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David Vasquez wrote:

Dear Mr. Humphrey:

I'm a former, devout Protestant, (for approximately ten years), who left my non-denominational, fundamentalist church about nine years ago. Since then, I have gone off the deep end and have committed sins that have left me feeling guilt-ridden, depressed, and often fearful of impending doom ... the consequences of my sins. These sins are of a moral, not so much legal, nature.
I drink alcohol and do other things just to try to forget and feel better, but I feel like David when he wrote in Psalm 51:3:

"For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me."

I have been angry with God and have even doubted His existence for a time. Some of these doubts still linger, even now, but part of me wants to believe that there's a loving God who will wipe my slate clean and let me continue on in life with a new outlook and a sense of restored joy and security.

My wife is a Catholic from Colombia and her younger brother is a Catholic priest in South America. I've asked him many questions, but his lack of English and my mediocre Spanish have sometimes made conversation difficult, not to mention the long distance factor — I live in New York and he lives in his native Colombia, South America.

I've been attending Mass with my wife on an irregular basis over the years, but I've been going more often as of late.

I'm thinking about becoming a Catholic, but my Protestant background has made my perception of the Catholic Church and its doctrine a bit prejudice. For example:

  • the baptism of infants
  • the idea of the Pope being the head of the Church, and
  • (RCIA) the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults

are just a few issues that I'm not clear on or convinced about.

Some of these beliefs and practices are alien to me and seem to conflict with my very nature and knowledge of the Scriptures or their interpretations, however, I'm not looking for a religious debate, (God knows I've had too many of those and they usually lead nowhere), but I am looking for some real answers so that I could make an informed decision.

  • Can you suggest any resources such as books, tapes, CDs, or DVDs that deal with these issues?

Maybe something that deals with the type of concerns a Protestant who is considering becoming a Catholic would have — something with a Biblical and historical perspective.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Sincerely,

David
  { Can you suggest books, tapes, CDs, or DVDs for a Protestant considering becoming a Catholic? }

Mike replied:

Hi David,

Thanks for e-mailing me.

You said:
Some of these doubts still linger, even now, but part of me wants to believe that there's a loving God who will wipe my slate clean and let me continue on in life with a new outlook and a sense of restored joy and security.

That part of you is called the Holy Spirit. For a person on a journey like yours we have to remember just how much God loves us. My previous pastor use to say,

God, Our Father is madly in love with us, even when we are sinning He loves us, but he loves us too much just to want to keep us where we are.

All men have free will. With free will, we can make holy choices or bad choices, but even if we make bad choices, God is always ready to have us truly repent and come home. God has a special plan for each person's life, including you David!

Our job is to discern that calling and follow it.

I used to run a free program that sent Catechisms to seeking Protestants and non-Christians but no longer have the financial or operational means to do this anymore. Nevertheless, if you wish to go deeper, consider buying a cheap copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to learn everything we believe as Catholics.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said there are not 100 people that hate the Catholic Church, but there are thousands upon thousands who hate, what they think, is the Catholic Church.

In my opinion, the sacramental life of the Catholic Church is the strongest, most powerful thing any person can participate in to get rid of bad habits and grow in God's Grace.

One suggestion I have for clearing up any misperceptions is just searching and reading some of the postings in our knowledge base of questions. There is a shortcut web address for this at:

https://www.AskACatholic.com/SiteSearch

Just type in the search words on the topic that is confusing you.

Click here for search results on infant baptism. If you want to search on something different, just change the word. If you wish to match two words together, check the Exact phrase radio button or put the multiple words in double quotes: "Exact phrase". You may wish to check out this article from our colleagues at Catholic Answers.

I have a whole section on the Pope here.

Here is a specific question about the Pope:

There is a special section in our FAQs that will assist you in understanding in the process of becoming Catholic and the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults:

These articles are from my Favorites section:

Hope this helps,

Take care!

Mike

Dave replied:

Dear Mike,

I want to truly thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to reply to my e-mail in such a thorough and compassionate manner. I believe that what you say is true and I'm hoping to one day experience that peace that truly does surpass all understanding.

Until then I'll keep searching prayerfully and asking the right questions. I'm going to anxiously, and with great anticipation, look through the web addresses you've provided.

Thanks for your help Mike.

God bless you.

Dave

Eric replied:

Hi Dave,

There are a lot of good books. One book that aims at gently explaining Catholicism to someone from an Evangelical or Fundamentalist background is:

Another book is:

Scott Hahn set about to disprove Catholicism and rescue his friend from Rome's clutches and ended up converting himself. There are also three books in a series edited by Patrick Madrid:

  1. Surprised by Truth
  2. Surprised by Truth II and
  3. Surprised by Truth III

These are collections of brief conversion stories from a variety of people.

Some of these may be available from your library, including via inter-library loan.

Hope this helps,

Eric

Mike replied:

Hi Dave,

I'd also recommend Faith of the Early Fathers by William Jurgens.

A stellar read for understanding what the very first Christian's:

  • thought
  • taught, and
  • died for!

You can buy the three volume set as a package or buy them individually.

I'd recommend saving up some money and buying the 3-volume pack.

I have other recommendations for books on the Early Church Fathers from my other web site:

Mike
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