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Sunday, December 21, 2014

When Would I Join The Roman Catholic Church?

I went to a Roman Catholic Church last Sunday during their Latin Mass.  It was strange for an old school Lutheran to go there.  After spending some time reflecting on where I am in my faith journey, I thought about reasons why I won't be joining the Catholic church any time soon.


  1. Papal infallibility: I do not believe in the infallibility of the Pope.  I believe he is a mere mortal, just like the rest of us.  I believe he has sinned in his past, is sinning, and will sin again.  Although I realize that the idea of papal infallibility was only a recent dogma as the mid 1880s, it still grinds my gears to see other people believe that a human can be considered perfect.
  2. Adding new ideas to the faith pot: By this I mean when the RCC suddenly "discovers" something, and adds it to the list of things that you have to absolutely believe in in order to be saved, even if there is no scriptural evidence.  For example, I don't believe Mary was perpetually a virgin. 
  3. Mary: was a human being, and a sinner.  There needs to be a greater line between the veneration of Mary and the savior Jesus.  It's like this.  Imagine you are stranded in a desert, and there was a single tree in the desert, let's say, an orange tree.  You take the orange, and eat it, saving your life.  The tree (Mary) didn't save your life.  The orange (Jesus) did save your life.  You didn't eat the tree, you ate the orange.  (I realize not all metaphors are perfect).
  4. More emphasis on Jesus: as our savior.
  5. Only forgiven when confessing to a priest: If I'm wrong, please point it out for me.  I believe that you don't have to receive forgiveness through a priest.
  6. Praying/veneration to the saints: I only pray to God.  It also denies me being a saint.
  7. Closed communion: This is why I'll never be a Misery Synod Lutheran or a Wisconsinless Lutheran.
  8. Denying the "priesthood of believers:" 
  9. Traditioooooooon! Tradition! When tradition becomes theology, that's a problem.  Sola scriptura.
  10. Salvation through good works: It's STILL a problem.  Justification is a free gift.
  11. Cover up of sex scandals:  It denies a basic human needs, and sexually frustrates men.

This list isn't perfect.  There are probably ten arguments against each point I just made ("Well, you celebrate Christmas on December 25th.  That's not in the Bible.").

What would I need to become a Catholic?  A belief that I may have disagreements with the Church, and still be considered a member of the Church.