What Jehovah’s Witnesses and Others Can Teach Catholics,an article in Catholic Digest - Big Big Forums

janelle · 09-25-2003, 02:45 AM

By Nick Cafarelli

“When I was in second grade,” says B. J. of Cyberspace, whose father was Lutheran, “Sister told us only Catholics would go to heaven.”

Devastated that her father would spend an eternity in hell, B. J. confided in her Catholic mother, who smiled and suggested she ask Dad about it. “He told me heaven has two gates — Sister would enter one that led to a place, surrounded by a high wall, occupied by those who thought only Catholics went to heaven. The rest of us would go through the other gate. Our heaven would be every bit as great as Sister’s, but we’d have to be extra quiet when we were near the wall so Sister wouldn’t hear us on the other side.”

In answer, then, to April’s column asking what we can learn from other religious traditions to enhance our Catholicism, I’d say B. J. learned healthy religious humor from her Lutheran father.

B. N. of Cyberspace learned about dignity and faithfulness from a co-worker, a black Baptist Mason, and as a result returned to the Catholic Church. “He told me about his experiences in the Deep South before the laws were changed,” B. N., who is white, writes. “But what impressed me most about him was the strong, straightforward belief he had in Jesus Christ and how that had led him through the hard times. We got to be good friends, but I couldn’t really enjoy his company while I was not attending church. Soon, I returned to weekly Mass. I now live a full life in my Catholic religion and in my parish, thanks partly to a black Baptist Mason.”

L. N. of Ohio has kind words for a group often maligned by otherwise charitable Christians. “My husband’s grandfather is a Jehovah’s Witness,” she writes, “and was deathly ill. He needed a blood transfusion, but, as that was against his religion, he refused. His faith community gathered around him in prayer and in support of his decision. His trust in God was so strong that he was prepared to die for his beliefs.” In this case, he survived without the transfusion and is now healthy. The experience made L. N. ponder, “It’s difficult enough if my beliefs cause me ridicule. What would I do if they required death?”

No matter what we might think of the doctrine of Jehovah’s Witnesses, we have to pause when we consider the persecutions they have suffered in Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and elsewhere. We, too, might ask ourselves the question: What would I do if my Catholic beliefs required death?

More maligned in some Christian quarters than Jehovah’s Wit-nesses are Neo-pagans, yet if we listen closely, they can also make us better Catholics.

“Before I became Catholic a few years ago,” writes A. S. of England, “I was Neo-pagan (clergy, even). My training gave me an appreciation for meaningful and powerful ritual. The Mass now fills me with awe at the way it so powerfully combines spiritual meaning with a full sensory experience.” Like many converts, A. S. wishes more Catholics displayed awareness of the richness of their tradition. “In my previous Church, it was considered highly rude to be packing up to go before the end of the ritual, sort of like walking out on a friend. Yet folks at my Catholic parish walk out right after Communion all the time. Don’t they realize it’s bad manners to ‘eat and run’?”

P. B. of Massachusetts sought God in New Age movements for 22 years before she became Catholic. “All had various forms of meditation,” she writes, “as a way of seeking to know God.” She explored many of these forms and “almost always found a sense of peace and refreshment. But I was restless and felt these movements did not bring me as close to God as I wished.”

After intense prayer, P. B. was led to the Catholic Church, “where I began to feel at home.” One problem remained, however. “There didn’t seem to be anything in the Church that encouraged a quiet, listening time,” much like the peace and refreshment she’d found in New Age meditation techniques. But then she discovered a treasure the Church offers all of us. “I was volunteering on a prayer line, and next door was a chapel where the Blessed Sacrament was exposed for Adoration. I went in and knew that this was it — the last piece of the puzzle had been put in place. I was truly home. To this day, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is one of my favorite practices of our Church.”

R. B. of New York was a Baptist, an agnostic, a Unitarian, and a student of Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Native American spirituality before she became Catholic nine years ago. “Eventually, these religions led me full circle back to Christianity. Catholicism was the only major Western Christian religion to incorporate elements common in all other traditions,” and, among others, she lists asceticism, monasticism, prayer beads, and mantras.

Though the Church is still working on a theology that adequately accounts for the diversity of world religions, a theology that builds on the insight of Vatican II — “The Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions” (Nostra Aetate, 2) — it could profit by reflecting on R. B.’s concluding thought. “Among my dearest friends,” she writes in a SNIP (Sincerely, Nick Impressive Perception) Citation-winning statement, “are a devout Hindu, a Buddhist monk, a Jehovah’s Witness, a Pagan, and a Native American traditional. They are all deeply spiritual, and eminently ethical and caring, persons. I wouldn’t give up the beautiful variety and unique contributions of the many religious traditions of our world, which I believe have been blessed by God.”

This being the month of revery in northern climes — while lying on the beach, in a boat, on a hammock — I pose a subject for your summer leisure. Imagine that you were confined to a space no larger than St. Peter’s Basilica for one year (with food, medical care, and other necessities, of course — after all, this is a fantasy). What space would you choose? It certainly doesn’t have to be a church, though I’d personally like to spend the time exploring the mysteries of the 1700-year-old Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which I was blessed to visit last August for too short a time. Would you choose a special building, a patch of woods, part of the Grand Canyon, a section of desert? Enjoy your fantasy, and tell the rest of us about it.

hsnovel · 09-27-2003, 01:08 AM

As far as I know, Jehovah's Witnesses have their own bible and leave out a lot of the scriptures of the original bible and they don't believe that Jesus is God's Son.....what's that all about? What the Catholic's need is an apostolic church

janelle · 09-27-2003, 01:46 AM

Apostolic--of or pertaining to an apostle or apostles: referring to the Pope or the papacy.---I'm sure that is what we have.

hsnovel · 09-30-2003, 03:38 AM

Apostolic is a concept of being sent. What I meant was....okay, our church is run by an apostle. She is a sent one of God....just like Paul. Many people today don't believe that there are or should be apostles. They think that it ended with Paul's death. Well, much like when a President dies, the office still has to be filled. In this case, there are many apostles or people called to be apostles, but very few will step up to the plate, because if you know how much persecution Paul went through, not many want to do that. But our apostle stepped up to the plate when God called her....she debated and argued with Him, but in the end finally just said "Okay Lord...it is your will and not mine, so whatever you will have me to do, I will do it." That's the only reason there aren't many apostles today, no one wants to say "Yes Lord." That, and many churches are clouded by tradition.....I'm not pointing any fingers, but how many churches have you been to that have been dead? Or, you sit through a good sermon, but as you're walking out to the parking lot, you hear your pastor/priest/whatever yell at his wife, or light up a cigarette or maybe he/she lives in a way that is contradictory to what they preach. In other words, a hypocrite. Well, an apostolic church is a church that has a great anointing on it by God. A sent church. A church sent to reveal truth to churches that are numbed to tradition. Our apostle lives her life according to the Bible, and I'm not saying she's PERFECT, but she doesn't swear, doesn't fight with her husband in front of people, she doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, doesn't live the way God says not to. Her life belongs to the Lord. We can NEVER repay the Lord back for what He's given us nor can we ever outgive Him, so why not live our lives for Him and live them the way He says to. He is coming after a people that are holy and without spot or wrinkle. I don't want to go to heaven and be standing in judgement and He says, "Depart from me because I never knew you." Just because you pray doesn't mean you're going to heaven. We must live holy as well. I could go on and on. It's really a matter of what you were taught, but not everyone's taught right. They may just go to a church because that's the religion they grew up in or whatever the reason. Our church isn't about religion. We are Christians. We don't get caught up in being a Baptist or Catholic or Lutheran or Methodist. We just love Christ and we owe Him our life. That's who I will live for and strive to be like. Period. I hope this helped some. I really just want people to know the truth. This is real....straight from God.

ckerr4 · 09-30-2003, 01:39 PM

The Catholic Church is apostolic - we have that tradition of being lead by apostles of Christ, going back centuries. The Church and her leaders are not always perfect, of course. And what the public knows is the worst of it, because only the bad priests, and the ugly stories make the evening news. But the good people - they rarely make the news. The true apostles are there.

"One holy Catholic and apostolic Church" - that's part of our Creed of Faith.

I'm not trying to start an argument, just wanted to clear that up.