Boyfriend who is Baptist

Hello everyone,


This is my first thread and I was inspired by the many prayer requests you all ask for on here. My mom has been a member since the early 2000’s. I’ve seen her and heard her talk about this website ever since I was a little tot.

Mary has granted me some unbelievable things because I have been saying the rosary.

Point is, I believe by granting me these things, she’s letting me know that she is listening.

That being said, I humbly ask all of you to pray for my current boyfriend’s conversion. I say a rosary for him especially everyday and have been doing the Saint Thérèse of Lisieux novena.

Let me give some background. He is almost a decade older than me and has had a lot of experiences in life. In his early adult life he was a musician in the emo/metal music scene. He is a very talented musician and could have made it big.

When I first talked to him on the phone, he pretty much laid all the baggage out in front of me. It was some pretty bad stuff. He said after admitting all of that, most girls wouldn’t give him a chance and said he understood if I didn’t want to. Well, I gave him a chance. We have identical interests and tastes. Plus, he was the first Christian I have dated. I couldn’t imagine if he signed on with that other band, what would become of him when he was already so wild and suffering from the flesh in the smaller scale band he was a part of.

The only huge hang-up I have at this point is that he is Baptist and I am Catholic. But, then he told me he doesn’t agree with everything Baptist do and basically, he is still seeking the truth. Right now he is firmly set on the Bible being the objective truth. I think that’s all he has to cling to at this point as I’m sure his Baptist friends are feeding him a ton of anti-Catholic propaganda.


He has an issue with the following which most protestant and fundamentalist branches have:

Intercessory of Saints

Mary (Told me if I were to pray for him that I please pray directly to God. He seemed sincere about it. Which broke my heart).

Catholicism is Pagan ( Have a dresser in my room dedicated to Mary, Jesus, Saints, and the Rosary I proudly display. Told me he thinks Catholicism is the devil’s cradle).

Doesn’t think infants should be baptized.

Essentially, all the Protestant takes on Catholicism. The thing is, he is eloquently versed and right now he is currently studying the bible through some faith institute and they’re probably butchering its interpretation. Sad thing is, he cries when he reads some verses in the bible and he constantly laments that he wants to know and serve God.

Here’s the profound thing: he has made me realize I should read the bible in depth and inform myself about my faith, because wow I did a bad job defending it.

He told me he grew up Lutheran and he was pretty devoted to it, became atheist for almost a decade when he entered the music scene and somehow the vaccine was the final nail in the coffin for him. I think he questioned the moral ethics of it, which was surprising and somehow that led him to Christianity. Anyways, he went back to exploring Lutheranism, said he has explored Orthodoxy, other branches of fundamentalist and Protestants and has landed at Baptist because some Baptist guy convinced him. I’m pretty sure at one point he said he was even looking into the Catholic church?

He seems uncomfortable by the whole theatrics of tongues (performed at the Baptist church he attends as well) and went off to me about some Pentecostal church he attended where they pass out and believe they’re being overcome by the holy spirit. He said he fled the church when they were doing that. Said it was like some weird prayer orgy. I told him that’s wrong, and it sounds like they are deifying their own thoughts. They’re probably opening themselves up to the devil. He wholeheartedly agreed.

Here’s the next mind-blowing thing. I hadn’t been going to church for a long time. Guess what? He brings me to my Catholic church! He’s the one that makes me go despite his resistance to the pope and the supremacy of the church and every misconception about the Catholic faith. During mass, he is intensely listening to what the priest is saying. I’ll see his face twist, and he’ll throw his hands up when the priest says something that objects to what he’s been taught.

(I will post a part II below ) Thank you for taking your time to read this.

 

Continued ----

The first time we attended my local Catholic church, we were asked to bring up gifts which was weird to me. I’m not even a member of that church. Plus, he looks not how you would expect a church goer to look. He brought up the blood and I brought up the bread.

It’s kind of cute too, how he won’t sit in the pew when I go to communion, he follows me up, and inside my heart is leaping for joy because the priest gives him a blessing when he does that arm cross thing over his heart.

During the rosary I asked God to influence the father of that church to have a reading that intersects what me and him debate or that whatever reading he does or talks about will plant a seed in him to bring him home to the Catholic faith.

There’s the verse where Jesus tells Peter to bind the church to this rock. Well, we were literally debating that the day before and what does the priest bring up in church? He talks about the verse specifically. My boyfriend was all fired up and talking about how that verse was butchered (They’re teaching him it is simply symbolic of faith) and all I said was that it was a coincidence, as we were just discussing that yesterday.

Anyways, he’s more gung-ho about me then I am about him. (Laughed and said he’s afraid he will convert to Catholicism for me) and said I’d have to be the one to break up with him. He also has grown to love children and really wants to start a family. The only thing that is holding me back is our beliefs. He asked me if he gently convinced me out of Catholicism if I would be open to leaving the church and I told him that works vice versa and he agreed to that.

Unfortunately, since I am younger than him and a college student. So he’s ready to settle down, but I still have to finish my degree. Plus, I have many personal projects and endeavors that take up my time. So, he is a project to take on among all the tidal wave of chores coming at me.

Pray for him whether we are meant to be or not! My mom always says converts make the best Catholics and God favors seekers, which it seems like he is. My heart is heavy for him everyday, and I just want his soul to be saved. Knowing his past, he needs confession! He needs to get those sinful burdens off his soul. I want him to convert more than anything.

Ask Mother Mary to pull her wandering son from the shadow and bring him into the Substance! Let her lead him to her Son. Show him a sign of something profoundly Catholic if it will convince him.

I also ask for the intercession of Saint Monica, Saint Anne, Saint Joachim, Saint Jude, and Saint Dominic.

Amen. God bless you. Thank you for your time if you read through all of this.

 

I will certainly pray for the both of you as I am sure your mom is doing daily! You have provided a ton of details which actually makes it easier for we members of the forum to know how to pray. By the way, I believe the quickest path to lead your boyfriend to the Catholic Church is to expose him and yourself to the writings of the early Church Fathers: The Didache, St. Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp, and St. Justin Martyr. Don't rush into it. Before you point them out to him, read them yourself, ask your Mom questions, and here if you wish, for clarification. There are also some solid youtube clips that are helpful. Always proceed slowly; be humble before the Lord. As you grow closer to God, you will become a light for your boyfriend. Porn addiction is, unfortunately, most common among young men. It's a spiritual battle. This will be the focus of my prayer. I will ask Mary Most Pure to join me! Ask St. Joseph to enter the fray and pray for your boyfriend. Run my advice past your Mom; she will better know which of my suggestions make the most sense. Ultimately, it will be your commitment to remain pure before marriage that will most profoundly impact him!

St. Therese, pray for them both. Jesus and His Church always held first place in your heart. May it become so for both of these young persons!

 

Thank you so much!

 

Will bring all of this to pray at Mass tomorrow. Peace

 

Wow what a testimony! I have already begun praying for you both . There is a bible online Father Mike who explains everything in the Bible on a day to day basis. Maybe someone on here has the link.
Then there are so many approved apparitions of Mary. I will continue to Pray!

 

The is a website called The Coming Home Network where many educated Baptists and other religious denominations have explained how they came to be Catholic after searching. It is very good . Search around it.

 

Thank you so much for the resourse!

 

Welcome to the forum. I will pray for you both, and I second Rory's recommendation to check out the Coming Home Network. They have lots of conversion stories posted on YouTube. Here's a link to their website: https://chnetwork.org/
Near the end of the page there's a link to a discussion with two former Protestant pastors (one of them Baptist) who converted. I haven't watched that video but I have seen other videos of former Baptists talking their conversion stories.

Steve Ray is one of my favourite Apologists and he's a former Baptist who can quote the Bible chapter and verse. There are lots of videos on YouTube where Steve talks about his conversion. He also wrote a book called "Crossing the Tiber" which is highly recommended.

Here's a video where Steve answers some Protestant objections to Catholicism. I haven't watched it all but I'm sure that some of your boyfriend's questions will be addressed.



Your mother is right about converts from Protestantism being some of the best Catholics. Scott Hahn's videos on the Bible and the Mass are excellent. Scott is a convert.

 

Hello OrphanimWheel! Welcome to the forum.

It seems like it wasn't so long ago that I was in college navigating relationships, and so I'll just say what helped me during those times!

First of all, the absolute best concrete thing you can do for your boyfriend and yourself is stay chaste. Be so firm and unwavering in this! A chaste relationship keeps the mind clear and everything in the right perspective. God will be able to send so much grace into your situation if you are in the state of grace always when you are with your boyfriend. And if he is looking at things he shouldn't, stay on his case about getting rid of all of that for good!

Second, if you are firm in your Catholic Faith, as it seems from your post here that you are, don't be afraid to unequivocally tell him so. Don't leave any bit of chance in his mind that he may be able to convert you. I know that that seems unfair, when you're trying to convert him, but the fact is that your Faith is true. It is for Christ's sake, not your boyfriend's, that you are trying to lead him to the Truth. And that leads me to...

Christ comes first. Christ is your Love. Always, always put your boyfriend second. Talk to Jesus constantly, as your dearest companion and True Love. If you haven't read "He and I" by Gabrielle Bossis, you totally should! Even just a page or two a day can have such a profound affect on your relationship with Jesus, as you feel just how deeply and jealously He loves you.

And then trust Jesus with all your heart. Every day, tell Him you trust that He will lead you where He thinks is best, whether it's to a future with your boyfriend, or somewhere else. When I was your age and dealing with relationships, I used to beg Jesus daily, "Please save me from any wrong choice I make. Please hold my hand and never let go. Don't let me make any mistake I can't get out of." That prayer served me well in times when my emotions had me strongly attached to a person I knew deep down was not good for me. God always came to my rescue when I was too weak to remove myself from a situation or relationship I shouldn't have been in. I don't say all this because I think your boyfriend is bad for you, but because your boyfriend will be greatly affected by your priority lying with Jesus and His Will for you.

I hope that you find those things helpful. I will certainly be praying for the conversion of your boyfriend!

 

Clear and practical. Excellent points, PF!

 

Prayers, although I don't think you need them too much as you are already more than half way there.

Love will find a way.

Love always, always finds a way and you gave a lovely, loving heart.

 

Purple Flower you have a great gift ! That explanation was the best and you have taken the time with 4 children to help. Thank God for a wonderful post. Also thank you Whatever and all advice givers and prayers. Great evangelizing!

 

Welcome OphanimWheel! You express yourself so beautifully. I will be praying for you, your boyfriend and your mom. Let me recommend to you a wonderful book about the Rosary. It was written by one of our members, and it’s very powerful. It’s called “The Rosary Behold Thy Mother!” By Bobby Forrest. Reading it has helped me know Mary more. And through Mary, we come to know Jesus more profoundly. It’s a short read, but I’m sure it will help you.

 

And you can buy it on Amazon

 

Will be praying for you! Such good advice above. An easy way to approach the issue of the Catholic Church is to remind him that he is seeking the Truth. Find all the many scriptures that point to Jesus beginning a Church and how that Church will prevail until the end of time, and then ask him if he truly believes what is written in the Bible, why not START by looking into the True Church Jesus established historically, instead of looking at Orthodoxy, etc... If one is truly searching for the Truth, why not believe what Jesus Himself has already told us? Maybe a simple way to change his thought process to feel that he really needs to give the church Christ established a chance.

 

Welcome and your situation is a tough one. You can easily go toe to toe with him and defend the faith however, my concern is that if he truly is a Christian and in his Baptist beliefs, he feels that you, as a Catholic, are basically a devil worshiper and that he will not change that view, then how can you have a future with him. That would make him a hypocrite in his own beliefs for how could a Christian decide to have a life with someone they believe to be a devil worshiper. This is the serious discussion you need to have with him. As for some counter points that I have with many Baptists, lets just take them one at a time.

For example:

1. Prayer to the Saints and Mary: He is wrong in what we believe. We don't pray to them in a sense on we are worshiping them. No we pray to them no different in what he just asked you to do. He asked you to pray for him to God directly. That is exactly what we are doing, we are just doing it one better and asking those in heaven to pray to God for us. What does "pray" mean? It means to ask. So he, like so many protestants just don't seem to understand. Furthermore, what we are doing is completely scriptural. We are supposed to be asking those in heaven to pray for us before the alter in heaven. So me asking you or others on this forum to pray for me is great, but asking Mary and the other saints in heaven to pray for me is far greater because that is their job and it is clearly stated in the bible.

Revelation 5: 8 And when he had opened the book, the four living creatures, and the four and twenty ancients fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints:

So ask him, what are these prayers of the saints? Where do you think they are getting these prayers to offer up to God on the heavenly alter? They are the prayers they collect from us. Why would these saints have their own prayers? Those in heaven are there to give eternal worship and praise to God forever and the prayers they offer are the prayers of us down here. They are not their own prayers or requests because they no longer have personal requests in heaven. They are in the fullness of the faith and knowledge in heaven. They are perfected in glory and in eternal worship and praise.

2. Mary. Same as above. We ask Mary to pray for us like we would any saint, friend, relative, parent, etc.

3. We don't worship statues. We have them around to help us in our own faith life. They are reminders for us to focus on God or even help us to understand their own lives and to be inspired by their own faith journey to help us in ours.

4. Infant baptism is biblical. So if he only wants to look to the bible for proof, then look there because it happens on numerous occasions.

5. Saying we are the devils cradle is nonsense. What is this based upon other than what his peers say about us. What is the proof behind such a horrid claim and judgement against you and fellow Catholics. Saying this is a sin because he and others assume so much and pass judgement on things they don't know.

6. Sola Scriptura. This too is nonsense because one, it doesn't say this anywhere in the bible. 2. it is the Catholic church that gave the world the bible. 3. Whose bible? There are many and the KJV altered the bible greatly not just by removing books but also many edits. Don't Baptists believe you can't alter any word in the bible? Then why did Protestants alter so many. They removed the name of Jesus on numerous occasions. I have studied bible origins for a long time and it is eye opening what has occurred and awful if you ask me. Man altered greatly the word of God and now so many Protestants believe and almost worship these changes and concept of sola scriptura. Also Sola Scriptura claims that anyone can listen to the Holy Spirit for their own personal guidance and thus act as their own "pope". This concept has led to so much in fighting among Christians and thus why there are over 50,000 different protestant churches now and growing. So who is right? I will take our church as authority because it has not changed for 2000 years. Also ask him if he knew that all the early protestant churches did not promote to their congregations to read the bible. It was outlawed other than at the minister/priest level becuase they didn't want the people to ask questions. Punishments were even up to death sentences in some cases. All this can be researched. The Catholic Church has been the only church to encourage the believers to read the bible not the Protestants. Protestant stance changed on this several hundred years after the protestant revolution.

Have fun in your discussions but be careful and always be charitable. Again though, you have to crush this nonsense of Catholics being the devils cradle. This is highly insulting to your faith and your beliefs and honestly if it doesn't change, in my opinion, you shouldn't be with this man. How could he ever respect you or your beliefs if he thinks you belong to the devil.

 

Yes this man has a strong personality and beliefs, so if he marries you, Orphanimwheel, without converting to the Catholic faith first, you will find after the honeymoon phase is over that he will work constantly to wear you down and undermine your Faith. So do keep that in mind!

 

Thank you for the awesome advice! I didn't know that about the protestant churches. Great ammunition.

 

Very true. Thank you for the advice