A couple of years ago, I was with somebody who introduced me to Christianity, her version of it (Protestant), and although I did not completely embrace it, I did appreciate a great deal of her beliefs.
I understood the inherent value of letting people go to mass (service) because they wanted to, not because they felt obligated by custom or fear to. I appreciated her belief that God's love was without limit and all-encompassing.
What I did not understand was that even though they believe that all Christians are of generally the same goal, they only consider themselves, Methodists, Baptists, Born-agains, etc, as Christians. They do not consider Catholics as Christians! Jesus Himself did not exclude anyone from his love, why then should we be excluded from the collective idea of Christianity?
Then again they are human… We are all human, capable of mistakes, as we are of sin. I have gotten past the confusion I felt then, tackling the idea of which denomination was right.
I choose to believe that in the end, religion is a very personal concept, and though we must live the scriptures according to our religious leaders, we also form a more personal bond with God, and therefore, to some part, we must act as we understand the Bible ourselves.
I realize the inherent risk in allowing for people to decide for themselves what the scriptures mean, the possible results being; overzealous religious fanatics to self-righteous fools, that's why I stated that personal interpretation should only come up to a certain degree. We still need guidance.
Nowadays, I try to avoid labeling myself as a Catholic, I prefer saying “a Christian”. I choose to take the best of both worlds, those beliefs that can and will help enrich my own life, no more, no less.
I am a Catholic, but more importantly, I am a Christian.
