I personally am not aware of any turning Catholic. However, I understand especially for those who came from a Catholic background and want to re instate their family ties.
And, maybe they want to be the next pope.
I Do Not Understand Why JWs Leave & Become Catholics!
by minimus 239 Replies latest jw friends
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NanaR
Minimus:
I am Catholic because I found Jesus in the Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church lives in Jesus' life. They follow a liturgical calendar that begins with the month leading up to His birth and continues through his earthly life marking every milestone in that life.
The Catholic Church takes seriously Jesus' admonition that the "sheep" are to take care of the poor, and the sick, and the imprisoned. There are Holy Orders that tend to people with every sort of problem, from leprosy to blindness to the poverty of countries wracked by war. Individual members of the Church visit the old in nursing homes, the sick in hospitals, and encourage the depressed. Catholics are taught to be the face of Christ to those they meet. Many of them pay attention to that teaching.
The Catholic Mass IS Holy Scripture. At the first Mass I ever attended, I could recognize every part and knew what part of the Bible it came from.
While the Witnesses (and other groups) go to foreign lands (which are foreign because the Witnesses are primarily an American religion) and evangelize among those who are already Christian (usually Catholic), Catholic missionaries go to foreign lands and do the really hard and dangerous work of evangelizing Muslims, Chinese, and others (even secular Americans -- America is a mission field). Just this year, two Iraqi Archibishops were killed for practicing Christianity in a Muslem country.
As for the presence of sinners in the Church, well that is how it must be. We are all sinners, to a greater or lesser extent. The Church is a hospital for sinners, not a country club for saints.
If you want to know more about me, feel free to pm me or check out my blog:
http://nanaruthann.blogspot.com
The Catholic Parish I belong to has enfolded me in its loving arms, and I have found mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers there. My own parents are dead, my sister has little to do with me (she is still a JW), my husband has not chosen to return to the Church as yet (he was Catholic before he was JW) although he has not opposed my pursuit of it.
I have found Jesus, I have found loving friends who do not sit in judgment of their neighbors, and I have found peace. What more can a person ask?
Pax,
Ruth
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JK666
I personally do not understand why an ex-JW would become a part of any other religion. I hate religion so much it is indescribable!
JK
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NanaR
There is a good thread entitled "Why the RCC?" at this link. Part of my story is there:
http://catholicxjw.proboards55.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=89
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IP_SEC
Same reason Catholics (or anyone else) leaves and becomes JWs. Come on min, use some brainage.
could never be the truth.
I could use your same line of reason to wonder why you'd think any religion would have THE TRUTH? huh?
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undercover
I am Catholic because I found Jesus in the Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church lives in Jesus' life. They follow a liturgical calendar that begins with the month leading up to His birth and continues through his earthly life marking every milestone in that life.
You found Jesus in the Catholic Church? Was he hanging out with the alter boys? The Catholic Church lives in Jesus' life? So what is the Vatican? Jesus' vacation home?
The Catholic Church takes seriously Jesus' admonition that the "sheep" are to take care of the poor, and the sick, and the imprisoned. There are Holy Orders that tend to people with every sort of problem, from leprosy to blindness to the poverty of countries wracked by war. Individual members of the Church visit the old in nursing homes, the sick in hospitals, and encourage the depressed. Catholics are taught to be the face of Christ to those they meet. Many of them pay attention to that teaching.
The Catholic church takes money seriously...
For all the millions they're using in charitable work, they're also spending millions in settle child abuse cases. If the Catholic Church lives in Jesus, then Jesus is a pedophile because he allowed what lives within him to continue to commit these crimes, thus making him an accomplice.
And that is why I can't see how people can realize that the Watchtower organization is crooked and deceitful and then turn right around and buy the bullshit the Catholic church hands out.
Amazing...
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Deputy Dog
Min
I agree! It seems like it would be trading one legal system for another.
I was raised Catholic for a couple of years, my mom still is.
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startingover
JK666,
I'm with you. I really don't understand how anyone can watch grown men perform wierd ceremonies in the robes they wear and not think it's a joke.
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jaguarbass
I dont know why they leave and become catholics. There are all kinds of people with all kinds of stories.
The catholics that I know seem to keep things simpler. And after spending time trapped in the tower, people might be looking for a simple spiritual fix.
Go to church once a year, or once a week say a few prayers and your good to go.
Not to say that some catholics do not have a more complicated ritual. Some catholics are more dedicated than that. But I know several that keep it simple.
If your catholic you can sin 6 days a week and not loose your friends and family and still maintain a relationship with God.
And the bible says we are all sinners.
They say know Jesus know peace. No Jesus no peace.
I see the Wac tower has driven many to be atheist and agnostic.
Personally the way I am wired atheism and agnosticsm does give me any peace.
The reason I think the Wactower drives people to atheism and agnostism is in my life they have acted as prophets and prophecied falsely.
They have by their rules and regulations caused many to deeply examine the scriptures.
Reading the scriptures is the number one recruiting tool of the atheist.
They say if they could get everyone to read the bible many more would become atheist.
Faith is fuled by faith and prayer. Faith is not something that is nurtured by deeply examining stories, It is not fuled by deeply studying false phrophecies. To have faith you have to be as a Child. At least in that aspect of your life.
There comes a certain point when nothing I say makes sense, because that is the realm we are in.
But I would suggest people become catholics after escaping the tower so they can scratch an itch that the Wactower bible and tract society could not.
You can keep it simple enough as a catholic to know jesus.
To be a witness in good standing is not simple after a while.
I am not a catholic and barring some great personal revelation from God. I doubt I will be one in this life.
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Rapunzel
I'm a former witness. I was born into the Roman Catholic tradition. I left the church after I joined the witnesses. And now, some twenty years after leaving the Witnesses, I attend mass agai in a Catholic church. As can be seen from reading my other posts, I don't believe in God, at least I don't believe in God as traditionally posited. However, I ask, in all sincerity: "What does God have to with it?"
Many people are Catholics [or Jews, or Moslems, or Hindus, or Buddhists, or whatever] for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with their conception of God [or lack thereof]. I have close friends who are atheists/agnostic, and yet consider themselves Jews. Many people join a religious community because of the sense of communion and fellowship that are offered. People also join a religious community out of a sense of fidelity. This fidelity need not have anything to do with the truth claims of any religion in particular. When I speak of fidelity, I intend a sense of fidelity to Judeo-Islamic-Christian ethics. To the extent that these three religions advance or propose any specific, exclusive truth claims, I reject any and all such claims. In other words, I don't think that Roman Catholicism [or Islam or Judaism] has any monopoply on truth. What I do appreciate are certain fundamental values that are common to all three religions.
There is some debate in regard to the etymology of the word religion. Most people feel that it is derived from the Latin religare - "to bind."' However, the famous Roman orator, Cicero, claimed that the root word is in fact relegare, meaning "to contemplate," or "to reread." In other words, the "heart" of religion lies in contemplating, rereading and reinterpreting foundational texts, narratives, and myths. All three religions - Judaism, Islam, and Christianity - have long traditions of commentary upon their respective scriptures. For example, Jews have their Talmud and Moslems have the hadith.
Lastly, I'm offended by the ignorance of few posters who make such claims as "Roman Catholics are not Christians," or "Islam is wrong," or whatever. These people are not stupid; it's just that they are ignorant. They are unaware of - they know nothing about - the ancient and venerable traditions behind Judaism, Islam, and Christianity [in all its variants - Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox]. All three religions offer a diachronic bond [a bond running through time], connecting living believers to ancient traditions. All three religions are archaic in the non-pejorative sense of the word: they are ancient (arkhaios) beginnings (arche) that command (arkhein). They command us to have regard for one another, to care for and respect one another. As one can recall, the two greatest commandments are not listed among the Big Ten, but these two are at the core of Judaism, Islam, and all variants of Christianity.
I think that the concept of reinterpretation is a crucial one. Not all aspects of tradition are spiritually healthy or desirable. There is always the danger of ossification of thought. There is always the danger of dogmatism and intolerance. The truth be told, all three religions possess the germ - the seed or potential - of this danger. Hence, the need for tolerance. Hence the need for the avoidance of dogmatism. People need to realize that the truth claims of all religions are relative and not absolute. As the French Renaissance philosopher, Montaigne, said: "It is putting a very high price on one's conjectures to have a man roasted alive because of them."
Were this an ideal world, Jews and Moslems and Christians would all study each other's scriptures and sacred texts, not with the aim of proving or disproving any specific truth claim [which, in any case, cannot be done], but rather with the goal of understanding each other. Jews, Moslems and Christians together constitute about 40% of the world's population. There is much at stake in regard to ecumenical tolerance and dialogue.