i have known her as a colleague in the church ministry. she is bright and perky. and she was very dedicated to the service. eventually, she became busy with her career. and we saw her less and less.
she fell in love with a former classmate, now a lawyer. and she was genuinely happy. soon i was informed of their coming wedding ceremony.
last week i found out she converted to christianity. i saw her baptism on fb. i was shocked. i couldnt imagine that this same girl, with her fervor and zeal then for the Catholic Church, was the same one being immersed in a pool for Jesus as a non-Catholic.
i dont know yet her reasons. i cant begin to imagine what reason would make her do what she did.
pc told me i probably expected much from her. and this was a letdown.
i am affected. and if i look inside, its not about her. its about me. im trying to find out why i feel betrayed.
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14 comments:
Catholics aren't Christians?
Yes, CC, it is not uncommon for many former Catholics to "convert" into Born-Again Christianity (BAC; which is technically under the Protestant movement). I myself was a former devout Catholic, serving at Mass as a reader, commentator and sacristan and doing charity work for 8 straight years back in my Catholic elementary and high school. I was even president of the school's religious organization during that period. I even served as a sacristan several to Bishop Bacani.
There are many reasons for former Catholics to "accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior" and become BACs. This may include (1) personal disappointment/disagreement with certain obscurantist Catholic beliefs, (2) a personal realization from Scripture for the need for personal conversion (being "born again") and that salvation is rooted in the grace of God and not obtained by performing rituals or good deeds alone, (3) belief in actively expressing and sharing the gospel, (4) a high regard for biblical authority (especially inerrancy), and (5) an emphasis on teachings that proclaim the death and resurrection of Jesus, among many other reasons.
Many Catholics feel that something went wrong or weird when a person converts into being a BAC. It is not uncommon for family members and friends to feel surprised, or even, as you put it, to feel the “betrayal” of the Catholic Church. And it is not new to us BACs that we feel somewhat ridiculed or even persecuted by people who were close to us. It’s a matter of personal conviction and mutual respect. We do not only feel but we also believe that this decision is right for us. We remain steadfast in hoping that someday, you will understand and be happy for us with our conviction to have a “personal relationship with the Lord”.
@rudeboy: I dunno I think for catholics... Christians are more of underdogs...
Maybe your confusing the feeling of betrayal with that of the feeling of being left?
apir rudeboy. when i read "...she converted to christianity" kala ko muslim siya dati. i was reminded that "..she was in the church ministry."
probably his husband is a born-again christian.
@rudeboy @ming sorry. 'conversion' is inappropriate.
@jbmd many thanks for sharing this. it certainly opens my eyes to the limitations of the catholic faith. you (and my friend) have all your reasons for changing to BAC. i'm questioning why i have to feel this way.
@dan good point.
more insight to my feeling: i guess betrayal is really a defensive reaction to accepting some sort of failure. i somehow feel i failed my faith and Her, too, for not having done anything about it.
@rudeboy @ming sorry. 'conversion' is inappropriate.
@jbmd many thanks for sharing this. it certainly opens my eyes to the limitations of the catholic faith. you (and my friend) have all your reasons for changing to BAC. i'm questioning why i have to feel this way.
@dan good point.
more insight to my feeling: i guess betrayal is really a defensive reaction to accepting some sort of failure. i somehow feel i failed my faith and Her, too, for not having done anything about it.
It doesn't really matter what religion or church she belongs to, does it.. as long as she loves, brings joy, and do good to the people around her. Not everybody has to be Catholic naman. Heck, I'm Catholic but I don't fundamentally believe every single thing the Church dictates.
It's a happy thing that your friend found her spiritual path. Must be a big deal for her.
On the feelings of betrayal naman, maybe you feel that way because you've experienced your own struggles guilt, etc. with the Catholic faith rin but you chose to pull through it, while your friend "gave up".
Hmmm....im also really confused why the changing of religion requires one to open his eyes to the reality of being a good christian at that...im still finding the appropriate reasoning as to what and why...
For me the Catholic Church has long been opened my eyes into the reality that it has its own flaws and imperfections and for whatever happenings that rocks solid the catholic church i cannot fully put blame them on that...so on with whatever steps they tried to make everything into perfection they cannot do as perfect as can be as they are the same with us HUMANS...and as humans....."that they are also bound to commit sins"...
As the saying that goes..."dont follow what i do but follow what i say"...
Sorry no offense meant for this as this is only for my personal judgement...
racerboi
I go with Jedd:
As long a person does right by others, I think that's what is important. What congregation or faith you proclaim is nothing compared to what you do to others in living out your beliefs.
Talking to her can clarify a lot of things.
Can you share with us what happened when you talked to her? I am very interested. Most of the people I know who moved from Catholic to Born Again had weak Catholic foundations.
From your post, she announced her wedding then got baptized. Is this the right chronology? Maybe her husband-to-be is born again. It could be as simple as that. What I did for love...
maybe she found out about, you know, the inquisition (major human rights abuses there), the priest pedophiles coddled by the church, the inquisition of galileo for proclaiming that the earth revolves around the sun (finally revoked by the infallible church in 1965) ...
If that "conversion" makes her a better person, then she made the right decision.
As long as people "convert" for the right reason, they will be happy and feel jsutified about their changing religion.
Ang ayoko lang yung namamangka sa dalawang ilog. And this is not a judgment on people. Pure observation lang, po.
Meron mga artista na lilipat sa ibang relihiyon, then suddenly you'll find out that they are getting married (sa garden, sa beach, sa hotel, sa park), but they retain all the trappings of a Catholic wedding. They want to have their cake and eat it too.
Yung iba nagpapabinyag ng anak, sandamakmak ang ninong at ninang, pero dalawa lang naman talaga ang kelangan.
Kung minsan naiisip ko, it is the Catholic Church that failed her members for not doing a good job at teaching her adherents all there is to know to be a good Catholic ngayon.
Ruben
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