I'm losing faith in the Catholic Church

[humble soul]

as an institution.
Too many rogue priests and a culture of cover ups.
Not that I have become enamoured with alternative Christian Churches.
Time to do a Tolstoy maybe. Focus on Jesus and bare essentials from the Gospels. Such as the Sermon on the Mount.
A relationship with Jesus Christ is what matters most imo.
I have to ask myself daily....Am I really talking to Him? Or am I just talking to an image of an ideal friend. Who always forgives . Who is happy with a friendship on my terms. Instead if His.
Anyway I consider the future of the CC negligible. Unless major changes are made. Like allowing all priests to be married.
The future of Catholic Schools? Might morph into Interfaith schools. or Interdenom.
How relevant is the CC in the current Coronavirus climate? Masses have been cancelled in my city indefinitely.

 

[LovethroughDove]

I don't bash the Catholic Church, cause I think they have a role in unfolding the truth in the end times. I do think they represent Peter. Remember, Peter wasn't acting in line with the gospel Galatians 2:14. The Catholic Church created it's own customs based on Jewish customs

This sounds cliche humble soul, but just read the words of Christ. You'll take off spiritually into the next atmosphere. I guarantee it.

 

[for_his_glory]

A relationship with Jesus Christ is what matters most imo.

Our faith, hope, belief and trust is not in organized religions no matter what denomination or non-denomination, but in Christ alone. It's all about having a personal relationship with Him who is our mediator before God. Man can not teach us anything apart from the Holy Spirit teaching them first just like that of all the Apostles before they were sent out into the world.

1 John 4:1-6 teaches us how to Spiritually discern what spirits are teaching us as one is the spirit of error and the other the Spirit of truth. We all struggle in our inadequacy to understand truth, but giving our will over to God's will His Holy Spirit will always teach us everything God wants us to learn. Will we learn everything, no, but hold on to that which is important for your Spiritual growth.

 

[JohnDB]

I have very little faith in people... even those who intend to do the right thing. I know that they mean well...but they are still human.
I don't even have faith in my church family. Doesn't mean that I don't love them.

I love them because of who I am and who they are...not because of what they do.

I'm not defending their actions and inactions...far from it. But YOU are the significant person Jesus has a relationship with when talking about your faith.
And this relationship at times is "one sided". But do your best not to make it that way so much...have a clean heart and clean hands.

 

[Susannah]

It was a Catholic Priest who saved me from giving up on religion altogether after I had a profound spiritual awakening in 1982. His name was Father Tom. I met him at a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. He said: "Susan, when it comes to religion and all its denominations; take what you need and leave the rest."

This may sound blasphemous to a devote Christian, but it kept me looking for the right fit. Today I do not have a denomination. I have the Holy Spirit and she told me that Christ is the real deal. So I go to different churches and worship privately as I pray and meditate at home.

There are a lot of books for Catholics trying to hold on to their faith. Google "recovering Catholics" and "recovering Catholic."

I am a recovering agnostic . . .

 

[Knotical]

Sounds like you were putting your faith in the wrong thing. You should be putting your faith in God, not the Church. Just be part of it.

I grew up in a Reformed Church and upon moving out of my parent's house I decided to go to a non-denominational church. Well, after a while God led me back to another Reformed Church. It wasn't the Church, per se, that I was returning to, but a portion of it that was more faithful in preaching His full counsel.

There are just too many doctrines that the Catholic Church holds to that is not supported by God's counsel.

 

[jasonc]

john knox, calvin, nothing wrong with their works.

pca, pcusa. of the current churches, these aren't perfect but they strive in the right direction and are forward, and up front.

 

[humble soul]

but dont we all put some faith in men?
our political leaders? our fave pastor or theologian? our fave scientist? a family member we admire? the people leading us in the fight against corona?

 

[Knotical]

but dont we all put some faith in men?
our political leaders? our fave pastor or theologian? our fave scientist? a family member we admire? the people leading us in the fight against corona?

But, along with your elders, you should constantly be testing what your pastor preaches against the bible.

 

[for_his_glory]

but dont we all put some faith in men?
our political leaders? our fave pastor or theologian? our fave scientist? a family member we admire? the people leading us in the fight against corona?

Psalms 118: 8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. 9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.

Micah 7:5 Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. 6 For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.

Isaiah 2:22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of ?

Isaiah 46:9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure

Man will always let you down. Your trust should be in God, not man as God is no respecter of person, but only knows the heart by what spirit is living in it.

Fake news, lying government, false teachers with false doctrines, stay away from those who lead you down a path of destruction.

 

[jasonc]

but dont we all put some faith in men?
our political leaders? our fave pastor or theologian? our fave scientist? a family member we admire? the people leading us in the fight against corona?

if I so feel inclined as I must do so with these sets of photos.i read up on their story. this is one I will read up again. I told one as I was taking photos of the dates of contstruction. when i do this, i learn from them. i mention john knox and the risks of perescution they took to get the gospel out. not that the protestants were also a problem.that is why i stated what i said. i was reading up on the archbishop of canterbury and the anglican, and also the break offs from them and my church(pca) is also one of them.

 

[jasonc]

if I so feel inclined as I must do so with these sets of photos.i read up on their story. this is one I will read up again. I told one as I was taking photos of the dates of contstruction. when i do this, i learn from them. i mention john knox and the risks of perescution they took to get the gospel out. not that the protestants were also a problem.that is why i stated what i said. i was reading up on the archbishop of canterbury and the anglican, and also the break offs from them and my church(pca) is also one of them.

that is a catholic church that is 100 years old. well that building isn't but the congregation is and the original church is in my photo thread called st.helens.

 

[JohnDB]

but dont we all put some faith in men?
our political leaders? our fave pastor or theologian? our fave scientist? a family member we admire? the people leading us in the fight against corona?

God sets up leaders and deposes them.

Even Sampson was a good leader for 25 years.

Even Saul had his purpose for God.
Brilliant strategist and military leadership.
Lousy king.

 

[humble soul]

Generally I am not a fan of science or scientists. But I believe them when they tell me a planet like Pluto exists. Even though no one has been there. I believe the historians that say the Boer War occurred. I believe my father that the depression really occurred.
I believe the Prime Minister when he tells me that self-isolation is necessary to combat this coronavirus. I have to put trust and faith in men to survive. I cant be an expert on everything. (or anything for that matter )

 

[for_his_glory]

Generally I am not a fan of science or scientists. But I believe them when they tell me a planet like Pluto exists. Even though no one has been there. I believe the historians that say the Boer War occurred. I believe my father that the depression really occurred.
I believe the Prime Minister when he tells me that self-isolation is necessary to combat this coronavirus. I have to put trust and faith in men to survive. I cant be an expert on everything. (or anything for that matter )

There are certain things we can trust in man, but yet use discretion and do not buy into everything man says, but search things out, especially in what the churches preach.

 

[Christ_empowered]

im torn. raised center-left Presbyterian, never sank in...saved in part thru the work of SBC and Pentecostals...now, I'm thinking there's more merit to Calvinist interpretation than anything else. Having said that...

do you ever read Barna studies? I think its a company, established by a Christian sociologist...

anyway, they do data gathering on Christians, especially (but I don't think exclusively) US Christians. And...its scary. about 10ish% of the US had a "Christian worldview" (Protestant version, fundamentals of Christianity 101, basically) , with some regional variation (higher in the south, especially southeast; lower in the north). Anyway...

that's kind of frightening because about 3ish x that many people were self-professed Christians, and a lot of those were/are regular church goers. so...

taking 10 x 3= 30% of a given region is self-professed Christian, going to church. That means that 1 in 3 church going Christians have a basic Christian worldview. The others are given to various sorts of psychological insights, new age, secularism, humanism, etc.

1 in 3. church goers. leads me...an un-churched social outcast who is coming to love Jesus, more and more...

to believe that churches may often do good works, but they're not in the business of saving anyone. THE LORD is, of course, saving people. Every day.

so, I understand your disillusionment. Especially with the RCC, since they claim to be the most accurate, True expression of The Good News on earth, etc. :-(

 

[humble soul]

This forum is above average in tolerance .In regard to Catholicism. I congratulate you all. I am guessing some of you wanted to be more blunt in your assessment of the RCC. But you refrained. And that is good. Respectful communication is what we all should strive for as Christians. As human beings.
They will know we are Christians by our respectful style of communication!

 

[GodsGrace]

as an institution.
Too many rogue priests and a culture of cover ups.
Not that I have become enamoured with alternative Christian Churches.
Time to do a Tolstoy maybe. Focus on Jesus and bare essentials from the Gospels. Such as the Sermon on the Mount.
A relationship with Jesus Christ is what matters most imo.
I have to ask myself daily....Am I really talking to Him? Or am I just talking to an image of an ideal friend. Who always forgives . Who is happy with a friendship on my terms. Instead if His.
Anyway I consider the future of the CC negligible. Unless major changes are made. Like allowing all priests to be married.
The future of Catholic Schools? Might morph into Interfaith schools. or Interdenom.
How relevant is the CC in the current Coronavirus climate? Masses have been cancelled in my city indefinitely.

How come there weren't rogue priests 10 years ago?
Maybe there always have been,,,but they weren't allowed to speak up,,,as they are now.

And what do you mean by a friendship on your terms?
I beieve God sets the terms...not us.

Priests won't be allowed to be married any time soon....
But women will be allowed to be Deacons.
Figure that one out.

And I see Catholic schools disappearing due to the cost and to disinterest which will result in low application rates.

I like what you said in the middle of your post.
A relationship with Christ is the most important thing.
When we're judged...will it be on what our priest/pastor believed...
or what we believed?

 

[WIP]

as an institution.
Too many rogue priests and a culture of cover ups.
Not that I have become enamoured with alternative Christian Churches.
Time to do a Tolstoy maybe. Focus on Jesus and bare essentials from the Gospels. Such as the Sermon on the Mount.
A relationship with Jesus Christ is what matters most imo.
I have to ask myself daily....Am I really talking to Him? Or am I just talking to an image of an ideal friend. Who always forgives . Who is happy with a friendship on my terms. Instead if His.
Anyway I consider the future of the CC negligible. Unless major changes are made. Like allowing all priests to be married.
The future of Catholic Schools? Might morph into Interfaith schools. or Interdenom.
How relevant is the CC in the current Coronavirus climate? Masses have been cancelled in my city indefinitely.

Your post title is one of the things that I have found concerning when it comes to the Catholic church. In case you are not aware, I was raised Catholic and left in my early 20's in part due to late adolescence and in part due to finding things in Catholic teaching that didn't make sense and this was one of them.

I still enjoy listening to a couple Catholic radio broadcasts but one thing that I have noticed stand out is how much value the hosts of those programs place on the church. This is just my impression and opinion but it seems at times there is as much or even sometimes more emphasis placed on the church than on God or Jesus. When I listen to a radio call-in program and callers ask questions, quite often the response isn't, "This is what God says....." or "Scripture says...." but rather "This is what the church says...." or "The Catechism says...."

To me this is concerning because it seems the Catholic church teaches more about having faith in the church rather than in the one that saves, Jesus the Christ. Maybe it is not intentional but I am living proof of how this can confuse people.

Maybe in a round about way, it is good to lose faith in the church but then redirect and place your faith in Jesus Christ.

 

[Christ the King]

Hi humble soul

I lost faith in the RCC about 9 months ago

I only came back to God about 2 years ago after 20 years in the wilderness
I soon came back to Christ and Catholicism but i wasn't going to church
I only knew the basic teachings. I was naive and had a false, over simplified view of what Christianity was

It was when I read the NT myself. It filled me with something that I can't even explain, the Holy Spirit perhaps Christ, I don't know but I was so at peace just myself and the bible

Then I had to go to prison. Satan tormented me like never b4. Such evil thoughts i was having on enacting a bloody revenge. I'd never had such criminal thoughts like i did at the start of my jail term

Satan was also trying to get me to screw up in so many other ways; inmates, smokes, drugs, guards, clothes, food, sport, loneliness, depression, anxiety, trauma, stress and the rest. Satan attacks when we are weak, like he did with Jesus.
And in prison he has a huge presence cos so many inmates are weakened

But praise be to Christ because his ministry in prison is is far greater than any ministry on the outside. Thinking about makes me so emotional, i had to stop writing cos I started to cry. Let's just say that without Christ I wouldn't have made it through prison

Then i got released. I started to learn about Catholicism and Christianity. It was painful. I became fixated on why the RCC glorify Mary. I became afraid and still am for the salvation of my parents who have worshiped Fatima their whole lives

So i entered a Catholic forum. They almost drove me away from Christianity all together. It was ugly. I thought "Protestant" was a dirty word or an insulting one as they kept calling me this. Eventually I had to find out who these Protestants were.
I thought they were like Amish or something weird, i braced to learn about a horrible group of people...

What i found was the opposite. Protestants had been saying the same things I were for 500 years. Suddenly i felt like all my theological thinking was correct after all.
I was convinced i had to leave the RCC and join these Protestants who i had just learnt about. Then i learnt that it isn't one denomination, it's tens of thousands... Which one do i choose

The more i looked the more i started to learn that there is no perfect church. I started to see faults in these churches as well and the things i didn't understand about the RCC i was starting to see and comprehend. Like i thought sola scriptura was the only way to go but it's inadequate to say the least and creates even more problems

Then i learnt about the schism that split the RCC and the Orthodox church. By this time i was just over it, all the religion, all the division. All i wanted was a place to go and praise the Lord. So i stayed with the RCC. The original church in the first place

As for rogue priests im guessing ur talking about the pedophile saga. I thought it was all shocking but i never followed the trials of any of them until it came to the trial of Cardinal George Pell. What i learnt and what i saw got me thinking how many other priests were given an unfair trial like Pell. How many of them fell victim to this organized take down of the church. Im sure some priests are guilty but im inclined to believe that most of them are victims of a witch hunt by the growing anti-Christian sector of society. Certainly is suspicious how nothing was ever said about anything before suddenly all these people making claims that happened 30-40 years ago appeared. It's dodgy mate

So i focused instead on the theology and started to realize more and more that the RCC isn't getting me to do anything I don't agree with. Then i started to understand that "it doesn't say to do this in the bible" is not proof that it's false like i thought it was, in fact it's not even a coherent argument, it's a fallacy of ignorance

So now although i don't follow all the Catholic doctrines i accept them
Which ever doctrine u think is wrong it's just that, u think it's wrong
The bible might not say it's right but it doesn't say its wrong

So i don't know what you want. If your after a church to go and worship our Lord than the RCC is as good as any.
If you want to leave cos u disagree with doctrines then i wish u luck in trying to find a church that has no suspicious doctrines.
If your filthy about pedophile priests i would remind you that it wasn't just Catholic priests. I have great reservations on the validity of these sudden allegations. And that the actions of the priest really haven't got anything to do with you worshiping of God.
If u think the RCC won't bring you salvation tell me why. Or if not i would wish u luck again in finding a church. They've all got faults