Confused!!

[kelcca]

Hi. This is my first post! I was raised a catholic and am considering go back to the church, it has been 20 yrs!! After reading and searching I am still confused on the church views on certain things, so I though I would post my question here. Hope you an help me.

• Does the church believe there is salvation with out Jesus?
• Does the church believe people of other faiths can go to heaven even if they were never saved?
• Does the church believe there is only one God, the God Of Israel, the God of the old and new testament?
• Does the church believe homosexuality is wrong?
  You would think it would be easy to find these answers but it has not been!

 

[teachccd]

Hi. This is my first post! I was raised a catholic and am considering go back to the church, it has been 20 yrs!! After reading and searching I am still confused on the church views on certain things, so I though I would post my question here. Hope you an help me.

Welcome to the forum. I will try to help you along with others here who will chime in.

• Does the church believe there is salvation with out Jesus?

In short, no. All salvation of humankind is merited by the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord. Christianity is about the person of Jesus Christ and how He reconciled fallen humanity back to His Father on the cross. There is no other means to enter heaven. Those who are saved outside of Christianity are still saved this way even though they do not realize it.

• Does the church believe people of other faiths can go to heaven even if they were never saved?

Yes. All people are judged by God when they die. If they go to heaven it is because of the work of Christ on the Cross. We were saved 2000 years ago, we are being saved, and we will be saved by God’s ultimate judgment.

• Does the church believe there is only one God, the God Of Israel, the God of the old and new testament?

Yes, There is only one God. the nature of God is triune. He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We believe in one God whose nature is three persons in one God. God reveals Himself in the Old Testament through the prophets and in the new Testament through His Son.

• Does the church believe homosexuality is wrong?

This is a biggie since it is a very sensitive topic. The Church does not condemn homosexual orientation. The Church does, however, find it sinful for a homosexual to act on that orientation. This is found explicitly in the first Chapter of Romans. I know that there are a lot of folks here who can expound on this since I do have to run. If not I will be back later. God bless you and I hope that your journey home is guided by the many who are here to help.

 

[TeenageConvert]

Hi. This is my first post! I was raised a catholic and am considering go back to the church, it has been 20 yrs!! After reading and searching I am still confused on the church views on certain things, so I though I would post my question here. Hope you an help me.

• Does the church believe there is salvation with out Jesus?
• Does the church believe people of other faiths can go to heaven even if they were never saved?
• Does the church believe there is only one God, the God Of Israel, the God of the old and new testament?
• Does the church believe homosexuality is wrong?
  You would think it would be easy to find these answers but it has not been!

1.) No salvation comes from the death of Christ
2.)It’s possible, but I think most Catholics would agree it isn’t our place to judge… so no one really knows except for God who goes to heaven, or hell.
3.)Yes, but that he has been revealed to us in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
4.)It’s not wrong to me attracted to the same sex, but it is a sin to have sex with someone of the same sex. So a celibate gay/lesbian would be OK.
Hope I helped!

 

[jmcrae]

Hi. This is my first post! I was raised a catholic and am considering go back to the church, it has been 20 yrs!!

Welcome back!

After reading and searching I am still confused on the church views on certain things, so I though I would post my question here. Hope you an help me.

I hope so, too!

• Does the church believe there is salvation with out Jesus?

As Teach pointed out, everyone who is saved, is saved by Jesus. To expound on that, I remember being told by an African man from a Zulu tribe that when he was a child, he was told of a god who loves us, who came to earth as a man, and who died for our sins. When missionaries came to his village to bring them the good news about Jesus, he realized that this god he had been told about when he was a child, was in fact, Jesus.

There are many people in the world who will not come to the realization that the god they worship is Jesus, until they come to the Judgement Day - but when they do, they will not be surprised - they will only say, OH, so that was you, Jesus!

• Does the church believe people of other faiths can go to heaven even if they were never saved?

With regard to those who don’t know Jesus in this life, we entrust them to God’s infinite mercy. We know that God gave us the Church for our salvation, but we also know that God is free to work outside His Church, as well.

• Does the church believe there is only one God, the God Of Israel, the God of the old and new testament?

Yes, and Teach explained this one so well that I won’t attempt to add to it.

• Does the church believe homosexuality is wrong?

The Church calls all of her members to holiness and chastity. The act of sex rightly belongs to a man and woman who are married to each other, for the sake of their unity, and for the sake of their family. For this reason, any kind of sex outside of marriage is sinful - including, but not limited to, homosexual actions.

People who find themselves attracted to members of the same sex are called by God to a special kind of heroic chastity. The Church calls them to use their gifts of friendship in a wholesome and edifying way, to build up the body of Christ in that way, rather than using their sexuality for physical relationships.

 

[PAboy57]

Hi. This is my first post! I was raised a catholic and am considering go back to the church, it has been 20 yrs!! After reading and searching I am still confused on the church views on certain things, so I though I would post my question here. Hope you an help me.

• Does the church believe there is salvation with out Jesus?
• Does the church believe people of other faiths can go to heaven even if they were never saved?
• Does the church believe there is only one God, the God Of Israel, the God of the old and new testament?
• Does the church believe homosexuality is wrong?
  You would think it would be easy to find these answers but it has not been!

Teachccd gave you a nice response you can trust. There is of course details to our faith that we should all know. I would suggest reading many of the basic faith books available from this site. Here is a websit with a list of Catholic Dogma – absolute beliefs all Catholics must accept. God Bless

jloughnan.tripod.com/dogma.htm

 

[GratefulFred]

I agree with the responses above. And it is good that you are wanting to come back to the Church after 20 years. The Holy Spirit is calling you and you are listening.

Think a bit about the difference between full understanding and Faith. Our relationship with God is one that continues to grow day by day if we are paying attention. We do not know “enough” and want to know more, but we also realize that God has given us the great gift of Faith.

We know that Jesus Christ is the Living Son of God.
We know He taught us well.
We know He established His Church and placed Peter in charge.
We know He established Holy Communion whereby we can receive Him, not just a symbol of Him.
We know He suffered, died, and rose from the dead to purchase our eternal salvation. We know He established the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
We know He enpowered His Church to teach all nations.
We know He would send the Holy Spirit to guide His Church.
We also know that many did reject Christ, His Apostles, and His Church even to this day.

But their rejection does not make Christ wrong.

We know all this becasue we carefully read the New Testament.

Nothing as large and lasting as the Catholic Church has ever been built on a Lie. A Loving God would not allow a Lie to last so long and grow so large.

With such knowing, we want to be in full Communion with His Church.

What we do not understand, we can learn with persistence, patience, and prayer for an increase in Faith and Wisdom.

Welcome back into full Communion with Christ’s Church and His Sacraments.

 

[kelcca]

Thank you so much , all of you for taken the time to reply. I was raised Catholic but left the church as a late teenage, I never understood the word and it really had no meaning to me as a kid growing up in Catholic school or as an adult. I never felt God’s love, or the love of my teachers or priest at school. The Bible was just a book and the words were just myths and folklore at best. I love the feeling of being at mass, the fellowship, the culture , art and music. I love the idea that there are people in heaven praying for us, that Mary and all the saints care for us, and love us. I needed confirmation on those questions I posted, to me they are very important and the teachings of Jesus are not subject to change . There is one God, his son Jesus and the Holy Spirit and we are saved by Jesus alone. What happens to people of other faiths when they die we don’t know, but we do know Jesus is a loving father whole cherishes all of his children and does not want one soul to be lost/

 

[teachccd]

Thank you so much , all of you for taken the time to reply. I was raised Catholic but left the church as a late teenage, I never understood the word and it really had no meaning to me as a kid growing up in Catholic school or as an adult. I never felt God’s love, or the love of my teachers or priest at school. The Bible was just a book and the words were just myths and folklore at best. I love the feeling of being at mass, the fellowship, the culture , art and music. I love the idea that there are people in heaven praying for us, that Mary and all the saints care for us, and love us. I needed confirmation on those questions I posted, to me they are very important and the teachings of Jesus are not subject to change . There is one God, his son Jesus and the Holy Spirit and we are saved by Jesus alone. What happens to people of other faiths when they die we don’t know, but we do know Jesus is a loving father whole cherishes all of his children and does not want one soul to be lost/

I am glad that we could help. Please feel free to come here with any questions. It is amazing how we do grow in our faith and where we were is not indicative of where we may be tomorrow. It is a constant journey and an exciting one. May God bless you and be with you always… teachccd

 

[kelcca]

If Catholics believe in one God, who do some Catholic Parishes do inter faith work shops, celebrations and worships? There seems to be people who mix there Catholic beliefs with buddhism and other false religions?

 

[teachccd]

If Catholics believe in one God, who do some Catholic Parishes do inter faith work shops, celebrations and worships? There seems to be people who mix there Catholic beliefs with buddhism and other false religions?

Catholics only believe in one God. But we also recognize that there are many who do not have the truth and it is our job to reach out to all people. We do not condone their beliefs but we do believe that if we can dialogue with them then evangelization can take place. Catholics cannot mix their own beliefs with others and still be a practicing Catholic. We still uphold ALL of our Catholic Christian doctrines while being ecumenical with those who are not united with us.

Yes, we believe in one God. You CANNOT be a Catholic if you do not believe in one God, period. Anything else that we do is an outreach to those who need the truth… teachccd

 

[kelcca]

Are most Catholics like you teachccd? Most Catholics I know seem to have no understanding of the word, believe any religion is ok, and that the Bible from Old Testament to Revelations is mostly just a mix of folklore, half truths and myths. May be it’s an Irish Catholic thing I don’t know? I grew up in Newfoundland Canada, a very Irish Catholic place. When I go back and have these discussions with my friends or family who are Catholic they have no real faith in the Bible and just kinda believe it is a philosophy on how to live life at best. They are Sunday Christians and there is no evidence of God in there life’s or any belief in the Bible.

 

[teachccd]

Are most Catholics like you teachccd? Most Catholics I know seem to have no understanding of the word, believe any religion is ok, and that the Bible from Old Testament to Revelations is mostly just a mix of folklore, half truths and myths. May be it’s an Irish Catholic thing I don’t know? I grew up in Newfoundland Canada, a very Irish Catholic place. When I go back and have these discussions with my friends or family who are Catholic they have no real faith in the Bible and just kinda believe it is a philosophy on how to live life at best. They are Sunday Christians and there is no evidence of God in there life’s or any belief in the Bible.

Well, I cannot speak for all who may identify themselves as Catholics but I can say that all Catholics should believe as I do. I follow Catholic teachings to the very best of my ability. Catholics hold Sacred Scripture as the inspired Word of God. At Mass we process with the book of Scripture held high and we all stand when the Gospel is read. Catholics are encouraged to read the Bible and we hold various Bible studies. Now back in the old days for fear of misinterpretation the Church used to discourage individuals from reading the bible. But since the Vatican II Council it is now encouraged. But the Church has never taught that the Bible is folklore or that any religion is o.k. There is one true Church and that is the Church that Jesus Christ founded. We are accepting of our separated brothers and sisters in Christ since they hold a love for Christ and we do share some common beliefs. But the Church upholds liturgical worship which includes the adoration of the most Holy Eucharist within the context of the Mass.

I am so sorry that you are meeting those who identify themselves as Catholics but do not hold on to what the Church actually teaches regarding Scripture, other faiths and whatever they are promoting. We do have a book called the Catechism of the Catholic Church and I would highly recommend that you get a copy. There are many other Church documents that you can get online but the Catechism is a great resource for Catholic teachings.

Please feel free to PM me with any specific questions or just ask me here. I know how saddened I am to find so many Catholics lacking in a true understanding of our faith. I can really understand how you must see this. Anyway, feel free to come here and ask questions and I or many others here will do their best to answer them. God bless you… teachccd