Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Holidays?
Here's a good article that helps us see the rich liturgical traditions behind all hallow's eve . Let's take back Halloween for Jesus and His Church.
posted by Russ Rentler, M.D. | 6:58 PM
Crossed The Tiber
An Evangelical Converts to Catholicism
About Me
- Name: Russ Rentler, M.D.
- Location: Pennsylvania, United States
I was born into the Catholic faith. At 14, I was "born again" and found Jesus personally but lost His Church. After thirty years as an evangelical protestant, I have come full circle to find that He has been there all the time, in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I wish others to find the beauty and truth of the Catholic faith as I have found.
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6 Comments:
I have a few questions I would love to see you cover as subjects. I am married - my husband and I are both "baptist", I use quotations because despite being church members for 2 years, our pastor didn't actually baptise people in water!
Now we recognise that he is sinning in the eyes of God according to the Word as written in the Bible. Yet he refuses to deal with us or other members. We therefore left the church, disappointed in humankind, yet strangely closer to God.
Further, one key point we disagree with most Baptists on is that we believe infant baptism is perfectly acceptable, whether technically needed or not.
With this background information. My questions:
Firstly, we are married. We have never been married to any one else. Yet we have read, that if we converted to Catholicism we would have to annull our marriage! This is heart-breaking as we love each other and have never married anyone else. We can understand having to remarry in the Catholic church, but why should we have to annull our legally documented marriage?!
Second: Many in the Baptist congregations in our country hold firm to the belief that Catholicism is not real Christianity; yet we cannot find any real hard documented evidence to prove their theories. Why would they say these things? Even if it is due to the Cath/Prot split hundreds of years ago, Baptist's claim to accept all children of Christ (and that is our belief) so why not Catholic? Isn't that hypocritical and therefore sinning?
Third: We commune with God daily. We have seen many miracles occur in our lives. So many infact, and we're talking real miracles, that many Baptists say it can't be God, it's that we're lucky !! These same people claim that the Catholic Church does not believe in modern day miracles. So who do we turn to? Because miracles DO happen in our lives and we aren't that lucky ... Vegas isn't our good spot!
Dear Anon:
The information you received is wrong!
If you both were married as protestants and neither were married before, your marriage is valid in the eyes of the Catholic Church and you would not have to be re-married in the Church. If you decided to begin the process of conversion to Catholicism, your RCIA director could give you more specifics.
The Catholic Church also recognizes both of your baptisms assuming you were baptized in the trinitarian formula with water.
2nd question:
"Many Christian sects don't believe that Catholics are Christians."
We are used to that, but it is still hard to understand given the real facts that Jesus started a Church that was known as the Catholic Church as early as 106 AD!
This same Church has preached the gospel for the past 2000 years proclaiming His death, Resurrection and triumphant return in glory! In every Mass, we acknowledge our sins and our need for forgiveness. We are given opportunity to confess our sins. We then hear His word read to us, usually 3-4 readings, and then we enter into the Eucharistic prayer where Jesus becomes present to us in his real actual body and blood under the appearance of the bread and wine. We then approach the altar and receive Him as our savior and Lord, but not just spiritually, physically too!
So Catholics are Christians because they are validly baptized for the forgiveness of sins and have put their faith in Christ for the forgiveness of sins. It's just that we have access to the grace of God through the sacraments, things of earth God uses to transmit His grace. Wine, water, bread, oil etc.
Unless a man is born again of water and the spirit(baptism) he will not see the kingdom of God. Christendom from the beginning believed in baptism for the forgiveness of sins as Peter preached and is recorded in the gospels and the Creed. Only until the reformation and after did people thing they could be born again by saying a prayer. The "sinner's prayer" doesn't exist in the Scripture and is an invention of man, not God.
Is it hypocritical and sinful for people to say that Catholics are not Christians? We have to leave it up to God to judge their hearts.
3rdly:
These same people claim that the Catholic Church does not believe in modern day miracles. So who do we turn to?
You have been told a lot of incorrect information regarding Catholicism.
We believe in miracles and require the accurate and scientific documentation of such when they occur. The Church has experienced the miraculous since the apostles and this continues until now. Catholic faith tells us that all things are possible and we believe that the way the Holy Spirit operated in the early Church is the way he operates now, including the gifts of the spirit; tongues prophesy, healings etc. Not all Catholics participate in these but they are not discouraged.
One of the ways that the Church completes its canonization process of a saint is by documenting at least two miracles that resulted that can be attributed to the intercession of that saint. So over the past 2000 years that's a lot of miracles!
See my post here:
http://crossed-the-tiber.blogspot.com/2008/01/do-catholics-believe-in-miracles.html
So please tell your friends they are mis-informed greatly.
To me, the biggest miracle is going down my street, walking into my Church and being able to receive the God of the Universe into my heart , spiritually and physically. Jesus is real and present in the Catholic Church.
he has become present upon the altars of all the Catholic Churches throughout the world since 33 AD.
You should buy this book and read it. it will help answer many questions regarding Catholicism, but I will be happy to help along the way.
The Book is by David Currie and you can probably get it under 3 bucks:
http://www.amazon.com/Born-Fundamentalist-Again-Catholic/dp/089870569X
Thank you for your reply. I hope you can appreciate why I would post anonymously!
We would be happy to remarry in a catholic church if needed as part of ceremony or whatever - but it's anyone suggesting the anullment of our marriage that we are not willing to agree with. The Bible says that you should not take apart a man and woman that God has joined together!
In our culture divorce is so rife that whilst it might seem silly, that little bit of paper that says "Hey, these folks married each other for life - they're not, nor have they, skipping to no one else!" means so much to us both.
We have not been baptised in water because our pastor did not believe in baptism by water! This is why we left that church and why we find ourselves closer to God yet increasingly more distant from the Baptist community.
We, and especially my husband, are so desperate to be baptised in water, because our faith in God and Jesus is so strong that we know we need to do it.
In our town we are "odd" because we do not go to the Baptist church any longer, yet there is little alternative. But how can we justify in the eyes of God going to a Baptist church run by a "Baptist" who does not believe in water baptism!
Thankfully we are moving to a small city this Christmas and it has a multitude of churches and denominations.
Christmas is another funny one. Now call it what you like, for our family it is about family and Jesus, whether the world see's it the same way or not. I will have my husband put up decorations and a tree, I will have my son put up his stocking, and I will bake. Not because we have to, not because of what society tells us, but because it is a special time for us, and when it's cold and dark outside, special family time is so worth it.
Our former Baptist church did not celebrate Christmas, believing it to be a pagan tradition. Our pastor would routinely tell us how we were sinning by giving gifts to each other at this time!
Back to where we are moving; we have been given immense help in moving to the area by a Catholic friend. She has no reason to help us other than being our friend; and when I spoke to her about the issues we are having at our former church and how I was surprised that a Catholic would be so willing to help us so much... she was not angry, or surprised, she carried on helping.
This surprised us because it is so different to what we have been taught about Catholics. Hence I began searching the Internet and found your site!
Thank you for your book suggestion. I will buy it and read it at the weekend.
Thank you for your reply. I hope you can appreciate why I would post anonymously!
We would be happy to remarry in a catholic church if needed as part of ceremony or whatever - but it's anyone suggesting the anullment of our marriage that we are not willing to agree with. The Bible says that you should not take apart a man and woman that God has joined together!
In our culture divorce is so rife that whilst it might seem silly, that little bit of paper that says "Hey, these folks married each other for life - they're not, nor have they, skipping to no one else!" means so much to us both.
We have not been baptised in water because our pastor did not believe in baptism by water! This is why we left that church and why we find ourselves closer to God yet increasingly more distant from the Baptist community.
We, and especially my husband, are so desperate to be baptised in water, because our faith in God and Jesus is so strong that we know we need to do it.
In our town we are "odd" because we do not go to the Baptist church any longer, yet there is little alternative. But how can we justify in the eyes of God going to a Baptist church run by a "Baptist" who does not believe in water baptism!
Thankfully we are moving to a small city this Christmas and it has a multitude of churches and denominations.
Christmas is another funny one. Now call it what you like, for our family it is about family and Jesus, whether the world see's it the same way or not. I will have my husband put up decorations and a tree, I will have my son put up his stocking, and I will bake. Not because we have to, not because of what society tells us, but because it is a special time for us, and when it's cold and dark outside, special family time is so worth it.
Our former Baptist church did not celebrate Christmas, believing it to be a pagan tradition. Our pastor would routinely tell us how we were sinning by giving gifts to each other at this time!
Back to where we are moving; we have been given immense help in moving to the area by a Catholic friend. She has no reason to help us other than being our friend; and when I spoke to her about the issues we are having at our former church and how I was surprised that a Catholic would be so willing to help us so much... she was not angry, or surprised, she carried on helping.
This surprised us because it is so different to what we have been taught about Catholics. Hence I began searching the Internet and found your site!
Thank you for your book suggestion. I will buy it and read it at the weekend.
The book by David Currie will really help make clear what it is Catholics believe, whcih is quite different from what you are told we believe by non-Catholics.
Just to reiterate, the Catholic Church doesn't require annulment to enter the Church if this is your first and only marriage. The Church will recognize a valid marriage by two non-Catholics.
Agin, this mis-information is put out there to make the Church look over-bearing. The CHurch respects the sanctitiy of marriage more than any other religion.
"Further, one key point we disagree with most Baptists on is that we believe infant baptism is perfectly acceptable, whether technically needed or not."
I would highly recommend Fred Malone's book, The Baptism of Disciples Alone. If one grants the Normative Principle then you can just about argue for anything from the OT, and much of anything else for that matter.
If you understand the nature of the Covenants, and that each covenant defines itself, then you will recognize the Regulative Principle of Worship (RPW) and the nature of the perfection of the New Covenant in Christ would keep you from accepting such a notion.
God Bless
Howard
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