Protestant Girl Likes Catholic Guy

[Pistos Ergon]

A half a year later, I still pity the child whose parents don't agree on:

what church service/building to attend,
what baptism consists of, and at what age is baptism appropriate,
what is "the Lord's Supper,"
who the head of the church is,
what "speaking in tongues" means,
what day is the "Lord's Day" or Sabbath,
whether it is a sin to do/not do _________,
Who to direct your prayers toward,
Who to confess your sins to,
whether to eat a steak on Friday in March,
etc...

 

[Filia Mariae]

Iffy,

If your friend thinks that salvation is a one shot deal that he accomplished through receiving two sacraments, then he has a seriously erroneous understanding of Catholic teaching. We believe that conversion is ongoing and continual throughout one's life. We absolutely don't believe that you just get saved and that's that.

More on your original question, I would not recommend marrying someone of a different faith then yourself. I would probably not marry a Protestant man. I mean, are we going to teach the kids that the Eucharist is real or symbolic, are we going to teach them that baptism is actually efficacious or not, the examples are endless. Plus, as a Catholic, your friend is obligated to raise his children as Catholics, even if he marries a non-Catholic. So unless you are willing to raise your kids Catholic, he can't even consider marrying you.

 

[Living4Him03]

I dated a Catholic guy and I am a Baptist. At first, it was great. We were both open to learning about the differences in our denominations. Later, it was frustrating when we began to talk about the future of our relationship and realized that we did not agree on where we would go to church, where the kids would go if we had them, etc. He admitted that he would want me to convert, and I admitted I would want him to convert so that we would attend the same church.

I think the real issue here, like the others have said, is whether or not he has a relationship with God. Not being able to provide a quick answer doesn't mean he does not have one. But, no real answer at all or not being able to understand what that means, means the guy probably does not have a relationship with God. Just be friends with him and with other guys. Dating is not a dreamy romantic ride...it's got alot of hardship and sacrifice and is meant to prepare us for marriage. So, take your time with deciding to date. I only went on one date in high school and Im so glad I didn't date more. I have had enough chance to do the dating thing in college!

 

[Rising_Suns]

hey all,
I'll just chime in here with a few words....

I suggest you talk with him about it, and clear up your misconceptions about Catholics. Don't push away a possible mate because of close minded misconceptions.

Jillars,
you gave great advice on this thread, but it sounds to me like this guy really doesn't know what Catholicism teaches, and he's Catholic! Based on what I have read, I don't think he would be a reliable source of information, unfortunately.

catholics do not treat the Bible like we do. i mean, they have extra biblical revelations..whereas protestants will say we have to back everything with the Bible. hence, a lot of catholics i know, actually know less about biblical doctrine compared to protestants.

This is true. The teachings of the Catholic church are so rich and so deep that not even many Catholics know what it teaches. The bible is certainly one authority that guides the church, and the other is tradition. Before the bible was put together around 300 A.D., all people had was the traditions passed down by Christ by word of mouth, since the bible didn't exist yet. Then the Catholic church put together the books of the bible and deemed it God breathed and authoritative, and the church still seeked to preserve the oral traditions that were handed down before that point when they had the council and made the bible. This is why the church not only holds the bible as its authority, but also the traditions that Christ started. And this is why Catholics generally don't point there finger to the bible and ask for proof; because the church bases her teachings around the bible and the traditions that have been carried through time are in conjunction with and elaboration to the bible. But I do wish more Catholics were more knowledgable about scripture. The word of God is so vast and so deep in its inifinite wisdom.

 

[Living4Him03]

The Catholic church put the books of the bible together? HUH? am sorry to bring this up, but what are you basing that statement on?

 

[Filia Mariae]

The Catholic church put the books of the bible together? HUH? am sorry to bring this up, but what are you basing that statement on?

History. The canon was decided at the Council of Hippo in 393 A.D.

 

[Rising_Suns]

The Catholic church put the books of the bible together? HUH? am sorry to bring this up, but what are you basing that statement on?

Carly is correct. It was the Catholic church that weeded through many upon many documents and decided was books were God breathed and what weren't; they are responsibile for putting together the bible that you and I read every day.

Just to help explain this to you, there were no denominations back then. It was only until about 1600 with Luther and the reformation that started, when all the protestant denominations broke off from the Catholic church. But before that, EVERY christian was Catholic and everyone was in unity. So from the time of christ till about 1600 A.D., everyone was Catholic since protestants didn't exist yet. The bible was put together in 393 A.D. by the council of the Catholic church.

Anyway, didn't mean to get us off topic, but I suppose this kind of relates to the topic. Like I was saying earlier, not even many Catholics understand things like this; the history of where the bible came from and the sorts. The Catholic church has been around since the time of Christ so naturally it is rich in history and thourough in its teachings. One would expect that it has seen every possible problem in every possible situation by now, which is why the Catechism of the Catholic church is 800 pages long! Its extremely extensive and fully understanding the Catholic faith takes dedicated research.

 

[Salsa_1960]

I knew a family in a Protestant church I attended a few years ago. They attended the Protestant church. The father remained Catholic. Each had a strong respect for each other's faith. All the of family attended social functions and I would venture to guess that they had a rich understanding of each other's beliefs.

~Sandy