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The Catholic Church

John Shepard

Nov 12, 2002

My Conversion

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Purpose

To explain why I became a Catholic. I wrote this testimony for my Protestant friends so they would understand my conversion. This article was written in April of 2002, just after my conversion.

End Time Prophecy Leads to Rome | Why I Am Catholic

Summary

For the last three years or so (previous to March 2002) I have been moving progressively farther away from Protestantism. I had no idea at the time that I would end up a Catholic.

On November 28, 2002 my daughter and I were received into full communion with the Catholic Church. Read about the event. It's a wild story.

My Conversion

For those of you who have been following the story of my walk with God over the past few years, you will notice that I have been drifting farther and farther away from some of the beliefs of Calvary Chapel. Many of you may consider these beliefs as core beliefs, but others of you may recognize all of them as being non-essentials.

Additional articles: Sola Scriptura | Inerrancy of the Bible | Roman Catholicism

In my journey, I have not for even a moment considered liberal Christianity as an option because it rejects the essentials of the Christian faith. Examples of these essential doctrines that I believe even as a Catholic are:

• The inerrancy of the Bible
• The basic sinfulness of man and the supreme need to deal with the sin problem
• Christ as deity and the doctrine of the Trinity
• The institution of the church as the body of Christ
• Salvation through faith in Christ and the necessity of His sacrifice and death on the cross

The beliefs, doctrines, and practices that I have one-by-one considered and rejected are:

• Sermon-based church services with an emphasis on the preacher exhorting us to be good that week. Don't we believe that the Holy Spirit is working within us to make us desire to be good?
• The arbitrary source of authority in the Protestant churches (for example, who ordained the first Baptist or the first Methodist?)
• Contradictory doctrines among main-stream denominations, and of leaders within each denomination. I became a Christian as result of my quest for truth, and contradictions have always troubled me.
• That the Church Fathers over the centuries have somehow missed the point in a big way, but that Martin Luther figured it out correctly.
• Various end-time doctrines such as dispensationalism, premillennialism, the rapture, the great tribulation, the 1,000 year millennium, etc.
• The strong emphasis on hit-em-over-the-head evangelism. That the primary expression of our faith is in our evangelism of others.

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Briefly, here are the steps that I went through in becoming a Catholic:

1. I was "born-again" (in the Protestant, Fundamentalist sense of the phrase) in 1990.
2. I spent a year in a word-faith church. Sarah, my wife, was not involved in this church at first. When Sarah finally did get involved, she quickly convinced me that the peculiar word-faith teachings are in error.
3. I then got involved with Calvary Chapel Vista and made some life-long friends.
4. Then I got involved with Calvary Chapel Carlsbad and became worship leader for almost two years. I left for personal reasons.
5. I got involved with Calvary Chapel Encinitas, first with the youth group for a few years, and later as worship leader for a couple years.
6. Somewhere during that time period I began to question the standard doctrines I was hearing from Calvary Chapel and the Bible teachers on the radio. I determined to discover the truth for myself by going to the Bible to see what it says rather than believing what teachers were teaching. My main reason for doing this was that the teachers were contradicting each other and interpreting passages in ways that seemed invalid.
7. I was ordained and sent off to start a Calvary Chapel in North Carolina.
8. After a while I abandoned the plan to start a Calvary Chapel because I couldn't in good conscience be a leader in a denomination in which I did not wholeheartedly support the views. By now I had rejected premillennialism.
9. Sarah and I started a small Bible study discussion group in our home.
10. I became amillennial and adopted the beliefs contrary to Protestantism that I listed above.
11. Sarah was very confused, perplexed and bewildered by all this.
12. We moved to California at Sarah's request. I planned to live off our savings and attend college to get my B.A. so I could change careers and become a low-paid high school teacher.
13. One of my instructors was Catholic and in the summer of 2001 he challenged me to consider it. I agreed.
14. Round one -- I devoured books on Catholic doctrine and history. I noticed that in every case where I had rejected a Protestant belief, the Catholic belief matched my new belief. It was weird. At the end of round one in September, 2001 I was not yet a Catholic, but I was barely a Protestant either. I determined to start a new denomination based on a home church model.
15. Round two -- Sarah and I tried several dozen churches and couldn't find any that we liked. I was again challenged to consider Catholicism. I again agreed. On January 15, 2002 my final objection to Catholicism was resolved. I was compelled to convert.
16. As I investigated what I needed to do to join the Catholic Church, I got cold feet and backed off.
17. I was challenged via email by a fellow who objected to something I said on my web site. He was a Reformed, five-point Calvinist who strongly believed the doctrine of the Puritans. As I researched his claims, I became keenly aware that there was no basis whatsoever for the claims of Martin Luther and John Calvin. I had to choose between four choices:
    1. Drift along from doctrine to doctrine, since I now knew that it is impossible to come to any agreed upon interpretation of the Bible,
    2. Arbitrarily choose how I will interpret the Bible and take a strong stand on my particular private interpretations,
    3. Arbitrarily choose someone to believe, perhaps Calvary Chapel or the Baptists or Martin Luther or whoever, and then I could be one of them instead of a black sheep, or
    4. Accept the claims of the Catholic Church which, by now, I knew must be true and correct.

    Since I became a Christian in the first place because of my concern for following what was true, I chose the option of becoming a Catholic.

18. Round three -- On March 25, 2002 I whole heartedly began my walk as a Catholic. It is difficult at times and weird at times but the thought that keeps me going is, "It has to be true."
19. Sarah began seriously dealing with the ramifications of my decision beginning in phase two. I am supporting her in her choices and I accompany her to whatever church she wants to attend.
20. Since then, I've been attending Catholic Mass, learning the various Catholic traditions and practices and doing them, and have initiated the process of joining, which will take a year.

Written July 28, 2002.

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Years ago I heard Hank Hanegraaf on the Bible Answer Man radio program explain that Catholicism was not a cult and that many Catholics are true believers. I believed him and was friendly with Catholicism since then, but I never knew much about it. What I have learned since is that Protestants in general have completely distorted what Catholics believe and practice. As a result, many Protestants think that Catholicism is very heretical. I expect that some of you think that and are horrified that I have converted to Catholicism. I have no intention to attempt to convert any of you, but I would at least like to clear up the misconceptions you might have.

The Basics of Catholicism

Catholicism hinges on one proposition which can be and needs to be supported from the Bible. That proposition is that Christ intended to establish an institutional church which would be the authority for interpreting the Bible, for determining moral positions, and for developing church doctrine and practice. The church will have this role until Christ returns at his parousia (second coming) at the end of the world.

Since the time of the New Testament Apostles, each new generation of church leaders has been ordained by the previous generation and given the responsibility of ruling the church as well as receiving the deposit of doctrine and tradition that was passed along to it. The New Testament formed a key part of this body of information.

As the church battled heresy and managed the various issues that came up, it considered various doctrinal viewpoints and put them into writing. Doctrines such as the Trinity were formulated in this way. Because the Holy Spirit indwells the Catholic Church leadership and guarantees it to be free from error, we can trust the statements it has made over the centuries. Thus, we can trust the formulation of the canon, the doctrine of the inerrancy of the Bible, and the truth of the Trinity.

Martin Luther rejected the authority of the Catholic Church and changed a half-dozen key doctrines. He was annoyed by the excesses of the leaders of the church of his day. In doing so he created division in the church which continues even today as denominations fragment and new denominations are created almost yearly. The Protestant church is not unified.

Catholics honor the baptism of Protestants and consider them to be brethren in the Lord Jesus Christ.

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I Join the Church

On November 28, 2002 my daughter and I were received into full communion with the Catholic Church. There was a public ceremony at the Thanksgiving morning mass and my daughter and I were the only two being confirmed so it was very personal. We were allowed to join early instead of waiting until Easter. This was very special for us. Thanks to all who made this possible.

For those of you not familiar with the ceremony of joining the church I'll give a brief overview. During mass you wear white robes and walk down the aisle at the beginning of mass with the priest and the others. Then after the homily (sermon) the priest calls you forward and says a few things. Then you say a few things. At Easter they do a baptism as part of the ceremony but my daughter and I skipped this step since the Catholic Church accepts as valid the Protestant baptism we had in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Then you are anointed with oil for the Sacrament of Confirmation which is the Catholic equivalent of being baptized in the Holy Spirit. Then you sit down and are now able to participate in the Eucharist.

My daughter and I were very nervous. I don't know why since we are accustomed to being up in front of people. Pat, the leader of the RCIA, showed us in a book the rite we were about to do and helped us select robes. Then we waited for Father Bernie, the priest, to arrive. When he did, he strongly suggested that we go to confession (the Sacrament of Reconciliation) right then. I had prepared myself for this moment but my daughter was taken by surprise because we were told that we wouldn't need to do it.

I went into the confessional and told Father Bernie what I had prepared to tell him and he blessed me. It was all very routine except that I had the sensation that I was in the presence of Jesus and was talking to Him instead of Father Bernie. It was weird but to be expected -- after all, I was participating in a Sacrament of the church.

When I came out, Father Bernie stayed in. I interpreted this to mean that my daughter should go in so I tried to coax her a bit to go in. She was horrified but went in. A minute or so later she came out weeping hysterically. Pat hugged her for a long time and eventually she calmed down enough to clean the fog off her glasses. Meanwhile, the entire congregation was waiting for us all to begin the service and to come down the aisle. So we did and found our seats.

At the designated time my daughter and I got up and did our bit and Father Bernie did his bit. It was cosmic. I was beginning to have a strong experience of some sort of altered state of consciousness. But that is common for me at mass anyway. For example, often as I was in line waiting to receive a blessing during the Eucharist (as a non-member I couldn't receive the actual bread and wine but would, instead, be blessed by the priest or the Eucharistic minister) I would have a strong sense that I was in the presence of Christ. As I got closer and closer to the wafer the sensation would intensify. Once I learned that this is why it is called "the Presence" I even began to bow in reverence. Protestants who are critical of Catholicism might think I was bowing to a wafer but I was actually worshipping Christ.

Finally it was time to receive the Eucharist. I went forward to receive the wafer and put it in my mouth. I didn't think much of it at first but I started noticing that I was totally absorbed in the experience of tasting the flavor. But the wildness really began when I sipped the wine.

I sipped what was only a few drops of wine and there was an explosion in my mind. The 'kick' of alcohol was intensified 10,000 times and I became totally absorbed with the experience of tasting the wine. But I had enough awareness to find my way back to the seat. I was totally immersed in the awareness of Christ and His presence.

After the mass we chit-chatted with friends and family.

Since then I have a feeling of connectedness with Christ that lingers and that I've never had before. I have images of Jesus and His life on earth floating around in my mind, and with my mind's eye and can see Him sitting on the throne. I also have a sense of peace and a feeling that I belong as a member of His family. It is very comforting.

My daughter later explained what was going on with her. She was horrified when she discovered that she had to go to confess her sins to the priest. She merely wept the whole time and barely said anything to the priest. But after he blessed her and told her that her sins were forgiven, she had an overwhelming sense that she was forgiven. She was weeping for that reason and because of her joy at joining the church and her feeling that she was in the presence of the Lord. Of course, we didn't know why she was weeping.

A few days later I went to mass again and received the Eucharist again. This time there was no wild experience but as I was kneeling back in the pew I felt loved by God and that I was His child who He loved and cared for. I understood for the first time the meaning of the line we say as part of the mass that the Eucharist is our spiritual food. It seemed like I was nourished spiritually by the Eucharist.

Some of you Protestants might think that all this emphasis on experience is not good but it is one of the things I like about the Catholic Church. I like sitting in mass and feeling like I am at the last supper with Jesus and the disciples. And I like having the feeling that I am standing at the cross and watching Jesus as He suffers and dies for me. I like the mystical and experiential past of the Catholic Church which includes the images, icons, statues, liturgy and ceremony. But enough of my preaching.

Written December 1, 2002.

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