re: "OCU, who too does not believe, but donates enormous amounts of time, money and energy to church
...that's what he says, but I betcha he don't get his hands dirty doin any of it."
Heh. I had a friend, Rob, in California who talked up his religion every so often. (BTW, a life tip: I've found that ordinary people who are quick to bring up their faith are generally not to be trusted. Nine times out of ten, these guys are out to sucker you.) Contrary to the advice I just gave, however, there was nothing dubious about my friend. He was just a young, easy-going guy who REALLY enjoyed church. Everything about it. He loved Jesus. He loved the singing. He loved the sermons and the events. Fairly often, he'd teach Sunday school.
When he moved, I asked him if the new house would be inconvenient with regard to church. He said, "Oh, no. M_____ and I just go to the one up the street."
"Wow!" I said. "Lucky break. It was the same type?"
He was perplexed by that. "What do you mean?"
At this point, my interest was piqued. "Well, I know you're Christian," I said. So there's Lutheran, Methodist, Episcopalean, Baptist, 7th day adventist, Presbyterian, Petecostal, Unitarian, and probably a half-dozen other major denominations I can't think of right now. So, which one is it?"
The guy looked at me like I'd smacked him with a board. "I don't know," he said. "It doesn't matter, does it? They're all Christian."
"So is that how it works?" I asked. "One size fits all? All denominations are the same?"
"Yeah. Sure," he said. "As long as they're Christian."
"But Rob," I said. "They AREN'T all the same. Why do you think they have different names? For all you know, you might be going to a Catholic church right now! Right?"
"Maybe..." he said. His eyes were darting back and forth pretty quick by then. I think he must have known there was a problem with that response but couldn't quite figure out why. "So????"
"Rob," I said in a calming way. "Catholics believe that other Christians will go to Hell when they die. Catholics consider their religion to be the only true one."
Well, I'll tell you, Rob's eyes just about burst from his skull when I told him that. He looked confused, and uncertain, and sick, and most decidedly panicked - all at once!! "N-n-naw, that can't be right. Catholics are CHRISTIANS!!!"
"That's right," I tried to reassure. "But Christians ... aren't ... CATHOLICS."
Heh. That was an interesting conversation, one that I may never forget, yet one my poor, naive, Christian friend probably already has. Things don't come to him too easily, you see. They never have and, when they do, they usually don't stick. One of the things that never really stuck with my friend is that religion is a pretty heady topic. It SHOULD be taken seriously. Very seriously in fact, since if it is correct, it has implications for one's fate for all eternity and, as some of us know, that's a pretty long time, probably deserving of a few minutes of our consideration today.
Despite his many years of singing, socializing, tithing, food kitchening, ministering to the kiddies, praying, Hallelujahing! and Amening!, it became clear to me in that one conversation that my friend never took church too seriously at all. Not that it matters. Fortunately, for him, he's the simple sort. I don't think he loses any sleep over it.
OCU has a similar problem.
He was born a Catholic, raised a Catholic, baptized a Catholic, and married a Catholic. He has about him all the trappings of Catholicism, his rosaries and crosses, missals and hymnals. He walks the walk. But when one bores into his skull, as we are able to here when he opens it to us on the internet, it's clear that he's mired in a quandary over maintaining perceptions of being a good Catholic, as he has maintained publicly every day throughout his life, and expressing his very personal and ever-so-unCatholic beliefs and actions - about homosexuality, about abortion, about marriage, and about other truly religious people the like of which he pretends to be but isn't.
Unlike my friend, poor-OCU is no simpleton. I doubt he can help but think these things through himself and understand their implications. It's a lot to deal with. The Catholic church is the only mainstream Christian religion (to the best of my knowledge) that does not permit violently opposed opinions. (Having a differing interpretation of the Bible is what makes a religion "Protestant" instead of "Catholic.") It is, in a real sense, the Vatican's way or the Highway.
How does one resolve such an internal conflict?
I doubt a person can. One lives a hyprocritical life, pretending to be something one isn't, hoping that no one ever notices, and trying not to crack.
It's a tough situation. Here on the internet, at least, OCU's been outed. I wonder about in real life.
Gold is $1,581/oz today. When it hits $2,000, it will be up 26.5%. Let's see how long that takes. - De 3/11/2013 - ANSWER: 7 Years, 5 Months
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