![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
The purpose of Dreamwidth and an update
Nov. 30th, 2019 12:33 pm Well apparently I haven't posted anything since 2015. My my how time flies. I have been taking stock of my life and trying to decide what/who I am. I just turned 60 so the introspection is strong.
The purpose of Dreamwidth. I love Twitter. It is fast and more conversational than Facebook. I look at Facebook because that is where family posts family things - pictures, daily life, memes, etc. Neither of these are a place for me to put down my thoughts. I now am in a place in my life that I want to put down my thoughts, not necessarily on paper, and I remembered that LJ/Dreamwidth was just that kind of place I was looking for. So here I am.
Well. Since 2015 I have stayed mainly Catholic. I even ended up attempting to join the Secular Franciscans. I have been in a love/hate relationship with the Catholics for quite some time. I have looked at several other religions but always came back to the Catholics. I grew up that way so I felt that I was supposed to stay there.
So the problem I have with Catholicism is this. There are so many rules and things you must do that it feels like I have to go to confession constantly. And I live a good life! It bothers me that missing Mass is considered a mortal sin and if you don't confess then you are kept from the Eucharist, because that is another mortal sin. I feel it is so hard to connect with God and Jesus there. It's all about the Pope and the priests and the bishops etc. I don't know. I can't seem to describe it correctly.
Now I understand that all religions have rules etc. But this is crazy. I am such that I have a high level of feeling guilt and the Catholic Church doesn't help me there. Then I get anxiety because I am constantly trying to make sure I am not breaking any rules. So I decided that the Franciscans were not where I needed to be and started looking.
I decided to check out the Lutherans. (Missouri Synod). My father and step-mother attend the Lutheran church and I have gone a few times in the past but I have never looked at them in depth. I found information on the internet and saw that there is a church nearby. I got up my nerve and went there and felt right at home. It is similar enough to the Catholic liturgy but the foundational dogma is much more in line with what I am comfortable with. I feel God and Jesus are much more accessible and that God loves me without all the laws and rules of Catholicism. Now that I have learned more I see where the Catholic Church gets it's rules etc. from and why that isn't necessary to be a Christian.
So bottom line is that I am going to join the LCMS Church. I feel much more confirmation that it is the place I should be than the Catholic Church ever felt to me.
The purpose of Dreamwidth. I love Twitter. It is fast and more conversational than Facebook. I look at Facebook because that is where family posts family things - pictures, daily life, memes, etc. Neither of these are a place for me to put down my thoughts. I now am in a place in my life that I want to put down my thoughts, not necessarily on paper, and I remembered that LJ/Dreamwidth was just that kind of place I was looking for. So here I am.
Well. Since 2015 I have stayed mainly Catholic. I even ended up attempting to join the Secular Franciscans. I have been in a love/hate relationship with the Catholics for quite some time. I have looked at several other religions but always came back to the Catholics. I grew up that way so I felt that I was supposed to stay there.
So the problem I have with Catholicism is this. There are so many rules and things you must do that it feels like I have to go to confession constantly. And I live a good life! It bothers me that missing Mass is considered a mortal sin and if you don't confess then you are kept from the Eucharist, because that is another mortal sin. I feel it is so hard to connect with God and Jesus there. It's all about the Pope and the priests and the bishops etc. I don't know. I can't seem to describe it correctly.
Now I understand that all religions have rules etc. But this is crazy. I am such that I have a high level of feeling guilt and the Catholic Church doesn't help me there. Then I get anxiety because I am constantly trying to make sure I am not breaking any rules. So I decided that the Franciscans were not where I needed to be and started looking.
I decided to check out the Lutherans. (Missouri Synod). My father and step-mother attend the Lutheran church and I have gone a few times in the past but I have never looked at them in depth. I found information on the internet and saw that there is a church nearby. I got up my nerve and went there and felt right at home. It is similar enough to the Catholic liturgy but the foundational dogma is much more in line with what I am comfortable with. I feel God and Jesus are much more accessible and that God loves me without all the laws and rules of Catholicism. Now that I have learned more I see where the Catholic Church gets it's rules etc. from and why that isn't necessary to be a Christian.
So bottom line is that I am going to join the LCMS Church. I feel much more confirmation that it is the place I should be than the Catholic Church ever felt to me.
