God loves you. So what?

Quote: Nareed

At times when I felt depressed, my dog would try to cheer me up or comfort me. She'd lie by my side and lick my face. .

Dogs are called mans best friends for
a reason. You'll never find a better
friend than your dog. When Mickey
Rourke accepted an award a few years
ago, he thanked his dogs. He had
years when he wasn't working and his
friends had deserted him and he
was broke. His dogs were always there
for him, their love never varied. If
it's never happened to you, the power
of that devotion is something you
never get over. Forget some made up
gods love, get a dog.

Churches don't deal in redemption, they
peddle sin. They're sin merchants. They
love to point out your sins and remind
you of them. They're sin pushers, they
push sin. Without sin they have nothing
to sell, so they're job is to constantly
remind you of what an awful sinner you are.

It's what drove me away from the Christian
group I was in 40 years ago. All they talked
about was sin and temptation, it was ridiculous.
And when I started questioning if sin was
real or not, they ran away from me as fast as
they could.

I see it completely differently. The job of the Church is to remind you that Jesus Christ has freed you from your sin and how loved and wonderful you are in God's eyes. As I've said many times before it does no one any good to remind them of their sin, they are already keenly aware of this and feel the guilt and shame of it. The Church is there to free them of this and allow them to feel loved and discover their vastly greater goodness.

If you would become Catholic and experience the joy of Confession I think you would discover it is not at all about your sin, but really about recovering your goodness and reminding you how immensely you are loved by God.

Quote: FrGamble

I see it completely differently. The job of the Church is to remind you that Jesus Christ has freed you from your sin and how loved and wonderful you are in God's eyes.

I know to you this makes sense, to me it's
just downright creepy. Some lurking god
thinks I'm wonderful and loves me? Like
a stalker does. Nothing creepy about that..

Quote:

If you would become Catholic and experience the joy of Confession .

Do you know how much power there
is in a secret? To do something only
you know about, be it good or bad,
and keep it to yourself. To share it
would not be a joy, it would take
away from the experience and make
it mundane and meaningless.
Confession is another creepy thing about
the Church, it's purely diabolical in
it's intent.

As they say Confession is good for the soul. What is diabolical is the idea that you should keep things hidden and locked away in the dark where it festers and haunts you. Bring this stuff into the light if not to Confession then to a good friend, a loved one, or a counselor. I am very serious when I say that what you are expressing is one of the most harmful ways the evil ones keeps us in his control. Be not afraid, no matter what you have done keeping things to yourself only harms yourself and keeps you afraid and worried.

Quote: FrGamble

keeping things to yourself only harms yourself and keeps you afraid and worried.

Boy oh boy, you have a twisted way of
thinking. It's nobodies damn business
but my own, it's my life, not somebody
elses. I'm not afraid and worried, what's
wrong with you. I like having secrets,
they're healthy, it keeps you self sufficient
and doesn't make you needy. Running
like a baby to an authority figure and
pouring your heart out like a 4 year
old does to his mommy is something
you eventually outgrow. One would hope..

Wow, that is sick and unhealthy. Newsflash you are not self sufficient. To think you are so is a diabolical disorder and I beg you to reconsider.

Quote: FrGamble

Newsflash you are not self sufficient.

Newsflash, Psychology Today completely
disagrees with you. Do you have license
to practice psychology? I didn't think so.

"Self-sufficiency’ is associated with certain traits. ‘Self-sufficient’ people have a strong internal ‘locus of control’. That is, they have the ability – and the desire - to determine their own course, to make their own decisions, rather than having their life choices made my others. They trust in their own instincts, and are prepared to go their own way, even if it means going against the expectations of others, and so facing incomprehension and ridicule.

Self-sufficient’ people are authentic. They tend not to play roles, or to be dishonest or misleading just to please. Their inner stability and wholeness means that it’s not so important for them to gain affirmation or respect from others, so they may be prepared to risk being disliked by speaking truthfully. If you show them a poem or a painting and ask them, ‘What do you think?’ be prepared for them to give an honest assessment. Fundamentally, they’re not so interested in trying to impress other people, and so it’s possible for them to be more authentic."

Oh God, this is so not the type of healthy self-sufficiency you were referring to and you know it. I agree with everything said above about self-sufficiency. However a perverted and dangerous type thinks that I do not need the help of others. While you are there look up secrets and confession and about talking to others about our issues. A self sufficient person is strong enough to realize that he or she will need help to deal with the struggles and difficulties of life.

Quote: FrGamble

However a perverted and dangerous type thinks that I do not need the help of others.

You need the help of others when you
need the help of others. If you don't,
you don't. This conversation is getting
very weird. I have no idea what you're
going on about. Are you implying I'm
dangerous because I'm an atheist? I
hope that's not the case.