Being a roman catholic, but want to convert to a Baptist.?

By knowing that it is not true.

I'm sorry that those thoughts were put into your mind about not going to heaven etc. because it's not what Catholics really believe. Official Church teaching does not condemn non-Catholics to hell. We believe that only God can judge. I suggest that before you leave, that you take some time to get those thoughts out of our mind by learning what we really believe. http://www.catholic.com/

Not because I'm trying to discourage you from searching for God, but to clear misconceptions and those thoughts out of your mind. Please don't let them bother you, because they aren't true. I'm glad that you've found God and I hope He will guide you and bring you to the truth.

God bless

Hi, I am a Catholic and one of my daughters is married to a Baptist pastor, so I'm pretty familiar with the differences. I will answer your last question first. To become Catholic, you would need to take classes. They're called RCIA. After taking the classes and learning about Catholicism, you might decide you don't want to join and that is okay. I think you'd find them interesting in the least. After that, you would always know exactly what Catholics do and don't believe. There are no indulgences. The top authorities of the church never approved the sale of indulgences. Some priests and bishops in Germany did that during Martin Luther's time as an effort to restore a Cathedral. That stopped many many years ago. The 5th step of the Alcoholics Anonymous program is just like Catholic confession. ( Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs) It seems to work for AA and other groups with addictions. I sometimes go to my daughter's church to hear my son in law preach and I'm very familiar with what they believe. There are some differences among Baptist churches, though. Some are Calvinist and some are not. I also like to do Beth Moore Bible studies and she is Baptist. If you have any specific questions, you are welcome to message me. I don't know where to start. I will say that one difference in the worship would be that a Catholic mass is more "seamless." They move from one thing to another without stopping. In most Protestant churches, there's some stopping in between the hymns or reading. In mass, it moves smoothly from one to another. That's not an important difference, but sometimes Protestants notice that but they can't put their finger on what it is that seems so different. That's it. There's 3 Bible readings (1 old testament, 1 non gospel New Testament reading, and one gospel reading.) A psalm is sung. The Nicene Creed is said. Either the priest or deacon gives a homily. Then there's the collection and preparation for communion.

Hopefully you won't ever get rid of them. That is your gut talking to you. That is the grace of the true faith reaching out to your conscience and telling you not to listen to the lies that the devil has put in your head. You are a baptized Catholic and will die a baptized Catholic and will be judged as one.

I would bet though that you were raised in the Novus Ordo Church which is not really Catholic at all. If you want to become Southern Baptist I would assume that means you are looking for more discipline and strictness. Well look no further than the true Catholic church. The one that was followed by all Catholics before the Second Vatican Council in 1962 made heretical changes to every sacrament, making them all invalid. I beg you to watch this video before you decide to leave the faith completely, and then visit one or two of the websites I am including below. The Latin Mass is what you are yearning for. That's my opinion.

Oh and the church does teach very clearly that no one who dies outside the church will be saved.

Pope Eugene IV, in the Bull Cantate Domino, 1441, who proclaimed ex cathedra: "The Most Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, also Jews, heretics, and schismatics can ever be partakers of eternal life, but that they are to go into the eternal fire 'which was prepared for the devil and his angels' (Mt. 25:41) unless before death they are joined with Her... No one, let his almsgiving be as great as it may, no one, even if he pour out his blood for the Name of Christ can be saved unless they abide within the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church."

ISOC video "What We have lost and the road to restoration"

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-687448261...

I thought (very ironically) that the best take on this came from the South Park movie. There's a scene where people who've just died suddenly appear only to find themselves standing in a field in Hell.

"But I was a strict, faithful Catholic!" One person says. "I was a devout Baptist!" says another. "I was Presbyterian!" chimes in a third.

The demon who was there to greet them responds: "Oooh, sorry. The correct answer was "Mormon."

"Awww..." the crowd grumbles in disappointment.

The point is this: would a just, caring and loving God really create a system where everyone had to just hope that they'd had the good fortune to be born into the "one true religion" in order to get into heaven? That's insane. If there is a God and an afterlife, there have to be many paths to get there.

Treat others with dignity, kindness and generousity, try to leave the world a little better than you found it, and you'll be fine on the whole heaven/salvation thing.

Give it time. RC's are experts in inculcating guilt, but you need to tell yourself it's just an attempt at social control. I have to say that Southern Baptists have their own form of it as well, so if you ever think of leaving them for another tradition you'll have to go through the whole process again. Why not just think for yourself, believe what seems to make sense to you and live as decent and productive a life as you can? No God worth believing in is going to send you to hell for that.

The Bible teaches, specifically the gospels, that if you take God into your heart and believe that he died on the cross for your sins, then you will go to Heaven. If you pray and ask God to forgive you for your sins he will forgive you. You will be washed clean and be born again. That's it. Once you are saved, you will be one of his children and go to be with him once your are not of this world anymore. Read the Gospels and ask your new pastor to help. The Baptist church I grew up in, every Sunday would ask people to come down to the altar to be saved. You can do it on your own by praying on it or do it in church amongst the congregation or privately with your Pastor. God bless.

First of all the Church does not teach that those who are not Catholic will go to hell. She does teach that if you reject the Catholic teaching, understanding that it is the true teaching, you are in danger of hell. But if you truly believe the Catholic Church to be wrong and not the true Church, and you leave with that understanding, you are misguided but that alone will not send you to hell. You must seek God, if that is what you are doing, and you currently believe that the Baptist Church is where you will find God, then you are on that part of your journey.

I was Protestant for most of my life, but in my search for God I found the Catholic faith, the very Church Christ instituted. So, seek God...don't stop no matter what. Never assume you are there.

A baptist church will not judge you like that. Salvation is a free gift accept it. There are no confessions to go to only one and that is to repent. Just start worshiping Jesus and your life will begin to change. You may not even realize the changes until later when you will notice the changes. May God bless you with your new walk in Christ.

Pick up a bible (New King James or King James) and read what it says about going to heaven. If you're going to follow Christian faiths, go to the source of their beliefs rather than those that teach it.

Here is a site specifically for Catholic Christians... you may find more answers here...

http://www.christianforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=...