Have you explored other religions?

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HauntedJame

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Hi all! I am just curious if anyone here were from a different religious background than Catholic, or have explored other faiths. Just…well, I am always the curious cat, aren’t I?

I have to admit, I was raised Catholic then moved away from it. I was a Lutheran for awhile but I missed the “glitz and glamor” as my dad calls it, of the Catholic Church. I tried to get into Wiccan but realised it was too complicated and expensive. So now I am drifting, and I supposeI wonder what other people have experienced.
 
Yes. I was raised Lutheran, was LDS for a few years and then bounced around looking for the truth before I found it as a Catholic. I never attended a B’Hai (sp) service, but I read about and studied it for a short time.
 
I was raised Catholic. I suffered a spiritual crisis from-of al the ridiculous things!-thinking Mass is boring. I never left the faith, but I came close.

I still think Mass is boring, but I now understand the tremendous significance and importance of it. No longer would it be a reason to leave the faith!

I investigated Zen Buddhism for a bit. I still admire much of the philosophy (only the stuff compatible with Church teaching, of course), but only thought of it as a philosophy rather than a religion. I nearly became atheist, but I was pulled from that brink by an excellent theology teacher.

I almost became Presbyterian then. You know what saved me? A website called fallible blogma, run by Matthew Warner. I highly reccomend it.
 
I have visited a Hindu temple, and had friends who were Buddhist, Wiccan, agnostic, etc.

I’ve never been particularly interested in leaving Christianity, though. I just switched over to Catholicism from some other “flavors”:).

I do like to read about other religions, and see where the points of commonality the Catechism talks about are, but it’s an intellectual exploration, not a personally spiritual one.
 
Forgive me but I laughed out loud at the Wicca comment. You quit Wicca because it was too expensive? That is hilarious! “I was intrigued with Wicca, man! I mean, intrigued! The incense, the magic spells, the earth magik, the pagan gods, mystical man! But then I went to the occult store and do you have any idea what a magic wand goes for! Or how about a pentagram for your living room to stand in during spells! Unbelievable! And for a simple druid robe, we’re talking $200 now! The salts, toads, cow hooves, it was all too much. A good DVD copy of “The Wicker Man” is totally out of my price range! The price of tarot cards is just outrageous now. I’m out. I think I’ll go back to Catholicism. Most of the cheapskates I see only put a buck in the basket!” LOL 😛
HauntedJame said:
Hi all! I am just curious if anyone here were from a different religious background than Catholic, or have explored other faiths. Just…well, I am always the curious cat, aren’t I?

I have to admit, I was raised Catholic then moved away from it. I was a Lutheran for awhile but I missed the “glitz and glamor” as my dad calls it, of the Catholic Church. I tried to get into Wiccan but realised it was too complicated and expensive. So now I am drifting, and I supposeI wonder what other people have experienced.
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I grew up Methodist then became Catholic when I was 18, I was active for about a year before I fell away.

During this time I studied in varying degrees (some very intensly, some in general)

Orthodox Judiaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Daoism, and Norse Paganism.

I finally settled into Deism for about two years before, by Gods grace, I came back to the faith.

I spent those two years looking for God only to be actually quiet surprised he was right where I left him, at the Altar during Mass.
 
Forgive me but I laughed out loud at the Wicca comment. You quit Wicca because it was too expensive? That is hilarious! “I was intrigued with Wicca, man! I mean, intrigued! The incense, the magic spells, the earth magik, the pagan gods, mystical man! But then I went to the occult store and do you have any idea what a magic wand goes for! Or how about a pentagram for your living room to stand in during spells! Unbelievable! And for a simple druid robe, we’re talking $200 now! The salts, toads, cow hooves, it was all too much. A good DVD copy of “The Wicker Man” is totally out of my price range! The price of tarot cards is just outrageous now. I’m out. I think I’ll go back to Catholicism. Most of the cheapskates I see only put a buck in the basket!” LOL
HauntedJame said:
Hi all! I am just curious if anyone here were from a different religious background than Catholic, or have explored other faiths. Just…well, I am always the curious cat, aren’t I?

I have to admit, I was raised Catholic then moved away from it. I was a Lutheran for awhile but I missed the “glitz and glamor” as my dad calls it, of the Catholic Church. I tried to get into Wiccan but realised it was too complicated and expensive. So now I am drifting, and I supposeI wonder what other people have experienced.
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Oh, my yes, I’ve explored just about everything. I left Christianity for years and drew very heavily from lots of religions and philosophies (Native American Indian spirituality, for one).

Miz
 
gurneyhalleck1 said:
Forgive me but I laughed out loud at the Wicca comment. You quit Wicca because it was too expensive? That is hilarious! “I was intrigued with Wicca, man! I mean, intrigued! The incense, the magic spells, the earth magik, the pagan gods, mystical man! But then I went to the occult store and do you have any idea what a magic wand goes for! Or how about a pentagram for your living room to stand in during spells! Unbelievable! And for a simple druid robe, we’re talking $200 now! The salts, toads, cow hooves, it was all too much. A good DVD copy of “The Wicker Man” is totally out of my price range! The price of tarot cards is just outrageous now. I’m out. I think I’ll go back to Catholicism. Most of the cheapskates I see only put a buck in the basket!” LOL
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LOL! I was 17 at the time! It was really interesting, the concepts, but I couldn’t afford half the things! Isn’t it strange how teenagers think? I look back at it and I just…shake my head over myself! If I could time travel I’d give myself a mighty slap! 😉
 
Jame, have no fear, we were all young and stupid at one point. God, man, I was into Buddhism in high school. I went to China and Thailand and was so INTO that stuff. I still have a huge library of it. I went deep into it. You have no idea…I remember interviewing a Buddhist monk for a paper in high school in my honors English class. Boy was I a crazy kid…

As a “tween” I was really into that occult stuff. I never worshipped Satan or anything dramatic but I was a huge Iron Maiden fan and metal fan and boy I was intrigued by anything diabolical or spooky and black. I wasn’t a goth or a cutter idiot but was just intrigued by it all. I have to admit I’m still a huge fan of horror movies, guilty! LOL
HauntedJame said:
LOL! I was 17 at the time! It was really interesting, the concepts, but I couldn’t afford half the things! Isn’t it strange how teenagers think? I look back at it and I just…shake my head over myself! If I could time travel I’d give myself a mighty slap! 😉
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I was born and baptized Lutheran, but we stopped attending when I was three. My family’s very loosely Christian. Somehow, I got to thinking I was Catholic.

When I was fifteen, my mom talked me into attending a non-denominational church instead of a Lutheran one.

Six months after starting attending the non-denom church, I decided I wanted to become Catholic, after Catholicism’s arguments seemed to stand very strong in regards to the Eucharist. I got confirmed this past Easter Vigil at age 16.
 
HauntedJame said:
Hi all! I am just curious if anyone here were from a different religious background than Catholic, or have explored other faiths. Just…well, I am always the curious cat, aren’t I?

I have to admit, I was raised Catholic then moved away from it. I was a Lutheran for awhile but I missed the “glitz and glamor” as my dad calls it, of the Catholic Church. I tried to get into Wiccan but realised it was too complicated and expensive. So now I am drifting, and I supposeI wonder what other people have experienced.
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I have not explored other faiths outside of Christianity, other than reading about them, but I did explore Christianity outside of the Catholic church and found it to be lacking in many things. I did not return because I missed the “glitz and glamour”, although I like these things. I returned because of the Eucharist.

In every single Protestant worship service I ever attended, I came out of it feeling as if it was incomplete. There is plenty of glitz in some of the evangelical churches I attended–inspiring, well done praise music, rousing sermons, dynamic testamonies, etc., but all of this left a hole in my soul. Only the Real Presence of Christ in His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Eucharist could fill that.

There were other things, too, that I found lacking in Protestantism, but I’m not out to criticize Protestantism. It wasn’t bad, just incomplete. And confusing. But Protestants love the Lord as much as Catholics do, I found. I am just answering your question and relating my experience.
 
CB_Catholic said:
I have not explored other faiths outside of Christianity, other than reading about them, but I did explore Christianity outside of the Catholic church and found it to be lacking in many things. I did not return because I missed the “glitz and glamour”, although I like these things. I returned because of the Eucharist.

In every single Protestant worship service I ever attended, I came out of it feeling as if it was incomplete. There is plenty of glitz in some of the evangelical churches I attended–inspiring, well done praise music, rousing sermons, dynamic testamonies, etc., but all of this left a hole in my soul. Only the Real Presence of Christ in His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Eucharist could fill that.

There were other things, too, that I found lacking in Protestantism, but I’m not out to criticize Protestantism. It wasn’t bad, just incomplete. And confusing. But Protestants love the Lord as much as Catholics do, I found. I am just answering your question and relating my experience.
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No, it’s all good! I am finding it very enlightening to read the replies, and also it is something to consider. I had the same incomplete feeling when I was a Lutheran. It just didn’t seem the same and whilst I enjoyed the openness of discussion within it, I felt like I was missing a connection.
 
HauntedJame said:
Hi all! I am just curious if anyone here were from a different religious background than Catholic, or have explored other faiths. Just…well, I am always the curious cat, aren’t I?

I have to admit, I was raised Catholic then moved away from it. I was a Lutheran for awhile but I missed the “glitz and glamor” as my dad calls it, of the Catholic Church. I tried to get into Wiccan but realised it was too complicated and expensive. So now I am drifting, and I supposeI wonder what other people have experienced.
Click to expand...
I was raised “Catholic” but not really, I got baptized and first communion, almost never went to church. By age 12, i was agnostic or atheist depending on the day , until I was 17, when I decided I really wanted to know God. I asked the guidance of some adults in my life that I trusted and unfortunately they led me into New Age, after a while I realized it wasn’t real. So I began to pray, “God, who are you?” and well, I got my answer… To be sure, I researched a lot about Christianity before deciding that “ironically” Catholicism makes the most sense.

Edit: let me be honest about the kind of church services i’ve been to. ive never actually been to a New Age service, just read their books and prayed the way i was "supposed " to pray. i have been to only Catholic Mass and a Methodist contemporary service, and a Non-Denominational service in my grandma’s retirement community so far ;), but I’m very open to new experiences with different religious services…
 
I was raised non religious. I had a “born again” experience at an altar call at a baptist church at age 14. Spent high school and college as a non denominational protestant exploring all the flavors of protestant Christianity. Finally, started researching Catholicism my senior year in college while in a Medieval History class. My prof challenged me to disprove Catholicism, when I couldnt, I had to join up. If you cant beat em, join em. 2 years later, after fighting extremely hard against it, I was confirmed in the Roman Catholic Church at age 23.
 
Yes.

I was raised Catholic, and looked into Judaism as well. I couldn’t get over the fact that Jesus was the Son of God, so I looked for and participated in several protestant religions. I still have enormous respect for both Judaism (our older brothers in faith, like JP The Great said) and Protestants (our brothers in Christ).

I still go through personal phases of doubt in belief-it’s pretty common, actually. Most believers will admit going through the famous, “nights of doubt”. But the diety of Christ is still very, very hard to disprove.
 
I must be a real exception or fly in the ointment because NEVER have I doubted Christ or the Bible or the reality of God. But boy I sure have had a zillion instances of doubting the Catholic Church. I just can’t wrap my brain around Catholicism. Jesus is easy. :)…at least for me.
Rascalking said:
Yes.

I was raised Catholic, and looked into Judaism as well. I couldn’t get over the fact that Jesus was the Son of God, so I looked for and participated in several protestant religions. I still have enormous respect for both Judaism (our older brothers in faith, like JP The Great said) and Protestants (our brothers in Christ).

I still go through personal phases of doubt in belief-it’s pretty common, actually. Most believers will admit going through the famous, “nights of doubt”. But the diety of Christ is still very, very hard to disprove.
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HauntedJame said:
Hi all! I am just curious if anyone here were from a different religious background than Catholic, or have explored other faiths.
Click to expand...
Heh heh heh! I have done this intensely for about 25 years!

On the non-Christian side I have attended a Moslem church many times, and loved it. (I want to get back, but I’ve been having schedule conflicts.) I have visited a Soto Zen center and a Soto Zen church, and loved the church. I have read enough about Islam, Zen, and Theravada Buddhism to write books on them – no exaggeration.

On the Christian side I have been a member of WELS, LCMS UMC, SBC, GARBC, CBC churches, and an “independent” church that for all practical purposes was Baptist. I have attended Pentecostal, Hope Chapel, and Calvary Chapel churches enough to know what they are. I read up on the distinctives of Lutheran, Reformed, and Methodist doctrine to the point where I could write A-level graduate school papers on each of them. I did the same thing with pre-trib, mid-trib, post-trib, pre-wrath, and amillenial eschatology, and actually did write an eschatology curriculum for my church’s adult Bible study.

Then I grew disenchanted with Protestants. Because I’m an American I know the history of only Western Europe, which means I know about the Roman Catholic Church. I directed my energy into the RCC and found it severely lacking.

I tried then the Orthodox Church and liked it a lot, but my family is not Greek or Russian or any other Orthodox culture. By mere chance I discovered the 22 Eastern Catholic Churches, and fell in love. Eastern Catholic fits me. For more than a year now I’ve been a full-fledged member of a Byzantine Rite Catholic church.
 
Hey Scott (nice name, man, I’m your namesake! 👍)

Dude, is there a religion you haven’t joined? WOW! that thing reads like a laundry list! I thought I had a need for dramamine with my constant going back and forth between Anglican and Catholic! You put me to shame son! LOL

You left out scientology and devotion to Kali, the black mother of Hinduism! LOL

Seriously though, I’m glad you found a spiritual home in Christ…
scottm said:
Heh heh heh! I have done this intensely for about 25 years!

On the non-Christian side I have attended a Moslem church many times, and loved it. (I want to get back, but I’ve been having schedule conflicts.) I have visited a Soto Zen center and a Soto Zen church, and loved the church. I have read enough about Islam, Zen, and Theravada Buddhism to write books on them – no exaggeration.

On the Christian side I have been a member of WELS, LCMS UMC, SBC, GARBC, CBC churches, and an “independent” church that for all practical purposes was Baptist. I have attended Pentecostal, Hope Chapel, and Calvary Chapel churches enough to know what they are. I read up on the distinctives of Lutheran, Reformed, and Methodist doctrine to the point where I could write A-level graduate school papers on each of them. I did the same thing with pre-trib, mid-trib, post-trib, pre-wrath, and amillenial eschatology, and actually did write an eschatology curriculum for my church’s adult Bible study.

Then I grew disenchanted with Protestants. Because I’m an American I know the history of only Western Europe, which means I know about the Roman Catholic Church. I directed my energy into the RCC and found it severely lacking.

I tried then the Orthodox Church and liked it a lot, but my family is not Greek or Russian or any other Orthodox culture. By mere chance I discovered the 22 Eastern Catholic Churches, and fell in love. Eastern Catholic fits me. For more than a year now I’ve been a full-fledged member of a Byzantine Rite Catholic church.
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I’m a former Anglican who, growing up, was heavily influenced by the Evangelical “tradition”.

I have, from a purely academic standpoint, looked into Shintoism, Buddhism, and Gnosticism, particularly the Sethian variety, and of course I eventually converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity, of course when I first started looking at it, it was also from an academic perspective.
 
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