January 30, 2008 4:29 PM
Evangelical to Catholic: my journey #17
In response to comments at #16 on how few people in the Catholic Church may or may not actually hold fast to Catholic doctrine -
What you have in a Catholic church at Sunday Mass (actually all five or six or seven Sunday Masses in which the church is always full) is all the people living in that parish - all different social classes, ethnic backgrounds, levels of faith/understanding/belief.
In the Catholic Church because we share a common doctrine and heritage, we do not have the option nor are we interested in seeking a church of "like-minded" Christians, surrounding ourselves with those we consider the "elite" or the "elect" or those that are of the same political persuasion (liberal or conservative or uninvolved) or those that believe the Bible literally or as a story book, or those that dress up or dress down, or those that follow a liturgy or those that raise their hands or speak in tongues. The liturgy and the Mass are the same and the scripture readings change each day but are basically the same all over the planet.
This is what fosters the illusion that evangelicals are somehow superior because they have a higher percentage of "true" believers: they have self-selected themselves from a long line of splintered Protestant denominations.
The Catholic Church is wonderfully, beautifully, tangibly diverse - something I have grown to appreciate and be grateful for.
It wasn't always that way for me. As any evangelical pampered by going to a church with the cream of the crop - people who knew their Bible and tried extra hard to live righteous lives (ironically, I've noticed that the Christians who rail most against a "works mentality" are the ones who are working the hardest themselves to be righteous), I admit with great humility that I struggled at first with sitting side-by-side with many people I felt did not appreciate or understand their faith or the beauty of the Catholic Church.
But God spoke to my heart and showed me that it was not my place to judge. That it is up to him to separate the wheat from the tares, not up to me. And it is not okay for me to separate myself out. That separation in based on pride.
Now I appreciate the beauty and acceptance of belonging to a church which I did not choose based on my wanting to be around like-minded people, but based on sound doctrine and history and tradition. I am horrified that I was ever so presumptuous to judge something that should only be up to God to judge.
Belonging to the Catholic Church has humbled and gentled me and allowed God to teach me that I am not in charge of his Church. His Church is open to all who will come - regardless of how they measure up in our eyes. And my business is to be there to worship Him, not judging others.
Posted in Evangelical to Catholic, My life | Permalink
Comments
AMEN BARBARA! Thank you for allowing us to follow your journey and thank you to all that have been so good at defending the Catholic Church.
Posted by: Margaret | January 30, 2008 5:05 PM
Beautifully said, Barbara. Thank you.
Posted by: Fr. J. | January 30, 2008 9:21 PM
Barbara, God brought up the parable of the wheat and the tares to me, as well. In fact, if you look at that parable it describes the seeds as being sewn "in his field". The description of the Catholic Church, to me, is a very clear picture of that parable. The wheat (by Him) and tares (sewn by the enemy) are sown in the same "field"...HIS field...all in the same place, so to speak.
Posted by: K. | January 30, 2008 11:13 PM
Belonging to the Catholic Church has humbled and gentled me....
Honestly, Barbara, I've noticed the opposite. I've seen a very harsh, negative side of you come out since all this began. You have put yourself out there, but then dodged intelligent, sincere questions. A few times, you have been downright ugly to others (brothers and sisters in Christ) who were merely stating their opinion and/or asking sincere questions in a respectful manner.
But God spoke to my heart and showed me that it was not my place to judge. That it is up to him to separate the wheat from the tares, not up to me.
Your post is full of judgement: surrounding ourselves with those we consider the "elite" or the "elect"...As any evangelical pampered by going to a church with the cream of the crop - people who knew their Bible and tried extra hard to live righteous lives (ironically, I've noticed that the Christians who rail most against a "works mentality" are the ones who are working the hardest themselves to be righteous)...
If it is not your place to judge, then why do you continue to?
If you love your church, great! I am very happy for you. But you don't have to convince anyone how wonderful it is by continually talking badly about Evangelicals/Protestants.
Just so you know, I'm a Christian who happens to go to a Protestant church. I was raised with the "Good Girl" Gospel: be a good girl, believe in God and that's good enough. My dad is Church of Christ, my mom Presbyterian, my grandparents Catholic, so I guess I'm a spiritual mutt. Is the church I go to perfect? No. Am I perfect? Absolutely not! Do I agree with the Catholic Church in most doctrine? Nope, but I don't go around bashing it.
And I wish you would extend us Protestants the same courtesy and respect....
Posted by: Beth | January 30, 2008 11:29 PM
Beth -
It's worth noting that this is your second comment on my blog - I've been blogging for over three years - and your other one was a stinging indictment of the Catholic Church.
I always teach my kids - and writers when I teach at writers conferences - that if they want to have a platform to speak into someone's life, they need to build one.
This kind of misunderstanding does hurt me, but I'm going to chalk it up to you not knowing me and being personally invested in refuting what I'm saying through personal attack. I learned a good lesson about this in AA: principles, not personalities.
It's also obvious to me as a writer that whenever you write about anything - breastfeeding, giving up birth control, homeschooling - singing the praises of what you've found to be the benefits - you have to deal with a backlash of people who parse your words and attack you personally.
I stand by what I said.
We can't write without using generalities. yes, I have accused the evangelical church of some characteristics they might want to take a look at. You are attacking me personally.
I just wrote back to one other commenter who did this and told her I would not publish her very confusing comment because this kind of thing is not useful to the discussion.
Yours was so blatant that I thought it might be good to publish so people could understand the nature of dissent.
There have been people who have disagreed with principles here who have commented and spoken eloquently of principles. I have welcomed their comments and enjoyed them. They led to more discussion - all civil and compassionate.
I have not attacked any person personally. Yet I have to endure personal attacks myself. Beth, where is your courtesy and respect?
Posted by: barbara | January 31, 2008 6:45 AM
Further thoughts, Beth:
When I look back over my history, I find that I have always been stirred by injustice and prejudice. And that brings out the passion in me.
What has stirred this discussion is finding that the evangelical prejudice against Catholicism - which is real and strong, as attested to by many witnesses here and my own witness as an evangelical and as an evangelical-turned-Catholic (I had one speaking engagement canceled and been railed against as no lnger saved) - is absolutely wrong. I'm trying to shed some light on a dark situation the only way I can - through my observations.
I am defending Catholicism by contrasting with my experience in the Evangelical church and answering criticisms I have frequently heard to the best of my ability.
If I started revealing institutional racism, there would be racists who would write me to tell me I was being too harsh with them. In shining the light on Protestant/evangelical prejudice I shouldn't be surprised that I get this reaction.
It's always interesting that no one finds a writer harsh as long as he or she is criticizing an institution that they themselves are critical of. But when the truth of the writer's experience is turned toward something they are personally invested in, they see it as a personal attack. Criticizing a group or institution is very different that attacking an individual. Generalities are necessary because there is no other way to speak of common problems.
Beth, you did this yourself when you indicted the Catholic Church in your other comment because of pedophile priests (woe to them and to those who tolerated their behavior!) No one came back and attacked you personally.
Posted by: barbara | January 31, 2008 6:55 AM
Dear Barbara,
First, I'm truly sorry for attacking you and hurting you, and I ask for your forgiveness.
Second, I don't believe that I gave a "stinging indictment of the Catholic Church" in my first post. I merely pointed out the fact (and it is a fact) that many a Catholic priest has preyed on children. I also added that I know for a fact this has happened in other churches (ie. Protestant) as well. So, if I gave a stinging indictment of the Catholic church, I also indicted Protestant churches along with it. I believe that I was balanced and fair in responding to the comment made that Protestant churches were full of scandal and that other churches were not. That simply is not true.
I don't wish to cause any more strife, so I will keep my thoughts to myself from now on. I hope that I am welcome to continue reading your blog.
Again, I do sincerely apologize for the hurt I've caused.
Beth
Posted by: Beth | January 31, 2008 10:27 AM
Barbara,
As a lifelong Catholic, I have moved from the cafeteria (Pick and Choose) Catholic mentality to a humbled Catholic mentality. See how humbly I mention my humility to all of your readers!
Thank you for the reminder that the tares and wheat are together until the end.
And I added you to my blogroll, recently. I've been lurking around here for a while.
Posted by: jimvolpe | January 31, 2008 11:12 AM
Our church is one where the place you worship is determined by the geographic location of your home.
I feel this keeps us from stratifying in to groups where we are "comfortable," economically, intellectually, socially or racially.
Periodically the boundaries are changed and you or someone you love may go worship elsewhere. That can be traumatic but, helps me to remember that I am there to worship and serve, not just to hang out with my friends.
Posted by: wanderingrose | January 31, 2008 6:32 PM
Hello! I met you and some of your family last Sunday. As I mentioned, I'm attending Patrick Henry College and attending RCIA with your husband. I heard about your blog, and have been enjoying reading some of your posts. You are a good writer! I look forward to getting to know you and your family better.
Posted by: Justin Steeg | February 17, 2008 4:04 PM
