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Last edited by Kat15 on 17 Jul 2010, 4:05 am, edited 1 time in total.

Dont be scared. Do you think that God is without mercy and understanding? God is not nearly as cruel as some churches make Him out to be.
God is love. No one is ever lost or beyond redemption.

I think those that threaten us all with hell and damnation are the ones whose souls are in much greater risk than those that they deem to be sinners.

When I was young I had a short period when just these fears would haunt me. But I have learned to understand better.
And remember that nothing ever happens without purpose. Even if we can not always understand why.

Thank you sarek, you dont understand how much better I feel after you said that.

There are more important things to be scared of. Nobody knows anything about God so relax.

relax. There is no Hell.

ruveyn

Hell was a place made up to scare people from going against the church i bet you if no body ever came up with hell half of us would brush religeous stuff off in an instant

Your issue is multi-faceted.

First, all men are in danger of Hell because we are born in a state of separation from God. That is what salvation is all about, being reconciled with God.

Now, where relationships are involved, prayer is about talking to God. Catholocism makes prayer very formal and repetitive (raised Catholic) and it can be difficult to see yourself "talking" to God, because if God is all-knowing, why bother...He already knows. I'm still working on that myself.

Eh, others already invaded, and I probably have a reasonable knowledge of the matter.

From what I understand about the religion though, knowledge and desiring more closeness with God and with a church community are big things. Not belonging to a Christian community does suggest negative things about your belonging in Christ's body. The church is the bride of Christ and all that. Not only that, but from a Catholic perspective, the Catholic Church is the rock that Jesus built his church on, so I find it hard to think that one is being honest to the Catholic faith if one doesn't value the community that much.

As for praying... well, yes, you are supposed to pray, but praying isn't one of the most meaningful parts of the Christian faith. I am not sure that you really understand what is necessary to make a sensible proclamation of faith though. I mean, praying is an act of showing one's devotion and giving thanks to God, it isn't just something that has to be done to get brownie points.

"I do not want to read the bible, it is to long and I do not understand it."

Reading the Bible is a pain, but the real issue is just hitting the highlights. Don't start cover to cover, but rather read selectively at first, and start expanding.
You might also just buy a Children's Bible or some other condensed version just to read the major stories. Are you the kind of person who has difficulty reading narratives? If so, then I can see your problem, but if you're just a person who dislikes reading then you probably don't have the same excuse. Understanding God is one of the biggest issues in having a saving faith in Christ.

Another possible aid is to try to read non-fiction books about your religion. So, "Catholicism for dummies" or something else. Knowing about your religion should require a familiarity with the Bible and some verses in it, but a lot of any religion is going to be the theological interpretations. (and starting without a good idea where to start and the theological interpretations is an exercise in futility) You could even try to talk to some Catholic figure on the matter, and see if an explanation of it all will help you.

I don't know what kind of understanding problems you have though. Perhaps they can be overcome, or perhaps a more truncated notion of Catholicism is necessary. Frankly, good actions and good will are necessary, and the problem is that what this means will vary from person to person, so I can't really know your situation from the OP.

Whether you go to hell is a difficult issue. Conservative Protestants will often say "Yes, without faith then you are going to hell". I think most Catholics are more liberal on the matter.(but it varies from Catholic to Catholic)

Really though, here's what I am going to tell you, you probably need to figure out what you believe if you want to have any assurance of the matter. This means that you have to make it, and come to understand what you believe and why, break it, and leave the religion and reject its truth claims as false, but I don't think you can fake it, and continue to hold to a truth that you don't know the meaning of. You'll never find any assurance of anything if you fake it. (Note: obviously I am in favor of breaking your faith, but honestly, I have no interest in preying on the vulnerable)

What luck then that the catholic church counts among its numbers any that were baptized catholic. Though I feel I am an atheist, the church, the pope and god proclaim that I am a catholic for life. I must bow then to their ascendancy and reply to your missive.

Troubled people such as yourselves always ask "no atheist replies", but it seems we always do. But nobody, including us, wants you hurting inside, and you wont find a reply from us that isnt gentle and sympathetic. We can be pretty harsh at other topics, but if you are really upset, any decent human should be sympathetic.

What you outline seems to be the typicality of aspergers/autism, a loose understanding of social protocol. For me this was true too; first communion is absolutely a blank in my mind. Whatever lessons we received escaped me completely. Likewise confirmation was an utter mystery. Whatever it involved went right over my head. But apparently I muddled through without major issue. Being a hormone laden preteen certainly didnt help there.

So in short, if a god there be, I dont think he would judge you too harshly for being the person you are. You are no great sinner by your own admission, and understanding will come to you when it is time, not by some human mandated age. In the meantime your earnestness is an indicator of your good intentions, and thats what counts most of all, right?

That would make me catholic too though I disagree with much of what I have been taught by the Catholic Church. I would like to say however, that I think Awsomelyglorious gave you some pretty good advice and he is not only a non-catholic (even by Fuzzy's definition) he is the leader of the Wrong Planet Strident Atheists.

Understand Kat15, that faith in God and faith in the Catholic Church (or any church for that matter) are not the same thing. I would not advise praying or reading the Bible because you think you are supposed to or somebody told you that God wants you to. Your post does sound like you are just beginning to question things you have been taught and are being overwhelmed by your thoughts; I suggest you take your time and sort them out.

With the possible exception of Jesus, nobody knows God; but even if you accept that he is the very image of God, he is not here on Earth to tell you about him and he might not even if he was. I would think that anyone who does claim to know him, and speaks for him, has a little too much pride. Ask yourself this: would the kind of God you want to believe in send you to Hell?

Then I'm "catholic".


Actually, I also went to catholic school...a Jesuit school, no less.

I know. Its stupid. Its just how they inflate their numbers. Starting a new topic as we are way outside the realm of the OPs needs. Look for Catechesis in the topics.

It sounds like your natural resistance to nonsense is conflicting with the religious upbringing (read: indoctrination) that you've received. You don't understand your religion, you don't seem to have much interest in it, and yet you feel guilty about doing so because of your upbringing. Relax. It's not your fault.

You shouldn't let other people dictate your beliefs. I suggest you take a good, hard look at your beliefs and try to consider them from an objective standpoint. Come to your own conclusions.

Whoa up there folks. I could be very wide of the mark but I thought you were not a catholic until you undertook your 'confirmation' . If you are correct fuzzy its of to the Vatican for me to get excommunicated.

@Kat15, like Fuzzy said no one here wants to see someone suffering and you will note that most of the replies have come from atheists, Like AG has already said you should get a working knowledge of your 'faith' and from there decide whether it is nonsense or something you truly believe in. Personally I do not think god would give a rats about religious dogma, if god and the devil exist they will look at the intent of your behavior and judge that, all the rest is just human stuff made up to form a tradition based on symbolism so that you can show everyone else what a good and devout christian you really are. Try not to be fearful of life, have fun, do good/ have good intent

That is what the Devil often says, but I don't know if I should believe him.

The devil is often misquoted.