Pessimism towards the Catholic God

[CRATUS]

My goodness, what an outpouring of thoughts. It seems to boil down to something like this:

Does religion really make us better people? I know non-religious persons who surpass many religious persons in perfection. We’d be happier, anyway, without all the rules and restrictions the Church imposes, and people get away with breaking them anyway. And what’s up with God giving his friends crosses to bear?

Is that an accurate paraphrase of your key thoughts?

Am I that transparent?

 

[CRATUS]

All people, not just the weak, need God constantly. Whether they know it or not, they are relying on Him for their very existence since God sustains all that He has created. He is the source of all of their strength and goods. They also need Him to receive sanctifying grace to get to heaven.

Someone that dies for the Faith will be more glorified in heaven and will spend no time in purgatory compared to someone that converts on their death bed who will be less glorified and will remain in purgatory until the general judgement (without prayers). They all get to heaven, but there are differences. Consider yourself fortunate that God is that merciful.

Those who sin in this world are punished eternally in hell should they die unrepentant, and they suffer in this life with discontent hearts and sometimes the just wrath of God. Those who commit sins of impurity often suffer bodily ills & unhappiness. The saints of God suffer much for Him because it is beneficial to their pursuit in holiness and benefits the whole Church while glorifying God. The saints offer their pains in union with Christ’s Sacrifice to almighty God to gain for themselves countless merits, convert sinners, help the souls of purgatory, &c.

Does that help you at all? You wrote on many points and it is difficult, to say the least, to try to read the block of text.

Thanks for your response. God and heaven are just too beautiful to imagine. Saints seem so far away. I appreciate all your responses though.

 

[Deltadeliquent]

Just to be clear…
There is only one God. There is no Catholic God, Orthodox God, Protestant God.
One God.

Maybe your pessimism is towards His Catholic Church? That a different thing altogether.
The Church is peopled with humans, and humans chose long ago to sin. It’s called The Fall.

God didn’t make us flawed, we made ourselves flawed.

 

[Trident_H]

This is a question I wrestle with. When I observe certain people - they possess all the ideal traits. It makes me wonder what good does professing a belief in Christ do anyways or any God? If there is a God, why didn’t He make us have good traits? This is someone in particular - emotionally stable, even-tempered, logical, rational, honest, reasonable, healthy, self-determined, focused, hard-working yet flexible, easygoing, peaceful, content, realistic, practical, well-balanced and responsible. This person can accept things, people and situations for what they are. This person does not need validation from others. This person can easily forgive others. Things do not seem to penetrate or worry this person too much. They seem to guiding by on life. Some people cannot accept difficult circumstances. Some people by nature get stuck and addicted to particular sins. Others can easily wade them off. Some people who have temperaments are prone to depression, angry, and arrogance while some temperaments are just more easygoing and lovable.

Hey Cratus. Look, I hope you don’t mind my jumping in here. I think you know enough about how I think to figure I have no right, but here I can say a thing or two. I mean let me break down the points a bit. Let me try to give some style and feel to all this. But will you read it? Will you trust me on this?

Ok here it is: the ideal traits bit? It’s a lie. No way is that the case. Every person who’s got some positive trait also has its negative. You’re the kind of person who wears emotions on your sleeve? Fine. At least everyone knows the real you. There are no games with that. The easy-going guy who doesn’t get worked up about stuff? He’s also the last one sitting on the couch when stuff needs to get done. The nice person who always seems to smile? You don’t want to get on her bad side because she’ll cut you into little pieces in her head and only bleed you out with passive-aggression.

The thing is that every trait has two sides. So why do we need God? We need a goodness to look to. We need something to work towards. We need a Big Picture and a Goal. We need something that is perfect so we will keep trying to be better. If you stop looking at that you will stop trying. And no one is good enough for that.

God will not love you any more if contemplating about his existence, praying daily and attending mass. A person can repent sincerely on his dying breath and earn the same heaven that those who faced persecution in His name. Salvation is not determined by works. Not all of us will reach the same understanding about God. Some people have a higher, deeper understanding about God, while others have a more shallow understanding. Once again, our understanding about God does not determine our worth. I feel like only the weak in need God. Those who cannot find the power within themselves. Those who are not physically, emotionally or financially stable need Christ.There are others who lack all of these traits.

Look here is the thing. God is not that kind of being. I mean I think when we think of God loving everyone we have to really think about it like He told us to. He said He was like a shepherd looking after His sheep. Shepherds do that because the sheep have a purpose. The sheep don’t know what that purpose is, but the shepherd does. We think we are so smart to wander away from the flock and God’s protection to do our own thing, but really we are just getting closer to the wolves. Maybe this world is such a mess because God has to keep going after all those lost sheep instead of leading the flock to a better place. I don’t know, but I don’t think God wants to be our buddy. I think He always expects to be the master. I think He has a use for us and it’s none of our business until we get there and find out what it is.

I wonder why is it wrong to love one child more than the other, if one is almost perfect and other is not? I wonder how are we all sinners? Some people “sins” never backfire. Supposedly this is will all happen in the next life. The next life is not determined. All I know that life I am living is real. I am very familiar with saints, why does God give the largest crosses to those who love him the most? Some crosses are dealing with alcohol, abusive husband, incurable illnesses, persecution. Who would want them for someone who loves them? Often people pray and their prayers are never answered. Supposedly God answers them in his own time and way, He knows what is best for us. Really? What is so evil about premarital sex? Most Catholics do it and will continue to do, till the point they altogether forget it is a sin. God does nothing about it. Ultimately all this fight against personal, public or societal sin is relentless. It will never end.
Yet despite all my pessimism and doubts towards God - I cannot stop attending mass, wondering about Him or praying. I am not leaving the Catholic Church anytime soon.

So if some people seem to have it good in this life there is the awful chance that they are just getting fattened up for something else. And if there are those who look like everything falls down around them it could be because this suffering is useful to God. And He can’t get it or use it unless it is freely given. So He gives it to those who will do that. I don’t know. I just have to hope that things have a deeper meaning than our shallow grade-school life that we have right now where the most important thing seems to be finding enough food to eat each day. I think heaven is going to come with even more strings attached when we get there than it does now while we’re ignorant.

Peace.

-Trident

 

[Trident_H]

Oh, and Cratus:

The thing about premarital sex is that it can create people. So why would two people be so selfish that they don’t care about the next generation enough to give them a proper place? Why wouldn’t the ones fooling around care enough about making sure the next generation is as stable as possible? This isn’t fun and games. This is serious stuff. It’s for adults. Kids shouldn’t be making kids. It isn’t fair to anyone in the whole set-up. You have urges and longings? Fine. Take care of that in a way where no one gets hurt. And I’m not talking about contraception because that stuff doesn’t always work anyway. But what do I know? I probably shouldn’t be giving you advice on this front. Knowing me, right?

Peace.

 

[pianistclare]

Am I that transparent?

Well, posting history is a thing, you know? LOL


Take time to get to know God.
All your hesitations will be answered.
Life is to be lived, and lived well.
Get busy!
Pray!
Be the hands and feet of Christ and see if things don’t suddenly have purpose for you.

 

[heart4home]

I have heard that someday, probably soon, God will purify the world, and when He does, everyone will be aware of His truth…I heard the economy will crash, there will be terrible storms, wars, problems of all sorts, and the Purification will last more than 10 years. I don’t know if this is true or not. In 10 years, I would like to know…but being unable to know if I will be alive by then, well, …

Also I have heard that the devil is in the mixture. He is busy and having a good time. He infests, possesses,obsesses, and more or less shows his bad temper. I am thinking I hope I have my mortgage paid off by then. Meanwhile, I’m going out for a beer.

You have heard? Who did you hear it from?

People have been speculating on the second coming, and the prophecies of the Bible since Jesus’ resurrection. Each generation has their ugliness, wars, sin and believe that surely the world is so bad now that this is when Jesus will return.

If all this is going to happen, why worry about your mortgage?

 

[heart4home]

They might be private opinions, but I would be inclined to consider the possibility. According to what some of these opinions say, God is very angry at the world for some of the things that are happening. Especially, abortion, euthanasia, and same-sex marriage. If that is true, what will we do if it happens? Some of these people are prophetic in their ideas. If they are wrong, great. I hope they are.

But thinking of all the things that have happened over the years, including abortion, which never was legal in the US before 1973, it would seem that certain boundaries are being crossed.

Have you read the Bible? You do realize that homosexuality was happening over 2000 years ago? Have you read about Sodom and Gomorrah? Have you read the rebukes from St. Paul to suppossed Christ following men and woman who were turning away and committing such acts? Sin and evil isn’t new. The Church teaches marriage is a sacrament between one man and one woman. The laws of the government don’t change that reality. Same sex marriage doesn’t really exist in the eyes of God. It’s quite literally and anatomically impossible. It’s just men doing their sinful thing as men always have. Same song second verse…

Much of the problem that comes from these prophetic people is that many of them are from the U.S. and see this country as the be all and end all of the world’s existence. They believe if we are becoming immoral then surely the world is coming to an end. But here’s the thing, the world and even the people of the good ole U.S.A. have always been immoral. We are sinners, each and every one of us. Some choose to turn to God for salvation and some die in their sin. Many of those who make such claims about how much more evil we are, are really just blind to the evil and sins of the past.

Now please don’t misunderstand me, killing the unborn is most definitely a very evil and sad thing and we should stand up against it. But you know what, killing living innocent children and people is very evil and sad too. Take a look at history, and you’ll see that the murder of innocents has been going on since the fall in the garden. Don’t think those innocent lives mattered any less or more to God than the ones that are victims of the war we have today against the unborn.

Be on Watch and be ready, because the truth is none of us know the hour or time that either Christ will return or that we’ll be taken away.

God Bless!

 

[Ad_Orientem]

Am I that transparent?

Well, posting history is a thing, you know? LOL

I just read the OP and “listened.” Some people may find it easier to respond to a succinct summary than an unedited journal entry.