What could I expect in a transition from being an evangelical to a catholic?
The hypocrisy of the evangelical community as they accuse catholics of this or that kind of annoys me, as well as their extreme adherence to emotions (though of course not all of them). Catholicism is at least based on centuries of theology and intellect. I’m not saying Catholicism or any sect of Christianity is the true way, but I feel like I would be better off as a Catholic.
I was an evangelical (Moravian) for 50 years and a minister for 25 years before becoming Catholic. The transition from evangelicalism to Catholicism is a natural transition for one seeking the fullness of truth and desiring to be obedient to God’s will. When one matures in faith one is drawn to Catholic Christianity. The mature Christian cannot be satisfied by any other church but the Church founded by Jesus and the disciples which has endured from its founding for 2000 years. By coming to Catholic Christianity you are coming into God’s will and being obedient to His last prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane that we all be one in His Church as He and the Father are one. Welcome home, you will never be closer to our Lord and His teaching. God bless!
In Christ
Fr. Joseph
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November 25 2009 05:12 pm | Catholic
Ed on 25 Nov 2009 at 10:47 pm #
You can expect the pope to take the place of the bible. If you are comfortable with that, then go for it.
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sparta on 25 Nov 2009 at 11:18 pm #
WHY?? IS CHRISTIANITY BASED ON INTELLECT? ISN’T IT HOW MUCH YOU LOVE GOD AND REPENT?? WHY DO YOU WANT TO GO THROUGH MOTHER MARY WHEN YOU HAVE JESUS WHO WAS SENT TO DIE FOR YOU, NOT MOTHER MARY OR SOME SAINT. ?? rethink it over?? dont let ur faith in jesus be disturbed or shaken by the evangelical comunnity..to turn to a statue of mother mary!
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The Roadrunner xD on 25 Nov 2009 at 11:23 pm #
As so perfectly illustrated by the answers above, you won’t have to lie about and hate Catholics any more. Also, in Catholicism, it’s okay to be sane and accept that Evolution is a fact rather than stupidly digging in your heels and denying what’s obvious.
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Tolstoyevsky on 25 Nov 2009 at 11:37 pm #
The transition can really bite (using a more polite word there).
I’d strongly recommend checking out Scott Hahn’s story. "Rome Sweet Home" is one of the first books I bought when I began my journey from protestantism to Catholicism. Not only did he have to deal with family and friends turning away from him, but his wife didn’t reach the same conclusions about faith at the same time he did.
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Bill C on 25 Nov 2009 at 11:46 pm #
Depends on whether you prefer tradition or truth. I left Catholicism in 1972 because it was mostly man-made traditions, regularly ignoring scripture. Since that time, I’ve been Apostolic. Apostolics reject the traditions of men, and all the doctrines that the church invented after the first century. It’s Christianity in its earliest form, and teaches doctrines the Catholic Church abandoned in the 3rd and 4th centuries, including baptism in Jesus’ name.
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Edward N on 26 Nov 2009 at 12:34 am #
You could be expected to renounce your faith in Jesus in favor of The Trinity.
Your choice, just as it has been the choice of all who hear The Word for the past 2009 years.
You can be a "Trinitarian" or a Christian. You cannot be both. Sorry. Only Jesus bled and died on the cross for the sins of the world. It is in His Name, by His blood and through His Spirit that we may be saved, not the titles of The Trinity.
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cristoiglesia on 26 Nov 2009 at 1:07 am #
I was an evangelical (Moravian) for 50 years and a minister for 25 years before becoming Catholic. The transition from evangelicalism to Catholicism is a natural transition for one seeking the fullness of truth and desiring to be obedient to God’s will. When one matures in faith one is drawn to Catholic Christianity. The mature Christian cannot be satisfied by any other church but the Church founded by Jesus and the disciples which has endured from its founding for 2000 years. By coming to Catholic Christianity you are coming into God’s will and being obedient to His last prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane that we all be one in His Church as He and the Father are one. Welcome home, you will never be closer to our Lord and His teaching. God bless!
In Christ
Fr. Joseph
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You can learn more at my blog here:
http://fiatvolvntastua.blogspot.com/
imacatholic2 on 26 Nov 2009 at 1:56 am #
First, be forewarned. You will find a few hypocrites wherever you find human beings even in the Catholic Church.
When I was old enough to think for myself, I looked around at all of my spiritual options and then realized that Catholicism:
+ Answered all my questions
+ Satisfied both my faith and reason
+ Inspired both great learning and great spirituality
If you are interested in joining or just learning more about the Catholic Church, contact your local parish and ask for information about their RCIA Inquiry group.
You can go and ask any questions you want.
This is the first step in RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) but you can stop at any time.
There is no obligation to become a Catholic.
Some resources: http://www.archdiocese.la/evangelization/rcia/index.php
With love and prayers in Christ.
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Kristin on 26 Nov 2009 at 2:03 am #
The good part of the transition is that you can expect some eye-opening "wow!" and "aha!" moments. There’s a reason Catholics refer to Catholicism as "the fullness of the faith." You get the whole evangelical "personal relationship with Jesus" as well as two thousand years of theology and spirituality to draw on, and extra help from sacraments and saints. I’ve found it both very intellectually and spiritually satisfying.
The bad part of the transition can be the reaction of friends and family, but only you can guess how that would be in your situation.
The practical part of the transition, in case you’re interested, is taking RCIA classes and being received into the Catholic Church and confirmed on the night before Easter. RCIA classes are essentially Christianity 101, and they run from about September to May. If you wanted to get in on this year’s cycle you probably still could — just call your local Catholic parish and ask about RCIA classes.
God bless!
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New Catholic
sparki777 on 26 Nov 2009 at 2:42 am #
To become Catholic, you need to take some free classes. The program is called Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, and it’s offered at all (or most) Catholic Churches. Classes started a couple months ago, but you can probably sign up now and get caught up fairly easily.
After you have learned more about Catholic theology, you will be invited to participate in the Rite of Election sometime next March. This is when you actually "sign up" to become Catholic (they don’t want you to commit until you’ve learned more about the faith).
You will need to present your baptismal certificate. As long as you were baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, it should be accepted. If you weren’t baptized that way, of if you are unable to provide a certificate, you will probably be conditionally baptized when you are confirmed.
About a week or so before Easter, you will make your First Penance. Then on the night before Easter, at the most glorious Mass of the year, you will be confirmed and you will receive your First Holy Communion.
When my husband and I converted to Catholicism, we took some flack. In fact, my father-in-law cried, my mother-in-law was very angry and refused to talk about it, and my (atheist) family was full of jeers and hateful comments about how we must be willing to have our son molested by a priest. Some friends stopped speaking to us. My husband was a Christian record producer, and he lost so many clients who refused to work with a "pagan Catholic," his business failed.
Then when we announced another pregnancy about 3 months later, we were met with, "Just how Catholic are you going to be?"
Answer, "Really Catholic."
Anyway, our families got used to it and we made some new (Catholic) friends, and we discovered which of our old (Evangelical) friends are true friends. So it’s all fine. Not perfect, but good enough.
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