skills he demonstrates, not for his Christian virtues.Although people try to avoid the hard doctrinal and moral truths the Catholic Church offers them (because hard truths demand that lives be changed), they nevertheless are attracted to the Church. When they listen to the pope and the bishops in union with him, they hear words with the ring of truth—even if they find that truth hard to live by.When they contemplate the history of the Catholic Church and the lives of its saints, they realize there must be something special, maybe something supernatural, about an institution that can produce holy people such as St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Mother Teresa.When they step off a busy street and into the aisles of an apparently empty Catholic church, they sense not a complete emptiness, but a presence. They sense that*Someone*resides inside, waiting to comfort them.They realize that the persistent opposition that confronts the Catholic Church—whether from non-believers or "Bible Christians" or even from people who insist on calling themselves Catholics—is a sign of the Church’s divine origin (John 15:18–21). And they come to suspect that the Catholic Church, of all things, is the wave of the future.

Incomplete Christianity Is Not Enough

Over the last few decades many Catholics have left the Church, many dropping out of religion entirely, many joining other churches. But the traffic has not been in only one direction.The traffic toward Rome has increased rapidly. Today we are seeing more than a hundred and fifty thousand converts enter the Catholic Church each year in the United States, and in some other places, like the continent of Africa, there are more than a million converts to the Catholic faith each year. People of no religion, lapsed or inactive Catholics, and members of other Christian churches are "coming home to Rome."They are attracted to the Church for a variety of reasons, but the chief reason they convert is the chief reason*you*should be Catholic: The solid truth of the Catholic faith.

..............

My thread starter as you know was this 'Why shouldn't I convert from Evangelical Protestant to Catholic?''

The last line of the above statement seems to answer the question...basically I shouldn't convert if I don't want the truth.
Click to expand...


There you go man, its all about the Truth. God bless ya' :up:
 
God's Truth

God's Truth

New member
RichRock said:
I have been Evangelical Protestant most of my life, even spending some time living in a fulltime religious community.

The more I researched the origin of the bible and the history of my faith, the more I discovered the Catholic Church.

I am taking steps towards joining the Catholic Church and my question is this....'Why shouldn't I?'

I am not asking because I doubt my journey, I am asking because I haven't come across a good enough reason NOT to join.

Each side, for and against may debate, I look forward to reading each side's responses.

So, why shouldn't I convert to the Catholic Church?
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Did you want God's Truth, or some denomination's truth?
 
God's Truth

God's Truth

New member
chrysostom said:
we will listen
if
you can tell us what it is
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I am so glad that you will listen.

All denominations teach some form of falseness.

God wants us to seek Him, and He says that we will find Him, if we seek Him with all our heart, mind, and soul.

We seek God by searching the scriptures.

We find God by doing everything that Jesus says.
 
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