Yes, but I think the problem comes in more so of they tell you that should read it through their lens with the church and magisterium to get the full or complete or correct meaning. Which this can discourage people from reading on their own. So that’s the issue.
I came into communion with the Catholic Church 17 years ago from a background in evangelicalism. Thank you for recognizing the good and the good people that is still in that movement. They get a lot of undeserved criticism.
Thank you for your thoughtfulness! I am Catholic and deeply appreciate how "alive" many evangelicals are in their faith. I also love many songs that have come out of this tradition. May The Church find true unity again. God bless you!
My orthodox priest told us during catechism not to hate on or disparage our former Christian backgrounds. Protestants love the Bible, and he told us we should keep that same passion for the scriptures. He also had us write down the former doctrines that we held that were correct and the ones that were false, to remind us that not everything we believed before is wrong. This is important because in the passion and fervor of conversion many new converts become too polemical against their former beliefs.
I do appreciate and respect evangelicals reaching out to the lost more often than Catholics, I hope they will come to see the fullness of the fruit of having an authority of the church to correct us when we are off the path - and also appreciate the fullness of tradition and unity.
I converted to Holy Orthodoxy two years ago, it was a joyful event but I did mourn leaving the baptist church and the wider evangelical/charismatic community I had been a part of for the first 57 years of my life. The priest who guided me into Orthodoxy said that there was no need to trash my Christian past but be grateful for all the nourishment and help I received, even though it wasn't ultimately sustaining.
I am studying a lot and will soon start doing theology. I decided that converting to any other tradition of Christianity is a form of schism. If I truly find problems in my denomination I will try for reform as our background is used to. Worst case scenario I get kicked out and then I can look for a new church. I don't think Christians should abandon their churches. If they do that they will just leave those who used to be close to them behind.
When a Christian decides to become a Catholic Christian, the official prayers of the rite include prayers for "the community from which this brother/sister came, that they may continue to spread the gospel". When you were giving your four main things that make an evangelical... All of that applies to Catholics too. To quote Dr. Scott Hahn, "I'm a Bible-Believing, Evangelical, Catholic Christian".
@@Adam-ue2ig It’s quite a curious coincidence since “solemn nonsense” is how I would define every single post of yours, my friend. Pope Francis ACTUALLY said the Catholic Church “evangelizes” instead of “doing proselytism”. Pope Francis even explicitly said that the Church must start the process of evangelism not by trying to convince others, but by giving its joyful testimony (as Our Lord commanded). He even quoted EXPLICITLY the words of Pope Benedict XVI, his very predecessor: _“The Church does not proselytise. It develops rather by attraction”._ I particularly think that’s what truth does best: it moves hearts and intelligences by genuine captivation. The context of the usage of the word “proselytizing”/ “proselytism” in both homilies (one by Pope Benedict XVI, other by Pope Francis) is quite obvious to anyone (but to the moronic American Internet): evangelizing must be an act of mission in love and fidelity, not something built out of a marketing campaign and plan. Unfortunately, that’s precisely the way some Protestant groups (not all, sure) can possibly “grow numbers”, as if they were a worldly business seeking for new costumers and not a heavenly reality administering God’s mysteries on earth. The critique of both pontiffs can indeed be very sharp, since it’s applicable to all Christian groups.
@masterchief8179 Whether you think my posts are nonsense is of no consequence to me...what you have described is not even feasible in many instances we just have minutes or seconds when engaging with folks...we don't have time to do all the things you described in defending Francis.
@masterchief8179 With all due respect...the church is not particularly attractive given all the sundry scandals nor are the lives of quite a few Catholics. My biggest concern is actually the theological disagreements though. As the same kind of criticism could be lobbed at Protestants (even if to a lesser degree).
Dear GS, I was brought up Evangelical but have since become Catholic. I agree with all of what you love about the movement, because I do too. I am grateful for my up bringing because it is how I first met the Carpenter from Galilee and I will always be immensely grateful to this movement. It is my experience that other Evangelicals turned Catholic share my sense of gratitude. I have not encountered bitterness. First: Evangelicals need to stop denying that they are Evangelicals. It comes across as dishonest. And stop with this "it's not a religion its a relationship" nonsense. STOP IT! In Catholic terminology, Evangelicalism is what we would call a "renewal movement" that call mainline Protestants to the four things that you mention. To a 1970s Presbyterian, (or 1970s Catholics like my parents) the freshness and dynamism of the Evangelical message cannot be understated. Seeking the lost can end up in being "seeker friendly" which, as I read in an Evangelical magazine, said it has turned into asking in 10,000 different ways "what is the _least_ your have to do to be a Christian?" I think you can already see the problems this mindset creates. The seeker friendly mindset creates an anti-intellectualism on the ground. Although there are brilliant Evangelical scholars and intellectuals, theology beyond the level of the sinner's prayer becomes taboo in practice (you're scaring away the "seekers"!). It's also come at the expense of discipleship. Next, I am broadly supportive of purity culture and I admire the Evangelical movement's efforts to actually promote holy living in the area of sexuality. Did the movement have it excesses? You betcha! But I note that most "survivors" of purity culture aren't criticizing the excesses, but the very fact of being called to live a biblical sexual morality. Eg, "The pastor told me to delete my Tinder account. Boo hoo I am a victim of spiritual abuse [goes on Ellen]." What I would note, and this is to my fellow Catholics as well, is testimonies from reformed promiscuous folks can back fire. What do I mean? With the best of intentions, having women get up and say "I spend my twenties being extremely promiscuous and then I repented and gave my life to Jesus and Jesus fixed everything and I have a wonderful husband and kids now." Whilst undoubtedly a good news story, it unintentionally communicates between the lines--you can have your 304 phase and repent later. You can have your cake and eat it too. I know, because I imbibed that message in practice. Politics--it's all too easy to make fun of the Reaganite moral majority in the '80s. It is certainly valid to criticize excesses, eg making GOP tax cuts a religious issue. It get it. But the pendulum has swung too far the other way. So perhaps some 90s Evangelicals apostatized because of the idolatry of the GOP. Leadership reacted, and rightly. Lets keep the main moral issues and have freedom on peripheral issues. So far so good. Then it shifts to something like since the GOP youth are pretty much staying with us, we can count on them to stay. We need to try to become "big tent" to keep the DNC oriented youth. Whilst I agree that we need to allow for valid difference of opinion and I don't trust a Christian who wholeheartedly agrees with every single policy of the GOP, pastors started overcorrecting by making left wing talking points central gospel issues. Pastors would stop talking about central moral issues (abortion, sexual holiness), and spend time talking about peripheral issues (such as immigration, or left wing solutions to poverty). Pastors need to stop listening to Millennial threats to leave unless he endorses Joe Biden. In conclusion, Evangelicalism, as a call to greater dynamism, personal conversion, love of scripture, and seeking the lost is still sorely needed in today's Church. It's good fruits are immense and span many denominational lines. Evangelicals who become Catholic, Anglican or Lutheran are a testament to the Evangelical movement. But these concepts have been taken well past their extremes. Personal conversion experience has turned into hyper emotionalism. Seeker friendly has come at the expense of discipleship and have bred an anti intellectualism. Love of scripture has become the very Roman Catholic caricature of sola scriptura--a funny cartoon showed someone staple gunning his own hand with blood dripping down. His friend was telling him he shouldn't do that and he responded by asking what verse of the bible explicitly says we shouldn't staple gun ourselves. I want to see Evangelicalism be its best self and renew America's Churches and wider culture. And as it is not a monolith, I am sure that many pockets are already doing these things.
It takes a strong humility to say the things you admire about those with whom you disagree with. I think all our traditions would all benefit more from acknowledging what we can learn from one another rather than solely focusing on points of disagreement (even if those points are important).
I grew up evangelical and became Catholic last year. I am very grateful to my evangelical upbringing - the passionate fervor for sharing the Gospel, the boldness it takes to do so, and great community! While I loved being evangelical, the Fullness of the Faith is the Catholic Church and Jesus Christ is in the Eucharist. I try to take what I learned from growing up evangelical and apply it to my ministry within the True Church of Christ. I hope all evangelicals come to the same conversion - that would be epic!
I'm a former Evangelical now Catholic. I'm so grateful for my evangelical background for two main reasons: 1.) Deep knowledge of Scripture and 2.) Sense of community with fellow church goers (people don't just rush off after Sunday service, but hang around for social reasons - it was great). I think these are things the Catholics could learn from the Protestants....
1 is false but 2 is true. That’s a legacy of Catholicism being used to being a country wide religion to where many institutions supported Her, and so you don’t have to necessarily only do it all after Mass. but that adjustment is being made
Evangelicals do a great job of being the "lamp on a lampstand" from Matthew 5: 14-16. I believe if we all gave each other grace, (Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, etc.) we could be the great unified "City set on a hill that cannot be hidden."
I think it requires more than grace, unfortunately. A lot of beliefs are truly irreconcilable between all the different groups. To even admit to the other beliefs being acceptable removes the theological foundation of others.
Raised in the evangelical community in South Korea, I found the line between the two churches a bit blur. I love praying the Rosary and holding profound respect for our blessed mother Mary. The church I find most beautiful in Korea is Catholic, with its liturgy emanating elegance and richness, akin to an affluent relative. Despite this, I hold dear my evangelical family for its simplicity and warmth, reminiscent of the early church, even if it gets a bit messy at times, much like my own family.
This video was fantastic. I feel very similarly. Even with a complicated relationship to evangelicalism, it's best to have an attitude of gratitude. Thanks Austin
@@GospelSimplicity Funny how you answer your *own* question, inside the video. Yes Evangelicalism is an *entry* point to many non-Christians.. but is it an *ending* point ? THAT is the issue. People might be tempted by it when they are young and they want something accessible. But then they grow up and want less glamour and more quiet mysticism.
An evangelical with a complex relationship to the movement (and a current practitioner in mainline protestantism) helped pray me back to the Catholic Church of my birth. I love to pray with them. I admire the dirty-hands Christianity they often espouse. I love their love for Sacred Scripture, even if they read it differently from me. They make me want to work harder for the kingdom, as a Catholic. I thank God for my protestant brethren
Thank you for making this video! In a culture where it's cool to bash Evangelicalism, I hope Christians of all sorts can come to appreciate some of the beautiful parts of it. My personal favorite thing about evangelicalism is the culture of seeking the lost and missions.
Well said, and even refreshingly humble, and honest. I, too, was raised in the buckle of the Bible belt, quite fundamentalist evangelical in the Evangelical Covenant church, but when I was 33, (after about seven years of searching ) I converted to Catholicism. Now I am in the religious life as a Catholic, as a third order Secular Franciscan, and still a minister of my fraternity. And I learned how to be a minister, and, pray extemporaneously and easily share my faith and lead Bible study from my evangelical upbringing. I learned some of that in my years at Moody Bible Institute. And yes, I see the Catholic Church from Pope Francis on down, becoming steadily, more and more evangelical, honestly. Hope to be part of the eventual reunification, which I think has to happen eventually -please God!
My husband and I converted to Orthodoxy last year. I have a mixed anabaptist and evangelical background. Although I think we made the right choice and are very happy with where we are at, I do miss parts of my cultural and religious background (mostly the anabaptist part- music, super strong community) and am incredibly grateful for my private christian school education. Rather than criticizing my past, I view much of my current experience as the fulfillment (or at least initial fruit) of the seed planted in youth. I'm privileged to be a part of Orthodox communities that have a lot of protestant converts and I've noticed these people jump in quickly to add these evangelical elements to the Orthodox church (more outreach, Bible study, etc). Perhaps rather than viewing these types of conversions as a 180 degree swing, we should view them as a re-orientation to the left/right to avoid the tendency to swing completely away from the past. Thanks for your video!
My wife and I have a very similar experience. Anabaptist, then Evangelical, then Orthodoxy several mo ths ago. Except in our case our Orthodox parish has much stronger community than our anabaptist church had. (And that's saying something, because the community at the anabaptist church was quite strong.) So maybe this is dependent on the anabaptist church and on the Orthodox parish.
@@stevenjames6830 you traded the gospel for a cultural obsession with law and court cases. Your entire understanding of the cross was invented in the 16th century by a lawyer. I'll stick with what the early church believed about Christ and about scripture over the musings of a 16th century dictator.
Im orthodox wife is pentecostal. What i can say more i attend pentecostal church more i get depressed. More i go orthodox oh man. Healing of the whole body spiritually is not of this world
I'm sorry brother. I was in your shoes years ago. I quit going to the Pentecostal Church. My wife was mad, and she threw a temper tantrum. For about 6 months I think she hated me, but in the end she became Orthodox. Blessings in Christ.
Born Lutheran, became Catholic in my 40s after having witnessed the chaos the reformation caused in Africa, where I live now. Wasn't an easy journey, never thought it to be a possibility to become Catholic. One thing about the Catholic Church: most Catholics, especially the more "traditional" ones are not aware at all of the reasons for the reformation, that the Church actually was quite corrupt. This willful ignorance is part of the problem in the Catholic Church I think, willful ignorance and in a way arrogance, that's why they hate the idea of Ecumenism and they hate Vatican 2. We are probably moving towards another schism in the Catholic Church and it's painful to watch.
This is probably the most radical video you could make these days. Please make a follow-up about some specifics where evangelicalism can course correct. A common testimony I hear: "I grew up in X church and never heard the gospel. I left my faith. I encountered an evangelical person who invited me to church. I heard the gospel and was converted. I left evangelicalism and rejoined my old church or another church." Evangelicals are out there sharing the gospel with your laity who left...
@@catholicconvert2119 I would happily convert tomorrow if there weren't so many innovations to core aspects of Christian belief and practice in Catholicism and Orthodoxy. They have a strong historical claim until you reach the first couple centuries...
@@pigetstuck The problem with that is once you decide you can’t trust the main direction of the religion you have to become the judge and critic. And here’s the thing once you do that there is no logical endpoint. Instead of being a sheep accepting in faith, your basic posture becomes one of being a critic. Many laity Protestants escape this by accepting their pastor as Pope in effect. But that merely gives him an authority level that is internally incoherent and that he himself doesn’t claim. Once you really understand what the Reformation means you keep noticing little things you study German higher criticism you study scholarship which is all about picking apart the Bible, and you become an atheist as I did. Then you embrace atheism and wokeism. Then you realize how horrible the world our beliefs are creating is and you have to rethink. And that’s where you return to tradition. I can see a case for both Orthodox and Catholic but Catholic is the most coherent logic. Catholicism must be true because the only future of Western civilization after that is death
@@catholicconvert2119 We agree that Christ teachings and the apostolic teachings are the bullseye, right? And that any later traditions or teachings that contradict those or add elements to the gospel are to be avoided... right?
@@pigetstuck No, I don’t see it that way. The Church is Christ’s Body, anything that develops from the Church is good and to be accepted. I don’t see a separation from back then and now to me it’s all One
I do think Evangelicalism caters to extroverts- which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Extroverts need Jesus too. I don't know how much introverts tend to have a place in Evangelical churches and how much of it speaks their language, though I don't know if extroverts can feel the same way in more traditional and liturgical churches (I honestly don't know). People go to what speaks to them and it does seem that Evangelicalism has a broad appeal.
If it wasn't for an evangelical i would never have found Christ in fact I knew very little. I don't think anybody brings people to Christ as much as evangelicals. I think they will always be there because Jesus uses them and he will always make sure he refreshes them.
Regarding the people who show disdain for their Evangelical background when they are converting to other strands of Christianity, that may well be just a natural and temporary phase that's sometimes psychologically needed to make the transition; I think I experienced that in other things.. But later they may come to appreciate their Evangelical roots again, I mean the good and positive things that they have received and can always draw from. I love Catholic converts from Evangelicalism they have something interesting about the way they talk about faith,.. it's sometimes expressed as "talking Catholic with and Evangelical accent".
No, evangelicalism is deeply cringeworthy in a way that persists. It’s a deeply false belief because its wolves 🐺 running a business to fleece the sheep 🐑
I first came to Christ through an evangelical church’s college ministry. It was a good starting point. As an ex evangelical now I’m not bitter towards it, it was a good place to be as a “baby Christian”, but ultimately I left because the denomination I was a part of was very focused on growth and didn’t have much to offer for helping you grow in your faith.
Thank you so much for this video Austin. It's so easy to feel attacked, or even forget the blessings of your own stance on Christian practice as a Protestant today. Thank you for stating how I feel about it too! I am so thankful for the Evangelical way of presenting Christ to me, because I think if I started in a more traditional form of Christianity, I wouldn't really believe he truly loves me, I wouldn't know him so sweetly as I do now. I also have criticisms of Evangelicalism and I'm still a Protestant. God bless you man! Keep being faithful to Christ, wherever he leads you!
I came to the faith through United Methodism which occupies a weird spot of not really fitting with Evangelicalism or the rest of Protestantism but being something in between (though I would say it's more evangelical than not). I will always look back on my Methodist upbringing fondly, I will always have deep respect for the Wesley brothers and what they were trying to accomplish. When anyone comes to the faith through a doorway that they connect with and that sanctifies their soul, That's a win. Where my biggest issue with Evangelicalism today is, us in the way many in my experience, treat their Catholic and Orthodox brothers and sisters, that is to say the way many of them won't claim us and instead of looking outward to those who hunger and thirst for Christ but don't know where to start, they spend far too much time telling us we're not "real" Christians, and trying to figure out how to make us like them.
I was born into a nominal Eastern Orthodox family but it's because of evangelicals that I was drawn to learn more about Christianity. I have since been slowly turning back to Orthodoxy and I have the sense that God is working towards bringing true believers of denominations back to one united faith.
I too was born into Eastern Orthodoxy, but never knew what the faith truly was. I learned about Christianity through evangelicals and felt that I was a born again Christian. I am grateful for my evangelical brothers and sisters in Christ whom have stayed steadfast and firm in their beliefs, though I do feel that they are missing out on the fullness of the faith!
As an evangelical Bible college grad myself (now Orthodox): I don’t think evangelicals and Traditional Christians don’t have the same idea, remotely, of what “the faith” means. We look back on evangelicalism with disdain because it’s the Christian equivalent of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Christianity is a culture. Respect it.
@mousakandah5188 It is our orthopraxy in loving our neighbors (especially in sharing Christ) and loving God that the best of evangelicalism shines forth and Christ's Sacred Heart contained in His Greatest Commandment is expressed. While many of us do miss out on the beauty of the Sacraments, God's extra Sacramental Grace is evident in so many of our lives. While we often indeed go too far in correcting the corruption of the 16th century Catholic church, the heart of Orthodoxy is still here
I am Orthodox but you cannot deny that their love for reaching the lost is deep and that is to be admired and copied even. I do not know many Orthodox going into countries anymore seeking the lost. We have not done that for centuries.
Austin, as a cradle Catholic from Central Europe who engages a lot with Evangelicals from the US and elsewhere online (and I don't mean discussions/debates/apologetics but praying and fellowshiping together) this was extremely good! You formulated some of the things that I really love about the Evangelical spirit as well.. I have learned much from Evangelicals and I think there is much to get inspired by although I wouldn't become one because I'm deeply rooted in my faith and Church and I can see that we could have everything good that Evangelicals have if we just let ourselves be a bit inspired by them ❤ Thank you also because I have been very troubled by some of the differences lately and esp. the ubiquitous anti-Catholicism which partly is, first of all, our own Catholic fault for not being what we should be and not living our faith properly, partly it's just misconceptions or misrepresentations to utter lies. You helped me to look at the better side of things again ❤
I think part of it is indeed misconceptions. But part of it is just straight up disagreement. Evangelicals will never agree on the authority of the Pope. They have wildly different ideas about baptism, the Eucharist, etc. I try to be optimistic but these are legitimate disagreements and differences that are hard to iron out.
@@countryboyred yes that's OK if it's disagreements. What I have a hard time with is prejudices, dishonesty, and the like. That is not too charitable for Christians.
@@barborazajacova7633They are from the devil ultimately. Don’t seek unity where there is none. They have to come over to us we don’t go to them. What they have is a lump of coal
My Mom asked if we could go to a megachurch on Sunday. I said, "Let's go. They're really lovely and worth seeing," but we didn't find the time at Thanksgiving. But next time, we're definitely going!
Mega churches are demonic. They are run for profit by businessmen. They are absolutely not of Jesus, and Jesus absolutely denounces what they stand for. I honestly think you are more likely to find Jesus anywhere else. You are probably more likely to find Jesus in a mosque or a Hindu temple than a mega church. Why? Because at least those may be run by people actually seeking God. Mega churches absolutely are not
You speak well here. I moved out of Evangelicalism and into the Orthodox church "before it was cool" (before it seemed to be everywhere in the culture), and I did so because there I found Christ alive in a way I never could in Evangelical contexts that seemed to veer between emotionalism and over-intellectualism. But in meeting Christ there, I was also able to recapitulate everything that brought me to Christ in the first place - my early childhood when my parents were Methodist, their walking away from church entirely for years, my own being brought back to the beginnings of faith in Christ by a godly Evangelical chaplain of a group I was in in college. In short, seeing Christ fully in the East has better revealed how I saw glimmers of Christ along the way - and that makes it much easier to see Christ in my fellow Christians. I deal somewhat with the young inquirers we have in church now, and I try to emphasize with them that while yes, Orthodoxy has deep foundations, if you're not here for Christ, if you're not here to pick up your cross, then you'll still not be satisfied here.
Hi, i have a curious question about your own faith since i myself am catholic. What type of protestant are you? I have understood there are different types of protestants and i would like to know if you are baptist? Reformert? Nondenominational? Thank you for your great videos
Hmmm... I'm not sure if those four marks you mentioned really do the trick. For each one you had to give the proviso that other groups would lay claim to that descriptor as well. I think those four descriptions could just as easily apply to a Lutheran, a Calvinist, a Catholic... so on. If I were to give a definition, I'd somewhat jokingly say, "An Evangelical is a Baptist who is nicer and whose Church has a worship band." And honestly, my serious definition wouldn't be all that different.
I don’t think they’re exhaustive either, but they’re pretty much the standard working definition you’ll find. If anyone has a more complete definition though I’m all ears
@@GospelSimplicity : I'd want to focus on certain common theological tenets - like being mostly non-sacramental and believing in once-saved-always-saved. Then I'd want to cover various cultural elements like being non-liturgical, and embracing more modern forms of worship music. And also being more "seeker focused" by having a more open-door membership concept. As I said, my somewhat humorous summation is: "Nicer baptists with worship bands." I'd like to hear you take a stab at it!
@@actsapologist1991I think the difficult thing is that Evangelicalism is cross-denominational and lacks a common confession, so you’re left with areas of focus but nothing concrete. There very well could be Evangelical Lutherans, Anglicans etc (for instance, at Moody, which many would consider a flagship Evangelical school, we had Lutheran and Anglican professors who were sacramental and liturgical yet still fit within the broad umbrella). If I were to outdo Bebbington, I’d have to put some more thought into it
Evangelicalism is putting Jesus logo over the secular world. This is a gospel that has a form of godliness but denies its power. As such it’s a total dead end. The only good thing I have seen about it is I do know a man, a man chewed up by the world, who was introduced to Jesus in some form that way. And I think I saw something there. But it’s one of the most flawed vehicles possible. Is it absolutely purely evil ? No. But it’s filled with heresies and lies and doesn’t need to be a thing anyone remains in
Last thing I want to point out, acting ‘folksy’ has nothing to do with being a Christian. Evangelicalism is embracing of Protestant folk culture vibes while being run by con artist businessmen. That’s what it is.
Here is a thought exercise, Suppose you are very thirsty and someone offers you a nice cup of refreshing cold water, but before you drink it. He says "this water contains
im from a catholic country, assisted church as a child and a catholic school till i graduated, but NEVER heard the gospel until i bc of the Holy Spirit read the Bible by myself in my room. sure, emotionalism and a lack of historic beauty is a problem in evangelicals (im reformed now) but i have NEVER seen, nor in catholicism or in very reformed spaces, the ZEAL evangelicals have for the gospel and for Jesus alone.
I strongly believe that Evangelicals and protestants in general have good and positive aspects. My quandary is how do we get Evangelicals to stop being so caustic or even hateful towards Catholics and Orthodox. Somehow, as the body of Christ we need to learn to approach each other with respect recognizing the dignity of all. Walking around be accusers of others is the work of Satan, and not the work of the spirit. While all have members who are at fault with this behavior, but the majority of Catholics truly want to figure a way to bring unity to the church, you don't see Catholics making horrible accusatory statements about a other communities faith. Evangelicals need to figure out how to have a universal understanding of scripture, otherwise confusion and division will remain. It is not going to be easy to reconcile these things.
While I totally agree evangelicals have a varied identity butI don’t think they should seek Essence and identity by trashing Catholics. I was raised Catholic but in a strong Mexican American evangelical setting as my my immediate cousins are evangelical ministers with the largest Hispanic mega church. My mom had me raised Catholic as if to say to my dad’s family.. “take that!”. I was this very devout goody, goody catholic twit. This naturally attracted anti catholic vibes and comments from my evangelical family. My cousin who was attending fuller seminary told me I was going to hell just because I was catholic kid. This affected and hurt me for huge number of years after. .Well I’m sick of this crap of rapid anti catholic garbage. Now here at my senior center we have one of the largest evangelical groups in the US (mariners church) ministering. It’s 1:56 amazing that I get this same hostility, snide remarks, under stated statements meant to undermine my take on Christ. I don’t believe Christian communities should try to strengthen their faith by undermining other Christians. I’m not the only catholic at my senior center. I’ve spoken to them about this. Basically there is a huge misunderstood idea that Catholics don’t read the Bible. It’s a damn lie! We read lots of it! Plus, there is a basic ignorance among evangelicals that the holy Eucharist is just a matter of belief. Real stupid! Catholics and orthodox live closely with Christ via bible readings and the life of Jesus in us via the Holy Eucharist. What do you think? Of course I get offended by these evangelicals that think my exposure to the Bible is not adequate and in fact demented. Sick of this nonsense. Sorry; but this topic is a three point landing on a nerve.
You make a beautiful point about loving where you came from. I grew up Jehovah's Witness, and one of the things I think is nonsensical about them is how they reject the whole history of the church. JWs wouldn't exist if it wasn't for previous generations of Christians preserving the Bible and passing it down! But lest I fall for my own critique, I can say I appreciate JWs for thoroughly teaching me the Bible stories. It's thanks to the Bible stories in my heart that I eventually found a home in holy Orthodoxy.
Growing up with lots of Evangelicals and Reformed friends, I had a bit of reflex to anything non Catholic. As I studied the faith of the Evangelicals further I found zeal, love for Christ, excellent evangelization, and a great community. Although misguided in their theology, they do truly attempt to follow the Bible and their faith as seriously as possible. I also realized that Evangelicals are more orthodox than we like to think. However, I do believe that Evangelicalism has too many fundamental issues for me to consider it to be true. I wouldn’t call it false but simply there are more true options. Finally, I tell my evangelical friends that you don’t have to stop being an evangelical to start being Catholic. From the rise of Charismatic Catholicism, incorporating praise and worship with Eucharistic adoration to the extensive Biblical scholarship Catholicism is very evangelical. Simply put, Evangelicals make the best Catholics.
As A Catholic I'd experienced much hostility from Evangelicals Some were unkind, hostile and rude, not to mention uncharitable. Then cane the " threats" Join Our sect or God will be angry with you.... A person should radiate Christ if they're a Christian.. A person should Be a Christ For others Mercy, Grace, Peace, Love I'd not received Any of this from Evangelicals. It's almost like they're saying God loves Evangelical Protestants exclusively! Where does it say THAT IN THE Bible?? God is the Philanthropos " Infinite Love For Humanity" God wants Everyone to come to Salvation, NOT JUST Protestants! Why Then do Evangelicals act as if they Own a Monopoly on God and Faith?? Someone had even spray painted the words HATE MONGERS over an Evangelical preacher. Bring Christ to people with Love not Hate.
I’m so sorry you felt that from Prots. I’m very sorry. That’s not kind of them and comes from evil within individuals that need to work on that. I can say the same about Catholics treating evengelicals thougj, not to shoot you down, but to bring up that both sides need to stop fighting.
I grew up Baptist, so pretty close to Evangelicism, but I don't think I ever even heard the term "Evangelical" until I went to college. I'm going to drop a completely hot take here: Evangelicals are the best Christians in the last few centuries. I think everybody loves hating on Evangelicals because Satan is really good at arousing disdain for what is most excellent. The truth is, Evangelicals love God. They love Jesus, and they love the Bible. People do not realize it, but Evangelicals are often quite good at resisting propaganda. In the 70s and 80s when Republicans controlled the media, Evangelicals were liberal. Now that Democrats control the media, they tend to lean conservative. But truth be told, Evangelicals did not change positions; they are more centralists than people realize. It has really only been since Trump that Evangelicals became sold-out to the conservative party, and even still, they tend to be far more willing to admit the faults of the their party than most other people. And compared to Baptists and Calvinists especially, Evangelicals have had a very light allegiance to Republicans. It seems to me that the first propaganda campaign to really capture Evangelicals' attention was Young-Earth Creationism. No surprise that this was successful, as it's rallying cry was, "Those people are misusing science to disprove the Bible with Evolution!" Even still, Evangelicals have been more charitable to science than Baptists. But no, Evangelicals are fantastic people. They are so charitable to other people. Whereas I've seen my Baptist Church drive a repented homosexual from the congregation, I saw Evangelicals love homosexuals while being unwavering on the Biblical stance on sexuality. Whereas I've seen Baptists preach hellfire to women who have had an abortion, I've seen Evangelicals raise funds and counsel to help young women with the fear of unplanned pregnancy. And unlike Catholics who try to cover up when priests are caught in a sex scandal, I've seen Evangelicals promote organizations to vet church leaders for such concerns. Evangelicals may be misguided at times, but more than any other Christian denomination that I've ever read about in history, they apply the first two commands of Jesus really sincerely: Love God, love your neighbor.
I reverted to Catholicism through evangelical Christians. I am grateful to them but I distinctly remember how they and other Protestant groups I looked into eventually seemed ‘lite’ or shallow versus the incredible depth and richness of Catholicism. They definitely have parts of the Truth, but the fullness of the Truth is definitely Catholicism.
@@stevenjames6830we can fix the pope you can’t fix evangelicalism is the thing. There’s a possibility of fixing things if you’re a Catholic there’s no possibility of it ever happening as an Evangelical
I'm a cradle Catholic, but i agree with a lot of your points here. Even though i feel Catholicism is the fulness Christianity has to offer, i also think it's too esoteric of a religion to evangize someone from scratch (at least in this day and age). For my friends who are in need of Christ, i tend to point them in the evangelical direction. Once they have a foundation, i can work on them from there 😂
@@TreeCurtis84You are in the wrong. Don’t point someone to evangelicalism. You should go to confession for that if you have not. We are to build Christ’s Church not feed people to the wolves. 🐺 and yes they are wolves. I’m sorry if you’re ignorant of it but the spirit they have is not of Christ. I was raised that way and the more I followed their teachings the worse of a person I became. Compared to when as a Catholic it’s the reverse. Do not lead souls astray. People may find it difficult to understand the Church but you leave teaching to Her! She will adapt things for them. It’s so wrong of you to lead people towards death. 💀 You should be ashamed of yourself. I hope you made the mistake honestly but never do it again
@@GospelSimplicityIt’s the opposite. It’s the last stage before full secularism and atheism. It’s a decay process as the religion dies in the West. If you can’t see what a decline and what clownery the people descend to without shepherds then I don’t know what to tell you. Embracing evangelicalism is similar to fat acceptance or other movements where people give up the standard because it’s hard to achieve and instead lower the bar. I pray to see the revival of the Church in my time. But even if not I must stand by Her until the end. Debasing the Gospel is not an option and doesn’t reach people and doesn’t either lead places. Wrong thinking will not down the line lead to right action. It’s a complete wrong direction that no one should waste their time on. God made you to strive for goodness
@catholicconvert2119 My friend, when someone is suffering, has no idea who Jesus is, hates the Catholic Church, is not making any headway with me, but the friendly neighborhood evangelicals are knocking at the door for them to join in their bible study - then yeah, that's better than the path their on. I make no apologies, I confess no sin.
Zionism is their religion, but i suppose cutting out the entirety of Christianity and worshipping a book that talks about Israel a lot would confuse people.
….? And evangelical and can tell you I am NOT a Zionist, and know plenty of others like me. You can be against us but let’s be kind and if we are to talk about either side being right or wrong to do so with nuance, humility and understanding. Saying we worship isreal is like somone saying a catholic worships Mary. It’s just causes fights and anger.
I am a Catholic. I see Catholicism as the universal “hive” of Christianity, with Evangelicals being the “worker bees.” We are all together in this, and I love my Evangelical brethren. We have so much to learn from them! One of my best college friends was an Evangelical and made me a better, more evangelical, Bible loving Catholic!
To me, Evangelical Protestant always seemed like an exclusive club... kind of like a country club and that's how many of them view Heaven... John 3 says that God so loved the world... It doesn't mention exclusivity...in Any sense. Evangelicals act as if They Alone Own a monopoly on Faith and God.. ( The Pharisees did the same thing, in their day) There are people down in the " bible belt" who are antisemitic and who hate Catholics and Orthodox... ( mostly because of prejudice) American Evangelicalism has, bu and large, received a bad rep. That's because of the " mega churches" and " celebrity pastors" This is not to say All Protestants are like that. I have heard some Protestants say they'd learned something from Catholics and vice versa
You are absolutely right. They have that big smile pasted on their face while they gleefully pat themselves on the back for going to heaven because they did this legal deal with God over Jesus meantime they are fine if they sin and don’t become holy (but on the other hand don’t do certain sexual sins because then you’re OUT it’s not explained how when they already said you don’t go by the law ) I find nothing almost redeeming in evangelical culture and little of the message of Christ is there
This 100%. I've never looked back. Almost became Catholic, but the sanctimoniousness there is even worse than Evangelicals, and there were some core doctrinal issues I really disagreed with.
Thank you for making this video, I am also evangelical and at one point I was debating on converting to orthodoxy or catholicism. Love the traditions of both faiths, so beautiful and rich. But I decided to stay protestant evangelical because of how dedicated we are to the great commission. If I truly believe my faith is the true path to God then I should live by it.
Jennifer, the Great Commission is fulfilled by being a Catholic. You can’t bring people into the Body while standing outside yourself. There’s no good to be accomplished there
Looking through comments - for statistics: I am leaving Catholicism and discerning which compromise to make - join historic or Evangelical protestantism. Theologically I am closer to historic denominations though more social factors lead me rather to join an evangelical church. God bless
You better remain Catholic. Protestantism is a scam and a fraud. It’s just a big lie where you get to not improve as a person while patting yourself on the back for being not one of those dirty sinners - meantime your doctrine says you actually don’t improve and remain a sinner - but somehow still get to look down on the sinner. I can tell you every reason why not to become a Protestant. The evangelicals are a scam run for profit by businessmen - did you know that ? Oh man I can go on and on, all it is is putting a Jesus logo on a corporation for money. How can anyone believe that ?? It’s opposite of what Jesus wants
It is easy to identify where one disagrees with the teaching or practices in another Christian tradition - and, in fact, where some teaching or practice even directly contradicts Scripture or tradition (we see such disagreements even in the two traditions that claim a monopoly on tradition). I find strengths and weaknesses in each tradition. I have found that anyone who was raised in an evangelical church knows more from the Bible than many deacons and even priests in one of the traditional churches with traditional liturgies. This is not a small thing, and cannot be dismissed. It is a strength in evangelicals (and in many protestant traditions generally) and a weakness elsewhere.
The devil knows the whole Bible too. Evangelicals have a total lack of comprehension of what any of the Bible means honestly. I was going to say except they understand Jesus is God and man, except then I realized many of them don’t understand it. The value of ‘knowing’ the Bible is limited when you understand none of it
You better return to Catholicism. Calvinism is a lie, a huge lie. The reason is the next step for a Calvinist who is intellectually honest is to become a Deist, and then an atheist. I can easily walk you through how you can’t justify Calvinism as the stopping point for your skepticism you applied to your Catholic tradition. The same methods of deconstruction you apply to Catholic tradition should also be applied to the Bible, leading you to reject the Bible as there’s no more reason to trust the Bible than there is to trust Catholic tradition. It’s deeply intellectually dishonest to remain a Calvinist because you want to cling to a patina of God while effectively denying the supernatural and effectively already being atheist. I could say a lot about this. But bottom line either believe God as a Catholic and embrace the actual Church, or become what you already made moves towards and be full atheist
This is built on a false premise, one can simply look at research on different denominations in the retention rate. Evangelicals literally have the highest retention rate all the other denominations have lower retention rates, and people are more likely to be evangelical from another denomination then vice versa
That being said, evangelicals are largely non-denominational protestants however, all Christians have use the term evangelical in their history. Lutherans called them selves this, but were branded Lutheran by the Catholics
@@stevenjames6830evangelical is just a stage in the decay of Christianity down to the super dumb level where it’s sold and packaged for profit. I would never accept it for a moment because it’s such a manifest lie
I practice Catholicism now but because of my pentecostal / evangelical experience, they taught me to love reading the Bible.
Yes, but I think the problem comes in more so of they tell you that should read it through their lens with the church and magisterium to get the full or complete or correct meaning. Which this can discourage people from reading on their own. So that’s the issue.
I came into communion with the Catholic Church 17 years ago from a background in evangelicalism. Thank you for recognizing the good and the good people that is still in that movement. They get a lot of undeserved criticism.
Thank you. I am Catholic but I needed to hear this. So much grace.
Thank you for your thoughtfulness! I am Catholic and deeply appreciate how "alive" many evangelicals are in their faith. I also love many songs that have come out of this tradition. May The Church find true unity again. God bless you!
My orthodox priest told us during catechism not to hate on or disparage our former Christian backgrounds. Protestants love the Bible, and he told us we should keep that same passion for the scriptures. He also had us write down the former doctrines that we held that were correct and the ones that were false, to remind us that not everything we believed before is wrong. This is important because in the passion and fervor of conversion many new converts become too polemical against their former beliefs.
To some degree that’s me, I abhor the lies of American Protestantism
I do appreciate and respect evangelicals reaching out to the lost more often than Catholics, I hope they will come to see the fullness of the fruit of having an authority of the church to correct us when we are off the path - and also appreciate the fullness of tradition and unity.
I converted to Holy Orthodoxy two years ago, it was a joyful event but I did mourn leaving the baptist church and the wider evangelical/charismatic community I had been a part of for the first 57 years of my life. The priest who guided me into Orthodoxy said that there was no need to trash my Christian past but be grateful for all the nourishment and help I received, even though it wasn't ultimately sustaining.
I am studying a lot and will soon start doing theology. I decided that converting to any other tradition of Christianity is a form of schism. If I truly find problems in my denomination I will try for reform as our background is used to. Worst case scenario I get kicked out and then I can look for a new church. I don't think Christians should abandon their churches. If they do that they will just leave those who used to be close to them behind.
When a Christian decides to become a Catholic Christian, the official prayers of the rite include prayers for "the community from which this brother/sister came, that they may continue to spread the gospel". When you were giving your four main things that make an evangelical... All of that applies to Catholics too. To quote Dr. Scott Hahn, "I'm a Bible-Believing, Evangelical, Catholic Christian".
I wasn’t aware of that part of the rite. I love that
Francis says proselytism is solemn nonsense.
@@Adam-ue2ig It’s quite a curious coincidence since “solemn nonsense” is how I would define every single post of yours, my friend.
Pope Francis ACTUALLY said the Catholic Church “evangelizes” instead of “doing proselytism”. Pope Francis even explicitly said that the Church must start the process of evangelism not by trying to convince others, but by giving its joyful testimony (as Our Lord commanded). He even quoted EXPLICITLY the words of Pope Benedict XVI, his very predecessor: _“The Church does not proselytise. It develops rather by attraction”._ I particularly think that’s what truth does best: it moves hearts and intelligences by genuine captivation.
The context of the usage of the word “proselytizing”/ “proselytism” in both homilies (one by Pope Benedict XVI, other by Pope Francis) is quite obvious to anyone (but to the moronic American Internet): evangelizing must be an act of mission in love and fidelity, not something built out of a marketing campaign and plan. Unfortunately, that’s precisely the way some Protestant groups (not all, sure) can possibly “grow numbers”, as if they were a worldly business seeking for new costumers and not a heavenly reality administering God’s mysteries on earth. The critique of both pontiffs can indeed be very sharp, since it’s applicable to all Christian groups.
@masterchief8179 Whether you think my posts are nonsense is of no consequence to me...what you have described is not even feasible in many instances we just have minutes or seconds when engaging with folks...we don't have time to do all the things you described in defending Francis.
@masterchief8179 With all due respect...the church is not particularly attractive given all the sundry scandals nor are the lives of quite a few Catholics. My biggest concern is actually the theological disagreements though. As the same kind of criticism could be lobbed at Protestants (even if to a lesser degree).
Really appreciated this video, there is lots of beauty in the good parts of evangelicalism.
Dear GS, I was brought up Evangelical but have since become Catholic. I agree with all of what you love about the movement, because I do too. I am grateful for my up bringing because it is how I first met the Carpenter from Galilee and I will always be immensely grateful to this movement. It is my experience that other Evangelicals turned Catholic share my sense of gratitude. I have not encountered bitterness.
First: Evangelicals need to stop denying that they are Evangelicals. It comes across as dishonest. And stop with this "it's not a religion its a relationship" nonsense. STOP IT!
In Catholic terminology, Evangelicalism is what we would call a "renewal movement" that call mainline Protestants to the four things that you mention. To a 1970s Presbyterian, (or 1970s Catholics like my parents) the freshness and dynamism of the Evangelical message cannot be understated. Seeking the lost can end up in being "seeker friendly" which, as I read in an Evangelical magazine, said it has turned into asking in 10,000 different ways "what is the _least_ your have to do to be a Christian?" I think you can already see the problems this mindset creates. The seeker friendly mindset creates an anti-intellectualism on the ground. Although there are brilliant Evangelical scholars and intellectuals, theology beyond the level of the sinner's prayer becomes taboo in practice (you're scaring away the "seekers"!). It's also come at the expense of discipleship.
Next, I am broadly supportive of purity culture and I admire the Evangelical movement's efforts to actually promote holy living in the area of sexuality. Did the movement have it excesses? You betcha! But I note that most "survivors" of purity culture aren't criticizing the excesses, but the very fact of being called to live a biblical sexual morality. Eg, "The pastor told me to delete my Tinder account. Boo hoo I am a victim of spiritual abuse [goes on Ellen]." What I would note, and this is to my fellow Catholics as well, is testimonies from reformed promiscuous folks can back fire. What do I mean? With the best of intentions, having women get up and say "I spend my twenties being extremely promiscuous and then I repented and gave my life to Jesus and Jesus fixed everything and I have a wonderful husband and kids now." Whilst undoubtedly a good news story, it unintentionally communicates between the lines--you can have your 304 phase and repent later. You can have your cake and eat it too. I know, because I imbibed that message in practice.
Politics--it's all too easy to make fun of the Reaganite moral majority in the '80s. It is certainly valid to criticize excesses, eg making GOP tax cuts a religious issue. It get it. But the pendulum has swung too far the other way. So perhaps some 90s Evangelicals apostatized because of the idolatry of the GOP. Leadership reacted, and rightly. Lets keep the main moral issues and have freedom on peripheral issues. So far so good. Then it shifts to something like since the GOP youth are pretty much staying with us, we can count on them to stay. We need to try to become "big tent" to keep the DNC oriented youth. Whilst I agree that we need to allow for valid difference of opinion and I don't trust a Christian who wholeheartedly agrees with every single policy of the GOP, pastors started overcorrecting by making left wing talking points central gospel issues. Pastors would stop talking about central moral issues (abortion, sexual holiness), and spend time talking about peripheral issues (such as immigration, or left wing solutions to poverty). Pastors need to stop listening to Millennial threats to leave unless he endorses Joe Biden.
In conclusion, Evangelicalism, as a call to greater dynamism, personal conversion, love of scripture, and seeking the lost is still sorely needed in today's Church. It's good fruits are immense and span many denominational lines. Evangelicals who become Catholic, Anglican or Lutheran are a testament to the Evangelical movement. But these concepts have been taken well past their extremes. Personal conversion experience has turned into hyper emotionalism. Seeker friendly has come at the expense of discipleship and have bred an anti intellectualism. Love of scripture has become the very Roman Catholic caricature of sola scriptura--a funny cartoon showed someone staple gunning his own hand with blood dripping down. His friend was telling him he shouldn't do that and he responded by asking what verse of the bible explicitly says we shouldn't staple gun ourselves. I want to see Evangelicalism be its best self and renew America's Churches and wider culture. And as it is not a monolith, I am sure that many pockets are already doing these things.
It takes a strong humility to say the things you admire about those with whom you disagree with. I think all our traditions would all benefit more from acknowledging what we can learn from one another rather than solely focusing on points of disagreement (even if those points are important).
Focusing on Jesus... together
I grew up evangelical and became Catholic last year. I am very grateful to my evangelical upbringing - the passionate fervor for sharing the Gospel, the boldness it takes to do so, and great community! While I loved being evangelical, the Fullness of the Faith is the Catholic Church and Jesus Christ is in the Eucharist. I try to take what I learned from growing up evangelical and apply it to my ministry within the True Church of Christ. I hope all evangelicals come to the same conversion - that would be epic!
I'm a former Evangelical now Catholic. I'm so grateful for my evangelical background for two main reasons: 1.) Deep knowledge of Scripture and 2.) Sense of community with fellow church goers (people don't just rush off after Sunday service, but hang around for social reasons - it was great). I think these are things the Catholics could learn from the Protestants....
Agree
Probably depends on the parish community. The eastern catholic churches and ordinariate tend to hang out after mass
so true, somehow, every church has its one grace
@@CoG3in1that’s not true though.
1 is false but 2 is true. That’s a legacy of Catholicism being used to being a country wide religion to where many institutions supported Her, and so you don’t have to necessarily only do it all after Mass. but that adjustment is being made
Evangelicals do a great job of being the "lamp on a lampstand" from Matthew 5: 14-16. I believe if we all gave each other grace, (Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, etc.) we could be the great unified "City set on a hill that cannot be hidden."
I think it requires more than grace, unfortunately. A lot of beliefs are truly irreconcilable between all the different groups. To even admit to the other beliefs being acceptable removes the theological foundation of others.
Raised in the evangelical community in South Korea, I found the line between the two churches a bit blur. I love praying the Rosary and holding profound respect for our blessed mother Mary. The church I find most beautiful in Korea is Catholic, with its liturgy emanating elegance and richness, akin to an affluent relative. Despite this, I hold dear my evangelical family for its simplicity and warmth, reminiscent of the early church, even if it gets a bit messy at times, much like my own family.
Evangelical is false, they are rebelling against Christ while claiming to follow Him. Never support them again
This video was fantastic. I feel very similarly. Even with a complicated relationship to evangelicalism, it's best to have an attitude of gratitude. Thanks Austin
Glad you enjoyed it!
@@GospelSimplicity Funny how you answer your *own* question, inside the video.
Yes Evangelicalism is an *entry* point to many non-Christians.. but is it an *ending* point ? THAT is the issue.
People might be tempted by it when they are young and they want something accessible. But then they grow up and want less glamour and more quiet mysticism.
An evangelical with a complex relationship to the movement (and a current practitioner in mainline protestantism) helped pray me back to the Catholic Church of my birth. I love to pray with them. I admire the dirty-hands Christianity they often espouse. I love their love for Sacred Scripture, even if they read it differently from me. They make me want to work harder for the kingdom, as a Catholic. I thank God for my protestant brethren
Thank you for making this video! In a culture where it's cool to bash Evangelicalism, I hope Christians of all sorts can come to appreciate some of the beautiful parts of it.
My personal favorite thing about evangelicalism is the culture of seeking the lost and missions.
Well said, and even refreshingly humble, and honest. I, too, was raised in the buckle of the Bible belt, quite fundamentalist evangelical in the Evangelical Covenant church, but when I was 33, (after about seven years of searching ) I converted to Catholicism. Now I am in the religious life as a Catholic, as a third order Secular Franciscan, and still a minister of my fraternity. And I learned how to be a minister, and, pray extemporaneously and easily share my faith and lead Bible study from my evangelical upbringing. I learned some of that in my years at Moody Bible Institute. And yes, I see the Catholic Church from Pope Francis on down, becoming steadily, more and more evangelical, honestly. Hope to be part of the eventual reunification, which I think has to happen eventually -please God!
My husband and I converted to Orthodoxy last year. I have a mixed anabaptist and evangelical background. Although I think we made the right choice and are very happy with where we are at, I do miss parts of my cultural and religious background (mostly the anabaptist part- music, super strong community) and am incredibly grateful for my private christian school education. Rather than criticizing my past, I view much of my current experience as the fulfillment (or at least initial fruit) of the seed planted in youth. I'm privileged to be a part of Orthodox communities that have a lot of protestant converts and I've noticed these people jump in quickly to add these evangelical elements to the Orthodox church (more outreach, Bible study, etc). Perhaps rather than viewing these types of conversions as a 180 degree swing, we should view them as a re-orientation to the left/right to avoid the tendency to swing completely away from the past. Thanks for your video!
My wife and I have a very similar experience. Anabaptist, then Evangelical, then Orthodoxy several mo ths ago. Except in our case our Orthodox parish has much stronger community than our anabaptist church had. (And that's saying something, because the community at the anabaptist church was quite strong.) So maybe this is dependent on the anabaptist church and on the Orthodox parish.
@@bad_covfefe you traded to the gospel for a works based salvation
@@stevenjames6830 you traded the gospel for a cultural obsession with law and court cases. Your entire understanding of the cross was invented in the 16th century by a lawyer.
I'll stick with what the early church believed about Christ and about scripture over the musings of a 16th century dictator.
Im orthodox wife is pentecostal. What i can say more i attend pentecostal church more i get depressed. More i go orthodox oh man. Healing of the whole body spiritually is not of this world
I'm sorry brother. I was in your shoes years ago. I quit going to the Pentecostal Church. My wife was mad, and she threw a temper tantrum. For about 6 months I think she hated me, but in the end she became Orthodox. Blessings in Christ.
@@dustinneely mate it's difficult when wife just goes off
This
@dustinneely it was probably the demons
@@ilovechrist914don’t go to Pentecostal again. I would say be Catholic but at least don’t entertain the Protestant heretics
Born Lutheran, became Catholic in my 40s after having witnessed the chaos the reformation caused in Africa, where I live now. Wasn't an easy journey, never thought it to be a possibility to become Catholic.
One thing about the Catholic Church: most Catholics, especially the more "traditional" ones are not aware at all of the reasons for the reformation, that the Church actually was quite corrupt. This willful ignorance is part of the problem in the Catholic Church I think, willful ignorance and in a way arrogance, that's why they hate the idea of Ecumenism and they hate Vatican 2. We are probably moving towards another schism in the Catholic Church and it's painful to watch.
You should have stayed Lutheran.
@@stevenjames6830nah, you should become Catholic
This is probably the most radical video you could make these days. Please make a follow-up about some specifics where evangelicalism can course correct.
A common testimony I hear: "I grew up in X church and never heard the gospel. I left my faith. I encountered an evangelical person who invited me to church. I heard the gospel and was converted. I left evangelicalism and rejoined my old church or another church."
Evangelicals are out there sharing the gospel with your laity who left...
It can’t be fixed it needs to end immediately by all converting
@@catholicconvert2119 I would happily convert tomorrow if there weren't so many innovations to core aspects of Christian belief and practice in Catholicism and Orthodoxy. They have a strong historical claim until you reach the first couple centuries...
@@pigetstuck The problem with that is once you decide you can’t trust the main direction of the religion you have to become the judge and critic. And here’s the thing once you do that there is no logical endpoint. Instead of being a sheep accepting in faith, your basic posture becomes one of being a critic. Many laity Protestants escape this by accepting their pastor as Pope in effect. But that merely gives him an authority level that is internally incoherent and that he himself doesn’t claim. Once you really understand what the Reformation means you keep noticing little things you study German higher criticism you study scholarship which is all about picking apart the Bible, and you become an atheist as I did. Then you embrace atheism and wokeism. Then you realize how horrible the world our beliefs are creating is and you have to rethink. And that’s where you return to tradition. I can see a case for both Orthodox and Catholic but Catholic is the most coherent logic. Catholicism must be true because the only future of Western civilization after that is death
@@catholicconvert2119 We agree that Christ teachings and the apostolic teachings are the bullseye, right? And that any later traditions or teachings that contradict those or add elements to the gospel are to be avoided... right?
@@pigetstuck No, I don’t see it that way. The Church is Christ’s Body, anything that develops from the Church is good and to be accepted. I don’t see a separation from back then and now to me it’s all One
I do think Evangelicalism caters to extroverts- which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Extroverts need Jesus too. I don't know how much introverts tend to have a place in Evangelical churches and how much of it speaks their language, though I don't know if extroverts can feel the same way in more traditional and liturgical churches (I honestly don't know). People go to what speaks to them and it does seem that Evangelicalism has a broad appeal.
If by "extroverts," you mean people afflicted with NPD and HPD.
@Poodle_Gun I thought I'd try taking the higher road in my comments lol
@@ContemplativeSoul ah yes, pussyfooting. God's chosen method.
If it wasn't for an evangelical i would never have found Christ in fact I knew very little. I don't think anybody brings people to Christ as much as evangelicals.
I think they will always be there because Jesus uses them and he will always make sure he refreshes them.
Regarding the people who show disdain for their Evangelical background when they are converting to other strands of Christianity, that may well be just a natural and temporary phase that's sometimes psychologically needed to make the transition; I think I experienced that in other things.. But later they may come to appreciate their Evangelical roots again, I mean the good and positive things that they have received and can always draw from. I love Catholic converts from Evangelicalism they have something interesting about the way they talk about faith,.. it's sometimes expressed as "talking Catholic with and Evangelical accent".
No, evangelicalism is deeply cringeworthy in a way that persists. It’s a deeply false belief because its wolves 🐺 running a business to fleece the sheep 🐑
I first came to Christ through an evangelical church’s college ministry. It was a good starting point. As an ex evangelical now I’m not bitter towards it, it was a good place to be as a “baby Christian”, but ultimately I left because the denomination I was a part of was very focused on growth and didn’t have much to offer for helping you grow in your faith.
Are you still walking with Christ?
@@pigetstuck yes
Thank you so much for this video Austin. It's so easy to feel attacked, or even forget the blessings of your own stance on Christian practice as a Protestant today. Thank you for stating how I feel about it too! I am so thankful for the Evangelical way of presenting Christ to me, because I think if I started in a more traditional form of Christianity, I wouldn't really believe he truly loves me, I wouldn't know him so sweetly as I do now. I also have criticisms of Evangelicalism and I'm still a Protestant. God bless you man! Keep being faithful to Christ, wherever he leads you!
I can relate to this! Thank you very much. 😊
It's my pleasure!
I came to the faith through United Methodism which occupies a weird spot of not really fitting with Evangelicalism or the rest of Protestantism but being something in between (though I would say it's more evangelical than not). I will always look back on my Methodist upbringing fondly, I will always have deep respect for the Wesley brothers and what they were trying to accomplish. When anyone comes to the faith through a doorway that they connect with and that sanctifies their soul, That's a win. Where my biggest issue with Evangelicalism today is, us in the way many in my experience, treat their Catholic and Orthodox brothers and sisters, that is to say the way many of them won't claim us and instead of looking outward to those who hunger and thirst for Christ but don't know where to start, they spend far too much time telling us we're not "real" Christians, and trying to figure out how to make us like them.
I am an evangelical and can affirm that's a problem - although there are many not like that, particularly in the foreign mission field
As a Catholic I appreciate this video. So many great points
He’s completely wrong don’t give place to the devil here ma’am.
Thank you for pointing out evangelicalism's heresy epidemic.
All evangelicals are heretics is the irony
This is a really thoughtful take, and a really beautiful point.
I was born into a nominal Eastern Orthodox family but it's because of evangelicals that I was drawn to learn more about Christianity. I have since been slowly turning back to Orthodoxy and I have the sense that God is working towards bringing true believers of denominations back to one united faith.
I too was born into Eastern Orthodoxy, but never knew what the faith truly was. I learned about Christianity through evangelicals and felt that I was a born again Christian. I am grateful for my evangelical brothers and sisters in Christ whom have stayed steadfast and firm in their beliefs, though I do feel that they are missing out on the fullness of the faith!
As an evangelical Bible college grad myself (now Orthodox): I don’t think evangelicals and Traditional Christians don’t have the same idea, remotely, of what “the faith” means.
We look back on evangelicalism with disdain because it’s the Christian equivalent of the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
Christianity is a culture. Respect it.
I grew up evangelical. It's a clown show. The "passion" was just one of many things I didn't like. Cringe.
Thank you !!
as a Catholic I admire the Passion that Evangelicals have, even though I think it is terribly misplaced.
Agreed!
Our passion is in Christ. How is that misplaced?
@@foodforthought8308
Because you do not worship him correctly or follow his essential teachings correctly
@mousakandah5188 It is our orthopraxy in loving our neighbors (especially in sharing Christ) and loving God that the best of evangelicalism shines forth and Christ's Sacred Heart contained in His Greatest Commandment is expressed. While many of us do miss out on the beauty of the Sacraments, God's extra Sacramental Grace is evident in so many of our lives. While we often indeed go too far in correcting the corruption of the 16th century Catholic church, the heart of Orthodoxy is still here
@mousakandah5188 Please learn about our Saints over the past couple centuries and see how merciful our Lord has been in blessing the mission efforts
I am Orthodox but you cannot deny that their love for reaching the lost is deep and that is to be admired and copied even. I do not know many Orthodox going into countries anymore seeking the lost. We have not done that for centuries.
Austin, as a cradle Catholic from Central Europe who engages a lot with Evangelicals from the US and elsewhere online (and I don't mean discussions/debates/apologetics but praying and fellowshiping together) this was extremely good! You formulated some of the things that I really love about the Evangelical spirit as well.. I have learned much from Evangelicals and I think there is much to get inspired by although I wouldn't become one because I'm deeply rooted in my faith and Church and I can see that we could have everything good that Evangelicals have if we just let ourselves be a bit inspired by them ❤
Thank you also because I have been very troubled by some of the differences lately and esp. the ubiquitous anti-Catholicism which partly is, first of all, our own Catholic fault for not being what we should be and not living our faith properly, partly it's just misconceptions or misrepresentations to utter lies.
You helped me to look at the better side of things again ❤
I think part of it is indeed misconceptions. But part of it is just straight up disagreement. Evangelicals will never agree on the authority of the Pope. They have wildly different ideas about baptism, the Eucharist, etc. I try to be optimistic but these are legitimate disagreements and differences that are hard to iron out.
@@countryboyred yes that's OK if it's disagreements. What I have a hard time with is prejudices, dishonesty, and the like. That is not too charitable for Christians.
@@barborazajacova7633I agree. We could all be more charitable towards one another.
@@barborazajacova7633They are from the devil ultimately. Don’t seek unity where there is none. They have to come over to us we don’t go to them. What they have is a lump of coal
I still have valuable memories from my parachurch experience in college
My Mom asked if we could go to a megachurch on Sunday. I said, "Let's go. They're really lovely and worth seeing," but we didn't find the time at Thanksgiving. But next time, we're definitely going!
Mega churches are demonic. They are run for profit by businessmen. They are absolutely not of Jesus, and Jesus absolutely denounces what they stand for. I honestly think you are more likely to find Jesus anywhere else. You are probably more likely to find Jesus in a mosque or a Hindu temple than a mega church. Why? Because at least those may be run by people actually seeking God. Mega churches absolutely are not
You speak well here. I moved out of Evangelicalism and into the Orthodox church "before it was cool" (before it seemed to be everywhere in the culture), and I did so because there I found Christ alive in a way I never could in Evangelical contexts that seemed to veer between emotionalism and over-intellectualism. But in meeting Christ there, I was also able to recapitulate everything that brought me to Christ in the first place - my early childhood when my parents were Methodist, their walking away from church entirely for years, my own being brought back to the beginnings of faith in Christ by a godly Evangelical chaplain of a group I was in in college. In short, seeing Christ fully in the East has better revealed how I saw glimmers of Christ along the way - and that makes it much easier to see Christ in my fellow Christians. I deal somewhat with the young inquirers we have in church now, and I try to emphasize with them that while yes, Orthodoxy has deep foundations, if you're not here for Christ, if you're not here to pick up your cross, then you'll still not be satisfied here.
Hi, i have a curious question about your own faith since i myself am catholic. What type of protestant are you? I have understood there are different types of protestants and i would like to know if you are baptist? Reformert? Nondenominational?
Thank you for your great videos
Hmmm... I'm not sure if those four marks you mentioned really do the trick. For each one you had to give the proviso that other groups would lay claim to that descriptor as well. I think those four descriptions could just as easily apply to a Lutheran, a Calvinist, a Catholic... so on.
If I were to give a definition, I'd somewhat jokingly say, "An Evangelical is a Baptist who is nicer and whose Church has a worship band." And honestly, my serious definition wouldn't be all that different.
I don’t think they’re exhaustive either, but they’re pretty much the standard working definition you’ll find. If anyone has a more complete definition though I’m all ears
@@GospelSimplicity : I'd want to focus on certain common theological tenets - like being mostly non-sacramental and believing in once-saved-always-saved.
Then I'd want to cover various cultural elements like being non-liturgical, and embracing more modern forms of worship music. And also being more "seeker focused" by having a more open-door membership concept.
As I said, my somewhat humorous summation is: "Nicer baptists with worship bands."
I'd like to hear you take a stab at it!
@@actsapologist1991I think the difficult thing is that Evangelicalism is cross-denominational and lacks a common confession, so you’re left with areas of focus but nothing concrete. There very well could be Evangelical Lutherans, Anglicans etc (for instance, at Moody, which many would consider a flagship Evangelical school, we had Lutheran and Anglican professors who were sacramental and liturgical yet still fit within the broad umbrella). If I were to outdo Bebbington, I’d have to put some more thought into it
@@GospelSimplicity; I hope you do! Cheers!
Evangelicalism is putting Jesus logo over the secular world. This is a gospel that has a form of godliness but denies its power. As such it’s a total dead end. The only good thing I have seen about it is I do know a man, a man chewed up by the world, who was introduced to Jesus in some form that way. And I think I saw something there. But it’s one of the most flawed vehicles possible. Is it absolutely purely evil ? No. But it’s filled with heresies and lies and doesn’t need to be a thing anyone remains in
Being Catholic is the best imo
Last thing I want to point out, acting ‘folksy’ has nothing to do with being a Christian. Evangelicalism is embracing of Protestant folk culture vibes while being run by con artist businessmen. That’s what it is.
Evangelicalism is a good gateway path that hopefully leads to the real thing which can only be found in the Catholic or Orthodox Church.
Fair enough
It’s the opposite it’s a stage in the decline and the path towards secularism.
@@catholicconvert2119 have faith brother.
@@MrJulio173 I have faith that the Church will be renewed, but I don’t think the growth of heresies will contribute to that
Here is a thought exercise, Suppose you are very thirsty and someone offers you a nice cup of refreshing cold water, but before you drink it. He says "this water contains
THANK YOU. And what if he said ‘This is a cup of deadly poison ☠️ but it does contain a 2% of water in that we mention Jesus’
im from a catholic country, assisted church as a child and a catholic school till i graduated, but NEVER heard the gospel until i bc of the Holy Spirit read the Bible by myself in my room. sure, emotionalism and a lack of historic beauty is a problem in evangelicals (im reformed now) but i have NEVER seen, nor in catholicism or in very reformed spaces, the ZEAL evangelicals have for the gospel and for Jesus alone.
I’m curious, which denomination or sect of Christianity do you attend?
I was a Baptist/Lutheran/Evangelical mutt for many years. Then, I found Holy Orthodoxy.
Glory to God ☦️
Glory to God indeed! Compared to the lies of Protestant atheism, Holy Orthodoxy is amazing
I strongly believe that Evangelicals and protestants in general have good and positive aspects. My quandary is how do we get Evangelicals to stop being so caustic or even hateful towards Catholics and Orthodox. Somehow, as the body of Christ we need to learn to approach each other with respect recognizing the dignity of all. Walking around be accusers of others is the work of Satan, and not the work of the spirit. While all have members who are at fault with this behavior, but the majority of Catholics truly want to figure a way to bring unity to the church, you don't see Catholics making horrible accusatory statements about a other communities faith. Evangelicals need to figure out how to have a universal understanding of scripture, otherwise confusion and division will remain. It is not going to be easy to reconcile these things.
I would never have found Christ if it wasn't for evangelicals. I thank God for them. True soldiers of the cross
While I totally agree evangelicals have a varied identity butI don’t think they should seek Essence and identity by trashing Catholics. I was raised Catholic but in a strong Mexican American evangelical setting as my my immediate cousins are evangelical ministers with the largest Hispanic mega church. My mom had me raised Catholic as if to say to my dad’s family.. “take that!”. I was this very devout goody, goody catholic twit. This naturally attracted anti catholic vibes and comments from my evangelical family. My cousin who was attending fuller seminary told me I was going to hell just because I was catholic kid. This affected and hurt me for huge number of years after. .Well I’m sick of this crap of rapid anti catholic garbage. Now here at my senior center we have one of the largest evangelical groups in the US (mariners church) ministering. It’s 1:56 amazing that I get this same hostility, snide remarks, under stated statements meant to undermine my take on Christ. I don’t believe Christian communities should try to strengthen their faith by undermining other Christians. I’m not the only catholic at my senior center. I’ve spoken to them about this. Basically there is a huge misunderstood idea that Catholics don’t read the Bible. It’s a damn lie! We read lots of it! Plus, there is a basic ignorance among evangelicals that the holy Eucharist is just a matter of belief. Real stupid! Catholics and orthodox live closely with Christ via bible readings and the life of Jesus in us via the Holy Eucharist. What do you think? Of course I get offended by these evangelicals that think my exposure to the Bible is not adequate and in fact demented. Sick of this nonsense. Sorry; but this topic is a three point landing on a nerve.
Thank you for standing by the true Church in the face of the lies of the evangelicals. They are not of Christ
Hey, GS, if you don't mind me asking, what tradition are you now? Are you Anglican?
You make a beautiful point about loving where you came from. I grew up Jehovah's Witness, and one of the things I think is nonsensical about them is how they reject the whole history of the church. JWs wouldn't exist if it wasn't for previous generations of Christians preserving the Bible and passing it down!
But lest I fall for my own critique, I can say I appreciate JWs for thoroughly teaching me the Bible stories. It's thanks to the Bible stories in my heart that I eventually found a home in holy Orthodoxy.
JW isn't Christianity
Growing up with lots of Evangelicals and Reformed friends, I had a bit of reflex to anything non Catholic. As I studied the faith of the Evangelicals further I found zeal, love for Christ, excellent evangelization, and a great community. Although misguided in their theology, they do truly attempt to follow the Bible and their faith as seriously as possible. I also realized that Evangelicals are more orthodox than we like to think. However, I do believe that Evangelicalism has too many fundamental issues for me to consider it to be true. I wouldn’t call it false but simply there are more true options. Finally, I tell my evangelical friends that you don’t have to stop being an evangelical to start being Catholic. From the rise of Charismatic Catholicism, incorporating praise and worship with Eucharistic adoration to the extensive Biblical scholarship Catholicism is very evangelical. Simply put, Evangelicals make the best Catholics.
You traded the gospel for a works based salvation
@@stevenjames6830You are completely confused
Nice.❤
As A Catholic
I'd experienced much hostility from Evangelicals
Some were unkind, hostile and rude, not to mention uncharitable.
Then cane the " threats"
Join Our sect or God will be angry with you....
A person should radiate Christ if they're a Christian..
A person should Be a Christ For others
Mercy, Grace, Peace, Love
I'd not received Any of this from Evangelicals.
It's almost like they're saying God loves Evangelical Protestants exclusively!
Where does it say THAT IN THE Bible??
God is the Philanthropos " Infinite Love For Humanity"
God wants Everyone to come to Salvation, NOT JUST Protestants!
Why Then do Evangelicals act as if they Own a Monopoly on God and Faith??
Someone had even spray painted the words HATE MONGERS over an Evangelical preacher.
Bring Christ to people with Love not Hate.
I’m so sorry you felt that from Prots. I’m very sorry. That’s not kind of them and comes from evil within individuals that need to work on that.
I can say the same about Catholics treating evengelicals thougj, not to shoot you down, but to bring up that both sides need to stop fighting.
I grew up Baptist, so pretty close to Evangelicism, but I don't think I ever even heard the term "Evangelical" until I went to college. I'm going to drop a completely hot take here: Evangelicals are the best Christians in the last few centuries. I think everybody loves hating on Evangelicals because Satan is really good at arousing disdain for what is most excellent.
The truth is, Evangelicals love God. They love Jesus, and they love the Bible. People do not realize it, but Evangelicals are often quite good at resisting propaganda. In the 70s and 80s when Republicans controlled the media, Evangelicals were liberal. Now that Democrats control the media, they tend to lean conservative. But truth be told, Evangelicals did not change positions; they are more centralists than people realize. It has really only been since Trump that Evangelicals became sold-out to the conservative party, and even still, they tend to be far more willing to admit the faults of the their party than most other people. And compared to Baptists and Calvinists especially, Evangelicals have had a very light allegiance to Republicans.
It seems to me that the first propaganda campaign to really capture Evangelicals' attention was Young-Earth Creationism. No surprise that this was successful, as it's rallying cry was, "Those people are misusing science to disprove the Bible with Evolution!" Even still, Evangelicals have been more charitable to science than Baptists.
But no, Evangelicals are fantastic people. They are so charitable to other people. Whereas I've seen my Baptist Church drive a repented homosexual from the congregation, I saw Evangelicals love homosexuals while being unwavering on the Biblical stance on sexuality. Whereas I've seen Baptists preach hellfire to women who have had an abortion, I've seen Evangelicals raise funds and counsel to help young women with the fear of unplanned pregnancy. And unlike Catholics who try to cover up when priests are caught in a sex scandal, I've seen Evangelicals promote organizations to vet church leaders for such concerns.
Evangelicals may be misguided at times, but more than any other Christian denomination that I've ever read about in history, they apply the first two commands of Jesus really sincerely: Love God, love your neighbor.
I reverted to Catholicism through evangelical Christians. I am grateful to them but I distinctly remember how they and other Protestant groups I looked into eventually seemed ‘lite’ or shallow versus the incredible depth and richness of Catholicism. They definitely have parts of the Truth, but the fullness of the Truth is definitely Catholicism.
Meanwhile, your pope is literally a heretic
@@stevenjames6830we can fix the pope you can’t fix evangelicalism is the thing. There’s a possibility of fixing things if you’re a Catholic there’s no possibility of it ever happening as an Evangelical
Deus Vult!
If it's not All That bad, Why are you considering leaving it?
I'm a cradle Catholic, but i agree with a lot of your points here. Even though i feel Catholicism is the fulness Christianity has to offer, i also think it's too esoteric of a religion to evangize someone from scratch (at least in this day and age). For my friends who are in need of Christ, i tend to point them in the evangelical direction. Once they have a foundation, i can work on them from there 😂
That's fascinating to hear how you approach things! I often think of Evangelicalism as the front door or lobby of Christianity.
@@GospelSimplicity I like that analogy!
@@TreeCurtis84You are in the wrong. Don’t point someone to evangelicalism. You should go to confession for that if you have not. We are to build Christ’s Church not feed people to the wolves. 🐺 and yes they are wolves. I’m sorry if you’re ignorant of it but the spirit they have is not of Christ. I was raised that way and the more I followed their teachings the worse of a person I became. Compared to when as a Catholic it’s the reverse. Do not lead souls astray. People may find it difficult to understand the Church but you leave teaching to Her! She will adapt things for them. It’s so wrong of you to lead people towards death. 💀 You should be ashamed of yourself. I hope you made the mistake honestly but never do it again
@@GospelSimplicityIt’s the opposite. It’s the last stage before full secularism and atheism. It’s a decay process as the religion dies in the West. If you can’t see what a decline and what clownery the people descend to without shepherds then I don’t know what to tell you. Embracing evangelicalism is similar to fat acceptance or other movements where people give up the standard because it’s hard to achieve and instead lower the bar.
I pray to see the revival of the Church in my time. But even if not I must stand by Her until the end. Debasing the Gospel is not an option and doesn’t reach people and doesn’t either lead places. Wrong thinking will not down the line lead to right action. It’s a complete wrong direction that no one should waste their time on. God made you to strive for goodness
@catholicconvert2119 My friend, when someone is suffering, has no idea who Jesus is, hates the Catholic Church, is not making any headway with me, but the friendly neighborhood evangelicals are knocking at the door for them to join in their bible study - then yeah, that's better than the path their on. I make no apologies, I confess no sin.
Zionism is their religion, but i suppose cutting out the entirety of Christianity and worshipping a book that talks about Israel a lot would confuse people.
Love this comment
….? And evangelical and can tell you I am NOT a Zionist, and know plenty of others like me.
You can be against us but let’s be kind and if we are to talk about either side being right or wrong to do so with nuance, humility and understanding.
Saying we worship isreal is like somone saying a catholic worships Mary. It’s just causes fights and anger.
Do you feel like you have a spiritual home?
I am a Catholic. I see Catholicism as the universal “hive” of Christianity, with Evangelicals being the “worker bees.” We are all together in this, and I love my Evangelical brethren. We have so much to learn from them! One of my best college friends was an Evangelical and made me a better, more evangelical, Bible loving Catholic!
Really interesting analogy!
To me, Evangelical Protestant always seemed like an exclusive club... kind of like a country club and that's how many of them view Heaven...
John 3 says that God so loved the world...
It doesn't mention exclusivity...in Any sense.
Evangelicals act as if They Alone Own a monopoly on Faith and God..
( The Pharisees did the same thing, in their day)
There are people down in the " bible belt" who are antisemitic and who hate Catholics and Orthodox... ( mostly because of prejudice)
American Evangelicalism has, bu and large, received a bad rep.
That's because of the " mega churches" and " celebrity pastors"
This is not to say All Protestants are like that.
I have heard some Protestants say they'd learned something from Catholics and vice versa
You are absolutely right. They have that big smile pasted on their face while they gleefully pat themselves on the back for going to heaven because they did this legal deal with God over Jesus meantime they are fine if they sin and don’t become holy (but on the other hand don’t do certain sexual sins because then you’re OUT it’s not explained how when they already said you don’t go by the law ) I find nothing almost redeeming in evangelical culture and little of the message of Christ is there
It's all like a restricted country club.
Join Our sect so God can love you " more"
??
God loves All Of Us
@@cabellero1120 agree, 100% agreed
I don't regret becoming EO for one second. I despise American Evangelicalism. Evangelicalism is cringe.
This 100%. I've never looked back. Almost became Catholic, but the sanctimoniousness there is even worse than Evangelicals, and there were some core doctrinal issues I really disagreed with.
I will say, however, that Catholic priests are superheroes.
@@Poodle_Gun
You guys traded the gospel for a system of works, and the traditions of men
@@stevenjames6830 we wrote the Bible and our traditions are cooler than dancing to fairy music in church
@@stevenjames6830The Gospel is a tradition bruh. 🤯 every part of it is a tradition
Thank you for making this video, I am also evangelical and at one point I was debating on converting to orthodoxy or catholicism. Love the traditions of both faiths, so beautiful and rich. But I decided to stay protestant evangelical because of how dedicated we are to the great commission. If I truly believe my faith is the true path to God then I should live by it.
I can resonate with a lot of that!
Jennifer, the Great Commission is fulfilled by being a Catholic. You can’t bring people into the Body while standing outside yourself. There’s no good to be accomplished there
Looking through comments - for statistics: I am leaving Catholicism and discerning which compromise to make - join historic or Evangelical protestantism. Theologically I am closer to historic denominations though more social factors lead me rather to join an evangelical church.
God bless
You better remain Catholic. Protestantism is a scam and a fraud. It’s just a big lie where you get to not improve as a person while patting yourself on the back for being not one of those dirty sinners - meantime your doctrine says you actually don’t improve and remain a sinner - but somehow still get to look down on the sinner. I can tell you every reason why not to become a Protestant. The evangelicals are a scam run for profit by businessmen - did you know that ? Oh man I can go on and on, all it is is putting a Jesus logo on a corporation for money. How can anyone believe that ?? It’s opposite of what Jesus wants
It is easy to identify where one disagrees with the teaching or practices in another Christian tradition - and, in fact, where some teaching or practice even directly contradicts Scripture or tradition (we see such disagreements even in the two traditions that claim a monopoly on tradition).
I find strengths and weaknesses in each tradition. I have found that anyone who was raised in an evangelical church knows more from the Bible than many deacons and even priests in one of the traditional churches with traditional liturgies. This is not a small thing, and cannot be dismissed. It is a strength in evangelicals (and in many protestant traditions generally) and a weakness elsewhere.
The devil knows the whole Bible too. Evangelicals have a total lack of comprehension of what any of the Bible means honestly. I was going to say except they understand Jesus is God and man, except then I realized many of them don’t understand it. The value of ‘knowing’ the Bible is limited when you understand none of it
I think the future may include more small groups and house churches. Revive us Holy Spirit!
That would be a sign of continued decline and fall as you revert to the infant stage, not renewal.
If are an evangelical, there is only one thing you’re missing - full communion with the Catholic Church
@@catholicconvert2119 hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
I grew up Catholic but I became a Bible-believing Christian and follow the Reformed (Presbyterian) tradition.
You better return to Catholicism. Calvinism is a lie, a huge lie. The reason is the next step for a Calvinist who is intellectually honest is to become a Deist, and then an atheist. I can easily walk you through how you can’t justify Calvinism as the stopping point for your skepticism you applied to your Catholic tradition. The same methods of deconstruction you apply to Catholic tradition should also be applied to the Bible, leading you to reject the Bible as there’s no more reason to trust the Bible than there is to trust Catholic tradition. It’s deeply intellectually dishonest to remain a Calvinist because you want to cling to a patina of God while effectively denying the supernatural and effectively already being atheist. I could say a lot about this. But bottom line either believe God as a Catholic and embrace the actual Church, or become what you already made moves towards and be full atheist
This is built on a false premise, one can simply look at research on different denominations in the retention rate. Evangelicals literally have the highest retention rate all the other denominations have lower retention rates, and people are more likely to be evangelical from another denomination then vice versa
That being said, evangelicals are largely non-denominational protestants however, all Christians have use the term evangelical in their history. Lutherans called them selves this, but were branded Lutheran by the Catholics
@@stevenjames6830evangelical is just a stage in the decay of Christianity down to the super dumb level where it’s sold and packaged for profit. I would never accept it for a moment because it’s such a manifest lie