Part 7
Is it a SIN to doubt any of the doctrines or commandments of God taught by the Catholic Church? Heresy is a sin. But heresy is a denial of doctrines or commandments of God taught by the Catholic Church. Doubt isn’t necessarily denial, though it is often the slippery slope that lead to denial. For that reason, saints have discouraged doubting such matters.
But there are other connections between sin and doubting.
Maybe someone you trusted, or have a right to trust, is committing certain sins, and this has made you want to doubt the Catholic Faith rather than hate or disapprove of tht person.
Maybe you are committing a sin, or want to commit a sin, and rather than stopping your self or condemning yourself, you’d rather doubt that such things are a sin at all. Some people take this route regarding lying, cheating and sexual things. They see lots of people around them doing these things, getting away with doing them, and apparently suffering no harm for doing them, and even gaining pleasures, benefits, and advantages by doing them. So, someone seeing all this can ask, “Are these things really wrong then? Must I refrain from them just because the bishops and priests of the Catholic Church have declared them to be sins? And what if do these things just a little bit, or only when absolutely necessary for some good purpose?”
Sins can be forgiven, of course, if the person who sinned truly ends up seeing their sinful actions as sinful and truly regrets doing them, truly feels contrition. But sinning has an unexpected effect. It causes the sinner to doubt whether the action really was sinful. And that doubt makes it really hard to get to the point of repentance/contrition. So, once a person goes down the path of willing sin, even if only when absolutely necessary to accomplish some good goal, it become hard to ever come back to a state of grace/righteousness. Doubt sets in. Everything because murky, foggy and dark. The Light of Faith is gone, or diminished.
Sinning is one way to help achieve goals, even good goals, like getting good grades, getting into a good college, helping a friend, developing a relationship. But, if we take the time to look and think, there are always non-sinful ways that will work just as well to help us achieve such goals. The non-sinful ways will not have the horrible side affect of giving us a “plague of doubts” about our religion. So, sinning is never a good idea, no matter who good other people or your own imagination may make it look. The first tragedy in history occurred because Eve believed the lie that no harm would come to she and Adam if she and Adam violated a commandment of God. The liar even told Eve that benefit would come to herself and Adam if they broke God’s rule. Our world today is full of people in their middle age years or elderly years who look back on life with bitterness and sorrow, seeing that if they’d only stayed on the straight path in life, starting at age 16, all the tragedies involving themselves and ones they loved would have never occurred. The bitterest part is that they can see that the sinning wasn’t even necessary. They see that they could have achieved their goals or solved their problems very well without sinning. And they see that the sinning didn’t even bring them much pleasure or satisfaction. They feel like fools, like someone who was conned or duped.
The Holy Catholic Church is there as a teacher, a guide, a mother, and God is there as a father, and Jesus is there as a brother, to keep us from ending up that way. Have faith. Keep the Faith. Just decide to be certain about it. In time, your faith will bring you more and more Light from Heaven, and you’ll see. You’ll never be sorry you walked the path of righteousness. Off the path of righteousness there are many alluring enticements but also many thorns and deserts and swamps and cliffs and ferocious wild animals, and no true love. Which would you prefer? God and the Catholic Church and the Communion of Saints want ALL THE BEST for you, now, tomorrow, next week, next year, and continuously. God, the Bible, the Catholic Church and the Communion of Saints say: Do not doubt. Have Faith.
A.M.D.G.
