I used to be very involved and through out the years, have stopped but now that we have a family I want to start again strong. His family is heavily rooted in catholicism but he is not practicing. I am non-denominational. He has come to church with me 2 times and he is very critical. How do I get him to come to church with me and our children and be open about it. I want to raise our children non-denominational.
2006-07-31 07:32:32 · 16 answers · asked by Carrie P 1 in Family & Relationships ➔ Family
Catholics are christian. You mean you are protestant? Not a big deal except that if your child gets baptized as an infant it doesnt count. It has to be a conscince choice made by the believer. Also a priest hold no more control in forgiving than I do. The pope is just a man. I also dont agree with them gambling in their church. The catholic faith seems to have a lot of rituals that invloves works, the bible clearly states works mean nothing. Its faith alone.
2006-07-31 07:38:05 · answer #1 · answered by DesignR 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can't really get anyone to convert. Your trying to change someone, and that is futile.
If you want, you can pray for God to open his eyes to your wants in this matter.
As for raising the kids non-denominational, if your husband is Catholic, that's going to be difficult.
Because Catholicism has way different guidelines and rules than the umbrella of Christianity.
You two should go look at lots of different churches together until you settle on one you both agree with.
There are non-denominational churches, like a Bible church...
But you can't force someone to change your ways.
Ask God to show you the right church for your marriage and your family.
2006-07-31 07:42:23 · answer #2 · answered by the nothing 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your husband is a Christian. Anybody is a Christian if they have had a Trinitarian Baptism. That is the constant teaching of Christianity for 2000 years. If your group teaches something else, they are teaching something other than Christianity.
"Non-Denominationalism" is a Protestant denomination. Sorry to break it to you. They are not simply "general Christianity" but they do have beliefs that are distinct and not at all universal. They come out of Evangelicalism.
I am sorry to hear that your husband is not practicing. I highly do not recommend prying him from the Catholic Church. Practically, it will cause enormous tensions with your in-laws, and long term, it will not be satisfying for your husband.
Fruitful discussion are only going to occur with your husband if you approach him on a common ground, rather than by bashing what he was raised.
My suggestion is for the both of you to read the works of Scott Hanh, which you should both find pleasing. I would start with "A FATHER WHO KEEPS HIS PROMISES". They are Catholic works by a former Protestant, so they tend to have that "non-denominational" feel to them which should be pleasing for you. I would also recommend the works by Peter Kreeft, which are more philosophical and also come out of the C.S. Lewis tradition of thought http://www.peterkreeft.com/books.htm.
As far as having him come to Church with you and feel comfortable about it: He won't and he probably never will. Protestants who become Catholic talk about finding something greater than what they were used to in Church. Catholic who become Protestant talk about missing something. Spirituality aside, the psychological impact of understanding and participating in the Eucharist in enormous.
If you are having problems with your husband, I would recommend, the book "THE SPIRIT AND FORMS OF PROTESTANTIMS" a Catholic work which takes a generally positive look at Protestantism.
As you can see, I recommend showing him deeply Catholic works. If he was Protestant, I would recommend showing him Protestant works. He is Catholic and you have to respect that. If you do not, you are not respecting him as a person but treating more so as something that you can train.
2006-08-01 15:46:27 · answer #3 · answered by Liet Kynes 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Catholic is catholic. If he converts, he will be excommunicated from The Church.
Tough decision for a Catholic. I know! I stopped going to Mass a long time ago for various reasons. But have recently found a Catholic Church that I absolutely love.
Have you thought about converting yourself ?
I went to a Catholic school for 10 years, and there's not a bad word I can say about the education I received.
It was expensive, but well worth it.
2006-07-31 08:42:12 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Religion can be a very deeply rooted belief system or culture. Is there any chance you two would agree to investigate some churches together and see if you can find some common ground? It might bring you closer, and you might actually find some truth. I think it is important to raise the children with a united front. Good Luck! (You might try praying about it too!)
2006-07-31 07:53:11 · answer #5 · answered by Helpful Kim 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
first of all you don't get him to convert there are a lot of Catholic that do believe in Jesus Christ as there Lord and Savor Alla's you have to do is show him, keep on going to church every Sunday with the children and keep on asking him if he would like to go. and pray for him all the time that God softens his heart to go to Church with you and the children and you will see it will happen that he will go to Church with you and the children and will not be so critical about it.
if you go to a non-denominational church and he has gone to a catholic church then he is not use to all the stuff that is going on at your church because there is a lot of stuff that goes on in a non-denominational church like praising God with your hands and dancing, and they have healing, and even sometimes the whole service is Spirit lead and other fun stuff like that.........
2006-07-31 09:59:16 · answer #6 · answered by Christine S 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are his children too! If you got married in a catholic church, you made a promise to God that you would raise you children catholic. Breaking a promise to God is not good! Try to make the best of it, if you don't like the Catholic church you have, try a neighboring one in a different town. That might make all the difference.
2006-07-31 07:41:28 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You cannot force anyone as far as religion is concerned. Its better to bring them up as good humans, to love and care and respect. Take the children and let them learn and take an interest.
Who knows when he sees the children turning out so well, he may be inclined himeself.
Esp if the kids come home from church, discuss what happened, what they learned and get him involved in their discussions.
Have faith. He is no doubt a good husband, and father. value his good points and be thankful that he doesnt forbid you to practise.
2006-07-31 07:40:58 · answer #8 · answered by shahpaarw 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If your husband does not worship any particular religion you should tell him (should he even get involved in this at all) that although they are his children along with your own that you have had more experience with religion and that raising your children in at least a religion in general will help guide them in life instead of running around pointlessly. Plus crime rates, drug use, and high school drop out rates are much lower with reverent kids than with those who do not worship on a regular basis.
2006-07-31 07:39:20 · answer #9 · answered by I want my *old* MTV 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You usually cant get someone to convert. Since he is Christian as well, it really shouldn't matter. Personally, I would let the kids go to one meeting, the other the next week, and see what they feel more comfortable with. Don't let this become an enmity between you. You could both pray about it together for guidance.
2006-07-31 08:10:46 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋