Religion on the brain

I've had my religion on my brain a lot lately so I apologize for the heavier topic if you were looking for something lighthearted. The muse points and I follow. Maybe if you want to avoid the deep thinking you can scroll down and I'll add something for the more amusement-inclined. But I hope you appreciate my thoughts.

As most of you know, I consider myself a devout Catholic. This statement sends mixed messages though. On one hand, saying you are devout means that you are committed to your faith. It also suggests that you follow the various rules and regulation surrounding the Catholic teachings. It also suggests a sense of pride, a declaration that you are committed to something can stick with it. It is these last two points that are problematic.

Following the various rules and regulations I think is how most non-Catholics and probably many Catholics gauge piety. In fact, the thing most non-Catholics know about Catholicism is the rules and regulations, usually those that they disagree with. I think non-Christians boil down Catholicism to its stances on abortion, gay marriage, unmarried priests, something to do with bread, Church on Sundays, no meat during Lent, and tough feelings about sex. While those are aspects of the Catholic church, a devout Catholic comes off as a mindless non-questioning cultist who blindly follows rules that, to a progressive, educated person are "obviously" archaic and unfounded.

Now while I completely disagree with that sentiment, I understand where such a person is coming from. They are attacking the end result of the Catholic church, the rules and opinions that are no longer popular with the modern person and the things that most directly affect them. I believe people have every right to disagree. What I get frustrated with is when people say well I disagree therefore you are wrong. The way I see it, people are disagree with the end without understanding the beginning. Why does that Catholic church teach what it teaches? Because 2000 years ago a guy who we believe knew what he was talking about founded the Catholic church with a set of certain principles. And over the course of 2000 years the Catholic church and the people around it have questioned and debated and argued with those principles and the rules and regulations that resulted from them. And the Catholic church has been consistent in its basic principles (like the fact that Jesus was both God and human) and slow moving at changing and flexible principles (such as what language the Mass should be in).

It is this consistency that has attracted me to the Catholic church. I can trace the rationales of each of its stances, rules and regulations, and see the principles that lie behind them. The call to higher respect of life, love and happiness in this world and the value of sacrifice and forgiveness. By understanding the basic tenants of the faith, I can get on board with the tougher rules that result.

So of course its difficult for others to "buy into" an anti-abortion sentiment because they don't see how the teachings of Jesus are related to this "modern-day" problem. They just see the issue at hand. So in other words, I defend your right to disagree but that doesn't make you right and me wrong or vice versa. For me to change my mind though would be hypocritical in my Catholic beliefs.

I said two parts were problematic with calling oneself a devout Catholic. The other part is coming off as proud. To say one is devout is in a sense tooting one's own horn. Catholicism is supposed to be about humility and selflessness. So when I express my opinion on things, I come off as, "well it should be like this and any other way is wrong". I don't believe any other way is wrong, but I have found my rationales (not just blind faith) for the reasons I believe what I believe. So when I question other people's stances I want to know why they have though stances, because I know why I have mine. This makes me come off very arrogant and talk down to people. For this I apologize, especially because I am absolutely positive that the last 3 or 4 paragraphs do so too.

It is not my intention to talk down. It is not my intention to force my beliefs on others. I truly believe everyone should come to their beliefs through their own self reflection, life experiences, and any counsel they wish to include. Would I want the whole world to be Catholic? Sure, because I believe I have found something deep and impactful that guides my life straight and true. Why wouldn't I want everyone to have that? Do I want everyone to be forced or coerced into being Catholic? Absolutely not. Everyone has to go through their own process and make their own decisions. This is how I can say I support the concepts of gay marriage even if there are aspects of homosexual actions that I disagree with (see an earlier blog). I believe that if two gay persons want to get married and have the legal rights, the social inclusion and equal footing that come with it, great. But if two gay Catholic men are committed to their faith, they are going to be challenged to a different experience then two non-Catholic men. And while that then sends the message of a socially unjust viewpoint, the principles and concepts of the Christian ideal are, in my opinion, worth a different lifestyle, and if I were a gay man and as Catholic as I am today, I would still want to be saying the same thing.

I can't and won't force my views upon other people. For me to change my mind though would be hypocritical in my Catholic beliefs, which I have already questioned and found answers to. And know that its hard to appear to compromise if you truly believe something and someone else truly believes something else. The best aim is to try to build unity between the two beliefs.

So be merciful to the Catholics who are trying to be devout. We don't mean to be arrogant or preachy. Our intention is to share why we have committed ourselves to such "socially crazy" ideas and maybe even get some commiseration because they are often struggles that we believe are worth a higher goal.

Again I apologize for the preachiness that probably came out from that. I would like to go back and edit the post but I also want to post on time. I also know that it is very rambly and probably sends an inconsistent message. Again, I hope to make edits as needed but I am kinda drained today and won't have time to do so. And don't mind sparking a discussion because how can we learn about each other if we don't talk.

This probably didn't give anybody any answers to questions I may have raised, I'm sorry for that, but I'm writing this just as much for myself as for you to get my thoughts clear.

A now for something completely different:

Did you know that bobbing for apples is very unsanitary? People's mouths touch a bunch of different apples and their saliva gets in the water and sometimes you could even get an apple that has someone else's teeth marks in it? Yes, gross.

So my last year as an RA, we came up with a conceptual solution to this problem. Rather than bob for apples, we though what if we tied them to a string and tried to grab them that way? It's the same concept of you try to grab the apple and it bounces away right?

I tested this out. For a rather amusing video of my attempt, you should go to my facebook, click photos, and then click the little tab that says videos of me (well it probably doesn't say "me" for you but either way this new facebook made it trick for me to give you these instructions). The caption for the video is "I have no idea what is going on but I found this on my computer)

Needless to say its, a wee bit difficult. Enjoy!

One final note. I was on a roller coaster with Heavy Spy, Dungeon Daddy, and a few others and it was raining. Well, it was really just kind of misty because the rain and for the most part stopped. But the little droplets of air were like needles on our faces and we were screaming in pain, laughing at the ridiculousness of being on a roller coaster in the cold wet air, and enjoying the ride all at the same time. Anyway, as usual the ride takes a picture of you towards the end of your trip. Since we ride all the time, we knew when the picture would occur and we usually pose for it. I made fists on my cheeks as if I were crying from the rain. Heavy Spy next time me was putting thumbs up over his cheeks. We get to the picture and this giant, quarter sized drop of water falls from the track and speeds right into Heavy Spy's open eye. He screams and the lights flash and we finish the ride. We rush to see the photo and there's me posing like I'm crying and there's Heavy Spy, actually crying out in pain with one hand gripping his eye and the other curled in agony. We will never take a better, emotionally realistic picture ever. I laughed so hard I really did cry.

You can find that picture on facebook too. It's on my wall right now haha.

Currently reading: Brawl in the Family webcomic... amusing and video gamey. Right up my alley

Currently listening to: Overflow by Matt Maher- Religion's on the brain remember

Currently playing: Golden Sun: Dark Dawn... I should probably be playing the first one first but I like this so oh well... We also started Diablo 2 again...