Undecided-Advice please!

[Aubrey_Claire]

Hello everyone!

I’ll try to be very brief!

My parents were agnostics. I was baptized Catholic by their close friends. I then was brought up in a Lutheran Church, which I didn’t join upon the age of confirmation. I then was saved in a Baptist Church and was baptized AGAIN by means of immersion. By the time I was 21 I chose a non-denominational pentecostal church to call home. After too many doctrinal differences, I left church for many years. Then I went to RCIA but left because I began to feel it was simply too different to digest. I have visited Presbyterian and Anglican churches also, but did not feel that they were the right fit.

Now I am 43 and obviously I have thoroughly confused myself. Do you think I should just “choose a faith” and let God be God, so to speak? Maybe this is preferable. Since I am well versed in the RCC, Luther’s Catechism, the Bible, and other religious works, I can pretty much argue myself into any corner. I have considered going to RCIA again, as I consider my initial baptism to be a sign.

What do you think? How much surety must one have to convert to Catholicism? Your comments are warmly appreciated… please do not concern yourself with offending me. I sincerly need the advice!

Thanks!!!

 

[Oren]

You need to be able to assent to all the teachings of the Catholic Church. I don’t how you are able to argue yourself into any church. The choice is clear. Either you believe in the Church Jesus founded or you don’t. If Jesus founded a Church, which we know He did, and there is only one that is clearly that Church, which we also know, then where is your problem coming from?

I was raised an agnostic as well. I chose to become Catholic because I know history. To be deep in history is to cease to be protestant or to never become one in the first place.

 

[Aubrey_Claire]

The basics of Christianity are not in question for me. Where the Catholic Church parts ways with the Protestant world is at the concept of Sacred Tradition… which I am not opposed to… how do we have the cannon of Scripture without Sacred Tradition? This admission alone gives me serious Catholic leanings, however, the culture of the Catholic Church is quite different even from Lutheranism.

I will not be disrespectful of this forum by suggesting all the ways one might argue against the Catholic point of view. I will leave those discussions to greater minds than my own.

Perhaps I need to reform my question.

How can someone with so many diverse religious influences come to the knowledge of the truth? Is it best to move forward, even if uncertain?

 

[PS3510]

How can someone with so many diverse religious influences come to the knowledge of the truth?

You might try simply humbling yourself before God, telling Him that you can’t figure it out on your own, and ask Him to guide you.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.” (Prv 3:5)

When you cry out to God in this way He will certainly respond in due time. Some make the mistake of thinking, “All I need to do is apply my fabulous intellect to this question and it will surely lead me to the right church.”

“…God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (Jas 4:6)

Good luck and God bless.

 

[Oren]

The basics of Christianity are not in question for me. Where the Catholic Church parts ways with the Protestant world is at the concept of Sacred Tradition… which I am not opposed to… how do we have the cannon of Scripture without Sacred Tradition? This admission alone gives me serious Catholic leanings, however, the culture of the Catholic Church is quite different even from Lutheranism.

I will not be disrespectful of this forum by suggesting all the ways one might argue against the Catholic point of view. I will leave those discussions to greater minds than my own.

Perhaps I need to reform my question.

How can someone with so many diverse religious influences come to the knowledge of the truth? Is it best to move forward, even if uncertain?

I’m not sure what the ‘culture’ of a particular church has to do with anything. The main question is where does the Truth lie, where does authority lie? I agree with the other commenter that you should pray.

If you are uncertain about whether the Catholic Church is the one true church, then I would not say you should become a Catholic. Perhaps you can attend Mass as much as possible and pray before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament until he gives you the grace to believe in His Church.

 

[chipeto]

If you are uncertain about whether the Catholic Church is the one true church, then I would not say you should become a Catholic.

I would never have become Catholic had I not believed that the Church was the truth. In my case, it took more than five years of study, reflection, and prayer.

I cannot agree with the sentiment that one can argue oneself into any position. There is truth, and there is falsehood. If you truly desire the truth, then you will find it, if you persevere.

Seek the truth with patience and humility. Love God and your neighbour. Put yourself in God’s hands trusting that your loving Father will care for you and lead you home.

 

[Brendan_64]

What do you think? How much surety must one have to convert to Catholicism? Your comments are warmly appreciated… please do not concern yourself with offending me. I sincerly need the advice!

Thanks!!!

I think you are approaching this from the wrong angle. You seem to be saying, “I believe in Jesus, but I’m not quite sure which Christian denomination would be closest to what I believe in”. That’s looking at it the wrong way round. We shouldn’t choose a denomination based upon what suits us best. We shouldn’t try to understand the teachings of different denominations in order to then decide what we believe. We first believe, THEN we seek to understand.

If you believe that Christ (as God incarnate) formed His Church on Earth and you believe in the authority of that Church, then the Catholic Church is for you. As to understanding the Teachings of the Church, that can come later. Belief comes before understanding.

Get back into an RCIA programme and come on board!

 

[chipeto]

You need to be able to assent to all the teachings of the Catholic Church.

This is a critical point. In order to be confirmed, you will have to profess that you believe that all that the Church teaches is true. I am sure that many people make this profession not believing it, because they are only becoming Catholic for the purpose of marriage. I suppose that they are not troubled by a conscience.

The profession does not mean that we have to understand or even know everything that the Church teaches. It doesn’t mean that we can’t struggle with some teachings. But it does mean that we accept, on faith, the Church’s authority on spiritual and moral matters.

 

[Brendan_64]

The profession does not mean that we have to understand or even know everything that the Church teaches. It doesn’t mean that we can’t struggle with some teachings. But it does mean that we accept, on faith, the Church’s authority on spiritual and moral matters.

If we accept that Christ formed His Church on Earth, then we have no honest choice but to submit to the authority of His Church. If we do not appear to agree with some Church Teachings, then we ought to be humble enough to accept that the Church has greater authority than our flawed, human, intellect, and we ought to strive to fully submit.

 

[Aubrey_Claire]

Thank you for all of your responses!!. You have given me a lot to contemplate. I appreciate your feedback and time.

 

[jaimeleglise]

What I love about the Catholic Church is that we have the Real Presence of Our Lord Jesus
Christ in the Eucharist. Also, the Sacrament of Confession is very consoling.
We have the fullness of Truth. We are the original Christian Church. We have the Church to
interpret Holy Scripture for us. We have Sacred Tradition. We have Mary, our intercession.
Pray and talk to a priest. God bless you.

 

[bsroufek]

It seems that you would do well to get a Catechism of the Catholic Church; it’s cheap and you mentioned that RCIA was “too different to digest”. Basically, RCIA is a brief Catechism.

If you do get a Catechism and read it, you will have time to digest the Church’s teachings and be able to choose more soundly about joining our Faith.

As Jesus [Luke 11:23] says, “…and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” So, you really should join a Christian Church at the very least, and hopefully this will be the Catholic Church.

 

[Brendan_64]

If someone believes in the authority of the Church Christ founded on Earth, then why would someone consider joining a denomination that was founded as a result of denying that authority?

 

[AmyMCGS]

I think your reference to the culture of the church is a big thing to think about, depending on what you mean by culture. There are three things that come to mind, actually:

First, the culture of each specific parish will be different. We all say the same mass and believe the same things, but the people who make up a parish will determine the way in which these things are carried out. When I first moved to my current parish, I found it very cold, with the same group of older adults runs all the parish events and the same older, slower hymns are used all the time… no young adult activities, no upbeat hymns, no guitar mass. It is a big contrast to the parish I grew up in, which was very warm and friendly, full of lively (but reverent) choir music and family activities. I found it very hard to feel comfortable and did not enjoy mass here for quite some time. Eventually, though, I adjusted and found myself getting involved in things and looking forward to mass again. (And for what it’s worth, if this is an issue for you, you might visit other parishes in your area to see if another parish has a different feeling.)

There’s also a cultural difference between other Christian churches and Catholic churches. Many other faiths have a “feel good” kind of vibe. I have attended Christenings at my sister’s megachurch, and I have to admit, I see why people go there. You are greeted at the door, welcomed in, offered a free CD of hymns. There are tons of programs and clubs to join. There is a coffee shop and a bookstore in the lobby of the church. I see why that is so attractive, especially to those who are turned off by other churches. In comparision, the Catholic mass can appear to be a formal ceremony that won’t have much meaning to an outsider.

And finally, in some areas, there’s a stigma to being Catholic. I know some people have never experienced this and will tell you it’s nothing, but I have. It gets tiresome constantly explaining that Catholics don’t actually worship Mary, or that Catholics ARE Christian. If you are not firm in what you believe, this could easily sway you to belong to another church.

All of that aside, though… what do you FEEL? Do you feel pulled to belong to the one, true church? Do you find yourself fascinated with something that’s particular to the Catholic church? Do the answers you find within the church resonate with you? IMHO, it’s perfectly fine to study and move forward in learning about the Catholic faith to find out if it fits you. I would think it more of a problem if you never questioned anything and blindly leapt into it.

 

[Bob_Crowley]

The basics of Christianity are not in question for me. Where the Catholic Church parts ways with the Protestant world is at the concept of Sacred Tradition… which I am not opposed to… how do we have the cannon of Scripture without Sacred Tradition? This admission alone gives me serious Catholic leanings, however, the culture of the Catholic Church is quite different even from Lutheranism.

I will not be disrespectful of this forum by suggesting all the ways one might argue against the Catholic point of view. I will leave those discussions to greater minds than my own.

Perhaps I need to reform my question.

How can someone with so many diverse religious influences come to the knowledge of the truth? Is it best to move forward, even if uncertain?

Lets put this in another context.

Suppose you went to a state school and learnt basic mathematics - arithmetic. Then you got transferred to another school and you learnt algebra. Kicked out of there, you got sent somewhere else and learnt calculus and integration. Your head spinning, you went to college, and here you heard about matrices, vectors and complex numbers. University and you heard about information theory, game theory, and Fourier Series.

And on and on it went. Until it got to the point where you asked what is the point of all this. The answer is “to learn about Mathematics.” But without the foundation of arithmetic, you could never have learnt the rest.

What’s the point of your faith? To follow Christ, wherever He is calling you. No matter how many variations you’ve heard by this time, that’s the core. So where is Christ calling you?

To my mind, the Catholic Church is CLOSEST to the truth, and that’s where you ought to go. You started there, it’s the foundation, and it’s time you went back there. You’ll have an advantage too - you’ll be able to relate to members of other denominations should there ever be a strong push for reunification, and help them as they try to understand the Catholic faith.

It might even be why God’s put you there, and allowed you to go through so many different churches. He can use your experience, even if to you it just seems like nothing but confusion at the moment.