Organized Religion - Is it necessary?

In today’s society there is a growing opinion that organized religion is unnecessary. Such people suggest one can follow Jesus using scripture alone and they do not need anyone telling them how to live their faith. does that sound familiar? For some, organized religion is flat out objectionable. People have developed various excuses to justify their personal position to disregard the validity of organized religion but the most common underlying factor is clear. A vast number of people today prefer to do things their own way with a disdain for being told what they should or should not do or how they should do it. They would prefer to live as they "think" with their minds closed and would rather not know the facts or truths to be able to compare and make a knowledgeable choice. After a great deal of discussions and debates, the same can be said for their political and religious position as well.

Consider the opinions of those previously labeled as liberals but who have gone so far beyond liberalism to become permissives. If one were to put aside pride long enough to look into their reasons for being so permissive in their social views they would realize it is not a trait that expresses a respectful “live and let live” attitude as much as it is a “let me live as I want” attitude. But in expressing an excessively permissive position in support of others to the degree of opposing what is by God, nature and science natural to life and purpose, they feel more justified when they can say, “I supported you to do whatever makes you feel good, so you should let me do the same.”

Some who object to the need for organized religion claim to support their opinion by pointing out the number of Christian faiths that exist today suggesting this is their proof that organized religion is nothing more than a means for some to promote their own agenda. The fact is, the massive number of  Christian faiths that exist today is due to those who separated from the one and only organized Christian faith, the Catholic Church, with the opinion they didn't need the organized Church to teach them their faith, they could figure it out themselves. Ironic, isn't it?

What the liberals and permissives haven’t realized yet is that at some point after their permissiveness has taken hold in society it evolves into entitlement, which is now flourishing in our culture. In time, entitlement will circle around and eventually become an infringement on those very people who have been promoting it through their own permissiveness. Once that happens there will no longer be a reasonable argument against that infringement because it was after all “permitted”. Those who were supported by such distorted freedoms through permissiveness will eventually take directly from the resources of the permissives and everyone else. The more permissive one is the closer he or she is to becoming a victim them self. Just as civil laws were established by man in an attempt to protect each person’s individual social rights (also done under the recognition of God), organized religion teaches the spiritual values of morality to protect and preserve our own self respect as well as respect toward others as we would have others respect us.

In a very short period of time, America has achieved greatness as a country founded upon the rights bestowed upon us by God as first attested to in the Declaration of Independence. Rights considered to be unalienable, founded in moral virtues written on the hearts of man by our Creator. Through the efforts and achievements of individual men and women, this country grew strong and became influential in the struggle for freedom throughout the entire world. Organized religion was the governing body of our moral code just as civil rights were advanced in the name of God. These principles enabled each individual the freedom to seek their own financial success. But we are beyond that now. In today’s society Martin Luther King would have been more likely to be scorned and mocked for being Christian or mentioning God than having been successful in the advancement of civil rights. 

We’ve abandoned God, self respect, respect for others and respect for life. We support the unbridled self indulgences of others with absolute indifference in order to justify our own flexibility of options until our excessive permissiveness becomes surrender to social corruption, chaos, and the inevitable collapse of our society. It was our departure from organized religion that led to the vast number of independent Christian religions that exist today and our abandonment of morality over the last fifty years that led to our liberal and permissive mind set today. It would seem more likely at this point that we as a self proclaimed intelligent society should now recognize what our abandonment of God has led us to and ask ourselves when we may return to our organized religion rather than suggesting it unnecessary.

A Lesson in Patience

When the Holy Spirit put it on my heart to transition back into the Catholic faith a year ago, I knew this journey would be one of extreme discomfort for not only me but those around me. I knew the journey would be a very painful one but never did I think for a moment this pain would continue to follow me even after I became once again fully Catholic. I was naïve enough to think there would be the strong possibility of my family embracing the faith as well or at the very least be understanding of my transition. Once I could show what a rich and full life the church could provide, others would follow.  But this was not to be and as others before me have experienced, I am convinced it will take an extreme amount of patience on my part for some time to come to be accepting of that realization.

We have all experienced those moments when we run out of patience and someone says “Patience is a Virtue”. According to Wikipedia: The seven heavenly virtues were derived from the Psychomachia ("Contest of the Soul"), an epic poem written by Aurelius Clemens Prudentius (c. AD 410) entailing the battle of virtues and evil. The intense popularity of this work in the Middle Ages helped to spread the concept of "Holy Virtue" throughout Europe. Practicing these virtues is considered to protect one against temptation from the seven deadly sins, with each one having its counterpart. Due to this they are sometimes referred to as the contrary virtues. Each of the seven heavenly virtues matches a corresponding deadly sin.”

I heard a marvelous sermon not too long ago at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York by Archbishop Timothy Dolan on patience. He spoke of patience with ourselves, others and God. He mentioned patience with God is a difficult one as most of us when we pray want God to answer our prayers immediately and he likened it to us putting our request into the microwave oven and “zap” it is answered when in reality God puts it in a crockpot and lets it simmer a bit. My request for family to embrace the faith is in the crockpot and will probably simmer until there is no liquid left and the ingredients burn up!

Patience as defined in the dictionary says:

A Lesson in Humility

Written by a follower of SDM

It has occurred to me within the last week, the very thing causing me to anguish over loss of previous church relationships of another denomination, abundant blessings from ministries in that denomination and recognition for those ministries, is the virtue of humility. This very virtue if not recognized, can cause prideful feelings to creep into the soul which in turn can keep one from intimacy with Christ.

I recently was privileged to attend Vespers with the Conferral of Pontifical Honors at the Cathedral of St. Patrick’s in downtown Ft. Worth, Texas. A new Catholic friend of mine and future spiritual advisor was receiving the Benemerenti Medal for her work within the diocese in forming the Permanent Deacon program. This medal was created by Pope Pius VI in the late 1700’s in recognition of those individuals who have exemplified service in the Church. Following this service all were invited to attend a reception in a very large and new parish hall adjacent to the Cathedral. It was an enormous hall with many faces, none of whom I knew. Fifteen individuals received the various medals and of course many families and friends from local parishes were in attendance.

As I made my way around the room with a friend from St. Andrew’s, which is now my parish, I came to the realization this was the first very large reception I was attending at a Catholic function in which I knew no one. Having lived in Ft. Worth for the past 30+ years, been active in the Methodist community and a part of the pastoral family of ministers, this was an eye opening experience and very humbling for me. Had it been at a Methodist gathering, I would have known many of the pastors and laity and felt very much at home. Here I was just another Catholic in a sea of faces unknown to them and likewise they were unknown to me.

Spiritual but not Religious?

In our previous article titled "Modern Society vs. Morality" we discussed the serious state of today’s society in its all but total abandonment of morality and its close parallels with that of the Caligula society of the 1^st century AD. Recently, several books have been published disclosing the results of numerous surveys based on public opinion expressing today’s views of morality and our denial of the necessity of formal (Church) teachings in such regard. It is painfully clear that many of our younger adults today are suffering the consequences of little to no religious teaching or moral guidance by their parents during their youth.

The following is an article published by Zenit, Oct. 14th, 2011

Where Is Religious Belief Headed?
Young People Evaluate Morals: OK vs 'Dumb'
By Father John Flynn, LC

ROME, OCT. 14, 2011 - A couple of recent books provide interesting insights into the current state of religion in the United States and what we can expect from those coming into adulthood.

The first, "FutureCast: What Today's Trends Mean for Tomorrow's World," (Barna Books) is by George Barna, a prolific author who founded the Barna Research Group. Based on numerous surveys of public opinion, the book looks at where society is today on a range of social issues.

Three of the book's chapters look at religious beliefs and practices. Religious self-identification has remained very stable, with 84% calling themselves Christians in 1991, compared to 85% in 2010. Nevertheless, Barna observed that many embrace the title without backing it up in practice.

For example, only 45% strongly believe the the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches. This declines to only 30% for those born from 1984 onwards. Only 34% of the adult public believe that there is any absolute moral truth, with barely 3% holding this among those born in 1984 and later. Barna also noted that among adults associated with a Christian church only half affirm that they are absolutely committed to the Christian faith.

Spiritual

One of the recent changes in religious identity is the growth in those who describe themselves as spiritual but not religious.

Fellowship vs. Faith

Fellowship among congregants of any Christian faith is certainly beneficial and is extremely influential in many Protestant born faiths but to what degree of importance should fellowship play on a personal level in one’s relationship with Jesus Christ? Loyalty and devotion belong to Our Lord and fellowship must grow from it; Loyalty to the congregation equal to or stronger than the devotion to God is misplaced. When fellowship becomes the influential factor equal to or greater than one's relationship and devotion to Our Lord or it is the foundation or key enticement to one’s faith, it becomes a detriment to true devotion to God and instills a resistance against seeking the fullness of knowledge and truth over what one may have believed in the past. It is at this level one either intentionally or unintentionally abandons the very devotion he or she claims to live by, most commonly for the sake of pride.

The unrealized negative influence of fellowship as it pertains to conversion from many Protestant systems of beliefs to Catholicism is the difficulty one finds in separating from the communal aspect of their congregation as oppose to the devotion toward seeking truth and fullness in Christ. Such instills an opposition to the personal desire to return to that path of true growth and fulfillment in the most intimate of relationships possible with Jesus Christ. The reliance upon such a fellowship tends to serve more as a means to pacify the longing for answers to unresolved questions and inner conflicts our soul knows must exist but our system of beliefs does not provide.

Each heart knows when there is something lacking even if not knowing what it is consciously. How many of our Christian brothers and sisters from various Protestant faiths have questions but find no answers and just accept it that way because they don't know where the answers may be found or fear where the truth will lead them? Yet seeking and acknowledging the truth is crucial to our level of intimacy with Jesus Christ.

We are of a physical nature and more easily relate to what and who we sense around us and it is most difficult to completely relate to God until we have developed the strength, trust and confidence in our personal faith to center our devotion and desire to learn upon Him rather than the support of “personal” relationships built upon the congregants around us. If the foundation of our faith is formed on those around us we hinder the growth in that most intimate of relationships with Christ and center it on the congregation first; the warmth of others instead of the warmth of Jesus. However, the discovered beauty of separation from this level of fellowship is answered questions and the fulfillment of that intimacy with Jesus Christ. Rationally speaking, when we know intimacy and devotion with one person, everyone else comes after that person. This is where fellowship should grow from and where its place should be; never the fellowship foremost, then Jesus.

It is only right that we recognize the sincere difficulties others have faced in their own personal separation anxieties from the fellowship state of mind during conversion. It is after all, this "personification" of faith that is the alluring force of attraction exercised by many Protestant denominations. Physical signs of affection; live forms of entertainment, refreshments provided in what should be respected as a house of God, the new media fad of mega churches and alike are often the means of allurement and expressing fellowship yet such should never be the influential means to base one’s faith. On the other hand, those who have entered a truly intimate relationship in its fullness with Jesus Christ express true devotion as they relate to their Christian brothers and sisters because of that union with Jesus Himself; not vies versa. Although misguided devotion is unintentional on the personal level, it has been the intentional means of attraction on the denominational level.

In many locations the Catholic Church is lacking in the appropriate support new entrants to Catholicism should have available to them to adjust in this realignment of priorities. But because of the Church's growing recognition of this and the return and conversion of so many, we are growing in our ability to provide such support; further growth is ahead of us. In reality this support should be from the faithful parishioners with the guidance of the Church, not "the Church" itself. It must always be recognized that it is our devotion in our relationship with Christ, not fellowship, that is to come first and foremost and again, that Godly relationship must be the source of a properly placed fellowship. Today it is more commonly the Protestant converts to Catholicism who know through their past experiences how to maintain a proper perspective and instill fellowship from a relationship with Jesus Christ rather than fellowship being the primary devotion. With the growing number of those returning “home”, scripture most certainly will be fulfilled through the reunification of that one earthly Body of Christ and source of the Holy Bible all Christians refer to, His Church.

Separated Catholics - Ex-Catholics: Part Three

“Ex-Catholic” Conversion to Denominational Christianity

The term “Ex-Catholic” as one may refer to them self after separating from Catholicism and entering into a protestant faith, is no more valid than to be ex-Irish or ex-blood type ‘o’. None of what is written here is intended to be demeaning to any protestant congregant who has never been a part of or educated in the true and full teachings of Jesus Christ in the Catholic Faith. Protestant faithful are more often than not, very devoted to Scripture and their own system of beliefs regardless of their individual interpretation of Scripture. In fact, it is the lack of familiarity of one’s faith and Scripture on the part of the non-practicing Catholic that leads them to be persuaded by a person of a Protestant congregation when they (Protestants) can more readily refer to Scripture, which is very sad to acknowledge. This is also why some Catholic-to-protestant converts believe they are “reborn” when in fact they only finally become somewhat knowledgeable of Scripture which they should have been in the first place.

Every valid Baptism brings a rebirth into the soul of the Baptized but it is what he or she does through their life with that rebirth that determines their depth of relationship with the Holy Spirit. The knowledge one pursues in Scripture and faith is what determines the level of intimacy one enters into with God. It is therefore misguided to suggest a Catholic or other previously and validly baptized individual is later “reborn” when in fact they are most accurately awakening to that which was already previously provided them, whether it is from the time of their rebirth through Baptism or the time they seriously open their mind and heart to the Word of God in Scripture.

The prodigal son or daughter

Falling From Faith