An Atheist's Comments About the Catholic Church
On a blog that was discussing Tony Blair's conversion last week I came upon this quote in the ComBox from a self-described atheist:
"In my experience, what attracts converts to the Church - indeed, what keeps many deeply skeptical people inside it, and what causes even atheists myself to feel that we can’t entirely leave - is simply that it’s The Church. It’s the one that’s been there all the time, it’s the originally founded institution, it’s not simply somebody’s interpretation of the Bible. It’s not just another choice, one among many. It’s The Holy Roman Catholic And Apostolic Church. That’s not to say that the particular ideological stances of the Church are irrelevant, but they’re not really central either. It’s not a man-made Church, it’s a God-made church and and if you don’t accept or understand everything that’s not so important: you’re just part of it, you’re a sinner seeking the understanding and forgiveness of God and expressing the desire to do His Will. It didn’t matter very much that the medieval peasant understood nothing of the Latin in which the service took place (it only mattered when people started leaving the Church for religions they could understand): it mattered only that they were within the Church."
Despite this gentleman's atheism, he has a far greater understanding of the Church than I ever had as a fairly devout non-Catholic Christian who had left the Catholic Church.
Lord Jesus, pour your Spirit on this man to soften his heart, and revive the indelible mark left on his soul at baptism. Stir the waters once again. Amen.
"In my experience, what attracts converts to the Church - indeed, what keeps many deeply skeptical people inside it, and what causes even atheists myself to feel that we can’t entirely leave - is simply that it’s The Church. It’s the one that’s been there all the time, it’s the originally founded institution, it’s not simply somebody’s interpretation of the Bible. It’s not just another choice, one among many. It’s The Holy Roman Catholic And Apostolic Church. That’s not to say that the particular ideological stances of the Church are irrelevant, but they’re not really central either. It’s not a man-made Church, it’s a God-made church and and if you don’t accept or understand everything that’s not so important: you’re just part of it, you’re a sinner seeking the understanding and forgiveness of God and expressing the desire to do His Will. It didn’t matter very much that the medieval peasant understood nothing of the Latin in which the service took place (it only mattered when people started leaving the Church for religions they could understand): it mattered only that they were within the Church."
Despite this gentleman's atheism, he has a far greater understanding of the Church than I ever had as a fairly devout non-Catholic Christian who had left the Catholic Church.
Lord Jesus, pour your Spirit on this man to soften his heart, and revive the indelible mark left on his soul at baptism. Stir the waters once again. Amen.
posted by Russ Rentler, M.D. | 3:16 PM
7 Comments:
Sure, take the atheist's side! Heathen. What more proof do you need that the Vatican is an agent of Satan?
Excuse me now. I have to go check my room for papal evesdropping devices.
--JTC (No, not really)
On a serious note though, I can't help but wonder whether this person is as staunch an atheist as he (she?) professes. Were it so, even the reasoning laid out should not be enough to hold him to continue identifying himself as "reluctant to leave" The Church. What he described would hold only if somewhere in this person's great dark cloud of doubt and unbelief remained a spark of truth.
May we pray for this person to receive all that will awaken him from dark night to a swift sunrise.
Your bro,
--Theo
Yeah, I thought using atheists would be a real help to Catholic evangelism :)
I was quite surprised that someone who describes him/herself as an atheist had this much understanding of what the Church is about.
BTW, "papal eavesdropping chips" is so "70's."
The Vatican now has ingestible microchips distributed throughout fast food restaurants globally to send messages to induce the recipient to cross the tiber, as well as buy more fast food. They get kickbacks you know! How would you expect them to afford all that fancy art and stuff at the Vatican?
It's all an elaborate money-laundering scheme with Burger King and McDonald's fingerprints all over it. Hey if you invert the golden arches on a bigmac wrapper and hold it up to a candle light in the presence of incense, you will see the vatican...:)
Love your conspiracy theory!
This is very similar to something I've been thinking recently in relation to my own conversion. I reached the point where it was either Catholicism or something entirely un-Christian for me. If Jesus didn't establish A Church, then the Scriptures are a lie. If He hasn't preserved that Church, then He is a failure. As Paul might say, "God Forbid!" Christianity doesn't make sense without a church that is what the Catholic Church claims to be. And if the Catholic Church doesn't meet the criteria, then certainly no other church does.
"If Jesus didn't establish A Church, then the Scriptures are a lie. If He hasn't preserved that Church, then He is a failure. As Paul might say, "God Forbid!"
Wise words indeed PP. Thanks for the comment.
where can we read your conversion story?
Very well said, PP. That is indeed what it comes down to. Either the CC is what it claims to be or it's not. It either went off the rails and ran amok or Jesus actually said he'd "be with her always" and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. We just went to an early Christian art exhibit at Kimble museum, Picturing the Bible, and the history was profound, as well as all the symbolism of early art from Old Testament...how the NT is concealed in the Old and the Old is revealed in the New. Great exhibit, and suggest many go if any of your readers are in the Dallas/Ft Worth area. It's excellent and shows how the history is what can really draw a heart that is open and hungry for Truth. You see how it's not a "man made" religion at all!
Aw, thanks! I.. um... haven't written my story...
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