My faith journey is taking me on a path I never thought I’d ever take. I was (and still am) very Catholic, but for a variety of reasons, I felt like I could no longer be part of the Roman Catholic Church. I will delve more into the reasons as I write, but yes, one of the reasons has to do with the quite baffling outrage on part of the bishops regarding the “contraception mandate.” I had been publicly disagreeing with a few things on my Facebook, questioning the soundness of some of the Church’s moral theology. I am not the first, nor am I the only one to publicly call out the bishops’ idiocy and point out the political maneuverings behind some of these decisions.
I know many Catholics are in a similar situation. Quite frankly, the vast majority of dissenters are silent, or at least shouted down by the vociferous minority. Some people are able to just roll their eyes and continue being Catholic, despite being at odds with some of the theology. I tried to do this, but I couldn’t sustain it. I just could not consciously say I’m Catholic and and yet dissent, even if I do believe the Church is wrong. It just seemed…hypocritical, maybe. I don’t know what word best describes it. Quite simply, there was no room for me if I wanted to keep on growing spiritually and intellectually….
I have a great affection for this writer but this caught my eye: “It’s said that whatever you believe, there’s at least two or three other Episcopalians who also believe the same thing.” The writer in a sense posits that she is on a pilgrimage toward an absolute truth, one that is “clearly” contradicted by certain Roman Catholic teachings, and then compliments a church that is totally elastic and nebulous for its lack of any absolute truth whatever.
Adam 12,
People do not want to believe in an absolute truth or anything else that might be considered an absolute. How stifling of ones creativity and journey towards self fulfillment to put something above the individual. And people are flocking to the Episcopal church because only in it can one be supported in one’s search for personal truth and find that this is the work of the spirit. And since “your truth is not my truth” is one of the mantras of those on this spirit quest, absolute truth cannot really exist.
Tongue half in cheek…
I’m not sure if I’m on a pilgrimage toward absolute truth. It’s probably more accurately described as being on a journey to find the thing that most closely aligns with absolute truth, since I’m not so sure that there is any particular denomination that adheres to absolute truth.
However, I do acknowledge that what constitutes “truth” varies from person to person, since we’re all in different places in the same journey, so I guess the “your truth is my truth” is partly true. And Undergroundpewster has it right. I chose the Episcopal Church not only because it is a) most similar to Catholicism in general, b) holds to a lot of the same theology and doctrines which I think is important, c) gives me breathing room and guidance to find (the thing that most closely resembles) absolute truth, since I wasn’t getting that space in the Catholic Church. The “big tent” allows for people to be part of the same family while disagreeing or spiritually growing.
I apologize if I’m not supposed to comment on a post about my post–this is the first time a blog post of mine has been discussed elsewhere so I’m a little new to blog etiquette.
Thanks–I really do appreciate the comments people have made so far. I especially am reveling in the fact that nobody has said I’m going to hell, thanks be to God.
[i]”the bishops’ idiocy and point out the political maneuverings behind some of these decisions.[/i]
The RCC has always taught that contraception is against God the giver of life. It thwarts His will. It’s a Bishops job to teach what the Church has always taught. It’s irrelevant how many cafeteria Catholics dissent. Contraception’s acceptance as normative is a battle won for the culture of death and concludes with the acceptance of abortion as well. After that comes assisted suicide. Life is no longer a gift from God but a commodity subject to our personal and cultural desires. What comes of aping Pilate’s query?
If the decision you made was the result of prayerfully following your conscience, Holly, then there’s no question of “going to hell.â€
What would be a form of going to hell, though, would be to take on that attitude I’ve seen in a number of ex-Catholics who, though claiming to have left, continue to rail against the Catholic Church. Either depart in peace or confront the un-finished business would be my advice (were it asked). As a former Episcopalian who swam the Tiber, I can’t imagine attacking the Anglican Communion or TEC.
Dear Adam 12 and Undergroundpewster:
Absolute truth does indeed exist, but our perception of it is often cloudy! The Episcopal Church acknowledges that the cloudiness of our perceptions is a fact of life and should not be a church-destroyer! We prophesy in part, said Saint Paul.
Cordially,
Sam Cuthbert
Thanks for commenting Holly and thanks for continuing the search for truth. All of us are on that journey and none of us has learned it all. For me it involves wrestling with the Bible and striving to bring more and more sense out of it. And I don’t think TitusOneNine people are largely judgmental (just traditional). If we were judgmental we simply would not grow.
Sounds like you and the TEC are a good match.
I agree with Anne above. In fact, I would say that as a former Anglican (RC since 1989) my respect and affection for the Anglican tradition have grown since swimming the Tiber. It freed me up to see the good and not to have to criticise the bad. And yes, Holly must follow her conscience, as we all must.
I concur with what others here have said about the necessity of following one’s conscience. It might be better, however, if the author here avoided describing other people’s exercising of their consciences as “idiocy”. Frankly, I see nothing in the least idiotic in [i]Humanae Vitae[/i] and its progeny among the Roman Catholic leadership. The reasoning seems to these eyes solid, well-founded, biblical, thoughtful, and astonishingly prescient. The bishops currently appear to be respectful of others’ consciences and only object to being forced by law to violate their own, but then perhaps I’m missing something.
I realize that I have used less than complimentary language to describe members of the current TEC leadership, but this comes after effort expended listening to and evaluating what was said, followed by the carefully-arrived-at negative, albeit charitable (as best I can manage) conclusion. Alas, I see no sign of such an approach herein (admittedly, I’m only going on what is written here – the author may have said something more worthy of a Christian elsewhere), just a drive-by put-down of people the author disagrees with.
A piece like this can scarcely help sounding a mite narcissistic. It would have been wiser, I think, to leaven it with a tad more charity.
Welcome, Holly! I understood what you meant about being glad that no one has said you’re going to hell. Did you have Catholics telling you what your eternal destiny would be if you left the RCC? (LOL, I’m trying to put it nicely since, as you may have noticed, we have some RC folk here.) I, too, left the RCC and, yes, those were some of the parting words. They’re hurtful. I hope you find healing and growth in your new spiritual home!
Lent is such a poignant time, full of opportunities to deepen our prayer life and walk with Christ. I wish you a good, holy Lent!
Someone said to me last week that Episcopalians are wannabe Catholics but I think it’s fairer to say that, in general, there’s a larger representation of (don’t) wannabe Catholics.
Holly,
Welcome to discriminate responses. Not always easy.
I’d like to respond to what you said in your comment on this thread re: truth, as you were attempting to further explain your thoughts.
You said, [i]”I do acknowledge that what constitutes “truth†varies from person to person, since we’re all in different places in the same journey, so I guess the “your truth is my truth†is partly true.”[/i]
My immediate thought was that what “constitutes” truth is not what varies, as you posited, but one’s understanding, and/or one’s willingness to accept, and/or one’s denial of what truth is, is what varies. At least we as Christians believe there is “a Truth”, because we believe in God. And what comes from God is the truth. God is God to and for all; God will not deny himself to be God to some and choose not to be God to others.
The people who have a changing constituted truth are those who don’t believe in a God and have created their own truth. The Church should always allow – by the very example of Jesus himself – for the recognition of one and the other, and for the movement from one to the other in faith. If it allows for no movement from one to the other to be an acceptable position of faith, then it becomes what Jesus called “a house divided unto itself” (see Mark 3) and it will fall. This is where I believe most if not all of the mainline Protestant denominations are currently.
That status demands more of us who are willing to proclaim the Good News that there is a Truth, unchanging, and it is embodied in Jesus.