u/MacabreCowboy84

As the title suggests, I'm not trying to get in an argument here. I'd welcome theological debates, but I'm not aiming for an argument.

So for my background, I was raised in the Lutheran Church (ELCA). Baptized, first communion, and confirmed. My parents separated us from the Lutheran church shortly after my confirmation due to stances liberal social stances the Lutheran church began to take that they didn't agree with. Things like openly promoting gay marriage. Having a LGBTQ flag displayed in the sanctuary. Arguing that fornication wasn't all that bad. I have different political and personal views regarding these topics than I do religiously - I have the belief that we should follow the Bible as it relates to these things, but politically and personally, so long as another person isn't hurting me or pushing something, hey, whatever makes you happy.

I was introduced to catholisism in 2013 during a trip to Italy, which included a trip to the Vatican. I was taken aback by the beauty and grandeur of the cathedrals. I attended an Easter mass and was likewise taken aback by the reverence. I dated a catholic girl in college and we frequently attended mass.

I've not been a member of any church since my parents separated us in the 20-teens, but I've felt myself wanting to grow my faith more than ever in the last several years, and I've felt a particular draw to the catholic church. I live in a large city and I'll say that a lot of the Protestant churches seem to be adapting to the modern world rather than us in modern times adapting our lives to live by the Bible. I drive by many of these churches and see the front steps of the churches painted with pride colors. Some of them fly pride flags, or have "love is love" signs in their yards. I understand cities are typically more liberal, but as i said, it seems these churches are adapting to modern society/politics rather than the other way around, as it should be in my opinion.

I've attended services of several denominations as I've entered adulthood and it seems that all forms of tradition, reverence, or focus on the worship has been lost, at least at the services I've attended. They more so resemble a rock concert than a church service. Several even had little communion packets that you could grab on the way out without even discussing the meaning of the communion during the service.

Fast forward to today, I've initiated the OCIA conversion process three or so months back. Courses don't begin until September, but I've attended mass weekly, and have had sit downs with deacons and other church clergy members. I still am struggling with certain aspects. Historically, I do believe the catholic church was the original church. I do not believe that this means that it's free of error, or that everything the church/popes have said or will say are free of error. Many of the rules the catholic church has implemented were made by man well after the time of Christ, and man can make mistakes unlike Christ. I don't believe that all those Christians outside of the catholic church are wrong in their beliefs and therefore cannot reach salvation. I believe that we all have the same fundamental beliefs and while we do have some differing specific beliefs, almost all Christian denominations are still Christian (LDS, FLDS, Branch Davidians, and a few others are exceptions).

Has anyone else converted from Lutheran/Protestant? I'm wondering what your experiences were for those who have converted, and how you worked through the beliefs of Protestant teachings as you converted. And where your beliefs on Protestantism stands now. Would you ever go back? The catholic church is seeing conversions in droves recently, so I think that speaks to something...

As the title suggests, I'm not trying to get in an argument here. I'd welcome theological debates, but I'm not aiming for an argument. 

So for my background, I was raised in the Lutheran Church (ELCA). Baptized, first communion, and confirmed. My parents separated us from the Lutheran church shortly after my confirmation due to stances liberal social stances the Lutheran church began to take that they didn't agree with. I have different political and personal views regarding these topics than I do religiously - I have the belief that we should follow the Bible as it relates to these things, but politically and personally, so long as another person isn't hurting me or pushing something, hey, whatever makes you happy. 

I was introduced to catholisism in 2013 during a trip to Italy, which included a trip to the Vatican. I was taken aback by the beauty and grandeur of the cathedrals. I attended an Easter mass and was likewise taken aback by the reverence. I dated a catholic girl in college and we frequently attended mass. 

I've not been a member of any church since my parents separated us in the 20-teens, but I've felt myself wanting to grow my faith more than ever in the last several years, and I've felt a particular draw to the catholic church. 

Fast forward to today, I've initiated the OCIA conversion process three or so months back. Courses don't begin until September, but I've attended mass weekly, and have had sit downs with deacons and other church clergy members. I still am struggling with certain aspects that I don't personally see eye to eye on. 

Has anyone else converted from Lutheran/Protestant? I'm wondering what your experiences were for those who have converted, and how you worked through the beliefs of Protestant teachings as you converted. And where your beliefs on Protestantism stands now. Would you ever go back? The catholic church is seeing conversions in droves recently, so I think that speaks to something...

As the title suggests, I'm not trying to get in an argument here. I'd welcome theological debates, but I'm not aiming for an argument.

So for my background, I was raised in the Lutheran Church (ELCA). Baptized, first communion, and confirmed. My parents separated us from the Lutheran church shortly after my confirmation due to stances liberal social stances the Lutheran church began to take that they didn't agree with. Things like openly promoting gay marriage. Having a LGBTQ flag displayed in the sanctuary. Arguing that fornication wasn't all that bad. I have different political and personal views regarding these topics than I do religiously - I have the belief that we should follow the Bible as it relates to these things, but politically and personally, so long as another person isn't hurting me or pushing something, hey, whatever makes you happy.

I was introduced to catholisism in 2013 during a trip to Italy, which included a trip to the Vatican. I was taken aback by the beauty and grandeur of the cathedrals. I attended an Easter mass and was likewise taken aback by the reverence. I dated a catholic girl in college and we frequently attended mass.

I've not been a member of any church since my parents separated us in the 20-teens, but I've felt myself wanting to grow my faith more than ever in the last several years, and I've felt a particular draw to the catholic church. I live in a large city and I'll say that a lot of the Protestant churches seem to be adapting to the modern world rather than us in modern times adapting our lives to live by the Bible. I drive by many of these churches and see the front steps of the churches painted with pride colors. Some of them fly pride flags, or have "love is love" signs in their yards. I understand cities are typically more liberal, but as i said, it seems these churches are adapting to modern society/politics rather than the other way around, as it should be in my opinion.

I've attended services of several denominations as I've entered adulthood and it seems that all forms of tradition, reverence, or focus on the worship has been lost, at least at the services I've attended. They more so resemble a rock concert than a church service. Several even had little communion packets that you could grab on the way out without even discussing the meaning of the communion during the service.

Fast forward to today, I've initiated the OCIA conversion process three or so months back. Courses don't begin until September, but I've attended mass weekly, and have had sit downs with deacons and other church clergy members. I still am struggling with certain aspects. Historically, I do believe the catholic church was the original church. I do not believe that this means that it's free of error, or that everything the church/popes have said or will say are free of error. Many of the rules the catholic church has implemented were made by man well after the time of Christ, and man can make mistakes unlike Christ. I don't believe that all those Christians outside of the catholic church are wrong in their beliefs and therefore cannot reach salvation. I believe that we all have the same fundamental beliefs and while we do have some differing specific beliefs, almost all Christian denominations are still Christian (LDS, FLDS, Branch Davidians, and a few others are exceptions).

Has anyone else converted from Lutheran/Protestant? I'm wondering what your experiences were for those who have converted, and how you worked through the beliefs of Protestant teachings as you converted. And where your beliefs on Protestantism stands now. Would you ever go back? The catholic church is seeing conversions in droves recently, so I think that speaks to something...

I had a formal sit down with one of the Deacons at my parish today as it relates to the stutus my OCIA conversion process.

I'm the father of an infant son. My GF is his mother and, obviously, we aren't married and we also live together. I was raised a Lutheran and was baptized. She was raised Catholic but was NOT baptized. She was previously married - just a courthouse marriage, but my deacon said it's at least a partially reconginzied marriage none-the-less. Her ex husband was baptized (I believe in the Lutheran church) and she's never been baptized as mentioned.

My Deacon was a super friendly and welcoming guy. He was also frank, which I appreciate. He reassured me I can continue with the OCIA process and attend the classes. But in order to reach completion or "confirmation," the church is going to require my GF and I to be married, considering we live together/share a son. And he said in order to do this, she's going to need to have her previous marriage annuled. He said if/once this is done - we could proceed with marriage. To my suprise, he stated that She doesn't even need to be baptized or confirmed a catholic for us to be married. My Deacon said that honestly, annulments are oftentimes NOT granted. But that the church does recognize instances of abuse, physical or emotional. And she was divorced due to this type of instance. Looking over possible grounds for annulment in the pamphlet I was provided, the following were also true: a broken marriage. An extremely short marriage. Marriage at a young age. Pregnancy at time of marriage. And one party believing in the sanctity of marriage more than the other - she believes in lifelong marriage. He did not, he frequently made it clear that he felt it was a joke. And he only signed the marriage paperwork for the financial benefits and for the sake of their unborn son.

What is the likelihood of her being granted an annulment? How long does this typically take?

As a non-preferred follow up for the sake of our son, but a reality none-the-less, I will admit that my GF and I have been on rocky terms lately, to put it best. I'm not even certain she'd be willing to apply for an annulment. And if she doesn't, my assumption is that I'd not be able to reach confirmation to completion, unless we separate. And we've frankly discussed separating several times. For the sake of our son, I hope we can repair our relationship. My Deacon suggested us both meeting with him. He suggested the two of us praying together and engaging in religious study together. But, if we do end up separating, does this change things for me? I'd at that point be a single father living alone.

EDIT: I should make it clear that we haven't already made a decision regarding our relationship or already decided to separate. And it's not a decision I'd make simply because it would then allow me to convert with fewer steps. We certainly want to work things out for the sake of our son growing up in a nuclear family. Things are just rocky at the moment and we've had genuine talks about separating

My almost nine-year-old pug is entering his golden years. He needs to go out more than he ever has before because he can’t control his bladder, he’s beginning to have trouble with stairs, and he’s more gray in his muzzle now than black. He’s been with me basically my entire adult life. I completed college, attended my career’s vocational school, and I adopted him the month after I graduated. Seeing him age and slow down has been increasingly difficult for me and I wonder what Catholics, or the Bible in general, teaches about what happens when our pets “cross the rainbow bridge.” I was raised Lutheran and actively converting, however I don’t remember even Lutherans teaching anything about animals and the afterlife.

The title is more or less a TL;DR, but for context, I was raised in the Lutheran church. Baptized, first communion, and confirmed in the Lutheran denomination. My parents separated my family from the church in the early 20-teens due to some liberal social stances the ELCA Lutheran Church was taking that they didn’t agree with. I’ve not been a member of a church since.

I’ve attended churches of many denominations since then, however I have been drawn to the Catholic Church for a few reasons. I took a trip to Italy in 2013, which included stays in Venice, Florence, Rome, and a day in the Vatican. I remember being taken aback by the beauty, history, and grandeur of the historic cathedrals we visited. We also attended a Mass the Saturday before Easter Sunday. Couldn’t understand a thing, it was all in Latin, but I remember the reverence of the service. As I entered adulthood, I attended mass frequently in college as I was dating a girl who was Catholic. And, as a result of my current profession, I attend services, mostly funerals. I’ve come to the similar conclusions that my parents reached. I feel like a lot of the Protestant denominations, and especially non-denominational churches, put more of a focus on putting on a performance or show than on the worship and the word itself, whereas Catholics are reverent and have a focus on these things. Maybe my viewpoints will change as I get further in the OCIA process, but while I believe the teachings of MOST Protestant and non-denominational churches are flawed, I believe they are still our Christian brothers and sisters and are not “damned.”

I have found myself wanting to grow my faith more than ever in recent years and have felt a particular draw to the Catholic Church. I’ve begun the OCIA process in recent months.

Now here’s where I feel I may have some “obstacles,” if we can call them that. I have an infant son with my GF. I’m a traditionalist and believe in marriage before children, but obviously that didn’t happen for us. We had talked marriage plans before we found out about the pregnancy, but the second we found out, our sole focus and priority in life was, and remains, our child. Any other personal plans or priorities got put on the back burner. We have a son and we live together. My GF also has a son from a prior marriage. They got married AFTER they found out she was pregnant and it was purely a governmental marriage. The church was not involved and it was a courthouse marriage.

Religion became even more important to my GF and I after we had our child. We want him to grow up to be a man of faith. As I’ve begun my OCIA journey, I’ve been reassured by those at my basilica that they will baptize my son, and will baptize anyone (or at least any child), regardless of parental status. I have had a few tell the otherwise. The stepmother to my GF’s son was raised a devout Catholic, however she was told she couldn’t baptize her daughter because she was a divorced single mother. I’ve likewise had a few Catholics, primarily on Reddit, tell me the Catholic Church won’t baptize my son due to our status as a non-married couple. I keep trying to tell myself to listen to what members of my church, including a deacon, told me, but the negative feedback of the few has me worried. I’ve had a few tell me that my GF and I are raising our two boys in a life of scandal and I’ve received a few very discouraging comments.

As for my own conversion, I again have had members of my basilica, including a deacon, tell me that anyone is welcome in the OCIA process and as it relates to the final confirmation, my situation is “unique.” Unique in that, while final confirmation is usually not allowed for non-married individuals who live with a GF/partner, mine is unique in that my GF and I share a son. My deacon said that this fact is grounds for exceptions as it relates to my own conversion. I’ve had those tell me the church will accept me so long as I devote myself to chastity until I’m married. On the other side, I’ve been told that no Catholic Church will accept me so long as I’m living with my GF and we aren’t married. I guess my question relates who what a priest would suggest or say about my current personal and living situation as it relates to my own conversion.

I will likewise admit that our relationship has gotten…rocky since we found out about our son. As I said, our sole focus and priority has been on him and we haven’t prioritized our relationship. We have had many talks about separating. While we hope to avoid this for the sake of our son, I would not be surprised if this did inevitably happen and I guess my follow up to my last question would be if my ability to complete my conversion would be any different as a single father with an infant son, who is not living with anyone else?

Title is more or less a TL;DR, but how do most Catholics view those of us who are stylistically goth or alternative? I’m an ongoing convert, so I’m still settling in, but I will say my parish is very welcoming and doesn’t seem to be judgmental. We have people coming into mass on Sunday in jeans, shorts, and in their Sunday best. I’m the dude who wears all black, a ring on nearly every finger, has pierced ears, and sometimes even have my nails painted. For me it’s strictly a style choice and I think some of the elderly people in the parish may side eye me thinking that black/goth = dark beliefs/satanism, but this couldn’t be further from the truth for me. I’m very religious and just have alternative style choices.

So this one is a lot and a hot topic. But my family and I have recently resumed returning to the church. I was baptized, had first communion, confirmed, and raised in the Lutheran church but have been a non-member of any church for most of my adult life. I took a trip to the Vatican in 2013, which was my first real exposure to Catholicism and have attended mass on and off for the greater period of the last 13 years, while doing a lot of research into Catholicism. I’ve felt the falling to return to a church family, and to Catholicism, in recent years and have begun the OCIA process while also attending weekly mass for quite some time now.

My family had joined (partner and infant son) as I mentioned, however my partner has a son from a previous relationship. We have 50/50 custody of him and he’s with us every other week, Monday - Sunday. His father was raised Lutheran as well, as I understand it, but he refuses to allow us to take his son to Mass or attend any Catholic-sponsored events. We recently went to a fish fry during lent at a parish that isn’t even the one we are becoming members of, and there was absolutely nothing religious promoted at the fish fry other than it literally being hosted by a local Catholic church, and even that resulted in a lot of conflict with my stepson’s dad.

His father works in law enforcement and he works in a crimes against children unit. I work in law enforcement myself, so I fully get his caution and worry as it relates to concerns for his son. His primary gripe with the Catholic Church centers around the history of abuse to young boys. This is something he has said he’ll never be able to move past or overlook. And it is something that I don’t think anyone could argue did take place. I know some popes that weren’t all that long ago (Benedict being a prime example) more or less brushed these acts under the rug and simply transferred the predators to different locations.

How has the Catholic Church overcome this dark period in its history and how can we, as a family, justify our conversion to my stepson’s father? I know recent popes have been very clear about needing to atone for past acts, Pope Leo is big on promoting the unification of all Christians, Catholic or not, which I really love that about him, the Catholic Church has seemed to have gotten a ton better about being a bit more welcoming, and young people such as my family are in current times converting in numbers never before seen. But again, given the fact that these abuses did take place, paired with the fact that my stepson’s father literally works in a unit to prevent these acts, and prosecute those that do, we are in a difficult spot currently.

I made a post yesterday about my family’s church situation. I’m a concerting Catholic and have started the OCIA process. I grew up Lutheran but I feel a lot of the main-line Protestant denominations and certainly non-denominational churches put more of a focus on putting on a performance whereas the Catholic Church is reverent and has more of a focus on the worship and the word. Plus, a lot of these other denominations have gotten very loose on social views. My GF grew up catholic, but had some bad experiences and has been non-denominational for most of her adulthood, at least the last many years. We have an infant son together, and she has a son from a previous relationship that we have 50/50 custody of, with him being with us every other week for the entire week.

I have been open about my desire to comfort, and she was and has been supportive. She recognizes my current obligation is to attend mass weekly, and I also told her I’m soon going to have additional obligations and the OCIA process continues. My work schedule allowed for a recent change which now allows me to attend Sunday morning Mass, weekly (previously I wasn’t able to due to work). As said, She has a son from a prior relationship, and his father won’t allow him to attend Catholic Churches, as he’s a devout Lutheran. So, on weeks we have my stepson, I’ll go to Mass either alone or with my infant son. We will then all as a family go to her non-denominational church late in the morning. Weeks we don’t have my stepson, I’ll again either go to Mass alone, or she’ll sometimes join me.

I’ve asked my deacon who has been the guy kind of “assigned” to me to ask questions as I go through this religious journey, Deacon Ted, his thoughts on attending a non-denominational church. He said there is nothing in and of itself saying it’s not ok or not allowing it per se, so long as I recognize my obligation and priority is on Catholicism and the mass. And so long as I only take the sacraments in the Catholic Church (once I am eventually confirmed). However, he did caution it could lead to some conflict of interest regarding specific beliefs that differ between non-denom and Catholicism, regarding certain relationship views or allowances between the two, and regarding our son. I’m not so much concerned about my son - my GF is on the fence herself about Catholics and herself converting, but she recognizes this was due to her own experience and she’s fully supportive of our son growing up Catholic.