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Anyone On Here Raised As A Catholic?


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Just wondering if anyone else on this board was raised Catholic? If so, are you still practicing your faith? If not, would you like to share why? And, do you want to share your viewpoint on all of these Christian threads that are on this forum? Yeah, as you can guess, I am a Catholic girl. I even went to a Catholic highschool. I do not go to Church. Main reason is probably because I am still in conflict with the church. As a kid, I had a very inquiring mind and would ask LOTS of questions throughout CCD classes and made bold statements that we should learn about all religions before we get confirmed. At 13, I checked out books on many of the worlds religions, read some, skimmed through others. I decided that Catholicism was for me but I was not allowed to be confirmed. I guess my mouth and my rebellious was got the best of me. Anyway, after not being allowed to get confirmed after 8 years of CCD classes, I attending a Catholic highschool in the Virgin Islands. During that time, my parents got divorced. I guess out of guilt, my dad went and spoke with the preist. My dad asked my mom for an annulment and that really threw me through a loop. Of course, my mom said no way and the subject was dropped. Even though I am not a practicing Catholic, I still feel as if Cathoicism is my foundation. When I read the threads on Christianity, it seems as if so many have an all or nothing point of view. I remember as a kid, Christians telling me that I was not Christian because I was Catholic. That use to confuse me so much since the Catholic Church is the first Christian church. Anyway, the things I did take away from Catholicism were: Love God Love Everyone God Is Everywhere Pretty simplistic but I feel it is a strong foundation. Anyway... fellow Catholics or former Catholics, I would love for you to share your point of view. I find that as an adult, I often gravitate towards others who are or who have been raised as a Catholic. How about you?

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I was raised a catholic, but I haven't practiced for 2 or 3 years now and I don't identify myself as catholic. I went through CCD and actually got confirmed as well, but it seems that immediately after I was confirmed, everything fell in place in my mind and I realized that (to me) the Catholic Church is crap.I was lucky to develop a free-thinking mind despite all of the catholic stuff I was forced to do as a kid (I was even the leader of the youth council of the Madison dioceses). I figured out that I can just talk to God myself - I don't have to go through a priest to talk to Him. I saw that the Pope was elected in a political system, which is just that - politics. And then that guy (since women can't do it) gets to speak "for God," and tell other Catholics what they have to believe.The only thing that kept me anywhere near the Catholic church is that my hometown priest is incredibly liberal. He's everything that the Catholic church SHOULD be.The final straw was when I discovered that I'm bisexual and I kept hearing how "evil" I am. I know that I'm not evil, that God loves me, and that I'm not going to hell if I develop a relationship with another guy.Now that I'm older, I see how dispicable the Catholic Church is. They brainwash children and try to promote groupthink from the earliest ages. They try to develop intolerant, closed-minded sheep.I identify as a non-denominational Christian right now. I incorporate beliefs of a great many religions (including eastern religions) into my set of beliefs.

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I wasn't raised Catholic, but I've heard nothing but awful (in my opinion) stories about their groupthink practices, as you allude to, Custom.My girlfriend goes to a Catholic school and talks about how people come in and talk about pre-marital sex and masturbation and all sorts of other things, and basically brainwashes them with a bunch of garbage about why these things are morally wrong.I don't want to get into it, but the whole tithing thing is pretty bad. Indulgences were awful too, and this is what a lot of the church is founded on. The whole earth being the center of the universe, the earth being flat, etc. etc., are also bad.Of all the Christians I have discussions with about morality and God and stuff (and I have many), I find that Catholics are the hardest to talk to, and hardest to stomach because of their blind devotion to silly morals. This is an isolated observation, so take that for what it's worth. Outside of these discussions and these concepts I really don't have a problem with Catholics, and find many to be nice, caring people.

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I wasn't raised CAtholic but I have attended a couple of Catholic services and have some Catholic friends. The biggest problem I find in the CAtholic church it that it is so ritualistic. Christianity is not about rituals, sacraments, or anything like that. It is about a relationship with Jesus Christ. The Catholics seem to be almost opposed to that. Why do they have to go to the priest so that the priest can go to Christ and ask for their forgiveness? As Christians, I believe we can aproach Christ with boldness and faith that He will hear our pleas for forgiveness and other things. We do not need to say Hail Marys or pray the rosary. WE can pray to God as if we were talking to a close friend with the rituals that come with it. Those are my problems with the Catholic church and why I believe that so many people are unhappy with it. I suggest to some of you Catholics to try different churches to find what you are looking for instead of just abandoning Christianity. I go to a non-denominational church and I think some of you might be interested in a church like mine. If you are check out my church's website at www.rlministry.org to see what we are about and maybe you can find one similar in your area.

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I was raised catholic, did the whole ball of wax: confirmed, church every sunday, etc. I have never once went to church "on my own" since I moved out of my parents house 10 years ago. I dont consider myself a catholic now, and when I look back, I never really did.To me the Catholic mass offers very little. Far to ritualized and repetitive -- there's just not much there. Plus there's the fact that I dont really believe in the Christian version of God.As far as the knocks to the Catholic church presented in this thread -- they are probably deserved. Certainly they need to re-think their policies of birth control and women priests. (And priests getting married, for that matter.) However I think many other Christian sects are just as narrow minded and do just as much "groupthink" and "brainwashing" as another poster put it. So Im pretty sure I wouldnt like any other Christian church either.

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Just wondering if anyone else on this board was raised Catholic? If so, are you still practicing your faith? If not, would you like to share why? And, do you want to share your viewpoint on all of these Christian threads that are on this forum? Yeah, as you can guess, I am a Catholic girl. I even went to a Catholic highschool. I do not go to Church. Main reason is probably because I am still in conflict with the church. As a kid, I had a very inquiring mind and would ask LOTS of questions throughout CCD classes and made bold statements that we should learn about all religions before we get confirmed. At 13, I checked out books on many of the worlds religions, read some, skimmed through others. I decided that Catholicism was for me but I was not allowed to be confirmed. I guess my mouth and my rebellious was got the best of me. Anyway, after not being allowed to get confirmed after 8 years of CCD classes, I attending a Catholic highschool in the Virgin Islands. During that time, my parents got divorced. I guess out of guilt, my dad went and spoke with the preist. My dad asked my mom for an annulment and that really threw me through a loop. Of course, my mom said no way and the subject was dropped. Even though I am not a practicing Catholic, I still feel as if Cathoicism is my foundation. When I read the threads on Christianity, it seems as if so many have an all or nothing point of view. I remember as a kid, Christians telling me that I was not Christian because I was Catholic. That use to confuse me so much since the Catholic Church is the first Christian church. Anyway, the things I did take away from Catholicism were: Love God Love Everyone God Is Everywhere Pretty simplistic but I feel it is a strong foundation. Anyway... fellow Catholics or former Catholics, I would love for you to share your point of view. I find that as an adult, I often gravitate towards others who are or who have been raised as a Catholic. How about you?
No, respectfully I disagree, and we could argue about this all day long and get nowhere believe me I have done it. Christ started the Church of Christ. He said, " Salute one another with an Holy kiss, the churches of christ salute you." He didn't say " Catholics of the world ", he said plainly, churches of Christ. The only biblical reference in the Bible to Catholicism is only identifiable because it says what Catholics would teach- they would tell there priests to abstain from marriage, etc. It also then says that she would be the first to break off from christianity and be the mother of harlots, or the mother of the rest. Catholocism is the absolute worst to deal with for me because of one thing- it's generational. Rarely can a catholic be shown the truth because so many of there family died as such that the thought that they died unrightouess is just to difficult. But, if you want to take that walk I will prove to you biblically that salvation is not found in that religion. And I am sorry to have to represent that to you, I really am. I will say this- my wife was once catholic and had a problem with it because the things that were taught were not found in the Bible. It was puzzling to her. Now, she pretty much hates Catholocism but that's a very personal thing that I would be willing to share offline via phone if you would like, but not out in the open. PM me for my cellphone.
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Catholic school K-8, CCD for 4 more years. Altar boy from 3rd grade all the way through High School. I was confirmed, but that was probably a mistake because I had my questions back then as well.Fast forward to today, only a year and a half later, no longer a practicing Catholic, and I'm 2 steps from atheism. I'm glad the thousands of dollars spent on my Catholic education worked mom and dad. How did I get to this point? Don't really know. I'm not sure if I ever remember being truly inspired by Catholicism in the first place. Except to hang out with Catholic school girls, not that it would get me anywhere, bc of the whole "no pre-marital relations" thing.Right now, I'm still sort of a closet non-Catholic. I'm afraid my family might disown me if I come out, semi-seriously. My Grandma especially would just cry for days, completely serious.It's not that I have anything against Catholicism or Catholics, but I dont like all the meaningless restrictions that religions put on your life. Religions seem to do whatever they can to keep you unhappy for as long as possible. I mean, no masturbation? WTF. How could that possibly have anything to do with religion? It's not like Catholics believe that life begins in the testicles. But it's not only masturbation, there are many issues that I have with what Catholics believe and what God "says" in the Bible. No meat on Friday during lent doesnt make much sense to me either. In fact, I made sure to eat a whole pepperoni pizza on Friday to express my distaste for that rule (pun intended).I have a problem with not being able to go to Heaven if you don't go to mass, even if you live an otherwise good life.My feeling is that faith would be a lot easier without religion complicating it.

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Catholic school K-8, CCD for 4 more years. Altar boy from 3rd grade all the way through High School. I was confirmed, but that was probably a mistake because I had my questions back then as well.Fast forward to today, only a year and a half later, no longer a practicing Catholic, and I'm 2 steps from atheism. I'm glad the thousands of dollars spent on my Catholic education worked mom and dad. How did I get to this point? Don't really know. I'm not sure if I ever remember being truly inspired by Catholicism in the first place. Except to hang out with Catholic school girls, not that it would get me anywhere, bc of the whole "no pre-marital relations" thing.Right now, I'm still sort of a closet non-Catholic. I'm afraid my family might disown me if I come out, semi-seriously. My Grandma especially would just cry for days, completely serious.It's not that I have anything against Catholicism or Catholics, but I dont like all the meaningless restrictions that religions put on your life. Religions seem to do whatever they can to keep you unhappy for as long as possible. I mean, no masturbation? WTF. How could that possibly have anything to do with religion? It's not like Catholics believe that life begins in the testicles. But it's not only masturbation, there are many issues that I have with what Catholics believe and what God "says" in the Bible. No meat on Friday during lent doesnt make much sense to me either. In fact, I made sure to eat a whole pepperoni pizza on Friday to express my distaste for that rule (pun intended).I have a problem with not being able to go to Heaven if you don't go to mass, even if you live an otherwise good life.My feeling is that faith would be a lot easier without religion complicating it.
Faith WOULD be a lot easier without religion complicating. Truer words have never been said, I applaud you.
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Raised a Catholic, got confirmed, and all that.It takes a good deal to undo everything that institution does. My father is a non-practicing Baptist. While his parents were alive, we'd go to his old church for Christmas and Easter services. While I'd prefer staying home, those services were a million times better than the drone of a catholic mass.

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Remember - Spiritual Progress and not Perfection is what we all should be seeking. Perfection can be acheived when we get into Heaven - . Don't be so hard to knock on the Catholic church (or any other Church). Your relationship with God (whether Catholic or not) is really just between you and God and no one else. Don't fall into the trap of finding reasons to become distant to God or Jesus. It is more important to be a spiritual person then a religious person (think about it).But here is a good saying.............A "religious" person sits in church and thinks about fishing.....A "spiritual" person thinks about God while he is fishing !Steve D

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Remember - Spiritual Progress and not Perfection is what we all should be seeking. Perfection can be acheived when we get into Heaven - . Don't be so hard to knock on the Catholic church (or any other Church). Your relationship with God (whether Catholic or not) is really just between you and God and no one else. Don't fall into the trap of finding reasons to become distant to God or Jesus. It is more important to be a spiritual person then a religious person (think about it).But here is a good saying.............A "religious" person sits in church and thinks about fishing.....A "spiritual" person thinks about God while he is fishing !Steve D
very well said steve d , i was raised catholic went to catholic school all my life even went to a catholic college , well after living life a little i fell out of sync with the lord and the world , i became addicted to many drugs and went through a very long rehab out in texas where religion was trying to be forced on me and i really didnt appreciate it so i started reading about different religions and i became very interested in buddhism and spiritual enlightening and ever since have become very happy with my life and have become one with the universe again and am doing good for myself and the place where i live i am very glad for what happened to me and cannot say enough for spirituality !
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As Christians, I believe we can aproach Christ with boldness and faith that He will hear our pleas for forgiveness and other things. We do not need to say Hail Marys or pray the rosary.
Actually i find that prayer with a rosary helps me clear my mind and focus on talking to God, rather then just "talking to God", and that is probably the point of the whole thing. Once you get into a mantra-type state its a lot easier to ignore the outside world and focus directly on your task. I also notice when I am praying openly (see: non catholic way) my mind drifts and i usually become repetitive and fall off topic. That being said, I don't consider myself Catholic anymore. Mom's Catholic/anything (lots of New age ideals) and my dad is lutheran but he stomached the catholic mass for the sake of marriage. I went through the whole system but only have a few quarrels with Catholicism as a whole.
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Initially the early church was called the catholic church but it was meant as a more universal church then what we see today...The Catholic church is still stuck in a time when people were illerate and relied on the church for answers...The biggest blow to them was when Martin Luther brought christians back to what the initial church did.

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No, respectfully I disagree, and we could argue about this all day long and get nowhere believe me I have done it. Christ started the Church of Christ. He said, " Salute one another with an Holy kiss, the churches of christ salute you." He didn't say " Catholics of the world ", he said plainly, churches of Christ. The only biblical reference in the Bible to Catholicism is only identifiable because it says what Catholics would teach- they would tell there priests to abstain from marriage, etc. It also then says that she would be the first to break off from christianity and be the mother of harlots, or the mother of the rest. Catholocism is the absolute worst to deal with for me because of one thing- it's generational. Rarely can a catholic be shown the truth because so many of there family died as such that the thought that they died unrightouess is just to difficult. But, if you want to take that walk I will prove to you biblically that salvation is not found in that religion. And I am sorry to have to represent that to you, I really am. I will say this- my wife was once catholic and had a problem with it because the things that were taught were not found in the Bible. It was puzzling to her. Now, she pretty much hates Catholocism but that's a very personal thing that I would be willing to share offline via phone if you would like, but not out in the open. PM me for my cellphone.
Wow... this is not good. I'm pretty sure that Jesus didn't start ANY demoination. He said "For God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him, will not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16. He doesn't say you have to be a catholic, he doesn't say you have to be in the church of Christ and he certainly doesn't say that you have to be baptized or jump through any hoops. YOU MUST BELIEVE AND YOU WILL BE SAVED! Acts 16:31.
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Baptised, Communion, 8 years of CCD, and Confirmation.And the minute I was confirmed I never returned. I was Catholic until I reached the age of reason.

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Catholic schooling(grade school, high schook and college).Still a practicing Catholic....yeah, I even go to Church on Sunday's when I am in Las Vegas! The whole priest molestaton issues have turned me off, but hopefully people are learning from these past very bad mistakes.Try to live by the Golden Rule.I think all of the "Christian" talk here is ok. Everyone is entitled to their own opoinion.

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Wow... this is not good. I'm pretty sure that Jesus didn't start ANY demoination. He said "For God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him, will not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16. He doesn't say you have to be a catholic, he doesn't say you have to be in the church of Christ and he certainly doesn't say that you have to be baptized or jump through any hoops. YOU MUST BELIEVE AND YOU WILL BE SAVED! Acts 16:31.
Good luck with that.
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Good luck with that.
Hes correct though...If you want to get technical...the initially Church called themselves "The Way"...catholic was only meant so signify that it was universal
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Hes correct though...If you want to get technical...the initially Church called themselves "The Way"...catholic was only meant so signify that it was universal
Christ named his churches Church of Christ. So, any by any other name would not be of him. Since you grossly misinterpet the bible it doesn't suprise me that you would the think/believe christian origins started under another name.
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Christ named his churches Church of Christ. So, any by any other name would not be of him. Since you grossly misinterpet the bible it doesn't suprise me that you would the think/believe christian origins started under another name.
hahahaha...my facts arent even from sctipure..its been historically proven that what i said its correct...nice try thoughBut now that I think about it..I do see now where this is all going. Your views are very much line with the "Church of Christ" that exists today...I should have seen it earlier. I will say that church is a heavily legalistic church so i can very definately see the direct influence they have on u
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hahahaha...my facts arent even from sctipure..its been historically proven that what i said its correct...nice try thoughBut now that I think about it..I do see now where this is all going. Your views are very much line with the "Church of Christ" that exists today...I should have seen it earlier. I will say that church is a heavily legalistic church so i can very definately see the direct influence they have on u
I will wager that you have no idea where any churches of Christ that I am/have been connected to are located. Legalistic? GOD IS LEGALISTIC. Good luck trying to get past that. Christ started the Church of Christ, he named them himslef in the scriptures. That is easy. If you can trace your origin back to something else, guess what? Wrong church.
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I will wager that you have no idea where any churches of Christ that I am/have been connected to are located. Legalistic? GOD IS LEGALISTIC. Good luck trying to get past that. Christ started the Church of Christ, he named them himslef in the scriptures. That is easy. If you can trace your origin back to something else, guess what? Wrong church.
Hmm the Disciples and Apostles called the church "The Way". Even secular records will back me up. I know all about the "Church of Christ" and their legalistic ways. I am sorry but legalism refers to reverting to the Law. And well if you didnt know Jesus fulfilled the Law and established a new covanent...but i thought you would have known that. And I have done some research of the "Church of Christ" and they border on cult status. The whole no music is funny, The if your not baptized by this church only your going to hell, all this legalistic nonsense. God granted us grace. Does this give us free reign? Of course not. But are we bound by the Law anymore? of course not...One last point and I think people will see it, is that views like yours, allow for the "Church of Christ" to say that mormons are christians when they are in fact a cult too...good try though. Lois I will say that I am finding more and more that you seem to avoid what is historically fact about christianity in view of im assuming what you thing should be there or what you were told...
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