Does it matter where I worship?

[Geoff m]

Hi, I am new to the forum and it is Christmas day and I have a dilema. I was born into a Roman Catholic family and attended Catholic schools. I turned away from religion by my early teens and I have recently started reading The Bible again after over 20 years away from it. Since I was baptised a Catholic, I was brought up to believe that it is not right to follow any other religion or anything that is not Catholic. Does this mean that it is not right for me to attend a Christian church which is not Catholic? Can I attend any Christian place of worship and join in that mass?

 

[Albion]

Hi, I am new to the forum and it is Christmas day and I have a dilema. I was born into a Roman Catholic family and attended Catholic schools. I turned away from religion by my early teens and I have recently started reading The Bible again after over 20 years away from it. Since I was baptised a Catholic, I was brought up to believe that it is not right to follow any other religion or anything that is not Catholic. Does this mean that it is not right for me to attend a Christian church which is not Catholic? Can I attend any Christian place of worship and join in that mass?

It all depends upon whether or not you accept the Roman Catholic Church's claim to being the only true church. If it is, you'd have a hard time rationalizing worshipping in a church that the RCC has declared to have invalid ministers and invalid sacraments. Right? But if you believe that the church that Christ founded is not any particular denomination or communion but rather the total of all true believers in him--or if not that, but that there is another denomination which is the "only true" church--then you would not be troubled about the claims to uniquenessmade by the Roman Church. It would follow that those claims are themselves invalid.

The fact that you were baptised IN a Catholic church doesn't mean quite what you may be thinking. Although we often talk, casually, about being baptised Catholic or Anglican or Methodist, etc. it is generally understood by theologians of all these churches that one is baptised a Christian. That's why I'd say you were baptised IN a Roman Catholic church, as opposed to being baptised a Roman Catholic. There is no special obligation you may be thinking you are under merely by virtue of having received the sacrament of baptism in a Catholic church.

 

[MrPolo]

It all depends upon whether or not you accept the Roman Catholic Church's claim to being the only true church. If it is, you'd have a hard time rationalizing worshipping in a church that the RCC has declared to have invalid ministers and invalid sacraments. Right?

Ditto.

 

[Geoff m]

Well thats really opened my eyes. I didn't realise RCC was declaring such invalidity in other churches. Thanks for all your help guys, sort of understand why I heard someone bashing RC when I visited a non RC church in the past.

 

[Zoness]

Do you any churches in mind that you would like to visit or have you already found one? God bless.

 

[Geoff m]

well I was taken to a christian church in Oxford called St Aldates and the service was a lot of fun, the congregation was quite young and there was live music and other things going on. It was a world away from the RC services I went to as a child. I dont know what sort of church it was although I did pick up a bad vibe towards catholics from some of the congregation, which it threw me a bit. I live very close to the church I grew up in but some how i'm not comfortable attending there, and because of the RC view on non RC churches I havent attended or found anywhere else yet so Im feeling a bit lost

 

[Zoness]

Ah I see, well are you mostly looking for a church you feel comfortable in or do you have theological preferences besides the views on the RC?

 

[Geoff m]

I am mostly looking for a church I feel comfortable in. When I attended last time I didnt take communion because I thought it was wrong to take it at a non RCC service. So Im stuck between a rock and a hard place because although I havent practiced for many years I feel I am bound by rules which limit me to a particular way or place of worship which I am not entirely happy with.

 

[Zoness]

Yeah I remember going through that as well but I have since moved on. I guess it is a matter of how important you make communion. In the RCC and Eastern Orthodox services the Eucharist is the most important part of the service but in many Protestant churches the sermon is the center of the service. Communion is important but more symbolic. There are several protestant churches that hold the same view as the RCC about the real presence of the Eucharist.

 

[ThreeNailsSavedMe]

I believe that wherever you worship is fine, as long as you worship the Lord Almighty with all your heart, soul, mind, and body. Why would it matter if you were Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, or etc... All that matters is you are there to give thanks to God and worship Him.

 

[PerrySB]

Prayer is a two way exchange. Might I suggest that you ask the Lord to lead you to where he wants you to worship. No one church has heaven cornered no matter what you have been taught. I will not be critical of any denomination. The pope is not Gods right hand man, nor is any preacher. If you seek Gods will for your life He will lead you where He wants you. Any denomination that tells you they are the only true church is a good church to stay away from in my opinion.

 

[Geoff m]

thanks god bless

 

[Rhamiel]

you can attend other Christian churches, but if you want to be Catholic you should not take communion, also other attending services does not take the place of mass

 

[Joachim]

Where I live this question wouldn't even come up, you simply wouldn't leave the church unless it was an issue directly related to a marriage or your parents had a mixed marriage.

One thing I would keep in mind is that the Catholic Church does provide a lot of leeway when it comes to certain activities. That is a terrible reason to stay in a church but it is something to think about. The Catholic Church does not have a problem if you consume alcohol in moderation. It does not have a problem if you use tobacco. It does not have a problem if you gamble as long as it is in moderation.


I would honestly think about that because some churches require more of their members than other churches. Because of how it is here I would also consider the community implications of it. If the church in question is composed of a cultural group that is not the same as what you were raised in you should give it pause before you decide to leave the church. I can probably never become a Baptist because most of them here come from a different cultural millieu than the Catholics here do. We have very different cultures in terms of cuisine, celebrations and the like even though we live in the same city. I would also think about that.

 

[Zoness]

Joachim brings up an interesting idea although where I come from the churches are far more blended and when the ethnic/family element is taken out there is a lot more room for heterogeneity. Although what he described is probably more true for Lutherans than any other group from around here, it is the "family religion" so to speak.

As someone who was raised in the Catholic Church it is true that they are pretty lenient on a lot of things unlike say undementalists or the wesleyan church (conservative methodists) and some freedom is good but if you have disagreements then sometimes it is good to search. I tried to get over my disagreements but I simply found so many of them that I couldn't possibly keep going to the RCC of my own free will in good conscience. It depends a lot on how many disagreements you find yourself with and how important they are. I will pray that you find a church or some answer soon!

 

[Geoff m]

Where I live this question wouldn't even come up, you simply wouldn't leave the church unless it was an issue directly related to a marriage or your parents had a mixed marriage

what has a mixed marriage got to do with it? isn't your faith your own?

Besides that I have been invited via PM to join a church. On the website, and in the PM I recieved speaking in tongues seems to be a regular occouring thing. I never came across this before and I am a bit uncertain about it. Should speaking in tongues be taking seriously? I feel a bit wary of the whole thing.

 

[AdrocK48]

Where I live this question wouldn't even come up, you simply wouldn't leave the church unless it was an issue directly related to a marriage or your parents had a mixed marriage

what has a mixed marriage got to do with it? isn't your faith your own?

Besides that I have been invited via PM to join a church. On the website, and in the PM I recieved speaking in tongues seems to be a regular occouring thing. I never came across this before and I am a bit uncertain about it. Should speaking in tongues be taking seriously? I feel a bit wary of the whole thing.

sure its to be taken seriously... it is a spiritual gift, just like any other spiritual gift... 1 corinthians 12
but as Paul continues in his letter to the corinthians, chapter 14 vs 26-28, if there is no interpreter for the person/people speaking in tongues... then they should shut up
A church that speaks in tongues yet has no interpreter, which from experience is a church that usually has beliefs along the lines of all believers must have certain gifts before they can become a member of the church, you would be in right mind to be a bit weary of them.

 

[BTubbs]

I think we need to be careful, before we buy into post-modernist, relativistic thinking. In the Bible, we see specific instructions and commandments time and again. Yes, God looks at the heart, but...

Jeremiah warned that the "heart is deceitful above all things."

It's critical that we attend and worship in churches that are doctrinally sound - especially when we're talking about the "doctrine of Christ" (to use Paul's phrase).

 

[Zoness]

But you see sound "doctrine" is totally relative...there are 40,00 interpetations of the same text and all of them are different and most of them are convinced they are the only way to God so it is somewhat relative.

 

[Harmonious_Echo]

Geoff--I was born into a non-denominational christian community, and since then have attended modern catholic, roman catholic, methodist, lutheran, protestant, penecostal, mennonite, hutterite, quaker, and many other churches. the best advice I have for you is, don't judge the chuch by its 'book cover', or steriotype. I've been to mennonite gatherings that were wonderfully free and open, and penecostal services that were shockingly robotic and stiff. Don't pass over a church simply because it's not what you grew up with, or not what you think you'd like; it may just surprise you. People are people, no matter where--some are warm and friendly, some are not so much.
This is just my opinion, of course, but I think we all should try setting aside the differences in 'christianity' and make it more about Christ, less about us. I don't attend a church, for the same reason--the church always winds up getting in the way of the worship! Blessings in your search for a church. I hope you find a good one.