Afraid of confrontation

[littlesoul]

Here is what I am thinking:

This makes me sad…that I myself feel I can and do believe, I can trust, I can follow, but I’m afraid of the questions others will come at me with. And because of that I question and question and stress or get confused over the answers even though I don’t need the answers.

Please pray for me
Is there a saint of the confused?

I believe what Jesus says and what the church teaches, but I am frightened by others and their questions and their looks and their accusations. I don’t like to be put on the spot. So I keep studying and trying to get answers to all the questions (which obviously I cannot do).

Any comments for me?

 

[littlesoul]

…and I just realized something. I planned to say my rosary this morning for “those who live in fear”, and it just dawned on me that that is ME

 

[oldcatholicguy]

Here is what I am thinking:

This makes me sad…that I myself feel I can and do believe, I can trust, I can follow, but I’m afraid of the questions others will come at me with. And because of that I question and question and stress or get confused over the answers even though I don’t need the answers.

Please pray for me
Is there a saint of the confused?

I believe what Jesus says and what the church teaches, but I am frightened by others and their questions and their looks and their accusations. I don’t like to be put on the spot. So I keep studying and trying to get answers to all the questions (which obviously I cannot do).

Any comments for me?

In my experience there are two types of people who ask me questions about my faith. Those that are seeking knowledge and those that wish to attack it. The first understand that it is unreasonable to expect any one person (especially a non-theologian) to have all the answers. The second use such an unreasonable criteria that if used in the discussion of gravity would argue that gravity is false, science is false, and that I don’t really believe in it because I can’t give them a post-graduate level dissertation on it that unifies and accounts for all our accumulated knowledge of it. I have no fear in telling the first that “I don’t know” or “I need to look that up;” and the second aren’t even worth the effort of reading a grade school science book in preparation for their questions.

 

[littlesoul]

In my experience there are two types of people who ask me questions about my faith. Those that are seeking knowledge and those that wish to attack it. The first understand that it is unreasonable to expect any one person (especially a non-theologian) to have all the answers. The second use such an unreasonable criteria that if used in the discussion of gravity would argue that gravity is false, science is false, and that I don’t really believe in it because I can’t give them a post-graduate level dissertation on it that unifies and accounts for all our accumulated knowledge of it. I have no fear in telling the first that “I don’t know” or “I need to look that up;” and the second aren’t even worth the effort of reading a grade school science book in preparation for their questions.

I see what you are saying. I think you are right. I feel better already. Sometimes you just need to hear people confirm what you are already thinking, you know? Thank you

 

[Eufrosnia]

Here is what I am thinking:

This makes me sad…that I myself feel I can and do believe, I can trust, I can follow, but I’m afraid of the questions others will come at me with. And because of that I question and question and stress or get confused over the answers even though I don’t need the answers.

Please pray for me
Is there a saint of the confused?

I believe what Jesus says and what the church teaches, but I am frightened by others and their questions and their looks and their accusations. I don’t like to be put on the spot. So I keep studying and trying to get answers to all the questions (which obviously I cannot do).

Any comments for me?

Don’t worry so much about having the answers. Your primary goal should be to be certain of your faith. I can tell you that Catholicism is the only faith that one can first come to using reason. Hence the most reasonable one you can find.

So what does the reasonable individual find in his quest to discover God /or something greater than himself? He finds the Resurrection of Christ. Starting from this point onward, he finds that the only reasonable person/s to discover Christ’s message is from his Apostles. Then by thinking reasonably, he realizes that today, to discover the teachings of Jesus, one must listened to the Apostolic Successors (Bishops/Pope) today who the original Apostles had passed down their authority to.

At this point, you give complete faith to the Church. You give complete faith to the church not because you know how to explain the things that the Church teaches. You give complete faith to it because it is the only valid authority on this planet regarding what is greater than ourselves.

So if anyone EVER questions you about any particular Church teaching, all you need to show them is that

1. You believe in the Church because it is the only reasonable authority regarding matters of faith
2. The Church (which originally consisted of the Apostles) derived this authority from risen Christ

So if you want to defend your faith, put all your energy and studies in to the following

1. Historical/Psychological/Reasonable arguments for the resurrection of Christ
2. Evidence for Apostolic succession from the Bible (as a historical text), Councils, Writings of Church fathers etc.

If you can show the above, that is all that matters

 

[oldcatholicguy]

I see what you are saying. I think you are right. I feel better already. Sometimes you just need to hear people confirm what you are already thinking, you know? Thank you

“I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.” -Socrates

 

[littlesoul]

Don’t worry so much about having the answers. Your primary goal should be to be certain of your faith. I can tell you that Catholicism is the only faith that one can first come to using reason. Hence the most reasonable one you can find.

So what does the reasonable individual find in his quest to discover God /or something greater than himself? He finds the Resurrection of Christ. Starting from this point onward, he finds that the only reasonable person/s to discover Christ’s message is from his Apostles. Then by thinking reasonably, he realizes that today, to discover the teachings of Jesus, one must listened to the Apostolic Successors (Bishops/Pope) today who the original Apostles had passed down their authority to.

At this point, you give complete faith to the Church. You give complete faith to the church not because you know how to explain the things that the Church teaches. You give complete faith to it because it is the only valid authority on this planet regarding what is greater than ourselves.

So if anyone EVER questions you about any particular Church teaching, all you need to show them is that

1. You believe in the Church because it is the only reasonable authority regarding matters of faith
2. The Church (which originally consisted of the Apostles) derived this authority from risen Christ

So if you want to defend your faith, put all your energy and studies in to the following

1. Historical/Psychological/Reasonable arguments for the resurrection of Christ
2. Evidence for Apostolic succession from the Bible (as a historical text), Councils, Writings of Church fathers etc.

If you can show the above, that is all that matters

Thank you for your answer I appreciate it.

I think you especially summed it up by saying:

“Don’t worry so much about having the answers. Your primary goal should be to be certain of your faith.”

 

[littlesoul]

“I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.” -Socrates

 

[JerryZ]

In my experience there are two types of people who ask me questions about my faith. Those that are seeking knowledge and those that wish to attack it. The first understand that it is unreasonable to expect any one person (especially a non-theologian) to have all the answers. The second use such an unreasonable criteria that if used in the discussion of gravity would argue that gravity is false, science is false, and that I don’t really believe in it because I can’t give them a post-graduate level dissertation on it that unifies and accounts for all our accumulated knowledge of it. I have no fear in telling the first that “I don’t know” or “I need to look that up;” and the second aren’t even worth the effort of reading a grade school science book in preparation for their questions.

Not even Theologians have all answers as they are not GOD hehe.

 

[littlesoul]

It felt good just to get it off my chest and talk to people about my fears. I thank you all for listening and responding. So many times I know my fears are unjustified but I just need to get them out in the open. I’m glad I have a place like this to talk.

I need to remember that I am only human and can only expect so much of myself. Jesus will love me no matter if I have an answer on the spot of not =) And He might even speak for me!