Why Should I Come Back to the Church?

[Veedar]

Hello all, (…) As an ex-Catholic, now a non-believer, why should I return to the Church? What reasons are there to convince me that the claims made by the Catholic Church are true?

I’ve had an image in my mind for a long time. In it I see Jesus asking me a series of questions, and I’ll try to formulate a few of them here:

“Suppose that I was an idealistic apocalyptic preacher, who believed that God would soon return and right all the wrongs of this world, but I was killed by the Romans and defeated. Would you still live in accordance with my teachings?”

“Suppose that my body was dumped into a ditch, a mass grave for criminals after they were killed. Would you still visit the ones imprisoned?”

“Suppose I was all alone on the cross, and that my followers made up the gospel accounts of what happened based on Old Testament texts because they could not handle the remorse of having left me all alone. Suppose I died alone in agony, and nobody even cared. Will you still be a friend to the lonely?”

“Suppose that I did not rise from the dead. Will you still do unto the least of my brethren, as you would have done unto me?”

“Suppose my ideal of a kingdom of God, where the last become the first and the first become the last was a beautiful dream, but the harsh realities of life caught up with me. Will you do everything in your power to make it a reality?”

“Suppose I cannot promise you heaven, golden streets and eternal happiness. Rather, when you are dead you are gone forever. Will you still extend compassion to all living beings?”

“Why are you a Catholic? Is it because you admire my radical life and supreme sacrifice? Or is it perhaps because of selfishness, because my sacrifice will make sure that you are happy and live forever?”

So… perhaps there will be no life after death. Perhaps there will be no heaven. Perhaps there will be no infinite bliss. But if you admire the teachings of Jesus for their own sake, if extending compassion to all living creatures speaks deeply to your soul. If you wish to be part of a community that wishes to make the kingdom that Jesus envisioned a reality here and now, then why does it matter what the atheists say? Or what the scholars say? Compassion is its own reward.

And maybe, just maybe, when you have died you will meet someone who says, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Come and share your master’s happiness!”

 

[Aloysium]

I may be overstepping some boundaries here, but you brought up the issue.

I was trying to sort out why you would asking yourself hypothetical questions about how you would behave in situations that are not real.

Seems to me you are asking yourself how real is your faith, beyond what you think and imagine. What is the status of your true relationship with God. If all your thoughts said something to the contrary, would you still know that Love is at the core of existence.