Finding a new church, or, "Going Protestant"

Great Debates
21

I agree with the posters who say that if you do not disagree with Catholicism doctrinally, then you should not leave the Church. The reasons for the divisions between Catholicism and Protestantism are doctrinal, and if you actually believe in Catholicism, but are fed up with some of the goings on in the Catholic Church, you’re not going to be theological fed, in many regards, in a Protestant body. A high Church Anglican (Episcopalian) church would, of course, be very similar to Catholicism in terms of liturgy and down most of the line doctrinally, but if you truly are a [i[believing* Catholic, instead of just a cultural one, you’re not going to be in a place where you agree with the theology.

If you do agree with Catholic theology, but absolutely must leave the Church, I would suggest looking east to Orthodoxy before looking to Protestantism. Doctrinal differences would be comparatively minor, though the liturgy is even more liturgical than what you get in Catholicism.* Some Orthodox parishes in America can be very ethnic, but most are quite welcoming.

    • Though if you want to stay Catholic, and like the Orthodox worship style, there are non-Roman Catholic parishes that are in communion with the Pope, such as the Byzantine Catholic Church, which are Catholic, but use Orthodox liturgical styles. The whole relationship gets beautifully complicated.

Beyond Orthodoxy or Anglicanism, you’re not going to find much else in the Christian sphere that would be both mostly doctrinally or mostly liturgically similar to Catholicism. You’d have to give up one or the other (Lutheranism is doctrinally different, but liturgically very much the same, for instance). Methodism, Baptist christianity, Presbyterianism, etc, would be even further far afield.

So I guess what I’m saying is what sort of Catholic you are determines your options. If you believe the Church’s teachings, like the liturgy, but are fed up with the leadership, I’d think you have little option but to hunker down, perhaps find a new Catholic parish in your city, and pray for the best (I’m sure the Church would appreciate Rosaries being said with prayers that the Church should right itself from its recent foibles).

If you can give up some doctrine and want the liturgy, look to Anglicanism, maybe Lutheranism. If you want something more doctrinally similar, but aren’t afraid of a very different, even more ornate, liturgical style, perhaps Orthodoxy would be your thing. YMMV.

Best of luck!

22

Hello,

What state are you in? My suggestion will be different from the others you have received so far. I would like to recommend you visit a Calvary Chapel. It will not be similar to your previous experiences, but it could give you a uplifting view of Christians.

Here’s a map of all their locations:

http://calvarychapel.com/affiliates/

They have some excellent preachers that I listen to on the radio.

:slight_smile:

Check out this amazing testimony:

http://www.calvarygs.org/calvary/testimon.htm

God bless. I hope you find what you’re looking for.

23

I have found very little difference in the Episcopal Church and the Roman Catholic. If you have been baptised and confirmed in the Roman Catholic faith, it will not be necessary for you to go through that again.

If you feel that you need to arrange for your confession to be heard, I believe that members of the Anglican clergy can still do that. Episcopalians also believe in the direct line of descent from St. Peter. Our Bibles also contain the Apocrapha. Some members of the high church believe in transubstaniation if that is important to you. We also follow the traditional church calendar – with Saints’ Days and Feast Days. The litergy is The Book of Common Prayer – and the services will be familiar to you.

You might consider calling an Episcopal Church near you and asking when the next class is scheduled for the study of the beliefs and traditions of the church. Or you could simply ask what the main differences are in the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Congregation.

No church is going to be perfect. But I think that the fact that our priests do not have to be celibate has been important. Women can also be priests. The use of birth control is not discouraged. Any Christian is welcome to take part in Communion. Very little is mandatory.

24

As it happens, the Pope addressed this subject very recently.

http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2003/04/17/pope_mass/index.html

"John Paul also warned Catholics against receiving communion in non-Catholic churches, an admonition that is likely to stir up protests in the United States and other countries where interfaith services are a fundamental part of efforts to bring Christians closer together. "

If am not a Catholic (though my family was for generations), so I don’t know how this is ‘enforced’.

I think a possible option is to participate in non-denominational religious activities while you sort your feelings out and decide whether you want to stay with your church or join another.

25

Dear Brother Furnishesq and Brother TGWATY:

To satisfy my curiosity and self-indulgence for attention, what do you make of my advisement to you about being a postgraduate Catholic or an ecumenical religionist?

From the quantity and quality and variety of responses and suggestions you obtain from fellow posters, this one conclusion is very clear:

It really does not matter what church or religion or denomination or ‘cult’ you adhere to, to most people at least the people here who take the goodness to reply to your query.

And the fact that you are asking for such kind of advice, is proof enough that it does not really matter to you in the genuinely critical core which church, etc., you sign up with.

Because for all of us here who are into this board, God is not at all particular about beliefs and observances and rituals and what have you.

So, conduct yourself the way you would in every choice you have to make in life, as in getting married, moving to a new neighborhood, getting a new job, buying another car, and even joining a new message board.

Again, good luck or God be with you (as I said earlier, they are synonymous).

Susma Rio Sep

26

That’s correct. The usual Anglican practice is the general confession of sins as part of the Communion service, but individual Penance is one of the lesser sacraments. Any individual can ask for it from the local priest, but it’s not mandatory. The Anglican position on who should avail themselves of Penance is best summed up: “All may. None must. Some should.” (Which in a broader sense also sums up much of Anglicanism.)

Really? I’ve always understood that belief/disbelief in transubstantiation was one of the key doctrinal differences between the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches.

See Article XXVIII of the Thirty-Nine Articles:

27

On the last point discussed by Northern Piper, the teaching of the Episcopal Church (and I believe the Anglican Communion as a whole) is that of the Real Presence – Christ is really present after a spiritual manner in the elements of the Eucharist to the nourishment of the souls of the faithful – but we decline to get more specific on how that is to be understood. That sense of latitude of interpretation combined with firmness of broad-scope doctrine is characteristic of Anglicanism, in my experience.

I’d be more than happy to (look up, if necessary, and) answer any specific questions you might have on similarities and differences between Anglicanism and Roman Catholicism.

Just in passing, you might also take a look at English-language Orthodox churches – they’re becoming much more common these days, and less “ethnic,” and also continue the apostolic tradition.

28

I highly recommend Assemblies of God churches.

29

The problem, vanilla and GOM, is that the OP is looking for “the next thing to Catholicism” in his new church home – and much as I respect AoG as a group (I don’t know Calvary Chapel, but anywhere that nourishes GOM can’t be all bad!), neither is anything like the Roman Church in its worship style and theology.

I happen to think that Wendy’s is one of the better fast food chains around – but if someone is looking for a good Italian restaurant, I’m not going to recommend it! :slight_smile:

30

but what of their triple-cheeseburger al fredo??

31

I like John Paul as a person, but tragically, his opinion an this or any other matter (or any other Roman Catholic leader) no longer holds any weight for me.

I know I will get flamed for this, but I don’t care; those who cover-up child molestation with indignation will no longer receive my support.

Bishop Gregory’s “scatter the flock” speech at the Bishop’s Conference in Washington was the final straw for me.

32

But, doctrinally, where do you stand? Do you believe the doctrines of Catholicism? Do you believe in the Real Presence? In the Sacraments?

Because if you do believe in those things, you will find it hard to be well served anywhere else.

And if you don’t believe in those things, you’re really only Catholic in name only, and it doesn’t really matter where you go.

33

Tragically, I do believe in the R.C. faith. I know the purist will say “then stay there – everything else is is irrelevant” and from a theological/cannon/Catholic standpoint this makes sense.

From my standpoint, I can’t walk into a RC church without feeling ill, nor can I look at a Bishop without intense anger.

My choice are, for now, move on to something else or stay away. So I want to know what my other options are. You all have been great in your suggestions.

34

Thanks for mocking me. Sheesh, try to be helpful…

35

Mocking was not my intention. If you sensed that from my post I apologize. Your post made perfect sense. It efficently and effectively outlined my quandry!

36

No, most protestant faiths have fewer books in their bibles.

37

Sorry for the false accusation. It’s just that this:

looked like mocking, particularly in light of your subsequent comments regarding bishops.

I understand your quandry, because I sort of share it. I’m so fed up with the Catholic Church, not because of the molestation crisis – which is horrible – but by the evil, terrible, hideous gay bashing the Church has lowered itself to in response to the situation. Not taking responsibility for their own actions is bad enough. Blaming it on the presence of gay people in the priesthood simply compounds it, and makes it all worse, and tries to scapegoat the Church’s actions on the back of an already-hated minority in this country.

But at the same time, I know that part of the reason that the Church’s actions so upset me is because the actions themselves violate the teachings of the Church. The Catholic leaders who are doing these things aren’t being very good Catholics, and such is the source of all the problems.

I’ve tried attending services at other churches, including a more, shall we say, welcoming congregation, but I find Christianity in the absence of the richness and completeness of Catholic doctrine to be less than filling. Like a tofu “hamburger” paddy. It looks like meat, sorta tastes like meat, but it doesn’t chew like meat. But at the same time, I get the shivers even thinking about going to the local Catholic parish. It’s a terrible quagmire.

My end goal, though, remains to find a way to look past the actions of the Church’s leadership and find a way to co-exist in the Church which doctrinally I know is the only option. If I find that way, I’ll let you know.

38

About the fewer books:

http://www.biblequery.org/apoc.htm

39

That BibleQuery site seems to slant all of its information in a very anti-Catholic matter. I would not consider it to be a good source for information on Catholicism. For instance, the Catholic Church first officially recognized the Deuterocanonicals (Apocrypha is not the proper term, because that literally doesn’t fit what the books are) as Scripture over 1,000 years before the Council of Trent.

The Council of Hippo, which took place in 393, was the Synod which finally nailed down what we today consider the New Testament. It also included the Deuterocanonicals in its list of what was Scripture.

Never trust information about Catholicism from sites that appear to have a slant against it.

40

I admit I didn’t read the website that closely. I was only saying Catholics have more books in their Bible. Is this disputed?
Sorry for not reading the whole link.