I'm joining the Catholic Church next month. Advice/Books/Etc.?

[maryz]

Since your view is idiosyncratic, to say the least, perhaps you should explain in some detail how you arrived at it.

[OLD REGGIE]

Yeah, I could answer you outright but it is like everything else on these threads, it has been answered numerous times.

Thanks for your friendly response.

[lastchance]

Now a sensible Baptist would put that rattlesnake in the potluck. Just kidding. I know dang good and well Baptists do not snake handle or drink cyanide or tell their wives their butts look big in those pants.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

You can't teach an old bigot new tricks.

I guess your only response is to make personally derogatory remarks about other FReepers.

In that regard, your tag is dead-on.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

And chock-full of sound argument and solid defense of the faith. 8~)

[Judith Anne]

You can’t teach an old bigot new tricks.

I think I'll take that for my new temporary tagline, if you have no objection?

[tiki]

You’re quite welcome.

[nanetteclaret]

A Catholic will say that he or she genuflects to God the Son - Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Protestants worship pieces of paper. They pretend to justify it by saying the Bible is the Word of God, but they worship it and not God. I’ve seen too many of them who can’t function without their Bibles in their hands. Which leads me to believe they’ve turned pieces of paper into their idol.

There. How does it feel to be deliberately misunderstood?

[TASMANIANRED]

Bingo

Amen to your prayers.

[evangmlw]

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God".

Yeah buddy, I'll stick with the Word. You go ahead and stick your head in the sand with the rest of those who choose to ignore the Word. The Bible is God's written Word my friend, not Catholic dogma.

[AnAmericanMother]

LOL! That rates right up there with Wife 1.1!!!!

[wagglebee]

Excellent response!

[BlackElk]

An otherwise brilliant Jesuit priest, the late Leonard Feeney, SJ, made the mistake of reading and interpreting Scripture on his own and without adequate submission to the Teaching Magisterium of the Catholic Church. He took the Scriptural passage that "outside the Church there is no salvation" a tad too seriously and then some. Feeney concluded for several decade that all non-Catholics were, as you suggest, lost (regarding their salvation). The Church answered Fr. Feeney on this point by severely punishing him and IIRC separating him from the Church by excommunication (which does pose an interesting dilemma for the exclusivist crowd, doesn't it?). Fr. Feeney eventually repented his sinful preachings in that respect (whatever his unreconciled followers may claim) and was restored to full communion with Rome.

I was a Catholic child in New Haven, Connecticut, when Feeneyism (which emanated from Boston) was at its height. Feeney had people dressed as nuns and religious brothers going door to door to sell books and raise money. My pastor and many others advised the faithful in the pews to respond to Feeney's disciples by politely telling them that we were Catholics and were uninterested in Leonard Feeney's eccentric theories.

While Catholics would certainly welcome you too if you were to convert to Catholicism, I have no question that Evangelicals (and many other Protestants) are Christians and I hope to meet many of them (including you, and many former clients in pro-life activity and many dear friends) in heaven when the time comes. I have more reason to worry about my own salvation than I do about that of many of my non-Catholic Christian brothers and sisters.

You and I would, no doubt, disagree in our respective beliefs as to a very important 5% of faith matters. We would likely agree on the rest. The differences are quite important but so are the similarities.

May God bless you and yours.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

I don't think Catholicism itself is mistaken on any essential doctrine.

I thought much the same way before I started participating in these discussions on the FR RF. Even when RCs told us they consider their their priests to be "another Christ," and that Mary is viewed as a "co-redeemer" I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Now I realize our differences are stark and important, not the least of which is Rome's misunderstanding of Christ's one-time justification for all the sins of His flock.

The Roman Catholic Teaching
on Salvation and Justification

[Judith Anne]

http://www.christiantruth.com/gospelrcsalvation.html

It is so interesting when Protestants give links on supposed “Catholic teaching” that have nothing to do with the Catholic Church.

Also interesting that they claim it is Roman Catholic teaching, when in reality it is PROTESTANT teaching, about Catholics. Who knows how accurate it is, or if it’s all a pack of lies?

[divine_moment_of_facts]

Since your view is idiosyncratic, to say the least, perhaps you should explain in some detail how you arrived at it.

There is no "should". I didn't learn it in Church. It's simply something I've always known.

[wagglebee]

Interesting indeed!

[papertyger]

The Bible is God's written Word my friend, not Catholic dogma.

These are two different things, FRiend. They no more conflict than arithmatic and algebra when rightly understood.

[maryz]

Well, that makes you AFAIK the only person in the world who “knows” it. Perhaps you should enlighten the rest of us.