The “bad Catholics” become Protestants and the “good Protestants” …
Surprised by the truth.
The news spread quickly. Millions already know it now, and many millions more will. It was something Catholics did not expect, much less evangelicals. It was something almost impossible to imagine in our time of ‘ecumenism’, and even less likely to happen in the United States, considered the cradle of today’s evangelical Protestantism. For years exactly the opposite had been happening, and the breaking news said exactly the opposite.
Judging by the ‘sources’ and the breadth of testimonies, it could not be a lie. It is a fact that, instead of reversing, it keeps growing as time goes by. It is the “conversion” of evangelical and Protestant pastors, ministers, preachers, and leaders to the Catholic Church. Yes. They were once strong pillars of American Protestantism and promoters of anti-Catholicism — they have returned to the Church of Christ! And through their testimony they have been drawing, like a growing avalanche, more Protestants to the fold where the Fullness of the truth and of the means of salvation is found: the Catholic Church.
Scott Hann, Paul Thigpen, Marcus Grodi, Steve Wood, Bop Sungenis, Julie Swenson, Dave Amstrong, David B. Currie, Tom Howard, Peter Kreeft, Douglas Bogart, to mention only a few of them. They were once strong evangelical and anti-Catholic promoters; now they are all converts to Catholicism. Each of them at different times and by different means, but with many things in common, they are now united in the Catholic Church. Eph 4:4-5
*We have added their addresses because some “evangelicals” and pastors are so surprised by these testimonies that they have written to us doubting this great reality. If you write to them, do not forget that they are Americans and you need to write to them in English. Oh… and the list keeps growing, so we will keep adding the new conversions of evangelical pastors to Catholicism.
From Catholic to Protestant: Ignorance and bad testimony.
Upon hearing and reading the testimonies of these Protestant brethren, a tremendous difference immediately stands out between what led them to join the Catholic Church and what leads many Catholics to go off to an evangelical group or fundamentalist Protestant sect.
In every country it is common to hear from those who become ‘Protestants’ their famous testimonial phrase: “When I was a Catholic…” and right after that they immediately explain their way of living when they ‘were Catholics’, for they claim: “I was a drunkard, unfaithful, foul-mouthed, a drug addict, a liar, a thief…” With all this, what they mean to affirm is that being Catholic led them to that. However, what they are really affirming, without realizing it, is that they were “bad Catholics,” and that is why they ended up in yet another group.
Testimonies of that kind abound everywhere. First they affirm that they were Catholics, and that is common, but it must be clarified what kind of “Catholics they were,” for as in every religion and church: There are good, average, and very bad ones. Some Catholics, for example, are Catholics in name only. In fact, most of the “Catholics” who leave for another church are not the best Catholics, but quite the opposite. They themselves say so in their testimony: That they were alcoholics, foul-mouthed, full of hatred, unbridled sexuality, drugs, they did not know the Bible, they did not know God, etc. You never hear a testimony from a Protestant saying: When I was a Catholic I had God in my heart, I lived striving for holiness, and I knew the Bible well…”. No. Without a doubt, the “bad Catholics,” by not living their faith or not knowing it in depth, are the ones who most easily fall into the nets of some proselytizing sect.
From Protestant to Catholic: Full knowledge and holiness.
Something marvelous found in the testimonies of these American evangelical pastors who were anti-Catholic all their lives and have now returned to the Church is the following: “None of them says they were bad Protestants; nor that they were given over to vices; nor that they did not know the Word of God”. No. Quite the opposite. They affirm that they had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, were deep connoisseurs of Scripture, lived a Christian life, and bore witness to it. If they left there, it was not because they were bad people seeking to become good. No. What they did, individually, one by one and at different times, was to study the Bible and the History of the Church more deeply in order to know more fully the fullness of the truth.
They sought the will of God with all their mind and heart, and their surprise kept growing as they advanced in their study, for what they discovered, and struggled not to accept, was that everything pointed to where they neither thought nor wanted it to point: The Catholic Church.
They read studies of Protestant theology; books of biblical exegesis by evangelical authors; studies on the writings of the Fathers of the Church of the first centuries; History of the Church and of early Christianity in Protestant libraries… and they were literally “surprised by the Truth”.As they advanced in the search for the full knowledge of the Word and in their desire to live in greater holiness doing the will of Jesus Christ, they kept encountering evidence and proofs that this was found in its fullness only in the Catholic Church.
For many of them it was an emotional, spiritual, and rational “shock”. They were not looking for that, nor did they think that was what they would find. They only wanted the fullness of the truth, for they were Protestant ministers already serving in Christian churches and groups. They did not seek it, but without a doubt God was indeed seeking them and provided the means to draw them. In the end they made the decision to do the will of God and have entered the only Church founded by Christ: The Catholic Church.
The news is running like a mighty river that grows bigger and bigger as it flows. By now there are many pastors who have returned and hundreds of faithful who have become fully Christian by entering Catholicism. Christians who, being good Christians, are deciding to be even better Christians, fully united to Jesus Christ through the Eucharist and through full communion with the Church he founded.
Several of them were theology teachers, book writers, pastors, and scholars… what happened is that they set out to study the foundations of the Catholic faith, and they got into studying it seriously, ending up surprised by the truth, grounded in the Bible, about the Catholic faith as the Christian faith that comes from the beginning. Blessed be God that they are returning to the path of fullness.
How different their testimony is from that of ex-Catholics, for it is common to hear many Protestants and even some ex-priests say: ” When I was a Catholic I was a drunkard, a womanizer, a thief, a liar, a drug addict… and now I have changed my life…” By contrast, these pastors who are returning to the Catholic Church testify that they were living in the love of Jesus Christ, transformed by the power of God, experts in the Bible and in theology, preaching on radio and television, filled with Jesus and his Spirit… but when they wanted to walk further into the fullness of the truth of Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus himself guided them to the Catholic Church.
At first they rebelled against believing this and fought against the idea; they went deeper and asked other good and learned evangelicals, and although they were teachers of theology they studied the Bible even more… it was all useless. They had to accept that the Bible and history were showing them what Jesus Christ wanted to tell them personally. The fullness of the Christian life is in the Catholic Church. The Holy Spirit was guiding them, and they ended up becoming Catholics.
What a difference! The bad Catholics become Protestants, and the best evangelical Protestants are becoming Catholics. Blessed be God for the way he does things, for while on the one hand there are Catholics who out of ignorance go off to the sects, on the other hand the best evangelicals, in wanting to go deeper into the truth and into their relationship with Christ, are becoming Catholics.
All roads lead to Rome
This old saying seems to hold true on the spiritual plane as well. They searched along every ‘road’, and their search for the truth and for the fullness of Christianity led them to ‘Rome’. There they found communion with the Pope, and their personal relationship with Jesus Christ grew as they also came to have a personal relationship not only with Christ=the head, but also with his body=the Church 1 Cor 12:13ff
All of them are now serving in the Catholic Church and give their testimony on radio, in magazines, on television, and throughout the world. They even have books, cassettes, Internet pages… ah, and through them there is now a strong movement in the United States of former evangelical pastors returning to the Church, for God keeps drawing, through their testimony, more brethren toward the only Church Christ founded: The Catholic one.
The road to “Rome” was for them a discovery of the full truth about the faith and about many misunderstandings they had learned since childhood. They came to understand Cardinal Newman’s famous saying: “In the world there are not even a hundred people who reject the Catholic Church. Rather, there are thousands who reject ‘a mistaken image’ of what they think the Catholic Church is”. It was true. They discovered that what they had heard and repeated thousands of times was a “false” understanding of what Catholicism is.
From good to excellent: The Fullness of the faith
Some facts that surprise and enrich this breaking news are the ones we will now see about the profile of some of them. Be amazed along with me as you see who is converting to the Catholic Church:
1) Scott Hann. Former Presbyterian pastor and former professor of Protestant theology.
His anti-Catholicism, his excellent knowledge as a Protestant preacher and theologian, and his striking testimony of conversion to the Catholic Church make this man of God a fascinating witness. Thousands of evangelicals and hundreds of Protestant pastors have returned to Catholicism through the testimony of this former evangelical pastor.
His testimony is one of the most incredible, for he is an expert in the Bible and was a radical anti-Catholic. His testimony is one of the main ones drawing other evangelical pastors toward the Catholic Church. He is currently a professor at the Catholic University in Stuebenville, Ohio.
*Franciscan University
Franciscan Way
Steuvenbille,OH 43952
2) Paul Thigpen. Former editor and writer for several evangelical magazines.
From childhood he attended a Southern Presbyterian Church. He pursued religious studies at Yale University. He was an associate Pastor. He then became an evangelical missionary in Europe; afterwards he was Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian, and Pentecostal. He finally completed studies for his doctorate in History of Theology, which eased his way toward the Catholic Church. He recounts that his encounter with the Catholic Church filled him with joy in abundance; it was like being filled anew with the joy of the Holy Spirit.
*Religious Studies Depr.
S.W. Missouri State University
901 South National Ave.
Springfield, MO 65804
3) Marcus Grodi. Former Protestant minister with a Degree in Theology and Bible.
He did his theology studies at the Gordon-Conwell Protestant seminary in Boston, Massachussetts. He obtained his Master Degree in Divinity.
Marcus affirms: “I only wanted to be a good pastor. Every Sunday I preached to my flock as an evangelical pastor. I would ask Jesus Christ: Am I preaching the truth or error? How can I be sure of that, if around me there are other evangelical pastors reading the same passage and each one gives a different interpretation. One day, when there were strong doubts at the meeting with other pastors, we ‘decided” the truth by putting it to a vote. How incredible, but since each one thought he was enlightened by God… the more I read Church history and the more I knew the Bible, the less I could go on being a Protestant. I found the fullness of the truth in the Catholic Church; I encountered Jesus Christ more fully.
That is why, as a Catholic, I now say that we must know why we believe what we believe”.
*P.O. Box 4100
Steuvenbille,OH 43952
4) Steve Wood. Former director of a Bible Institute in Florida
Former evangelical pastor of an interdenominational Church. He also served in Costa Mesa at the evangelical Church “El Calvario” while doing his studies at an Institute of the Assemblies of God church. He worked on youth evangelism projects; he was a leader of evangelical prison ministries; he organized an Institute of biblical studies for adults. He later did postgraduate studies at the famous Gordon-Conwell evangelical seminary of theology in Massachusetts.
Among some of the things in his conversion testimony, Steve says: “The more I studied the first centuries and what the early Church was like, the more I realized that it resembled the Catholic Church. I studied the “first Fathers of the Church” more and searched the Bible more thoroughly. There was more confusion in me. To make matters worse, I found out that two of my most intelligent and most anti-Catholic classmates at the evangelical seminary were also thinking of becoming Catholics.
One day while I was preaching, Steve goes on to say, I felt the Lord telling me: “Now or never”. If, in the midst of everyone, I took a step of faith and acknowledged the truth, I would lose everything. I would lose my job as a pastor, I would not be able to support my family; it was my career and it was my calling. I had invested 20 years preparing to be a Protestant minister, and God was telling me: Do it, now!… and I did it.
I apologized to my assembled congregation. The “elders”leaders followed me. I told them I could no longer keep deceiving myself. My pilgrimage toward the Church Christ founded: The Catholic one, had already begun. Then: I prayed more, I studied more, I came to know the fullness, and I arrived. The fullness of a personal relationship with Christ lies in also having a personal relationship with the body of Christ: His Church (1 Cor 12) the Catholic.”.
*Family Life Center
P.O. Box 6060
Port Charlotte, Fl 33949
5) Bop Sungenis. Former Bible professor at the evangelical station “Family Radio”.
While a Protestant he wrote a book against the Catholic Church called: “Rewards in Heaven? In it he criticized Catholics for believing in the importance of works, and he believed he had proven this to be false. As an evangelical he studied at the “Washington Bible Collegue” in Washington, D.C. He later specialized at the “George Washington University.
Bop says: As a Catholic I have the “peace” that comes as the consolation of living in the truth. I have now taken my place in the army of Christ the King in this great battle for the salvation of souls.
I must help my Protestant brethren to know that the Catholic Church is not only the true Church, but the home where we all belong.
*Catholic Apologetics Intl.
P.O. Box 2247
Columbia, MD 21045
6) Duglas Bogart. Former evangelical missionary in Guatemala.
“My dream was to be a missionary, and in my evangelical Church in Phoenix, AZ they gave me that opportunity to do so with my wife. However, over time, without my realizing it, God was guiding me toward his Church”. With great calm Douglas affirms: “I read many books of theology, of history, and of testimonies. I studied the New Catechism with the Bible. I read the writings of the Fathers of the Church(First centuries of Christianity) and discovered that the early church was much more Catholic than evangelical or Protestant. I ended up accepting the truth, and now I am a Catholic”.
drbogart@hotmail.com
7) David B. Currie. Former evangelical minister with a “Master in Divinity”.
He was born and raised in a fundamentalist evangelical family. His father was a preacher. His mother and father were evangelical professors at the “Moody Bible Institute”. David obtained his degree in theology at the “Trinity International University” in Deerfield, Illinois. He then obtained his “Master’s in Bible and theology” at the “Trinity Evangelical Divinity School”.
What moved him to decide to become a Catholic? His answer is, two things: The study of the Bible, because the more he studied it the more he discovered that the Word of God was guiding him toward Catholicism; and the second is that the Bible itself showed him that the Catholic Church is the only Church founded by Christ.
8) Other tremendous testimonies of former pastors and former evangelical leaders are from the following, whom we will very soon post on this site.
| 1.- Dave armstrong
6078 Auburn Detroit Michigan 48228 |
2.- Rick Conason
C/o 80 Pine Street 34 th florr New York, NY 1005 |
| 3.- Al Kresta
P.O. Box 504 Ann Arbor Michigan 48106 |
4.- James Akin
6308 Rancho Mission Rd. San Diego, CA 92108 |
| 5.- Tim Staples
C/o Envoy Magazine Gap Knob Road New Hope, KY 40052 |
6.- Julie Swenson
282 Park View Terrace Suite # 301 Oakland,CA 94610 |
| 7.- Terry Frazier
500 Providencia # G Burbank , CA 91501 |
8 and 9 .- Kristine and Marty Franklin
c/o Catholic Parish Offices 218 E. 39 th Street Hibbing , MN 55746 |
| 10.- Jeff Childers
22360 Knightwood Joliet Illinois 60431 |
11 and 12 .- Ray and Ruth Ryland
900 Granard Parkway Steuvenville , OH 43952 |
| 13.- Kevin Lowry
4960 Grove City Road Gove City , OH 43123 |
14.- Gerald Christian Matatics
Biblical Foundations |
| 15.- Steve Ray
9298 Platt Road |
16.- Fernando Casanova
Former Pentecostal Pastor Puerto Rico |
All of them have found the fullness of the Truth and now serve in the Catholic Church, having a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.
9) Former Anglican pastor, appointed bishop by John Paul II
A priest converted from Anglicanism to the Catholic Church was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster on January 4 by John Paul II. He is Father Alan Stephen Hopes, who until now was vicar general of the same diocese. He will now work very closely with Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O´Connor, Archbishop of Westminster.
Monsignor Alan Stephen Hopes was born in Oxford in 1944. After obtaining the “Bachelor of Divinity” from “King’s College” in London, he was “ordained a priest” in the Anglican Church in 1968. He carried out his parish ministry in several London dioceses, and in 1987 he became “prebendary” (canon) of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
In 1992 he was “received” into the Catholic Church and, after three years of studies, was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Westminster on December 4, 1995.
After two years as vicar of the parish of “Our Lady of Victories” in Kensington, he was appointed pastor of “Our Most Holy Redeemer and St Thomas More” in Chelsea. In 2001 he became vicar general of the archdiocese.
Monsignor Hopes is one of the Anglican pastors who left the Church of England after the priestly ordination of women was approved in that church.
All of them are now true Catholics and 100% Christians. Now preaching the spiritual treasure of what they found: The fullness of the Christian life in the only Church founded by Christ.
If you are a Catholic, give thanks to God and resolve to be one 100%, being an authentic disciple of Jesus Christ, having a personal relationship with Him and bearing witness to his Word united to his Church: The Catholic one.. If you are an evangelical, be calm, be honest with yourself, investigate and come to know true Catholicism, and pray much. Study the foundations of the Catholic faith: Bible, Tradition, and the history of the Church. There you will find why we Catholics believe what we believe. Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.
The Spirit unites us to form one single body: The Church(1 Cor 12:13), and the will of Jesus is that there be no divisions but unity(Jn 17:21) Strive for the fullness of the truth. Being Catholic is a gift from God.
Author: Martín Zavala M.P.
Source: Defiendetufe.org
