Why so many doubt threads?

[po18guy]

This will be my 12th year here and I have never seen so many threads with so many people almost assuming that the Church has failed, or that this or that scripture, devotion, you name it - it falsified, contradictory or just plain untrue.

Why so much doubt? Our Lord upbraided the twelve for their doubt and lack of faith. Ah, the interwebz. Nothing but doubts fostered there. Counter-claims, “proof” that this or that is false. Oh, there is good news, but the bad news leads. The bad catches the eye, then the mind, then the heart - a dangerous progression - like cancer.

People, it is late in Lent, but consider giving up the media.

ALL of it (except CatholicTV/radio). The MSM “news”, social media, commercial radio, newspapers, magazines, everything. Is it a shock? At first, but then you come to realize that it was just noise, chattering and murmuring.

I got sick of it all and gave it up. I am by all measures happier and my faith is more settled. It is now more centered on Christ and less on attacks on Him.

Peter walked on water until he took his eyes off of Christ. This lesson applies to each and every one of us, not just to Peter.

Had to say it, as doubt is running rampant.

 

[Wm777]

Ironically, I like what you say.

Last night, I posted this prayer intention, but only a few actually said anything:

Christ's Prayer for St Peter: The Fisher of Men Prayer Intentions

Here’s a fun and joyfully intended prayer intention for all. I would like to be a fisher of men…

and who wouldn’t? So let’s all pray for fellowship… in one accord, as they say in Acts… Lots and lots and lots of new and good friends never hurt anyone… one can never have too much of a good thing!

I deliberately went out of my way… err, I take that back - I AM deliberately going out of my way… to make it a completely positive, joyful thread, which - I dare say - seems even a bit like fluff…

But it isnt fluff… or trolling… or even anything bad at all…

All that was (and still is and will be) “required” is to do something as simple as to click a heart or say something nice…

There are many other prayers in the forum, and I pray for them all… But this one was a unique sort of prayer… It is simply a “happy prayer”, if that makes any sense… Maybe it seems irrelevant, but where does faith begin and what is it’s aim? If we cannot share the joy of fellowship, it seems like something is lacking…

I dont know I would say people here doubt… Maybe it is just more like strife… But, then, if we cannot trust each other in a small matter, what about the truly big ones?

People fail to recognize Christ in the process, and it is extremely sad when we do…

Making sense?

God’s Blessings to You @po18guy. I hope you are having a fulfilling Lent. I hope we all do. This is the time we should be showing Christ as much appreciation as we can for what ultimately lead up to our redemption and salvation.

Thank you for sharing in this post!

 

[po18guy]

Ironically? Are my posts that bad?

This is not a negative thread, but perhaps a wakeup call to those of us who have insidiously been programmed to absorb whatever TV, radio or web is blasting at us. Some years ago, I realized that I was paying for the “news” which only made me angry or upset. Realizing that it was a form of irrational behavior, if not insanity, I unplugged, or in today-speak, went off the grid.

It is a spiritual battle, but one which we have very much control over. Complete control via an act of the human will.

I very rarely agree with the garage/punk group Green Day, but I must admit they nailed it in their song “American Idiot”

“Don’t want to be an American idiot…
one nation controlled by the media…”

Break free! Breathe fresh air once again. How invigorating it can be - if we allow it.

 

[Wm777]

Ironically ? Are my posts that bad?

LOL… Watch Zefirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth… particularly the scene when St Peter first meets Jesus…

You sound a bit like St Peter in that scene…

The “irony” in that scene is the look of amazement on Jesus face at the St-to-be Simon-Peter’s early rants…

So you’re right… it all sucks… but whatta ya going to do? Keep wasting time complaining about it? Or sign my prayer petition?

1Blessed is the man who does not walk

in the counsel of the wicked,

Nor stand in the way* of sinners,

nor sit in company with scoffers.a

2Rather, the law of the LORD* is his joy;

and on his law he meditates day and night.b

3He is like a treec

planted near streams of water,

that yields its fruit in season;

Its leaves never wither;

whatever he does prospers.

II​

4But not so are the wicked,* not so!

They are like chaff driven by the wind.d

5Therefore the wicked will not arise at the judgment,

nor will sinners in the assembly of the just.

6Because the LORD knows the way of the just,e

but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.

So dont worry about all that other distracting stuff… It’s mostly a waste of your time…

Set a positive example, and tend to your own responsibilities in faith, and God - who knows your heart - will work out the rest… for all and forever…

Pax.

 

[Wm777]

 

[po18guy]

Psalm 1. But, it is not a rant as much as a wistful observation. A sign of the (very troubled) times. Ultimately, if my words can convince someone to disconnect from the world and reconnect with the Lord, it’s all good.

Example: DW went to adoration and there was a person there on an iPhone surfing the social media sites.

Really? DW just about flipped and let that person know in, ahem, very clear verbiage.

 

[po18guy]

Holy smokes! If I came across like that, I must re-write the entire post! Lord help me if I am that angry, bitter and cynical!

 

[Wm777]

Jesus knows the intentions of your heart, and - as one of His creatures - He’s got your back.

I don’t know what more we could do to set an example than simply to be happy in Him.

If you watch the movie closely, Jesus didn’t say anything to Peter; He just kind of smiled at him peacefully. That’s what moved Peter’s heart to go back out to sea again. If we reflect such confidence in God, as Christ did to Peter, it will work. It might require some problem solving, but I’m pretty sure looking at the fruits of our faith is the right way to go.

Look upon St Peter’s rants as Jesus did, and you’ll become a fisher of men. For you will have turned your reflections into works of mercy meaningful to each person you encounter.

 

[po18guy]

Regardless, this is a time for re-establishing the roots, the foundation of our faith. Of having faith and confidence in our Lord’s words. “the gates of hell shall not prevail…”

He could not have been more clear.

Flush the media. Have faith. That’s the message.

 

[Greenfields]

Holy smokes! If I came across like that, I must re-write the entire post! Lord help me if I am that angry, bitter and cynical!

Nope,you didn’t come across that way to me

I’ve had the tv on a bit today,I haven’t actually sat down and watched much as I was cleaning.I realised it was more out of a kind of loneliness to have some background chatter and also in the hopes of watching something worth wile as a kind of comfort,make it feel homely.So far nothing worth watching

Social media could be a reflection of many lonely people these days ?

 

[po18guy]

Indeed! There is a need for relationship, and if we have no vertical relationship with God, we seek a horizontal relationship with those beside us. Sadly, this is a recipe for failure. This is where sacramentals, such as rosaries, holy cards and even the sculptured “holding crosses” can have great value. They are physical reminders; tangible items that remind us to nurture that vertical relationship.

Teresa Tomeo wrote a book entitled “Noise” and she is 100% correct. Our world is filled with noise. Background music, news and commentarty everywhere. Big screens at restaurants. God is found in silence, in that still small voice.

 

[0Scarlett_nidiyilii]

To answer your thread title, it’s an anxious and scary time, and people are scared and don’t want to be fooled.

It’s good to vent these feelings, and we can can walk along with people who are upset and share our own testimonies

 

[Tis_Bearself]

The amount of doubt on the forum is frustrating to me too, especially since anyone with a rudimentary understanding of Church history should be able to see that this time in history is nowhere near the worst time that the Church has experienced. As someone else said on another thread, we are not being thrown to wild beasts in an arena, nor do we walk down the road and see rows of crucifixes with dying Christians hanging on them all along the street.

i would add onto that, we are not suffering under penal laws that suppress our Catholic worship, I do not suffer employment discrimination for being a Catholic, no one is seizing my property for being a Catholic, I am permitted to vote in every election, and I am able to go to Mass every day in a church without fear of the authorities bursting in and killing or arresting us all, nor do I have to hide my Catholic statues and worship aids in my home or worse yet hide priests in my home and worry that my neighbors will turn me in to the police, who will imprison, torture and execute me.

The sexual abuse scandal is a terrible thing, but the crimes of a small percentage of priests are not going to bring down the whole church. Neither is Pope Francis, who compared to the “bad popes” is not doing anything remotely amiss.

We just have to remember that faith is a gift and thank God that we have ours and pray for people who are not so blessed. Perhaps they have anxiety disorders, perhaps they were not raised in strong Catholic homes. Who knows. This forum is to some extent a place for doubters to ask questions, so all the doubt no matter how petty we think it is, ends up here.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

it’s an anxious and scary time

It actually isn’t, except to the degree the media fuel people’s anxieties in order to trigger emotional reactions that drive ratings.

In terms of actual anxiety about our world, the Cold War era was much scarier.
And WWII era was scarier than that - most families lost at least one member in the war and in some cases multiple members or whole families were being wiped out, and there was no assurance that the Allies would win the war.

Every era brings its own anxiety, but honestly, what’s happening today is nothing. People get all hyper about whether Russia influenced our election. When I was a child, people were getting hyper over the worry that Russia was going to kill all of us with nuclear weapons.

 

[0Scarlett_nidiyilii]

Regardless, anxiety and depression rates are rising, especially among the young, amd a lot of people feel like they don’t have anything solid to hold on to.
Furthermore, people don’t feel as connected to others anymore, they don’t feel like they have people to turn to.
So, if they come here with questions or need reassurance, it’s something we can do

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I really don’t think the anxiety and depression rates are rising. Rather, I think that nowadays, young people are more likely to seek mental health help because there is less stigma attached to it, and once in the professional’s office they are more likely to be diagnosed with anxiety, depression etc and given a prescription.

In the old days, the young person would likely not have sought help for a variety of reasons, including stigma, lack of ability to pay a doctor, people telling the young person it’s all in his or her head, and the only options for treatment being very long courses of psychoanalysis or worse yet some kind of commitment to a psych ward with all that entails. You weren’t just given a prescription and sent home. And of course the dark flip side to this is that people are wrongly diagnosed or misdiagnosed in order to push pills.

I also think that society nowadays does not encourage independence in young people the way it did back in the days when teenagers were supporting their families and doing things like shipping out to sea, heading west, emigrating, or starting families of their own by age 18. Instead, young people are encouraged to think they have a problem and need a pill every time they feel nervous about something. Because again, the docs and big drug companies make money off the pills.

 

[powerandglory]

I haven’t lived through WWII or the Cold War era, so I can’t speak to whether they were more anxiety inducing than others. However, I have to pray that my daughter will never be the victim of a school shooting. Before making the commitment to have her baptized, I had to seriously consider if she would be safe in places like the confessional. These are just two of the issues that are hardly “normal” worries. If people seem to have more doubts than in the past, perhaps it’s because a lot of the sin and ugliness that was hidden is now coming to light. Maybe for some people that’s an easy ride but it’s fair to say that for others that can be quite faith shattering.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Before making the commitment to have her baptized, I had to seriously consider if she would be safe in places like the confessional. These are just two of the issues that are hardly “normal” worries.

It’s ironic that you characterize this as a modern problem, when actually the abuses of children in the confessional and elsewhere in the Church and probably in society generally seem to have been much more prevalent in the decades that were supposedly all happy-go-lucky for Catholics, such as the 40s and 50s.

 

[powerandglory]

No, I didn’t characterize it as a modern problem. I said it’s now coming to light. And while the number of abusers may have been a small percentage of priests, the widespread cover-up that went on for so long is more alarming.

 

[LawyersGunsAndMoney]

I haven’t lived through WWII or the Cold War era, so I can’t speak to whether they were more anxiety inducing than others. However, I have to pray that my daughter will never be the victim of a school shooting. Before making the commitment to have her baptized, I had to seriously consider if she would be safe in places like the confessional.

They might be different anxieties, but every generation has them. My dad had to do nuclear war drillls as a kid. My grandpa had to worry about the Japanese torpedoing his ship in World War 2. His dad had to worry about providing for a family in the Depression…and so on. There was never some magical era when all was good and no one had to worry about anything.