“I went and talked with a Catholic priest. As it turned out, he was less than encouraging. I don’t know if he was disgruntled with the Church or what, but he seemed to say, ‘Why would you want to go and become a Catholic?'”
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.
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.
Tim was raised a Southern Baptist. Although he fell away from the faith of his childhood, he came back to faith in Christ during his late teen years through the
Is consecrated religious life (celibacy) an anti-Scripture tradition that the Catholic Church made up? Former Assemblies of God Youth Minister Tim Staples discusses 1 Timothy 5:9-11 and various other examples from Scripture regarding celibacy.
Marcus, Jerry & Yolanda answer open-line questions from the audience. Jerry was baptized Greek Orthodox as a child. He mother was Orthodox and his father Catholic but he did not
Dr. Gresham is a convert, traveling a spiritual pilgrimage from evangelical and Pentecostal roots, in the Assemblies of God, through the Episcopal Church, finally finding his way home to the
Mark’s parents did not often attend church, but at a young age he was permitted to participate at a Baptist congregation, where he was aware of God, loved the Scriptures
Terry is a former Pentecostal Evangelist. He was raised in the Assembly of God tradition. At the age of twelve he made the decision to center his life on Christ.
Patricia was baptized in the Lutheran Church at age nine, though her father was a lapsed Catholic. As a young woman she “worshiped” the intellect and didn’t have time for
Mark reared in a wonderful Evangelical home. He gave his heart to Jesus Christ as a young man. His father was ordained an Independent Baptist minister and later served in
Jerry was baptized Greek Orthodox as a child. He mother was Orthodox and his father Catholic but he did not grow up attending church. Yolanda was reared Catholic but left