What to do?

[12er3]

I was always scared if some other religion other than Christianity is right so when i was exploring Mormonism for example, i used to be aware of every thing around me and inside me, just to make sure that God isn’t trying to somehow show me that Mormonism is true. And in that awareness of everything, suddenly i may of hurt myself somehow and then i spend some time after that figuring out if God is trying to message me that Mormonism is right. Well i got over that but some time after that it has returned. 33 was my favorite number so when i was exploring islam if its right, i thought, well 33 is my favorite number so what if God is trying to show me that islam is true trough the number 33. So i googled number 33 and some other words along it like Quran or Bible and when i googled 33 with one word i scrolled down and found an article about some bible verse number 33 where a prophecy of Muhammad was(supposly). I put some thought in it and i figured that it is probably a coincidence.After that everytime i saw number 33 it got my attention. I got over that. But recently when i was reading the bible( Acts 7) i got to verse 33. The verse was telling about how Moses took off his shoes because God said to him, that he was standing on the holy ground. I immediately found a parallel to islam, because muslim take off their shoes when they go to the mosque, which for them is a holy ground. Do you think God tryied to message me something, if not how can i loose that fear that other religions, now especially islam are right and not Christianity. Please help.

 

[MichaelHowling]

No, I don’t think God is trying to tell you something… He’s not trying to persuade you from leaving the one true faith.

I think you need to go deeper into your catholic faith and start researching it more.

It’s great you want to go deeper and search…THAT may be something God is pressing you to do…but it doesn’t mean you have to go outside Catholicism to do it… He’s trying to get you to come to know Him more.

God bless you on that journey! If you take it seriously, you will come out happy on the end I guarantee it!

If you have any questions or how to get started … don’t hesitate.

 

[12er3]

I am a devout catholic, but i have always since i became such i commited Christian been scared if any other religions are right. Its because it interferes with my life style. I used to be scared that aliens exist, because it would completely change my life to the worse. So i use to do alot of research on that subject. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if God is trying to message me something with this 33. Probably not, But im still scared.

 

[ClearWater]

I am a devout catholic, but i have always since i became such i commited Christian been scared if any other religions are right. Its because it interferes with my life style. I used to be scared that aliens exist, because it would completely change my life to the worse. So i use to do alot of research on that subject. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if God is trying to message me something with this 33. Probably not, But im still scared.

If aliens scare you, why not stop research about them right now and to avoid TV programs and movies on them, as well. I’d recommend avoiding New Age, as well. All this just serves to confuse a person. Maybe UFOs and aliens exist, but what will you do about it either way? How would that affect your life, especially to worry about all this that you can’t possibly change? Worrying won’t be helpful. Let that go. There are bigger fish to fry. Concern yourself with things that impact upon you, that are real, that you can do something about, change.

As a Catholic, we are not supposed to be dabbling in other religions. I think a lot of this confusion is coming from jumping from one church to another,

Since you are already Catholic, why not start first with what you are and then go from there. Why not consider learning more about your own faith as a starting point? Your own Catholic Church should have some resources, Bible studies, pastoral groups.

I’d recommend sticking with ONE faith and not mixing everything. Otherwise, it gets out of hand and is too confusing. Get a strong base in your faith.

As to Christianity, I think Catholicism has a good argument, since it was the original. There are some 35,000 denominations of Christianity which have split off from it since. Why not try with the source, the original?

What if Catholicism is right? Had you considered that?

 

[1ke]

Please help.

The help you need is found in a professional counselor, not the internet. These are compulsions, complusive behavior needs professional attention. Perhaps you cannot see that, but this is not a normal thinking pattern.

 

[judynurse]

Excellent answer, as usual, 1ke. That’s cutting to the heart of the matter. Sounds like every other compulsive behavior I have come across. Unfortunately, such a compulsion also comes with a lot of fear and confusion.

 

[dronald]

I was always scared if some other religion other than Christianity is right so when i was exploring Mormonism for example, i used to be aware of every thing around me and inside me, just to make sure that God isn’t trying to somehow show me that Mormonism is true. And in that awareness of everything, suddenly i may of hurt myself somehow and then i spend some time after that figuring out if God is trying to message me that Mormonism is right. Well i got over that but some time after that it has returned. 33 was my favorite number so when i was exploring islam if its right, i thought, well 33 is my favorite number so what if God is trying to show me that islam is true trough the number 33. So i googled number 33 and some other words along it like Quran or Bible and when i googled 33 with one word i scrolled down and found an article about some bible verse number 33 where a prophecy of Muhammad was(supposly). I put some thought in it and i figured that it is probably a coincidence.After that everytime i saw number 33 it got my attention. I got over that. But recently when i was reading the bible( Acts 7) i got to verse 33. The verse was telling about how Moses took off his shoes because God said to him, that he was standing on the holy ground. I immediately found a parallel to islam, because muslim take off their shoes when they go to the mosque, which for them is a holy ground. Do you think God tryied to message me something, if not how can i loose that fear that other religions, now especially islam are right and not Christianity. Please help.

I am not a counselor so I cannot help with the psychological feelings you are having, but perhaps I can help you with The Acts 7:33

33 Then the Lord said to him, 'Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.

What Stephen is doing here is quoting what the Torah actually says, word for word:

Exodus 3:5Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

The reason that Moses was commanded to take off his sandals was because he was standing before God. This is important to Christianity because of the Theophany that occurs in Joshua:

Joshua 5:13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries? "

14 And he said, "No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come. " And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, "What does my lord say to his servant? "

15 And the commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, "Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy. " And Joshua did so.

Worship is only due to God alone, and here we see Joshua worshiping a man because the man was fully God. This man was Jesus Christ who commanded Joshua’s shoes to be taken off, just as God did through the burning bush. If we ever stand before God in His glory on earth, we must take off our shoes, for before Him is holy ground.

Hope that clears that up.

 

[DavidFilmer]

Pick a number at random (perhaps 42) and run through your “experiments.” You are likely to find a similar set of coincidences.

FWIW, in Biblical numerology, the number 33 would be thought of as eleven threes, and the “meaning” of the number 33 would be determined by the “meaning” of its prime factors. Three is the “divine” number (the Trinity, for example). Twelve is the “complete” number (number of Apostles, Tribes of Israel, etc). Eleven is therefore the incomplete (or “not quite complete”) number. Thus, 33 would be interpreted as incomplete divinity - which is kinda silly, when you think about it.

 

[12er3]

I know now what this meant. Before i was very intolerant of other religions. I loved muslims and others but i was very intolerant. I debated with atheists to the death sometimes, just trying to inforce my thinking on them. I even went so far as not wanting some atheist to come for Christmas dinner. After that 33 incident i became incredibly tolerant of them and more loving. I think it was a message from God.