The gathering place for LU alumni to wax nostalgic about their glory days and tell current students how easy they have it. Old hags & bright-eyed and bushytailed recent grads both welcome.

Moderators: jcmanson, Sly Fox, BuryYourDuke

#453401
Does anyone know Todd Meade personally, interesting story about a fellow alums (95) who became a Catholic, after being a Protestant most of his life.I figured it would interesting to discuss and bring it up here. Does anyone know if this has been somewhat common for mainline Protestants to convert to other Christian denominations such Anglican (Episcopalian), Roman Catholics, Easter Catholic (Orthodox), and other faiths within the spectrum of Christianity. No knock on anyone who does or has converted to something else, everyone walks with Christ through different Christian faiths. Don't flame me, I'm looking for honest and open dialogue.

Todd is a former Southern Baptist who converted to the Catholic Church in 1999, four years after graduating from Jerry Falwell's Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. He now lives in Louisville, Kentucky with his wife Wendy and their two young children, and works in the field of social services. He and his family are parishioners at St. Bernadette Catholic Church.
http://whyimcatholic.com/index.php/conv ... todd-meade
#453407
Purple Haize wrote:Ironically I know 3 people who have The draw in each case was the Liturgy
Yeah, I've heard that from some people. I have also heard spiritual depth or history behind this other church mentioned. I have heard from other former Protestants and recent converts who were non-Christian that they felt that mainline Protestantism lacked the former I previously mentioned. Some may also mention lack of Christian unity and agreement on theology which lead them to other faiths other than Protestantism. The diversity in beliefs and theology is what might also make Protestantism alluring for those that do not agree on specific theology and beliefs. This may allow for other individuals to pick and choose what to believe and follow: and which movements to be a part of.

Thanks for being the first one to respond PH.
#453408
LUaddict wrote:
Purple Haize wrote:Ironically I know 3 people who have The draw in each case was the Liturgy
Yeah, I've heard that from some people. I have also heard spiritual depth or history behind this other church mentioned. I have heard from other former Protestants and recent converts who were non-Christian that they felt that mainline Protestantism lacked the former I previously mentioned. Some may also mention lack of Christian unity and agreement on theology which lead them to other faiths other than Protestantism. The diversity in beliefs and theology is what might also make Protestantism alluring for those that do not agree on specific theology and beliefs. This may allow for other individuals to pick and choose what to believe and follow: and which movements to be a part of.

Thanks for being the first one to respond PH.
Sounds like we are talking to the same people

Plus, I'm not afraid to be the first to spout off 8)
#453410
Purple Haize wrote:
LUaddict wrote:
Purple Haize wrote:Ironically I know 3 people who have The draw in each case was the Liturgy
Yeah, I've heard that from some people. I have also heard spiritual depth or history behind this other church mentioned. I have heard from other former Protestants and recent converts who were non-Christian that they felt that mainline Protestantism lacked the former I previously mentioned. Some may also mention lack of Christian unity and agreement on theology which lead them to other faiths other than Protestantism. The diversity in beliefs and theology is what might also make Protestantism alluring for those that do not agree on specific theology and beliefs. This may allow for other individuals to pick and choose what to believe and follow: and which movements to be a part of.

Thanks for being the first one to respond PH.
Sounds like we are talking to the same people

Plus, I'm not afraid to be the first to spout off 8)
Yeah PH, I think that this is a common issue for many Christians, I like dialogue. Thanks for being the first to spout off, I enjoy your honesty. Keep it coming guys.
#453429
I work at a distinctively Catholic institution. One does not need to be Catholic to attend or work at this institution. 74% of our student body, and roughly the same number of our faculty claim to be Catholic. I am not one of them.

An interesting story which applies here is that of one of our deans, who was a professor at Wheaton when he converted to Catholicism and was promptly fired. He was hired here, and has advanced multiple times over the lat decade. I've never spoken to him about his reasons, though. Maybe someday.
#453431
It's pretty common. All the reasons you site above are common, but one I've heard and read a lot is church authority. For some people, the pope is appealing. Another reason I've heard relates to intellectualism. One of the most well-known charismatics in Europe converted to Catholicism recently. Newt Gingrich is another famous example. And actually, the Word Faith movement is starting to cozy up the the RC, so I'd expect even more of this happening.
#453437
JK37 wrote:I work at a distinctively Catholic institution. One does not need to be Catholic to attend or work at this institution. 74% of our student body, and roughly the same number of our faculty claim to be Catholic. I am not one of them.

An interesting story which applies here is that of one of our deans, who was a professor at Wheaton when he converted to Catholicism and was promptly fired. He was hired here, and has advanced multiple times over the lat decade. I've never spoken to him about his reasons, though. Maybe someday.
If he was a Moonid he'd probably run the place by now
#453482
The RC is much more unified and I think the governing structure of it is the main reason. Some Protestants treat theology like a pseudo-science/philosophy exercise. People don't have the time to keep up with the changing verbiage, much less the discussions behind them and the never-ending debate over who is right/wrong becomes frustrating. Occasionally, I like to wade into the debates just to learn, but at the end of the day these people will argue with each other until they are 6 ft under. Wasted time if you ask me... they could have spent all that time discipling others, or debating and winning over non-Christians and had an actual effect on the size and scope of the kingdom instead of arguing over semantics and views that have no bearing on a person's salvation.
#453483
I haven't seen many friends convert Catholicism but quite a few have moved to Mainline denominations like Anglican & Lutheran churches. Typically it has been more of a rejection of the social nature of Evangelical churches as opposed to the liturgical focus of the others.

And I too have have dabbled in those discussions, Humble_Opinion. They remind me of the old Fighting Fundamentalist debates. I agree that time could be better invested in more profitable endeavors.

Incidentally, I am part of a church that is being overwhelmed by Catholic converts through our Spanish ministries. It has been a blast introducing kids who never heard any theology at all in their Catholic backgrounds to concepts like grace, faith & redemption. They seem totally perplexed by the concepts at first. But often they become voracious in their appetites for more depth in Christianity.
By Saint Augustine777
#584488
I converted back to Roman Catholicism soon after graduating from LU, because the bible teachers never had good answers to my questions and got angry when I asked them. Despite that, here I am years later back at LU working on a MA in theology/history with a 4.0.
#584496
I believe the Catholic church loses a high percentage of their best priest because of the, "not being able to marry and have a family" rule . I personally am not comfortable with the pope or the Vatican. But my best friend is Catholic, and after many conversations I'm sure he's as saved as I.
Jonathan Morris: My decision to leave the Catholic priesthood

Last month I announced on my social media that, after taking some months of sabbatical to be with family and to dedicate more time to prayer and retreat, I had decided to ask the Holy Father, Pope Francis, to release me from the duties and responsibilities of the clerical state (priestly vows).

Taking that step was something I had considered often and at length in years past and discussed with my spiritual guides. While I loved and thrived in so many aspects of my ministry, deep in my interior I struggled for years with my vocation and with the commitments the Catholic priesthood demands, especially not being able to marry and have a family.
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/jonatha ... priesthood
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