Faith

A while back I made mention of the fact I am in the process of becoming Catholic. My wife is Catholic, she teaches at a private Catholic school. My boys are both baptized Catholic and attend that same school. Most of my friends are Catholic as well so on the surface my decision seems like one born of a need to adapt and fit in.

But anyone who has know me for a while realizes I've never been one to conform to the world around me. I'm more rebellious than that. i root for the underdog. Champion the unpopular, and rebel against the established ideals or things that become mainstream or popular.

And besides all that I am the same guy that swore off ALL organized religion for nearly two decades. I have argued that the Bible is nothing more than a loose guideline of wholesome ideals. I have described religion as a crutch for the feeble bodied and weak minded. I have dared God to prove to me of His existence.

Evolution? Yep. I have argued for years on behalf of it's scientific provability.

Heaven? Yep. I have voiced serious doubts to its existence.

The Anti-Christ. Yes that is what a coworker called me only a few short years ago when I was debating religion with him.

Church? I refused to go for more than twenty years believing it to be nothing more than a building for scam artists to fleece their flocks out of cash.

Now don't get me wrong. I've always believed there were consequences for evil deeds and rewards for love, compassion, and kindness. DO THE RIGHT THING. LET YOUR HEART GUIDE YOU. FOLLOW YOUR CONSCIENCE.

I truly have tried to live by those commandments but I damn sure didn't need some preacher in a cheap suit telling me EXACTLY how to do those things.

So how then have I embarked on a faith journey which leads right to the doors of the most structured and ritualistic of all Christian religions ... Catholicism?

Well, since quite a few of you seemed interested when I mentioned that I was signed on to take 18 months of RCIA (Right of Christian Initiation Adult) classes. I thought I would start talking a bit about my faith journey. How I went from being a young boy forced, yes forced, to attend services and Sunday School at a Southern Baptist Church, to anti establishment agnostic, to now a catechumenate?

Most likely I will not post every Friday, but on the ones I do I will call these post Faithful Fridays. These post will be about my journey and how I have arrived at this point. They are not meant to convince anyone else. Nor do I want to hear from those trying to convince me I am making the wrong decision. I believe there are many roads that lead to the same place and I have chosen my path. You may have chosen another, or you may have decided you don't like to travel at all. That is your decision and one only you can make.

It is highly likely that my readers interest was only fleeting and no one will care or comment on these posts. If that is the case I will stop posting but after one or two but since I still have nearly a year of classes I will keep at it as long as a few of you seem to care.

And yeah a few friends have pointed out that I chose one of the few religions that condones both beer and gambling. That is true enough, but I also reminded them that during Lent Catholics have to give up meat on Fridays and for a carnivore like me that's a pretty damn big sacrifice.