I Don't Want to Be Catholic Anymore

[Jim Parker]

Welcome to CF FP! Being a Catholic or a Protestant will not get you anything but Hell any way. I you will read Genesis 3 you will see that God walked with Adam (Man) in the evening, they Fellowshiped. Why tell you that? You're searching for the truth.

I am often, mistakenly, called a Baptist and I often, for ease, tell people that I'm a Baptist but boil it all down and remove the dross and out pops a Christian that is most comfortable in Corporate Worships with Baptist Church Members.

Your only task is to seek after God and He will indwell you through the Holy Spirit and when you feel at home in one Church, that will be where God will use you. May God blessw your search.

 

[Jim Parker]

Hello everyone. I am a young man that feels trapped in Roman Catholicism. I don't feel like the Catholic Church is leading me towards God. I feel like it is actually leading me away from God's truth. I have numerous problems with Catholic teachings and practices. I also don't feel comfortable in a Catholic Church setting. I am looking towards becoming an Evangelical Protestant. I feel like they are closer to God's holy word than the Catholic Church is. Can anyone here give me advice on leaving the Catholic Church and becoming Protestant? I need arguments for and against my potential conversion. May God bless you all.

Here's a reading program for a 30-day cycle of reading.
(The underlined parts are just to make it easier to keep track of the day.
Follow this, reading through these day by day until "you can recite them by heart."
You'll be closer to God.

30 DAYS PSALMS & NT READ

Day
1 AM Ps 1 – 5 -- Mat 1– 2 -- Ro 1 - 2
PM Ps 6 – 8 -- Mat 3–4 -- Ro 3-4
2 Ps 9 – 11 -- Mat 5–6 –- Ro 6 - 7
Ps 12 –14 --Mat 7 - 8 –- Ro 8 - 10
3 Ps 15 –17 -- Mat 9 –10 –- Ro 11 - 12
Ps 18 –19 -- Mat 11–12 –- Ro 13 - 15
4 Ps 20 –21 -- Mat 13–14 – -Ro 16
Ps 22 - 23 -–Mat 15–16 -- 1Cor 1 - 3
5 Ps 24 –26 -- Mat 17-18 -- 1Cor 4 - 5
Ps 27 –29 –-Mat 19–20 –- 1Cor 6 – 8
6 Ps 30 -31 –- Mat 21–22 –- 1Cor 9 - 10
Ps 32 -34 –- Mat 23–24 –- 1Cor 11 - 13
7 Ps 35–36 –- Mat 25-26 -- 1Cor 14 - 16
Ps 37 -- Mat 27–28 -- 2Cor 1 - 3
8 Ps 38–40 -- Mk 1 - 2 -- 2Cor 4 - 5
Ps 41-43 -- Mk 3 – 4 -- 2Cor 6 - 8
9 Ps 44 -46 -- Mk 5 - 6 -- 2Cor 9 - 10
Ps 47-49 -- Mk 7 – 8 -- 2Cor 11 - 13
10 Ps 50-51 -- Mk 9 - 10 -- Gal 1 - 2
Ps 52- 55 -- Mk 11 – 12 -- Gal 3 – 4
11 Ps 56 - 58 -- Mk 13 - 14 -- Gal 5 - 6
Ps 59- 61 -- MK 15 –16 -- Eph 1 - 2
12 Ps 62 -64 -- Lk 1-2 -- Eph 3 - 4
Ps 65-67 -- Lk 3 – 4 -- Eph 5 - 6
13 Ps 68 -- Lk 5 - 6 -- Phlp 1 - 2
Ps 69 -70 -- Lk 7 – 8 -- Phlp 3 - 4
14 Ps 71-72 -- Lk 9 - 10 -- Col 1 - 2
Ps 73 -74 -- Lk 11 – 12 -- Col 3 - 4
15 Ps 75 -77 -- Lk 13 - 14 -- 1Ths 1 - 3
Ps 78 -- Lk 15–16 -- 1Ths 4 – 5
16 AM Ps 79 -81 -- Lk 17-18 -- 2Ths 1 - 3
Ps 82 -85 -- Lk 19–20 -- 1Tim 1 - 2
17 PM Ps 86–88 -- Lk 21-22 -- 1Tim 3 - 4
Ps 89 -90 -- Lk 23–24 -- 1Tim 5 - 6
18 Ps 91-92 -- Jhn 1 - 2 -- 2 Tim 1 - 2
Ps 93 -94 -- Jhn 3 - 4 -- 2 Tim 3 - 4
19 Ps 95 -97 -- Jhn 5 - 6 -- Tit 1-3
Ps 98 -101 -- Jhn 7 - 8 -- Phm 1, Heb 1
20 Ps 102 -103 -- Jhn 9 - 10 -- Heb 2 - 4
Ps 104 ---- Jhn 11 – 12 -- Heb 5 - 6
21 Ps 105 ---- Jhn 13 - 14 -- Heb 7 - 9
Ps 106 ---- Jhn 15 – 16 -- Heb 10 - 11
22 Ps 107 ---- Jhn 17 - 18 -- Heb 12 - 13
Ps 108 –109 -- Jhn 19–20 -- Jas – 1 - 3
23 Ps 110 - 113 -- Jhn 21 -- Jas 4 - 5
Ps 115 ---- Act 1- 2 ---- 1 Pet 1 - 3
24 Ps 116 - 118 -- Act 3 - 4 -- 1Pet 4 - 5
PS 119 v.1-32 -- Act 5 – 6 -- 2Pet 1 - 3
25 Ps 119 v.33-72 -- Act 7 - 8 -- 1Jn 1- 2
Ps 119 v.73-104 -- Act 9 – 10 -- 1Jhn 3 – 5
26 Ps 119 v.105-144 -- Act 11 - 12 -- 2Jn, 3Jn, Jude
Ps 119 v.145-176 -- Act 13 -14 Rev 1- 2
27 Ps 120 - 125 -- Act 15 - 16 -- Rev 3 - 5
Ps 126 - 131 -- Act 17 – 18 -- Rev 6 - 7
28 Ps 132 - 135 -- Act 19 - 20 -- Rev 8 - 10
Ps 136 –138 -- Act 21 – 22 -- Rev 11 - 12
29 Ps 139 –140 -- Act 23 - 24 -- Rev 13 - 14
Ps 141 - 143 -- Act 25 – 26 -- Rev 15 - 17
30 Ps 144 - 146 -- Act 27 - 28 -- Rev 18 - 19
Ps 147 - 150 ---- Rev 20 - 22

 

[Jim Parker]

Thank you for your kind words. I certainly feel that the Catholic Church is too ritualistic. They focus on rituals that are not in the Bible. I will seek out the advice of Evangelicals in my conversion process.

What you find too ritualistic is the form of worship which the Church practiced from Her beginning in the 1st century.
For a better understanding of "what's going on" I recommend two books by Alexander Schmemann; Of Water and Spirit and The Eucharist.

I was raised a RC and can appreciate your perspective as I (along with most Catholics I knew) were not taught about the origins and meanings of the Mass. It is unfortunate that, because of that lack of information, I began to perceive them as empty rituals.

I left the RCC and joined a Pentecostal Holiness congregation; went to seminary; was ordained a minister and then a missionary and helped establish a Bible College for the unregistered Pentecostal church in Moscow.

Since then I have sought out the form of worship which the early church practiced by reading the earliest writings of the Church leaders. I was surprised to find them celebrating "the Mass" with the liturgy of the word and the liturgy of the Eucharist, as early as the 1st century and stating that it was the form of worship they received from the Apostles.

I have gone back to that original form of worship as a born again, baptized in the Holy Spirit, Orthodox believer.

And, just to let you know, any form of worship (including the quite vibrant Pentecostal kind) can deteriorate into empty ritual.

It's what you do with your worship that makes the difference, not the organization that owns the building where you worship.

(With some exceptions; there are non-Christian organizations which are looking for people just like you who are disaffected with their current church. The Mormons and JWs target such souls. Neither are Christian.)

jim

 

[Watching Thomas]

Hi Future Protestant, you posed your question some months ago so you may have already done what you wanted to do. I grew up in an Episcopalian church but left as a very young teenager. Came back after I experienced Christ in the privacy of my bedroom one night when crying out to god (any god, I was desperate but it was The God who answered). Had some awesome times in the Episcopalian youth group, grew in faith, but left when I fully migrated to the main services and stopped growing.

For me, some of the problems with leaving my old church was that at first I thought I was leaving my religion, that I was being unfaithful. Perhaps you were feeling something similar. Churches (and I mean standard Christian ones) have their own 'flavours' and particular slants on interpretations and particular emphases, but they are still Christian. If you go from one to another, you are not leaving Christianity or converting from something to another. I certainly encourage you to find a church that you feel helps you grow but you don't convert to it. If you have accepted Christ as your Lord then your moving to another church is simply a step in your journey of Christian discipleship. You follow Christ, not a church or minister.

Watching Thomas

 

[Jim Parker]

I certainly encourage you to find a church that you feel helps you grow but you don't convert to it. If you have accepted Christ as your Lord then your moving to another church is simply a step in your journey of Christian discipleship. You follow Christ, not a church or minister.

 

[blair032]

Hello everyone. I am a young man that feels trapped in Roman Catholicism. I don't feel like the Catholic Church is leading me towards God. I feel like it is actually leading me away from God's truth. I have numerous problems with Catholic teachings and practices. I also don't feel comfortable in a Catholic Church setting. I am looking towards becoming an Evangelical Protestant. I feel like they are closer to God's holy word than the Catholic Church is. Can anyone here give me advice on leaving the Catholic Church and becoming Protestant? I need arguments for and against my potential conversion. May God bless you all.

Talk to a trusted Catholic priest 1st. Give it a fighting chance. Ya never know. If not satisfied, start frequenting a church nereby after you read their mission statement online & see if it corresponds with what you are looking for. Attend a church service & see how satisfied you are. You will probably get the "hi, please come back next week" speech, but don't commit unless you are convinced that church is for you.

 

[GodsGrace]

Hi Future Prostestant,

Are you still around??
If so, give me a buzz.

 

[Kidron]

Thank you for your kind words. I certainly feel that the Catholic Church is too ritualistic. They focus on rituals that are not in the Bible. I will seek out the advice of Evangelicals in my conversion process.

-
Christianity blossoms in the soul of a believer, when they come to understand the love of God, and how it's unconditional.
The Love of God, that He offers, is not based on your performance.
The Love of God is given to you because that is what He is all about.
"God is Love".
And in return, what He hopes is that we will love Him back, and if we do then our lifestyle will reflect this fact.

 

[Christ_empowered]

I dunno. I'm starting to think...God gives us to certain parents, gives us a certain life growing up...for His reasons. I find now that I've been far more influenced by my (relatively liberal) Calvinist upbringing than I had ever thought possible. Maybe you were born and raised Catholic for reasons that aren't clear to you yet, but are important to God?

Just a thought.

 

[th1b.taylor]

I dunno. I'm starting to think...God gives us to certain parents, gives us a certain life growing up...for His reasons. I find now that I've been far more influenced by my (relatively liberal) Calvinist upbringing than I had ever thought possible. Maybe you were born and raised Catholic for reasons that aren't clear to you yet, but are important to God?

Just a thought.

Calviniaists are a !ot of things but one they are not is Liberal!

 

[I'M Grams]

I mentioned this on page one ! Find a bible church... The reason I said this is I was raised Catholic and stayed that way till one
of our younger sons was brought to a church by a friend and this started things going...... we looked in the phone book and we
drove around and just found this one bible church and it felt good to all of us......... So try a few different churches.......
or even talk to one of the preachers and tell them how you feel.......... if they seem like they will talk to you , even on the phone...

 

[GodsGrace]

I think Future Protestant is gone.

 

[rextr05]

Hello everyone. I am a young man that feels trapped in Roman Catholicism. I don't feel like the Catholic Church is leading me towards God. I feel like it is actually leading me away from God's truth. I have numerous problems with Catholic teachings and practices. I also don't feel comfortable in a Catholic Church setting. I am looking towards becoming an Evangelical Protestant. I feel like they are closer to God's holy word than the Catholic Church is. Can anyone here give me advice on leaving the Catholic Church and becoming Protestant? I need arguments for and against my potential conversion. May God bless you all.

1st of all, you should talk to a Catholic priest you trust. I don't think you should leave just bc you are feeling torn. A priest may have the answers to settle your doubts. Try to work thru it.

That said, I am a former Catholic, that is now a non denominational Christian that believes in what the bible says, not what other religions have added to it. I am not a literal word interpretation of the bible believer, but found much wisdom & have become much closer to God reading it & other books. When you find authors, as I had, to invigorate your quest for relationship with Jesus/God, you'll know it. It had taken me some time, but finding a few authors that I had some "ah hah' moments that settled my mind regarding some misconceptions & other ideas I just wasn't comfortable with. & reading the bible from cover to cover again & again while asking God to help you understand will help greatly.

There's nothing really wrong with Catholicism if it leads to a closer relationship with God. Follow what God leads you to, & your heart in this, but just to switch religions w/o asking for help w/in that religion is short sighted.

 

[rextr05]

"Being a Catholic .... hell anyway," What?!? Please explain. Some people here are searching, & a comment such as that, which is untrue BTW, can lead them in a wrong direction. You do remember what Jesus tells us re being judgemental right? You just were judgemental for millions of people. So not cool.

 

[Jim Parker]

"Being a Catholic .... hell anyway," What?!? Please explain. Some people here are searching, & a comment such as that, which is untrue BTW, can lead them in a wrong direction. You do remember what Jesus tells us re being judgemental right? You just were judgemental for millions of people. So not cool.

Tell me what did you not understand and I will attempt to explain.