would God ever lead someone away from the Church?

[MoNiCa4316]

I'm just interested in what you all think.

I think that God wants everyone to be in the Church.. sometimes He might lead people away from it to Protestantism, for example, but always with the intention of leading them back when they're ready. For example, I believe that I needed to be non denom Protestant at one time in my life because that is how I discovered God, I wasn't ready for anything liturgical and if it wasn't for my old church I might have still been an agnostic right now. But clearly God brought me back to the Sacraments!

Do you think that He would want someone to be Protestant though, and never lead them to the Catholic Church? I just had a conversation with someone about that on another thread and it got me to think deeper into the topic.

Can we even know the answer? If we say that God wouldn't lead anyone away from the Church, does that mean we're speaking for Him? is it arrogant/presumptious?

I'm curious in what you'd say..

I have met people who left the Church but now love God and He's clearly present in their lives... but I'd say that's not because they left, but rather in spite of it, simply because of His mercy; and also because He knows people's hearts and sees their sincere desire to know Him. definitely there are Protestants who love God a lot. btw, I also know people who have left the Church and became Protestants but then lost faith in God altogether

 

[a.d.ivNonasNovembres]

I don't think so. But if they were stubbornly going that way anyway I think He'd use it to their advantage in as much as they were open to Him.

But all that is just guesswork on my part. I mean, who knows the mind of God?

 

[Rhamiel]

God created the Church so all mankind might know Him, it is the instrement through which the sacrements come, look at all the grace and help the sacrements give us, why would He ever lead His children away from the Church
one of the symbols of the Church is a boat, what kind of Father would throw His children out of a boat into the twisting and turning stormy waters?

 

[thereselittleflower]

No - God never leads people away from the fulness of truth. People are led away by their own desires.

However, that said that God is not the cause of their being led away, there is a saying:

God writes straight with crooked lines.

He will use such things to lead us back to Himself. But it is not His perfect will that one leave in the first place.

Being fully within the arms of the Church is the safest place to be spiritually. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and so would never lead someone to leave the safety of the Church.

 

[kisstheson]

I plead the 5th!

 

[WarriorAngel]

God allows us to be tempted.. and that is one reason we were given the Our Father prayer - to pray we are not led into tempations.

Peace!

 

[benedictaoo]

No Monica. PPl have free will and He never interferes with a persons free will to believe in what they want. It's a product of us telling ourselves what we want to hear and nothing more.

ppl so often think their feelings actully mean something but feelings is part of our screwed up nature. They can be good but they are often imbalanced. They are subjective and never objective.

Our human will and spirit is louder then God' will and Spirit and we listen to it and think it's God becuase we want what we want.

We leave becuase its' what we want to do mainly because it's just easier to hear our voice over God's or becuase we just do not know how to listen to God's voice. We never learned how.

Another reason is we just don't like some of the teachings or what's happened in the Catholic Church so we want to find greener pastures and of course we tell ourselves it's God calling us out. We often make God and His Church into our image and then we find what fits our image.

 

[QuantaCura]

I wouldn't say he directly leads them away from truth, but I would say He often permits it to bring about a greater good later.

I think the story of the prodigal son is a good example of this. His travails gave him a newfound humility and love for his father whereas the son who had been in his father's house the whole time still didn't really "get it," so to speak.

 

[stivvy]

It is the constant battle between good and evil at work and some fall in between and thus you have those who challenge the One True Faith at different levels. These like minded folk have good intentions as the generations go through the faiths, but they are ones who may fall shorter due to lack of fullness through the sacriments.

The tug of war will continue way beyond us and new faiths witll emerge due to it.

So it isn't God leading them away, it is sin (the pieces of the broken relationship) that takes away their fullness.

 

[Reader Antonius]

Laudetur Iesus Christus!

My dear sister, I don't think God would ever lead people from the Church, but I do believe that He might allow them to leave.

I don't see how we could argue that God would intentionally lead people away from the Truth, even if to better them.

God tells us that a good motive does not justify the means, and so I would assume God follows this as well.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[JoabAnias]

I have heard the better interpretation of the "Our Father" prayer is;

"Let us not fall into temptation" versus "lead us into temptation"

God has promised us free will and will not go back on that promise so, if we leave Him or His Church of our our own free will, He does allow it.

I believe if we do this, for whatever reason, He will pour more and more grace on us to draw us back.

 

[D'Ann]

Here is my understanding...

The Lord will reach us in anyway He Can. If our families are Protestant, He will try and reach us through the Protestant faith(s) which hopefully will eventually lead us to the Catholic faith.

I don't believe that God will lead a Catholic into another Christian faith though. (nothing against the other Christian faiths).

Although, because we have free will and because some times people need to explore and experience and figure out their own Christian walk and journey, some may stray away... from the Catholic Church or from other Christian Churches. It is because of free will.

Hopefully, when one does stray away, eventually they come back.

So, the answer is no. But at the same time, I think it depends on the individual and their relationship with their own Christian faith. These questions never have an easy yes or no answer... there are always a lot of gray.

 

[MrPolo]

God may willingly "hand someone" away from the faith but only for the purpose of converting that person by first seeing how Satan is a cruel master:

1 Corinthians 5:4-6 When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.​

But even in this case, the intent is to lead the person ultimately into the Church. Leading them away is for temporary purposes to that greater end.

 

[JoabAnias]

God may willingly "hand someone" away from the faith but only for the purpose of converting that person by first seeing how Satan is a cruel master:

1 Corinthians 5:4-6 When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.
​

But even in this case, the intent is to lead the person ultimately into the Church. Leading them away is for temporary purposes to that greater end.

There is also a Scripture that comes to mind about being vomited out for luke warmness but in those cases I think its neglect that draws one away bit by bit.

In the example above it appears this isn't an actual leading out of the Church but one of leading to her and Him in a fuller way. Though on the outside it may appear they are being lead away. Gods ways aren't our ways and we seldom see the big picture of His plan.

 

[AMDG]

I don't believe God leads anyone away. But since God Himself gave us free-will, the Loving Father has to sadly watch His children leave. He may shower those children with graces because He still loves them, but He didn't lead them away. And hopefully, they will journey back to Him and the safety (and constant nourishment) of His Church and be stronger in the Faith because of the journey.

 

[Miss Shelby]

I'm just interested in what you all think.

I think that God wants everyone to be in the Church.. sometimes He might lead people away from it to Protestantism, for example, but always with the intention of leading them back when they're ready. For example, I believe that I needed to be non denom Protestant at one time in my life because that is how I discovered God, I wasn't ready for anything liturgical and if it wasn't for my old church I might have still been an agnostic right now. But clearly God brought me back to the Sacraments!

Do you think that He would want someone to be Protestant though, and never lead them to the Catholic Church? I just had a conversation with someone about that on another thread and it got me to think deeper into the topic.

Can we even know the answer? If we say that God wouldn't lead anyone away from the Church, does that mean we're speaking for Him? is it arrogant/presumptious?

I'm curious in what you'd say..

I have met people who left the Church but now love God and He's clearly present in their lives... but I'd say that's not because they left, but rather in spite of it, simply because of His mercy; and also because He knows people's hearts and sees their sincere desire to know Him. definitely there are Protestants who love God a lot. btw, I also know people who have left the Church and became Protestants but then lost faith in God altogether

No, but I think if someone had issues, such as abuse, (from a parent doing it in the name of religion or a priest or whatever )--God could certainly feed someone spiritually outside of the Catholic Church, say in a loving accepting Protestant Church, and that person would not be held accountable for leaving the faith.

 

[ShannonMcCatholic]

I think if we look at the Apostles we see examples of denying Christ and of total doubt. I don't think those things are incompatible with the life of a Christian at all. There are seasons....and sometimes those seasons are full of darkness, preparing and tenderizing us for when we are lead back into the light.

 

[kisstheson]

You are going to be surprised at how many Protestants are in Heaven.

 

[benedictaoo]

You are going to be surprised at how many Protestants are in Heaven.

No, we won't. If anyone has ever had a true non Catholic family member or friend that they love, who died, they'd know it's not only Catholics who go to heaven.

But so what?

That does not mean God leads ppl into Protestantism. That is false, He does not. He reveals Himself to ppl and draws them to Himself but just becuase they feel that in a Protestant experience or context that does not mean God leads them to Protestantism. He doesn't.

 

[kisstheson]

I'm not going to argue.