From Rome to Christ

Not many people get the opportunity to attend seminary. In an amazing way I have attended two. The first was training for the Roman Catholic priestÂhood in Ireland and the second at a conservative Evangelical seminary in England.

Raised a Catholic . . . but not knowing God Like most boys in the Republic of Ireland in the 1980s, I was brought up a Roman Catholic. My parents taught me to live a good life, say my prayers, and attend mass every Sunday. I believed there was a God, but I didn’t know him personally. I prayed as my mother taught me, but I never knew whether or not God was really listening. I attended confession monthly and did many penances. Conscious of my sinfulness, I hoped that God would accept me into heaven if I did enough good works. I tried to live the best life I could. It was like balancing the accounts, hoping that my credits (good works) would cancel my debits (sins). Zealous to please God, I was just eleven years old when I decided to become a Roman Catholic priest. I told the local priest, but he said I would have to wait until I was eighteen before I could enter the seminary.

During my teenage years I got involved in much sinful behaviour. I rebelled against God and disobeyed his commandments. I loved my sin, but I hated that miserable life and started to cry out to God. I realise now that God was working in my heart. He showed me I was a sinner. I longed to be right with him. This became the focus of my life. I knew that I needed to be saved from my sins. I went on a pilgrimage to a famous Roman Catholic shrine. I ate oatcakes, drank black tea, and crawled on my knees around the Stations of the Cross over three days to do penance for my sins. I fasted and meditated but never knew pardon for sin. I wanted to know forgiveness, but how?

Training for the priesthood At the age of nineteen, and after checking different possible organisations, I finally decided to join the Society of Missions to Africa (SMA). They are a society of priests who live together in small communities in different parts of the world, seeking to convert pagans to the Roman religion. I entered the Roman Catholic Seminary located in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. During my two years at seminary, I learned about religion and philosophy but there were no biblical studies. I attended daily mass and monthly confession but, alas, there was no teaching on forgiveness for sin. We had set times of prayer as a community – morning, evening, and night. I heard many talks that were focused on pleasing God by doing charitable works and buying favour with God through the church. I also heard a lot about how to use psychology to counsel people spiritually. Not once did I hear how to be reconciled to God through Christ who alone could forgive my sins.

I began to read the Bible (a Protestant translation my parents had given to me). As I read it, I asked the priests serious questions about the religious rituals in the Roman Catholic faith, but they couldn’t show me any scriptural basis whatsoever for so much of their superstition and their many traditions. I discovered that the Bible does not promote the veneration of Mary as practiced in the Roman Catholic Church. The official teaching of the Roman Church is that Mary does not necessarily answer prayers but rather intercedes on the Catholic’s behalf and prays for them. However, the Bible teaches that she is a sinner: in the famous ‘Magnificat’ she is found praying to God her Saviour. Mary knew she had sinned and we find her rejoicing in God her Saviour, the one conceived in her womb by the Holy Spirit – Jesus Christ her Lord.

I realised that rosaries and prayers to the saints have no scriptural basis. Mary is addressed in Roman Catholic prayers (eg ‘O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee’), but the Saviour teaches us to pray to the Father directly. Indeed, the Bible warns us against ritualistic prayer. This described me exactly: outwardly very holy and pious, but inwardly my heart was sinful and corrupt. Also, the Roman Church teaches its followers to pray to the saints. There is a saint for almost every circumstance, such as St Christopher for travel, St Anthony for lost property, St Martin de Porres for healing, St Joseph for the dying, St Vincent de Paul for the poor, and St Jude for lost causes. Unable to find anything in Scripture to support these things, I asked the priests many questions, and I was told that these Church traditions could not be questioned.

I was conscious of my sin and longed to have assurance of salvation. I asked the priests but I was told that we could never be sure of salvation until we died. I was instructed to attend the priest for confession, but I did not find that in Scripture either. The Bible instructs us to confess our sins to God, not to human priests. I also realised that as a priest I would have to hear people’s confessions and absolve them. I was confused. How could I forgive other people’s sins, when I did not even know forgiveness myself? I now realise that the Lord was lifting the veil from my eyes to show me that true faith and forgiveness for sin is to be found in Christ alone.

Eventually, I left the Roman seminary in 1995. The Society had decided that I was not suitable, but the Lord, through his Word, had shown me the errors of Rome and that I shouldn’t continue training for the priesthood. I had entered the seminary thinking that I would find God’s answer to my sins. When I left, I thought that I had finished with God – but he hadn’t finished with me! Over the next two years I lived in Dublin and continued my search for God. I went to various Protestant churches and also met people from different cults. One cult told me that if I was to be baptized again, then I would be born again. This sounded too much like the Roman Church and its teaching of justification by works, so I had nothing more to do with them.

Going to England I went to London in preparation for nursing studies. On the first night I met a man who told me how I could know forgiveness for sin. He gave me a leaflet that emphasized the need to trust in Jesus Christ alone. I read this leaflet many times, but still had no peace with God. Although well physically, I became very depressed spiritually.

I knew that I was condemned if I was not converted. The Bible told me that if I did not believe then the wrath of God abode upon me. Then I read ‘There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit’ (Rom. 8:1). This was a constant challenge to me. I was alone in a huge city with no one to turn to for spiritual help. How my heart yearned to be right with God.

While pursuing my nursing studies, I met some students who seemed to know God. I attended their church where the Bible was central to the whole service. The sermon was preached from the Bible – that was something completely new to me. Deep down I knew these people were genuine Christians. I asked many questions and started to attend the church regularly. About this time, a small Christian group was meeting in my halls of residence. I went along aiming to disrupt the meetings, but slowly began to be drawn to Christ. I saw that they had something that I didn’t have – peace with God and a real love for Christ. They knew the reality of ‘Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Rom. 5:1). One of them gave me J. I. Packer’s book, Knowing God. I read the book and saw that I too could know God in a personal way.

My conversion One Sunday morning, 8th February 1998, I was listening to a sermon from Luke 10:30-37 about the Good Samaritan. The preacher spoke of Jesus Christ being like the Good Samaritan – coming to help us in our wretched sinful state – while revealing that the Holy Spirit gives new life to lost sinners. He also urged the listeners to repent of sin and trust in Jesus Christ alone for forgiveness. I called upon Jesus Christ to save me, ‘For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved’ (Rom. 10:13). There and then, I knelt down in my room and prayed, ‘O God, I know that you have sent your Son Jesus Christ into the world to save sinners. Will you save me? I trust in Christ alone and ask that you would come into my life by the power of your Holy Spirit and make me new.’ I felt a huge weight of guilt and sin taken from my heart. As soon as I opened my eyes a deep sense of peace came over me. At that moment I knew that I was a Christian and truly forgiven of all my sins. The Bible became the living Word of God and he was speaking to me as I read. I realised that we are not saved by works but by grace, ‘For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast’ (Eph. 2:8,9). I was baptised in London as a believer in September 1998. After my baptism I struggled with temptations and trials, but the Lord was my constant refuge: ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble’(Psa. 46:1).

My life as a Christian On my first visit back to Ireland, I did not know of a Christian church, so I went to mass with my parents. I realised the priest was re-enacting a sacrifice that was accomplished once and for all on the cross of Calvary (Heb. 9:26; 1 Pet. 3:18). For this reason, I couldn’t attend the Roman Catholic mass any longer. As a young Irish man, swearing was second nature to me. Very soon after my conversion this dried up. Worldly pursuits like drinking in pubs and going to nightclubs ceased. Prayer and communion with God became a whole new area of experience. I had learned formal rote prayer as a young boy, but now I began truly to pray from my heart. This is still an amazing experience to me: to be able to lift my heart to God as my Father and know that he is listening and will answer my prayers according to his will.

My family were upset that I had left the Roman Catholic faith. At first they thought it was another religious phase I was going through, but they soon realised that this was different. However, the Lord gave me opportunities to share the true gospel with them. About a year later my youngest brother was converted. What joy filled my heart!

Since my conversion, the Lord has taught me so much from his Word. I am especially thankful to one man from the church in London who helped me to study the Bible. We did a complete overview of the Scriptures together, as well as an in-depth study of the doctrines of grace (Calvinism). The glorious truth that God is sovereign in salvation and reaches out in mercy to sinners is truly humbling and amazing. That God, the Creator and Sustainer of the world, should call wretched sinners to himself illustrates his grace. What a joyful day it will be when all his people are united with him in heaven.

Christian service and ministry About a year after my conversion I was seeking the Lord about serving him. One Lord’s Day evening after the service I was praying to the Lord asking him where he wanted me to serve. I read 2 Timothy 3:16-4:5 and was profoundly challenged. I had never studied this portion of God’s Word before. It was impressed on me that this was how the Lord wanted me to serve him – to preach the Word. I graduated and worked for a year in the National Treatment Centre for Alcohol and Drugs. Some of the patients were hardened criminals; others were involved in sordid areas of society due to their addictions. I realised the psychological treatment was not dealing with their real problem: their unpardoned sin. I couldn’t witness openly to the patients but some enquired what kept me through the difficult times in my life. I told them that it was my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and they were amazed. Both my houseÂmate and a Roman Catholic friend were converted and baptised during this time. It was a great privilege to see the Lord use even me to win sinners to Christ. I conducted a Bible Study in Colossians with some Jehovah’s Witnesses. They began to seek Christ but their leaders visited and put an end to it. I pray for these people, that the Lord would open their eyes to his truth. As I taught young boys in a Crusaders Class I soon realized that children can be taught the deep truths of Scripture in a simple, understandable way.

The Lord opened up the way for me to study at London Theological Seminary. The lasting memories of my time there are of the nightly prayer meetings with fellow students and the godly men who taught us theology and prepared us for the ministry.

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>>As for me, although I will be accused of sola scriptura by some of my fellow Catholics, I believe the basis, the way, and the Truth, rests primarily with the word of God as it is presented in the Bible and the Gospels.<<

Exactly! Paul said anyone who teaches something they didn't should be considered accursed. The farther we get away from what Christ and the apostles taught the more likely there is for error. We see that happening already in the seven churches addressed in Revelation. Look to Christ alone. Not some earthly organization. God directly to the throne of God with your cares and concerns.

Sometimes I imagine Jesus is on an alien spaceship, on His way back to Earth after spending time on other planets that needed Him. As the Earth comes into view, the alien Commander looks at Jesus and asks, “Now, you’re sure they won’t be hostile?” And Jesus replies, “Don’t worry, everything will be fine. I stripped my teachings down to the bare bone and told them that my greatest commandment was to love one another as I love them, and to love each other as they love themselves. I’m telling you, I left them no wiggle room to screw it up. Everything will be fine.”

LOL! Sounds like you may have read some of these threads:

Jesus Drives a Flying Saucer
Sensation: Apostle Jacob’s Coffin Made by Aliens
Aliens say they prefer Peru [and Luis Antonio Soto is the third incarnation of God]
The Alien Enigma - Why we say God does travel in UFOs but is not an alien
Scientists find Extraterrestrial genes in Human DNA [did you know Jesus was an ET?]
Researchers suggest that Jesus was a descendent of Black Extraterrestrial time-travellers
Researcher illuminates Extraterrestrial influences and origins in Human DNA [ET Culture Day]

Your Government and Your Church are Lying to You:
NWO Deception: Faked Rapture and Project Blue Beam [get your tin foil hats ready]
UFOs - we were not mistaken!
An Alien Reasoning [governments and religions conspire to hide the truth about UFOs]
Ancient Gnostic disciples of Jesus reveal reasons for Extraterrestrial Denial in Western society
December 21, 2012 [Governments confess the existence of advanced extraterrestrial UFOs]
Official disclosure extraterrestrial life is imminent.(An official announcement Obama admin)
UFO climb in Lakes is out-of-this-world trip

Theology and UFOs
Could Extraterrestrial Intelligence Sway religious Beliefs?
Flying Saucers From Hell
GENETICS, UFOS AND THE BIRTH OF THE ANTICHRIST
UFO's: The Shattering Assault
UFO Messages: Are humans galactic trash? [Barf or Piñata? You decide!]
Christian Symposium Offers Different Take on Aliens at Roswell UFO Festival
UFOs - we were not mistaken!
A Dark Conspiracy of Prophecy and Alien Technology
What does the Bible say about UFO's and extraterrestrials?
More Americans Believe in the Devil, Hell and Angels than in Darwin's Theory of Evolution
Christian Symposium Offers Different Take on Aliens at Roswell UFO Festival
Film Mixes Christianity with UFOs
Flying Saucers From Hell
Behold Azazel-The Extraterrestrial [UFOs, the Bible, and Christianity]
The Upcoming Great Deception
UFO's: The Shattering Assault
UFOs in Arkansas and Across Louisiana Skies
UFOlogy, and Calvinism

Just Don't Even Ask
Worries over illegal aliens: Denver voters to decide on possible Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission
'Alien spies live among us' says Bulgarian gov space boffin
SubGenius UFO Cult Gathers In New York For Apocalypse [End of the World predicted for July 5th]
UFO CULT GATHERS IN NEW YORK FOR APOCALYPSE
New Documentary Examines NESARA Conspiracy Theory [you won't believe it, even after reading it]

You are foolish to say that. First, you do not know if those responding really are priests.

When they claim they are priests it gives me a pretty god idea...

Second, have you researched what is taught in Catholic seminaries?

Yes I have...

Among other things they recite what is called the Liturgy of the Hours. Each day they read/recite at least 12 psalms and 3 or 4 other scripture readings.

Any one can do that...That doesn't mean anything...

I’m going to buy you a Kevlar helmet and body armor SAPI plates for Christmas:)

You do, however, well interacting with your Catholic brethren. I just wish they extended the same compassion that you display.

Peace.

Good evening. I was born, raised, educated (through university) and catechized in a devout Catholic and VERY Irish family.

I thank the Catholic church and my Catholic family for teaching me the beginning of wisdom...fear (reverence) of God. No better environment to point out sin and the consequences of sin which is death. I received that message loud and clear.

My family also encouraged reading the Catholic Bible at an early age. I continued reading and praying for God’s Grace and praise His Holy Name He gave me light by His Holy Spirit and through His Holy Word.

I understand the Catholic faith quite well. The message was an insufficient grace. Not the Grace of Christ witnessed in God’s Word.

We cannot find Grace of Christ in man-made doctrines but only in His Holy Word.

Happy are the feet of those who bring Good News.

>>Eisegesis doesn’t count.<<

Worse, eisegesis with a heavy dose of Aristotle is a recipe for syncretism.

The apostles seemed to handle matters quite well. The apostle Paul seemed to think Timothy “that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Tim 3).

So what’s missing from the Scriptures that make us incomplete?

Paul continued: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

There is a figure in Scriptures who tried to convince people the Words of God were incomplete. But the hour is late and both Eden and the wilderness where Christ was tempted are miles away.

Now is this the point where I am told “but the Catholic church gave you the Bible?”

>>Either it is plagerism, or there is a rigid “how I found Jesus and learned to hate the catholic church” meme that has to be followed when writing this type of story, i.e. it is propaganda.<<

You can find a lot of similar accounts in this book. It's 28 chapters long if you are interested. You may have seen some of it in the past.

If you want another shorter explanation this one is a good example of how God works.

There are four people in Scripture who were born immaculately (not under Original Sin)... Adam, Eve, Mary and Jesus. Adam and Eve should be obvious as they had not yet committed sin before they were formed. Christ should be obvious as He was the unblemished Lamb of God. He was also the new Adam (1 Cor 15:45). Mary was the new Eve. Here is a link to a good discussion what it all means and why it is necessary: http://www.stpeterslist.com/682/6-biblical-reasons-mary-is-the-new-eve/.

Adam and Eve were not born immaculately. They were created.

If it were necessary for Mary to be born without sin because of Jesus, then it would have been necessary for Mary's mother to be born without sin. If Mary could have been born without sin of a sinful mother by an act of God, then Jesus could also.

In order for Jesus to share fully in our humanity, being born and raised by sinful parents would be part and parcel of it.

If it were necessary for Mary to be born without sin because of Jesus, then it would have been necessary for Mary's mother to be born without sin.

There have been some doctrines which conclude the sin nature is passed genetically by the man, rather than the woman alone, hence the possibility of a virgin birth of Jesus Christ from Mary and the Holy Spirit being adequate for the second Adam. I don't know if they are fully sound, but I wanted to point out it might be sound doctrine without resorting to an infinite lineage of sinless mothers to birth the second Adam.

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