Why should I remain Catholic vs. become a Buddhist or a Hindu?

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You should remain Catholic, even though at times it is hard and seems complicated.
The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity shed all His Blood in a horrific death to show his love for us.

Our Good Lord knows when to “let up” after we have gone through difficult times trusting in his grace to help us. He allows us to be challenged so we can grow in his grace.

The Sacraments, especially the Mass and Eucharist, is the source and summit of our faith.

We have the saints, our friends in heaven, and our Blessed Mother who was left to us at the foot of the Cross to be our spiritual Mother.

For brevity I will stop here…there are so many blessings!

Peace and Prayers,

Dorothy
 
Susansdec said:
Because it is too complex and too difficult.
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Have you looked at the law in the Old Testament?

Do you think it would have been easier to be an Old Testament Jewish person practicing under the law of Moses?

Jesus in The Gospel of John if you love me keep my Commandments. Christians shouldn’t worship/ follow God the way they want but the way God wants.
 
Susansdec said:
And not Buddhist or Hindu??? Please convince me…
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Please convince us why Hinduism and Buddhism is correct and not Christianity. Isn’t Hinduism based on mythology? I might have heard that Buddha himself didn’t give an answer in regards to if there’s a God or not or something like that.🌻💖

Isn’t the concept of reincarnation in both of them? If they both believe that we can be reincarnated into bugs for example or cows chickens Etc wouldn’t that mean that we’re eating or stepping on a relative possibly when we eat meat or step on a bug?
 
Do not allow the evil one to complicate your faith life. The Church has 5 precepts. Keep them and you will be in good standing.

Only 5.

But, the eastern religions do not have love as their foundation, their sustenance, or their ultimate goal. God is love. All he asks is that you love Him back.
Only 5.

Build on the 5 as your love grows.
 
Susansdec said:
And not Buddhist or Hindu??? Please convince me… I’m ready… thank you…
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Because the Eucharist is Jesus’ Body, Blood, Soul & Divinity. In Catholicism, your hope is to be Deified, to literally reach Theosis. Nothing compares.
 
Hinduism has created a cruel caste system in India, with the poorest group, the Dalits, never allowed to better their position. Brahmans argued that the lowest caste had earned their low position in society by a past life, and now had to earn their way to a better life. There were riots in the last few decades where Brahmans wanted to deny any kind of charity or aid to the poor because Hindu belief argued against it. This is why, when Mother Teresa of Calcutta began to offer aid, there was scarcely another charity in India.

Another sad comment on Hinduism: Australia’s Global Slavery Index found some 8 million people in slavery in India in the last few years.

As for Buddhism, I would suggest you read Iris Chang’s book “The Rape of Nanking” and Victoria’s “Zen War Stories” . Both books accuse Buddhism of being the ultimate cause of such Japanese World War II atrocities as the Bataan Death March, the medical experiments which included vivisection without anesthesia, not to mention the civilians buried alive.

Every war is filled with horrors, but even the Nazis in Germany had a mere 4% death rate for their captured prisoners, whereas the Japanese were so brutal to their prisoners that close to 30% died.

Historians have tied these atrocities to the Buddhist doctrine of the non-existence of self, coupled with the oneness of life and death,. An eight century Japanese book declared that those who attain enlightenment in Buddhism are above good and evil and its constraints.

Buddhism rejects absolute truth, and blames the evil on the world on ignorance.
 
What are you finding complex and difficult. Perhaps a thread for each issue.

Do you have home issues that confront Catholic teaching or are there other issues making it difficult.
 
That is not happening these days. and Bishop Barron will tell you we were wrong at several points in history, in certain actions, as a church.

Have you watched his series?
 
The fact that you want to be convinced to remain Catholic may be a sign of the Holy Spirit speaking directly to you. God wants you, and He wants you to want Him, but He will not force you into a relationship. But the rest is something you two have to discuss, and it may be for a while.

At the same time I empathize with your situation. As I went through RCIA and entered the church I subconsciously wondered when I’d be “solid” in my faith. There have been a few more ugly moments than I thought there would be, or ever would have thought a “religious person” would have since I live secular most of my life. But it’s becomes more clear to me every day that this is a relationship, not a rote procedure. And it stands to reason that it’s going to be more dynamic than any human relationship considering Who we’re dealing with 🙂
 
I had a “honeymoon” in my conversion a few years back…but then I lost it after reading a “well knwn” Fransiscan priest by the name of Fr. Richard Rohr…his material introduced me to Buddhism and sowed doubt in my mind…
 
Susansdec said:
Why should I remain Catholic vs. become a Buddhist or a Hindu?

And not Buddhist or Hindu??? Please convince me… I’m ready… thank you…
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I’ll tell you why I didn’t become Buddhist or Hindu.
  1. Long ago I was an atheist. I rejected the idea of God and therefore rejected the Church.
  2. When God poured His grace into me and brought me back to faith in Him, I still hated the Catholic Church. Since the only religion I was acquainted with was Christianity, I turned to the only other set of Christians that I was aware of. I attempted to understand Protestant doctrine. At that time, I only knew about Luther. So, I pulled out some books and learned that his major teachings were, “the Bible alone” and “Faith alone”.
a. I did not come back to believing in God because of the Bible. Far from it. If I hated anything as much as I hated the Catholic Church, it was the Bible. Therefore, that made me suspect that this was a false doctrine.

b. The idea of faith alone without works to prove your sincerity, that seemed ridiculous to me. I instinctively compared faith in God to faith in one’s spouse. What would it be like if a husband or wife merely claimed to love you but did not do anything to correspond to those words? Disaster.

Therefore, it was self evident that anyone who put forth this doctrine was not worshipping the all wise God that I had just rediscovered and was drawn to.

So, I dumped Luther headlong and his religion along with him.
  1. I was a former Catholic and for some unknown reason, I despised the Catholic Church. I didn’t want to come back to her fold. So, I studied Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam.
a. I found Hinduism very confusing. There are so many teachers, each teaching their own version. There is human wisdom in the religion. But no absolute truth. None which I could find, anyway. Thumb down.

b. Buddhism is an atheistic philosophy. I didn’t know that when I began to study that religion. I believe in God. Therefore, that one was disqualified as soon as I discovered they don’t believe in God. So, not that one, either.

cont’d
 
cont’d

c. Islam, in my opinion, is a self contradicting religion. And, although they deny it, I found that it is a religion whose tenets are violent. Especially against two groups. Jews and Christians. I jettisoned that one, quickly!
  1. What was I to do? I was running out of religions to study. So, I decided to give Christianity another try.
  2. So, I began to study the early Church Fathers. Back then, I simply called them, the Saints. Their teachings were so beautiful, I fell in love.
Now I realize that it was God guiding me, every step of the way. It was He, opening up for me, His Word. I knew most of these Teachings, but as a youth, I had rejected them. But now, I realized that there was someone who was smarter than me. And He was talking to me through the Catholic Church.
  1. After I realized that the Catholic Church is the True Church, I did what Scripture tells us to do. I didn’t know that at the time. But, in accordance with the Word of God, I happily, checked my brain at the door of the Catholic Church. Yep, that’s what Scripture tells us to do. Here’s what Scripture says:
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Ephesians 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

Hebrews 13:7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.

Hebrews 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

Matthew 18: And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Far from condemning that attitude, Scripture tells us that we are to believe, submit to and obey, everything the Church teaches. No questions. And that’s what I did.
  1. Protestants call that "checking in your brain at the door of the Catholic Church.”
But I call it “being obedient to the Word of God.”

I hope that helps.
 
The Lord Jesus Christ gives us what we need…which is what can sanctify us to be more like Him.

He doesn’t give us everything we ask for, because we may not be asking rightly.
 
The Bible doesn’t have contradictions. Certain parts may *seem contradictory but they are actually complementary. God, Who inspired the writers of Holy Scripture, is immutable and does NOT contradict Himself.
 
Frankie65 said:
And God the Father of the eternal Word is older than 'em all put together
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To be precise, God the Father is NOT “older” because He is eternal and has no age. That’s why He is generally not shown icons, whereas most Western art shows God the Father as an old man, which He is NOT.
 
When asked the most important question in all human history, only one answered I am.

Who is the same God/man who started the catholic church.
 
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Open your heart. You don’t need to be intellectually convinced. Pray! Ask the Blessed Mother to lead you to the truth. Her message is “do whatever he tells you.”

Also, read “Story of a Soul” by St. Thérèse of Lisieux.
 
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