~2-9-05~ Well
well the subject that i thought would come up sooner or later with my grandfather just did.
he just brought up the fact that clay is not baptized, and if i am going to raise him catholic. i was like, here we go. i know my whole family is catholic, but i'm not even sure what i am.
i have my own beliefs. i don't think i go straight down any religious lines. i don't go to church, but i do say my prayers every night and i thank god daily for what i have been given.
i don't really think i need to go to a church for that. half of what i hear, or what i am "told" i will probably disagree with.
so i asked grandpa, "so, do you really think that if something happened right now to clay that he wouldn't go to heaven because he wasn't baptized?" he couldn't answer me! he said he just knows and believes what he has been taught through the church. well that is what the church says, so, "do you believe that??" and he still said he didn't know.
i'm not going to get into a big debate here about religion(s). i am not knocking anyones beiefs. i'm just saying that i have my own beliefs that i believe are just as good as anyone elses, and just because i don't go to church or have a specific religion, i'm bad or wrong. i just don't believe in the whole "church" thing. FOR ME. if it works for you, that is great! if clay grows up and he wants to go, good for him, fine with me. i just hope that i can teach him enough so that he can make his own decions and have his own beliefs.
hell, i was never confirmed, which i don't know how that passed by my grandpa or my mom. i can't even tell you the last time i was in a church, other than for funerals or weddings. and i don't think i am a heathen or a bad person. i think i turned out just fine, because of the values and beliefs that my mother has taught me. dad really wasn't a church person either. neither was my grandma, which is weird since my grandpa is. to each their own i guess.
i know what it is to be a good hearted person. and i do believe i am going to go to heaven, if i ever go to church again or not.
2 Comments:
i'm a new catholic as of about two years ago. the reason you don't know the answers to your questions is because you don't go to church. church is not just a building where you go to hear someone tell you if you've been bad or not. it is a community and should be your extended family if you attend a good church. it is a place for you to find answers to the exact kinds of questions you're asking without being judged. it is your responsibility to yourself and your family, to find a church that you feel comfortable in. one that welcomes you with open arms including any faults or sins and doesn't judge. how is your son supposed to make any decisions on his religious preferences if you don't expose him to it. and the sooner the better.
fyi, no your son will not go to hell if he dies unbaptised right now. children are considered innocent souls up until the point that they start to decipher between right and wrong. there is no set age. but that is why it is so important for you to expose your son to the church so that he can learn those differences and make his choices.
it's also a great way for him to socialize with children his own age (i know you are torn about the fact that he doesn't get to do this). just trying to help.
me again. i just wanted to point out, you are not a bad person just because you don't go to church. i don't get to go as often as i would like. but, you can't complain about not having answers to your questions if you don't do something to find the answers. everyone should have guidance from someone who has the correct answers (i.e. a parishioner). a lot of people are misled by relatives and friends who may not always know the answers. i hope you seek out your answers and don't just settle with not knowing. god bless you.
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