Posted on 07/17/2011 11:09:48 AM PDT by cubsbearsnorthwestern
Catholic Ping here!
If you are a baptized Catholic you will always be a Catholic, so why not learn about your religion?
The purpose of the Ten Commandments are to tell us what it means to be obedient. They cannot save us.
Chrisy didn’t nullify the Ten Commandments. The heart of the Pharisees were such that they were trying to figure out how close to the line could they get, without going over, and still be considered keeping the commandments.
Christ redefined the keeping of the Commandments from being one of action to being one of intent.
**basic Christianity**
Catholicism was the first church.
Don’t fall for one of the thousands of other denominations.
There is only ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC AND APOSTOLIC CHURCH!
b
Look back into the Catholic Church. If you could expand on what your concerns are regarding Catholicism, there are some folks on here that could help. A lot of problematic stuff people hear about the Catholic Church isn’t true.
Thank you everyone for your responses so far.
When I said basic christianity that was a bad term. I meant non speicific denomination probably more than basic christianity.
I live in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.
All help given so far is greatly appreciated.
Fantastic! You are now a child of the King!
Lots on FR (and in churches, and other places) are going to try and win you over to their places, but I would suggest as another poster did doing prayer, seeking Him in bible study.
A basic good bible with lots of helps is on blueletterbible.org Lots of good study helps and classic Christianity tools and notes.
http://www.blueletterbible.org/
You want to stay with traditional christianity. You will find fellowships broken up into several catagories, and it can get confusing. But weigh everything against the bible, and that will help. The absolute number one thing you want to stick with is that Jesus is Lord, God and Savior, and that should be the emphasis of any fellowship you enter.
If it starts to be trees, people, or a particular person, or a lot of rules like how you should do things, Jesus is not the center. Try somewhere else.
Just remember, God will never fail you. You might run into situations where it looks like He has, but it’s only people making mistakes, not Him. I learned this the hard way. If you run into a church that disappoints you, the mistake was made on the human side. I promise you that.
I would suggest you find a good Bible-based church. These tend to be smaller churches, for the most part, I think and may have Bible, or Community or something like that in the name. For example: ABC Bible Church, or ABC Community Church. I recall seeing some with “Independent Baptist” in the name.
I’d personally start there. Might look in the yellow pages or in a community newspaper for the names of churches and go out whatever radius you’re comfortable in traveling. Visit until you find one that fits you.
Such churches do not have a denominational hierarchy but hold only the Bible as their standard. There will usually be a pastor, elders (sort of like the board of directors) and deacons (in the ones with which I am familiar, the deacons handle operations such as yard cutting, maintenance and other service oriented activities).
Baptists, particularly Southern Baptists, tend to be good, too, but one starts getting into denominationalism. And, you probably already know the other protestant denominations.
Just a thought.
I disagree.
The age of a church is irrelevant, if error has crept into its denominational positions.
I’m saying that in principle, not being Anti-Catholic. What one needs to do is read and come to an understanding of God’s Word.
If that path leads to the Catholic Church, so be it. If one is reading the Bible and that path leads to becoming a Baptist, that is just as good.
>>Looking for the bare minumum, eh? It really doesn’t matter then. I suppose you could be a Unitarian or something. If you’re interested in acually getting something out of what you’re looking for, I suggest you set higher standards than “basic Christianity”.<<
Well, aren’t you nice to the new kid on the block...I take it you are not a Believer. Believer’s have a tender heart towards new kids...we really love them...we remember when we were new and didn’t know much. Basic Christianity 101 is a good place to start. Prayer and a Bible is all you need.
If you are really serious here are three excellent websites.
http://yimcatholic.blogspot.com/
http://www.agreeley.com/articles/why.html
http://www.ourcatholicfaith.org/reasons.html
Geta set of CDs from Oliver B.Greene out of Greenville, South Carolina. He will not teach any heresy, He will remain true to the Bible.
Catholicism IS basic Christianity. Carefully read the 6th chapter of the Gospel of John as well as the 1st chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. And perhaps you should read this book: http://www.amazon.com/Rome-Sweet-Home-Journey-Catholicism/dp/0898704782
Thanks for the non-contributing sarcastic reply. The poster said he wanted to go the non-Catholic route and asked for suggestions. Exploring local options is a good place to start.
Try this site: Catholics Come Home
http://www.catholicscomehome.org/
The Catholic Church is like a family – some great and holy members and others are not there yet.
This is the Church established by Jesus Christ and protected by the Holy Spirit.
The Catholic Church is the only church today that can claim to be the one church founded by Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago. Other denominations can trace their origins back to various human founders at a later date in history. (How old is your church?)
In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said to Peter, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.” Jesus handed the authority to guide the Church in His name to Peter and the apostles, to be passed down through the centuries.
The Church is the body of Christ (Ephesians 5:23). Christ established only one Church—one body—so that there would not be multiple “bodies” with conflicting doctrines. After all, God cannot contradict Himself.
Christ also wanted His Church to be visible, so all may see that the Church is indeed one, just as Christ and the Father are one (John 17:22 ).
This one, visible church, with divine authority and consistent doctrine that Christ established 2,000 years ago is the Catholic Church, the pillar and foundation of truth (1 Timothy 3:15).
As Paul asks in 1 Corinthians, “Is Christ divided?” (1 Corinthians 1:13). No. That is not what the Christ intended. So, He established one Church.
Sadly, some former Catholics today have expressed a sense of emptiness in their spiritual lives. They may have gone to Mass on Sundays and found themselves just “going through the motions”. They may not have felt close to the Lord, or welcomed in their home parish. They may have thought the music wasn’t as good as it could be, or discovered that the people around them weren’t as friendly as they hoped they would be. All in all, those feelings may have led to some sensing like they were just not being fed in the Catholic Church.
Sometimes, these feelings cause people to decide to drift away from the Church. Maybe they choose to just stop practicing their faith altogether, or they go to a local non-Catholic church that seems more exciting and upbeat.
But the solution to the problem of not being fed actually lies in the Catholic Church. Whether or not the music or preaching or programs are the way we may wish them to be, it is in the Catholic Church that we find the one and only place where we can be truly fed with the Bread from Heaven: Jesus Christ, in the Holy Eucharist.
Our closest encounter Jesus is when He gives Himself to us, at each and every Mass in the Eucharist. It doesn’t get any more exciting than that.
Once we realize that our deepest yearning can only be fulfilled in the Eucharist, we will begin to see that it is in the Eucharist that we find the true life and liveliness of our faith. Only the Catholic Church can feed us with this food that fully satisfies, and only with this food—the Eucharist—will your yearning be fulfilled, and your restlessness ended.
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 ).
“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst…I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh’” (John 6:35,51).
What is important is your relationship with God and you can receive HIM daily in the Eucharist.
Welcome Home.
Read the story of Scott and Kimberly Hahn’s conversion from Presbyterianism to Catholicism.
Rome Sweet Home — it may answer many of your questions.
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