An exellent question that needs to be answered.Allyn wrote:Thomas, don't take this wrong, please. I have often wondered how a true follower of Christ can jump into a denomination that seems to be so ritualistic and almost the same as pagan in their way that the saints of their choosing are venerated and prayed to. How does one go from freedom in Christ to bondage to a religion? Sincerely this is not meant as a slam but only an amazement I have concerning this.
The first thing to know is the reason I left the Lutheran Church. My church is on the verge of collapse. It has lost 80% of it's members , and after having fought with the problems for the past few years I am no longer interested. It should shut it's doors.I won't go into the details at this time , only say that it was imperative that I go elsewhere to worship. So why Catholic?
In Panama there are a wide variety of choices. We have most of the worlds relegions , cults , and Christian denominations. (other than Calvinist , thats one seed that cannot grow here). But I have chosen Catholic as the closest to my own belief and practice. It is:
Liturgical : in fact the Catholic and Lutheran liturgies are nearly identical. I am simply not interested in non-liturgical worship , it's what I am used to. To you it seems ritualistic , but I see the meaning behind the ritual.
Sacramental : Even more so than Lutheran. As I belive in the actual Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist , that eliminates all but a few churches. As I believe that the Grace of God is given through the means of sacraments (though not limited to the sacraments),non-sacramentalism is a non starter.
Ecclesiastic: I've come from a church that is supposedly democratic and am sick of it. The church , both here and in the U.S. is controled by the members but by those who can best manipulate the voting process. Those in control determine who can vote and a vote of 51% determines doctrine and practice. I have come to see the Church as a monarchy with Christ as King and myself as subject , so I do not have a problem with the Pope.
I haven't found anything anti-biblical about the Catholics , although thier Mariology puts together a whole lot of practice from an extremly small amount of evidence. By the way , worship of Mary and the saints is prohibited (though they will admit it is widely practiced) and as such prayers of intercession and veneration are optional in practice.
As for bondage , all I can say is that we are all in bondage , either to sin or to Christ.
Thomas
And I am still a true follower of Christ to the best of my ability.