If Baptism is enlightenment, then why do Christians fall away from the faith?

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Ben_Sinner

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The church teaches that one receives enlightenment and illumination at the moment of baptism. They are mentally inspired by the truth.

Usually when someone reaches enlightenment, they stay there, because they have seen how things really are.

So why is it the case that alot of Christians, who have been baptized, fall away from the faith and even search for non-Christian forms of enlightenment?
 
Many have been baptized as infants and never really been evangelized. They may have been indoctrinated, but have not assimilated that indoctrination. Remember Faith is a gift, not the direct result of teaching or indoctrination or even reasoning. It come from a personal encounter with Jesus Christ When Christ is encountered, then assimilation takes place Enlightenment comes with spiritual growth normally, although one may be gifted with special graces for God’s purposes. The gifts or virtues of faith, hope and charity are given by the Holy Spirit at Baptism and are released when the encounter takes place The first encounter is turning from sin and turning to Christ, and the growth takes place by practicing the Faith, Hope, and Charity
 
Ben_Sinner said:
The church teaches that one receives enlightenment and illumination at the moment of baptism. They are mentally inspired by the truth.

Usually when someone reaches enlightenment, they stay there, because they have seen how things really are.

So why is it the case that alot of Christians, who have been baptized, fall away from the faith and even search for non-Christian forms of enlightenment?
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I’ve grown to believe that the light really is there, pointing and challenging us to a higher level. But we can always reject the light. The Church teaches that a struggle ensues, the struggle against sin, concupiscence, that lasts all of our lives
 
Ben_Sinner said:
Usually when someone reaches enlightenment, they stay there, because they have seen how things really are.
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I don’t know what you mean by enlightenment here.

But there was once a man who went to a Priest for confession. He told the Priest that he was a homosexual and pedophile, that he engaged in behaviors associated with that, and that he wasn’t sorry in the least because God had made him that way. The Priest told him that he was wrong. “I am a serial killer, but I haven’t killed anyone yet, thank God.” He told the man that Jesus Christ is Lord of everything, including disordered desires like having a bad temper. The man would have none of it, and so he had to leave without receiving absolution.

This carried on for seven weeks. Finally, on the seventh week, the Priest stood up and reached for a Bible, and the man pushed him over onto the ground and began to hold him down. He said, “this is the judgment: the light came into the world, and people loved the darkness more than the light because their works were evil. I choose darkness. I choose satan.” And he got up and he left and that Priest never saw that man again.

All stories are true, and some stories actually happened. This one really happened.
 
LiamQ said:
I don’t know what you mean by enlightenment here.

But there was once a man who went to a Priest for confession. He told the Priest that he was a homosexual and pedophile, that he engaged in behaviors associated with that, and that he wasn’t sorry in the least because God had made him that way. The Priest told him that he was wrong. “I am a serial killer, but I haven’t killed anyone yet, thank God.” He told the man that Jesus Christ is Lord of everything, including disordered desires like having a bad temper. The man would have none of it, and so he had to leave without receiving absolution.

This carried on for seven weeks. Finally, on the seventh week, the Priest stood up and reached for a Bible, and the man pushed him over onto the ground and began to hold him down. He said, “this is the judgment: the light came into the world, and people loved the darkness more than the light because their works were evil. I choose darkness. I choose satan.” And he got up and he left and that Priest never saw that man again.

All stories are true, and some stories actually happened. This one really happened.
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Can’t help but wonder why the guy went to confession.
 
Ben_Sinner said:
The church teaches that one receives enlightenment and illumination at the moment of baptism. They are mentally inspired by the truth.

Usually when someone reaches enlightenment, they stay there, because they have seen how things really are.

So why is it the case that alot of Christians, who have been baptized, fall away from the faith and even search for non-Christian forms of enlightenment?
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“Enlightenment” among the non-Christians is a misnomer. It is* not *that they have “seen how things really are”.

Why do some Christians fall away from the illumination of baptism? From that true life given them in Christ?

Temptation…abuse of free will…the world (in the fallen sense), the flesh (in the fallen sense) and the Devil (who is fallen)…

Also many are not well evangelized and well formed in their Faith and instead they grow up believing the surrounding culture around them…

(hence the importance of the new evangelization)

The* illumination* of baptism is not the beatific vision.

Faith is infused yes…and true life given etc. But that is not the end of the road.

We walk by faith not by sight on this pilgrimage below.

Only when one completes this life and arrives to God in heaven (etc…) will one have the beatific vision.
 
PaulfromIowa said:
Source?
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*1216 "This bath is called enlightenment, because those who receive this [catechetical] instruction are enlightened in their understanding . . . ."8 Having received in Baptism the Word, “the true light that enlightens every man,” the person baptized has been “enlightened,” he becomes a “son of light,” indeed, he becomes “light” himself:9

Baptism is God’s most beautiful and magnificent gift. . . .We call it gift, grace, anointing, enlightenment, garment of immortality, bath of rebirth, seal, and most precious gift. It is called gift because it is conferred on those who bring nothing of their own; grace since it is given even to the guilty; Baptism because sin is buried in the water; anointing for it is priestly and royal as are those who are anointed; enlightenment because it radiates light; clothing since it veils our shame; bath because it washes; and seal as it is our guard and the sign of God’s Lordship.10 [CCC]*

As far a illumination. Here is an excerpt by St. Justin Matyr:

crossroadsinitiative.com/media/articles/baptism-as-illumination-in-the-early-church/
 
The early Church described Baptism as* fotismos*, as the Sacrament of illumination, as a communication of light, and linked it inseparably with the resurrection of Christ. In Baptism, God says to the candidate: “Let there be light!” The candidate is brought into the light of Christ. Christ now divides the light from the darkness. In him we recognize what is true and what is false, what is radiance and what is darkness.

~ Pope Benedict XVI Homily Easter Vigil 2009
 
THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM
  1. What names are given to the first sacrament of initiation?
1213-1216
1276-1277

This sacrament is primarily called Baptism because of the central rite with which it is celebrated. To baptize means to “immerse” in water. The one who is baptized is immersed into the death of Christ and rises with him as a “new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17). This sacrament is also called the “bath of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5); and it is called “enlightenment” because the baptized becomes “a son of light” (Ephesians 5:8).

Compendium

vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html
 
Ben_Sinner said:
*1216 "This bath is called enlightenment, because those who receive this [catechetical] instruction are enlightened in their understanding . . . ."8 Having received in Baptism the Word, “the true light that enlightens every man,” the person baptized has been “enlightened,” he becomes a “son of light,” indeed, he becomes “light” himself:9

Baptism is God’s most beautiful and magnificent gift. . . .We call it gift, grace, anointing, enlightenment, garment of immortality, bath of rebirth, seal, and most precious gift. It is called gift because it is conferred on those who bring nothing of their own; grace since it is given even to the guilty; Baptism because sin is buried in the water; anointing for it is priestly and royal as are those who are anointed; enlightenment because it radiates light; clothing since it veils our shame; bath because it washes; and seal as it is our guard and the sign of God’s Lordship.10 [CCC]*
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That is all about catechesis, isn’t it? We know that many Christians today are very poorly catechized.
 
Ben_Sinner said:
The church teaches that one receives enlightenment and illumination at the moment of baptism. They are mentally inspired by the truth.

Usually when someone reaches enlightenment, they stay there, because they have seen how things really are.

So why is it the case that alot of Christians, who have been baptized, fall away from the faith and even search for non-Christian forms of enlightenment?
Click to expand...
Caetchism (infant in 1231, adult in 1248, formation of conscience 1785)

1231 Where infant Baptism has become the form in which this sacrament is usually celebrated, it has become a single act encapsulating the preparatory stages of Christian initiation in a very abridged way. By its very nature infant Baptism requires a post-baptismal catechumenate. Not only is there a need for instruction after Baptism, but also for the necessary flowering of baptismal grace in personal growth. The catechism has its proper place here.

1248 The catechumenate, or formation of catechumens, aims at bringing their conversion and faith to maturity, in response to the divine initiative and in union with an ecclesial community. The catechumenate is to be "a formation in the whole Christian life . . . during which the disciples will be joined to Christ their teacher. The catechumens should be properly initiated into the mystery of salvation and the practice of the evangelical virtues, and they should be introduced into the life of faith, liturgy, and charity of the People of God by successive sacred rites."47

1785 In the formation of conscience the Word of God is the light for our path,54 we must assimilate it in faith and prayer and put it into practice. We must also examine our conscience before the Lord’s Cross. We are assisted by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, aided by the witness or advice of others and guided by the authoritative teaching of the Church.55
 
Ben_Sinner said:
The church teaches that one receives enlightenment and illumination at the moment of baptism. They are mentally inspired by the truth.

Usually when someone reaches enlightenment, they stay there, because they have seen how things really are.

So why is it the case that alot of Christians, who have been baptized, fall away from the faith and even search for non-Christian forms of enlightenment?
Click to expand...
Enlightenment can have many meanings. Mental enlightenment can simply mean new information is understood. Non Christian forms of enlightenment, such as from Buddhism or yoga have to do with a quality of experience and insight that is not just mental. In fact it is often stated that mental words and concepts get in the way. The Zen koan is an example of trying to step beyond the mental aspect of our being.

Christian enlightenment is an ongoing process that begins with the intellectual preparation for Baptism, the Catechesis. The Baptism itself is an outward sign of the inward grace that has started to flow. And through the mystagogia it continues. Those who have been Baptized and then “leave the faith and even search for non-Christian forms of enlightenment” have not fully plunged the depths of Christian spirituality and have become impatient, continuing their sincere journey in broader realms of spirituality.

Perhaps the problem is that we often make Christianity too cerebral, too intellectual, too mental. We even sometimes see contemplation as too dangerous or beyond the means of us average people. Christianity is more than just a set of doctrines. It is a relationship with Christ. That relationship has no end, no bounds and is beyond understanding.

Those who leave have a hunger that has not yet been satisfied.
 
Ben_Sinner said:
The church teaches that one receives enlightenment and illumination at the moment of baptism. They are mentally inspired by the truth.

Usually when someone reaches enlightenment, they stay there, because they have seen how things really are.

So why is it the case that alot of Christians, who have been baptized, fall away from the faith and even search for non-Christian forms of enlightenment?
Click to expand...
The World,The Flesh and The Devil.
 
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