Are Catholics “Born Again?”

Catholic Sensibility ^ | March 13, 2010

[NYer]

Our parish has a Q&A feature in which staff members tackle the queries left in a comment box or e-mailed to the parish. I volunteered to reply to the question titled above:

The root of this principle is in John 3:3-5, and it reads:

Jesus said to (Nicodemus), “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”

Nicodemus said to him, “How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?”

Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.

Scripture scholars note that the Greek word ἄνωθεν (anothen) means both “from above” and “again.” Jesus seems to be referring to the first meaning, and Nicodemus seems to misinterpret the Lord, taking the second meaning.

Misunderstandings aside, the notion of being reborn in baptism, in “water and Spirit,” tells of the great significance of the sacrament, and of the commitment to the Christian life it implies. Jesus certainly preaches that those who wish to see and participate in the kingdom of God will experience such a momentous change in their lives, that the notion of a second birth is not an exaggeration.

Many Christians speak of being “born again,” as a graced event in which people, usually adults, experience the Lord in such a significant way that it’s like a whole new life for them. And ideally, this is what all Christians should experience when they commit themselves to Jesus Christ. The question might be raised: does it happen only once? Or is it possible, through a continuing conversion, to go progressively deeper into a Christian commitment to God? The witness of the saints might suggest that this continuing experience is the mark of a godly life.

In baptism, and even as infants, Catholics are “born again,” in the sense Jesus means: “being born of water and Spirit.” It’s no accident that the baptismal font at our parish was designed to suggest a tomb, and that in baptism we participate in death and rebirth, as Saint Paul describes, “We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4)

As a child grows, an openness to God’s grace is necessary. The same is true for adults. Baptism is not a magical event, and neither is the evangelical or charismatic experience of being “born again.” Each of these experiences is an opportunity for God’s grace to work in us. But we always have the freedom to choose: we can close ourselves off from divine grace, or we can cooperate with God’s will and live out a Christian life after being “born from above.”

Image Credit: painter Edward Tanner (1899), Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia.

[IrishCatholic]

Wow, so much bigotry, ignorance, and hatred of Christ in all one post.

You win the Jack Chick award!

The silence was one of courtesy. This reply to you was because of your rudeness.

[ADSUM]

Isn’t the Sacrement of Confession the opportunity to be “born again” through the forgiveness of our sins?

[Dutchboy88]

"Wow, so much bigotry, ignorance, and hatred of Christ in all one post.

You win the Jack Chick award!

The silence was one of courtesy. This reply to you was because of your rudeness."

This is what I was talking about.

The focus is on protecting the Mother Ship. Not Christ, but the Organization. I revere Christ, alone, but they will attack anyone disparaging that Cult of Rome. The superstition, the self-made religion is to be protected at all costs. Stay tuned.

[Halls]

The answer is all who repent of ther sins, believe Jesus died on the cross for their sins, and ask Jesus to be their Savior are born again!!! Easy, and it doesn’t matter if you are Catholic or not.

[Judith Anne]

I see that the three of you could not WAIT to get on this thread and answer the question for us.

Wonderful that you know the state of our souls, without even reading anything we have to say about it. Amazing that you have such spiritual insight! /extreme sarcasm

Why don’t you worry about your OWN souls, and leave Catholics alone? Don’t tell me we are your “calling.” Christ would tell you to mind your own business, and grant us the same courtesy you would like in return.

[Salvation]

Do you believe in Baptism of Blood?

Do you believe in Baptism of Desire?

Ans I am serious about you reading the truth.

“Unless a man is born again of water AND the spirit, he shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

The spirit that Protestants claim in being born again is not sufficient.

[Salvation]

The Sacraments of Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick are “healing” Sacraments.

[Salvation]

??

[Dutchboy88]

"I see that the three of you could not WAIT to get on this thread and answer the question for us."

Well, I don't recall answering the question for you. But, I am aware that the language used by those who espouse the RCC party line is not clearly identifying the way Jesus used the term, "Born again."

And, just the way you had no say in the process of being born the first time, you have no say in the process of being born again. Isn't it interesting that Christ used this picture to represent the process of salvation? Why not say, "You must join the Catholic Church and follow the rest of the seven sacraments or you won't go to heaven." That is what we hear from the Catholic Church today. If not, please, Judith Anne, tell us how the Catholic Church teaches a person gets saved.

[narses]

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[ADSUM]

Your reply has drawn a stark silence here from among the RC crowd. It just doesn’t fit their paradigm of the RCC being the center of the universe...nearly their god.

Jesus Christ is the Truth and Full of Love for us.

Don’t you want to know more and follow His teachings through the Universal Catholic Church that He established for us?

Wouldn’t you want to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus through the Sacrament of the Eucharist and Honor God in His House each Sunday?

If you loved God as much as he loved you wouldn’t you want to do everything possible to show your love?

I hope that you see the Catholic Church as the pathway to God. Perhaps, there are others, but this is the one that Jesus established for us.

[firebrand]

It seems to happen when one is laid low by life events, suffering the effects of a sinful life, and reaching out desperately. When there is no human recourse, the lost soul may call on the Lord, perhaps read the Gospel with new understanding, and surrender to Him. I’m sure it happens in other ways too. But usually one is seeking and not finding, until the clouds somehow part. It is mysterious on the face of it. No one knows exactly how it happens that someone answers to the presence who has always been there.

[Joe 6-pack]

"Not only did the thief never attend church, he never had communion, got baptized, or said one hail Mary."

Yeah, he really took the easy way out, all he had to do was be crucified for his crimes, just like my Savior, who died precisely to spare us the wages of our sins. Personally, I'd rather do the faithful worship route. Will I and my faith be tested along the way? Certainly. Would I be willing to hang on a cross for my beliefs? Easy to say "yes" from behind a keyboard, but I suspect nobody could ever know for sure unless they were faced with that very test.

[IrishCatholic]

“The focus is on protecting the Mother Ship. Not Christ, but the Organization. I revere Christ, alone, but they will attack anyone disparaging that Cult of Rome. The superstition, the self-made religion is to be protected at all costs. Stay tuned.”

Well, thanks for reinforcing the bigotry, ignorance, and hatred of Christ all in one post.

Satan? Is that you? You type like him.

[firebrand]

Hi, Judith Anne. It was a Catholic who posted the thread. I made no assumptions about the Catholics on FR. I told about my many Catholic friends and relatives. But from the tenor of your post I think I do know a bit about you. I wish you well.

[GGpaX4DumpedTea]

Peter was ‘born again’, with or without being the ‘first pope’ - and btw, the rock on which the church is built is Jesus Christ Himself.

‘Born again’ simply means having personally accepted the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross, His death and ressurection. That is what ‘believeth in Him’ means in John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son: that whosoever believeth in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting.”

[999replies]

That doesn’t allow the whole “we’ve got the keys” crowd to make the decisions about who gets in very happy

Well said. That 'crowd' has no idea how deterrent they are.

[NYer]

Many would state that they are “born again” every morning when they turn to God in prayer and repentance, or every time they receive the Eucharist, or every time they go to confession.

And ALL of those would be proper responses.

[fish hawk]

I didn’t see a for Catholics only sign on the thread. Then, I didn’t say anything about your soul. Where did that come from? And last, I am a born again Christian with absolutely NO doubt as to where my eternal soul will reside. It’s you that better look to your inner self and confront your anger. I have nothing against Catholics I’m just glad I don’t have to abide by all their man made crap additions to the Bible.

[fish hawk]

And you think that “being born of water” is Baptism? This is what I mean by believing your church rather than God. Have you ever heard of the Living Water, maybe not, it's a spiritual thing. I don't think the Catholic Church wants you to read the Bible and think for yourself. That's why in the mid ages it was forbidden to even own a Bible, you had to go to a priest to get guidance.