Contributing factor to Roman Catholics converting to JW

by NeverKnew 13 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  NeverKnew

  My JW friend once asked that if churches were so great why did so many Roman Catholics convert to his religion. Now I have some semblance of an answer!

  I spoke with a professor who definitely had some familiarity with the WTS. I learned later that one student he keeps in touch with is an ex-jw whose wife is still a jw.

  There were two things in our conversation that I wanted to share ....

  1. He spoke of a disproportionate number of cult leaders being once affiliated with the Presbyterian church and noted that CTR was raised in a Presbyterian household and Joseph Smith's (Mormons) family were inactive but registered members of a Presbyterian congregation. He apologized on behalf of the Presbyterian Church. *sigh*

  2. Generally, Roman Catholics gravitate towards JWism and Baptists gravitate towards Mormonism. He attributed one dynamic to the Baptist's being taught to respect the "experience" of faith and the other dynamic to the Roman Catholic's being taught to respect doctrines of faith. I thought this was interesting.

  Is this common knowledge?
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  LongHairGal

  NEVER KNEW:

  I was a Catholic who converted to the JWs partly because I despised a clergy class and the Witnesses claimed they didn't have one. In time I found out that was a big fat lie and that they have a plain-clothes clergy with all their titles. They even claim ecclesiastical privilege in courts of law.

  I also was interested in end-time prophecy and the JWs claimed they had the "answers".

  Of course I would never have joined the JWs if I knew the truth. Too bad the internet wasn't around then. I could have saved myself a lot of aggravation and wasted time!
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  carla

  I think many Catholics join because the wt is set up almost exactly like the Catholic church. Somewhere there is a handy visual of this but I can't remember where. Goes something like this- Catholics have Rome & Pope- jw's have GB & NY Catholics have their Cardinals ..-- jw's have Co's etc.. Catholics have priests-- jw's have elders Catholics require confessing of sins to priest-- jw's require confessing of sins to elders and so on.......
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  cantleave

  What I can't understand is why ex-witnesses would become Catholic or even worse Mormon.
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  NeverKnew

  Longhairedgal:

  "Plain-clothed clergy" - now THAT made me laugh!

  Cantleave:

  I have to imagine the reverse is true. If you've come to believe in a doctrinal faith, you stick with that which is comfortable. Just my guess.

  Carla:

  If you ever find the handy visual, I'd love to see it!
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  jgnat

  The WTS offers a refuge from oppressive regimes. It still has the vestiges of its origins, an anti-establishment establishment. Ironic, isn't it, that the confessions, the autocracy, the oppression is worse with the WTS?
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  Vidiot

  The RCC is fundamentally heirarchal.

  A disenfranchised ex-Catholic finds a familiar environment.
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  juanvazquez88

  Im a roman catholic. There is a motto that claims "ignorant catholic, future protestant" in the sense of ignorance about the real catholic doctrine. There are a lot of called themselves "catholics" whom know nothing about his religion, just moves his bodies to the sunday mass without know nothing about it. This are the "catholics" whom easily succumbs to other religions. In my particular case, i was born in a catholic family, baptized and raised in the catholic faith. However, i pass to a atheist fase and rebeldy abouth all religions, i study philosophy and psychoanalysis and they drive me much away from them. Then i found myself studying the letters of the church´s fathers, catholic apologetics, the entire bible, history of the catholic church with the only purpouse of give me the reason of the falsehood of it. But the reason found me and made me say: "i knew nothing about my religion!!" Faith and reason can work together...

  Why a roman catholic is in a jw forum?? because my wife is a jw, expelled because of our marriage, barely talks with my fathers-in-law and only because we waiting a child in one month, and i want to understand this sect to help my wife. I began reading his publications, receaving jw in my house to debate with them (never back), and i found crisis of concience, cautives of a concept, times of the gentiles, and all the literature of its begginings (must of all unknow to my wife), and a lot of forums about ex-jw trying to help other to leave the organization...Im just waiting the right time to tell my wife about ttatt...She´s still in the fase of : "i deserved the expell because i marry you, but i love you su much"

  The peace of the Lord be with all of you
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  Mum

  juanvazquez, welcome to the forum.

  I read a book once by Barbara Grizutti Harrison, who was brought up as a JW after her family left the Roman Catholic Church. She left the JW religion as a young adult. The title of rhe book is Visions of Glory: A History and a Memory of the Jehovah's Witnesses. She had a Jewish friend named Arnold who would defend her and even hold her hand when she refused to salute the flag or stand for the national anthem. There's a chapter in the book called "God Can't Kill Arnold."

  Be supportive of your wife, but find ways to make her question the bizarre beliefs she has been taught. This can go a long way in getting her to open her mind to other ideas. But don't expect anything to happen too quickly. Overcoming the brainwashing takes a lot of time.
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  GromitSK

  As a former RC and JW my observation would be that Catholics tend to respect the Bible as an authority (as well as the church). I certainly didn't have sufficient knowledge or skill to counter the JW arguments I was presented with, and neither did my parish priest, who wasn't really that interested tbh. As LongHairedGal said, they seemed to have all the answers.

  I suppose many Catholics would just give up arguing and revert to trusting in mother church, unfortunately I didn't. I wish I had.