Can our attitude to the church's teachings be sinful?

[fireproofpoodle]

Hi.

If I fully know the church’s teaching on a matter (let’s say, women priests, or pre-marital sex, for example), accept them due to the church’s authority and try to live by them, is it a sin for me to wish that the church taught something different on these matters?

 

[revert_jen]

If I fully know the church’s teaching on a matter (let’s say, women priests, or pre-marital sex, for example), accept them due to the church’s authority and try to live by them, is it a sin for me to wish that the church taught something different on these matters?

That’s an interesting question. I’m not sure whether it’s sinful or not, but it is certainly pointless, at least in the examples you mentioned. Perhaps the waste of energy is a sin. Regardless of whether it is sinful, it isn’t helpful for you, so I’d pray to stop wishing them.

But your question causes me to think of a few questions:

1. When you say that you wish the Church taught differently, do you understand that (in these sorts of matters of dogma) you are wishing that God were different than He is? Do you wish the nature of goodness were different? What does it mean to wish that?
2. Or do you just mean that you wish it were easier to live by these teachings (e.g. pre-marital sex)? There is nothing wrong with wishing that you had less temptation to sin. You pray for it every time you say an Our Father.

One way to help you stop wishing this is to examine why the Church teaches these things and pray about them. Also if you feel that you have committed a sin in the way you think about them, you can go to confession and say something like, “I’m not sure whether this is a sin, but I feel wrong about the way I think about X.” You will probably get quite different responses about its sinfulness depending on the priest you go to.

Of course if it were matters of discipline, e.g. priestly celibacy, you could wish it were different, but you would have to be reasonably careful about to whom you said it, as you do not want to cause scandal.

Good luck!

–Jen

 

[Whitacre_Girl]

Hi.

If I fully know the church’s teaching on a matter (let’s say, women priests, or pre-marital sex, for example), accept them due to the church’s authority and try to live by them, is it a sin for me to wish that the church taught something different on these matters?

I don’t this it is a problem. There are a few things the church teaches that I don’t see eye to eye on. I have battled through them all and tried to logically understand them, but I don’t. I just admit that they church’s 2,000 years of teachings and the thousands of people who have studied it their whole lives know better than I do.

I do wish they taught things differently sometimes, but I accept that they know more than I do. I live by what the church says, and answer people’s questions on them according to what the church says. If someone asks my personal opinion, I give it to them always with a disclaimer that I trust God and the church and follow what they say.

 

[EmeraldWings]

what we need to understand is, it is no person making these laws or beliefs in our church, it is God completely and utterly, so to say that the church is wrong in anything is to say God is wrong, and that is obviously just not possible.
so to wish for any of those things to change is to wish that Gods laws would change, and since God is perfect, if anything were to change, it would be imperfection, and that also is just not possible.
although i know there are certain things which alot of people don’t understand and so they don’t want to believe in it, but that is part of the faith and trust we are called to have with God,
although i can guarantee you that whatever you want to know about our beliefs in matters like no woman priests or pre-marital sex, you can find the answers and understand them if you look to the teachings of the church and the writings of the saints, and ask God to help you,
there are certain mysteries in our faith yes, but there are no mysteries in the understanding of how God wants us to live our lives,

i’d suggest looking up books by Fulton J. Sheen, or his talks, which i think are on youtube, he does speak on things like woman priests and everything else really, and he explains things in a very easy to understand way.

whether it’s a sin or not…i really don’t know…if you disagree with the church on something and express that to others, i’d say it probably is a sin, but if you keep it to yourself and just try to be obedient anyways, then probably not, although if anything i wouldn’t say “i disagree with the church on this” i would just say “i don’t understand”

 

[Secret_Square]

Cardinal John Henry Newman – a convert, and soon to be beatified – once said that “a thousand difficulties do not equal one doubt.”

You do not seem to be questioning the truth of the church’s teachings, but merely expressing the fact that you personally do not like them and wish they were different. That is difficulty, NOT sinful doubt.

We are obligated to believe what the church teaches, but that doesn’t mean we have to LIKE it 100 percent of the time. Just as we can love another person (husband, children, parents) without necessarily liking everything they do or enjoying every single moment we spend with them.

 

[nina13_p]

I am reminded of several things with this topic that I find truly helpful: Jesus said “if you love me, keep my commandment” – he also spoke about how hard his sayings are, how narrow the path is. Obedience and faith are required, not human understanding. When we practice our faith and obedience, we are given the grace to live these hard teachings. I will never understand it all. I don’t seek to make it logical and I can only reason so much - but with the grace of God, my faith can grow infinitely.

 

[crazzeto]

Hi.

If I fully know the church’s teaching on a matter (let’s say, women priests, or pre-marital sex, for example), accept them due to the church’s authority and try to live by them, is it a sin for me to wish that the church taught something different on these matters?

Ummm… interestingly a grey zone, but based on your description of what is going on I don’t beleive so. Where you would cross the line is at the point of either going out saying “the church is wrong on pre-marital sex” for instance, or “the church is an evil organization for trying to control peoples sexual lives”… This kind of a downward slope breaks the second commandment, as blasphemeing the Church is also a sin (when you think about this, it’s quite natural that it would be).

for more information I would point you to the CCC

usccb.org/catechism/text/pt3sect2chpt1art2.shtml

 

[FightingFat]

Hi.

If I fully know the church’s teaching on a matter (let’s say, women priests, or pre-marital sex, for example), accept them due to the church’s authority and try to live by them, is it a sin for me to wish that the church taught something different on these matters?

I think you hold a reasonable position, but I question how well informed you are on these matters. The Church teaches what it does because it is the best way for us to be happy. If this does not seem to be the case, you need to look closely at what you are struggling with and try to understand the argument. There is always a good reason why the Church teaches what it does. I will try to help if you make your grievances more specific.

 

[StCsDavid]

Doubt is not a sin. If you look at scripture the opposite of faith seems to be more disobedience than doubt. I don’t know of anything the Church teaches that I now disagree with; however that was not always the case. Part of humility is dying to oneself. It’s not the Church of me, but rather the Church of Thee.

What would be sinful would be to attempt to lead others into doubt or as so many cafeteria style Catholics do, only adhere to the teachings you agree with.

Finally, coming to know and believe that the Church has one’s best interest in mind even if one, at the time, doesn’t understand the reasoning is a big help. It is a Church of love not oppression. So if one is feeling oppressed by a Church teaching, perhaps one needs to examine that part of one’s life and see if there is a need for conversion of the will.

 

[Stonehouse]

That’s an interesting question. I’m not sure whether it’s sinful or not, but it is certainly pointless, at least in the examples you mentioned. Perhaps the waste of energy is a sin. Regardless of whether it is sinful, it isn’t helpful for you, so I’d pray to stop wishing them.

But your question causes me to think of a few questions:

1. When you say that you wish the Church taught differently, do you understand that (in these sorts of matters of dogma) you are wishing that God were different than He is? Do you wish the nature of goodness were different? What does it mean to wish that?
2. Or do you just mean that you wish it were easier to live by these teachings (e.g. pre-marital sex)? There is nothing wrong with wishing that you had less temptation to sin. You pray for it every time you say an Our Father.

One way to help you stop wishing this is to examine why the Church teaches these things and pray about them. Also if you feel that you have committed a sin in the way you think about them, you can go to confession and say something like, “I’m not sure whether this is a sin, but I feel wrong about the way I think about X.” You will probably get quite different responses about its sinfulness depending on the priest you go to.

Of course if it were matters of discipline, e.g. priestly celibacy, you could wish it were different, but you would have to be reasonably careful about to whom you said it, as you do not want to cause scandal.

Good luck!

–Jen

Jen, it is harder to imagine a more sensitive and well reasoned reply. I would only add that every temptation expresses the wish of our fallen nature for something that we mistakenly take to be a good. In that sense, all temptation is a wishing that creation and the Creator-God were different than they are. “I wish I could have my neighbor’s wife, or his goods…” In the Garden of Eden, the serpent persuades Eve that God is keeping some secret good from her, and that she will come to know what it is by eating of the forbidden fruit. St. Paul writes of his own conflict between his rational desires and the inclinations of his flesh. Even Christ Himself was tempted. In dread of His ordeal (also in a garden) He prayed “…let this cup pass from me.” But then he submitted in obedience to his Father. “Let not my will but Thine be done!” The key is that we submit our wills to God. That does not mean that we can by some act of will totally subdue the rebellion of our flesh. (That is the path of virtue, the congruence of our will with the will of God through habit. I do not know anyone who has totally succeeded in it.) This submission of will leaves us with a certain pain or longing. That is the cross we bear. Temptation is not a sin. It is an opportunity to share in the sacrifice of Christ. There is, however a grey area. “He who looks with lust” upon his temptations has already indulged them in his heart. That means that we must not deliberately entertain desires (or “wishes”) that go against the will of God. Others have written some very good practical advice on how to deal with that.