In the meantime, from an Anonymous (how I wish he were otherwise, so I could send this to him). I post it here, not to answer all of your charges, for I fear I don\u2019t understand the first, and 2 and 3 seem very personal. (For instance, I could very well say there was \u201cno way\u201d that Christ would have sanctioned our current state of denominationalism, and that \u201cthe God I know\u201d would never leave us without the sacraments he instituted in Scripture, or the Church he founded on St. Peter, but who could contend with \u201cthe God I know\u2019 anymore than they could with the-secret-I\u2019m-not-telling?) I ask any readers who feel called to answer those complaints to do so, in love.<\/p>\n First, my friend, I\u2019d ask that you do not feel compelled to take your denunciations \u2018to your grave\u2019, lest your faith be a forced effort to stick to your guns. Why not be open? Only if something has the possibility of being false can it have any satisfaction in being actually true.<\/strong> If there was utterly no possibility of God not existing then what would become of the gift of faith? What love would there be in our belief? In reality he could technically not exist, but we know and have found, through experience, reason and faith, that he does; and thus we are joyful, not forced, in our belief. To put it in terms of your argument then: if you allow no possibility that God might have had his Church in Rome, to the point that you\u2019d go to your \u201cearthly grave\u201d denouncing the idea, what joy could you possibly have in knowing \u2013 as you are assured you do \u2013 that it is elsewhere? Be open to to the possibility that you may be wrong, and I will too, lest my Catholicism be nothing more than\u00a0stubbornness\u00a0and pride.<\/p>\n Now to the point: I am sorry. I am sorry that your experience of Catholics has been that they are as dead as the world, white-washed sepulchers. As honestly as one can over typed words and in the eyes of others, I apologize. I apologize for the times that I, personally, have been that Catholic, that walking corpse who has not let Christ shape his life. I used to live in Germany, and I attended a parish that I believe would fit your description, to the most extent. But when you\u2019re talking about the largest religion in the world, you must understand that your sample \u2013 like my German sample \u2013 is not the whole. When I moved from Germany to America I was absolutely blown away by the faith of my new parish, by her piety, charismatic gifts and yearning for the Holy Spirit. I have been witness to healings, miracles, abundant and authentic worship, coming from the heart of the Catholic Church. I, like you, have been moved by the scriptures, and even more moved by the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. No matter how far I fall into sin, the grace that comes from that Sacrament pulls me out, as I know it tenderly pulls all my friends into greater holiness. Seeing as I took you at your word when you said \u201cCatholicism displays absolutely no transforming power of the living God in the lives of it\u2019s people whatsoever\u201d I ask you to now take me at my word: Catholicism absolutely does transform the lives of its people. It has transformed me. It has transformed the thousands upon thousands of fellow young people striving to be Saints, the beautiful Church that has begun its rise, and is uniting the Christian world as we speak.<\/p>\n So I offer you no \u201cmagic info\u201d. I offer you contradiction. I offer you my experience in contradiction to your own, only to show that any argument against the Catholic Church must \u2013 in the end \u2013 be over her teachings. For \u00a0the less transformed a Catholic, the less of an example they are of Christ in the world, the less obedient they tend to be to their Church\u2019s teachings. Have you noticed that? I would venture to guess \u2013 and I could be wrong \u2013 that the \u201cdead\u201d Catholics you speak of are dead, not because of their Catholicism, but their lack of it. So once again, I am sorry for the lameness, as I am sorry for the lameness of Christians in general. But experience is subjective. If you\u2019d like to continue this conversation, please do email me! I may not know how badly you wish you could believe like us, but I can show you why I do.<\/p>\n Why Aren\u2019t You Catholic? is still going strong! If you are not Catholic, and would like to explain why you have found that to be the best choice in your life, feel free to share! I will post on anything that isn\u2019t incoherent. In the meantime, from an Anonymous (how I wish he were otherwise, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[47],"class_list":["post-48","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-why-arent-you-catholic"],"yoast_head":"\n
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\n<\/span>\u201c\u2026you can\u2019t possibly know how badly I wish I could believe like you guys. I know these 4 things with unshakable certainty. There has never been an extended time in history when Rome was not immersed in some kind of loud public Christ dishonoring corruption. 2. The gospel, Jesus and epistemology I find unmistakably staring me in the face in the scriptures answers sweetly to the Spirit of the most high God who never fails to meet me in prayer. He\u2019s there first. Not to mention His faithful walk with me through my days (and nights too). That gospel, Jesus and epistemology by their very nature utterly preclude the slightest possibility of Catholicism having anything whatever to do with them, except as a hostile adversary. (I don\u2019t mean individual people). They cannot both be true 3. There is no possible way, just NO WAY, the God I know as per the above could ever sanction <\/span>anything like the romish bureaucracy and most especially that abhorrent and abominable vatican city. 4. <\/span>Catholicism displays absolutely no transforming power of the living God in the lives of it\u2019s people whatsoever. They are with few exceptions just as dead as the world and for good reason. The church has taken the very Greek pagans that Paul denounced in 1st Corinthians as the basis for their belief system. I have seen that blindingly displayed before my very eyes times too numerous to count right here in these forums. To say nothing of the rest of my life.<\/span> I don\u2019t have all the answers at the moment, but I will go my earthly grave believing what I just said. You\u2019re a decent man and a sharp guy and very well educated, but do not fool yourself into believing you have that magic info I\u2019ve never heard that will change my mind.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span>
\nTiribulus \u2013 Detroit<\/span><\/span>
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\n<\/span><\/span>Good stuff. I admire you for speaking your mind, and I thank you for taking the time to write.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/tracker\/3060433030054060305-470928855327842389?l=badcatholicblog.blogspot.com\")