Do you think..............

[adamswildhoney]

It's okay to associate yourself with a religion but not necessarily follow the "rules" word for word???


See, I consider myself a Catholic, but I dont go by all the "rules" that the Pope says we should go by. I basically try my best to follow the Ten Commandments and attend mass whenever I can.

Other than that I dont really pay attention to what the Pope has to say, which I often wonder is a bad thing!!

does that make any sense????

 

[80sU2isBest]

The Bible says that what matters is having a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. If you know and trust him as Savior and Lord, his Holy Spirit will lead you into doing what's right.

Sure, you could go the route of making sure you obey every rule there is. But you try that and you're dooming yourself. No one could ever live a perfect life, except Christ. That's why Christ died on the cross for us. He paid the price we could never pay.

 

[Klaus]

adamswildhoney:

Maybe then you should call yourself a Christian rather than a Catholic?

 

[nbcrusader]

Your questions absolutely makes sense. The big question is why you associate yourself with a religion. I've heard many people say they were born a _________. Religion becomes a cultural tradition rather than a personal relationship.

Maybe a little church shopping will help. Either you will find a new home that is where God is calling or you will realize that God wants you where you are.

 

[adamswildhoney]

I guess why still have all these questions is bc I am secure in my faith but I dont think I want to be associate with a religion, but at the same time I love attending mass. I just dont like the feeling that I have to "obey" the Pope when he isn't even Jesus.

I have been raised to partially fear/love God bc my grandma was raised to fear(which she put on to me) and then my mom decided bc she was raised to fear God, she didnt want to do the same with her children.

So in the above nonsense, I think I came to the conclusion that I am afraid that if I am not associated with a religion that "something bad" will happen to me, when I die. Gah this made some much more sense in my brain then it does now

sorry, just rambling

 

[80sU2isBest]

Become reborn and obey God in his three persons (Father, Son, Trinity) and you are doing the will of God.

When Christ died on the cross, the thick heavy curtain in the temple was torn in two. I'd like to tell you what that symobolized.

before Christ, the only people that were allowed to initiate communication with God were the priests. That thick heavy curtain in the temple was teh "door" to the "Holy of Holies", a part of the temple that only priests were allowed into, because that was the place God dwelt in the temple.

But Christ came so that each man could choose to cling to Jesus and join him in unity. When Christ completed the "death" part of his mission, the curtain was torn in two to signify that each man, woman and child could now approach and communicate with God on their own.

If you are a born again Christian, you have the Holy Spirit in you, and no one is any higher on the Christian scale than you are, because there is no hierarchy in God's kingdom. It's him, then his Children.

Now I'm not saying to never listen to the advice of a clergy. If you have a problem and wish to consult a man of the cloth, that's fine. Just know that he may not always be right, and has no control over to you.

Just put your faith in God and trust him to lead you in the way that he wants you to go. He'll do it. He's faithful that way.

 

[verte76]

I agree with what the others have said. I'm a Catholic also but I don't pay attention to everything the Pope has to say, either. The important thing is to have faith, to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. If you have that then everything else will take care of itself. I personally have become interested in the Benedictine spiritual tradition but that's something God led me into because I had the faith in the first place.