- Mar 22, 2012
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Good Evening,
I'm in a really tough and, in many respects, weird situation theologically. I grew up in the Roman Catholic Church, and I greatly admire it in many ways. I think Catholic critiques of Protestantism that suggest the movement has become a theological mess are fair, although I do think some Catholics have exaggerated the claims. I also love the history of the Catholic Church, liturgy, the stunning beauty of cathedrals, the sense of community in good parishes, and a whole lot more.
With that said, I continue to have some very important, very strong objections to Roman Catholicism that keep me from rejoining the Church. One of the most important is that I do not believe the arguments for the Catholic understanding of the infallibility and supreme authority of the papacy are supported by history or scripture. I see the value in having a single visible Christian leader, but no matter how many times I've studied the issue and prayed about it, I have never been convinced that the evidence supports such a claim -- and I have been studying it for many years now.
I'm not writing this post to be convinced that the Catholic Church is the "best" church, or to argue that you should stop being Roman Catholic. Rather, I'm asking your advice about what I should do while I continue to study and pray about this and other issues. I cannot take communion in the Catholic Church, because I don't agree with its teachings on core issues, but I'm not sure what else to do. I feel so awkward attending a church where I really cannot be a parishioner in good faith. But attending Protestant churches has felt strange too. I'm just at a total loss, and not sure where to go from here. I've spent the past decade trying to sort all this out, and I've had no luck, no matter who I've talked to, how much I've researched, or how hard I've tried to understand all of this.
Any help, advice, prayers, or guidance would be much appreciated.
-Justin
I'm in a really tough and, in many respects, weird situation theologically. I grew up in the Roman Catholic Church, and I greatly admire it in many ways. I think Catholic critiques of Protestantism that suggest the movement has become a theological mess are fair, although I do think some Catholics have exaggerated the claims. I also love the history of the Catholic Church, liturgy, the stunning beauty of cathedrals, the sense of community in good parishes, and a whole lot more.
With that said, I continue to have some very important, very strong objections to Roman Catholicism that keep me from rejoining the Church. One of the most important is that I do not believe the arguments for the Catholic understanding of the infallibility and supreme authority of the papacy are supported by history or scripture. I see the value in having a single visible Christian leader, but no matter how many times I've studied the issue and prayed about it, I have never been convinced that the evidence supports such a claim -- and I have been studying it for many years now.
I'm not writing this post to be convinced that the Catholic Church is the "best" church, or to argue that you should stop being Roman Catholic. Rather, I'm asking your advice about what I should do while I continue to study and pray about this and other issues. I cannot take communion in the Catholic Church, because I don't agree with its teachings on core issues, but I'm not sure what else to do. I feel so awkward attending a church where I really cannot be a parishioner in good faith. But attending Protestant churches has felt strange too. I'm just at a total loss, and not sure where to go from here. I've spent the past decade trying to sort all this out, and I've had no luck, no matter who I've talked to, how much I've researched, or how hard I've tried to understand all of this.
Any help, advice, prayers, or guidance would be much appreciated.
-Justin
