So I've told my grandparents and family, so the next step in the plan was to tell the world; announce it on my facebook profile and explain in a blog. I didn't think I'd be nervous about this. I thought it would be a relief to tell everybody but... NERVES!!
stupid butterflies
Here's a shot, a rough draft of my explanation to the world.
"I know this will come as a big shock to most of you, its a big shock to me too, but I've become Catholic.
For the past year I've been studying Catholicism. I talked to priests, my own protestant youth ministers and councilors, a Grad School professor from Harding Graduate School, and a friend at my old church who converted from Catholicism. I've read early christian writings, the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (say that 5x's fast), A Popular History of the Church, Reasoning from the Scriptures with Catholics, and lots and lots of other books, not to mention in the least the Bible, which I finally made all the way through this year. (not counting the Apocrypha, I've only just began reading that)
I want to forestall any warnings by saying that I fully plan to continue searching and learning. If even 40 years from now I find that Catholicism no longer makes sense to me I'll leave it in a heart beat. Recently I found I website with all the early christian writings on it. I hope to find them in book form but regardless that's next on my book list
From all my research I have come to the conclusion that Catholicism's theology is the most faithful to the way the early church was set up. It's theology makes sense to me and I believe it is hypocritical to pretend that I believe otherwise.
I did not want to become Catholic. I frantically searched for every single minuscule argument against Catholicism that I could find and terrorized my RCIA teacher so much that at one point he jokingly said he expected me to join when hell froze over. (RCIA is a class they give at catholic churches where people who want to join or to simply understand Catholicism go. The class usually reads through the Catechism together) It was only after I was left with no other plausible argument against Catholicism that I bowed to truth.
I do not feel as if my relationship with God has changed. I believe that I was assured of heaven as a Protestant and I still believe that as a Catholic. I also still pray to God.
I want to ask that those of you reading this would not talk to my family members about this. They are having a hard enough time accepting this without you bugging them. If they broach the subject to you, then feel free to jabber away all you want, but other wise come to me with your questions, and please respect my family.
Also;
I do not believe (nor do other Catholics) that you can work your way to heaven
I do not, nor do other Catholics, worship Mary or any of the Saints, or the Pope
I have not found the practises of Catholics to be burdensome but to be spiritually faith deepening
Catholics read their Bible, in fact their service contains more of the Bible than most Protestant Churches
If you go into a Catholic church, you will find the same mix up of people who fervently want to be there and those few stragglers ho get dragged there. Contrary to popular Protestant-Belt thought not all Catholics are blase' about their faith.
I know that there are many other things that my protestant friends will have a problem with but I just wanted to address the top ones I've run into. Granted, they are very quickly address so I know that many of you will still have questions about it which I welcome. I only ask that you please don't beat my head in any form or fashion. This confession-thing is stressful enough."
There, how do you think that will blow over with everybody?
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Communion of Saints
Everyday I feel more affirmed that this Catholic thing was the right choice.
Although it feels as if I had all this knowledge only to have it suddenly become irrelevant, or more accurately, questionable. I doubt now some of the things I learned in Bible and History class at Harding. I remember in Hummanities class once we were talking about the rise in churches named after Mary. My teacher said it was in reaction to a stance the church had been taking in which they were portraying Jesus as a harsh judge of sinners. What she said wasn't wrong, but it was the way they presented the facts that colored the history of that time period. In subtle ways like this I see now that there was some demonization of the middle ages. I'm not saying my history and bible teachers lied, they just presented the facts in a certain light, a light that I doubt now.
It feels as though I'm relearning history and the interpretation of scriptures, and its answering a lot of questions I'd never bothered asking in highschool. I simply assumed I wasn't learned enough to understand, that only people with their docterates understood.
Also the breadth and depth of theology I've yet to explore makes me salivate.
One of the first Catholic teachings that amazed me was the communion of saints. The communion of saints is mentioned in the Niciene Creed, which most Protestant sects accept as doctrinally accurate, yet I never heard this phrase explained when we went over the creed in Bible Class.
Catholics, see, believe that christians, after they die can still hear their brothers and sisters on earth. They are "in communion" with them through prayer. This is why catholics pray to saints.
If the prayer of a righteous man is strong, then how much stronger is the prayer of a righteous man who is already in communion with God? Catholics feel such freedom that they can speak directly, not only to God, but also to Peter, Paul, Moses, and King David, and ask their fellow brothers and sisters on earth and in heaven, to pray for them! How amazing is this! It brings new light to the phrase "death, where is thy victory? where is thy sting?" Death can't even separate us when we are united with Christ. If death is defeated, if it could not separate us from God, then what is death to separate us from our loved ones who are united with God?
About the word "Saint." Protestants criticize Catholic's use of this word, saying that saints originally meant all christians. Catholics agree with this, and do not deny it, but Protestants fail to take in that language changes. Should we criticize people for useing the word "fun" as somthing innocent when it originally refurred to somthing more risque or illegal? No. A word is just a word.
What caused the change in the word "saint"'s use was the way that Catholics and the early chirstians thought about salvation. Catholics cringe away from language that claims that they know without a doubt that they are going to heaven. This is why some Protestants mistakenly think that Catholics work their way to heaven. The catholic belief is that a true christian, when he dies, if he followed Christ in his life has a sure hope of heaven. They use the words "sure hope of heaven" because Catholics try not to judge anybody. Somebody may pretend to be a christian but only God knows that person's heart. They also avoid this language about themselves because they do not want to assume that they won't stumble and leave the faith one day in the future. To claim that they will never stumble sounds a bit boastful to Catholic ears.
Even Paul used this language. He said we have a "sure hope of heaven" but he did not use the 'once saved always saved language' of some Protestant sects. In fact Paul even mentions in his letters a christian, who after some persecution, left the faith.
The doubt, you see, is not on God or his ability to save, but upon our own weaknesses and willingness to let him fully into our lives and hearts.
This is why, the word saint, was increasingly used for people who it seemed were, without a doubt, with God in heaven. This is why, when in the process of decideing if a person is a saint, the church will look for signs and miricles. God sending Moses and Elijah to Jesus on the mt. top, for instance, is a pretty good indication that those two guys arn't stuck in hell. Saint began to refur to the martyrs, and later became even sort of a honorific tittle. Theres your bit of etemology.
At first the communion of saints seemed weird and outlandish to me, but when I admitted this to a catholic friend, she looked me in the eyes and asked me if it was any weirder than all the other stuff Christians beleive, men rising from the dead for instance, and I had to admit that no, it wasn't that crazy compared to everything else. The communion of saints was the first Catholic teaching that I accepted, even before I was even considering the possibility of joining.
Although it feels as if I had all this knowledge only to have it suddenly become irrelevant, or more accurately, questionable. I doubt now some of the things I learned in Bible and History class at Harding. I remember in Hummanities class once we were talking about the rise in churches named after Mary. My teacher said it was in reaction to a stance the church had been taking in which they were portraying Jesus as a harsh judge of sinners. What she said wasn't wrong, but it was the way they presented the facts that colored the history of that time period. In subtle ways like this I see now that there was some demonization of the middle ages. I'm not saying my history and bible teachers lied, they just presented the facts in a certain light, a light that I doubt now.
It feels as though I'm relearning history and the interpretation of scriptures, and its answering a lot of questions I'd never bothered asking in highschool. I simply assumed I wasn't learned enough to understand, that only people with their docterates understood.
Also the breadth and depth of theology I've yet to explore makes me salivate.
One of the first Catholic teachings that amazed me was the communion of saints. The communion of saints is mentioned in the Niciene Creed, which most Protestant sects accept as doctrinally accurate, yet I never heard this phrase explained when we went over the creed in Bible Class.
Catholics, see, believe that christians, after they die can still hear their brothers and sisters on earth. They are "in communion" with them through prayer. This is why catholics pray to saints.
If the prayer of a righteous man is strong, then how much stronger is the prayer of a righteous man who is already in communion with God? Catholics feel such freedom that they can speak directly, not only to God, but also to Peter, Paul, Moses, and King David, and ask their fellow brothers and sisters on earth and in heaven, to pray for them! How amazing is this! It brings new light to the phrase "death, where is thy victory? where is thy sting?" Death can't even separate us when we are united with Christ. If death is defeated, if it could not separate us from God, then what is death to separate us from our loved ones who are united with God?
About the word "Saint." Protestants criticize Catholic's use of this word, saying that saints originally meant all christians. Catholics agree with this, and do not deny it, but Protestants fail to take in that language changes. Should we criticize people for useing the word "fun" as somthing innocent when it originally refurred to somthing more risque or illegal? No. A word is just a word.
What caused the change in the word "saint"'s use was the way that Catholics and the early chirstians thought about salvation. Catholics cringe away from language that claims that they know without a doubt that they are going to heaven. This is why some Protestants mistakenly think that Catholics work their way to heaven. The catholic belief is that a true christian, when he dies, if he followed Christ in his life has a sure hope of heaven. They use the words "sure hope of heaven" because Catholics try not to judge anybody. Somebody may pretend to be a christian but only God knows that person's heart. They also avoid this language about themselves because they do not want to assume that they won't stumble and leave the faith one day in the future. To claim that they will never stumble sounds a bit boastful to Catholic ears.
Even Paul used this language. He said we have a "sure hope of heaven" but he did not use the 'once saved always saved language' of some Protestant sects. In fact Paul even mentions in his letters a christian, who after some persecution, left the faith.
The doubt, you see, is not on God or his ability to save, but upon our own weaknesses and willingness to let him fully into our lives and hearts.
This is why, the word saint, was increasingly used for people who it seemed were, without a doubt, with God in heaven. This is why, when in the process of decideing if a person is a saint, the church will look for signs and miricles. God sending Moses and Elijah to Jesus on the mt. top, for instance, is a pretty good indication that those two guys arn't stuck in hell. Saint began to refur to the martyrs, and later became even sort of a honorific tittle. Theres your bit of etemology.
At first the communion of saints seemed weird and outlandish to me, but when I admitted this to a catholic friend, she looked me in the eyes and asked me if it was any weirder than all the other stuff Christians beleive, men rising from the dead for instance, and I had to admit that no, it wasn't that crazy compared to everything else. The communion of saints was the first Catholic teaching that I accepted, even before I was even considering the possibility of joining.
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