Organization: City University of New York/ University Computer Center
Date: Tuesday, 12 Jan 1993 06:33:47 EST
From: Marty Helgesen <MNHCC@CUNYVM.BITNET>
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.catholic
Subject: Re: help for a questioning couple

John,

As someone already asked, is this woman looking for God or for
"excitement" and "a spark", that is, for a social experience?  I
recognize the importance of Christian fellowship, and if the local
Catholic parish is not providing much of it, that is unfortunate, but
people move, which can include this woman and her husband, and
priests are transferred to new assignments.  It would not make sense
to make a decision about one's religious beliefs on the basis of
circumstances that can change.

If she were living in an isolated small town when her local parish
was the only parish available for all practical purposes there would
be a problem--not a justification for leaving the Church, but a
problem. However, if the UCLA in your address indicates that you (and
she) live in the Los Angeles area there should be no problem for her
and her husband to find other Catholic groups, such as the ones you
mentioned.  This might involve attended Mass in a different parish
than the one in which she lives, but need not.

If she says she doesn't have time for that, she should realize that
an Evangelical church with "a spark" and "excitement" probably will
make a lot of demands on her time, both with church activities and
with expectations of private prayer and Bible study.  As you note,
she should be engaged in private prayer and Bible study anyway.  All
she and her husband have to do is find time for it.  If they can't
find the time for it now, but could find the time for it if they left
the Catholic Church to join an Evangelical church, we're back to the
question of whether they are looking for God or a social experience.

It is difficult to recommend books that will meet their particular
needs without knowing them, but there are several that are likely to
be useful.  Someone has already mentioned Karl Keating's _Catholicism
and Fundamentalism: the Attack on "Romanism" by "Bible Christians"_
If I were recommending it to a non-Catholic, or to a Catholic at-
tracted to Fundamentalism or Evangelical Protestantism, I would call
attention to the Preface, in which the author emphasizes that he in
not talking about Fundamentalists and Evangelicals in general, but
about those who are actively anti-Catholic.  The book is a defense
against anti-Catholicism, not an attack on Fundamentalism or Evangel-
icalism in general.  However, its value in this case is that in
answering attacks on Catholic doctrines it explains the Catholic
doctrines and shows their biblical basis, and points out serious
difficulties with the Evangelical doctrines that contradict them.

Another excellent book is _Catholic and Christian: An Explanation of
Commonly Misunderstood Catholic Beliefs_ by Alan Schreck.  This book
makes a special effort to explain Catholic beliefs in terms that can
be understood by Evangelicals.  There are real differences between
Catholic and Evangelical beliefs, but they frequently seem worse than
they are because of differences in vocabulary.  We use different
words to refer to the same ideas, and sometimes the same words to
refer to different ideas.  It can be useful for Evangelicals to read
it and for Catholics who encounter Evangelicals to read it.  If this
woman reads it she may see that some of what she may find attractive
in Evangelical teaching (as distinct from social experience) is
already available in Catholicism.

A good book of apologetics, such as Peter Kreeft's _Fundamentals of
the Faith_ could also be useful.
-------
Marty Helgesen
Bitnet: mnhcc@cunyvm   Internet: mnhcc@cunyvm.cuny.edu

"Experience beats in vain upon a congenital progressive."
        --  C. S. Lewis