Posted on 02/23/2007 8:32:11 AM PST by Alex Murphy
Walking away from mass on Ash Wednesday, I found myself examining my belief in the Catholic faith. While I felt proud to sport my new "smudge" — the term my roommates gave the ashen cross on my forehead — and even became angry when others looked at me with confusion.
I realized that I do not agree with what the Catholic faith stands for.
From the time I was born up until my senior year of high school my parents made me attend mass with them every Sunday morning. They staunchly believed that the teachings would instill a sense of community and would give me morals to live by. They ultimately succeeded in their wish, but as I grew up going to church left me increasingly angry and confused.
I have always been taught that God welcomes and loves all people. Priests and Sunday school teachers present you with an all-loving God — he is your friend, your creator and most importantly your guide in life.
As I became a teenager though, my Sunday school teachers started adding a disclaimer next to "all-loving." I started realizing that he is only all loving if you are a Christian heterosexual man or woman who follows every commandment to a tee.
Too bad if you're gay, God doesn't love you any more. If you're a woman and have had an abortion you might as well give up because God is going to smite you. And if you believe in other religions, forget it.
According to one of the Ten Commandments, "You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth." that's one of the worst possible offenses.
These statements and others left me feeling at odds with my faith, so much so that I have taken three courses in Bible study. While I respect those who believe in the Christian faith, the biggest question I have been struggling with is how I can believe in a God that loves me conditionally.
As I continued in the Catholic faith more loopholes presented themselves. God doesn't approve of gay people, but he does approve of incest. In the book of Genesis, Eve gave birth to two sons named Cain and Abel. When they were teenagers Cain killed Abel in a field near their house. God decrees that Cain, his wife and children must live in the field where Able was killed as a punishment.
Where did Cain's wife come from? Did she fall from the sky? Did Cain sleep with Eve? This question is one that I've posed to my friends and even some of my old Sunday school teachers. Their answer was always that God made another woman for Cain to procreate with.
This answer and many like it have simply left me feeling even more perplexed. I'm sure I am not the only Catholic on campus that began questioning her faith after coming to college.
So where do we go from here? I am left in what seems to be a small but growing group of Catholics who are now realizing that their all-loving God is really a sham. It's a lot like finding out that the all-powerful Oz is really just some guy behind a curtain.
The ongoing struggle that I'm experiencing with my faith is something I fear will never be resolved. Do I still go to church, should I still consider myself a Catholic or should I abandon all hope of ever finding any real answers?
The only real answer that I have come up with is to add more disclaimers to my abridged version of Catholicism.
For those that are struggling with the same questions that I am the only wisdom I can provide is this: find your own way.
These days I've started to create my own faith foundation. In my opinion God is all loving and would not shun a person because of sexual preference, hard decisions they've made or their religion.
Some people have asked why don't you just switch to a religion that you agree with? Although that seems like the perfect solution, I know that no matter what religion I switch to there will always be aspects of it that I don't agree with.
Some Catholics may call me a fair weather Christian because I only believe in part of the Bible and don't attend church regularly. But I've started realizing that it's more about being a good person and having morals that you believe and not about being a "model" Christian.
While my current opinions on the Catholic faith have left me at odds with my parents and my strict Christian friends on many occasions, these obstacles haven't stopped me from following what I truly believe. I can't pretend to be what I'm not.
Now when people ask me "What's your religion?" I answer I'm Catholic and then add my own disclaimer: I'm Catholic but on my own terms, ones that aren't built on prejudice.
Typical liberal, she don't want to be judged by you, me, society or God!
Doesn't help that she received lousy answers to genuine questions concerning her faith, either.
For some folks, its all about the buggery.
If you're a woman and have had an abortion you might as well give up because God is going to smite you.
Apparently, our correspondent is unfamiliar with Sacramental Confession.
That answer is (from a Catholic POV) blatant heresy.
If this writer really cared about not being a hypocrite, she might want to consider not being a liberal...............but why confuse her even more?
These questions are answered in Jewish Oral Tradition. And besides, don't Catholics believe Genesis is mythology anyway?
Some Catholics may call me a fair weather Christian because I only believe in part of the Bible
Catholics by definition only believe parts of the Bible. What's the writer's problem?
While I respect those who believe in the Christian faith, the biggest question I have been struggling with is how I can believe in a God that loves me conditionally.
I was not aware that belief in G-d was supposed to be conditioned on His love for us. This is one of chr*stianity's greatest crimes. Loving G-d is a mitzvah (commandment), not a "deal."
"Some Catholics may call me a fair weather Christian because I only believe in part of the Bible and don't attend church regularly. But I've started realizing that it's more about being a good person and having morals that you believe and not about being a "model" Christian."
Shannon, the Bible calls you an apostate and a heretic. And Jesus the God of love prophesied about the falling away from the truth and the hatred of it. Wake up, kid.
I don think this article proves that she is a liberal or a conservative. What it shows is that she is an unbeleiver. This sad story proves that salvation is all of grace through faith. Natural man cannot discern spiritual things. Only God can make the blind to see.
Too bad if you choose to commit sins - because there are consequences to those actions. The author misses the point entirely, mistaking the fact the unrepented sins have bearing on the salvation of the individual for the idea that God doesn't love all sinners.
Love the sinner, but hate the sin... The author cannot reconcile that one can love a person without endorsing their behavior.
I teach a class, which meets tonight, called Keeping Your Faith after Highschool. We address dorm life, challenges to faith in both the classroom and workplace. This will be a great article to read and discuss. Maybe I'll assign them to come up with their own rebuttle.
No.
Catholics by definition only believe parts of the Bible.
"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."
Loving G-d is a mitzvah (commandment),
Of course: "You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole soul, and your whole mind."
I guess the writer doesn't believe the part about no one is good.
Glad to hear it!
I teach a class, which meets tonight, called Keeping Your Faith after Highschool. We address dorm life, challenges to faith in both the classroom and workplace. This will be a great article to read and discuss. Maybe I'll assign them to come up with their own rebuttle.
This is a GREAT idea! I myself am a huge proponent of teaching apologetics to young people. Never be afraid of questions! Just because we may not have the answers, does not mean the answers aren't out there. Let me know what happens!
For we are in a world that raises questions, to which, however, only the Bible gives sufficient answers. The God of the Bible does not abolish the questioner, the individual human being. It encourages him to seek and to find more. All other religions finally do away with either the person or the question. They ask for submission to a larger whole, to fate or to a god or gods. The Bible invites you to examine and to acknowledge the answers given in the prophets and in the person of Jesus, the Son of God.
- Udo and Debby Middelmann
If that was the case, Heaven would be a pretty lonely place. This poor child may have been forced to go to mass every Sunday, but she missed the point entirely.
Its always about the homosexual agenda.
That is a LIE and you know it.
You cannot provide a single shred of evidence that the Church has ever taught anything about ignoring part of the Bible. Do SOME Catholics only believe part of the Bible, probably so.
However, ALL Protestants only believe part of the Bible because a heretic named Martin Luther decided to eliminate those portions of Canon that conflicted with his heresy.
Freepmail wagglebee or little jeremiah to subscribe or unsubscribe from the homosexual agenda or moral absolutes ping lists.
FreeRepublic homosexual agenda keyword search
[ Add keyword homosexual agenda to flag FR articles to this ping list ]
FreeRepublic moral absolutes keyword search
[ Add keyword moral absolutes to flag FR articles to this ping list ]
That is exactly the point of the class. And it is important that you take ownership of your beliefs and know why you believe what you believe.
ArrogantBustard is right; the "God made another woman" answer is material heresy. The technical name for it is "polygenism".
Catholics are required to believe in a literal Adam and Eve as the only parents of the human race. Cain married his sister.
Part of this girl's confusion is that she doesn't understand the difference between love, affection, and acceptance. Love is a decision of the will to seek the authentic good of another person. Unconditional acceptance of someone's evil behavior can actually be a very unloving act.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.