Very well done, MEEN Ag.

Thanks. There is a lot to unpack in this thread for simply dating a catholic girl.

I would but my wife would not be happy about it so will just have to pass.

It is something I thought about before I ever even knew my wife because I did date some catholic girls and they seemed pretty hard core about it and I likely would never have agreed to become catholic or even committed to raising kids catholic. Ultimately Didn't have to make that call tho.

NASAg03 said:

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I've been "non-denominational" all my life of 42 years and have been to Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, charismatic and Catholic churches, from small house churches to mega-churches. Currently I'm part of the local Vineyard church congregation.

I've data women with all sorts of backgrounds, including multiple Catholics.

I'll be marrying my Catholic fiancee in three months, and although we're having a Catholic wedding at the church she grew up in, it won't be a full mass with communion.

Her first visit to a non-Catholic church was after 6mo of dating me. Her response? "Hey yall believe the same stuff as us!"

We aren't trying to convert each other, just sharing our walk with Christ together, praying together, praising and worshiping God together, and seeking to humbly learn and celebrate our unique expressions of faith.

We are taking premarital counseling in the Catholic church and at Vineyard, NFP class (which we both don't agree with the restrictions on condoms and pulling out).

Us dating each other has helped us grow greatly in our faith together, celebrating what we have in common and considering the things we hold dear that are different. She loves the working of the Holy Spirit and personal prayer at Vineyard, and the focus on community group at non-denominational churches. So much that she started a young professionals bible study with her priest! It was really fun.

There are things I am adamantly against that the Catholic church takes part in, so I won't take part in those things. She keeps that in mind and is also reconsidering some things. But there are some things the Catholic church does better IMHO, and I celebrate and enjoy those things. I'll consider RCIA, but will never "convert", as I'm already a Christian. We'll have more conversations with the new priest that's joining from Boulder, and I'm excited to meet him and get to know him.

We have disagreements and a few arguments, but it helps that she can take part in all things at Vineyard and feels welcome. It hurts her that the Catholic church isn't like that, and there are things she wants to isolate our kids from within the church to avoid the "Catholic guilt".

We're still wrestling with infant baptism, but again we surround ourselves with wise older couples that have been through all this - from inter-denominational Christian couples to those that left the Catholic church, to those that are still in it.

I love her because she follows Jesus and is part of His church, and that's the vow we're making regarding our kids. We both try to be humble and willing to reconsider our belief and traditions in light of scripture, and neither of us think any church is 100% correct or perfect. That what I believe you look for in a Christian spouse.

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I highly recommend at least going to RCIA. When I did finally, after years of hand wringing, I was shocked how misinformed not only I was about Catholic doctrine...but how many cradle Catholics misunderstood Church teachings. Ultimately a person who is open minded to at least learning what the Church actually teaches should read the Catechism of the Catholic Church and do RCIA. Everything I had heard from growing up Protestant and even from some other Catholics was not correct and had created a wall in my mind. Ultimately, it was reading scripture in context instead of relying on the 'proof texts' that I'd been feed as a Baptist that helped me. That and signs from the Holy Spirit which I believe was with me as I read scripture and discerned.

BadMoonRisin said:

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Howdy Dammit said:

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Ol_Ag_02 said:

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As someone who was married to a Catholic girl for 20 years I would not advise it. Now that we're getting a divorce because of her propensity to have sex with her co-workers I will immediately exclude any Catholic girl from the dating pool.

I'll never set foot in a Catholic Church again and frankly that's a good thing for me. It's really a bad idea. Yes we're both Christians but it's about as far apart as you can get. Non-Catholics should not marry Catholics.

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What in the world does Catholicism have to do with cheating?

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right. the problem was not that he married a Catholic, it's that he married a *****.

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This gave me a chuckle.

Catholics believe Protestants have perverted the Word. Vice versa.

Don't date or marry across denominations.