Deb Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 I just got my first issue of First Things Magazine. I have only had time to read 35 pages cuz you really have to READ it. Anyway, there is an article on The Death of Protestant America that I found really interesting and kind of scary. It really made me think about the changes in just the past forty years and what America will be like in another forty. If it exists that long. One good point was that Catholics are still going strong and may be on the uprise. They actually have this article on their website. It is long, but very worth the read. [url="http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=6254"]http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=6254[/url] Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Red Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 +J.M.J.+ i First Things - it's a great read. it usually takes me a couple of months to read just one issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Adam Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 Every Catholic and Protestant with a high school education or higher should read First Things. It is the best periodical published in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melporcristo Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 JMJ I don't think I've ever read that magazine!! It sounds awesome! I'll have to check it out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faithfulrock3r Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 same, it looks really good, those are some serious articles there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG45 Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 Utterly brilliant analysis. It's like someone took my thoughts and wrote them in far greater depth and in a good deal more knowledge than I could have ever dreamed of doing. I especially took note of how "they're all becoming the same" more or less. Take my own personal experiences. My family was more or less driven out by a schism in our church, so mom became a Methodist after 4 generations of the family was Baptist. All she had to do to convert was take a one hour course with a video and quiz (which could be done during the video), and we've noticed no difference from the Baptist beliefs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb Posted July 18, 2008 Author Share Posted July 18, 2008 It is a brilliant article. In one way, it made me think that the secular world is going to drive those with faith into hidding and persecution but it also gave me great hope that maybe protestants will eventually come home to the Catholic faith and that we shall be even stronger against the forces of evil. There are still over one billion Catholics and that is so beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel9 Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 I read the article too. It is very long, but well worth the time. I work in the regional offices of one of the mainstream protestant denominations (I'm the "token" catholic . I see the crumbling every day at work. This denomination is dying and all the executives know it. It is such a feeling of desperation. It is always a breath of fresh air to go to my parish on the weekend for Mass and feel the life and vitality! The impending failure of the mainstream protestant churches is the direct result of trying to appeal to all people and ending up appealing to none. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb Posted July 20, 2008 Author Share Posted July 20, 2008 It is really so sad that people do not understand the Catholic faith and are usually so indoctrinated against it that you can't get them to come and see what it is all about. If they only knew, they would be running in the streets to get in to our churches. Most everyone I work with is either Protestant, nothing or Muslim. I listen to a friend talk about her leaving her church because she could not get along with someone else on a committee and it was to hard to try to work out and she was trying to find another one near her (Lutheran) and she used to love her church. I asked how she could just turn God off because of a disagreement with anyone? She said that she just couldn't be happy going there anymore so would just not go until she found someplace else. It was like it was some kind of social club instead of a place of worship. I felt so sorry for her. It has been about two months now. There goes another Protestant. I guess if your primary purpose is fund raising, missions, clubs etc, you really don't have a lot of time to really work in that God stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineM Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 I had people quit the Catholic church over that same kind of thing. One woman I remember most vividly quit because she didn't get to help us plant some shrubs at church. I've often thought that my most important job is making sure the Catholics we have are properly catechized. The ones that leave that easily usually aren't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N/A Gone Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 [quote name='Brother Adam' post='1602413' date='Jul 18 2008, 12:06 AM']Every Catholic and Protestant with a high school education or higher should read First Things. It is the best periodical published in the US.[/quote] I should get off my backside and order it eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mortify Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Call me a pessimist but I don't think the Catholic Church is on the rise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissyP89 Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Agreed, mortify. Faith in general is what's dying. The thing about the Church is that we still hold the same foundation we did 2000 years ago--Jesus Christ and the authority He gave to the Apostles. If our separated brethren keep splitting as they are, what'll remain is the "denomination of one". It's all about what they as individuals believe, not they we as a community submit to. Truth isn't pretty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N/A Gone Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 ordered first things..woot-woot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Red Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 [quote name='Revprodeji' post='1605064' date='Jul 22 2008, 02:25 AM']ordered first things..woot-woot[/quote] +J.M.J.+ you won't regret it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now