I have no relgion left

[Bruno_Schulz]

**Of course lots of what Christians tell nonbelievers to help them retrieve believe in God, requires a certain lot of faith to adopt or at least understand parts of this real fundament for everybody’s life.
Fr. Corapi’s word is absolutely true: “THE REVERSAL OF TRUTH MAKES THE LIGHTS GO OUT AND DARKNESS FALL.”
But …
atheists claim exactly this for Christians and announce Christians live in mental darkness. Atheists want to live in a light THEY enkindle. That’s not the far more real light of Jesus Christ! They lost sense of reality (nothing is more real than God). They refuse to realize, that this light of theirs is nothing but the shine of hellish fire surrounding them, and they live to the pleasure of Satan and they must live loud - not to “hear” the darkness grumbling over them; the destroying darkness that will eat them.

Nonbelievers live loudest, in a kind of put on happiness, untrue contentment, so the voice of God can’t be heard and they don’t have to grasp they originate in God and will return to God. They don’t want to hear, listen nor realize and fight against it, without knowing who is their fellow combatant – the first in fighting God in this ugly war of his, he knows he’ll loose at the end of time, but then Satan has taken so many with him into damnation

When people who previously had faith in God or at least where taught believe at one time, and they loose this believe, they ALWAYS overdo this THERE IS NO GOD, with a thousand arguments they tell INTO THE DIRECTION OF GOD (so God hears it “if he exists”). It’s simply their sometimes even unknowingly chosen way – psychologically even understandable - to explain TO GOD why they can’t believe in His existence; like: “Here you are God – you heard me explaining why I don’t believe in you and I hope you now finally understand why I, of course quite naturally, can’t believe in you?!”. This happens, as a friend of mine who found his way back to God confirmed, in the back of their minds; just in case there is God - which for good reasons can’t be proved.
Now they presume, they have some “insurance”, for God “surely will understand”.
They’d never admit it’s something in this way.

Still; it’s not only completely wrong to justify oneself that way. In fact it’s offending God in the worse way possible, which will draw consequences.
Christians too often agonize, how to penetrate into the completely closed brains of these atheists; Gods existence including Atheists eternal benefit of that fact. Though most of them have a solid wall around it and don’t want to listen – to hold another “excuse” in the direction of “oh, I didn’t know – how could I”. (In fact they could!)

**

 

[distracted]

I
I realise I am very confused and this mightn’t make much sense but has anyone else been here and if so would they have advice? I would appreciate if people didn’t say ‘just go to mass it will all come back’ as that is essentially saying ‘just accept it and dont worry about all these issues that are clearly important to you’ equally I have been attempting to pray a little but to no avail.

i have been there, more or less… i never leave my faith for more than a minute or two these days…

If i may suggest something: I perceive that you are angry at God, if only subconsciously…

I think that anyone who says he is NOt angry at God at least sometimes is not being honest and/or doesn’t get intouch with his subconscious…

If a person does all the things Catholics noramlly do (rosary, Mass… charitable works… praying)… and doesn’t see “big” things happening… well, the tendency is to question what he believes…

I think maybe you expect too much from the Church. I think you have emotional issues and the Church helps with that kind of thing to a certain extent but mostly the Church is for our spiritual needs, to help us get to Heave by forgiving our sins… and helping us to be cleansedof them…

I don’t know… mabye i am irritating you with all this so i will leaave it at that for now… These are just my thoughts/feelings, as thye are coming to me at this time… Only God knows your heart…

Have you given up the rosary altogether???

Have you been to the Real Presence and spent long periods of time There? I just found out not long ago that the Souls in Purgatory are There with Jesus at the Tabernacle (Blessed Sacrament) so being There, for me anyway, is to be in Purgatory… something we all have to go through in order to enter Heavne…

 

[IrishJoe]

(This is long so its 2 posts - I hope that is ok )

What separates man from God is our own pride-which is really little more than fear of what others think.

I rarely give two flying monkies what other people think of me. Least of all about my religion. I have at one point had condoms thrown at me for refuting a contraception argument. So the whole ‘you are just afraid’ malarky does not hold water.

I get the feeling that you don’t like laws and rules. Every society and institution has laws and rules. The punishment for breaking the rules varies according which rule or law you might have broken. The Irish government instituted laws so that you will live a somewhat peaceful and free life.

I disagree, I like laws which are comprehensible, fair and sound to an extent. I dislike bureaucracy. To me the church seems too caught up in defining the religon down to the last detail. The Irish government institutes laws so that it will be voted in come next election and line their own pockets… no money or HPV viruses but plenty of money for the health minster to get her hair done on government money

We aren’t “stained” by the act of some ancient ancestor eating some fruit.

if we are not stained they why does baptism ‘remove the stain of original sin’ why was mary ‘spotless’ ?

You don’t accept the reasoning of the Church, which does actually prove that it is necessary, only because, once again, to accept the actual reason that it is necessary means an acceptance that original sin exists, which you can’t abide

.

no even when I accepted original sin before looking into it more (due to the Immaculate conception issue) I still disagreed with it, however they are linked. If it had to be done then God is not all powerful.

Actually it’s bread and WINE (plus a bit of water) becomes the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of You-know-Who, and your inability to separate “accidental appearance” from “actual substance” is merely a matter of education (on your part), pointing only to the rather poor catechesis inflicted on you.

yes I meant wine not water - doh!
It makes no sense, I have a pea, but if I perform a ritual it turns into a carrot that ‘accidentally’ looks like a pea. It has none of the physical ingredients of a carrot but it is.
I don’t realise how my inability to distinguish the two anymore is a matter of education as opposed to a matter of faith. I used to believe it but now it just seems unbelievable.

Why is it not worthy of yours, in your opinion?

I cannot think of a reason why it would be worthy. Why it and not some other orginisation?

Also, do you see that any so-called “freedom” (to act) that is disallowed by “the rules” (according to the Magisterium) is in fact not a “freedom” at all, but an enslavement to some addictive behavior?

I do not see this. Perhaps it is religion which is the addictive behaviour!

 

[IrishJoe]

So, why do you question the authority of the Magisterium, and how do you determine the “truthfulness” of something that others call a “truth”?

I ask questions to find answers which I can understand.
Hence why I have asked questions to which I have not yet gotten answers which I agree with. I suppose I will not agree and its that simple - I dont agree and I reject it. Maybe it’s that simple.

I’d really like to know what this “I was raised Catholic” means.

It can vary - for some it means that as an infant they were baptised and went to a catholic primary school (elementary school) were they made first confession, communion and confirmation by the time they were 12. Not really much time to appreciate it all or change your mind or make up your own mind hence the ‘indoctrination’ argument.
Depending on the family they may or may not regularly attend mass.
I did. I participated. I served on the altar and later on became a reader.

Especially if they were (later) “University Educated”.

I might point out that my uni education was in the UK which has a more diverse population and mix of religions as opposed to the Irish republic where Catholicism is enshrined in our constitution.

I have also stated what i disagree with.

Did you REALLY “come to give Catholicism one last go”, or are you simply hoping to be “annoyed” by “those evil/delusional Catholics” so as to have an excuse to “shake the dust from your sandals” and move on to being a protestant?

Yes I did, I cannot convince you otherwise, if I was looking for entertainment I have a range of hobbies which I could follow. I am already annoyed at RC-ism I suppose so it makes little difference. However responses such as these are quite demoralising.

I think it was apostasy, now it would be heresy as I actively deny things rather than just not believe them.

Are you looking for what is most true, or what is minimally true?

That is a leading question as it implies that the truth is not absolute. Nice try

Do you realize that you’re not being so much un-Catholic today, as anti-Catholic? Consider why you would spend the energy to come here to be anti-Catholic, knowing the reaction that that would get you.

It seems to have progressed from non catholic to anti-catholic - I give you that. Perhaps it is a defensive response to the obviously polarisation that will be present on a pro-catholic forum. However it is not my intent to be anti catholic, and I have frequently corrected people on inerrent teachings in real life as best I can without bias. [you know when people confuse the immaculate conception for the annunciation and such] I am not anti catholic. Some of my closest friends are (practising) catholic and so are my parents and brother.

“Seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand” -. Saint Augustine

I’ve heard it before and that wont happen.

If i may suggest something: I perceive that you are angry at God, if only subconsciously…

I think that anyone who says he is NOt angry at God at least sometimes is not being honest and/or doesn’t get intouch with his subconscious…

Perhaps I am, however I dont think I am. I was quite hostile before. I could still be angry but view the ‘step down’ as neutrality as opposed to stepping down from hostility to anger.

I don’t know… mabye i am irritating you with all this so i will leaave it at that for now… These are just my thoughts/feelings, as thye are coming to me at this time… Only God knows your heart…

Have you given up the rosary altogether???

You are not and I have. I find it hypocritical to say the prayers if I do not fully believe them and especially given my particular difficulties. I used to do it a lot and had a rosary group in uni. But that’s the past.

 

[seekdatruth]

I ask questions to find answers which I can understand.
Hence why I have asked questions to which I have not yet gotten answers which I agree with. I suppose I will not agree and its that simple - I dont agree and I reject it. Maybe it’s that simple.

It can vary - for some it means that as an infant they were baptised and went to a catholic primary school (elementary school) were they made first confession, communion and confirmation by the time they were 12. Not really much time to appreciate it all or change your mind or make up your own mind hence the ‘indoctrination’ argument.
Depending on the family they may or may not regularly attend mass.
I did. I participated. I served on the altar and later on became a reader.

I might point out that my uni education was in the UK which has a more diverse population and mix of religions as opposed to the Irish republic where Catholicism is enshrined in our constitution.

I have also stated what i disagree with.

Yes I did, I cannot convince you otherwise, if I was looking for entertainment I have a range of hobbies which I could follow. I am already annoyed at RC-ism I suppose so it makes little difference. However responses such as these are quite demoralising.

I think it was apostasy, now it would be heresy as I actively deny things rather than just not believe them.

That is a leading question as it implies that the truth is not absolute. Nice try

It seems to have progressed from non catholic to anti-catholic - I give you that. Perhaps it is a defensive response to the obviously polarisation that will be present on a pro-catholic forum. However it is not my intent to be anti catholic, and I have frequently corrected people on inerrent teachings in real life as best I can without bias. [you know when people confuse the immaculate conception for the annunciation and such] I am not anti catholic. Some of my closest friends are (practising) catholic and so are my parents and brother.

I’ve heard it before and that wont happen.

Perhaps I am, however I dont think I am. I was quite hostile before. I could still be angry but view the ‘step down’ as neutrality as opposed to stepping down from hostility to anger.

You are not and I have. I find it hypocritical to say the prayers if I do not fully believe them and especially given my particular difficulties. I used to do it a lot and had a rosary group in uni. But that’s the past.

Cradle Catholic here. Kinda been through what you are experiencing. Know your pain, well think I do. Don’t let doubts about Catholicism affect your belief in God. You can go through all the motions of the CC and still end up totally ignorant, on the flip side, it might strengthen your faith, if you let it. You only get out of it what you put in.
Skywalker: “What’s in there?”
Yoda: “Only what you take with you.”

 

[Realcatholicgk]

Cradle Catholic here. Kinda been through what you are experiencing. Know your pain, well think I do. Don’t let doubts about Catholicism affect your belief in God. You can go through all the motions of the CC and still end up totally ignorant, on the flip side, it might strengthen your faith, if you let it. You only get out of it what you put in.
Skywalker: “What’s in there?”
Yoda: “Only what you take with you.”

**
Hi seek,

Yea, I always said if you can’t find out about God from StarWars where could you find out about Him?

The problem as I see it. People want God to “do things for them” make them feel complete, make them happy, make them have peace. That isn’t God’s job.

We, as His creations are to “worship” Him. By doing that to the best of our human posibility comes peace, happiness, and a feeling of completeness. Without God involved, there is an “emptyness” and all the “feel good” religions or actions can’t fill that emptiess.
I am on my way to Mass, I will pray special prayers and offer this Mass for all who through their own fault can not find God nor His love.

“If I were not an atheist, I would believe in a God who would choose to save people on the basis of the totality of their lives and not the pattern of their words. I think he would prefer an honest and righteous atheist to a TV preacher whose every word is God, God, God, and whose every deed is foul, foul, foul.” – Isaac Asimov

I use to love to read Isaac Asomov I hope that He finally got religion in his heart. May God have mercy on His soul!

**

 

[seekdatruth]

Hi Realcatholicgk
Yeah, a lot science fiction authors write about God and don’t even know it. LOL

 

[CatsAndDogs]

Quote (Cats):
Why is it not worthy of yours, in your opinion?

I cannot think of a reason why it would be worthy. Why it and not some other orginisation?

Ah yes. The things they teach in the “Uni” (university). Why God has always been dead, and spelling.

Both faultily.

:shamrock2:

 

[Realcatholicgk]

Hi Realcatholicgk
Yeah, a lot science fiction authors write about God and don’t even know it. LOL

**Hi Seek,

One thing for sure everyone has an opinion!

Click on: ScienceFiction in the Bible?**

Click on: OT is fiction?I

 

[seekdatruth]

Realcatholicgk:
One thing for sure everyone has an opinion!

Or at least a different vantage point. I personally subscribe to the belief that many things in the OT were allegorical, all Divinely inspired, but not always literal. One can no more effectively scientifically prove UFO’s did anything than they can God did. I just find it ironic (AND HILARIOUS) that many who profess themselves atheist or just anti-religion, go and create their own sort of religion in an imaginary SciFi world. Unfortunately, the OP is confused by that very irony. He thinks that just because people have the ability to imagine such things, that must mean God’s story is imagined too. It’s tough to be stuck in that, and it’s exactly where Satan wants us to be.
So, realcatholicgk, blown anybody up lately? lol

 

[distracted]

I dont think that it is fair that I require saving from some supposed defect I gain by virtue of being born. I dont belive and accept these things as I cannot see how they make sense.

in some scripture passage coming up next week (wish i knew where to find it), it speaks of JESUS being perfected… That really surprised me… Jesus is God, so why would he need to be “pefected” but then it occurred to me that he was human and it was his human “thing” that needed to be perfected… And if Jesus needs to be perfected… well, what can i say about the rest of us???

 

[IrishJoe]

if he’s perfected then why the immaculate conception?

Unfortunately, the OP is confused by that very irony. He thinks that just because people have the ability to imagine such things, that must mean God’s story is imagined too. It’s tough to be stuck in that, and it’s exactly where Satan wants us to be.

I dont believe in the force or whatever and fail to see how you have concluded this. In addition I found the comments about university and my spelling mistake not only irritating but highly irrelevant.

I dont think that just because one thing is imagined then another thing must be.

 

[CatsAndDogs]

In addition I found the comments about university and my spelling mistake not only irritating but highly irrelevant.

Many “cradle Catholics” are “educated” out of the Church because it is in the interest of the secular society, whose most liberally libertine representative is the “university”, to “de-God” it’s members.

Just as one can “miss” the importance of correcting spelling mistakes (even when that is very easy to do) because one’s “educational environment” devalues spelling as “a triviality”, one can perhaps even more easily “miss” the importance of God because one is “informed” at school that “God gets in the way of the ‘Super-Man’ doing what he ‘needs’ to be able to do”.

People “have no religion left” because the secular (libertine) society has convinced the poorly catechized to “leave the spigot open”.

:shamrock2:

 

[IrishJoe]

Many “cradle Catholics” are “educated” out of the Church because it is in the interest of the secular society, whose most liberally libertine representative is the “university”, to “de-God” it’s members.

Just as one can “miss” the importance of correcting spelling mistakes (even when that is very easy to do) because one’s “educational environment” devalues spelling as “a triviality”, one can perhaps even more easily “miss” the importance of God because one is “informed” at school that “God gets in the way of the ‘Super-Man’ doing what he ‘needs’ to be able to do”.

People “have no religion left” because the secular (libertine) society has convinced the poorly catechized to “leave the spigot open”.

From your posts you appear to be highly judgemental, condescending and are not helping.

Why not attempt to help rather than make snide comments.

 

[polkadots]

I feel your pain… I think. Lately I have just been focusing on the Sacred Heart of Jesus and trying not to worry and that seems to help simplify things for me. But that’s just me.

 

[polkadots]

Please don’t be offended by this but I have to say that I really despise the phrase “cradle Catholics”. I don’t know why, but it makes me want to hurl everytime I hear (or read) someone using it.

 

[Realcatholicgk]

One thing for sure everyone has an opinion!

Hi Seek,

Or at least a different vantage point. I personally subscribe to the belief that many things in the OT were allegorical, all Divinely inspired, but not always literal.

**That is very Catholic of you! **

One can no more effectively scientifically prove UFO’s did anything than they can God did. I just find it ironic (AND HILARIOUS) that many who profess themselves atheist or just anti-religion, go and create their own sort of religion in an imaginary SciFi world.

Click On: What I Think

Unfortunately, the OP is confused by that very irony.

**No, He is just confused! **

He thinks that just because people have the ability to imagine such things, that must mean God’s story is imagined too. It’s tough to be stuck in that, and it’s exactly where Satan wants us to be.
**
That is so true!!**

So, realcatholicgk, blown anybody up lately?
**
Actually the site where I got them smileys went out of business There are a few here that still haven’t earnt that I bite! They will find out if they keep bugging me!

God Bless **

 

[Realcatholicgk]

Please don’t be offended by this but I have to say that I really despise the phrase “cradle Catholics”. I don’t know why, but it makes me want to hurl everytime I hear (or read) someone using it.

**Hi Polkadots,

No, offense taken. I know what you mean, being a cradle Catholic myself. As a cradle Catholic, I get that feeling when I hear the word Protestant said. Many cradle Catholics weren’t ever Catholic although they refer to themselves as cradle Catholics. Cradle Catholic means, in their minds, that they were Catholics since birth but being a cradle Catholic in name alone is the same as being a Protestant. Cradle Catholic’s that practice their religion are called Catholics. It is true that us cradle Catholics do like to brag that we had the truth since birth. Yea, I know it is a little arrogant! However I never heard someone with a winning card not yell BINGO! So cradle Catholics that are still Catholics should be able to say that proudly.

Errrr Polkadots, Puke yet?

God Bless **

 

[Realcatholicgk]

Ah yes. The things they teach in the “Uni” (university). Why God has always been dead, and spelling.

Both faultily.

:shamrock2:

**
Hi Cats,

I didn’t want to bring it up, but did you notice how “Professor” IrishJoe spelt religion in the OP Title? I knew this was going to be a difficult one. We have to teacg english spelling grammar and religion! **

 

[LeroyCRHP]

Good to see you hanging in there IrishJoe! It sounds like you have lost some of your ability to love and also lost some of your ability to forgive. I used to find myself with negative, bitter, why me thoughts but after study of that God gave us one commandment to love one anther and also told us to forgive each other. After much study this lead to my simple signature and I found out God was always there, but I kept stopping short.

Good luck
Lery

John 13:34-35 (New American Standard Bible)

34"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

Remember how important it is to not carry a grudge or bad thought against someone else.
** Matthew 6:14-15 (New American Standard Bible)
14"For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

**

15"But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.