tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283072392763163737.post2838286919362274876..comments2024-02-27T12:41:35.811-08:00Comments on Coming to Terms...: Giving ThanksLisa :-]http://www.blogger.com/profile/02237889098638895390noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283072392763163737.post-71277366481551991832005-11-26T04:03:00.000-08:002005-11-26T04:03:00.000-08:00I too have wrestled about being a Catholic. I emb...I too have wrestled about being a Catholic. I embraced the Christian Church type thing they have here. I marveled at how different it was than our mass experience of rituals and mystery (faith). In time we will know the truth.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283072392763163737.post-11745961980940901292005-11-26T06:09:00.000-08:002005-11-26T06:09:00.000-08:00Your heart usually knows.Your heart usually knows.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283072392763163737.post-20133332750908607792005-11-26T07:30:00.000-08:002005-11-26T07:30:00.000-08:00Oh, Lisa, trust your heart. You're a believer ...Oh, Lisa, trust your heart. You're a believer with the honesty to say you're not sure what you "know" and don't. (At least from my point of view.) Personally, I think that anyone who thinks they know exactly what Deity is like has committed a sin of pride and arrogance and has lost what few clues they might have had. Institutionalized religion can mess with people's heads. That's not to say it's a bad thing, but it can be used harmfully. So go with what's in your heart, set all dogma aside and relish those moments when that something indefinably greater seems so immediate. I'm reminded of that Sheri Hostetler poem I posted, the lines about finally losing God and then finding God in a pot of geraniums and everywhere else. Love to you, my friend.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283072392763163737.post-39179983129526678582005-11-26T16:38:00.000-08:002005-11-26T16:38:00.000-08:00Lisa,I can identify with 98% of what you have writ...Lisa,<br><br>I can identify with 98% of what you have written here in your usual articulate and intellectual style. It's a style that I envy, having not being edumacated myself, and one that I totally respect.<br><br>Therefore, I respect your doubts completely.<br><br>Catholicism has done great damage to many people, including myself, and unfortunately the whole overwhelming fear factor attached to Catholicism turns off the most once fervent souls.<br><br>I feel extremely blessed to have been party throughout my life to random miracles- things that I simply cannot explain. Those miracles have convinced me that there is a beautiful loving god that is responsible for those things that you mentioned in your last paragraph and more. In truth, if I thought there wasn't, I'd be a different person than I am today, and that person would be someone I would not like ar all.<br><br>So I try to the best of my ability to live my life according to the golden rule, because as C.S. Lewis described in 'Mere Christianity'...the concept of good and bad had to come from somewhere.<br><br>Is it a struggle? Always... but it's a better choice for me than the alternatives.<br><br>Peace.<br>MAryanne<br>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283072392763163737.post-50779220458366912802005-11-27T14:14:00.000-08:002005-11-27T14:14:00.000-08:00this:To suspect that perhaps mankind created God i...this:<br>To suspect that perhaps mankind created God in its own image and likeness, rather than the other way around. <br><br>and this:<br>My heart is pretty sure there is. <br><br>tells me that your heart is right......there is a God-shaped hole there that man can not fill and the bogus of other people can never fill. People, by their very nature, are bound to disappoint us. It is just how it is. Sad yes. But what I see in these lines is hope.<br><br>I am an eternal optimist.<br><br>I see only hope.<br><br><br>All my love.<br><br>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283072392763163737.post-44159264983406844402005-11-27T16:36:00.000-08:002005-11-27T16:36:00.000-08:00 I enjoyed reading this. Well thought out, and b... I enjoyed reading this. Well thought out, and beautifully written. <br> As a former Catholic school girl, and one who spent most of her life sticking to the Catholic rules, I can certainly relate. When I was young, I bought all of it hook, line, and sinker. And spent most of my youth scared to death that my fate was to burn in hell. A sad state to be in, as a child. After growing up and going through some bad experiences that I guess I expected to be ' rescued' from, I turned away from the church, and pretty much from God. But I still believed. <br> The problem for me, wasn't really about faith, as much as it was about religion. I have spent much time in the last few years trying to get a handle on this whole thing. My conclusion ? That there IS a God, and that he is a supremely loving and forgiving one. I no longer subscribe to the theory that God is waiting for us to trip. No .... my belief is that he is patiently waiting for us to pick ourselves up and move forward, taking our newly learned lessons with us. <br> I am a much better person with this new way of thinking. I now honor God out of love, and not fear. Thanks, Tina http://journals.aol.com/onemoretina/Ridealongwithme <br> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283072392763163737.post-38355929111151888202005-11-29T08:14:00.000-08:002005-11-29T08:14:00.000-08:00Just had to add a comment to your journal... Iam a...Just had to add a comment to your journal... Iam a Catholic today as well as when I was little and graduated from a Catholic grade school and all the years in between. The churches teachings have changed a lot as you would know if you stayed.... it seems it changed as I was ready for the changes and we now believe in a kinder and gentler God. A Loving God.... :) SandraAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283072392763163737.post-55171175622592141482005-11-29T23:38:00.000-08:002005-11-29T23:38:00.000-08:00I always call myself a cheerful agnostic. I'm...I always call myself a cheerful agnostic. I'm a CSI fan, too (I saw you reference that show in one of your entries)...anyway, I got an even better description from William Peterson (the wonderful Grissom), who said, "I'm a believer...I believe in God...just not in religion". That's pretty much me. <br><br>Thanks for another terrific entry; I always enjoy reading what you've written, and you write beautifully.<br><br>Judi<br>http://emmapeeldallas.blogspot.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283072392763163737.post-89005596253406659832005-11-30T10:14:00.000-08:002005-11-30T10:14:00.000-08:00Wow! I sure am glad I asked you to explain that o...Wow! I sure am glad I asked you to explain that one. I absolutely love your writing style. You pieced this together brilliantly. I can certainly understand the sadness from innocence lost; but in losing that innocence you gained a greater--and in my opinion much more valuable--wisdom and insight. Afterall, it might be wonderful to still believe in Santa Claus after all these years, but there is something satisfying in unraveling the truth along the way. <br><br>By the way, I sure am glad you're back. <br><br>daveAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283072392763163737.post-90610791048535331812005-12-01T07:12:00.000-08:002005-12-01T07:12:00.000-08:00Lisa, I truly enjoyed reading this. When I go to ...Lisa, I truly enjoyed reading this. When I go to 'church,' I drive out to the beach and watch the sun set across the Gulf of Mexico. There's my God, and it's so cool that I finally figured out how I can go directly to him without the static interference of a bunch of noisy authorities on Him. Pretty much when you come to discover the man-made dogma surrounding what was once a very natural experience, it spells the death sentence for organized religion. I believe God IS nature. I just wanted to share this with you because you often write about your experiences in nature, and I'm fairly certain that there's something spiritually uplifting there for you. Well, let yourself be lifted, with the soaring 'possible' eagle. WendyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com