Q: I have been a member of the Roman Catholic Church my entire life (I'm 25). My boyfriend is a member of your church. We have discussed marriage and frequently talk about the role of religion and faith in our life. We believe it's important that we worship in the same church and raise children in the same faith community. My question to you is, what are the major differences between your church and the Catholic church? What is the process of leaving one faith to join another. Obviously, I've been baptized, but does is that baptism recognized in all Christian faiths? I have to admit, I'm a bit sheltered when it comes to other denominations of Christianity. I've never considered joining another church until now. My boyfriend and I both believe that the Lord brought us togethe and, in return, we want to worship together. Your advice is greatly appreciated. I know that I will meet you one day soon, as we plan to attend services when he return to the Valley. Many thanks!!

A: Thanks for the question. As always it is rather difficult to broad brush an entire denomination and so let me preface the following by stating it's a generalization.

The most important issue with any faith is in the area of salvation. Biblically based evangelical churches such as SBC emphasize that salvation is available strictly through the grace based atonement of Jesus Christ (Jn. 3:16, Rom 5:12, Eph. 2:8,9). Whereas, typically, most Roman Catholics believe in a works based doctrine of salvation comprised of baptism, Eucharist, penance, last rites, etc. in order to be saved. You may want to read the book "The Gospel According to Rome" by James McCarthy to get a more detailed analysis of the similarities and differences. Likewise, visit our outreach section on the website under upcoming outreach events to enroll for the next Roman Catholic Roots class which is tentatively going to be offered in February, 2002.

In regards to leaving one faith to join another I would highly recommend that you first attend the Class 100 series to learn the elementary tenets of Christianity that we believe and practice here at SBC. Also, we practice believer's baptism in that we follow the New Testament model of only baptizing those who have placed their faith exclusively in Jesus Christ for their salvation and are cognizant of the implications of being a follower of Jesus Christ. Thus, if you have had a conversion experience in which you asked Christ to save you and were baptized thereafter, there would be no need for you to be baptized again. Nevertheless, we do offer a baptism class once a month and you'd be welcome to attend it.

Finally, let me add that it is very wise of you to seek counsel regarding these issues prior to marriage and I would also suggest you see one of our counselors for more individualized attention or simply swing by the church during business hours and ask for a pastor. .

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