How I Led Catholics Out Of the Church (And into Apostasy)

How I led Catholics Out of the Church STEVE WOOD I was a Protestant for twenty years before I became a Catholic. I led many people out of the Catholic Church. My formula for getting Catholics to leave the Church usually consisted of three steps.

Step 1: Get Catholics to have a conversion experience in a Protestant setting. Most Fundamentalist, Evangelical, and charismatic Protestant churches have dynamic youth programs, vibrant Wednesday and Sunday evening services, and friendly small-group bible studies. In addition, they host special crusades, seminars and concerts. At the invitation of a Protestant friend, a Catholic may begin attending one or more of these events while still going to Sunday Mass at his local parish. Most Protestant services proclaim a simple gospel: repent from sin and follow Christ in faith. They stress the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus and the reward of eternal life. Most of the Catholics who attend these services are not accustomed to hearing such direct challenges to abandon sin and follow Christ. As a result, many Catholics experience a genuine conversion.

Protestants should be commended for their zeal in promoting conversions. Catholic leaders need to multiply the opportunities for their people to have such conversions in Catholic settings. The reason is simple. About five out of ten people adopt the beliefs of the denomination where they have their conversion. This percentage is even higher for those who had profound conversions or charismatic experiences that were provided by Protestants. (Believe me, I know; I was a graduate of an Assembly of God college and a youth minister in two charismatic churches.)

Protestant pastors, evangelists, youth leaders, and lay ministers are acutely aware that conversion experiences in Protestant settings often lead to a Protestant faith and church membership. Why do so many Catholic leaders fail to see this? Why are they so nonchalant about a process that has pulled hundreds of thousands of Catholics out of the Church?

A genuine conversion is one of life's most precious experiences, comparable to marriage or the birth of a child. Conversion awakens a deep hunger for God. Effective Protestant ministries train workers to follow up on this spiritual longing.

Before a stadium crusade, I would give follow-up workers a six-week training course. I showed them how to present a Protestant interpretation of the conversion experience with a selective use of bible verses. The scripture of choice was of course John 3:3, the "born-again" verse: "Jesus declared, 'I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.'

I used the "touch and go" scripture technique, similar to that used by pilots training for landings and takeoffs. We would briefly touch down on John 3:3 to show that being born again was necessary for eternal life. Then I would describe conversion in terms of being born again. We would make a hasty takeoff before reading John 3:5 which stresses the necessity of being "born of water and spirit." I never mentioned that for 20 centuries the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, echoing the unanimous teaching of the Church fathers, understood this passage as referring to the Sacrament of Baptism! And I certainly never brought up Titus 3:5 ("He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit") as a parallel reference to John 3:5.

In my experience as a Protestant, all the Catholics who had a conversion in a Protestant setting lacked a firm grasp of their Catholic faith.

In twenty years of Protestant ministry, I never met a Catholic who knew that John 3:3-8 describes the sacrament of Baptism. It wasn't hard to convince them to disregard the sacraments along with the Church that emphasized the sacraments.

Proverbs says: "He who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him" (18:17). Catholics without a scriptural foundation for their Catholic beliefs never hear "the rest of the story." My selective use of scripture made the Protestant perspective seem so absolutely sure. Over time, this one-sided approach to scripture caused Catholics to reject their Catholic faith.

Catholics often consider Protestants who proselytize to be bigoted, narrow-minded, or prejudiced. This is unfair and inaccurate; a profound charity energizes their misguided zeal.

There was only one reason I led Catholics out of the Church: I thought they were on their way to hell. I mistakenly thought the Catholic Church denied that salvation was by grace; I knew that anyone who believed this wasn't going to heaven. Out of love for their immortal souls, I worked tirelessly to convert them.

I used Ephesians 2:8-9 to convince Catholics that it was imperative for them to leave the Church:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. First I would say, "The Bible says that salvation is by grace and not by works. Right?" Their answer was always yes. Then I would say, "The Catholic Church teaches that salvation is by works. Right?" (I never met a Catholic who did not say yes. Every Catholic I met during my twenty years of ministry confirmed my misconception that Catholicism taught salvation is by works instead of grace.) Finally, I would declare, "The Catholic Church is leading people to hell by denying salvation is by grace. You'd better join a church that teaches the true way to heaven."

Because I would also do a "touch and go" in Ephesians, I rarely quoted verse 10 which says, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Listen carefully to stadium evangelists, televangelists, and radio preachers. Nine times out of ten they will quote Ephesians 2:8-9 with great emphasis and never mention verse 10.

We are not slaves futilely trying to earn salvation by doing "works of the law" (Eph. 2:8-9). Yet as sons of God we are inspired and energized by the Holy Spirit to do "good works" as we cooperate with our heavenly father in extending the Kingdom of God (Eph. 2:10). Catholicism believes and teaches the full message of Ephesians 2:8-10, without equivocating or abbreviating the truth.

For twenty centuries the Catholic Church has faithfully taught that salvation is by grace. Peter the first pope said, "We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved" (Acts 15:11). The Catechism of the Catholic Church, fully endorsed by Pope John Paul II, says, "Our justification comes from the grace of God" (section 1996).

Protestantism started when Martin Luther declared that we are justified (made righteous) by faith alone. At the time I was leading Catholics out of the Church, I wasn't aware that Martin Luther had added the word alone to his translation of Romans 3:28 in order to prove his doctrine. (The word alone is not found in any contemporary Protestant English translation of Romans 3:28.) I didn't realize that the only place the bible mentions "faith alone" in the context of salvation is in James 2:24, where the idea of faith alone is explicitly refuted: "You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone." This verse was troubling, but I either ignored it, or twisted it to mean something other that what the verse and its context clearly taught.

I have no objection to Catholics participating in Protestant-oriented events and worthwhile ecumenical activities provided that:

they have a firm grasp of their Catholic faith. they know their faith well enough to articulate it to a non-Catholic, using scripture and the Church fathers. they have the maturity to realize that the most profound presence of Christ isn't necessarily found in the midst of loud noise and high emotion, but in quiet moments like Eucharistic adoration (see 1 Kings 19:11-12). Unfortunately, the majority of Catholic men born after WWII don't meet the above conditions. For them, attending Protestant functions may be opening a door that will lead them right out of the Catholic Church.

There are now thousands of Catholic men on the brink of leaving the one Church Christ died to establish. I recently heard of a group of Catholic men who decided not to consult the Catechism of the Catholic Church in their small-group bible study. They believed that all they needed was scripture alone. Three of these men claimed that they no longer believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. I can tell you from experience where this group is headed: straight out of the Catholic Church.

Over the past three decades, thousands of Catholics have left the Church for Protestant pastures. The largest church in America is the Catholic Church; the second largest group of Christians in America is former-Catholics. The Catholic men's movement has a solemn obligation to help men discover the biblical and historical roots of their Catholic faith. Then, rather than leaving, they will become instruments to help others discover the treasures of Catholicism.

Remember that a man who leaves the Church will often take his family with him — for generations. It took my family four hundred years — 10 generations — to come back to the Church after a generation of my ancestors in Norway, England, Germany and Scotland decided to leave the Catholic Church.

As one whose family has made the round-trip back to Catholicism, let me extend a personal plea to Catholic men, especially the leaders of various Catholic men's groups: don't put untrained Catholics in a Protestant setting. They might gain a short-term religious experience, but they take the long-term risk of losing their faith. It would be highly irresponsible to expose them to Protestantism before they are fully exposed to Catholicism.

At my dad's funeral twenty-nine years ago, I tearfully sang his favorite hymn, Faith of Our Fathers. Little did my dad, a minister's son, or I realize that the true faith of our forefathers was Roman Catholicism. Every day I thank God for bringing me back to the ancient Church of my ancestors. Every year God gives me breath on this earth I will keep proclaiming to both my Protestant brethren and to cradle Catholics the glorious faith of our fathers.

Wood, Steve. "How I led Catholics Out of the Church." St. Joseph's Covenant Newsletter 4 no. 2 (March/April 1998).

Steve Wood is the founder of St. Joseph's Covenant Keepers (SJCK), a dynamic apostolate for Catholic men, and runs the web site dads.org.

“They believed that all they needed was scripture alone.”

Ugh, YES! It’s the only book He wrote.

“the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.” Religious mumbo jumbo.

The real presence of Christ is in “ME”, not some cracker or Welch’s Grape Juice.

>>Mark, he just made your point for you.

**Anytime a Catholic leaves and becomes a Protestant, that is apostasy. Plain and simple.**

Even though by their Baptism they are still a Catholic; just not a practicing one.

They can always come back to the Church. All they have to do is sit down with a priest and get their questions answered.

***
Yeah and the Catholic Church has never changed any, is that correct? The Mass has never been changed? Any theology ever change? No? None? Are you really really sure?
***

Please do not get confused between discipline and dogma. The core teachings have never changed. The disciplines: no meat on Friday, priestly celibacy, Mass translations, etc can change.

Women as priests? No.

Abortion or birth control? No

Homosexual relationships. No

I think too that one must know that they are abandoning the Truth for a heretical sect. I imagine in many cases their ignorance of Catholic teaching keeps them from being fully culpable and therefore they are not apostate by the strictest definition.

I would think there must also be an element of "willful" denial of the Truth. I have known Catholics who "converted" to some Protestantism who seemingly did not have any great understanding of Catholic teaching. This of course plays into the Protestant claim that they "teach the Bible" and stress things like personal Bible study, etc.

Such individuals may also have been disenchanted with some aspect of the Catholic church of their upbringing, and it must be admitted that any church can have deficiencies. Thus it may well be that such individuals are not guilty of a "willful rejection" of the Church but rather may be reacting to specific problems that caused them to look elsewhere.

I am not excusing their response to the situation, but would rather tend to consider it a matter of ignorance on their part and perhaps some practical failure on the part of the church of their upbringing.

Even though by their Baptism they are still a Catholic; just not a practicing one.

They can always come back to the Church. All they have to do is sit down with a priest and get their questions answered.

>>I’ll leave the former to the canonists to decide. But yes to the second.

My uncle left the Catholic Church for 40 years, but he just told me he did exactly what you said and was restored to communion with the Church.

I just get sick of having former Catholics thrown in our faces in discussions over Holy Images and the Blessed Mother.

Most Catholics that leave the Church started by Christ himself never knew much about their faith and hardly ever went to Mass. Studies have proven this out.

And, most Catholics that leave the Church do so on the spur of the moment. Normally after being brainwashed by a Jimmy
Swaggart type in a polyester suit.

Most protestants that convert to Catholism do it after a careful study of the Catholic faith. As a matter of fact they have go through a sort of training, it’s called RCIA.
They know exactly what they are getting into. During this period if they are not ready for their new faith, they are not allowed in the Church. Once their counselor feels they are truly ready to accept the one, true Church of Christ, they are then accepted into the Catholic Church. None of this “come on in boys, the water’s fine” nonsense.

http://www.aquinasandmore.com/catholic-gifts/jimmy-swaggart-made-me-catholic/sku/7555

Most Catholics that leave the Church started by Christ himself never knew much about their faith and hardly ever went to Mass. Studies have proven this out.

And, most Catholics that leave the Church do so on the spur of the moment. Normally after being brainwashed by a Jimmy
Swaggart type in a polyester suit.

http://www.aquinasandmore.com/catholic-gifts/jimmy-swaggart-made-me-catholic/sku/7555

>>Thanks for making my point for me. :)

It's real simple to me. What does the bible say? That's it. The Word of God, period. If you need another book, catechism, or Book of Mormon to teach your faith, then you are selling God short. He didn't write those books.

If you need a pope, or a council to spell out a bunch of rules for your faith, maybe you should just ask Jesus instead.

If your religion spends a fortune on gold regalia, robes, palaces and cathedrals (not to mention it's own whole country)instead of on the starving children, maybe you are missing the message.

Mathew 18:20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

You don't need a country, cathedral, or church building, pope, cardinal, bishop, or priest to worship Jesus. Does all that junk help or does it separate you from Jesus and the Word of God? It gets in the way, is the correct answer.

“Protestants leave Protestantism for Rome or Orthodoxy for largely intellectual reasons. Catholics leave and become Evangelical Protestants for largely emotional reasons.

I really don’t know any Catholic converts who left Protestantism for emotional reasons. Most Protestants who are trapped in liberal Protestant sects as I was leave for more conservative Protestant venues.”

I personally knew ill-prepared young Catholics who left liberal college Catholic ministries for comparatively conservative Protestant campus programs. They left the Catholic ministries filled with legitimate disgust over the liberal heresy and only later accepted the Protestant errors. I would hate to be in the shoes, on judgment day, of those priests and bishops that promoted such liberalism.

Please do not get confused between discipline and dogma. The core teachings have never changed. The disciplines: no meat on Friday, priestly celibacy, Mass translations, etc can change.

Seems like word games to me. I suppose it would be indelicate of me to ask about the status on selling of indulgences, inquisitions or imprisoning of Galileo (with his nutty theory on how the earth circled the sun and the infallible Church didn't think so)?

**Most Catholics that leave the Church started by Christ himself never knew much about their faith and hardly ever went to Mass. Studies have proven this out.**

Good grief. The Catholic Church IS the church that Christ started. The Apostles were the first Bishops.

Such individuals may also have been disenchanted with some aspect of the Catholic church of their upbringing, and it must be admitted that any church can have deficiencies. Thus it may well be that such individuals are not guilty of a “willful rejection” of the Church but rather may be reacting to specific problems that caused them to look elsewhere.

>>My Dad is a good example of what you point out. He never really appreciated his Catholicism and had a weak faith when he left to marry my Lutheran mother.

The same is true of every other Catholic-turned-Protestant who I have known personally.

I pray that my Dad will find salvation nonetheless when the time comes, but that doesn’t change the fact he is an apostate according to Catholic canon law.

Compared with your average Roman Catholic parish, Protestant churches are welcoming and hospitable. So I can understand the appeal.

That is partly why I chose to become an Eastern Catholic after I converted.

Roman Catholics have a lot of work to do on their parish life.

Most protestants that convert to Catholism do it after a careful study of the Catholic faith. As a matter of fact they have go through a sort of training, it’s called RCIA.

Am very grateful that Jesus did'nt put all these "training" conditions on those who He "Invited" to come to Him...nor did we have to do more then hear the Gospel Message which He gave us to share with others so that they too could come to Him.

The only "barrier" to those who desire salvation is their sins which He freely will forgive for the asking...and accepting His finished work on Calvary....their debt paid in full by His blood. Not mans knowledge, not mans climb up steps of earning the right to belong to a congregation, or according to you the refusal to belong to a church....rather it is all in and of Christ Jesus.

His last words says it all..."It is finshed".... and there is now therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus."

Salvation by Grace, or by works?

The answer is straightforward:

Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.

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