You are correct, they do.
25 to 50% of every Bible believing church I've ever been a part of, was made up of former Roman Catholics.
If I can help you find a good Bible believing church in your local area, let me know.
Pastor Art
PS: I also have a 5 page Word document which compares the major doctrines of the RCC with the Bible. I'll send to anyone who sends me their regular E-mail address and requests it. I'd post it here but its too large. So regular E-mail is the only way I know of to get it to you.
2007-10-25 07:06:37
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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I'm afraid you are a victim of the fallout from Vatican II. I once had a priest apologize from the pulpit for the abysmal lack of catechism since Vatican II. We have a whole generation of Catholics who have not been taught about the early church. Thus we have lost contact with the foundations of the church, and are left with the protestant version of christianity, which maintains that nothing happened after the acts of the apostles, and that nothing happened that was not written in the new testament.
Context is everything. If you do not have the writings of the early church fathers which were not included as scripture, than you have no frame of reference in which to place the new testament. The Protestant fundies use the Bible alone, and don't realize that their history is consequently black and while and 2-dimensional. The reality is technicolor.
Please find a knowlegable Catholic study group, and take your questions to them. The questions you have are good, normal questions, and are welcomed in study groups, which will give you the answer.
2007-10-25 07:10:58
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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Well I'm catholic, and I would never leave the catholic church. I would not want someone to be a part of my church if they don't agree with it. You need to figure out what you believe in and what you agree with. It's about having a spiritual relationship with a higher being, no matter what that being is I suppose.....
2007-10-25 07:08:45
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answer #3
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answered by Mrs. "W" 2
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My father did - the catholic church couldn't answer too many of his questions. He was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in '69.
After taking the 'discussions' from a man who'd been studying to become a catholic priest and had likewise converted to the LDS Church.
2007-10-25 07:48:27
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answer #4
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answered by strplng warrior mom 6
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Yes. I grew up Catholic, although we weren't always regular church attenders. When I was a teenager and had interaction with other teens who had living, vibrant relationships with God, that impacted me. Not a one of them were Catholic. Not that there are no devout teens in the Catholic church; I've just never met one, sadly. And you're right; they place such strong emphasis on tradition and the word of the Pope, that it overshadows the teaching of Scripture. Even conflicts, in many ways, no matter what the devout Catholics here say, with all due respect. I will happily supply a list of the conflicts of scripture vs. tradition in the church to anyone who requests it, and you've already seen it for yourself, by the sound of it. There isn't any question: I've read numerous CATHOLIC publications on the beliefs of the Catholic church, and I now know more about what they believe than I did when I was one. I'd challenge any Catholic to read the Catechism with a Bible in hand without spotting conflicts with scripture.
In the Catholic church I was taught that I was saved through baptism, that I needed only to confess to a priest in order to obtain God's forgiveness for sin, that Christ's sacrifice wasn't sufficient and I must also practice penance, and probably endure suffering in "Purgatory," etc, etc. I was never taught that I must personally accept Christ. I was taught to pray to Mary and other "saints," as though I could not approach God Himself through Jesus. I felt that they ignored some of the more important aspects of Christianity while emphasizing really unimportant, and even fabricated, aspects.
I now go to a church of a denomination that emphasizes a personal and growing relationship with Jesus Christ, personal sanctification, evangelism, service, etc. I won't endorse a particular denomination, but I will pray that you find the one that helps you most to develop your relationship with God.
P.S. Midge, does your denomination endorse cheap shots?
2007-10-25 07:19:35
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answer #5
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answered by hoff_mom 4
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I actually joined the Catholic Church this past Easter, because after 20 years as a Protestant, I did my research and found the Catholic Church to be completely Biblical!. I would have to ask you what things you think are unbiblical about the Church teachings and doctrines?
2007-10-25 07:34:15
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answer #6
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answered by janet 2
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good. as I keep on saying, if you're not in favor of the Catholic Church teachings then might as well leave the Catholic Church. I will never leave Catholicism. and just so you'd know, the Catholic Church teachings and practices are very much Biblical.
2007-10-25 06:58:14
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answer #7
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answered by Perceptive 5
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What do you mean about making up stuff that isn't in the Bible? If you have a problem with that, you're going to have a problem with every single church there is, because the Bible doesn't (and can't possibly) contain EVERYthing. We face things in our culture that were not addressed in Scripture, like abortion and birth control and public school and voting for government officials.
So, what's really the problem here? Maybe you just don't like the rules or something?
2007-10-25 11:12:58
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answer #8
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answered by sparki777 7
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Yes, many years ago when I was in High School. I came from a "Mixed Marriage", (Mom cath. Dad Luth.) where in order to get married, my Dad had to "Raise any B_stards as catholic" as the padre put it. So all my life I attended the catholic System of Dogmatic Inculcation which for the most part I was OK with. My Grandmother (Moms' side) was elated to be able to have her very own "Alter Grandkids" serve her communion etc. & we went along with it. Because of my Moms failing health we moved to Tucson, AZ. which caused some strife between my parents. My Dads' lower wages here ment that he couldn't keep paying for us to continue being "catholic" which wizzed off the local padres! Being now in High School, I had to also work to support the Family & church. I had asked for MONTHS for help from the local padres, nuns & lay people to meet with my Folks for counseling as my Mom was dying. The response I got was that they couldn't meet with them because it was a "Mixed Marriage" and that my Dads "Payments" weren't current anyways!!! One Saturday as I walked to catachism, a school friend stopped me and wanted me to go help him fly his model airplane. Funny, as I had just been praying to God asking Him to help me understand what He (God) was all about & why I had to go to catachism when the people there don't even care about us. Well, I went Flying!!! After we were done, I called my Mom & asked if I could stay overnight at my friends house to which she agreed. The next morning Bob woke me to get ready for church. I didn't want to go until he said something about a particular girl who also attended his church. Well although I went to see this girl, I actually met Jesus Christ through the Bible!!! Although we had a big fancy red Bible that the catholics charged my Dad $500.00 for, I new Nothing about it. But in that Sunday School Class I found the Meaning & Purpose for not only My Life, but Gods' Plan for All Mankind!!! This was something Hidden from me by the Intollerant Dogma of the catholic church for over 10 YEARS of catachism!!! I Accepted Christ & have Never Looked BACK!!! The day before I was to be baptised, a new young padre came to the house looking for me. He said that a neighbor said I was going to leave the faith. As he was new, I went easy on him and gave him our Family background with the church & how no one until now has ever come here to help us. He said he was sorry about that but that he was told to tell me that if I Left the church, "I would be Ex-Communicated"!!! I politely asked if he had a "Hearing Disorder" as I just told him the church had Already "Ex-Communicated" our Family by their lack of response to our needs & I asked how much More they thought they could do??? He laughed & said he could see my point, whereupon he wished me the best & left. OK, so that is my story about the the time wasted as a catholic, but let me tell U this as well! Don't look to "Religion / Church" as a "Problem Solving Device" any more than "Marriage" as BOTH ARE PROBLEM CREATING INSTITUTIONS!!! Get right with Christ & let Him run Ur life, then U CAN'T GO WRONG!!! Start reading the American Revised Standard Bible & pick up a good "Bible Handbook / Comentary" such as Halley's and dig out the TRUTH for Urself!!! God Bless!!! John
2007-10-25 08:08:30
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answer #9
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answered by moosemose 5
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Jesus promised, "I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). This means that his Church will never be destroyed and will never fall away from him. His Church will survive until his return.
Among the Christian churches, only the Catholic Church has existed since the time of Jesus. Every other Christian church is an offshoot of the Catholic Church. The Eastern Orthodox churches broke away from unity with the pope in 1054. The Protestant churches were established during the Reformation, which began in 1517. (Most of today’s Protestant churches are actually offshoots of the original Protestant offshoots.) Only the Catholic Church existed in the tenth century, in the fifth century, and in the first century, faithfully teaching the doctrines given by Christ to the apostles, omitting nothing. The line of popes can be traced back, in unbroken succession, to Peter himself. This is unequaled by any institution in history: Even the oldest government is new compared to the papacy.
The Catholic Church has existed for nearly 2,000 years, despite constant opposition from the world. This is testimony to the Church’s divine origin: Any merely human organization would have collapsed long ago. The Catholic Church is today the most vigorous church in the world (and the largest, with 1.3 billion members: one sixth of the human race), and that is testimony not to the cleverness of the Church’s leaders, but to the protection of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus’ Church is called catholic ("universal" in Greek) because it is his gift to all people. He told his apostles to go throughout the world and make disciples of "all nations" (Matt. 28:19–20). For 2,000 years the Catholic Church has carried out this mission, preaching the good news that Christ died for all men and that he wants all of us to be members of his universal family (Gal. 3:28). Nowadays the Catholic Church is found in every country of the world and is still sending out missionaries to "make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28:19). The Church Jesus established was known by its most common title, "the Catholic Church," at least as early as the year 107, when Ignatius of Antioch used that title to describe the one Church Jesus founded. The title apparently was old in Ignatius’s time, which means it went all the way back to the time of the apostles.
http://www.catholic.com/library/Pillar.asp
2007-10-25 06:58:32
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answer #10
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answered by Anonymous
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