Evangelicals Becoming Catholic, why?

CatholicConvert.com ^ | May 10, 2011 | Steve Ray

[Salvation]

Evangelicals Becoming Catholic, why?

by Steve Ray on May 10, 2011

 

Below is an interesting YouTube video (really audio) of an Evangelical Radio show in which two Evangelicals discuss why so many Evangelical Protestants are leaving to join the Catholic Church.

The host and guest are trying to be honest in the show entitled  “Why Evangelicals are Returning to Rome.” Although towards the end of the video they are making some statements that are historically inaccurate (about Luther and the Popes); nevertheless, their questioning tries to be honest. It is interesting that they are taking note of a large exodus. I am one of those who Crossed the Tiber to Rome.

Furthermore, this was coming from a Protestant network that is decidedly anti-Catholic.  They are willing to discuss openly what has been happening for years now (the exodus of Evangelical ordained ministers to Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches).  They also mention briefly EWTN, the program Journey Home and the moderator Marcus Grodi, a convert from Evangelical Christianity. It is obvious this is all new to them since they didn’t even know how to pronounce Marcus Grodi’s name.

The moderator Ingrid Slater asked Pastor Bob DeWay; “Let’s talk about the problem; what do you think is the seed bed (this is sort of a rhetorical question; everybody knows what a mess Evangelicalism is as a whole today doctrinally speaking).  What is setting people up for this disenchantment and the willingness to look to Roman Catholicism?”

Here are some of the Problems that Bob Deway lists, though they really have no explanation since they are blind to the real problems within Protestantism, which are things that cannot be fixed. If they were fixed they would be Catholics.
(1) The Seeker Movement took the Bible out of churches.
(2) People are not steeped in solid Bible teaching (yeah, but according to whose interpretation?).
(3) Big churches that don’t preach the Bible (who decides what should be taught??).
(4) The influx of mystical practices, contemplative prayer, the labyrinths.
(5) Seminaries that are training therapeutic practitioners rather than theologians.
(6) The idea that we have to have to justify our practices and beliefs from Scripture – according to what Luther and the other reformers – which has now been overlooked.

The moderator then mentioned a book saying, “Coming Home by Fr Peter [Eastern Rite] (I am not even going to use the term father). . . He used to head up Campus Crusade here in the Midwest” Evidently he is now heading up an organization helping Evangelical ministers come into the Eastern rite Churches.  If you want to know why he made his move from Evangelical Protestantism you can listen to the video.

For years you’d hear Evangelicals boast of the fact that their churches were filled [with] ex-Catholics.  But in too many cases the Evangelical churches are just the exit ramp that eventually leaves them disillusioned and abandoning the faith altogether. Now the tide is changing.  Some Evangelicals seem to be oblivious to the fact of this large exodus of Evangelical ministers and lay people.

A year ago, Karl Keating of Catholic Answers Live said he believed there were now more Evangelicals or Fundamentalists leaving Protestantism to become Catholic than the other way around. Even Evangelicals admit that there are notable Protestants becoming Catholics but no notable Catholics becoming Protestants.

I could take exception to several of Pastor Bob’s statements and argue decisively against them, but that is not the point of my posting this video.

[Salvation]

I've had this for awhile. Time to post it.

Link to the video

http://www.catholic-convert.com/2011/05/10/evangelicals-becoming-catholic-why/

[GeronL]

mental illness?

[DesScorp]

Maybe because the Catholic Church is putting its foot down and demanding Catholics be Catholic again, and this is appealing since the Evangelical movement seems to be slowly drifting to the same place the mainstream denominations have gone. In the past ten years, the evangelicals churches have started to embrace all kinds of lunacy: environmentalism, encouraging illegal immigration, etc.

[Persevero]

Lots of Catholics leave the RCs to join Protestant churches, too.

[GraceG]

[ Maybe because the Catholic Church is putting its foot down and demanding Catholics be Catholic again, and this is appealing since the Evangelical movement seems to be slowly drifting to the same place the mainstream denominations have gone. In the past ten years, the evangelicals churches have started to embrace all kinds of lunacy: environmentalism, encouraging illegal immigration, etc. ]

NAILED IT!

Also the new Evangelicals re-joining the catholic church should also put pressure on the bishops to embrace the new “tone from rome”!

Some of the Evangelical non-denoms are turning into “Unitarian lite” with a sorta “Jesus was a Hippie” vibe.

Jesus was more of a Paladin Knight than he was a Hippie.

[Salvation]

You may have the answer there. It’s hard to tell for each has an individual tale to tell.

[Salvation]

Those aren’t REAL Catholics, they are the CINOs like Pelosi, Biden, Sebelius (who BTW has been excommunicated by her Kansas Bishop) etc.

You can have them.

[hinckley buzzard]

Evangelical protestants have given it a good try but the absence of a bottom line is always their Achilles Heel. As we see now in the broad spectrum of reformation/protestant denominations, there is no end to the splintering, creating heterodoxy instead of unity.

Eventually, it only makes sense to return to the source.

[TheThirdRuffian]

“Lots of Catholics leave the RCs to join Protestant churches, too.”

Yeah, I see lots of migration back-and-forth.

Pretty standard, I think.

I don’t care about poaching other denominations. I care about non-Christians.

[MarkBsnr]

Lots of Catholics leave the RCs to join Protestant churches, too.

Only the ones who have already left the Faith

Look at the stories even here on FR. The exCatholics leave for personal reasons (I have seen their stories over and over, which they will often either deny or minimalize during ongoing threads addressing such matters). Protestants who join the Faith do so for theological reasons, often leaving behind much if not most of their lives.

I suspect that there may be further discussion on this...

[Salvation]

Excellent point. However, if I find out that they are a baptized Catholic, I will always invite them to the next Mass, evening with Faith Formation 101, Sctiputre Study, or whatever.

Our church is growing so much that we are in the beginning — nearing the middle of a capital campaign to building a new church building and to modernize the old church building into classrooms.

[hinckley buzzard]

A friend of mine just returned from a visit to South Carolina, where they attended Mass presided by a priest who had declared that Obama voters needed to go to Confession! She said the service was very conservative; very solemn; and packed with families and young children out the door.

[Melas]

Just my two cents: From the outside looking in, the Catholic church always seemed to have a sense of holiness that protestants lacked. Note that I say this knowing full well and good that since I’ve been married to my second wife (and I her second husband) for well over 20 years, that I’ll never be asked to set foot in a Catholic church.

[freedomfiter2]

It’s because many evangelical churches have abandoned the authority of schripture while the Catholic church still has some standards albeit not often enforced.

[Salvation]

I have attended Alliance, Lutheran, Evangelical services, and I believe you are right — the holiness is missing.

The Anglican Church that I attended, though, did have that sense of holiness.

[Natural Law]

"Our church is growing so much that we are in the beginning...."

We are experiencing an interesting phenomenon in our parish. We have seen a significant increase in the number of first Communion candidates in our Faith Formation (CCD) program, nearly doubling previous years. The interesting thing is that over half are what we call late bloomers, kids well beyond 2nd grade. It tells me that many lapsed Catholics are returning to the Church or at least making sure that their kids get the basics.

[Salvation]

The Catholic Church has scripture every day during the Mass.

Weekly Bible studies too.

I agree with you on the enforcement — but I think we are seeing that begin to turn around.

Is the Catholic pendulum swinging slowly to the right?

[Salvation]

Wow! I think you are in a big parish, but our numbers were larger this year too.

Doubling for the Anglo kids and tripling for the Hispanic kids.

The largest church here in little ole Oregon capital had (Are you ready?) 360 First Communicants.

[Tahoe3002]

Phooey, go to church.
You may not be ‘invited’ by the parishioner's, but go anyway.
You may not feel you should take the sacraments, go to church, anyway.

Christ will forgive this ‘transgression’ as there are many more and many worse that you (and I) have committed.

Melas, I am talking (lecturing?) you as much as myself. My wife was raised Catholic, I was not and never formally converted. We are both in our second marriages, and together now 29 years. This marriage, I think, is what is my life's mission. For me, marrying this woman and raising her child, by her first husband, is my mission in this life.

We all need to go to church, for our own good.