In my book I explain the factors that caused me to leave the Catholic Church. I never expected to go back to the Catholic Church after being in and out of Protestant churches for over 40 years. So how is this happening?
I have tried to share the Shroud with protestants, and I have found it difficult to do so. This led me to take a closer look at the Catholic versus Protestant belief system which is something I had never done. What I learned is that Protestant’s believe in scripture alone and this has caused them to abandon Christian traditions that were part of the early church. This is a huge issue since both the Catholic and Orthodox branches of Christianity do include tradition in their belief system. Also, images shown in Orthodox and Catholic Churches are looked at as idolatrous. Because I grew up with images in the Catholic Church, I subconsciously am not against them. I think it is more of a challenge for the Protestants to accept an image like the Shroud especially given the history of fake Christian relics. The Shroud also is under the control of the Catholic Church, and it gets much more favorable press from them. Therefore, Catholics are much more open to it.
Since I have been both a Catholic and a Protestant, I know they both include people that genuinely love God. My heart says they are both my brothers and sisters. I do not know any Orthodox Christians, but I regard them as the same. We are all part of God’s Christian family.
I have not found a Protestant Church close to home that I connected with. So, I have not been going regularly to Church for a long time. I decided to go to Church recently in the weeks leading up to Easter and I went to a Catholic Church and an Assembly of God Church on the same day. They were so different that I found myself thinking about it for days afterward.
I was stunned by what I experienced in that Catholic Church. It was the reverence for God. I had been searching for that reverence and I found it in that Catholic Church. I am not putting down the Assembly of God Church. I just really connected with the Catholic Church.
On Easter, I thought about going back to that Catholic Church. Should I or should I not? Would their Catholic belief system somehow negatively impact me? I really felt a need to go, so I went.
The Church is moderate in size but not huge. The choir is in the corner in the back of the Church. I sat near the choir. They didn’t sing music I was familiar with. All I know is it was beautiful and glorified God.
Part of the service included a renewal of baptismal vows, which was something I did not expect. The Priest would make a statement and asked everyone to agree. I had wanted to renew my baptismal vows, but this caught me totally by surprise. I struggled a little understanding the Priest, but I responded affirmatively to most of what he said. I regarded it as a blessing to be able to renew my vows with them and I felt blessed by that Priest.
Everything about the service was reverent and focused on God. I did not partake in communion, but I was so happy I came. It was really a blessing.
I have now been going to this Church every Sunday. I am examining the Catholic faith and trying to determine if God is leading my heart there. I feel a need to help others defend their faith. I am inseparably connected to the Shroud because I know it is Jesus and it was the key in leading me back to Him. Maybe I can share it there?
It has been over six months now that I have been going to the Catholic Church (the first part of this article was written then).
Many of us go to the church our family was in and don’t even understand the doctrine connected with that church as compared to other churches. Some of us need to dig deep while others don’t care.
I have been reading a variety of books and articles to help me determine whether I want to rejoin the Catholic Church. I have really enjoyed going there. But although I can attend the local Catholic Church, I cannot join the Catholic Church. Keep in mind that I was raised a Catholic and I have friends that are Catholic and I enjoy going to the local Catholic Church. However, I have fundamental differences in what I believe versus what the Catholic Church as an institution believes that prevents me from becoming Catholic.
Ok I know it is weird. I can go to a local Catholic Church that connects me to God. I like the people, but I have issues with Catholic doctrine that prevent me from joining the church. My mind during church service allows me to ignore what I disagree with. The people still worship the same Trinity. I understand not everyone can do this. I do not go to communion because that is reserved only for Catholics, and I respect that.
I am a Christian and I self-identify as such. I have a personal relationship with Jesus (John 10:14). This is in line with the Bible where we are promised salvation based upon our belief in Him and not local church affiliation. I feel strongly that Christians will be found among Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant churches. As a Christian I view the Church as consisting of my fellow Christians regardless of the brick-and-mortar church they belong to. Consider Jesus own words from John 3:16 KJV: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” I believe in Jesus and His Word. Select a visible local church that draws you more closely to Him. Find a church that follows the Bible. I believe the Canon of scripture are the 66 books found in all Bibles, while the Orthodox and Catholic Bibles contain additional books that I believe have historical value, they are not God inspired scripture. This plus traditions and interpretations of scripture cause major differences in how Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants practice their faith (now I understand the Protestant emphasis on salvation by faith alone and the Bible only and not including traditions which the Orthodox and Catholics have). Because we are all unique, we will find different churches that appeal to us. Take your time to find the right brick-and-mortar church. Your primary time should be daily alone with Him in worship, prayer and reading the Bible.
My biggest issue with the Catholic Church doctrine is the from the Catechism of The Catholic Church, paragraph 846 states: “Outside the Church there is no salvation. How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers? Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church, which is his Body: Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body, which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.” Letters in Bold added by me.
Notice the Catholic Church considers only itself as the Church. So, I as an ex-Catholic have no salvation because I left the Catholic Church. All the ex-Catholic people I know that have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, love Him and live Christian lives are also going to hell (according to the Catholic Church) because they are not still official card-carrying members of the Catholic Church. The Bible only asks us to believe in Jesus. It does not say the Catholic Church is the Church or say you go to hell if you reject the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church demands you agree with their doctrine, or you cannot belong to the Catholic Church and you go to hell. That is way too much power in the hands of an institution following the rules of men. It makes the Catechism above the Bible. Rules of men being first for salvation. No.
I hope one day the Catholic Church recognizes how flawed this reasoning is and against Scripture itself!
The Catholic Church regards itself as the only visible church and the gateway to heaven in effect governing entry to the universal eternal Church. It decided this based upon Peter’s supposed status (Jesus saying upon this rock I will build my church got all blown out of proportion by the Catholic Church – I can’t help but look at it as people adding meaning Christ did not intend). You cannot separate the Church consisting of all believers and Christ. Christ asks you to believe in Him and then you become part of His Church. Not the Catholic Church. Peter had no role in deciding membership with the exception of his outreach to the Gentiles at the instruction of God. In Acts 10:40-48 Peter emphasizes belief in Jesus as the key to being accepted by God. Peter was an instrument of God for the very first Gentile conversion. Belief was not dependent on any local church affiliation. At most Peter’s role was leadership. Any individual on his own can approach the Lord and become part of His Church. He is the Head.
I believe the message of salvation was designed to be simple and clear in focus. Once you have to read another book – like the Catholic Catechism – and accept all the dogma defined in that book you move closer to a faith based upon the doctrines of men which I cannot accept. I have read a lot but not all of the Catechism and believe it has valuable insights. I intend to read all of it because 2,000 years of Christian thinking flow through it. However, it still has flawed thinking in it. I want to read and learn but not be governed by a book outside the Bible no matter how well intentioned. It gives men too much power over what other men must believe.
If the apostle Peter was fallible (Gal. 2:11-14) how can you accept the doctrine of an infallible Pope, an infallible Magisterium and a Roman Catholic Church with the right to decide who has salvation? Only God is infallible.
I can feel comfortable going to the Catholic local church for worship, but I cannot join them as Catholic. I am a Christian! Also, I would not want to be called a Protestant. I want to be known as a Christian. I am a follower of Jesus and not a denomination.
Jesus is the Head of the universal church which consists of the invisible body of all believers and of each visible local church. The Catholic Church is not the only legitimate visible church. There are many visible churches (Orthodox and Protestant) that are part of the body of Christ.
I do not know how long I will continue to go to the Catholic Church. God has placed me there temporarily for now. This caused me to open my heart to Catholics and really understand the differences between the Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches. So, it has been a valuable experience for me.
One of the other lessons I have learned is to have a greater admiration for Mary. She rightly deserves to be honored as the mother of our Lord. I honor her but do not worship her. Mary played a unique role and without her consent we would not have had our Savior. Of all people that have ever lived she was chosen by God to be the Theotokos (Gk. literally “God-Bearer”). Dr. Chuck Missler said this got twisted into Mother of God. After reflecting on this, I think I understand what he meant. Mary was the God-Bearer but the source of Jesus divinity did not come from Mary it came from God (Luke 1:35 The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee). Jesus as God is eternal (John 1:1) and His divinity did not begin with Mary.
I will also mention one area of tradition where Orthodox and Catholics have it right – iconography. The image of Jesus we see in Orthodox and Catholic imagery has its basis in the Shroud. We have an understanding of the history of the Shroud and how it influenced Jesus image in the Church. Protestants distrusted the image because they were unaware of the history.
I also learned that Catholic beliefs like purgatory, indulgences (later banned at the Council of Trent) and praying for the dead draw upon 2 Maccabees which is considered noncanonical by Protestants. In addition, I have a better understanding of the diversity in belief regarding communion. All these lessons I would never have learned without being nudged by the Holy Spirit to go to the Catholic Church. My book focused on the evidence for God, but I never explored how we practice our faith. I am now better able to answer a question on the subject if someone should ask. I am also more secure in my own belief.
I will mention some resources that I have found useful if you wish to learn more. The Orthodox Study Bible has useful articles that will help you understand the Orthodox Church. The new Catholic Study Bible by Ignatius Press has some very good articles from a Catholic perspective. I think these are both good to have in your library. The Catholic Bible has Scott Hahn as editor. He was a Protestant scholar turned Catholic so he brings a mixture of Catholic and Protestant into the study notes. I have many Protestant study Bibles. This allows me to explore different perspectives when I research Bible questions. Karl Keating’s Catholicism and Fundamentalism was very interesting because he contrasts Protestant Fundamentalism with Catholicism, and it caused me to examine my own fundamentalist belief. Norman Geisler’s Systematic Theology in One Volume had hundreds of pages discussing salvation and the universal church while contrasting the local church structures. He reviews in detail Catholic versus different Protestant beliefs and give his opinion on the validity of each. Very useful. He was a brilliant scholar. Also, Scott Hahn’s books Rome Sweet Home, Reasons to Believe and The Lord’s Supper were all very good in helping me research this area.
One thing we can be absolutely sure of is John 10:14 KJV “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.” He is just and He is love. We have nothing to fear. If we have errors in our belief He will know. He will understand. He will love us and always be just. Nothing to fear! So, we need to be less judgmental of others and their mistaken beliefs. The key is believing and loving Jesus. He is judge not me! And thank God about that!!!! I don’t care what visible church you go to. If you are part of His universal church, you are my brother or sister in Christ.