The whole Church, take it or leave it.
Anonymous asked this question on
11/8/2000:
Hello/ I was raised a Catholic, however I am very confused over some of the
teachings, and always have been. For example, why do we believe that God, who
is all giving and all powerful that would ever say, I Love You If... I believe
he has unconditional Love for us. Another example is a newborn baby that, God
Forbid Dies when it is born. We are supposed to believe that this little timy
baby that has done NOTHING wrong, is born with sin on his soul. That makes no
sense to me at all. So this poor baby if not Baptised doesn't get to go to
Heaven. That is a terrible belief in my opinion. Some of the worst people in
the world have been baptised. So they get to go to heaven, but a baby that has
done nothing doesn't. Also, another thing, why is it a sin to use Birth
Control. That doesn't make sense eighter. You should just keep having babies
or what???? I am not trying to be sarcastic here, just confused about all
this. I read a few books lately, They were by Neale Donald Walsh. They were
his Conversations With God books. They were so great and answered all these
questions for me. It was as if I were asking the questions that he asked in
the books. I recently went to see him speak. It was incredable. He too,
believes in a God that just Loves Us. Says there is No Hell or No Pergatory. I
could go on and on, but basically, i am just confused and I am now raising 3
children and what to teach them right. Please help me understand. Thanks.
Dear Anonymous.
The joy of the Lord be in your heart.
You have received some outstanding answers.
But I think � perhaps I'm wrong � that there is an underlying question to answer. Let me explain. Giving a direct answer to your questions the experts did so with competence. One method was to explain to you what is the genuine doctrine of the Catholic Church. The other method was to try explain why this is the doctrine of the Church. In other words the experts try to give cogent reasons why it's reasonable to believe this or that. They have done that admirably. Some of them affirmed additionally the authority of the Church in matters of fait or moral as the reason why to believe. You ask on Catholicism board and you get Catholic answers, right?
But, but� the Catholic Church is no service center or supermarket where you can chose what you like and reject what you don't. Sorry, but the Church comes in one whole package. Take it or leave it! I'm a little incisive. But I think you have been a bit trenchant too especially in your follow-ups, haven't you?
Now, the Church as such is a matter of faith for us Catholics. So we should clear up first one basic question: Do you accept that the Lord has given the Church the authority to speak in His Name? Your answer to that would be a starter to define the terrain where we have to look for a basis from whence to clear up the confusion. It's like coming out from the underbrush and climbing a mountain from where you have a better view of the whole terrain. It's true; your own conscience has the last decision. But you have to educate your conscience according the teaching of the Lord as guarded in His Church.
Personally I have had the experience that people receiving the gift of life in faith have much less problems in accepting the Church's teaching than those who stand somewhere outside and relay only on their intelligence as a criterion for acceptance. Why? I think it's easy to understand. When you have the experience that somebody gives his or her life for you then the tone of the questions is very different from those who approach in a critical mind frame because they haven't had the experience of God visible in tangible human beings.
I hope I have not augmented the confusion. What am I trying to do? Well, I want to encourage you to come out, to define your type of faith. I only hope you won't regard this post as a judgment or denigration. No, no. But in order to be able to help we have to look at the foundations before looking at the rest of the structure. Anyhow the way you answer will be in itself a profession of faith.
So I wait for your reply. I confess I do it ducking a little.
Vale
mscperu
PS. The more questions I read on the Catholicism board the more I become convinced that many 'objective' question that want reasonable answers ensconce the search for a real, satisfying, life-giving faith. Where can you find it? In the Catholic Church. But you have to have faith. Where can you get it? From the Catholic Church. It's finally a gift of God through His Church. Let's come to the point!
PSS. You can make this interchange private, i.e. not visible to others.
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