Being a Catholic, I have been taught differently than most common beliefs; in regards to my own religion, quite a stark difference, from what I've been hearing lately, to the point I feel rather unique in my faith, even amongst my peers. Picking up a Catechism book can give you better insight to how I've been taught, and what has often been left out these days; which ironically, doesn't seem like how most other, at least perceived, Catholics operate (a real shame). Oddly enough, there's even a divide within our own structure of operation to the point where true Catholics can pinpoint the BS-Catholics (you know, the kind that are in it for the uniforms, so to speak; or only go to church exclusively on holidays, but not weekly). What makes how I've been taught much more different than others that are the same religion, by name only, is that true Catholics are surprisingly rather tolerant on many levels, even adapting as society evolves. We don't care as much about other people's faith as you'd be led to believe; just as long as you're doing what's right is what matters.
As for God's existence, and using His son as a justifier for tons of unspeakable things; or a weapon in most cases according to observing the extremists, like the Westboro Baptist Church people (even we don't like their conduct), that's not cool. We've been taught that Christ is more of a reassurance that as long as we followed his word, then salvation and immortality (of spirit, rather than body) is more easily obtained, and the additional commandments he also preached, often left out of most educations were: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul; and the other one: Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you. Where the first 10 commandments were restrictive to what we do as humans, the other two, which operate more like summaries of the 10 commandments, are more liberal with their application, and are more like instructions to be more responsible with one's own faith, but still follow in the Word that has been taught (more like guidelines to an enlightened life; in essence, to make life much less crappy and that you have reins over it).
Naturally, such an open-minded education of faith is frowned upon by the public, and are often instead covered in more controversy to further obstruct the message that faith in one's own religion should never be used as a weapon or a justification for corrupt activities of ANY sort. We're just as pissed off at the pedo-priests as everyone else, to the point that we agree that they ought to be ex-communicated as a start. I think I even recall the Pope finally losing it after hearing enough about that controversy.
In regards to Christ dying for our sins, it's more that he opened up the gates of Heaven for us (which locked during the Old Testament; simply put, he made the gateway a hell of alot more forgiving,and less restrictive for everyone, regardless of faith. He knows a shortcut in, and would also serve as our lawyer (with God as the judge) upon passing through if we have some baggage with us upon crossing), and that through Him, we can gain access to Heaven through redemption and communion of body, mind, and spirit (or in layman's terms, would we accept ourselves through the gates of Heaven? He's lending us a hand through our faith to make our final decision. Do we deserve it? Individually speaking, of course). We're all sinners through and through; however, there are
sacraments to our faith that makes it easier to earn our everlasting peace and salvation over time; it's a mark of honor as a Catholic, so to speak. Through baptism washing away our Original Sin, confessing our sins, and acquiring penance (varies according to how much, and how bad the sins were; they're even classified by 2 different types: Venial/Minor sins, like missing a Sunday of church intentionally, or disobeying/not honoring your parents, or generally being a dick. These sins are like cuts and bruises to the soul, and don't wear down your spirit all that much; and major sins, also known as Mortal Sins, are the kinds of sins that can wreck your soul, causing all kinds of psychological problems and such, if not treated properly. Like killing someone, or through breaking any of the commandments, ruining another person's life inside and out, and etc. If you have a conscience, you can feel the impact of your actions in your soul, and everyone can observe the results. That needs to be taken care of ASAP, and penance with that is not easy to get over, but is possible to achieve, and redeem oneself; but such redemption can only be obtained if you really mean it. You can't simply wash such a thing away, except with the blood of Christ (communion; the bread and wine at church; think of it like a spiritual recharge. Consider Christ's blood the ultimate solvent that can remove even the most stubborn darkness infecting the most complex soul out there; provided the will of the person containing the darkness permits it to take effect (can they forgive themselves for their own actions that put them there, and humble themselves to accept God's help (through Christ's blood as proxy) in this manner?), and with a fresh mind, obtain Communion, as described earlier, during Sunday mass.
It's not as much that Christ is the ONLY route to Heaven, but he does make himself an obvious, and simpler path to it, via his teachings, especially for those of us that can't figure it out on our own. Where we send ourselves to Hell, rather than God, sounds just about right. It seems to make more sense; after all, what would then be the point of all the redemption and such as pointed out above, if not to protect ourselves from ourselves, especially in the afterlife when we have to make a choice where we are supposed to go? At least, in regards to Catholic teachings, we believe there's a border between Heaven and Hell called purgatory, which is basically like, as I would like to interpret it, like being stuck on an endless beach, walking for countless miles, reflecting on all that you've experienced, and deciding upon your final fate of whether you really do deserve where you were, where you are at the moment, and where you belong. Some decide Heaven for the view, and Hell for the company. By personal perspective, much like a saying, a fool's paradise is a wise man's Hell. Oddly enough, going against some doctrine, I think Heaven and Hell really is more of a perceptive reality, in which where we place ourselves is dependent on what we truly believe in ourselves. Some people are just so attached to this world, they end up wandering it for eternity, usually in regret, trapped in what is essentially mental breakdown as a spirit; explaining most haunting spirits, and some possessive spirits. They're ones who put themselves in their own Hell, by staying on Earth, rather than moving on and ascending. Kinda where priests operate as exorcists serving as both a guide for lost souls, and a police force for those that corrupted themselves into demonic spirits of oppression.
That's just about all I can really recall for now. I hope this helps. My faith is ever evolving (I question God quite often, almost regularly to the point I seem like I shouldn't continue following my faith (as perceived), and I felt more enlightened through my questioning. What kind of selfish, egotistical god would not permit anyone to question them to gain a better understanding of something that initially doesn't make sense? If God made us in His image, should we be as much God ourselves, as God was once human like us? Christ would be that Human God, and logically, we have right to understand more, and use His power to do what we feel is right. In a sense, that was what Christ was teaching us all along. I would like to think of him like the Kamina of milennia ago that was teaching us to do the impossible, because we are capable of doing so (even going as far as defying physics by sheer force of will (like walking on water, or bringing people back from death), as doctrine dictates).), as every other actual one in my faith; and on political fronts, or anything of the sort, in case you're curious, we're quite tolerant, I don't care about your religion, or if you're Agnostic or Atheist; much like your view on us, as long as you don't shove your beliefs down our throats, or act like a complete asshole with your belief/faith, then we're cool. Gay/straight-/bi-/trans-, doesn't matter; ditto the sentence before; the marriage front is more of an individual, by person, matter; due to to the volatility of that topic, let's keep silent on it, some of us are split about that within as well.
Despite some of our quarrels with other faiths within our belief zone, we tend to butt heads with the Protestants quite often as well as Baptists, Christians and "Christians/Catholics" (you know those types; the Hollywood-Religious types that have a really twisted view on how Christianity actually works, and makes it look extremely lame (they give me a headache; I nickname them Corporate-Christians; only by name, not by faith; Even God Himself would call bullshit on them)), a good thing to take note is that our aim is not to convert anyone; we just want to make sure they know what they're believing in, and actually mean it and understand it. It's a mix of orange and blue morality meets grey and white morality. Basically, we don't like when people only take up a religion by namesake only, or for personal reasons (like trying to get laid), rather than to help everyone else out through compromise and sacrifice for the greater good. It makes the rest of us look bad. Unfortunately, these kinds of people are the vocal minority ruining it for the rest of us, and to tell the truth, even we are sick of it. I understand why people are turned away from religion these days, but it's not entirely our fault, from my observation; some people have been devoting themselves to destroying religion overall (regardless your religion) for eons. Most likely for personal gain; predictably.
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Topic: Serious question about Christianity (Read 21735 times)