Why Do Protestants Convert Catholics?

[thessalonian]

In the context of why Catholics more than Muslems, Hindus etc. Steve Ray relayed an answer from a priest he knows. It is much easier to get fish out of a net than catch them yourself.

[rkwright]

The ones that I know that converted all left because the mass was to boring to them. They just started going to protestant services for the preacher/music and then ended up staying.

[AudreyGrace]

A big reason I've seen people leave was because they were uncomfortable with the truth... confessing to a priest, receiving the sacraments, not being allowed to have sex before marriage, all that stuff.
And, as rkwright said, protestant services seem more "fun".
The fact that alot of them bash the Catholic Church (and are quite convincing at it) doesn't help our cause much either. =/

[BG45]

It depends on the Protestant as to why I think. For one thing, Catholics are a more accessible population most of the time, plus they've at least got a knowledge of who Jesus is and that He died for them. Scott Hahn's reason as a Protestant was to save people from the chains of Catholicism's false teachings, which is pretty common overall.

Like rkwright, a lot of times Catholics who leave for Protestantism find the Mass boring and go for all the razzle dazzle. I know when I was a Protestant attending a Chi Alpha group we had plenty of people who identified as ex-Catholics and ex-Orthodox who came because they felt the music spoke to them and the sermons were more interesting.

Edited January 18, 2011 by BG45

[Ed Normile]

They like the show, and do not miss the responsibility. I heard of methodist being referred to as catholic light, this was by a methodist minister, he added we have all the pomp and less of the guilt.

ed

[infinitelord1]

I think its because they get convinced that alls you need to do is believe in Jesus Christ. They also get convinced that you don't need to confess your sins to a priest, and that you can confess your sins directly to God. I think what it all boils down to is that they don't have an understanding of why we (Catholics) do things.

[Nihil Obstat]

Catholicism is "harder" than most, if not all brands of Protestantism. Understanding Catholicism takes effort. Protestantism, while wrong, can be enticing because in many cases it is simple and easy to understand. Which is easier, "we follow everything the Bible says and nothing else", or "we follow Scripture, Tradition, and Authority read in a hermeneutic of continuity, all of which are infallible, but infallibility has to be properly understood because the Pope is not impeccable, and if he's only expressing his opinions as a theologian rather than speaking ex cathedra... etc., etc., etc.."
You see what I'm saying.

[Socrates]

I think a lot of it's poor catechesis in the Church. Far too many Catholics are essentially clueless about their own Faith, and in many places, the Faith is not being taught strongly and thoroughly enough. I think if more Catholics really knew their Faith, they would not be so inclined to leave it.

As mentioned, there's also the problem of people wanting an easy path, or being drawn to superficials. Too many people want a church that caters to their own whims or desires, rather than try to conform themselves to the Church.

[dominicansoul]

Because many are called, but few are chosen...

[cruciatacara]

Because, as Jesus said in Mark 4:3-23

[i]
3 "Hear this! A sower went out to sow.
4
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
5
Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep.
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And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.
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Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain.
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And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."
9
He added, "Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear."
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And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables.
11
4 He answered them, "The mystery of the kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables,
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so that 'they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.'"
13
5 Jesus said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables?
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The sower sows the word.
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These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them.
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And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy.
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But they have no root; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
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Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word,
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but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit.
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But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."
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He said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand?
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For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light.
23
Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear." [/i]


and this guy has some good points about it too...

[url="http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_article/653/Parable_of_the_Sower_and_the_Seed___a_Double_Meaning.html"]Parable of the Sower[/url]

[quote]
To respond to this parable adequately, we must view it from two different angles. The first is to look at the story as if we are the seed. Many who hear the gospel never seem to “get it.” The message is stolen before it ever takes root. Then there are the 50% of Catholic kids who receive the sacraments but disappear somewhere between age 18 and 35. Shallow roots fail to equip them to take the heat of our pagan culture. Then there are the 89% of lifelong, regular churchgoers who, according to George Gallup, have values and lifestyles identical to those of their pagan neighbors. Their faith has been neutralized by bad theology and worldliness so though they look like wheat plants, their religion is fruitless. Then there are those who stay out of serious sin, manage to do some good for some people, but all in all produce a mediocre harvest Finally come the few who are not satisfied with just getting by. They sink their roots deep into Scripture, Tradition, prayer and the sacraments, and produce a bumper crop. We call these people saints.

In speaking to us as seed, Jesus is saying: “be careful. If you don’t make the effort to get thoroughly rooted in your Catholic faith, you just might not make it. If you do manage to survive, you might produce absolutely nothing. But you are called to bear much fruit (John 15), to yield 100 fold, to be a saint, to leave a mark on the lives of many that will last forever. Don’t settle for anything less!

On the other hand, we can look at the parable as if we were the farmer. Vatican II and all the Popes since have stately repeatedly and unequivocally that each of us is called to be an evangelizer, to tell others that Jesus Christ changes lives eternally and that the place to encounter him most fully is within the Catholic Church. “But,” you may protest, “I tried it a few times and got nowhere. I just don’t have the personality, don’t have the gift”

Jesus, the Son of God, indisputably had both the personality and the gift. Yet when he sowed seed, much of it still ended up as bird food. Consider the thousands he fed with loaves and fishes, the multitude that heard his sermon on the mount, the throngs that welcomed him on Palm Sunday. Yet on the day of Pentecost, there were only 120 left in the cenacle, awaiting the Holy Spirit. Notice, though, that the fruit borne by these 120 plants eventually filled the whole world!

[/quote]

[MissScripture]

[quote name='Ed Normile' timestamp='1295325317' post='2201259']
They like the show, and do not miss the responsibility. I heard of methodist being referred to as catholic light, this was by a methodist minister, he added we have all the pomp and less of the guilt.

ed
[/quote]
Just for clarification, "we have all the pomp and less of the guilt" was what the Methodist minister said, so it was in reference to the methodists?

[Jesus_lol]

wait, is this "why do protestants want to convert catholics?" or "why do protestants succeed at converting catholics?"

[Ed Normile]

[quote name='MissScripture' timestamp='1295399300' post='2201606']
Just for clarification, "we have all the pomp and less of the guilt" was what the Methodist minister said, so it was in reference to the methodists?
[/quote]


Yea, he was saying why the methodist church is such an appealing option. I edited this to be totally clear, I am a contractor and was estimating this ministers church roof when he said something like, i would love to have you come join us in worship this sabbath. I replied that I am a catholic and go to St Francis de Sales catholic Church, he retorted you ought to come check us out, we get lots of catholics that convert to our church, I like to call us catholic light, we have all the pomp and much less guilt.

ed

Edited January 19, 2011 by Ed Normile

[js1975]

I agree with one comment already made but to expound: I think that Catholics more than any other Christian faith are not informed with their own religion. When they encounter someone in another Christian denomination who is passionate and informed (right or wrong), they are drawn to the possibility of feeling passionate as well.

Just for the record, I live in the Northeast, and I personally know of many people who have converted to the Catholic faith, but know of no one who has left the Catholic church for another. Unfortunately, most Catholics I know just stopped practicing their faith and just simply stop going to church.

-jay

[AudreyGrace]

Great news guys... my best friend has been going to RCIA (I thought she was just going to keep her boyfriend's mom company, but I was way off), and she just asked me tonight to be her Confirmation sponsor! She's converting to Catholicism! She was born and raised hardcore Baptist.
Praise God :D