Christianity is not popular in the mainstream press. But even less popular is the Catholic Church, which is criticized for it's teachings, traditions and unwillingness to "modernize" by accepting politically correct ideas.
The hostility has existed since the birth of the Church. But why did Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas return to the Catholic faith? Why did Norma "Jane Roe" McCorvey of the famous "Roe vs Wade" case that legalized abortion and Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida convert to Catholicism? Why do I continually stumble upon story after story about born again Christians who discover what they have been told about the Catholic faith by non-Catholics is a lie? The answer they will give you is the Roman Catholic Church is the only clear voice of Christianity!
While the Evangelical Right gets most of the press, the number of Catholic converts is growing. In the past two decades since John Paul II has been Pope the Catholic Church in America has grown 23%, the Church in Africa has doubled to over 100 million, and membership in the Catholic faith has reached the 1 billion mark worldwide! This phenomenal growth is a reaction to John Paul's steadfast fidelity to Church teaching and the incredible moral decline in the world.
The vast majority of converts to Catholicism say they are attracted to the Church for the following reasons; an unwavering moral code, it is the only link with Jesus and His teachings, and the Catholic Church has all of the right enemies. Converts see the Roman Catholic Church as the uncompromising voice against such evils as; abortion, racism, moral relativism, fornication, radical feminism, the assisted suicide movement, contraception, the homosexual agenda, pornography, materialism, and secularism. The Catholic Church does not bow to opinion polls or social trends. It is a shining light of truth in a dark and fallen world.
Many converts say that they always have felt drawn to Catholicism's emphasis on reason, order, structure, and beauty. I know many so called "bible believing" Christians find convert reasons for joining the Catholic Church bewildering. The fact is people are hungry for the truth. You can be bible believing and be Catholic. In fact it's required! Once one truly seeks the truth they are destined to find themselves in the Catholic Church.
4 comments:
Out of all the people I've known in real life, there has only been one who has converted to Catholicism. His reason was because his soon to be wife's family wouldn't let her marry a non-Catholic.
On the other hand, I've known countless people who have left the Catholic church. The most common reason I've heard is the RCC's unbiblical views.
Given these two observations on my part, I am really interested in seeing the source of the 23% church growth in America. Also, is that the US or does it include other countries?
It's never an easy thing to convert. It takes time and commitment and a real understanding. I have been blessed to answer questions and talk with many people who have converted or are now studying the Catholic faith.
The source of the figures comes from "Religious Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000", by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies and the Glenmary Research Center. The data is only available on religious affiliation in the United States. I do not have world wide figures.
According to the 2000 report, in the past 30 years, there has been an increase of about 24 percent of adult Catholics in the United States. The numbers are not all converts from other faiths. Some are first time Chirstians. This also does not include does not include children coming into the church through infant baptism.
I do not measure success by growth numbers, but it is refreshing to see so many hear the call.
I'm not sure my last post made it, so I am going to post it again... at least as much as I remember.
Ah, got it. For some reason, I thought you were just talking conversions.
It makes sense that there was a 23% increase in Catholics, although I thought it would be higher considering the population growth was around 36%, and the increase in the Hispanic population which is traditionally RC. Also Catholic families are stereotypically bigger, since they don't believe in birth control.
Sorry, statistics junky. I really enjoy these kinds of stories, as I used to work in predictive statistics.
Sorry you haven't personnaly met any converts to the Catholic church, kybosh. I am a convert from an Evangelical background. In fact I was a missionary in Asia with an Evnagelical group for 14 years. I converted because of theological reasons - after reading a lot of Catholic books I came to see they were truer to the Bible than Protestant churches. I am not married so I did not convert because of a Catholic husband. I know quite a few people who also converted for reasons not connected with marrying a Catholic. You may enjy reading books by Scott Hahn and Thomas Howard (although I guess it won't help you know a convert personnally). Lozza
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