Apology to the Catholics

[Scott1]

Reading something like this thread is a first for me... and the reason I joined this forum.

God bless my non-Catholic Christian brothers and sisters... if we would all be open and honest and show each this kind of respect, the world would be a much better place.

Peace,
Scott

 

[Biblereader]

what bible version do you use, alabaster?

I use several: NKJV, NIV, NLT, Amplified.

what is the nlt? and, expand on the amplified. I'm not familiar with either.

 

[Biblereader]

Don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying "let's all convert to Catholicism!" I AM saying, though, that the
Baptists have something to learn from the success of the Catholics.

Neither am I... I have disagreements with the denomination. I am actually a bit fearful of some of their customs as well. That said, I think Catholics along with many Protestants have alot to learn from Baptists about being very open to others about their faith. Baptists excel at sharing their faith in my opinion.

YAY! :P Finally! A compliment for a baptist!
We are told to tell everyone about how to get to Heaven, in the bible, and we take that seriously.
JESUS SAID:
15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

A past pastor of mine, a good preacher, said, "What if you had the cure for cancer, but you kept it to yourself? That would be selfish, and wrong. Same goes with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You know how to get to Heaven, you know how to tell people to stay out of Hell, and, if you don't tell others about how to be saved from Hell, you're being selfish, and you're going against what Jesus told ALL His followers to do."
That has stuck with me for about 2 decades. It makes sense.

And, if you have trouble talking to people, you can always leave tracts. Lots of people read tracts.
My dad gave one to someone at a funeral. What better place to think about your eternal destination, than when facing the finality of the death of a loved one?

 

[Biblereader]

Reading something like this thread is a first for me... and the reason I joined this forum.

God bless my non-Catholic Christian brothers and sisters... if we would all be open and honest and show each this kind of respect, the world would be a much better place.

Peace,
Scott

Remember, though, I'm not saying to change over to being a RC or a Catholic, I started this thread to see if any Baptist pastors would get the message, to have the church doors open more often.

BTW, are you all going to church tonight? If so, why?
If not, why not?
I'm going, simply to be around other people who read their bibles, and pray to Jesus alone, and who are trying to be around other believers. It's strengthening to be in the company of people who follow Jesus, and the Holy Bible.
Anyways....excuse my rambling.

 

[Biblereader]

Yes, Catholics do tend to be rather insular. Recently, though, some groups have been trying to emulate the attitude of door-to-door evangelists (We'll leave that up to you, whther it's a good thing or not )

We all have something we can learn from each other.

I do think sometimes we are not given words by the Holy Spirit and it is better to simply let our actions speak.

Here's a good reason for evangelizing, and, Jesus talks about how bad it is for people to make excuses. (Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.)

15And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.

16Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:

17And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.

18And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.

19And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.

20And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.

21So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.

22And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.

23And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

24For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

25And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,

26If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

27And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

28For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

 

[Biblereader]

Don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying "let's all convert to Catholicism!" I AM saying, though, that the
Baptists have something to learn from the success of the Catholics.

Neither am I... I have disagreements with the denomination. I am actually a bit fearful of some of their customs as well. That said, I think Catholics along with many Protestants have alot to learn from Baptists about being very open to others about their faith. Baptists excel at sharing their faith in my opinion.

36But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

37Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;

38Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

 

[Scott1]

Remember, though, I'm not saying to change over to being a RC or a Catholic, I started this thread to see if any Baptist pastors would get the message, to have the church doors open more often.

I get it.... I never understood why those who proclaim to be so "ON FIRE" for Christ met so infrequently for worship together.

BTW, are you all going to church tonight? If so, why?

I go to Mass every morning... to be with Christ.

 

[waitinontheLamb]

I go to Mass every morning... to be with Christ.

Oxymoron

 

[Scott1]

Oxymoron

How so?

Not sure what you mean.

God bless you,
Scott

 

[waitinontheLamb]

That would be a topic for another thread. Just suffice to say that the mass is definately not where you should be going to be with Jesus.

 

[handy]

Let's remember that the theme of this thread is to not, I repeat NOT bash each other's faith but to learn what is being done right.

Here's what I've liked about various churches:

The openess and assessability of the RCC, as was mentioned in the OP. As well as the fact that the RCC is so stable. In many Protestant churches today, one needs to worry what will happen when the Pastor leaves. Is the church going to radically change, causing divisions and splits when a new guy comes along? It happens a lot. But it doesn't happen in the RCC.

The unabashed embracing of the gifts of the Spirit in the Assemblies of God. I love how the Pentecostals have no reservations about being open and excited in the worship services in regards to the workings of the Holy Spirit.

The commitment to God's Word found in the Calvinist churches. This seems kind of odd, for I don't agree with Calvinist doctrine per se. But, they were the ones who emphasized to me to be like a Berean, to learn to study the Bible effectivly and to apply Scripture to situations in life.

The attitude of love found in the Churches of the Nazarene. The CoftheN have a saying "Love them in". It's a conerstone of the church to actively show love to others, to not be judgmental, but to be open and caring to all, extending Christ's love to all. This same attitude of love and non-judging is also found in the Calvary Chapels that I've personally been involved with. Both the Nazarenes and the Calvary Chapel have found the way to be open and inclusive of everyone, without compromising on God's holy standards.

The committment of service to all mankind that is found in the Lutheran churches. The Lutheran church that we are currently going to, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is amazingly involved in effectively practicing the church's mandate to feed the poor, provide clothing to those who need it, to provide medical care to the sick, to provide such provision as is necessary to those in need. I have a lot of problems with the ELCA, primarily because they are open and inclusive in showing Christ's love to all, but unfortunately doing so by compromising with sin :-? . But, I've never seen a church that so effectively acts out Matthew 25:35, "For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prision, and you came to Me."

None of these churches are perfect. All lack certain things. But, all are also effective members of the Body of Christ, and I applaud Biblereader for this thread, for showing that we can indeed learn from each other ways to be even more effective.

 

[Alabaster]

I am happy to be nondenominational! All the best in one place! :-D

 

[Biblereader]

I prefer to be a member of a church, and to talk to other people in the church, to ask them
about their faith, their walk with Jesus.

The mission field is right in your own church!
In our church's parking garage, as you're leaving the garage, a sign says:

"YOU ARE NOW ENTERING THE MISSION FIELD".

I hope you all fill your hearts and minds with the bible, and you listen to a GODLY preacher this weekend, either in person, or on a tape.
There are several online ministries, GOOD preachers, who would mail you a cassette tape free, of their preaching.

 

[Alabaster]

I prefer to be a member of a church, and to talk to other people in the church, to ask them
about their faith, their walk with Jesus.

The mission field is right in your own church!
In our church's parking garage, as you're leaving the garage, a sign says:

"YOU ARE NOW ENTERING THE MISSION FIELD".

I hope you all fill your hearts and minds with the bible, and you listen to a GODLY preacher this weekend, either in person, or on a tape.
There are several online ministries, GOOD preachers, who would mail you a cassette tape free, of their preaching.

You are right!

 

[handy]

I prefer to be a member of a church, and to talk to other people in the church, to ask them
about their faith, their walk with Jesus.

The mission field is right in your own church!
In our church's parking garage, as you're leaving the garage, a sign says:

"YOU ARE NOW ENTERING THE MISSION FIELD".

I hope you all fill your hearts and minds with the bible, and you listen to a GODLY preacher this weekend, either in person, or on a tape.
There are several online ministries, GOOD preachers, who would mail you a cassette tape free, of their preaching.

Sorry to be nitpicky, but I disagree that we should look at the church as the mission field. I guess I have this reaction because that was the attitude of the cult that I was involved in, to 'evangelize' to the churches. What they meant of course was to spread their own very narrow view of what a church should be (as defined by the leader of the group) in order to take over.

With all the spots and blemishes, the church is still pretty much defined by those who believe in Christ and look to Him for their salvation. Yes, there are many churches that are into 'feel good' theology and are going in for 'coffee house chit-chat' rather than good old worship services. But, nonetheless, if one is confessing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, then we needn't look at them as 'the harvest' but rather fellow workers.

That's not to say that we should ignore this current push for churches to be pretty much indistinguishable from your basic club. But, we need to keep in mind that this is a family issue that needs to be worked out, and not take an us-vs-them mentality, or have the idea that just because someone thinks that a good worship service includes rocking out to the latest Christian rock band then they can't be Christian and therefore must be evangelized.

We have to keep in mind that there are millions of people out there who have no idea what the gospel truly is. They might know about Christ, as a historical figure or perhaps a myth, but they haven't a clue of what it means to be saved, saved from what, saved for what? They are the mission field!

 

[Alabaster]

We have found that when we are obedient and outward-focused, God actually delivers the unsaved to our church doors! THEY COME TO US!

So, sometimes the best way to reach the unsaved is to greet them in the foyer and pews! In our particular church, we have had MANY testimonies of those who have found Christ in the church after having driven or walked by on their way to anywhere else and felt the sudden urge to walk in! It's only of God! It's amazing!

 

[Scott1]

We have to keep in mind that there are millions of people out there who have no idea what the gospel truly is. They might know about Christ, as a historical figure or perhaps a myth, but they haven't a clue of what it means to be saved, saved from what, saved for what? They are the mission field!

AMEN! Well said.

I believe it is our mission to view ourselves first and then every other person we meet as the "mission field":
"This witness of life, however, is not the sole element in the apostolate; the true apostle is on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers . . . or to the faithful."

... I pray that we all come together as Christians and work as the Body of Christ to speak the truth to the world as a group united in faith.

"To teach in order to lead others to faith is the task of every preacher and of each believer." St. Thomas Aquinas
Peace in Christ,
Scott

 

[biblecatholic]

I believe it is our mission to view ourselves first and then every other person we meet as the "mission field":
"This witness of life, however, is not the sole element in the apostolate; the true apostle is on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers . . . or to the faithful."

... I pray that we all come together as Christians and work as the Body of Christ to speak the truth to the world as a group united in faith.

"To teach in order to lead others to faith is the task of every preacher and of each believer." St. Thomas Aquinas
Peace in Christ,
Scott

I think what you said(and St Thomas) has so much wisdom(from on high) in it.

 

[Scott1]

I think what you said(and St Thomas) has so much wisdom(from on high) in it.

Thank you! I pray that some "Catholics" on this board go to confession and get right with the Lord so they can stop embarrassing the faith with their petty arguments and personal attacks. We must first pray and come before Christ ... then and only then should we interact with others or we run the risk of doing evil.

 

[waitinontheLamb]

I for one can and will fellowship where the true Word of God is preached in all it's fullness. This of course excludes much of the worlds churches unfortunately.

And the church is not an evangelism opportunity. It's function should be to equip Christians to go out and share their faith and seek and save that which is lost. The Church is not to do the evangelizing but to feed the evangelist.