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A Protestant Seeks Annulment

Then, just as mysteriously as before, another word was now laid heavily upon me: annulment. Annul… what?? I didn’t understand the meaning of that word, and now it was suddenly right in my face. I had only heard it mentioned on TV, and if I remembered correctly, it was associated with “dissolving a marriage” (though, in reality, it means the Church determines a marriage never to have been a valid sacrament) and, most assuredly, associated with Catholics. Catholic was a word I had heard rarely while growing up, and I was fortunate to have never heard a harsh word toward Catholics or their beliefs. I even had a fascination with nuns in their habits, priests in their collars, all seen on TV, of course. Also, why were there special days marked on the calendar that, as my mother told me, were “holidays for other churches”? The Catholic Church always seemed to be set apart from all other faiths and denominations. Why?

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Journey Home episode

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Jan 18 2011
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Returning Home

Rick Ricciardi | Assemblies of God, Conversion Stories, Evangelical, Pentecostal, Reverts to the Catholic Faith | 9 Comments

In many of the Evangelical Protestant or fundamentalist churches of today, more than twenty percent of the members or regular worshipers can say, “I was raised Catholic.” At banquets or meetings, I recall many times sitting around a table, attempting to meet and learn about the other people sitting with me. Inevitably, someone would say those words. Heads would start nodding seemingly everywhere, and the smiles would begin. Additional words weren’t required, because each of us understood.

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Jan 18 2011
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The Spiritual Journey

Don Newville | Assemblies of God, Conversion Stories, Pentecostal | 4 Comments

During our inquiry into the Catholic Church, we were looking for the whole truth and nothing but the truth. To our dismay, we discovered that Protestants have lost or purposely discarded several major benefits of the New Covenant. What the Catholic Church had recognized as truth was reevaluated by the protesters, who had to make things fit their new “each one is his own authority” belief system.

Who gave them the authority to overrule the Church Fathers? As I studied these, I could see no valid reasons for discarding these truths. Who should make decisions in the Church? Who can be trusted to do it right? Such questions had plagued me for a long time.

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Jan 18 2011
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In Celebration of My Ignorance

Father Thomas Hickey | Baptist, Conversion Stories | 2 Comments

“I am a former Protestant minister.” The words sounded as if someone else had spoken them. I was in the office of the pastor of the local Catholic parish. At that moment, I realized that my whole life was defined in terms of what I used to be. A silent wave washed over me: I used to be employed; I used to be a homeowner; I used to be confident and focused.

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Jan 18 2011
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Side by Side

Tim and Mary Drake | Conversion Stories, Lutheran | No Comments

It was difficult to watch Mary receive the Eucharist while I remained behind in the pew. I imagined how hard it would be to watch my family go up for Communion without me. The words spoken by the congregation in Mass — “Lord, I am not worthy to receive You, but only say the word and I shall be healed” — both irritated me and gave me hope.

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Jan 18 2011
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Searching for Authority

Christopher Dixon | Conversion Stories, Methodist, United Methodist | One Comment

From my days at Princeton Theological Seminary, I believed in the authority of the early Church to speak definitively on the content of the Christian faith. I had no doubt that the Councils of Nicaea and Chalcedon spoke with the authority of the Holy Spirit. What I had not thought about much was what happened to that authority in the centuries since.

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