Okay I have attempted to get some answers from the staff here, but I understand they are EXTREMELY busy, so hopefully posting here will be a little more fruitful. I had debated for months whether or not I should speak to my family, or mother in particular about the Catholic faith (and even asked in the forums how I should do it). They are all non-denominational, and so was I until about 3-4 years ago, I did not want to bring the conversation up as if I was talking down to her, or correcting her in a faith she had followed her entire life because of the life changing fullness of the Truth I had found within Catholicism. She doesn’t understand anything about the history of Christianity, and explaining it to her doesn’t get me very far. Anyway I felt like I would not by doing my duty as a Catholic if I DID NOT bring up some key points, like is the Bible alone a sole rule of faith, what is the importance of Baptism, how do we attain salvation, etc…
So after some help here in the forums, I went ahead and initiated a conversation - however, I got myself nowhere REAL quick. My mothers BELIEF in Jesus Christ is all that she feels she needs to attain salvation, nothing else matters - even though its a faith that does not urge her to follow all of Christ’s commands (like receiving the Eucharist) As a Catholic we obviously believe there is more to the equation than just faith - so my question is this, when you encounter someone who says ‘I don’t understand all of the theology, history or the complexity of what the bible says, I believe in Jesus, and thats all I know because I am simple in my faith, that is how God wants me to be, and I don’t do anything unless God tells me, and I thank him for it.’ - Thats basically a summary of her feelings - she repeats to me that the things I tell her are not importance beceause of her simplistic faith, and yet she believes strongly that a ‘personal relationship’ with Jesus is all she needs. So how should we as Catholics talk to people with this perspective? Do I just draw the line, and say I did all I can? I just feel that unless I get her to see the full Truth, that I am failing in my duty to spread the total Truth of the Christian faith - at the same time, I almost feel like I am harrassing a fellow Christian… I am really confused about where to take this conversation. When you read the bible you see dozens of passages about ‘believing in Jesus Christ’ and ‘your sins are already forgiven’, and those things stand out as simple messages to the average person. To find Catholic truths in Scripture takes a little more patience, and diving into the complete details of Scripture all in context - not to mention the history of the Church as it developed outside of Scripture. I guess to sum up my question, how do we teach the Catholic faith to those who have a more simplistic view of Christian faith? I would not feel completely right about letting my mother just be…
