I think I'm going to let this blog go dormant for a while. Before I do, though, there are a few things I need to talk about.
First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for the good advice I've gotten on here. I started this blog to discuss issues I was having regarding religion and the church and where I need to go from here. Part of me worried that nobody would ever read it and I'd get no responses while another part of me feared what those responses would actually be like. I shouldn't have worried about either scenario. There have actually been people interested and I've been overwhelmingly pleased by the feedback I've received. I very much appreciate all the comments, advice, and most of all the prayers. (If anyone has happened onto this blog by accident and doesn't know what the heck I'm talking about, see the posts on the right side of the blog under the heading "My Religion Story.") Things on the church front are kind of at a standstill right now, but I have hopes that changes might start happening this fall. If they do, I'll be sure to start posting again.
Secondly, I posted a request for prayers in regards to a job opening a few months ago. Thanks so much for everyone who prayed for me. I got the job. I'd appreciate prayers that I do it well. It's a big job and a great opportunity, but very challenging.
I've been deliberately vague about my real name, but the more I think about that, it just seems I'm being silly. Anyone who knows me who happened across this blog really wouldn't have had a hard time figuring out who I was. My name is Mike and if you care to reach me on facebook you can go here. If you send me a friend request, though, just let me know you came from my blog in case I don't recognize the name. I'm also on twitter if you wish to follow me there.
Anyway, once again, thank you so much.
Showing posts with label autobiographical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label autobiographical. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Sunday, December 23, 2007
My Attraction to Catholicism, Part Two
Some other things that appeal to me about Catholicism.
I'm a history nerd. (Minored in it in college.) I like the fact that history goes back further than the Reformation. I'm sure this is a gross generalization, but judging by my completely unscientific recollection of a lifetime of Sunday School and sermons, the history of Christianity goes something like this: 1. Jesus 2. The Book of Acts 3. The Protestant Reformation 4. Everything since. I know I'm exaggerating, but I do hate that I almost never hear about the early church as a Protestant. There is a whole legacy of sacrifice and nonviolence (even to the point of laying down one's own life) that would be helpful and inspirational to Christians today.
Also, no matter how brilliant Luther and Calvin were, Christian thought did not begin with them. Protestants are in many ways cut off from great minds like Augustine and Aquinas. (Or if we receive them and other early fathers of the Church, we receive them as interpreted by Reformation thinkers.) I like the intellectual tradition of Catholicism. As I wrestle with issues today, I like knowing that people a lot smarter than me have been thinking about them for two thousand years.
I'm also a big believer in the consistent ethic of life. For as long as I've been able to think seriously about such things, I've been opposed to the death penalty. My views on abortion have changed over time. Before marriage and children, I was pro-choice basically on women's rights grounds. I thought the notion of forcing a woman to have a child she didn't want was cruel and represented government intrusion into an area beyond the competence of government. I also thought that as a man, I lacked the standing (to use a legal term) to be against abortion. In other words, if I was physically incapable of having babies, I shouldn't be offering an opinion on whether a woman should have one or not.
Like many things, marriage, and most importantly having children of my own, has changed my thinking on abortion. Let me begin by saying that I am still very sympathetic to women facing an unplanned pregnancy. They face pain and difficulties (both financial and to their health) that are extremely severe. But it's hard to have watched ultrasounds of my children and view abortion as just another medical procedure. Even before the ultrasounds, we heard fetal heart beats very early on. I don't see how you can argue that there is not a life in there. And when it comes to what protection this life deserves, I think we as Christians should err on the side of protecting these most vulnerable members of the human race. That comports with the command of Jesus to care for "the least of these."
Now I understand that all issues are not equal. But to be against both abortion and the death penalty makes sense to me. In fact, the whole range of positions the Catholic Church holds on social justice issues has a logical consistency that I find lacking in most Protestant denominations, whether they are liberal or conservative. And while the test for good doctrine is certainly not "does it agree with me?" I find that on issue after issue in the social justice area (immigration, torture, war, euthanasia, and many others) I find my positions aligning more and more with that of the Catholic Church.
Well, if you've read this far on this blog, you may be asking yourself "so why isn't he Catholic already?" The answers to that question will begin in my next post.
I'm a history nerd. (Minored in it in college.) I like the fact that history goes back further than the Reformation. I'm sure this is a gross generalization, but judging by my completely unscientific recollection of a lifetime of Sunday School and sermons, the history of Christianity goes something like this: 1. Jesus 2. The Book of Acts 3. The Protestant Reformation 4. Everything since. I know I'm exaggerating, but I do hate that I almost never hear about the early church as a Protestant. There is a whole legacy of sacrifice and nonviolence (even to the point of laying down one's own life) that would be helpful and inspirational to Christians today.
Also, no matter how brilliant Luther and Calvin were, Christian thought did not begin with them. Protestants are in many ways cut off from great minds like Augustine and Aquinas. (Or if we receive them and other early fathers of the Church, we receive them as interpreted by Reformation thinkers.) I like the intellectual tradition of Catholicism. As I wrestle with issues today, I like knowing that people a lot smarter than me have been thinking about them for two thousand years.
I'm also a big believer in the consistent ethic of life. For as long as I've been able to think seriously about such things, I've been opposed to the death penalty. My views on abortion have changed over time. Before marriage and children, I was pro-choice basically on women's rights grounds. I thought the notion of forcing a woman to have a child she didn't want was cruel and represented government intrusion into an area beyond the competence of government. I also thought that as a man, I lacked the standing (to use a legal term) to be against abortion. In other words, if I was physically incapable of having babies, I shouldn't be offering an opinion on whether a woman should have one or not.
Like many things, marriage, and most importantly having children of my own, has changed my thinking on abortion. Let me begin by saying that I am still very sympathetic to women facing an unplanned pregnancy. They face pain and difficulties (both financial and to their health) that are extremely severe. But it's hard to have watched ultrasounds of my children and view abortion as just another medical procedure. Even before the ultrasounds, we heard fetal heart beats very early on. I don't see how you can argue that there is not a life in there. And when it comes to what protection this life deserves, I think we as Christians should err on the side of protecting these most vulnerable members of the human race. That comports with the command of Jesus to care for "the least of these."
Now I understand that all issues are not equal. But to be against both abortion and the death penalty makes sense to me. In fact, the whole range of positions the Catholic Church holds on social justice issues has a logical consistency that I find lacking in most Protestant denominations, whether they are liberal or conservative. And while the test for good doctrine is certainly not "does it agree with me?" I find that on issue after issue in the social justice area (immigration, torture, war, euthanasia, and many others) I find my positions aligning more and more with that of the Catholic Church.
Well, if you've read this far on this blog, you may be asking yourself "so why isn't he Catholic already?" The answers to that question will begin in my next post.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Mixing in Some Politics
To further round out the autobiographical details, I should probably mention something about my politics. I'm a liberal and not ashamed to admit it. In 1976 I was Jimmy Carter's campaign manager at my middle school. 1984 was the first year I was eligible to vote in a presidential election and I proudly cast my vote for Walter Mondale. I think I was one of about twelve or thirteen people to do so in South Carolina. (I exaggerate, but only slightly.) I like to hike and will readily admit to being an environmentalist. Heck, my wife and I went to a Sierra Club meeting on our first date. And our first out of town trip together was to Clinton's first inaugural. The only issue where I part ways with many on the left is abortion, and my position on that issue has only changed since we had children. (I'll save the story of my evolving views on the abortion issue for another post.)
I say all these things not to start a political argument, but to point out that I really should have been comfortable with the Episcopal Church. Worship was focused on the Eucharist and to the extent they took positions on public issues, they agreed with me most of the time. But here's the problem: despite being pretty liberal on politics and social issues, I consider myself fairly orthodox when it comes to Christianity. I believe that Christ's resurrection was a real event that actually happened and not just a metaphor for us changing our lives. I believe Jesus was fully God and fully man at the same time. I believe Christianity is more than just one way to God, but is indeed the Way, the Truth and the Light. In short, I really believe the Nicene Creed and the Apostle's Creed when I say them in Church.
My problem with the Episcopal Church is that I'm not sure these beliefs are required any more. Over the last several years, I've been to several different Episcopal Churches and heard a lot of sermons that sound like they could have been delivered at the Unitarian Church down the street. Now as they said on Seinfeld "not that there's anything wrong with that" but I don't want to be a Unitarian. The Episcopal Church (like all the mainline denominations) has suffered through a lot of controversy over the role of gay folks the last few years. But it seems to me that this drift toward Unitarianism and Universalism should be a whole lot bigger worry than whether two men hold hands on their way back to their car after the service.
The early Christians changed the world. They converted the greatest empire in the history of the earth. They were willing to die for their faith. Many were indeed martyred. I'm currently a member of a Presbyterian Church USA congregation. I try to attend services at an Episcopal Church whenever I'm out of town. I don't hear a lot of sermons that would inspire us to the point of laying down our lives for our faith. I don't mean this as a critique of the oratorical skills of the pastors, but to point out that when following Jesus is just one of a good number of equally acceptable alternatives, why would anybody sacrifice to be a Christian?
So off the soapbox and back to my problem. What's a socially liberal but theologically conservative guy going to do? I actually got desperate enough to consider Catholicism.
I say all these things not to start a political argument, but to point out that I really should have been comfortable with the Episcopal Church. Worship was focused on the Eucharist and to the extent they took positions on public issues, they agreed with me most of the time. But here's the problem: despite being pretty liberal on politics and social issues, I consider myself fairly orthodox when it comes to Christianity. I believe that Christ's resurrection was a real event that actually happened and not just a metaphor for us changing our lives. I believe Jesus was fully God and fully man at the same time. I believe Christianity is more than just one way to God, but is indeed the Way, the Truth and the Light. In short, I really believe the Nicene Creed and the Apostle's Creed when I say them in Church.
My problem with the Episcopal Church is that I'm not sure these beliefs are required any more. Over the last several years, I've been to several different Episcopal Churches and heard a lot of sermons that sound like they could have been delivered at the Unitarian Church down the street. Now as they said on Seinfeld "not that there's anything wrong with that" but I don't want to be a Unitarian. The Episcopal Church (like all the mainline denominations) has suffered through a lot of controversy over the role of gay folks the last few years. But it seems to me that this drift toward Unitarianism and Universalism should be a whole lot bigger worry than whether two men hold hands on their way back to their car after the service.
The early Christians changed the world. They converted the greatest empire in the history of the earth. They were willing to die for their faith. Many were indeed martyred. I'm currently a member of a Presbyterian Church USA congregation. I try to attend services at an Episcopal Church whenever I'm out of town. I don't hear a lot of sermons that would inspire us to the point of laying down our lives for our faith. I don't mean this as a critique of the oratorical skills of the pastors, but to point out that when following Jesus is just one of a good number of equally acceptable alternatives, why would anybody sacrifice to be a Christian?
So off the soapbox and back to my problem. What's a socially liberal but theologically conservative guy going to do? I actually got desperate enough to consider Catholicism.
My religious background, part three
To make a long story short (which I doubt is possible at this point) I decided I should visit some other churches in some other denominations. The problem was that I lived in a small town. Unless somebody in the family was sick, we were in church every Sunday. If I all of a sudden showed up at another church on Sunday, people would assume we were mad at our minister or something. Plus my wife and kids were perfectly happy at our church, so who was I to rock the boat? What I finally decided was to make a point to attend churches of other denominations whenever I found myself out of town on a Sunday.
So one week we went on vacation to a pretty little town in the North Carolina mountains. In downtown Blowing Rock, North Carolina was St. Mary of the Hills Episcopal Church. All I knew about Episcopalians was that they usually celebrated communion every week and I enjoyed worship services with communion. I had been to a service at an Episcopal Church with a friend once in high school and I remember being very confused about which book to use, but I thought, hey, I'm a college graduate, surely I can follow along now.
Well I went. And I was wrong, I still didn't have much of an idea where they were in the service and kept mixing the bulletin and the prayer book and the hymnal. But here's the thing: I loved it. It was so completely different from any worship service I had ever been to before. From beginning with a processional (we usually only did that at Easter) to all the candles, multiple acolytes, a cross being carried in, etc., etc. They even had incense. I'd never seen such a thing in my life. But here is the kicker: Real Wine. Let me repeat that: Real Wine. I'd never had anything but grape juice in little plastic cups and here I was drinking actual wine out of a common cup. I felt like I was doing something scandalous.
But it felt so very right. I know there is much controversy about the Episcopal Church. I'll talk more about that later when I discuss why I'm not sure they are the correct answer for me. But I will always be grateful for them allowing me to experience liturgy and Eucharist like I had never experienced before. I understand why the Catholic Church does not allow open communion, but I sometimes wonder how many opportunities for evangelism are missed because of it. Anyway I was very happy, and thought I might have found a home. Next, I'll try to explain why I'm not so sure about that anymore.
So one week we went on vacation to a pretty little town in the North Carolina mountains. In downtown Blowing Rock, North Carolina was St. Mary of the Hills Episcopal Church. All I knew about Episcopalians was that they usually celebrated communion every week and I enjoyed worship services with communion. I had been to a service at an Episcopal Church with a friend once in high school and I remember being very confused about which book to use, but I thought, hey, I'm a college graduate, surely I can follow along now.
Well I went. And I was wrong, I still didn't have much of an idea where they were in the service and kept mixing the bulletin and the prayer book and the hymnal. But here's the thing: I loved it. It was so completely different from any worship service I had ever been to before. From beginning with a processional (we usually only did that at Easter) to all the candles, multiple acolytes, a cross being carried in, etc., etc. They even had incense. I'd never seen such a thing in my life. But here is the kicker: Real Wine. Let me repeat that: Real Wine. I'd never had anything but grape juice in little plastic cups and here I was drinking actual wine out of a common cup. I felt like I was doing something scandalous.
But it felt so very right. I know there is much controversy about the Episcopal Church. I'll talk more about that later when I discuss why I'm not sure they are the correct answer for me. But I will always be grateful for them allowing me to experience liturgy and Eucharist like I had never experienced before. I understand why the Catholic Church does not allow open communion, but I sometimes wonder how many opportunities for evangelism are missed because of it. Anyway I was very happy, and thought I might have found a home. Next, I'll try to explain why I'm not so sure about that anymore.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
My religious background, part two
First, an editorial comment about my wife. She is smarter than me, much nicer than me, and much, much beter looking than me. To this day (almost 14 years later) I can't understand why she married me. Thank God for miracles.
My wife is a life long Presbyterian. Other than her time in college and a couple of years right after college when she worked in another town, she has attended the same church her entire life. It is a member of the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) which is the largest and most liberal of several denominations of Presbyterians in the United States. We were married in her church. For the first couple of years of our marriage, we sort of alternated between my her church and mine. But then we had our first child.
Having children changes your perspective on many things. (One day maybe I'll write a post on all the things it changes.) But one thing it made me do was to think seriously about my faith and how we were going to raise our children. To begin with, we decided we should both belong to the same church. It seemed logical to me that I should join my wife's church. It didn't make sense to me to ask her to leave a church she grew up in to join one that I had only been a member of a few years, so about 11 or 12 years ago, I became a Presbyterian.
There were a lot of things I liked about this church. The people were very nice to me. They were also (and, in fact, still are) very good to our kids. The first two ministers we had after I joined (we're on our 3rd now) gave good, thought provoking sermons. But there were things that bothered me.
I hated the way we celebrated communion. I grew up in the Methodist church going up to the communion rail to receive the elements. In this church, we kept our seats and the bread and juice were passed out like the collection plates. I hated it. My wife tried to explain the theology behind us serving each other, but I still didn't like it. It's hard to articulate a logical reason behind my dislike, but it just didn't feel right. And I didn't think it evoked a proper sense of decorum about the whole process. I'd be receiving the bread and I would hear the couple on the pew behind us discussing where they were going to eat lunch. Ugh.
I also thought we needed more "worship" during the worship service. The sermon was clearly the focal point of the service. Sometimes this made the whole thing feel like a glorified bible study. I know that this characterization is probably unfair, but I'm trying to give a feel for some of the reasons I felt dissatisfied.
More later.
My wife is a life long Presbyterian. Other than her time in college and a couple of years right after college when she worked in another town, she has attended the same church her entire life. It is a member of the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) which is the largest and most liberal of several denominations of Presbyterians in the United States. We were married in her church. For the first couple of years of our marriage, we sort of alternated between my her church and mine. But then we had our first child.
Having children changes your perspective on many things. (One day maybe I'll write a post on all the things it changes.) But one thing it made me do was to think seriously about my faith and how we were going to raise our children. To begin with, we decided we should both belong to the same church. It seemed logical to me that I should join my wife's church. It didn't make sense to me to ask her to leave a church she grew up in to join one that I had only been a member of a few years, so about 11 or 12 years ago, I became a Presbyterian.
There were a lot of things I liked about this church. The people were very nice to me. They were also (and, in fact, still are) very good to our kids. The first two ministers we had after I joined (we're on our 3rd now) gave good, thought provoking sermons. But there were things that bothered me.
I hated the way we celebrated communion. I grew up in the Methodist church going up to the communion rail to receive the elements. In this church, we kept our seats and the bread and juice were passed out like the collection plates. I hated it. My wife tried to explain the theology behind us serving each other, but I still didn't like it. It's hard to articulate a logical reason behind my dislike, but it just didn't feel right. And I didn't think it evoked a proper sense of decorum about the whole process. I'd be receiving the bread and I would hear the couple on the pew behind us discussing where they were going to eat lunch. Ugh.
I also thought we needed more "worship" during the worship service. The sermon was clearly the focal point of the service. Sometimes this made the whole thing feel like a glorified bible study. I know that this characterization is probably unfair, but I'm trying to give a feel for some of the reasons I felt dissatisfied.
More later.
My religious background, part one
My heritage is as a mainline Protestant. I grew up in the United Methodist Church and was baptized there as an infant and confirmed when I was middle school age. Throughout my childhood, we were always members of a church and attended more Sundays than not. My parents did a good job of making sure I usually went to Sunday School and participated in the youth group when I was of an age to do so. One thing I remember as a child that made me different from the rest of my family (and was probably a harbinger of where I am today) was that I loved when we had communion. We usually only had it on the first Sunday of each quarter and on Christmas Eve, but I really enjoyed and looked forward to it. Many folks I knew (including some of my family) weren't happy about having to go up front and having the service run a little longer, but not me. I really enjoyed it.
Like a lot of people, I drifted away during college. I went to the methodist church near campus once in blue moon (usually when they had a free meal afterwards) but generally stopped attending when nobody was making me. But even then, my attraction to communion still remained. I remember that there was a methodist church not too far from my law school that always had a communion sevice on Good Friday that I made a point to attend. Sometimes that was my only visit there all year.
When I got a job out of law school in a small South Carolina town, I joined one of the local United Methodist churches. Honesty compels me to admit that it was as much out of a sense of social obligation as it was real conviction, but at least I went. And going did me some real good. There is value in hearing the scripture read regularly and good sermons preached. I began to pay attention more and think more about God and what I should be doing with my life. And then I met the woman that was later to be my wife. Thank God. More about her in part two.
Like a lot of people, I drifted away during college. I went to the methodist church near campus once in blue moon (usually when they had a free meal afterwards) but generally stopped attending when nobody was making me. But even then, my attraction to communion still remained. I remember that there was a methodist church not too far from my law school that always had a communion sevice on Good Friday that I made a point to attend. Sometimes that was my only visit there all year.
When I got a job out of law school in a small South Carolina town, I joined one of the local United Methodist churches. Honesty compels me to admit that it was as much out of a sense of social obligation as it was real conviction, but at least I went. And going did me some real good. There is value in hearing the scripture read regularly and good sermons preached. I began to pay attention more and think more about God and what I should be doing with my life. And then I met the woman that was later to be my wife. Thank God. More about her in part two.
A little about me
This is my first try at a blog, so please be gentle. I've been reading them for a while, so I thought I'd finally give it a shot.
I'm a happily married father of two who lives in South Carolina. I'm a lawyer. (Don't hate me.)
I'm a left wing liberal democrat with a somewhat inexplicable (at least to me) attraction to Catholicism. In the beginning at least, I want to use this blog to talk about that attraction. What I see that attracts a liberal like me to this conservative religious institution and what gives me some pause.
As a long time reader of blogs about religion, I'm a little wary about some of the vitriol that I sometimes see. I'd like to avoid that here. I'm fine with folks disagreeing with me. I'm also fine with people correcting the inevitable errors I will make. Just please be nice about it. Thanks.
I'm a happily married father of two who lives in South Carolina. I'm a lawyer. (Don't hate me.)
I'm a left wing liberal democrat with a somewhat inexplicable (at least to me) attraction to Catholicism. In the beginning at least, I want to use this blog to talk about that attraction. What I see that attracts a liberal like me to this conservative religious institution and what gives me some pause.
As a long time reader of blogs about religion, I'm a little wary about some of the vitriol that I sometimes see. I'd like to avoid that here. I'm fine with folks disagreeing with me. I'm also fine with people correcting the inevitable errors I will make. Just please be nice about it. Thanks.
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