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Thank you very much, I will do as you say with growing Faith, I will pray for God to give me even more Faith to believe and receive more the Holy Spirit. I still don't know if there are baptisms outside the Catholic church (sorry I know very little) but I will definitely look into that. Thank you and God bless
I
Hi Depleted, thank you for your extensive reply, as you already said what I really don't know is the "what now" apart from having an unbreakable link with the Lord that doesn't depend on some priest granting me confession. God knows my faults and why I committed them. I will continue with a humble attitude towards my family and see where this leads me to. Perhaps to greater peace, perhaps God will grant me the boon of a better job, more financial security, a warmer relationship with my husband. But now what I want the most is repent, cleanse, feel that my soul is clear and forgiven. I will explore the churches in my area although I don't have much hope, where I live Catholic church is very powerful and very related to social status (and I don't have a buck) but God will guide me along the way. If you don't mind, I will keep you asking for advice for I really don't know where I am getting into. Today a person invited me to a Pentecostal group and I really don't know who they are or what they do. Then there is the Neo Catechumenals whose catechesis are quite good if I see they are doing good to me I will keep on attending. I don't want to be angry with the Catholic church either, it's only that I realised faith needs to be felt in the spirit, it's not enough to have a crucifix in your house and then indulge in sin, one must really try and hone your character in Love try to acquire Christian values not going to church and spread gossip about this and that parishioner and be judgemental. Thank you very very much for your help and above all for guiding me even in the distance. God bless you all powerfully.
D
Being American, I've got no clue what NeoCatechumenals are other than what I can read in the wiki article, and that doesn't tell me what they do quite as much as how they operate. (They haven't hit our shores yet. lol) So can't help you there. And Pentecostal can mean so many things, I can't even guarantee Pentecostal truly is Pentecostal. But if you keep asking around in getting your questions answered about John's gospel, I think you'll be able to find a church.
D
I wasn't just talking teaching. I'm no teacher, so I cannot edify anyone in my teaching. (Kind of like me edifying you with my mechanical skills. You just don't want that kind of edify, or it will cost you to get the repairs done. lol) We grow in church. We rub elbows with people we don't particularly like and call them brother. We give what we don't particularly want to give -- ourselves. We serve and we are served. We grow in church. Yes, it is teaching, but mostly it is growing. It is learning to be more like Christ with people who are supposedly wanting to be more like Christ too.
It's sort of like getting a bedroom with your closest 12 other brothers in an 8 X 10 room and then learning how to be family. lol
It's sort of like getting a bedroom with your closest 12 other brothers in an 8 X 10 room and then learning how to be family. lol
I am delighted to read that you have really found God. What church you came out of really doesn't matter. None of us are born saved, and we all come from various backgrounds. I went to Baptist Sunday School as a child. Then, I became a part of the New Age movement, and then God saved me. The value of that Sunday School? I memorized lots of Bible verses for stars on a chart, and learned the gospel. God used that as part of bringing me to him.
There are many wrong doctrines in the Catholic Church, as you have found. As you read the Bible, which is essential to your Christian walk, you will define many more things wrong with the Catholic Church, but you will also find some truths you learned. So hold onto the old truths, and let God teach you more truths. Please read the Bible - start with John and then the other gospels, then the rest of the New Testament.
Finding a good fellowship is important. I would read the doctrinal statements of each church. Compare them. Do they use Scriptures to back up what they believe? If so, take those verses (eg. Acts 2:35) and read all of Acts 2. Then read all of Acts! What does it say? Does it really agree when you read it in context? Or is it something a bit different?
I know that sounds daunting, but I wish someone had taught me to do that right back at the beginning! When you go to church, are people friendly? Are they overly friendly? (Could be a cult!) If you cannot find a place to be involved and begin to use your gifts, you may not be in the right place. What is the pastor preaching? Is it the Bible, or a bunch of ideas he backs up with a string of Bible verses.
And pray! God will lead and guide you! You are already a Christian, because God has called you, and you have obeyed! Now, pick up your cross and follow him daily!
PS. As for your mom, I admire your dedication, but you are going through abuse with her. God does not really require you to be subject to daily abuse. Try and work out your finances so you can leave, and be free from this living nightmare. (Not saying God can't use it for good, just that it is not something you have to do!)
There are many wrong doctrines in the Catholic Church, as you have found. As you read the Bible, which is essential to your Christian walk, you will define many more things wrong with the Catholic Church, but you will also find some truths you learned. So hold onto the old truths, and let God teach you more truths. Please read the Bible - start with John and then the other gospels, then the rest of the New Testament.
Finding a good fellowship is important. I would read the doctrinal statements of each church. Compare them. Do they use Scriptures to back up what they believe? If so, take those verses (eg. Acts 2:35) and read all of Acts 2. Then read all of Acts! What does it say? Does it really agree when you read it in context? Or is it something a bit different?
I know that sounds daunting, but I wish someone had taught me to do that right back at the beginning! When you go to church, are people friendly? Are they overly friendly? (Could be a cult!) If you cannot find a place to be involved and begin to use your gifts, you may not be in the right place. What is the pastor preaching? Is it the Bible, or a bunch of ideas he backs up with a string of Bible verses.
And pray! God will lead and guide you! You are already a Christian, because God has called you, and you have obeyed! Now, pick up your cross and follow him daily!
PS. As for your mom, I admire your dedication, but you are going through abuse with her. God does not really require you to be subject to daily abuse. Try and work out your finances so you can leave, and be free from this living nightmare. (Not saying God can't use it for good, just that it is not something you have to do!)
D
To be honest, Iam. I am not telling you which kind of church to go to because I don't want to prejudice you and I don't want you to pick my denomination just because it is my denomination. I want you to land where God will send you. I want him to teach you his lessons, not my lessons.
And because of that, I do urge you to try what I suggested, because each one of us is apt to tell you "come to my kind of church." I learned way too much by landing where God had me land, even though it ended up being a church I ultimately didn't fit into. Even picking the wrong kind of church, (unless it is a cult), will teach you so much as you grow in God.
You're 37. That's not old. (Not a kid, but you're not old either. lol) God probably has years to go working on you. Be the opposite of Jonah. Be willing to take the boat to where God will have you, or he will get you there in a fish belly. But don't expect it to be a direct course. It is, but it won't ever feel like one.
And because of that, I do urge you to try what I suggested, because each one of us is apt to tell you "come to my kind of church." I learned way too much by landing where God had me land, even though it ended up being a church I ultimately didn't fit into. Even picking the wrong kind of church, (unless it is a cult), will teach you so much as you grow in God.
You're 37. That's not old. (Not a kid, but you're not old either. lol) God probably has years to go working on you. Be the opposite of Jonah. Be willing to take the boat to where God will have you, or he will get you there in a fish belly. But don't expect it to be a direct course. It is, but it won't ever feel like one.
I
Thank you very much, I think I will stick to the Neo Catechumenals. As for the guy who was talking to me about the Pentecostals and speaking quite normally with me and suddenly triggered a videoconference with me making obscene gestures so I am not going to that congregation not meet that person thank you 
To the OP, I’m glad to hear that you are thinking independently. Just because the masses follow certain teachings and practices, doesn’t make them correct. Don’t ever be afraid to be in a minority for what you believe in your heart is true. Just make sure to study scripture for yourself and don’t take what the mainstream says for granted. Do your own research and pray for truth.
“So I say to you, keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”…Luke 11:9-10
“So I say to you, keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”…Luke 11:9-10
D
Thank you very much, I think I will stick to the Neo Catechumenals. As for the guy who was talking to me about the Pentecostals and speaking quite normally with me and suddenly triggered a videoconference with me making obscene gestures so I am not going to that congregation not meet that person thank you
Belonging to a Roman Catholic Church does not make anyone a Roman Catholic any more than belonging to a Protestant church makes someone a Protestant Christian. Furthermore, a good Roman Catholic is as good a Christian as a good Protestant. That which you have described in your post is not Catholicism—it is the antithesis of it!
I am not a Roman Catholic, and I have never been one, but some of the very finest Christians that I have known have been Roman Catholics. Indeed, the man in whom I have most clearly seen the love of Jesus Christ was the rector of a Roman Catholic cathedral. He and I spent 90 minutes together in his office at the cathedral sharing each others beliefs and practices, and their strengths and weakness. He freely admitted that the members of His congregation lacked the level of knowledge of the Bible that he has seen in many Protestants, and that that was a serious concern for him.
The lack of biblical knowledge on the part of the Roman Catholic Church itself has in recent times also been of great concern to the Church. On the 30th of September, 1943, Pope Pius XII issued an encyclical directing Roman Catholic exegetes of the Scriptures to take full advantage of the findings of contemporary biblical, archaeological, cultural, and linguistic research when interpreting the Scriptures. Some of the fruit of this encyclical has been the scholarship of Roman Catholic biblical scholars such as Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Luke Timothy Johnson.
The Second Vatican Council (also known as Vatican II) that took place in October, 1962 through December I, 1965 was another fruit of this encyclical. If these things are not familiar to you, you may want to consider becoming a real Roman Catholic with contemporary Roman Catholic values.
Christians are people, and people are not perfect. Therefore, their churches are not perfect, and their doctrines are not perfect. In my opinion, some of the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church that are based upon traditions rather than the Scriptures are in error, but not nearly as severely in error as the Calvinistic doctrines that have infiltrated very many Protestant churches during the past 500 years.
I believe that God is very much more concerned about how we live our lives in relationship with Him and in relationship with the people around us than He is concerned about the details of our theology. There are good and bad Roman Catholic Churches; and there are good and bad Protestant churches. So, where does God desire for you to worship and fellowship? Sometimes, staying in a bad church is the best choice if by staying there one can avoid alienating family members, and instead help them come to a much better relationship with Christ through one’s own example. Sometimes, however, the best choice is to leave and find a good church. Very often, the grass is greener on the other side of the fence—until you climb over the fence and live there for a while! God is very familiar with both sides of the fence, and when we faithfully and diligently seek his will for our lives, He reveals that will to us.
May God bless you and lead you as you faithfully and diligently seek his will regarding this matter.
I am not a Roman Catholic, and I have never been one, but some of the very finest Christians that I have known have been Roman Catholics. Indeed, the man in whom I have most clearly seen the love of Jesus Christ was the rector of a Roman Catholic cathedral. He and I spent 90 minutes together in his office at the cathedral sharing each others beliefs and practices, and their strengths and weakness. He freely admitted that the members of His congregation lacked the level of knowledge of the Bible that he has seen in many Protestants, and that that was a serious concern for him.
The lack of biblical knowledge on the part of the Roman Catholic Church itself has in recent times also been of great concern to the Church. On the 30th of September, 1943, Pope Pius XII issued an encyclical directing Roman Catholic exegetes of the Scriptures to take full advantage of the findings of contemporary biblical, archaeological, cultural, and linguistic research when interpreting the Scriptures. Some of the fruit of this encyclical has been the scholarship of Roman Catholic biblical scholars such as Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Luke Timothy Johnson.
The Second Vatican Council (also known as Vatican II) that took place in October, 1962 through December I, 1965 was another fruit of this encyclical. If these things are not familiar to you, you may want to consider becoming a real Roman Catholic with contemporary Roman Catholic values.
Christians are people, and people are not perfect. Therefore, their churches are not perfect, and their doctrines are not perfect. In my opinion, some of the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church that are based upon traditions rather than the Scriptures are in error, but not nearly as severely in error as the Calvinistic doctrines that have infiltrated very many Protestant churches during the past 500 years.
I believe that God is very much more concerned about how we live our lives in relationship with Him and in relationship with the people around us than He is concerned about the details of our theology. There are good and bad Roman Catholic Churches; and there are good and bad Protestant churches. So, where does God desire for you to worship and fellowship? Sometimes, staying in a bad church is the best choice if by staying there one can avoid alienating family members, and instead help them come to a much better relationship with Christ through one’s own example. Sometimes, however, the best choice is to leave and find a good church. Very often, the grass is greener on the other side of the fence—until you climb over the fence and live there for a while! God is very familiar with both sides of the fence, and when we faithfully and diligently seek his will for our lives, He reveals that will to us.
May God bless you and lead you as you faithfully and diligently seek his will regarding this matter.
I
Thank you very much for your kind words of advice, I was also peeking into the New Age once, Yoga and such, perfect waste of money at best. God saved me too and I believe I am going through a process of purification until I become worthy of having the Holy Spirit in my body and soul. I believe Love will help me, the Scriptures, Faith. Unfortunately we all have life-long extreme trials and my mum is one of those, there is no way I can escape her even after I'm being married, something always happens, or economic problems, whatever. My mum is my cross. She was my father's cross all his life, he died of many illnesses four years ago. She used to abuse him a lot now she needs someone else because he's dead so here I am to replace. May God have mercy on me, because I have already fallen ill with OCD these last years, and I am getting worse since my father's death. But I believe God won't forsake a daughter of His. I'm not that worthless, He will help me. And if He does not, I will give my life to Him and accept it. Let it be His Will. God bless you always.