convicted?

littlenothing · #1 May 14, '12, 7:33 pm

What exactly does convicted mean? I have read this in books written by protestants, but I don't recall reading it in Catholic spiritual books. They seem to use it in two ways, too, one positive and one negative. Foe example: I was convicted that Jesus was the Son of God, as well as I was convicted of my swearing.

I made those up, obviously, but I've read similar things.

Thank you!

sallybutler · #2 May 14, '12, 7:35 pm

Basically, convicted means I'm right, you're wrong.

Slinger · #3 May 14, '12, 7:41 pm

from Brainyquote.com:

Conviction
The act of convicting; the act of proving, finding, or adjudging, guilty of an offense.
A judgment of condemnation entered by a court having jurisdiction; the act or process of finding guilty, or the state of being found guilty of any crime by a legal tribunal.
The act of convincing of error, or of compelling the admission of a truth; confutation.
The state of being convinced or convicted; strong persuasion or belief; especially, the state of being convicted of sin, or by one's conscience.

It's not a catholic or protestant word by definition. Just a regular word.

maltmom · #4 May 14, '12, 7:41 pm

It means that the Holy Spirit has taught the person something.

littlenothing · #5 May 14, '12, 7:50 pm

Maybe its just a regular word, but I have only read it in Protestant books, and I see it in such books with some frequency. I just read Crazy Love by Francis Chan, an evangelical I think, and he used it about 5 times! So, I wondered if there was some meaning I wasn't getting.

Compelling the admission of a truth seems to be the most accurate def for the various ways he uses it. I actually looked the word up in the dictionary before posting, but it didn't give the def that Brainyquote did. So, thanks!

Slinger · #6 May 14, '12, 7:54 pm

No problem! It is probably used a lot because it implies a strong connotation of belief. However, it can be applied to all faiths as most people are "convicted" in their beliefs if they have a strong faith.

ltwin · #7 May 14, '12, 8:08 pm

When the Holy Spirit tells you that you are living in sin or doing something that grieves him. For example:

(1) "I was praying one day and the Lord convicted me of my habit of smoking 2 packs of cigarettes a day."

(2) "I read Galatians 5:19-21 and the Lord convicted me about my sexual immorality, my anger management issues, and getting drunk on weekends."

(3) "I was listening to Rev. Porter preach about Jesus' death and resurrection. While listening I felt the Holy Spirit's conviction so strongly from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. I knew that I had been living a sinful life and that I needed to give my life to Christ."

AthenaC · #8 May 14, '12, 8:11 pm

Something I've noticed with a lot of Protestants is that many of them tend to have the same narrow vocabulary which seems to reflect certain common translations of the Bible. You hear a lot of "conviction," "calling," "blessing," "salt of the earth," things of that nature. For many of them, choosing this narrow vocabulary is part of living "Biblically."

littlenothing · #9 May 14, '12, 8:25 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by maltmom

It means that the Holy Spirit has taught the person something.

I think that may be true, judging from what I have read. Anyway, that was how Chan pretty consistently used it.

Cat · #10 May 15, '12, 4:01 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by AthenaC

Something I've noticed with a lot of Protestants is that many of them tend to have the same narrow vocabulary which seems to reflect certain common translations of the Bible. You hear a lot of "conviction," "calling," "blessing," "salt of the earth," things of that nature. For many of them, choosing this narrow vocabulary is part of living "Biblically."

Catholics also have a vocabulary amongst themselves, and for them, this is part of being Catholic and living like a Catholic.

For example, "intentions." I had never heard this word when we first started attending the Catholic Church. I still find it strange. We used the word "requests" when talking about prayer.

Also "vocations." In the Protestant church, these would be "callings." We used to say that a young man was "called" to be a pastor. I didn't know what Catholics were talking about when I first heard this term "vocations."

Also "religious" used as a noun (various orders, nuns, monks, etc.). Thankfully this was explained to us at the Catholic Apologetics class that we were attending back when we first starting studying Catholicism. We try to be careful to explain the word when we are talking to Protestants, because they have no concept of what this word means to Catholics. "Religious" is a word that has a very negative connotation to many evangelical Protestants; you will often hear them say, "I'm not religious. I'm a Christian."

A lot of Catholics consistently refer to Mary as "Our Lady" and Jesus as "Our Lord." That's easy enough to understand. But Protestants would never say "Our Lady," they would just say "Mary, the mother of Jesus." And they usually say "The Lord" not "Our Lord."

I had never heard the phrase "Gift of Tears" before getting involved with Catholics. I like the phrase very much. But we would have called it "emotionalism." (Conference Baptists do not encourage displays of emotion during church.)

One of my friends who attends the Latin Mass always signs her emails with a certain Latin phrase.

I see nothing wrong with a group of people having certain words that they use amongst themselves, unless those words are punitive or insulting to others. (For example, certain ethnic words that are used are very insulting, but various groups keep using those words anyway.)

In the South, everyone says, "Bless your heart!" I never hear the phrase here in the North, unless I say it to someone!

TexanKnight · #11 May 15, '12, 5:29 am

It means you should have had a better attorney.......

maltmom · #12 May 15, '12, 5:48 am

Bless you heart Cat!

I can remember being confused about the sanctuary. I'd never heard of the nave. As a Protestant the whole area inside the church is the sanctuary. Over the weekend I had a long discussion with a friend. It was the 1st opportunity he had to to question me on why I recently joined the church and what we believe. I was able to explain everything to him using terms he understood. We had a great conversation which didn't turn into a debate. Catholics have their terms, Protestants have their terms and often the

effect comes from not realizing that we are talking about the same thing. I'm still learning my new vocabulary. I'm thankful that God is using me and my old vocabulary to dispel some of the myths that people have believed their whole lives.

Publisher · #13 May 15, '12, 7:18 am

"conviction" is the work of the Holy Spirit that we are sinners and that we need Christ...plain and simple.....

littlenothing · #14 May 15, '12, 11:56 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by TexanKnight

It means you should have had a better attorney.......

Yup, that's basically what Webster's said!

AthenaC · #15 May 15, '12, 1:38 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by TexanKnight

It means you should have had a better attorney.......

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cat

Catholics also have a vocabulary amongst themselves, and for them, this is part of being Catholic and living like a Catholic.

I see nothing wrong with a group of people having certain words that they use amongst themselves, unless those words are punitive or insulting to others. (For example, certain ethnic words that are used are very insulting, but various groups keep using those words anyway.)

In the South, everyone says, "Bless your heart!" I never hear the phrase here in the North, unless I say it to someone!

I think "Bless your heart" is more of an example of regional dialect, but I can see how some of the same characteristics hold true. Still marks a person as a member of a particular group.

Good examples of Catholic "dialect." I actually didn't think about any of these until you said so. The only thing I have to add is that I don't think the word "religious" as a noun falls in that category; it's not that Catholics and Protestants use different words for the same concept, it's more that the concept of "religious" (i.e. nuns and monks) don't exist in the Protestant tradition, so they don't have a word for it. So it's more of a cultural difference than a dialect difference.

Maybe it's just because I've had some VERY negative experiences with Protestants, but honestly I can't hear Protestant "dialect" without shuddering. Plus, it seemed that the ones I met were very self-righteous and insisted on describing EVERYTHING in life through their very narrow vocabulary. If they went to a good movie, it was a "blessing." If they decided to say "hi" to an acquaintance at the grocery store, they were "called" to do so or were "led" to do so. If they made a spelling mistake in an email, they were "convicted" when they caught their mistake. And, of course, Catholics are "un-Biblical," which is a synonym for "of the Devil."