I was regenerated while I was still Roman Catholic...there was no specific verse that did it, it was just a simple acceptance of Christ. But then I began to wonder if I should stay Roman Catholic or not. Well, somebody had told me that Peter was the first pope and so the RC church was the true and ancient church, etc., etc. And so in my ignorance I believed it. But later on, a Protestant friend started asking me questions I couldn't answer - how are works involved in salvation? What role does Mary play? And so on. So I decided to find out once and for all...I had a catechism (of the Catholic Church) in one hand and a Bible in the other, to compare their claims.

One thing that stuck out to me was the "there is no salvation outside the Roman Catholic Church", that stuck with me. The next day, I was reading Acts 16, and I got to the part where the jailer asks Paul what he needs to do to be saved, and Paul says "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." And that was it. I realized that you didn't need to belong to a specific denomination to be saved. You didn't need to be baptized, or confirmed, or always attending mass. All it takes is a belief in the Savior.

So while it wasn't the cause of regeneration per se, it was the cause of much renewal. And as such, I decided to not be as ignorant anymore as well...I have had a love of theology and apologetics every since, learning all I can.

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Vaughn Shideler
St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church
Toronto, ON, Canada