What Does the Catholic Church Believe?
As many of you know, WordGirl and I are in the process of converting to Catholicism. As part of the process, we're attending weekly Rite of Christian Initiation classes to learn more about the teachings of the church (which Catholics refer to as the Catechism) and doing a lot of research on our own.
The nice thing about the Catholic Church, as opposed to the various Protestant denominations we've investigated and belonged to is that the Church teaching is written down and quite clear. It is available to all, and inexpensive to boot.
Despite this, we've been struck by how many Catholics don't seem to understand what the Church's teaching is on a variety of subjects. It is one thing to disagree; another to not know with whom you're disagreeing or why.
As such, we've decided to produce a series of posts on various hot-button issues to share what the Catholic Church believes and expound a bit on our perceptions of that belief. As former Protestants, we hope we can help our Protestant brothers and sisters understand what Catholics believe so that they avoid the myths and lies that are so prevalent concerning the Catholic faith. This is not to say they will become Catholics; but rather, they will have a clearer understand of what becoming a Catholic means.
For Catholics who have grown up in the faith but who have not read deeply or widely about it, we hope that our position as outsiders looking in might help them see their faith in new ways.
To ensure that we don't inject error into this effort; we're relying solely on the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd edition), the Bible, and canon law as quoted in the Catechism.
We hope that you'll find this an informative and edifying series.
The nice thing about the Catholic Church, as opposed to the various Protestant denominations we've investigated and belonged to is that the Church teaching is written down and quite clear. It is available to all, and inexpensive to boot.
Despite this, we've been struck by how many Catholics don't seem to understand what the Church's teaching is on a variety of subjects. It is one thing to disagree; another to not know with whom you're disagreeing or why.
As such, we've decided to produce a series of posts on various hot-button issues to share what the Catholic Church believes and expound a bit on our perceptions of that belief. As former Protestants, we hope we can help our Protestant brothers and sisters understand what Catholics believe so that they avoid the myths and lies that are so prevalent concerning the Catholic faith. This is not to say they will become Catholics; but rather, they will have a clearer understand of what becoming a Catholic means.
For Catholics who have grown up in the faith but who have not read deeply or widely about it, we hope that our position as outsiders looking in might help them see their faith in new ways.
To ensure that we don't inject error into this effort; we're relying solely on the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd edition), the Bible, and canon law as quoted in the Catechism.
We hope that you'll find this an informative and edifying series.
posted by Teflon at 1:01 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Thank you both so much for the time and effort you have/&are putting into these posts. Sometimes, the eyes of an ~outsider~-- soon to be insider- are clearer of clouded vision.
I have a Catechism of the Catholic Church-- i read it, too :0). It's just really difficult to put it all out when so caught up w/emotion while trying to let others know-- there's more to the teachings of our Church than a narrow door and a log in our eye.
I'll look forward to each new post-- and pray for the guts to share them w/those i know will probably hate me for it (you know?).
Karen-
People may disagree with you, or disagree with the teachings of the Catholic Church, but if they hate you for sharing information that says far more about them than it could about you.
Christ did not come to make us comfortable, but to set us free. As you'll see in upcoming posts, Catholic teaching in some areas is something I personally wrestle with,not so much because I believe the Church is mistaken (it's hard to argue with two millennia of brilliant thought brought to bear on a subject) but because my own bias runs against the grain of the Church in these areas.
Christ and his Church continue to challenge, humble, and enlighten in our day as in his, and as we dig deeper into this series I expect WordGirl and I will need to make corrections to some of our own deeply-held views in light of greater wisdom than our own.
Since we'll be in full communion with the Catholic Church come Easter, it's probably high time we did so.
Post a Comment
<< Home