I never knew much about Catholicism growing up. I wasn’t allowed to have non-Mennonite friends, and we didn’t talk about religion in public school. So I never got to know much about any other faith community, really.
When I started to get involved in Evangelicalism in high school, I learned that Catholics were legalistic and not actually really Christians at all (People would speak of “Christians and Catholics” as if they were two separate categories). It was doubtful you could get to heaven as a Catholic, and Catholicism was QUITE POSSIBLY the One World Religion talked about in Revelation. (That would make the Pope the Antichrist, of course.)
Fast forward a couple of decades and I have a huge heart for my Catholic brothers and sisters. I read more blogs written by Catholic women than any other demographic. I am constantly learning and being challenged by my Catholic friends, and feel incredibly blessed to have them in my life.
I don’t think I’ll ever become Catholic. I feel good about being an Anabaptist. I continue to embrace and affirm the tenets of Anabaptism (notably, nonviolence and nonconformity). I love my Mennonite community and can’t imagine a life apart from them.
Moreover, I’m an anarchist at heart, and I don’t think I could ever fully embrace the hierarchy of the Catholic Church.
But there are a lot of things about the Catholic Church I love and admire. In particular, many of its members.
But here are just a few of my favourite things to come out of the Catholic Church.
Pope Francis
Image source: Catholic Church England and Wales via Flickr
Let’s just get this guy out of the way. Like everyone else who’s been paying attention, I’m totally smitten with the new Pope. Everything I’ve seen or read about him astonishes me. (For a great intro to the Pope, read this article).
Celebrating his 77th birthday by having breakfast with some homeless guys. Encouraging a new mom to breastfeed in public. The loving way he responds to a little boy who runs up on stage while he gives a speech. You guys: Pope Francis rocks my socks.
I love his warm, open, inviting attitude towards his fellow man, especially his fellow Christian. He seems to genuinely desire communion with fellow believers, and to see the fractured church united in love. He embraces the outsider and makes her feel welcome. He invites us all to join him in serving God and the world without pressuring us to convert (like when he invited us all to fast and pray for Syria). We are all God’s children, working together to bring the Kingdom to the Earth.
Pope Francis appears to be deeply concerned with the plight of the poor – just like Jesus. I guess what I love about him is that he reminds me so much of Jesus.
I find him an inspiration and am glad to have him on our side.
Natural Family Planning
Catholics are some of the only Christians (as far as I’m aware) who have continued to think long and hard about sexuality beyond “Don’t do it until you’re married.”
I touched on this topic when I shared my story (“I wish I had known about NFP sooner”). The Evangelical church, in my personal experience, generally doesn’t equip couples adequately for sex within marriage. We’re told “Wait for marriage; and then after than, anything goes,” which I’ve found isn’t very helpful.
I was never even told, in my faith community, that you could take control of your fertility without drugs or condoms, or that contraception could pose any problems (for my bodily, marital, or spiritual health.) I learned about NFP from Catholics online, after a heartbreaking year of trying to get pregnant after quitting the Pill.
These dear Catholic friends and NFP changed my life. They changed my relationship with my husband and with my own body.
I personally find the Catholic view of sex (namely, remaining anti-contraception) the most life-affirming and life-giving view. It’s also the most pro-woman. NFP actually celebrates the female body. Female fertility isn’t a problem that needs to be managed with drugs, but rather a beautiful element in human sexuality that ought to be deeply understood and respected. NFP teaches us to pay close attention to our feminine bodies and to embrace every aspect.
The Catholic church also welcomes, values and celebrates the natural product of sexuality — namely, children. As a mother, I deeply appreciate this aspect of the Church.
Children in Mass
Again, this is an area where I think Protestants could learn a thing or two from Catholics.
I am increasingly drawn to the idea of all God’s children worshipping together, regardless of age, gender, race, marital or socioeconomic status, etc.
My God is a God of reconciliation – I believe He longs to see people of all tongues, tribes, nations, and ages in communion with one another.
Reconciliation, to me, means worshipping with people who are different from us, and who sometimes make us uncomfortable. (And who is more misunderstood and devalued in our culture than children? And who makes our lives more uncomfortable than children?) I believe reconciliation also sometimes makes worship inconvenient and messy. But I think it’s what God wants.
And I personally desire to worship with my family. I don’t care to send my two-year-old off with strangers while I commune with God. If God is to be at the center of our family, it makes sense to me that when we gather together with fellow believers to sing and pray, we do it as a family. But this doesn’t happen when children are segregated during worship (i.e. shipped off to Sunday school).
My favourite part of church, in fact, has become watching the adorable little kids dance and play at the back of the church during worship. It just warms my heart.
I’m not interested in sending my daughter off to learn about God in a classroom as if he were an abstract subject — like math or science — rather than a living Person. I love the thought of experiencing God together as a family.
We form our identities as Children of God through active participation in worship, and involvement in a community of practice. Where better to do this than in a church service together?
I applaud and appreciate the Catholic church, then, for continuing to welcome children in Mass. I’m inspired when one Catholic blogger writes of her church, “children are not just tolerated, they are welcome. And what my parish has shown me, is that my children are wanted.” (Read the whole article, btw. It’s beautiful.) I would love to see that reality extend to Protestant congregations.
Liturgy
I’ve recently been dipping my toes into the Liturgical Year. I think liturgy is what many of us, in this modern, secular age, are missing. It’s what I’ve been missing, anyway.
As a wandering Mennonite-Evangelical, I often yearn for rituals and traditions. I long for practices to infuse my everyday life with the Holy. I ache to feel rooted in a story that goes back to the beginning – to feel connected with fellow disciples across time and space.
I find all of this in Liturgy – in ancient prayers and festivals; in symbols and practices that have been used and shared by Christians all over the world throughout history.
I know that there are still many Liturgical churches out there besides the Catholic Church – Catholics are just the ones I’ve personally learned the most from. They’ve blessed me tremendously, and I’m constantly learning from them.
So there are my biggest reasons for loving the Catholic Church. I didn’t even get into the incredible architecture. Any other non-Catholics feel the same way?
Good post…I’m totally smitten with the Pope too…love how he’s shaking things up a bit.
I also agree about the liturgy. For me, liturgy is wonderful for those times when your faith is shaky and you don’t have black and white answers to things or God seems far away. Liturgy helps us cling in relationship to Jesus through mystery and ritual. It’s been huge for me in the past when I wasn’t “intellectually” or “experientially” connecting with God.
Great post — I agree especially with your point about NFP. One thing to consider, though, about children in worship. You mention not wanting your kids watched by “strangers” while you’re at church, but if you’re a part of a church community, the people in the nursery won’t be strangers to you at all. They would be dear members of your church family. :-)
I enjoy reading the Catholic blogger at http://ourmothersdaughters.blogspot.com. She’s been talking about simple ways to observe advent. Your exploration of Liturgy and her blog have encouraged me to seek out more life rhythms of worship.
As far as the children go, we attend a family integrated church. Families worship together. No separate classes. I love having my children right there with me.
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Can’t believe I forgot to mention I Corinthians 1:13! It’s been in my thoughts a lot recently. One day we will all be united in service and worship.
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There are also many things that I really appreciate about the Catholic Church, though being of Irish Protestant heritage and having married into a Mennonite Evangelical family, I don’t foresee myself joining the Catholic church.
I also very much value the liturgical calendar and it is what we follow through out the year (though ours is Anglican, it’s very similar.)
And I wholeheartedly agree with you on worshipping *with* our children. I have no desire to send them to Sunday school which I know is confusing for a lot of people. I want to gather with them. Thankfully, it’s not a problem here where we live and attend church but in the past I’ve been strongly encouraged to have our children be part of Sunday school and it’s been hard to explain to people that we to worship God with them and believe that is the best place for us and them.
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I’m a mutt-Anabaptist (born Church of the Brethren, current MCUSA member) who has been influenced in my thinking by the family-integrated church movement. The people involved seem to be of the (to coin a phrase) Old Order Calvinist stripe. Their theology is pretty much antithetical to mine at every point except this one. I believe that children are part of the family of God and, as such, should be included in the whole life of the church. But I also believe that all the age- segregated programming lets parents off the hook of their God-given responsibility for “training up a child”. As a homeschooler, I’m also suspicious of the educational efficacy of encouraging maturity, spiritual and otherwise, though exclusive contact with the immature.
On the topic of Catholicism, I guess I believe that anyone who says and lives “Jesus is Lord” (and means it in the true, revolutionary sense) is my ecclesiastical brother or sister.
…oh, and one more thing! Do you read the blog “Like Mother Like Daughter”? It’s one of my absolute favorites and written by a family of conservative Catholics.
Lots of Protestant churches welcome children in the services too. JUST SAYING. Lol. I didn’t know shipping children off to nurseries or separate programming was a thing until I moved to good ol’ evangelical Oklahoma. So maybe that section should say evangelical rather than Protestant. ;-)
Although the third and fourth points are things I love about my Lutheran heritage as well, the first two are things I love about the Catholic Church as well. My mom was reared Catholic, so I’ve always felt an affinity for them, though. :-)
You made some good points in your article. Though, I do disagree a little bit with what you had to say about Pope Francis. He believes that it is okay to be homosexual. Which it is not. In fact, the Bible clearly states it’s wrong to be homosexual. See Leviticus 18:22. He is slowly coming out in talking about gays. He’s doing it rather gently, as to slowly get people to think it’s okay.
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You are very very wrong about Pope Frabcis and homosexuality. Just so you know Pope Francis does not say it’s ok to be homosexual. That is a misrepresentation in secular mainstream press. Look at Catholic sites for really answers on his beliefs, like my husband’s, Adoro Ergo Sum (at blogspot). The Catholic Church says do not act on homosexual urges, it is sinful.
Also, Pope Benedict did and said many if the things Pope Francis has been praised for, it’s just mainstream media didn’t report it. Pope Benedict had a child a appear with him on stage, ate with homeless people, washed the feet of prisons at the same prison as Pope Francis.
(Just so you know I’m a Protestant who has a masters from a seminary who is about to become a Catholic in the spring, so research and study can change many stances and hearts dramatically).
I checked on your husband’s blog but could not find what I was looking for. Nice blog by the way. I agree with what the Catholic Church says that we are not to act on homosexual urges – it is sinful. Pope Francis said we are not to judge gay priests. I am not knocking any Pope down especially Pope Francis. I am disappointed with what he said.
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I think what Pope Francis is saying when he says “don’t judge gay priests” is do not judge someone for what their inclinations might be, but that it would be wrong if they were to act on their inclinations. The same way a husband might have inclinations towards desiring other women, where this in itself is not a sin, but rather it is a sin if he acts on that inclination either in thought or deed. We all have inclinations towards sin in different ways, but we are called to refuse them. So when you see it this way, a gay priest does not sin unless he acts in thought or deed. The distinction is what we mean when we say someone is gay. The pope I think is referring to someone who merely has inclinations and who is chaste. That is my understanding. Good blog!
Thank you for your blog. I’ve been reading for months, but haven’t commented before. I grew up in a family Catholic by name and heritage only. They didn’t attend church. I met Jesus at Protestant churches and came to know him there. I was “saved” through an Evangelical Free church. I didn’t think it was possible to be a Catholic and a true believer until I got to college and started meeting some of the most truly authentic believers I have ever met in my life – and they were Catholic! Talk about turning my life up-side-down! I started asking questions of the Newman Catholic Center campus minister, going to mass with my friends, and having Bible studies with them. Those experiences were so valuable to me. While there are still so many things about Catholicism that I don’t understand (and some I have a difficult time agreeing with), there is so much they have to offer, as well. And I so appreciate the “hands and feet” nature of their faith. I feel many Protestant churches are lacking in service to humanity and social justice work. The Catholic church does so much in those arenas. And I, too, love some of the beautiful ritual – even the “simple” ones like genuflecting (sp?), crossing oneself, and the community responses during mass. All of those things can be so deeply meaningful and moving. So, yes – I, too, have a major soft spot for Catholicism. And am a great admirer of Mother Theresa. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts! Merry Christmas!
Yes!! So glad that I’m not alone. There are many things about the Catholic Church that I do not agree with, but to be honest, there are many things about my own church and faith group that I don’t agree with. I’d much rather celebrate the good things! I love (and miss) liturgy and am very thankful each time I can go to mass with my sister (a practicing Catholic). My family and I also attend mass every year for Christ the King day since most of our fellow non-Catholics don’t celebrate. I also whole-heartedly agree about NFP and Pope Francis. But I do disagree about children in church. Most of the churches I’ve attended have fostered the idea of children and families worshipping together. I do know that ‘children’s church’ and separate nurseries are common among Protestants, but that doesn’t mean that that is the standard for all. Thank you SO much for posting this!
So well said — I was raised Catholic and remained so until my older bio children left home. Always feeling like I didn’t belong, we then switched to a Protestant church for five years. But we never felt like we were worshipping, just singing and listening to a sermon. And with no hierarchy, who is making the decisions?? So…we’re back and feel very fortunate to raise our newly adopted kiddos in a religion that values obedience, tradition and a love for the poor.
It’s funny, I was talking about this with a Protestant friend last night, and she was saying, “What’s the big deal? You guys love Jesus, we love Jesus….” But she did clarify that it made her sad they she wasn’t welcome at Catholic Eucharist. I told her it was hard for me before we converted, but my husband reminded me that from the Catholic perspective, any Protestant denomination is technically a heresy. Heresy comes from the greek for “to make a choice,” so it simply means choosing another way.
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I belong to a conservative Lutheran group an other than the pope, we have all of that. In fact, Catholics are the only group that gives more organized towards mercy care than our denomination, and we are many times smaller. Anyhow, I’d never heard of keeping children out of church until very recently. I think it is ridiculous personally, but we’ve always had children in church. We don’t seperate until AFTER worship. That’s when we have “Sunday School” along side the adults Bible Study. After 8th grade children are consider adult members of the church community and attend the adult Bible Study.
So I guess all that to say that, since our church does the same, I guess you could say we agree on those three points. I have not been following the news about the recent pope too much because life is too busy but he sounds nice enough *shrug*
I will say that in our church it is unfortunate that while FAM is practiced by many, there are still many who don’t understand it. It isn’t promoted to the extent NFP is in the Roman Catholic Church.
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This is so so interesting for me, as I am a Catholic that has become very appreciative of the way Protestant Christians worship. I feel (and this is only my impressions) that within the Catholic church sometimes the meaning gets lost amidst all the rituals, which seem very structured in many stances, and a bit far away from reality.
What I have seen (and appeals me) from Protestantism is the sense of community. It reminds me of the stories of early Christians during Roman times, where people would help each other out. What I have seen (with friends) is that within these communities everybody knows and helps each other, and they seem also more engaged with society activities (like bringing soup to the homeless), and they seem to have a lot of youth / children / mom groups. I do not think I will become protestant, because I feel that we share so much more than we don’t and those differences (for me) are not that important…. the message of Jesus is what’s important and that we share.
I agree with you on what you say: “My God is a God of reconciliation – I believe He longs to see people of all tongues, tribes, nations, and ages in communion with one another.” This is what I have felt for a very long time, even if you analyse different philosophies / religions, they tend to have lots of main points in common. The way I see it, it is “God” manifesting itself in different forms / metaphors / stories to different groups.
As for the Natural Family Planning, I never realized this was something particular to the Catholic church, but it is true that at school (junior high) we were taught that these methods of being aware of your body (temperature, cervical mucus monitoring) existed and were there when we would need them.
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Somehow I missed commenting on this post! I appreciate the fact that YOU appreciate the idea of worshipping together. I have tried to talk to my protestant friends about crazy mass/church behavior from our toddlers and they just don’t understand why I don’t take him out to the nursery. Although I have envied those “age appropriate bible classes” sometimes! But ultimately, take him away from Jesus, the entire point of coming? So there’s a bit of a roadblock there.
And I love that you admitted the anarchist part about yourself…you are most definitely an anarchist! Barefooting was a pretty good clue to me ;) I’ve never seen you becoming Catholic either, probably for that same reason. No one wants to be told what to do, we want to figure it out on our own. But I really appreciate that you’re able to see the beauty where many people just see old pointless tradition and outdated opinions. There really is wisdom there as well.
You seem to have a very close group of family and friends, I can see why it would be difficult to even consider ever leaving that. It must be nice to have an identity to belong to like that since in a way, I think that’s what we search for when we seek out God. But I also see it holding my faithful friends, even Catholics, back from learning from each other. I didn’t even have a clearly defined group outside of my family, but I think leaving my childhood family and faith to choose Catholicism was easily the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I felt like I knew it all was true long before I had the guts to tell my parent;s. I kept hoping there was someway out that could cause less of a rift. Even this past Christmas, when we chose to worship Christ by attending Mass while my childhood family stayed at home, I pondered what it was that we were doing on this “family holiday” by being so divisive and going to church. I came up with Jesus calls us all, and we still must respond to all those close to us in love. I think that’s what Pope Francis seems to have down so obviously! Plus he has a friendly smile and a soft nose. Benedict’s pointy nose wasn’t helping him appear so friendly, though I do really identify with his intellectual, quiet ways :)
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Thanks for your thoughts, Alison! I do appreciate the sense of belonging I have with my Mennonite friends/church/family. It may hold me back in some ways, but it also keeps me close to Jesus in some ways, too (I might never go to church if it weren’t for my friends and family!).
It’s interesting that going to mass on Christmas Day was a “divisive” act for you! That’s a tough one. But Christmas is technically about Jesus and not family, right? Family is great, but it’s not the point. Our culture has turned it into a family holiday rather than a religious one.
Sorry, just wanted to clarify that it doesn’t seem to be holding YOU back (you wrote this about what you find beautiful in another faith) but I’ve seen it hold others back, which makes me sad. For example, what I was thinking of when I wrote this was the fact that I joined a Protestant moms group this year and many of my Catholic friends commented how they couldnt do that because of all the differences. There are major differences, but by focusing on those, you miss all the things in common and what you can learn and grow in your own faith! Anyway, sorry if that was unclear the first time.
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I found your blog quite accidentally, but I love it from the very first post I read!
I find that every religion has something wonderful to offer and I most heartily agree with your assessment of Catholicism. The first time I attended a mass I really enjoyed it. At the very end the priest invited everyone to stand and shake hands with their neighbors and wish them peace. It was the most amazing experience. I don’t know if all Catholic congregations do that, but I truly felt the Spirit in that moment. I loved it! I’m a Mormon and I wish we could have something like that added to our weekly services.
Hats of to you. Only a person with pure conscience can observe like wise. I am a converted catholic . But I have also my share of good points about protestantism. Every christian can enrich themselves with lot of values from other religions also. I appreciate the zeal of some of my muslim friends towards their religion. Thanks………….
My aunt was a Protestant while my uncle, her husband, was a Catholic, and yet
they got along wonderfully and I loved both of them so much. When she died
he was very old, but he was heartbroken and soon also passed. When time for church they
parted ways but that was the only time!
Years later, when I was ill, and dying according to my doctor….Protestants and
Catholics each prayed for me, and the unlikely happened and I got my health back and
I have lived 12 yrs. since then. Thanks to both for the prayers and most of all thanks to
who they prayed to!
What encouraging thoughts. I’m an evangelical but recently find myself drawn to Catholicism. I find many doctrines appealing even Marian doctrine (surely she is more than we Protestants understand her to be). But also the adoration and ritual and respect for the holiness of God that is evident in the mass. Sometimes I think of converting and perhaps someday I will. But for now I’m going to sneak into a weekday mass now and then. I’m grateful to be a follower of Jesus and I feel fortunate to have so many Christian traditions available to nurture my walk.
I am a bit different from most of you. I was an atheist and got radically in 1988. I was in the New Age, had a past of drugs, sex and rocknroll, in an abusive home and had abusive boyfriends. I had 4 abortions in 3 years. I got radically saved because some radical tongue talking Christians didn’t give up. The church that I got saved in was in a revival and I got delivered by lots of demons and am free now to love and be loved!
The Spirit of Truth also called the Holy Spirit has been my guide as I read the Bible and live my new creation life. I have gleaned from “godly” people like you talk about, but unless God gets a hold of you on the inside and changes you it is all dead traditional works that get burned up in the end.
My husband was Catholic, and a nice guy, who knows how to act around people, but he rejects salvation through Jesus Christ because that is what he learned in Catholic high school and in Catholic college. The most important thing of anyone’s Christian faith is knowing the Truth of who Jesus is.
If we read the Catechism, we learn that it is far from the Truth. Salvation isn’t in Jesus Christ alone, among other dangerous things. If someone is a part of this organization and is truly saved, then they are lying if they call themselves Catholic, because they must follow the rules in the Catechism to truly be Catholic. That is what the Catechism says. For instance, if someone does not go to confession through a priest once a year they are not saved. So a Catholic who is truly saved knows this is not true… but do they go to confession to follow the rules so that they can still call themselves Catholic…. do they tell others the truth that this is not necessary for salvation?
It is a very serious matter. To glean from Catholics without speaking the truth, doesn’t sound right to me. Richard Bennett is a former priest that has laid down his life for teaching Catholics the truth. He has a website and a great book that speaks truth about the Catholic church. http://www.bereanbeacon.org
I will end with this. Jesus came against religious leaders who added and subtracted to the truth, they killed Him in the end.. It is a serious and severe thing to not follow Truth above all. Mark 7.13 … making the Word of God of none effect though your traditions. Bless and love everyone. Thanks
I have been fence-sitting about becoming a Catholic for most of my life. I grew up Lutheran, and my mother and I had many talks about what was “wrong” with the Catholic church. Once she said, “Well, they’d have you going every day if they had it their way,” thinking that would turn me OFF. But even at 9 years old what I really thought was, “Wow! You can go every day? That sounds GREAT!” There are so many things that make me feel that we Protestants have thrown the baby out with the bathwater.
But my one really big drawback is the power structure of the Catholic Church. I was always warned about confession and how they could use info against you. I once was asked by a co-worker to type her annulment papers, and while I was doing so I was thinking, “Should ANYONE have to know all these details about a couple’s marriage?” It just didn’t seem like it should be anyone else’s business other than the couple themselves. Or that one person in the marriage can disclose that they were ignorant of some aspect of marriage–like “openness to children–and even though they have been married for 30 years, that person can have the marriage reduced to having never taken place. Or the pain and ridicule that a priest undergoes for leaving the priesthood, or the time-consuming, difficult laicization process. I am also foggy about medieval history and such. Do the Catholics deserve all the blame for the Inquisition/torture from bygone times? Would joining such an organization and supporting it mean that I was supporting everything that it stands/stood for? I have no desire to cause people pain. In that sense, it seems that Protstantism is the safer choice. Part of me would just like to ignore everything that bothers me because it would be so easy to just join because of the beauty.
I am a cradle Catholic. As a kid, i did what I was told to do during Mass. I went to Catechism long enough to be confirmed and to make my first communion. At about 15 or so I quit being a good boy and joined the rest of the world in sin. Going to Mass was not important nor was praying nor reading scripture. I got married in the Catholic Church and made my vows before God to my wife as the Catholic church requires. We had our first child and we baptized him and then our second child a girl 2 years later. Life moved on very rapidly. During that time, the world took me further and further away from my faith. My wife was the one who would take the children to Mass and I would attend on occasion. God had made me a man that should have been leading my family but instead, I took the coward way out and left it to my wife. When my forty’s came along, my mother dies at the age of 64 and my father just 3 years later and I have to turn to prayer for comfort. My rebirth had begun but I still enjoyed sinning. I became more involved in my church and joined a men’s leadership group at another Catholic church. This group, “That Man is You” helped me grow spiritually and for the first time since I was 15 I began to learn about my faith. I leaned about the Eucharist, I went back to confession and unloaded my wickedness, I joined a Catholic bible group, became a Eucharistic minister and went back to being a good boy. My Catholic church was waiting for me and I came home to Jesus there. Today, I am the host of that men’s program at my church and minister in other ministries. I want to do all I can to bring other men to Jesus through the Catholic church. You get out of the Catholic church what you put in. Now, I put my heart and soul into it and God gives me grace and love and mercy. I will die a Catholic and hopefully after a good confession and after receiving the body and blood of Jesus my savior. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: Amen!!! Mother Mary, pray for me, be my intercessor to my Lord your Son.
I’ve never been a religious person, but I’d like to be. It’s so good to hear you talk about your church. I’ve kind of done to my kids what was done to you growing up. I’ve never let them talk to anyone but Mennonite friends. However, I want to change that, so many I’ll attend a few different churches to see what I like.
As a Catholic Convert from Islam (I am living in İstanbul Turkey), I really liked this article. I personally have zero problem with protestants and none of turkish converts to protestants have problems with Catholics also.(All protestants and at least 40% of all Catholics are converts from Islam or atheism here so christians as all converts to different religions are, are more religious than the general public here(In my case that is muslims). So I was sad when I saw tons of evangelicals call us pagans, pedophiles, or the beast or even the followers of Babylon.We believe in Jesus, you believe in Jesus. Lets just get along everyone.
Amen :) Crazy when Christians squabble amongst each other, & just what the devil’d want! – I apologise on their behalf, maybe best to Pray they’ll evolve with the Holy Spirit.
I wonder about Islam & Judaism, as a fellow monotheistic – Aside from the major point of them not believing Jesus is Divine, we must have a lot in common; basically the same God? – Will God bar them from Heaven for not acknowledging Jesus as Son, even if they’re good people? – A big question I know, but I don’t see why these religions have to fight each other when they all believe in God, let alone Christians fight each other for being different denominations; People, eh..!
I grew up in the protestant church. My dad was a deaf pastor in the Church of Christ and taught against catholicism or at least criticized them as being unsaved and practicing evil. My mom actually grew up as a catholic until she met my dad. So I also believed what was said and I thought the catholic church was just wrong. But I ended up reading a book by mother Teresa and became a little interested, realizing i had never really looked at what the Catholic Church believes myself. I lost interest though and just forgot about it until i recently met my girlfriend who is a devout Catholic. Ive had many conversations with her and have researched more of the actual beliefs and have even attended mass a few times. I realize that there are many beliefs we in the protestant church don’t understand and mistake as something other than what is actually believed. It has been so good to realize this and I am currently thinking about becoming a Catholic myself. There is so much beauty to be a part of.
Me too, lol – Happily Protestant & I’d never ‘convert’ to Roman Catholic *’Catholic’ refers to ALL the Christian Church btw – but when wanting to know more about Christianity, the only services online were R’C so I watched 10-15 a day to learn from the Sermons. I was enchanted by the bells, incense, beautiful neo-Gothic altars & daily histories of the Saints – tho’ I still don’t believe in praying to them.
I love the Pope, he seems an enlightened & positive soul, an asset to the Church, & the world. I’m even trying to learn Latin to follow certain Mass, for fun, & I collect Rosaries..! I enjoy the theatrical beauty of R’C, I sometimes go to R’C Mass (not Eucharist, obviously) as it’s on at less crowded times than weekend Anglican Mass, but personally I can’t stomach the man-made sexism, olde human dogma add-ons & I’m still undecided about Purgatory – But it strikes me that Christians of whatever domination have far more in common than not, if we can forget the labels of division & focus on God / Jesus, then it doesn’t matter so much which Church we identify with, as long as it’s God’s?
Don’t all Church Services allow kids tho’? I’ve took mine to both Protestant & Catholic services, hoping they’ll get a liking for it, which is nice – but not so great when there’s babies screeching over the Homily or restless toddlers?! – But then, what else can you do with them if you want to attend Church?