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.

[Resettozero]

Yes, I will defend the Catholic Church and no I will not knowingly lie to do so. Then the Holy Spirit came to me and said, "wait a moment."

In that case -- and I accept your answer to be reflective of your actual response -- you are in error, because of many of your posted religious opinions on FR, including the post I'm now responding to.

[JPX2011]

Gentlemen, we need not quarrel over whether a general principle was recited to a particular FReeper. The fact is, none of us is perfect, and I have throttled back my visceral reactions to various statements and rewritten response posts several times until I was satisfied my inner child was not interfering with the content. Ideally, I would like to not have that struggle, but being a fallible human has its disadvantages. Thank God for His grace.

Amen and good advice for all of us.

JPX, I having been following this conversation and intend to get back to you on a number of issues, but my time has been constrained. I am especially interested in addressing some of the epidemiological questions you raise, hopefully in the near future.

I understand and I look forward to reading what you have to say. Your posts have a way of inspiring a reflective disposition. It is welcome and something I truly consider a charism.

Meanwhile, for,the sake of civility, perhaps everyone might try assuming, at least for the sake of argument, that everyone here really believes what they are saying, no matter how unreasonable it may seem. I have found it really helps keep the focus on the issues. Just a thought ...

I concur. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called Children of God.

[Resettozero]

Thank you. I apologize for intimating that a poster’s misrepresentation that a post I had made previously to another FReeper (#749)but was attributed and replied to (”You’re welcome”) as if from the first poster...was lying. I don’t know what it was then.

It’s always good to get a mini-refresher course in FR Religion forum rules that may need revision.

[Springfield Reformer]

In my previous post, “epidemiological” should be “epistemological.” Droid error. Sorry. :)

[Resettozero]

Meanwhile, for,the sake of civility, perhaps everyone might try assuming, at least for the sake of argument, that everyone here really believes what they are saying, no matter how unreasonable it may seem. I have found it really helps keep the focus on the issues. Just a thought...

It's a very reasonable and adult and worthy of following. I leave this debate to the finer minds onboard. Sorry for the dustup and for getting my foot caught in a provocative trap. Just slowed everyone down. (Which maybe is a thought that also might be pondered.)

[CynicalBear]

>>If so, I vote to turn them over to the Lord. If He wants let Satan have at them, that's His decision.<<

I wish it were that easy. Look over the list of threads in the religion sidebar. See how many times Catholics post threads to denigrate Protestants in order to draw them into their cult. Just today at noon another one was posted with a title attempting to denigrate Protestants. Then look at the lack of threads posted specifically to denigrate Cotholicism. Satan is increasingly on the attack.

We are told to rebuke false teaching and if we neglect to do that we are not obeying God.

[Resettozero]

We are told to rebuke false teaching and if we neglect to do that we are not obeying God."

Several have been rebuked (including me by the R.Mod) and it has altered not much here that is visible.

But you are right. My mantra from now on, instead of "You are wrong", perhaps will change to... "Be ye rebuked! Bye."

Then I'll go and do something more worthwhile. Like call or visit some marginal RCs I know.

[Elsie]

A whole buncha chicks?

[Elsie]

poke poke... ;^)

[Elsie]

If yer gonna speak in tongues; make sure there is a translator handy...

[Elsie]

I leave this debate to the finer minds onboard.

I'll try to pick up the slack.

But I'm not Mary; you know...

[metmom]

LOL!!!

[Elsie]

Don’t laugh.

It only encourages him.

—Mrs_Elsie(get yer butt back to work!)

[af_vet_1981]

And here you want to focus in Prot. paedobaptism, while the issue was the RC preoccupation with Luther, and Rome's assured veracity and baptismal justification by ones own inherent holiness, thus leading to purgatory.

Thanks, I understand your answer holds all the Protestants are in error with respect to the doctrine of baptism as you forbid it for infants. I thought the general issue was Why Would Anyone Become Catholic ? There are a number of inconsistencies among the antiCatholic alliance that preclude it from being part of one holy catholic apostolic church.

[metmom]

There are a number of inconsistencies among the antiCatholic alliance that preclude it from being part of one holy catholic apostolic church.

And thank God for that. Someone needs to hold to the truth so people can see they have something besides the bondage of Catholicism.

[af_vet_1981]

But where is the historical perspective RCs demand in seeking to engage in damage control for the Inquisitions, and in this case the Jews overall had evidently made themselves rather unlovable, as i suspect they were in 1930's Germany, yet which does not excuse the treatment that Luther and popes and other Catholics advocated. [bold emphasis mine]

It seems to me you are blaming the Jews themselves for being unlovable by declining to convert or simply disappear, including the Jews in the Holocaust, which I suppose is the same view you would apply to the Waldensian Protestants, that they made themselves unlovable as well. I find this troubling, a blaming if the victim if you will.

A German woman and her daughter in dresses walked by a concentration camp fence, perhaps on their way to church. The little girl saw all the gaunt men standing near the wire. "Mommy, who are those people ?, asked the little girl. "Those are not people. Those are Jews" the mother answered. True story; sounds hauntingly better in the German in which it was said. I suppose those Jews were unloved, and the mother did not fulfill the positives of Matthew 25. God help us to fulfill Matthew 25 as sheep and not goats.

[daniel1212]

... I would not have known to hate Luther if the RCC had not made such a diversionary fuss about him.

More like ... "I would not have known of Catholic hate of Luther and their negative treatment of Jews, and their 1400 year debate about apocryphal books if RCs had not made such a diversionary fuss about him."

And I would not have know of the emperors lack of clothes if his

devotees had not promoted him so often and much.

[daniel1212]

I'm sorry. Were those questions?

2705

Asked again in 2848 .

[af_vet_1981]

Nice try but it doesn't matter. There is no dispute about 1 John 5:7 because three are who are testifying in the heaven

1 John 5:7, In post 29 you used the KJV, For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

In this post you have removed almost all of the verse. I assumed your assembly believed in verbal plenary inspiration of the scriptures. Do you believe in verbal plenary inspiration of the Bible ? If you don't believe then we need not continue the point. If you do believe you used the KJV/AV and now apparently are indicating it is incorrect. Are you removing inspired words of the Holy Spirit from the Bible in this post or did you add words not inspired by the Holy Spirit to the Bible in post 2985 ? It is one or the other. The Protestants only had the AV/KJV until recently when modern scholars assembled new Bibles that omit words.

[boatbums]

It has to be a confusing mental gymnastics nightmare being a Catholic. They have their hierarchy proclaiming no one outside the Catholic Church is saved to " of course they do". Of course those that get saved outside the Catholic Church aren't perfectly saved or something like that.

Well, we ARE repeatedly told being a Catholic is "hard". ☺