PCC Grad Michael Matthews On His Conversion to Catholicism

[Ricardo]

Shoes, for a moment I thought I was reading Dr Seuss. I agree. In fact, I started a conversation on this same subject here: http://www.stufffundieslike.com/forum/sh...p?tid=1278

[Shoes]

The Rebranding God ™ thread was very thought provoking. I have always likened the different views and perspectives of God to the Hindu (?) proverb of the blind men and the elephant. Each saw a trait of the elephant and explained an elephant as such:
I felt its tail = an elephant is like a rope
I felt its trunk = an elephant is like a hose
I felt its leg = an elephant is like a beam
I felt its body = an elephant is like a wall
While all were describing an elephant, they were only reporting on the portion that they had been exposed to. They weren’t wrong, but they weren’t entirely correct. They had only seen (or felt) a glimpse of the whole. I don’t think any of us could handle the whole of God or understand the whole of God. This is where the conflicting statements arise; “Love your neighbor” vs “Kill all men, women, children and all that hath breath.” Which is the true nature of God? Obviously both, but we cannot see the whole nature of God so these apparent conflicting views baffle us and confuse us.

[Shoes]

By Dr Seuss

Worship me by killing sheep,
Worship me by washing feet.
Worship me by sacrificing lamb,
Worship me by not eating ham.

Worship me by giving tithe,
Worship while you dance and writhe.
Worship me in song and dance,
But ladies do not wear the pants!

Worship by praying all the time,
But never, ever drink the wine.
Don’t use wine in the Eucharist,
Welch’s grape juice is a must.

[Ricardo]

A friend of mine asked me to go with him to the hospital chapel to pray while his mother was in the operating room. Never mind he is a card carrying member of the Partido Comunista Chileno. Never mind he is an atheist, Never mind we ended praying the Rosary. For two straight hours.

It was a wonderful time. I felt the presence of the Lord with us. I know he did too.

[Dude]

(05-27-2011 06:25 AM)elfdream Wrote:  I understand completely how authority could become a stumbling block. When I first came out of the IBF I didn't want anyone anywhere telling me what to do or how to live. As time went on I looked at the many denominations I wondered how such a thing could be of God. The God who does not change and gave His people in the OT One way to worship Him and I began to wonder if He had done the same with the church. Once I was convinced He did then authority was no longer a problem.

This argument sounds like Baptist Landmarkism. I guess one could argue that Baptists who came to believe in Apostolic Succession adapted their doctrine in this way to avoid any reconciliation with one of the liturgical churches.

[Jane]

(05-26-2011 10:11 PM)Ricardo Wrote:  I feel like saying: O ye of little faith! If I saw the Catholic church sharing their wealth with the poor, even I would be moved to contribute to the effort.

The Catholic Church has thousands of missions and charities helping the poor. There are many choices out there if you would like to contribute to the effort. Really, the only hard part is figuring out which ministry or charity to help, because there are so many to choose from.

[Jane]

(05-27-2011 10:48 AM)Dude Wrote:  

(05-27-2011 06:25 AM)elfdream Wrote:  I understand completely how authority could become a stumbling block. When I first came out of the IBF I didn't want anyone anywhere telling me what to do or how to live. As time went on I looked at the many denominations I wondered how such a thing could be of God. The God who does not change and gave His people in the OT One way to worship Him and I began to wonder if He had done the same with the church. Once I was convinced He did then authority was no longer a problem.

This argument sounds like Baptist Landmarkism. I guess one could argue that Baptists who came to believe in Apostolic Succession adapted their doctrine in this way to avoid any reconciliation with one of the liturgical churches.

That's kind of an interesting observation. I would say it shows that even the Baptist Landmarkers recognize the need for some sort of continuity with the apostolic church--for apostolic succession, if you will (although they would never call it that). But since they (or, rather their ancestors) split from the Catholic/Orthodox church, that left them to rewrite history and make up their own version of apostolic succession.

[fundyvangelicalcatholic]

We are all God's children. We all want to further the kingdom of God. If someone doesn't believe in apostolic succession and call it a fairy tale - so be it. My wife fights with her sister all of the time, but that doesn't change the fact they have the same father. We all serve Jesus.

[Michael Matthews]

Yes, we are all children of God, and serve Jesus. The Church teaches that, by virtue of their faith and baptism, non-Catholics are joined to the One Church, if incompletely.

When we get to Heaven, we will all be celebrating the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. We Catholics call that the Eucharist, and we get to partake of it at every Mass. If we're all taking Communion together, that sort of makes us all Catholic

Resistance is futile.. lol

God bless!

Michael

[Apathetic or whatever]

I know I am late to the party but I just wanted to say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this thread.