Why would anyone become Catholic?

https://www.indiegogo.com ^ | October 2, 2014 | Indiegogo

[NKP_Vet]

Why would intelligent, successful people give up their careers, alienate their friends, and cause havoc in their families...to become Catholic? Indeed, why would anyone become Catholic?

As an evangelist and author who recently threw my own life into some turmoil by deciding to enter the Catholic Church, I've faced this question a lot lately. That is one reason I decided to make this documentary; it's part of my attempt to try to explain to those closest to me why I would do such a crazy thing.

Convinced isn't just about me, though. The film is built around interviews with some of the most articulate and compelling Catholic converts in our culture today, including Scott Hahn, Francis Beckwith, Taylor Marshall, Holly Ordway, Abby Johnson, Jeff Cavins, Devin Rose, Matthew Leonard, Mark Regnerus, Jason Stellman, John Bergsma, Christian Smith, Kevin Vost, David Currie, Richard Cole, and Kenneth Howell. It also contains special appearances by experts in the field of conversion such as Patrick Madrid and Donald Asci.

Ultimately, this is a story about finding truth, beauty, and fulfillment in an unexpected place, and then sacrificing to grab on to it. I think it will entertain and inspire you, and perhaps even give you a fresh perspective on an old faith.

[terycarl]

How about comparing the early Church as described in Acts and the Epistles to the modern day Catholic Church? Start with 1 Timothy 3:1-2.

the Acts were written, of course, while these people were alive....when we refer to the early church let's at least include the first 400 or so years. As the church(Catholic or universal) progressed, of course it made changes (not doctrinal)which allowed it to become a universal organization. Leaders were elected, bishops were appointed, churches and monastaries were built, libraries were established and the Christian religion survived all early attemots to silence her.....the bible was created as a single book, it was duplicated (by hand) by monks in the various monastaries, and preserved for mankind.

[Heart-Rest]

"As a Catholic, I'm sure you know that the disciples asked Jesus to teach them HOW to pray - not WHAT to pray."

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Catholics, Orthodox, and most mainline Protestant denominations (including Presbyterian, Lutheran, Episcopal, United Methodist, United Church of Christ, Reformed Church in America, some Baptists, etc.) all recite "The Lord's Prayer" during their church services, in addition to using that prayer as a pattern to form their own individual informal prayers.

(Of course, the Mormons, like yourself Elsie, do not say the actual Lord's Prayer, but only use it as a pattern to use to form their own individual prayers.    See this source for information about the Mormons and the Lord's Prayer.)

[Heart-Rest]

"2,000 + years and you guys STILL haven't got it nailed down?"

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"The Bible is big–so big that even the greatest scholar will never exhaust its riches."
Billy Graham
Source:   "http://billygraham.org/decision-magazine/june-2006/reading-the-bible/"

(The Catholic Church fully agrees with Billy Graham on that excellent point.    So should all sensible people.)

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Placemarker on the thread that never ends

[Heart-Rest]

You obviously choose to persist in holding your own erroneous viewpoints about the Catholic Church, which do not line up with the truth.    Never forget that we've told you these truths over and over here.

[Heart-Rest]

"The Catholic Church can't even discern that the Muslims serve a different God. They still claim Catholics and Muslims serve the same God. Who in their right mind would trust them with that record? Not me."

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CynicalBear, you are, once again, clobbering what the Catholic Church actually says about that, with your own distorted claims.

The Catholic Church realizes that the Muslims also try in a very wrong way to worship God as they erroneously understand God, and the Catholics Church wants to reach out to them where they are, and teach them the right and true way to worship the True God.

In this, they are merely mimicking the Apostle Paul, who said this to the "men of Athens":

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Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.    For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God.    Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.     Acts 17:22- 23

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Please don't keep distorting that.

[Rides_A_Red_Horse]

That’s an awful lot of words to say nothing in particular.

The Catholic Church does not look like the Church described in Acts and in the Epistles.

[boatbums]

a true Christian is someone who follows Christ and does it the way He told us to. He didn't found the Catholic religion

Up to that point in your post, you were correct. Then, of course, it got ruined by the false supposition that was tacked on. JESUS is the only way to salvation, faith in His complete sacrifice for our sins and the GIFT of God that gives us eternal life by grace through faith and not works - lest ANY man should boast. Your religion cannot save anyone, stop boasting.

[Rides_A_Red_Horse]

the bible was created as a single book, it was duplicated (by hand) by monks in the various monastaries, and preserved for mankind.

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Are you saying the Bible is not accurate?

Related question - Do Catholics claim responsibility for the existence of the Bible?

[boatbums]

Of course, the Mormons, like yourself Elsie

Why do you think Elsie is a Mormon? Haven't you been paying attention all these years???

[Heart-Rest]

You are never going to convince me with that kind of flimsy protestant logic you include there, and all those faulty protestant reasoning processes you are incorporating there, Springfield Reformer.

In order for a person to accept that kind of "protestant reasoning", they have to at least do the following things:

1. Pretend that Jesus did not speak in Aramaic, where there is absolutely no distinction in those two terms that Jesus Christ was actually saying to Peter (like that which showed up later in those two Greek terms, which were obviously used by the person translating the words of Jesus from the Aramaic to the Greek so as not to give Peter an effeminate female name in the Greek).    (In other words, to pretend that, they have to lie to themselves about it.)   

2. They have to pretend to themselves that there were Calvinists before Calvin, Lutherans before Luther (etc.), going all the way back to the time of Christ and His apostles.    (In other words, to pretend that, they have to lie to themselves about it.)

3. They have to pretend that God did not want to establish any ongoing authority to be the final earthly authority (like the way He actually established His apostles from the very beginning), which would mean that any one "Christian" can decide and declare what the truth is about some issue, and some other "Christian" can oppose that, saying, "No that isn't true", and there would ultimately be no way to establish who was right concerning any of the truths of God.    They would eventually end up with thousands of little "churches" with incompatible beliefs, all declaring their own beliefs to be the "real truth", (which reflects the protestant world today).    However, God actually did build His Church with a system of authority to protect His sheep until the end of time.    (In other words, to pretend that, they have to lie to themselves about it.)

4. They have to pretend to themselves that the written New Testament existed long before it really did, and that the Church founded by Jesus Christ was not already established and functioning long before the New Testament was written and later compiled.    (In other words, to pretend that, they have to lie to themselves about it.)

5. They have to pretend to themselves that the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ Himself would all teach some protestants (such as the Methodists, who claim they make full use all of those sources of Holy, Sacred assistance to develop their beliefs and teachings) that you CAN lose your salvation after gaining it), while at the same exact time teaching other protestants (such as the "once-saved-always-saved" and the "perseverance" types, who also claim they make full use of all those Holy, Sacred assistance sources to develop their beliefs and teachings) that you CANNOT lose your salvation after gaining it.    Those two teachings are the exact opposite of each other, and they obviously cannot both be true.    They are two mutually exclusive contradictory beliefs, and one of them HAS to be false.    In other words, you have to believe that God and God's written Word is lying to one or the other of those two broad groups of protestants.    God is the "Truth", and God does not lie.    People are free to believe that if they choose to, but it does not make it true.    (In other words, to pretend that, they have to lie to themselves about it.)

People can choose to build their confidence on all those baseless lies (which came from the father of all lies), but that is not a wise and prudent choice to make.

(As you are not going to convince me about your protestant views, and it looks like I won't be convincing you about the views handed down since the time of Jesus Christ from the Catholic Church founded by Jesus Christ, I'm moving on to the "Synod" threads, which look a lot more interesting right now, and most of the posts in those threads are much more succinct and to the point than some of those in this thread.)

I'll leave you with some links to some more resources to show you the light, and I will pray that you will eventually fully receive that light from God.    (Please be sure to read the St. Augustine quote in the second link, and "demand" that you tell yourself the truth about it.)

• "Peter the Rock"

• "Origins of Peter as Pope"

• "Scott Hahn - Recommended Resources for Apologetics" - (some great sources for further elucidation of the true Catholic faith, for those with the courage and wisdom to use them)

(NOTE:   There are several other posters here on FR who can give you a better understanding of those Aramaic terms Jesus actually used there when addressing Peter, so I am pinging them too, in case they are on right now and might want to help clarify that a little more for you.)

(Now I'm moving on to the "Synod" threads.    Peace, and goodnight.)

[Heart-Rest]

me:  "Of course, the Mormons, like yourself Elsie"

boatbums:  ""Why do you think Elsie is a Mormon? Haven't you been paying attention all these years???"

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I don't think that boatbums.    You are reading that sentence completely wrong.

It is written similar to something like this:

The democrats, like Ted Cruz, are doing everything they can to win this election.

That does not say that Ted Cruz is a democrat (in the English language).   (You have to read things in context.)

[Heart-Rest]

"Placemarker on the thread that never ends"

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Ain't that the truth!    They sometimes do get rather endless and tedious after a while.    This one should probably be given a decent burial now.

Well, I'm going to do my part, and go over to the "Synod" threads.    This will be my last post here.

Goodnight to all.

[metmom]

Paul commends celibacy, and Jesus commends celibacy for those who are called to it.

commends, not COMMANDS.

There's a world of difference between the Catholic church allowing some married men to become priests and allowing priests to get married.

Since the Church has the power to bind and loose,

Taken out of context to give the church blanket authority to make rules they want and enforce them.

That verse is in no way talking about that kind of authority. It's talking about disputes between believers.

No one is forced to be a priest, so no one is forced not to marry.

That's not true because priests are forced to not marry. Show me a priest who the Catholic church allowed to marry who wasn't already married when he converted to Catholicism.

[metmom]

There are very few deaths of the early Christian saints recorded in the New Testament, let alone prayers to those saints.

So?

How is that relevant to anything?

I don't see the point of belaboring the obvious: people die.

[metmom]

It’s kind of staggering, the number of times you have corrected the *Luther took books out of the Bible* fallacy and yet it STILL gets repeated here as if you had never before in the past posted that information or those links.

The blindness and deception the enemy can put on people to not see or understand the truth when almost literally hit over the head with it, is breathtaking.

You have to wonder if they really read what you posted. And if they read it, if they have ANY reading comprehension at all.

[metmom]

I would suggest you meditate on the value of redemptive suffering.

A new term coined by Catholicism.

Show us where the term is found in Scripture....

[metmom]

As I said before, Purgatory is not punitive but therapeutic.

Therapeutic?

You mean Jesus blood isn't enough to cleanse us from all sins after all?

[metmom]

Not when I have a living, breathing Church ordained by God.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Read Scripture. It is living and the reason anyone doesn't think it is, is because they are spiritually dead and cannot perceive the life in it any more than a blind person can perceive light or a deaf person sound.

[metmom]

IIRC, you also are a Catholic. :-)

I am not a Catholic.

I am a born again follower of Jesus.

My spiritual identity is being in Christ, not a member of any religious organization or denomination. Those do not define who I am.