I am Catholic and I do not believe in Purgatory

I do not deny it I no longer believe in purgatory.  Regardless of what some say I am as much a Catholic as those that do believe in purgatory.  For non-Catholics purgatory is that place, according to the Roman Catholic Church doctrine, where everyone who is saved must go for a time to be purged of their sins and purified before they can enter into God’s holy presence. If that doctrine is true Christ did not accomplish His purpose for coming to the earth and it was not finished on the cross as Christ said and Christ did not pay the price of our sins.

I make no apology that I believe Christ paid for all our past, present and future sins and that Christ did accomplish His purpose for coming to earth.  I said ‘all’ Christians go through purgatory, but that is not true those declared ‘Saints’ by the Catholic hierarchy are exempt according to Roman Catholic Church doctrine.

There is nothing in Scripture about purgatory. The concept was added to Catholic theology long after the New Testament age. There is no need for a Christian to go there or anywhere else to be purged of sins. Jesus accomplished that task once and for all on the cross. Through faith, we have our sins purged and we are purified only by his grace and imputed righteousness.

I am a Christian a follower of Christ before I am Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, etc.  I am an American even though I do not approve of everything the leaders of my country do. I am Caucasian, but I am not proud that my ancestor owned slaves in Alabama. I consider myself a Texan even though I was born in Alabama. I am what my convictions lead me to believe I am what I believe myself to be rather than what anyone says I am.  Yes, I am Catholic, but I am not going to follow any man blindly.

Oh by the way, I believe I can forgive those that sin against me, but I do not believe a Pope, Cardinal, Bishop or priest can forgive me of my sins – only God can.

The Supreme Court did not rule on how Christians must view homosexuality.

The U.S. Supreme Court has delivered an historic decision that same-sex couples have the right to marry in the United States.  Their decision reflects a shift in U.S. public opinion concerning same-sex relationships.  Prior to the Supreme Court decision, nearly two-thirds of Americans favored extending the rights of marriage to same-sex couples.

It is important to note that the Supreme Court interpreted the U.S. Constitution, not the Bible.  The Court did not try and discern God’s will, or what constitutes Christin ethical or moral behavior and Christians should not determine their morals from public opinion polls.

The Supreme Court ruling did not define how Christians should or must view same-sex marriage.  Churches are still permitted to refuse to marry same-sex couples, and to see the love of a same-sex couple as incompatible with Christian teaching.

I know that many if not the majority of Christians will disagree with me, but I will state my personal views anyway – I am not sure that CHRISTIANS should expect non-Christians to think and live like Christians. I think it is far better to let our lives do our preaching than to try and force others to accept our beliefs. As a Christian I do not expect the government to force my Christian values or morality on me. Of course, I would love for all people to think and act like Christians “SHOULD”. It would be a better world in which to live, but I know laws will not change a cold, hateful, bitter, selfish, bigoted heart only a work of God’s Spirit will.  I think Christians should work for just laws that are fair to all and protect the rights of the minority, bring dignity to people and work for the common good of the nation and world.

What is the will of God concerning same-sex marriage?  Franklin Graham made it clear he opposes same sex marriages in uncertain terms and made it clear in his opinion it is a sin. I do not claim to be as versed in the Bible as Franklin Graham after all he had a great mentor – Rev. Billy Graham, but I know the Bible is complicated and intelligent people who read it with an open mind will find things that they might question. Some things found in the Bible seem to me to reflect the culture of the authors more than the will of God.

Women in the Bible were often seen as second class citizens. Slavery was found to be morally acceptable in the Old Testament and slave-owning Christians in the early church were not asked by the apostles to set their slaves free.   Priests were commanded to burn their daughters alive if they became prostitutes, and rebellious children were to be stoned to death. Women who were raped were required to marry their rapist.  And when Israel went off to war she believed God called her to destroy every man, woman, and child among the nations she conquered.  The Apostle Paul teaches that women are to pray with their heads covered and to not wear their hair in braids.  Women were not permitted to teach a man, and Paul notes that it was “shameful” for a woman to even speak in church.

We are not always able to discern God’s will, simply by quoting a handful of verses from the Bible.  If it worked that way we would still embrace slavery, polygamy, and concubines.  Victims of rape would still be forced to wed their rapists. All denominations would still be like Catholics and not allow women to serve as pastors and would require women to remain silent when it comes to church doctrine.

I am not going to argue the point if God makes us gay or straight.  I do know sexual orientation is developed in most of us at a very early age if not from birth.  Could it be possible that God looked at His gay and lesbian children and said, “It is not good that this one should be alone; I will make them a helper as their companion”? That is what God said in Genesis regarding a man and woman.

Spousal relationships are more about sharing lives together as one another’s helpers and companions than sexual.  It is about holding hands, sharing dreams, helping one another when one or the other is struggling.  It is about shared memories, companionship, and a warm embrace. The Supreme Court has said that this kind of committed love should not be legally denied to same sex couples.

The Catholic Church even after the recent synod in the Vatican says that gay and lesbian couples cannot enter into this kind of covenant.  They cannot receive God’s blessings upon their love within our church and from our priest because, according to our doctrine, to share their lives together as companions (engaging in sex) is “incompatible with Christian teaching.” They claim this knowing that many of our priests are homosexuals.  We teach that God says gay and lesbian people should be alone.  I really wrestle with this doctrine.

Pope Francis has instructed our cardinals, bishops and priest to welcome and love gay and lesbian people.  Catholic Christians should certainly be able to do that and remain brothers and sisters in Christ in the same church.  Unlike Protestant churches we will never be able to leave it to each parish to make their own individual choice for this would require a new type of governance and that will never happen in the Catholic Church and I do not think it should.

The famous love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13, was Paul’s answer to divisions.  In verses 4-8 he taught the Corinthians what love looks like, “I will show you a still more excellent way:  Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrong doing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.  Love never ends.”

In Philippians Paul offers these words to end the division: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.”

We must always remember that those with whom we disagree are human beings, children of God and it opens the door for us to see them not simply as adversaries, but as friends.  And this may lead us to work harder to find solutions to those issues that divide us.

The real issue for the church is not homosexuality, but the Bible. What kind of book is the Bible?  How has God spoken to us through the Bible and how does He continue to speak through it.  The answers determine how we read the handful of passages in the Bible that seem to speak to homosexuality. 

Rev. Adam Hamilton says:  some scriptures express God’s heart, character and timeless will for human beings and some express God’s will in a particular time, but are no longer binding and some never fully expressed the heart, character or will of God. I agree with him!

I certainly believe we are for all times to love God and love our neighbor and do unto others as we would have them do unto us.  I do not believe males must be circumcised or  that most of the other hundreds of passages found in the O.T. regarding the Law must be obeyed. I do not believe God ever spoke the words found in Leviticus 21:9 which requires  - if the daughter of a priest becomes a prostitute she must be burned to death or in Exodus 21:20-21, God permits slave-owners to beat their slaves with rods provided they don’t die within the first 48 hours after the beating “for the slave is his property,”  or God commanded the destruction of every man, woman, and child in 31 Canaanite cities and later killed 70,000 Israelites in punishment for David taking a census. These passages seem to me to be completely inconsistent with the God revealed in Jesus Christ who cared for prostitutes, commanded that we love our enemies, and gave his life to save sinners.

I question what category does same-sex intimacy fall into?  Consider Leviticus 20:13 in which God is said to command: “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death; their blood is upon them.”  Anyone who has a child that is gay would rightly ask, “Did God ever really command that gay and lesbian children be put to death?”  They might also ask, “Does God really see my child, or the love they share for their partner, as an abomination?”

Do these passages we use to condemn homosexuals describe God’s heart and timeless will, or do they address specific forms of same-sex activity in ancient Israel and in the first century world, or perhaps they may not captured God’s heart and character at all?

How we answer the questions of what scripture is, how when and why it was written, and the way in which God influenced its human authors shapes how we make sense of issues like homosexuality.

How important is the church?

Many people do not see the church as very important.  Some say I am a good moral person.  I believe in God and treat my family and neighbours right.  Why do I need to be a member of the church?  Many young people have rejected "organized religion."  They may claim to accept Jesus, but want nothing to do with the church.  Some people see denominational division or hypocrisy in the church, and they want no part of it.  So they reject the whole idea of the church.  Others say it doesn't matter which church you attend or if you go to church, as long as you believe in Jesus.  So people conclude you don't need to be a member of any church as long as you believe in Jesus.

I do not claim any denomination is more important than another.   Denominations are not found in the New Testament and I do not believe they were ever part of God's plan.  They were added by men hundreds of years after Jesus' death and resurrection.  We can be saved without joining a denomination.  I strongly believe it makes a difference what church we go to and who shepherds that church.

I believe the church is essential to our relationship with God.  The church has an important role in God’s plan for our lives.  The Gospel clearly shows that Jesus planned and built His church and early Christians belong to that church.

Ephesians 2:16, 19 – “Jesus reconciled Jew and Gentile to God in one body through the cross. Therefore, we are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.”  1st Timothy 3:15 - Paul wrote, “So we may know how to conduct ourselves in the house of God, which is the church of the living God.”  Many people agree that we must be ‘born again’, but they often think ‘church’ membership does not matter.  These people need to consider the fact that being born again makes us members of the family of God; the church is the family of God. 

Christ is the Head of the body (church) Eph. 1:22, 23 and Col. 1:18.  Christ is the Head of no other institution. There is one body, Eph. 4:4-6, just as there is only one God.  I do not believe Christ the Head of an unimportant, non-essential institution. To belittle the church is to belittle Jesus! 

Matthew 3:2; 4:23 - Both John and Jesus emphasized preaching the Gospel of the kingdom.  We cannot preach the Gospel of Christ without preaching about the kingdom (church).  To attempt to preach the Gospel without preaching the ‘church’ would be to preach a different Gospel (Gal. 1:8). 

Ephesians 3:10, 11 - The church played a major role in the eternal purpose of God.  The ‘church’ should reveal the wisdom of God as part of His eternal purpose.  I believe God from the beginning planned the church.  It was not a last minute decision.  God planned the church centuries before it began.  Would the Creator and Ruler of the Universe go to such trouble for an insignificant institution?  Daniel 2:31-45 tells us Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of an image.  It prophesied that the kingdom (church) would begin during the Roman Empire.  Matthew 16:18 tells us Jesus promised to build His church.  Clearly it was important to Him. 

The main work of the church should be spiritual, to help people have a right relationship with God and not political.  The church we are talking about is the body of all saved people which God planned and Jesus built.  It is the kingdom of Christ, the family of God and not a denomination.  If worship and Gospel preaching are important, then the church is important, because these are what the Lord established the church to accomplish.  

I believe man made denominations created the division in God’s church, but I also believe the church is important enough to belong to a denomination.  Perhaps in our day and time denominations are a necessary evil.  Anyone attending any denomination should be open to the Holy Spirit and allow the Holy Spirit to direct their belief and not a denominational creed.  It is important to find a church or a denomination that encourages you, builds you up and brings you into a closer personal relationship with God.

I think it is extremely important that you find a church that teaches the importance of the Holy Spirit in your daily life.