Ok, so a few years ago, I left a protestant church, started searching....Mormon missionaries came to my house(my mom was/is Mormon). I started talking to them, and then my mom's friend took me to a Catholic Church. I loved the service, but not everything they preached. I went to mass every week, met the priest some evenings to learn more about the faith(since RCIA was over). I even thought about becomming a priest and working at the vatican, or possibly as a missionary in Africa to help out with the poverty and health crisis(aids, hunger, etc.) going on. But for some reason, I just dropped the faith like a hot potato after 2 years of going to mass. I think it may be due to the fact we got a new priest and I don't like him(I call him Father Fatboy to top it off). Also, I think it may be due to the fact that I can not, for some reason, accept the fact that the wine and wafer LITTERALLY turn into the blood and flesh of Christ. Of course I always through in the Satan pointed me away. So what is your opinion of why I lost the faith in the church...and not only the Catholic church, but all churches together. Now I believe that reading the bible, praying to God and Jesus, and beliving and living my life like I think Jesus wants me to is good enough....but I really want to go back to the church, but something is hold me back.... "Throw in Satan"...not through, sorry. To MJM I have read the Book of Mormon, or atleast some of it...I know all about the restoration, and the missionaries have given me answers to all my questions(even if it's not right away, they get back to me). I have often considered the Mormon Church as well....it's a toss up between them and the Catholics, I am very torn apart between this. Oh goodness, I don't know a percentage of the book I've read, but I know the missionaries give me scriptures every week(yes they still visit me) to read. They have this chart they gave me, that if I read one thing every day, then I will have the book of mormon read in less than a year.
Religion & Spirituality - 17 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
I think you like what the religions have to offer, but not the churches. Maybe you haven't found your true religion yet. My advice is to keep searching. There is no law that says you have to believe in any one religion (or any religion at all for that matter). I like the fact that you wanted to work as a missionary in Africa. If you still want to do that you could find a non-denominational group that offers aid.
2 :
My friend ask and you shall receive ,seek and you shall find knock and it shall be open unto you.
3 :
I suggest trying a nondenominational church, one that just teaches from the Bible. The problem with Catholic churches is that a lot of what they believe is based on tradition with no biblical backing. The communion issue is one of the reasons I don't think the Catholic church is right. Communion is supposed to be a symbol, not literal.
4 :
I think I can relate to you to a great extent about churches. I myself mostly go to the protestant Baptist church, right now I can't find a regular church to go to. I also checked out the Catholic service. Of course it looks nice and the music is sometimes better than the protestant music. You must realize though, it is not about the feeling at the church. Some people might go to church and hear what makes them happy but that may not be what is according to the Bible. You must always check what the priest/pastor says against the Bible, because the Bible is the final authority on what they teach. I know that in a lot of churches the preachers twist what the Bible says. My conclusion is that, even if you dont go to church regularly, just keep in mind that you can always count on the Bible as the source of truth.
5 :
I think you lost the faith because you are becoming a rational person who has started gaining a true cosmic perspective. You are outgrowing religion, like little kids outgrow their imaginary playmates. You will lose the comfort of religion and spiritual communion, but you will gain a sense of freedom. If you decide you don't believe in God, don't panic. Just keep good values and be a good person. You will be disliked by some because of it. You will have jumped headlong into a despised minority, but make it worthwhile by learning all you can about the wonder and majesty of the natural world.
6 :
I think that you made a good first step towards a better and more meaningful life without church, and hopefully soon without the idea of God at all.
7 :
Maybe it was because you don't ACTUALLY believe the teachings, and that you are looking for answers to some questions, but all the answers you get are not what you are looking for or don't make any sense to you. You know, there is a book that has seemed to answer many people's questions when they are in situations similar to yours. It is called the Book of Mormon. If you read it, and ask about its truth with a sincere heart, your questions will be answered. Well then pray, and ask Heavenly Father which one is true, and you may not at first get an answer, but you will. How much of the Book of Mormon have you read? Well then maybe you can follow that chart and read it in less than a year, or, a better way of doing it is to, say, pick out a certian amount of time to read it every day, and don't try to read anything on a timetable. Some parts of it you may want to spend time pondering and thinking about.
8 :
You cant lose something you never had. You have never had faith in God to begin with.. and its evident from what you say. You take God, and turn him into the church, or a priest, or whatever.. bad mistake. You don't need a church to be saved, and have a relationship with God. You need nothing but yourself and God.. thats it. Nothing else. Mormons are a cult. They have taken the bible and desecrated it, and turned it into a lie. So sad that soo many people would rather trust in men, that are led by demons a majority of their life.. then fully trust in God. You need to stop worrying about what church you should belong to, or what person is better then another.. all these things are stupid. Catholics, in the same way.. go directly against God, and His teachings.. and rules. They are in a bit of trouble as well. Remember.. to judge EVERYTHING men do.. on the word of God. Unless you enjoy listening to men, and would enjoy following them to hell for an eternity. The decision is yours. Your salvation, and relationship with Jesus Christ are for you.. and you only. Its a personal relationship. You need to wise up, and follow God, and your bible first. Or end up being fooled by this world, and destroy your own self. With love through Christ Jesus, Dusty
9 :
You are human and God knows that. The Devil has a way of making you believe God has left you. Faith is something that we all try to keep, but without the love of God there is no need faith. God hears you when you feel like there's no way, but faith keeps you in the right direction. Faith is your map to God's destiny for you. Keep praying and don't allow the Devil to fool you into thinking that God isn't listening!! Stay focused.
10 :
Don't have faith in a church. That's the problem. The church itself will let you down. Go to a church to learn more about God. Go to a church to worship God. Go to a church to fellowship with other Christians. Put your faith in God - not the church. God and church are two different things. Church is not perfect. God is.
11 :
Since you've pointed that literal translation of the bible does not work for you, it could be just that. It seems to be you are of a more critical thinking type, and although you pray to Jesus and God, you cannot accept the teachings of Jesus just from the priests in Church. By examining your faith a little longer and having your own translation of the events, may, in fact, strengthen your own belief. I personally, also believe that Jesus extort people to be kind and good to one another, but many events in the bible just cannot to taken as it is. No matter how divine Jesus is, there's always a logical explanation of the events, rather than just pushing everything to God, like making him the scapegoat for everything that's had happened
12 :
What you describe is very common and I wouldn't agonize about it. I can say that because I am a former Catholic and I did agonize about it for years but I eventually came to terms with it. Consider that religious faith is, believe it or not, pretty hypothetical. None of us has ever seen God or heard God or touched God. Everything we know, or think we know, about God is handed to us by the various chuches and by other people. And everything the church people know, or think they know, about God was likewise handed to them and so on ad infinitum. Consider also that many churches -- and the Catholic church in particular -- are based on guilt and fear. We're told what to think and what to do and we're told that if we don't we'll be punished. Religion becomes more about obligation and duty than about faith and worship. It's like somebody points a gun at you and says "love me or I'll blow you away". The best you can do under such circumstances is to go through the motions. Once this reality sunk into my brain I was able to understand that going through the motions is all most religious people have. This was a revelation for me and since then I've been able to let religion go and be at peace with the decision.
13 :
You never had faith to loose. You need to talk to your mum, she has the right religion. Are you looking for the "right religion" or the easiest one for you? Have you prayed about it? God will answer your questions if you just ask him.
14 :
Many things can make us question our faith--disease or deaths around us of which we can't make sense; a new priest/pastor/minister we don't connect with spiritually; hypocrisy we see in others; the state of the world; people who influence our opinions, the list goes on and on. And you have satan right there just waiting for the doubts to enter your mind so he can seize that and pry you away from your faith. There is nothing that makes him happier than to see a former Christian reject his/her faith. You should try to spend more time in prayer and cultivating your own relationship with God. You do not need any human to tell you about God, you need to believe in God in your heart and experience God in your mind and talk to God intimately. He will lead you to the faith that will enrich and empower your life if you ask, believe and trust Him. At this point, you don't know which religion is even the best fit for you, but you need to know in your heart and mind and soul that God is the best fit for you first. Just to let you know, I've had many good friends who are Catholic. They don't all agree with every single point of Catholicism, but they still love their church and God. Every religion and non-religion has good points and bad points. Good luck to you and may God bless you.
15 :
Many people walked away from Christ in the Gospel of John when Christ commanded them to "eat my body and drink my blood." The Real Presence (body, blood soul and divinity) of Christ in the Eucharist was a hard saying to accept and it still is. But it is true! It takes faith to believe the teachings of the Catholic Church. Pray dilligently for the faith to believe what God has revealed to the Church. Pray the rosary for faith! Come home to the Catholic Church - our Lord and His Mother are waiting to welcome you.
16 :
when you hang around people like that all the time then you start acting like them.
17 :
"In your country, you lose faith. In my country, faith loses you." Sometimes in life, the "how" of a thing is far less important than the thing itself. Many of us had wandering journeys similar to yours. I invite you to look around at the new landscape; maybe it's not too alien, after all.
