Not a catholic, but what am I ?

nickyjellybaby

Hello all, my first post on such a topic. For a long time I have struggled with my faith-a long time before the recent revelations of the catholic church

i don't believe priests should be celibate or that babies are born with original sin

however, I believe in Jesus Christ, and I endevour to live each day as a good Christian

recently with the birth of my son I have questioned my beliefs more as I am pressured into baptising my son in a catholic church but I find it difficult to make others understand my thoughts on this topic and feel like a hipocrit

I know little about other religions, does anyone know of a faith that matches the above so I can look into this further? I have tried searching on the Internet but the sheer volume of info online makes it impossible to find

Thanks for your time

Puck

Firstly thank you for taking this step towards coming to terms with your belief instead of going through the motions like so many people do. Please don't let anyone pressurise you.

Might I recommend you do some reading in the "mere Christianity" area of Christian apologetics (apologetics means reasoned explanations and defenses for the faith - in other words people actually explaining what Christians believe and why they believe it).

C.S. Lewis, (the Narnia guy) who incidentally wrote a very good book called Mere Christianity, likened Christianity to a big house with lots of rooms. The various Christian denominations are like the rooms and in his book he attempted to get people into the hallway of the house (belief in the general Christian doctrines common to all denominations) and then let them decide which room they felt was right to settle in.

I'd recommend C.S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity" as one of the great modern classics, for a briefer and simpler book I'd recommend "Basic Christianity" by John Stott, which is also excellent and for an up-to-date book I'd get "The Reason for God" by Tim Keller, which only came out in 2008 I believe and I think is the best one out there at the moment. If you're going to pick one book I'd pick "The Reason for God", it's in paperback now and was a NY Times best seller so it's cheap and not too hard to come by as well as being excellent.

These books will help you get to grips with the basics of Christianity without having to feel forced to pick any particular denomination. It may take you a while to decide what denomination fits you best and it will likely depend very much on which church community you feel at home in (community is very important to the Christian faith).

I would call myself a Presbyterian at the moment because it's a style that suits me quite well, but before I described myself as a Presbyterian I used to say I was "a Christian who hangs around with Presbyterians". These people were my friends and I grew to love them very dearly so I stuck around. The church (by which I mean the family of believers) has a habit of growing on you if you give it a chance.

I would recommend reading the Bible for yourself also. Get a good easy-to-read version that you like and start at the gospels. Read about Jesus and his followers for yourself. If you need any advice on a good easy-to-read version of the Bible then there are loads of people here who would be very happy to help.

I hope this has been helpful.

homer911

Good advice Puck - I would just add to this the desireability of also meeting with other people who are asking similar questions - then it becomes a journey shared and you have some support.

If possible, find a non-denominational bible study for those unsure of their faith. An alpha course may suit you (http://www.alphacourse.ie/) they are run in association with various Catholic and Protestant churches.

Ghost Buster

nickyjellybaby wrote: »

Hello all, my first post on such a topic. For a long time I have struggled with my faith-a long time before the recent revelations of the catholic church

i don't believe priests should be celibate or that babies are born with original sin

however, I believe in Jesus Christ, and I endevour to live each day as a good Christian

recently with the birth of my son I have questioned my beliefs more as I am pressured into baptising my son in a catholic church but I find it difficult to make others understand my thoughts on this topic and feel like a hipocrit

I know little about other religions, does anyone know of a faith that matches the above so I can look into this further? I have tried searching on the Internet but the sheer volume of info online makes it impossible to find

Thanks for your time

Can I ask you why you feel you need a title. Just be yourself and believe what you want. Be a Christian. You dont need a hierarchy. That way lies madness and the corruption that comes with power!!!!
This calls to mind a scene from The Life of Brian'. Brian yells at his adoring mob - "You are all individuals" and the reply in unison "YES. WE ARE ALL INDIVIDUALS!!!!"
and one lonely solitary voice at the back murmers -"Im not"
And no dont let anyone pressure you inot anything with your kids. Its not so hard and you will be pleasantly surprised at how forward thinking the majority of the population is.

kelly1

nickyjellybaby wrote: »

Hello all, my first post on such a topic. For a long time I have struggled with my faith-a long time before the recent revelations of the catholic church

i don't believe priests should be celibate or that babies are born with original sin

however, I believe in Jesus Christ, and I endevour to live each day as a good Christian

recently with the birth of my son I have questioned my beliefs more as I am pressured into baptising my son in a catholic church but I find it difficult to make others understand my thoughts on this topic and feel like a hipocrit

I know little about other religions, does anyone know of a faith that matches the above so I can look into this further? I have tried searching on the Internet but the sheer volume of info online makes it impossible to find

Thanks for your time

Hello Nicky, whatever you do, don't abandon Christ!

As a Catholic I'm not going to recommend that you join another denomination but I would be interested to know why you've abandoned the Catholic faith even before the scandals.

God bless,
Noel.

wolfsbane

nickyjellybaby wrote: »

Hello all, my first post on such a topic. For a long time I have struggled with my faith-a long time before the recent revelations of the catholic church

i don't believe priests should be celibate or that babies are born with original sin

however, I believe in Jesus Christ, and I endevour to live each day as a good Christian

recently with the birth of my son I have questioned my beliefs more as I am pressured into baptising my son in a catholic church but I find it difficult to make others understand my thoughts on this topic and feel like a hipocrit

I know little about other religions, does anyone know of a faith that matches the above so I can look into this further? I have tried searching on the Internet but the sheer volume of info online makes it impossible to find

Thanks for your time

Other posters have given some good advice, but let me press this one thing upon you: don't assume your present theology is correct without carefully testing it against the Bible. The Bible is the test of a Christian's understanding.

Once you have a firm enough grasp of its basic message, you can avoid the great errors and cults. That will allow you to explore real Christianity.

I happen to agree with you about enforced celibacy. I go further and say there is no priesthood in Christianity other than Christ the Great High Priest and every Christian as priests under Him.

It is plain from the Bible that we are all born with sinful natures, and we all go on to sin. We are born sinners, before we even sin. Does that help you with original sin?

kelly1

wolfsbane wrote: »

Once you have a firm enough grasp of its basic message, you can avoid the great errors and cults. That will allow you to explore real Christianity.

That's a rather thinly veiled attack Wolfsbane but not unexpected...

wolfsbane wrote: »

It is plain from the Bible that we are all born with sinful natures, and we all go on to sin. We are born sinners, before we even sin. Does that help you with original sin?

Romans 5:12 supports the doctrine of Original Sin:

"Therefore, just as through one person sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all, inasmuch as all sinned"

I think original sin explains the presence of so much evil in the world. OS corrupts reason and intelligence and explains why we make bad choices.

wolfsbane

kelly1 said:

Originally Posted by wolfsbane
Once you have a firm enough grasp of its basic message, you can avoid the great errors and cults. That will allow you to explore real Christianity.
That's a rather thinly veiled attack Wolfsbane but not unexpected...

It was meant as a general observation, but I can see how you thought it was directed specifically.

Quote:
Originally Posted by wolfsbane
It is plain from the Bible that we are all born with sinful natures, and we all go on to sin. We are born sinners, before we even sin. Does that help you with original sin?
Romans 5:12 supports the doctrine of Original Sin:

"Therefore, just as through one person sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all, inasmuch as all sinned"

I think original sin explains the presence of so much evil in the world. OS corrupts reason and intelligence and explains why we make bad choices.

I agree with you. :eek:

homer911

kelly1 wrote: »

That's a rather thinly veiled attack Wolfsbane but not unexpected...

I'd like to think Wolfsbane is referring to the likes of JWs and Mormons who have decidely dodgy and unchristian theology

As puck pointed out - step into the entrance hall before choosing which room to enter.

In "Mere Christianity" CS Lewis suggested that Christians of different denominations should not discuss their differences in front of non-Christians, and I'm starting to understand why. Personally I'd prefer to see a person become a committed Christian of any denomination than remain a committed unbeliever or doubter

Fanny Cradock

Guys, let's stick to the topic at hand.

I suggest we try and answer the OP's question: "does anyone know of a faith that matches the above so I can look into this further?" We can leave the theological debates for another time. Now is not appropriate!


nickyjellybaby, I would consider myself a non-denominational Christian (but with tendencies towards the CoI and evangelical traditions) insofar as I don't believe that any one denomination has cornered the understanding on God. Indeed, I find that even within denominations - at an individual church level - there is often a large degree of variation in how the message is perceived and taught. All in all I think we operate in degrees of what is closest to the truth - God's truth - albeit some are closer than others.

Anyway, perhaps you would find more of a home in the Anglican tradition or a Pentecostal church or maybe none of the above! Other than doing some online research or good old fashioned book reading into the bones of what it is each denomination believes (all broadly the same, but there will be differences in theological and doctrinal matters such as those that caused you concern), I would think that you have to taste and see.

If you are in Dublin you might want to give Trinity, St. Mark's or CORE a try. (I think each of the links will have a section that briefly outlines their central beliefs.)

At a guess I would say that they may offer you a different perspective to the issues that have become a stumbling block in your faith. They will also likely go about the business of worship in a different manner. If you do decide go I suggest that you catch one of the church leaders to find out a little more about the finer doctrinal details. They get these questions all the time, and I assume that they would be happy to have a chat if the time is right. Sure if nothing else you get a free cupa and some biscuits.

Xluna

nickyjellybaby wrote: »

recently with the birth of my son I have questioned my beliefs more as I am pressured into baptising my son in a catholic church but I find it difficult to make others understand my thoughts on this topic and feel like a hipocrit

I know little about other religions, does anyone know of a faith that matches the above so I can look into this further? I have tried searching on the Internet but the sheer volume of info online makes it impossible to find

Thanks for your time

Why not wait until your son is old enough to decide for himself what religion,if any, he believes in before having him entered into a religion when he can't even speak?If you yourself can't make your mind up in regards to your faith of choice what chance does a baby have of making an informed decision?

I would recommend checking out your local library for a book on world religions. Also there are some good books on philosophy of religion which you may be interested in also.

Turtwig

Reading the OP, the first thing that struck my head was Liberal Christian Universalist.

Christian Universalism is a set of theological beliefs about God, Christ, and the origin and destiny of the human soul, emphasizing the unconditional parental love of God and God's plan to redeem, restore, and transform all people through Christ.

Basically :
God.
Jesus.
Sin is the opposite of doing good and will have negative consequences.
God will eventually turn the other cheek on everyone i.e all sins will be reconciled.
All souls will ultimately be conformed to the image of Christ.

Liberal in the sense that the believer focuses only on the teachings of Jesus; His miracles and the like are given a back seat.