Help with converting back to being catholic from being an evangelical!?

Question

So I am now 99.9% convinced that the Catholic faith is the true faith that Jesus created.

Having spent 20 years converting Catholics and lots of others to being Born Again I now realise that I had a lot of the truth but not the whole truth.

Some protestants tell me that the catholic church started 400ad, I would like some catholic responses to that.

I cant see it myself, also does that mean there were no christians until martin luther (adolf hitler wannabe)

Answer 1

Are you a hop scotsch christian? Are you interested in the history of religious denominations or your salvation? As far as the history of the catholic church, yes it was started 400ad. Jesus never talked about a specific denomination because their were none in his time obviously because christianity began with him. He talked to his followers and groups of followers started organized sects. Jesus's teachings were the foundation of all christian churches. Following churches dogma's should not be as important to christians as following christs teachings. Don't get bogged down by church hopping and history of religions. Good luck with your path .

Answer 2

<>

This claim is typically advocated by people who want to believe Constantine started the Catholic Church. This is a relatively easy illusion to promote. The Catholic Church was persecuted for it's first few centuries. All that time it functioned largely underground.

The Edict of Milan effectively ended persecution of the Christians and they were then allowed to worship without hiding.

All Truth be told, the Catholic Church was started by Jesus Himself, hundreds of years prior the Edict of Milan.


<>

Yes. If Catholicism is false, then certainly every Christian denomination that came efter it is false as well. The logic could not be more simple.

Answer 3

Christianity has nothing to do with sin. We are the chosen and we are given the power of the spirit.If you knew how the spirit of God works you could be in any congregation of peoples and still look to God for all things. man can not supply your need though you look for him he will continue let you down.That is why some change from religion to religion looking for men to supply their spiritual need. It will never happen .Why because men have flaws and sooner or later it will raise. It will become displeasing to your taste .Off and running again.Why do we relate people to Christianity because they say they are Christians? Expecially when their acts say otherwise. God does not work like that . He is never two faced or mean. He loves us if we let him and do not give up prematurely. Can you believe a person on their word only? Rumor has it that these men where Christians....the question is do you know the word of God? Do you know what a Christian is? 1 Peter chapter 1-3. It is the Holy spirit that God gives to those who obey him. That is what corroborates every detail of our life and faith in God.

What is the true faith ,it is the confidence that only the spirit of God can give. We can not do God's will on a whelm in a seminary. That is why the Catholics and other religions have such a difficult time with their own way sexual lust and desires are still present. The spirit of God purges us of all unrighteousness. And that is something man can not do. Only God can cleans you and the word of God the scriptures washes you each and every time you look into it. Knowledge and wisdom with understanding and insight comes from God when you pray. Is it all about religion and the choice you make? No,it is about you and your relationship to the CEO of life God the creator and the lover of man. Acts chapter 4. While they were praying the place shook. They where all filled with the Holyspirit and continued to speak God's word with fearless confidence. The whole congregation of believers was united as one-one heart,one mind! They did not even claim ownership over their own belongings. The leaders gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Master Jesus ,and grace and mercy was on all of them.

Answer 4

Trying to mark a date that the Catholic church started (as opposed to the Christian church as it was almost all known as before the Reformation) is going to depend on one's version of history and the theology one follows.

My view, for what it's worth, is that Catholics and Protestants were all the same Christian people before the Reformation. So I tell people that the "Roman Catholic" distinction started with the Reformation. (Martin Luther had some VERY GOOD points back then, btw, especially regarding the abuse of power.)

Come to think of it, it might be more accurate to say that before that we were all "Catholics" (cuz pretty much all Christians followed the pope before then and the word "catholic" means "universal") and afterward, that universality disappeared and was replaced by two large branches (Rome and Protestant) which in turn had more splits over the centuries. So historically speaking, we've all always been Christians...

Answer 5

The Catholic Church can be traced back to Peter and therefore Christ. It wasn't called Catholic back then...but the apostles are directly in line with the lineage of our Popes and the faithful. All of the early Christian fathers were "Catholic" in their belief.

Martin Luther was a heretic. As a Protestant I saw him as a blessing...one who saved us from the evils of Catholicism. The truth is I learned more about Martin Luther after I became Catholic then I had ever known about him when I was Protestant. Many Protestants would be surprised at what Martin Luther believed, said and did.

Welcome! I'm a convert to Catholicism. If you haven't already read about him you should check out Scott Hahn. He was an evangelical Presbyterian Minister who spent many years "saving Catholics" only to become one himself. He is now a very prominent Catholic theologian.

http://www.scborromeo.org/truth/c1.htm
http://www.chnetwork.org
http://www.ewtn.com
http://www.catholic.com

Answer 6

There are MANY born-again Catholics. If you understand that even Jesus' mother was in the upper room and received the baptism of the Holy Spirit when they were ALL filled on that day of Pentecost, your concerns will vanish!
I have relatives who got born again, left the Catholic church and then have since returned as "born-again, spirit-filled" Catholics. It's a reality. Not a problem to most. God bless you.

Answer 7

The Church has referred to itself as the “Catholic Church” at least since 107 C.E. (about 10 years after the last book of the New Testament was written), when the Greek term "Katholikos" (meaning universal) appears in the Letter of St. Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrnaeans:

"Wherever the bishop appear, there let the multitude be; even as wherever Christ Jesus is, there is the Catholic Church."

http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/ignatius-smyrnaeans-hoole.html

We do not know how long they had been using the term "Catholic" before it was included in this letter.

All of this was long before the Council of Nicea and the Nicene Creed from 325 C.E. which states, "We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church."

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07644a.htm

With love in Christ.

Answer 8

What the recent document from Rome addresses is the more subtle question of the relationship between the Catholic Church and other Christian churches and ecclesial communities. The Church Fathers of the Second Vatican Council taught in Lumen Gentium article # 8 that the Church of Christ "subsists in" the Catholic Church rather than "is" the Catholic Church. This means that the Church of Christ is found in the Catholic Church and is comprised of all those rites that confess the Church to be one, holy, catholic and apostolic, as proclaimed in the Creed, and recognize the Pope as the successor of Peter.

This distinction also recognizes that while the Catholic Church possesses all the constitutive elements of the Church founded by Christ, other Christian communities that have broken communion with the Catholic Church retain many of these same elements of sanctification and truth, including baptism and the transforming presence of Christ in Scripture. As such, the means of salvation in the Lord Jesus are available to non-Catholic Christians since they too have been baptized into the Lord's death and resurrection. This distinction also reminds us, as members of the Catholic Church, that while we have maintained unity with the apostolic church established by Jesus Christ, we are always in need of conversion and repentance both as individuals and as a community of faith.

This observation leads to another important distinction that the document tries to clarify. What is the difference in meaning and application between the terms "church" and "ecclesial community"? In order to understand this distinction, we must remember that there are two essential elements that are necessary to constitute the existence of the Church. They are a validly ordained priesthood that is a necessary prerequisite for a valid celebration of the Eucharist. "Validly ordained bishops, i.e., those who are in the line of apostolic succession, validly confer the three degrees of the sacrament of Holy Orders" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1576). If these two essential elements do not exist in any community of Christian believers, they do not form a Church but rather an ecclesial community of Christian faith. Thus, many of our Protestant brothers and sisters, whose communities were formed after the Reformation of the 16th century, are called ecclesial communities because they did not maintain apostolic succession, many do not celebrate all of the seven sacraments or believe all that is maintained in the Creed as handed down to us by the apostles. They remain, however, communities that are vibrant, alive with faith in the Lord Jesus and committed to the Gospel message to evangelize the world.

It is unfortunate that many have understood these recent documents from Rome as representing a retreat in the work of ecumenism. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Pope Benedict XVI, in his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, had this to say about ecumenism and the progress needed to be made, "Union with Christ is also union with all those to whom He gives himself. I cannot possess Christ just for myself; I can belong to Him only in union with all those who have become, or who will become, His own. Communion draws me out of myself towards Him, and thus also towards unity with all Christians" (article #14).

The clear desire that Jesus had at the Last Supper was that all would be one. Perhaps, the Lord foresaw the divisions that would occur among those who would follow Him. How important it is for us today to work for this unity and understanding among ourselves. Unfortunately, human words and theological concepts seldom bring us together. It is the lived relationships of love and acceptance that make us one in Christ and recognize that our faith in Jesus Christ many times goes beyond our theological understanding.

The work of ecumenism, which seeks unity among Christian churches and ecclesial communities, is something that we cannot shy away from. It is to "put out into the deep" and recognize our isolation and work toward the unity that Christ sincerely desired. Pray with me that the work for ecumenism in our own Diocese here in Brooklyn and Queens will bear fruit as we witness the mutual love, concern and respect for all who bear the name of "Christian."

Source(s) Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio

Answer 9

O for god´s sake make your mind up. It doesn´t really matter anyway, the important thing is live and experience and learn and love.

Answer 10

The true faith existed throughout all of human history. The catholics are in a cult, so you're making a big mistake.