Catholicism traces its roots and its Bible interpretations back to Christ and the Apostles (known as Apostolic teachings). The Seven Sacraments form the circle of Jesus’ teachings and practices while here on earth. Why abandon Catholicism? Why not return to original teachings?
I’m a lapsed Catholic.
What caused the lapse? Can you give your top three reasons?
Why should you care?
Teenage rebellion growing up in Catholic school since I was in kindergarten got tired of it.
I’m a Catholic…granted, I don’t go to church every week, but I am Catholic.
First, I am truly interested in individual reasons.
Second, I love religious discussions.
Third, I am trying to do my part to contribute to the new forum.
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Meri!!! I am just happy to see you transitioned over. Since we’ve been all nostalgic with the new forum move and everything, I’ll go ahead and be sappy and add that talking with you is a big reason I went from being an atheist to a believer. Not Catholic, but the transition for me was a big milestone and a huge help in my life, so thank you! And I look forward to seeing more of your posts here 
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Do you remember a specific issue or tenet you were rebelling against? Alternately, was there anything you came to miss about Catholicism?
What do you like best about the Catholic faith?
not really it was more a sense of general rebellion I was a teenager but I still hold pretty standard catholic belief as an adult and it is a driving aspect of most of my life choices even if I don’t admit it.
I have issue with the church even today in how they handle/handled some issues but I generally hope for them to grow and do well.
hm…I love it’s beautiful cathedrals. I love the Catholic Doctrine. I love the orderly fashion the Church does things. I love all the good priests and seminarians. I love the rich history behind it, the stories, the traditions.
What I don’t like, however, is the pedophilia scandals going on at the Vatican, and the discrimination against gays.
Wow! How great to see you here, as well! Can’t describe how happy I am to hear of your faith journey and wish you great blessings.
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Well as a non-theist, but yet as one who once was a Christian and has studied Christianity and the various denominations quite extensively, I can tell you that many non-Catholics do not share the assumption you laid out in your OP…that Catholic teachings are the “original teachings”.
Catholics may trace their main doctrines all the way back to the Apostles and Christ…most non-Catholics do not trace Catholic teachings back so far…they believe Catholicism strayed from the original beliefs.
Hence the Reformation…which Luther did not intend to be a schism…he intended it to be a reforming of Catholic teachings back closer to Christ and the Bible.
Since, ultimately, the Church is the people the Church does pretty well with growing and doing well. Some parishes and dioceses are more quick to respond than others. The downside of this is that we are, after all, just human. Most do try.
Perhaps I’ve just been fortunate, but I have been a member of parishes in four states, and five parishes in one state. All of these parishes dating decades back were always accepting towards gays. However, if you mean the Church does not recognize gay marriage, this is true–and I don’t see how it can. It’s kind of like the topic of, “What happens to unbaptized babies?” Scripture doesn’t address it one way or the other, so the Church (rather than making something up) says it does not know, the matter is left in the hands of a loving and merciful God.
Human living is sometimes very messy, yet scripture sometimes makes it sound so easy.
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We (the kids in our family) were raised Catholic because it is/was important to maintain the family tradition. Upon confirmation, we were encouraged to explore other Christian denominations.
Long story short:
after a lifetime of poor Church attendance as an adult, I now attend Episcopal services.
- It wasn’t that I necessarily decided “the Catholics are wrong,”
- rather I decided “for 40-plus years I’ve been living a lie. How can I call myself Catholic if I don’t believe what they believe about, sex, contraception and my homosexual friends?”
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I do miss the Catholic formalized confession/rite of penance. Kneeling in an anonymous box listing my sins meant nothing to me, but several of my adult and boyhood priests ‘did’ confession face to face, interactively, kinda like sitting diwn with your accountant/financial planner every few months.
Yet the Catholic Church can trace its teachings back two thousand years to the Apostles and early Church Fathers, whereas Protestants can only trace their changes back five hundred years.
History is messy and the deeper we delve into it, the more complex it becomes. Fourteenth century Germans with their culture and language, did not have a great understanding of first century Israel and Rome. Many translations did not translate well into other languages. In fact, it was such a misunderstanding that has kept alive the schism between the Greek speaking and Latin speaking cultures.
Many may be legitimately surprised at how close we have always been to early Christianity. I have always thought it is such a shame we can bridge the misunderstandings. Even after these are bridged there are plenty of legitimate disagreements to discuss.
What does the Church believe about contraception and your homosexual friends?
Hi Gaius! We’ve got to get Koushi over here. He said he was having some problems.
I grew up in Mainline Protestantism, specifically the United Methodist Church. I am now non-theist, but even at that time, I could not have ever imagined converting to Catholicism.
The whole “confession” thing was a deal breaker right from the start.
(Again, I am speaking from my former perspective as a Methodist.)
God can hear prayer and repentance himself, he does not need an intermediary to listen for him.
The wine and bread is NOT the ACTUAL body and blood of Christ, it is just a symbolic gesture. I rejected that Catholic doctrine firmly.
There were others, but those two will do for now.
I would have been very reluctant to even marry into a Catholic family. My brother did marry a Catholic, but she was not a strict practitioner by any means and he never converted himself nor did he attend the Catholic Church with her.
Catholicism is off the table for me, even if for some reason I was to become religious again.
Catholicism is fine for people who appreciate what it offers and agree with its doctrines.
For people that don’t agree with its doctrines, Catholicism would obviously be an anathema.
