Ex-catholics Why Did You Leave?

[hyperdulia again]

Baptism is not said to be a mortal sin. If there is but One Lord, One Faith and One Baptism it is a sin to be Baptised again, not to mention useless since regeneration and the forgiveness of Original (and actual for adults) sin has already occured.

[mulls]

repent and be baptized is commanded in scripture.

[hyperdulia again]

be baptized ONCE. not be baptised everytime you join a new group claiming to have the words of eternal life.

either we bbaptise babies or we endanger their immortal souls.

[Dave]

i actually got baptized (again) 2 sundays ago.

It was pointless and meant nothing. Your first baptism was what really counted.

[Dave]

ok, show me where baptism is said to be a mortal sin.

Actually, to get baptized in the Catholic Church and to leave and get baptized in another denomination is an act of APOSTASY. THAT is a mortal sin.

[M.SIGGA]

I think hyper means there is only supposed to be one baptism (in Scripture), not two. The grace of the Holy Spirit is sufficient the first time, no matter if you recieve it as a baby, child, or as an adult, so there would be no reason to be baptised twice. So the purpose of a second baptism wouldn't make sense. The Catholic Church only rebaptizes Christians if the first one was Mormon, JW, or was not done in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Denying your valid baptism is sin because that would be a sin against the Holy Spirit.

[M.SIGGA]

here's my testimony, which Circle had recently asked me for. i edited it a bit, but it's still pretty sloppy, especially for an english major, and it's quite long, but i typed it myself, so give it a look if you're interested.

So it's been about a year and a half since that glorious day when I became a new creature and Christ, and despite the bumps in the road, I wouldn't trade this walk with the Lord for anything.

I actually enjoyed reading your testimony because it looks almost exactly like mine when I sort of left the Church in high school. My experience is almost parallel to yours and I'm actually a little bit scared b/c we graduated in the same year too!!! I also had Catholic best friend that got saved and joined a non-denominational church and my altar call experience was really similar to the one you described. My story changes when I ended up going to Vigil Mass on Saturdays and to the Prot Service on Sundays and I joined my friend's Bible Study. I was only 16 when my conversion happened. I was so excited about being a dedicated and saved Christian. The assurance of salvation was a breath of fresh air - I really felt bullet proof! My parents didn't vocally have a problem with me going to a protestant church, but I could tell they would rather I not go to a Protestant Service, but since I was going to mass they let me do my own thing. They seemed to be kinda happy that so much was changing in me for Christ.

This went on for awhile until one Sunday when a new Youth minister at the sevice asked me if I accepted Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior. I told him yes, that I was raised in a Christian home and that I had known Jesus this way and I also told him that I rededicated my life to Christ in an altar call and I told him the date to find my name in the Church register. He said that was amesome and then he asked me what I was doing to spiritually grow as a Christian. I was so proud to tell him that I was growing spiritually, more than ever before, because I prayed during the week, read my Bible, went to mass on Saturdays, and went to a Service on Sunday, and I was telling my friends about Jesus. The Youth Minister looked absolutly horrified and shocked once I mentioned going to mass. He told me that my family was going straight to hell and that I needed to pray for a real conversion and he gave me a booklet on the evils of Catholicism. He told me that if I died that my soul would be in peril and a bunch of other stuff too. THis all happened at once and he really really scared the %$&#* out of me.

I prayed and prayed to God for an answer to this dilema. I cried and I couldn't sleep over it for days because part of me was scared of what the youth minister told me and part of me wanted to do what he said. I feared going to hell even more than ever before even though I was supposed to be "saved," but I was couldn't be completely saved until denying Catholicism completely. I read the booklet, but to do a comparison I bought Suprised by Truth: An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition by Shea and Catholic Pocket Evangelist by Romero. I also read more anticatholic websites on the internet and my friend had given me Luther's 95 Thesis for my birthday because I like to read a lot. He also gave me materials that were supposed to disprove Catholic teachings with Scripture. In the Catholic books, their teachings were proved by Scripture and anticatholic teachings were disproved by a man who used to lead catholics into protestantism. All the protestant teachings had holes in them, and when I called the youth minister on the phone, he would only answer them by saying I don't have faith in Christ but faith in Catholicism. If the papacy is a joke and is evil, then why are so many RC traditions still accepted by protestants and why do protestants accept papal proclaimations. I was a real candidate for probably becoming some sort of future protestant minister and no one could answer these questions for me. Story of a Soul, by St. Therese of Lisieux helped me cope with my doubts and rediscover Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

I also came to realize through reading about Christian history, especially the lives of the Roman martyrs, that the Catholic faith was the original faith held by those who knew Christ personally and all those who were burned and tortured by Nero and Diocletian and Caligula. I also came to realize how lucky I was to have been able to recieve Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, which is better than any sermon or choir that any other church can offer. Instead of going back to the youth minister, I went to Confession to talk to a priest. Since I no longer attend the protestant church and I am completely radical for Jesus Christ in the Catholic faith.

I wouldn't trade my walk with Christ for anything in the world either because it has been extremely bumpy with lots of falls. I'm really happy you have found Jesus Mulls and can grow in Him because he is the Lord and Savior of all. My protestant friend showed me how to know Jesus when I really needed him, but he also ended up pointing me toward knowing my Savior with Total Truth in the Catholic Faith.

God Bless :D

[Freaky Chik]

here's my testimony, which Circle had recently asked me for. i edited it a bit, but it's still pretty sloppy, especially for an english major, and it's quite long, but i typed it myself, so give it a look if you're interested.

I was born and raised catholic here in CT. All of my friends and family were, and still are, catholic, though none of them are devout, except for my two grandmothers. My mom would take me to church on sundays, sometimes we would go many many weeks in a row, other times we wouldn't go for a month, and it really wouldn't bother us. I was also sent to catholic school from grades 1 through 8. I did the whole sacraments thing: confession, communion, confirmation in high school.

If anything, my rearing provided for me a solid faith in God. I believed in Jesus and that He died for my sins. However, that was the extent of it. I thought believing, in and of itself, was enough, and that entitled me to live my life any ol' way i wanted, as long as I kept my faith and did the church thing. I wasn't a blatant sinner, per se, it's just that through my whole childhood, everyone was always telling me that I was the "good kid," and since I was a "good kid" and not getting in trouble (actually just never getting caught) meant that God must approve of my life just as much as anybody else does. Once I got my license, I went to mass every sunday on my own, and I actually felt that I was growing closer to God (which was true...you'll see in a minute). But I still wasn't being obedient to Him. I never asked any questions about Catholicism....I figured that's how I was raised, it's right for me, everybody I know is Catholic (the majority of people in the northeast are), and I assumed that all of those 'other' (protestant) churches I noticed all believed the same thing, just kinda did things differently. But I didn't care because I had faith in God, was a good kid, and nobody ever told me differently.

My best friend as a child, John, was two years older than me, and was as much the "bad kid" as I was the "good kid." Once he hit high school, he started getting into more and more trouble, which culminated in him becoming a drug dealer. We both moved away (though to the same town....just minutes from our old homes). We completely drifted from each other, since I saw that he was going down the wrong path and I didn't want to be a part of it.

OK, here's the cool part. Midway through high school, I got word from mutual family friends (my mom and his mom are also best friends) that John became "religious" and turned his life around. I figured yeah right, it's probably just another front, like all of his previous job attempts were. This is just a different lie. But the more people I talked to, the more I was told that we really was a different person. This really tweaked my thought process. But I summed it up to "well, he was in serious trouble, he needed God, but I already have Him, so whatever."

Fast-foward to my high school graduation party in the summer of 2001. John shows up with his mother. The first thing I noticed was how much weight he lost and how good he looked (lean and muscular). It happened that he started eating right, lifting weights, and actually got a job in a local gym. Looking back, this is really where I see God putting things together, since this was precisly the time where I was thinking about starting to lift weights myself, but was always afraid because I never knew where to start. Well, me and John re-connected at my party, and I decided to join the gym that he worked at, so he could teach me. We became workout partners that summer. During our time in the gym, he would start sharing with me some bible stories (basic stuff, nothing drastic that would scare me off), and how he had this great relationship with God.

I still thought this was good for him, but didn't matter for me. In the fall, I went away to college, and really hit the skids. I got into partying, drinking, chasing girls, blah blah blah, all the stuff that I was never into in high school but now loving in college. And my family even encouraged me to let loose a little, since I was a good kid and could be trusted enough to enjoy myself while making so-called 'smart decisions.' So I was having the time of my life in college, though I still communicated with John over the phone. I would feel a little guilty talking to him, since I knew I was living the life that he left behind. God started convicting me a bit. But I still did my party thing at college. But I also still went to mass and prayed, without feeling guilty. I even went to a weekend retreat with my home parish, which was a very, very emotional event. Many kids from my graduating class had attended during high school, and were not back at 'team leaders.' I was so shocked and suprised that everybody came together like this for God, but at the same time, I knew how these people lived their lives, and it disturbed me to hear them talking about going back home and partying and sex and drugs during such a serious event. And these are people supposedly trying to lead people to God. Despite the hypocrisy, the retreat was very powerful and emotional, I came away with the feeling that God had something big, really big, in store for me...and boy did He ever.

When I came home for the summer, I resumed hanging out with John, and this time he started laying it on a little more thick: more bible stuff, specifically chipping away at catholicism (no praying to mary or saints, no purgatory seen in the bible. he was raised the same as me). I knew he wouldn't lie to me, and I always believed in the bible, even though I never read it nor was ever encouraged to read it. So I figured maybe John was really on to something with this stuff.

Finally he started encouraging me to come to church with him (an Assembly of God church). At the time he was involved in youth ministry at his church, so I went to a week-night meeting where the youth pastor preached to the kids. Well, I had never heard actual preaching before, and I fell in love with it. I saw somebody who was fired up about God, and I liked it. I told him I wanted to go to a Sunday service, so I did. I was kinda nervous about skipping mass, since I was told that this was totally different, but I was very interested, so I went. Immediately, I was struck by ethnic diversity in the congregation, as well as the worship and praising. I was shocked to see so many people happy and cheerful about church and about God, and I thought to myself this is how it should be. However, the sermon made me feel very uncomfortable, because for the very first time in my lifeI heard the Truth, the Gospel....and heard it in a way that made it real and personal and tangible. It was messing with me, while I was hearing it and all throughout the week. I was all hung up over this "sin" thing. I know I had always believed in Jesus, and was a good person, and went to mass, and tried to be as good a person as I though possible, but all of a sudden that didn't seem to be enough. I realized I was a convicted sinner, and I had never really listened to God, nonetheless dedicate my life to him. I knew my life was changing, but I figured I would just put it off another week...I wanted at least one last party. Well, my friend has an annual memorial day party (or veterans day....whichever one is in late may/early june, i forget). That night, we end up back at my house, where my mom and stepdad were away for the week, so we played drinking games. Well, after that night I felt totally guilty for my actions, and was mad that God was messing with me like this. But I knew I had to go back to church.

So I went back, and heard a fiery gospel message. I had heard the Truth, and had no choice but to accept it. At the end of the service, the pastor asked the congregation to close their eyes, and if anybody wanted to accept Christ, to raise their hand. Well I did it, right then and there in my seat. It's a good thing it was done that way too, because God knew I wouldn't have the courage to get up and do an altar call. I was completely shaken in the fact that I had been misled for so many years, never hearing this message,, but I was also so happy because I felt like a new person, in Christ. I physically feel the change. It was amzazing.

On the ride home, I started firing questions to my friend about everything I could think of.....catholicism, salvation, sin.....everything. I became aware that I made the most important decision of my life, and when it comes down to it, the only truly important decision that I had ever made or will ever make. I realized how blessed I was that God loved me, personally, and that Christ died for me, personally. But I also knew that nearly everybody in my life had never heard this message, nor gave God any relevant thought. Since that day I've done all I can to study as much about God as possible, and also as much as what people think they know about God as possible.

So it's been about a year and a half since that glorious day when I became a new creature and Christ, and despite the bumps in the road, I wouldn't trade this walk with the Lord for anything.

Mulls that was an amesome, beautiful, encouraging, great, God-glorifying testimony!!!! I read it with tears in my eyes Thank you for posting it!!! It was amesome I'd post my testmony but I was never part of the Catholic church, so it has nothing to do with Catholicism lol :)

[M.SIGGA]

Yeah, and I forgot to mention Mulls that I think it is really amesome that you could step outside yourself and dedicate your life to Christ. It's a really big step for a young person in this generation to take w/ so much secular stuff being thrown at you and also having to deal with friends you care about falling into all sorts of sin. I'm not going to lie, I wish you were onfire as a Catholic Christian, but your testimony shows that you really have a lot of faith in Jesus Christ, and that rocks! Keep praying to grow in Faith.

God Bless :D

[mulls]

The Youth Minister looked absolutly horrified and shocked once I mentioned going to mass. He told me that my family was going straight to hell and that I needed to pray for a real conversion and he gave me a booklet on the evils of Catholicism. He told me that if I died that my soul would be in peril and a bunch of other stuff too.

that guy is a jerk. and unfortunately there are too many like him out there.

i know on-fire Catholics, two teenagers I met at a Young Life camp a few months ago. evangelizing, bible-reading, stand-up-for-Christ Catholics, and I wouldn't change them for the world.

thanks for the encouragement Sigga and Freaky :)

[mulls]

Yeah, and I forgot to mention Mulls that I think it is really amesome that you could step outside yourself and dedicate your life to Christ. It's a really big step for a young person in this generation to take w/ so much secular stuff being thrown at you and also having to deal with friends you care about falling into all sorts of sin. I'm not going to lie, I wish you were onfire as a Catholic Christian, but your testimony shows that you really have a lot of faith in Jesus Christ, and that rocks! Keep praying to grow in Faith.

God Bless :D

people, THIS is how to evangelize.

not by telling me I don't know the truth, or I shouldn't be spreading the Gospel, or my baptism was worthless, or I'm ignorant to history.....well, you could tell me that stuff, but it will just turn me off like usual.

[mulls]

Actually, to get baptized in the Catholic Church and to leave and get baptized in another denomination is an act of APOSTASY. THAT is a mortal sin.

actually, i wasn't baptized in another denomination. i did it at my friend's apartment complex, in an indoor heated pool (how sweet is that! )

4 of my friends were present, i gave my testimony, we prayed, read some scripture, and made the confession that, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, like the eunuch in Acts 8.

no 'church', no denomination, just me and the Lord and some fellow believers. it was a beautiful thing.

[hyperdulia again]

Mulls, the problem is that I don't think you are spreading the Gospel, at least not the one Christ taught. Either your second baptism was worthless or my first one was.

[Dave]

actually, i wasn't baptized in another denomination.  i did it at my friend's apartment complex, in an indoor heated pool (how sweet is that!  )

4 of my friends were present, i gave my testimony, we prayed, read some scripture, and made the confession that, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, like the eunuch in Acts 8.

no 'church', no denomination, just me and the Lord and some fellow believers. it was a beautiful thing.

It's still saying your first baptism was worthless. And it's still an act of renouncing the Catholic Church. I'm sorry if that makes you mad, but the truth hurts.

Edited January 2, 2004 by Dave

[Bruce S]

It's still saying your first baptism was worthless. And it's still an act of renouncing the Catholic Church. I'm sorry if that makes you mad, but the truth hurts.

Like we don't know that?

Perhaps some are INTENTIONALLY renouncing the Catholic Church, and want to.

However, just to correct a misunderstanding Catholics generally hold, for most Protestants, Baptism has nothing to do with salvation, nothing.

It is an OUTWARD sign, one that someone does to show the world a change has been undertaken.

And many Protestant denominations believe it must be a VOLUNTARY INFORMED action, something an infant can't do.

FWIW>