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He had been raised a Baptist and had been sincere, but as he entered high school, he began drifting from that denomination. Instead, he explored religions such as Buddhism and Taoism, before deciding against those. After reading the Bible, he tried to resume being Protestant. But his introduction to Catholicism, through the woman who later became his wife, brought him to what he soon accepted were the answers and peace he’d sought.

There are many, many "former-Protestant-turns-Catholic" conversion stories posted on FR that bear these same marks - converts with a poor command of their former faith, who swam the Tiber in their early to mid twenties, often being swayed by "every wind of doctrine" before they converted. Most of these conversion stories fall into a common theme - "fringe member (or non-member) starts out illiterate and ignorant of his/her own confession, then gains publicity and fame on EWTN by making a loud, trumpeted conversion to Catholicism."

Take, for example, the story of James Akin. A convert in his mid-twenties, he was actually a whole lot of things before he became Catholic, but one Catholic FReeper hawked James as being a "former Presbyterian".

Another favorite is the story of Rodney Beason, supposedly a former Calvinist, and re-solicited as "a powerful conversion story". A first year college student, he claimed to have "a library full of Calvin, Luther, Warfield, Hodge, Murray, Owen, Machen, etc" and to have "helped plant a local Orthodox Presbyterian Church". A little digging on Google, however, and his conversion story was called into question. In the end, Rodney Beason himself signed up to FR just to provide all with the rest of his "powerful conversion story". Having abandoned the Catholic Church within two years of his 2002 conversion, he wishes Catholics would stop (re)publishing his story.

And then there's the tale of Rob Evans. I know what you're thinking - "who is Rob Evans?" Evans' previous claim to fame was a direct-to-VHS children's series titled The Donut Repair Club, marketed to children in Evangelical households in the early 1990s. When he wasn't entertaining children, Rob was a ~~Presbyterian~~ ~~Pentecostal~~ ~~Baptist~~ multiple-church-splitting spiritual wanderer, who was kicked out of at least one congregation before his conversion to Catholicism. His conversion nicely coincided with EWTN acquiring the broadcasting rights to his out-of-production Donut Repair Club.

Finally, there's Fr. Erik J. Richtsteig, billed as a "former Mormon" The problem is, Fr. Richtsteig stopped being Mormon by the time he was just eight years old, meaning he had never held office, never been on a mission, never been through a Temple ceremony. His "Mormon" experience was limited to Sunday attendance (without his mother) "sporadically".

I wonder how many of these Catholic converts actually attended churches that proclaimed the whole council of God? A question I would ask is how many Catholic converts previously went to churches with strong systematic confessions of faith, like the Westminster Confession, and how often were they taught the confession, like in a Sunday School class, and how well did their minister cover all the doctrines in the confession of faith? I would expect some rather weak answers.
-- from the thread Systematic Theology and Catholic Converts

then gains publicity and fame on EWTN by making a loud, trumpeted conversion to Catholicism.

THey don't convert *ON* EWTN, silly. Marcus invites them on his program after they've been Catholic, usually for several years. Hinting that people convert to get on EWTN is just silly. I know plenty of converts who have never been on TV. Nor were they all on the "periphery" of their Proddy churches, unless you want to argue that a PK (actually he's a second-generation PK) can somehow grow up on the periphery of the church.

(What kind of "publicity and fame" do you think someone gets by being a guest on a one hour TV show on EWTN, of all places?? I was friends with one of the *founders* of the network; my sons used to serve benediction for him. Am I "famous" too? Woo hoo!!)

I wonder how many of these Catholic converts actually attended churches that proclaimed the whole council of God?

On the one hand, we're told that all conservative Protestant churches are basically united, because they agree on "the essentials" (which nobody can enumerate); on the other, Alex wants to know if anyone has ever converted from a church exactly like his, because only those churches "proclaim the whole council [sic] of God".

Can't have it both ways, Alex. If only your denomination and churches like it preaches the whole truth, your Proddy "unity" is a fiction.

Incidentally, I personally know a couple of ex PCA members who are now serious Catholics. Did they have enough of that "council" to count, in your view?