I want to learn more about being Catholic..

[DecemberDream]

So I recently found out my boyfriend is Catholic and I wanted to learn some more about the religion since I'm an athiest. I'm not saying I'm going to convert or anything, I just want some info. I'm going to read the Bible over my Winter Break from school..

[tiger_rascal]

I hope your winter break is long! :biggrin:

It took me about 10 months, give or take a couple of weeks, to completely read the Bible from front to back, and I actually skimmed through some books in the OT! Most of the time though, I tried my best to open my mind and heart and try to understand what I was reading. I was also very busy at the time and tried to read a little each day. It can become overwhelming, take your time.

I suggest reading the NT first. :)

[DecemberDream]

Originally posted by tiger_rascal
I hope your winter break is long! :biggrin:

It took me about 10 months, give or take a couple of weeks, to completely read the Bible from front to back, and I actually skimmed through some books in the OT! Most of the time though, I tried my best to open my mind and heart and try to understand what I was reading. I was also very busy at the time and tried to read a little each day. It can become overwhelming, take your time.

I suggest reading the NT first. :)

My winter break lasts until January 6th. It may be a long book but I've been known to read books as long as 890 pages in 4 days :eek: NT is New Testament right? I've got to go searching for my mom's bible..

[Love2HearChristina]

I was raised as a Catholic and also went to a Catholic school for 2 years. Maybe I can help you out, but I never really understood the religion much myself. LOL. I'm atheist like you.

[Leezard]

Make sure you get a catholic bible because it's got a couple of extra books that aren't in a general bible. Good luck with your quest!

[tiger_rascal]

^ I forgot about that. The Catholic Bible is different.

[bekahbeans]

My sister is a Protestant Catholic *nods* and my mom has the Apocrapha (sp?) which are the extra books in the Catholic Bible.

It's basically the same as Christianity with a few minor differences.

[Steggy]

I still haven't read through the whole Bible yet. I'm working on the NT little books right now.

Good luck reading it all in 2 weeks honey. :)

[DecemberDream]

Now that I realise how long it is I'll probably skim it or find something to read about it lol. I'm not converting, I'm just curious.

[Bif]

Very cool! I was baptized, made my communion, and confirmed in the Catholic church, but am now getting into my faith for the first time. I'd like to be able to tell you more, but I'm just starting to learn myself. The Catholic church believes that the Eucharist of bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Christ. Personally, I'm still learning about this... I think more across the lines of the bread and wine REPRESENTING the body and blood of Jesus, but supposedly there have been times in history in which the bread and wine actually have changed form.

[Julie2]

I was born and raised a Catholic, but when I was in college I realized that I needed to make my faith my own. It was hard, but I eventually broke away from the Catholic Church, and became a born-again believer. The biggest difference I have found between Catholicism and what is considered a more "fundamentalist" Christianity is how very little the Catholic Church really relies on the Bible (relying instead on the traditions of the church and a whole slew of new "doctrine" they believe is revealed to them over time).

I promised myself that I would one day read the entire Bible, but kept putting it off, until a very kind-hearted and generous family in my church (I attend an Evangelical Free church now) challenged the Women's Fellowship to read it in one year, and bought whoever wanted one a "Read Through The Bible in One Year" Bible. I am happy to say that I accomplished that task last year, and I am now involved in deeper Bible study which the "overview" reading really helped to prepare me for. My suggestion to you is to get one of these Bibles at your local Christian bookstore. It breaks it down easily into a little Old Testament, a little New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs every day for about 15 minutes. It's very manageable. Otherwise, I would second someone else's opinion that you start in the NT, perhaps with the Gospel of John.

[bluehorizonx10]

I would have to agree that the book of John is the place to start. Also the book of James is a very simple and to the point book. I really enjoyed that Bible study when we were in it.

[pinky]

As a Catholic who has, in fact, read the entire Bible several times through, and has taught religious education classes for kids attending public school, I'd be happy to try to answer any specific questions you may have. I probably won't have all the answers, but I might be able to help get you started.

Please feel free to ask, either in here or in PMs!

[Steggy]

James is one of my favorite book. it's like a New Testament for Dummies in a way. Short, sweet, and to the point.

[oldernow]

James is one of my favorites also.

[pinky]

James may be the best book to read first.

[Fighter4Chris]

I may be biased in answering your request for info, as I have recently been learning of the corruption of the Catholic church. This corruption of the clergy has not merely been taking place recently; this has been around for centuries. I am now in European history and the Catholic church did everything it could to lure the people's money in and gain power. The two things they wanted the most were power and money. I'm not saying there were not any faithful believers who genuinely were in the church to help people find God, but the vast majority of the people wanted this money and power, and they were willing to do almost anything to gain their want.

Ever heard of indulgences? These were little sheets of paper parish priests would sell as they wandered from town to town. The people would buy this little sheet of paper in return for forgiveness for a sinful act (or perhaps many sinful acts? why not? the more indulgences the church sold, the more money they funeled into their hands). The church knew the selling of indulgences was a crock of ***** but they wouldn't do anything about it. They manipulated both the people and the Bible to fit their purposes. Did the Bible actually deem the selling of indulgences as repentance from sinful acts? Hell no! But the Catholic priests said it was true, so hell, it must have been true! (Or so the people believed).

Also, the church kept a list of books called the Index. This was a set list of books, which were not allowed to be released to the general populace nor any other person unless under strict circumstances. These books told the truth, and the church was afraid of people knowing the truth because it would give them knowledge of the true teachings of the Bible.

According to many Catholics, the Pope is God's representative on Earth. This much I know. Also, many of my Catholic friends say the Pope's ruling is God's ruling. How much phony balogne is that? Okay, so if some old, regular, earthly man says that this or that is wrong, then this or that really is wrong?

I'm sorry, I probably didn't shed too much positive light on theCatholic faith, and I really don't have anything against Catholic people. However, I do believe there are an extensive amount of corruptions in that church; moreso than many others. On the contrary, I'm sure most Catholics are just as benevolent and warm as any other person. Maybe I should be enlightened by a Catholic first, huh?

[Julie2]

I became a born-again believer in college, but after college I lived at home for about a year before getting married, and attended Catholic church with my family. I married a "lapsed Lutheran" who didn't go to church at all, so after we married, he went sometimes with me to a Catholic church. Once our daughter was born we decided to have her baptized in that church and attended classes preparing us for this sacrament. One of the many things which had always bothered me as a Catholic, was the church's position on what happens to a baby who dies before receiving the sacrament of baptism. I asked the priest (who happened to be the pastor of the church and the one who would conduct the baptism) about this place called "Limbo" that my mother had always taught me about. (****My mother had been raised by nuns in a convent school after losing both her parents before she was 8 years old). The priest told all of the parents sitting there that after one dies, one still has to pay for one's sins (I guess the finished work of Christ on the cross isn't enough) by going through Purgatory, where you are refined and made ready for heaven (that is, if you hadn't commited any mortal sins on earth such as idolatry, murder, etc., for which you would go straight to hell). Purgatory, unbeknownst to a lot of Catholics, is supposed to be just as brutal as hell is, only it has an "end", so to speak, according to Catholic doctrine. The traditions of the church allowed for people to pay money to the church (the indulgences someone spoke of) so that priests would prayer for your family members suffering in purgatory. Prayers were supposed to shorten the length of time one suffered in purgatory, so people were anxious to pray or to have priests pray for lost relatives, in hopes they would go to heaven more quickly. When my father died 8 years ago, my mother received all kinds of prayer and Mass cards from our Catholic relatives, which stated that money had been sent to such and such a parish so that they would pray for his soul to be released from Purgatory early. I can't tell you how much good that money would have done if it had been sent directly to my mom instead of to these Catholic priests, but that is besides the point. I don't recall that Jesus ever asked for money to pray for people. Of course, I also don't recall that Jesus ever prayed for the dead either. I guess the Catholic church kind of overlooked that.

At any rate, back to my story of baptizing my daughter. The priest acknowledged that people were upset in thinking that these poor babies who never had a chance to be baptized would go to purgatory or even hell (the Catholic church teaches that one can never see heaven without the sacrament of baptism). He also acknowledged that the Catholic church MADE UP a place called Limbo, a place that was supposed to be peaceful and nice, but not as nice as heaven, and God would never be there, and this was where they taught that unbaptized infants who died would go. I sat there fuming, wanting desparately to ask what ELSE they made up to appease people, but I had always been taught to respect priests. Knowing what I know now, I would have confronted him about many things. Actually, knowing what I know now, I never would have been there in the first place.

I know many people will say that the Catholic church isn't really like that, and their priests don't teach that, blah, blah, blah. The reality is that there are volumes and volumes of doctrine the church has created over the centuries that most people don't know about or pay much attention to anymore, but if pressed, the priests and the higher ups would have to admit that those are the official stance of the Catholic church, and the Pope would fully support it. Most people today are probably more "cultural" Catholics than true Catholics--that is, most who are in THIS country. Latin countries follow these traditions made up by the church much more closely.

We did go ahead and have our daughter baptized in the church, but we never went back after that. Eventually we found a solid Christian church, and she has been raised in it. My husband and I have both been baptized as adults there. The church we attend now follows the Bible, and teaches directly from that. They don't add to it, or take away from it, and it never changes. Frankly, what sense is there in believing in something that constantly changes with the tides?

[oldernow]

Julie, growing up a catholic myself, I can identify with your story. I was also very angry that the Catholic church was not teaching what was biblical. It wasnt until I started reading my Bible that I realized what the church was doing.

[DecemberDream]

Just a question.. if me and my boyfriend were to get married, would I have to convert and be Catholic? I don't think we'd have a religious wedding ceremony, but if we did.

[NYC_Liz]

I am a Catholic also. I also try to be a good Catholic but i haven't gone to Sunday Mass for a long long time. I should go...but the thing is that it's soooo early.

I know lazy me.

But i am proud to be Catholic. Nowadays it seems like people look at you weird when u say u are Catholic or you believe in God. But oh well....

I don't think you have to convert as a Catholic if you would marry. I really don't know. But i do think you have to do some stuff to marry in a catholic church. I don't know.

In my school we are studying world religion. I have learned the catholic church history. Yeah it's corrupt but the church learns. It has gotten better. That is why things happen like the Vatican conference.

Also i think you might know this, the Pope is John Paul II He is such a cute old man. He is soooo amazing! He can speak in so many languages that it makes you want to say, "If he can know that many then i can" He is the Pope who made the Catholic religion go forward and contribute soo much to the Catholic religion.

I am glad you are reading the Bible! :)

[boxerpaws]

"which are the extra books in the Catholic Bible."

Misconception.The seven books of the bible that you're referring to aren't extra.They were always considered inspired by early Christianity. They were REMOVED in the 16th century or deemed acrophycal.

The Catholic Church bases her foundation on the words of Jesus;thou art Peter(rock)and upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell(jaws of death)will not prevail against it.Meaning evil will not triumph over her.

Then Jesus gives Peter the keys-which means authority and the power to bind and loose to Peter and all the apostles-that's a rabinnical term reffering to teaching authority.

We beleive Jesus is really and truly present in the Eucharist,that Mary was a virgin before,during and after the birth of Jesus who is true God and true man.
We beleive we are born again of water(baptism)and spirit and become a new Creation in Christ.
I also highly recommend reading the Early Church Fathers. Finally there are many rites in the Catholic Church. You're probalby most familiar and i would guess your bf is a Western/Latin rite Catholic-there are also the Eastern rites.
IE byzantine,maronite,melkite,antiochene etc.I'll post up a list next time i stop in.All Catholic.Got questions-shoot.i'll be glad to answer.
Whoever put the post up and wrote about purgatory is totally wrong and most of what is in that post is erroneous.
Sorry. I don't know where they got their info from.They have absolutely NO IDEA what they're talking about.Clueless.
I'm not being nasty just telling you that it's dead wrong.
"But i am proud to be Catholic."
Good then you know it's a serious sin to miss Mass on Sundays and Holy Days.
GB!~
boxerpaws

GB!~
boxerpaws