The Highway Forums General Discussion Theology Discussion Forum Praying for the Dead (Purgatory)

To make a long story short, I never really felt comfortable in my church- I've always been a "private" worshiper who chooses to worship Him by meditation in the scriptures, hymns, etc (the one that the Youth Pastor is always concerned about :P)but that, to me, is not a reason to separate from a Church (obviously). I kinda did my own thing at services- and it worked. My issue came when I started having problems at home (I don't wish to talk about them- you'd think I'm crazy :P). I went to my Baptist Pastor and asked him how I should deal with it and he told me "No child of God would truly have problems with such things- if you are experiencing such things- you must not truly be a believer" that, to me, was totally out of line with Christian doctrine and I immediately started looking for other Churches. While I realize his comments don't reflect the entire baptist denomination (far from it)- the fact that a church within the convention could have such a person and the convention did nothing about it frightened me. I started by visiting other baptist churches and it amazed me how one church's set of beliefs didn't match up with the 2nd baptist church I went to. It surprised me that such a denomination could have such differences- so I started looking elsewhere. I eventually landed on the door of the Catholic Church. I had never considered them- I was always told they worshiped Mary, were going to hell, etc, but their formality appealed to me enough to get me to give them a chance. The first service I attended was...wow. I truly felt the spirit move (let me clarify- I'm not a Charismatic, just making a point :P) and I felt led to look further. I started looking into Catholic theology- I agreed with many of the points- had some issues with some. My priest, bless his heart, answered all my questions and once he learned I had an interest in becoming a minister said, "We need more people like you in the Church. The Church is undergoing a time of change and we need the right people to lead that change" I prayed about it and pondered the conversion for about a year and then began the process of converting. To me- the Catholic Church is an entity with great potential (I especially admired the centralization) and a body where I feel I can worship the best. And, personally, I view denominations as a way we can all worship they way we feel we can glorify Him best and, as long as we follow the primary tenants of Christianity- I believe we all go to Heaven. That's along story short- hope that addressed your questions <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

To answer CIV- the grey areas I am refering to are when a person has not been justified but dies as a child or has mental issues. While this person has not accepted Christ- I do believe they'd go to heaven- but would they be ready to be immediately sanctified without the Justification?