so confused bout being a christian nd catholic!?

Question

ok im 13 yrs old nd really condfused bout my religion. im a catholic nd im gettin confirmed soon but i just dont think im ready. becase wats the difference between being just a plain christian then being a catholic? i mean the catholic part seems a lil pointless to me. i need someone 2 explain this to me! nd also how do we know that god created the world? i was told it was evalution. i mean we have no proof of adam and eve nd stuff so how do we know its true? i mean i kno that we have a lil proof of jesus but how does God fit in this picture? plz help i really dont wanna lose my faith!

Answer 1

You should wait for Father K to answer this or ask someone from your church.
You will get a lot of anti- Catholic rhetoric on here, I'm afraid.
I'm not Catholic (or any other type of Christian), but I was raised Catholic and still find value in the faith.

Answer 2

I'm a Catholic, and I'm not confused at all. I know I'm a Christian. I think it's more about the fact that Catholics refer to themselves as Catholic and Christian is of course what a Catholic is. When nondenominational sects came along, they didn't refer to a denomination and began referring to themselves as just Christian. While this is true, they use it in the same way other groups use their denomination. So for many Catholics, they hear a nondenominational say "I'm a Christian" it may seem more of a denominational designation. They don't think it through to obvious, which is that they are Christians too. So, yes Catholics are Christians.

Answer 3

Faith is believing in what we cannot see.

You can't see the air, but you take the word of scientists that it is there, right?

And you can see evidence of its existence in leaves moving on a tree or a blown up balloon.

So, too, can we see evidence of God all around us. You have some science, so you know that systems tend to fall apart without something to keep them going. That something is God.

You can even think backwards. You exist because your parents brought you into being. Go backwards from there- even through evolution...EVERYTHING exists because something before it existed and brought it into being. Eventually, going back millions of years, you must get to a point where you reach the ONE thing that was not created- it just always WAS. That is GOD. God always has been, is now and ever shall be. If God was created, then he can't be God.

I know that is pretty deep for a 13 year old- I wish you were in one of my classes...junior high is my specialty!

As for being Catholic, If you plan to be a Christian, being Catholic is the way to go- we are the first Christians! We are the Church Jesus started!

You can contact me through Yahoo Answers if you want.

Answer 4

*Is Catholic*

Well Catholic and Christian are synonyms. A Christian is an individual who has had a trinitarian baptism. That is the definition. Catholicism is the specific faith of what it means to live out one's Christian identity.

Those who say they are Christian but are not Catholics, are not living out their baptismal promises to the full extent. This is why Pope Benedict XVI says that all Christians are ordered to the Catholic Church...that they should come and live out their baptismal vows to their fullest and this occurs by becoming confirmed in the Church and progressing in the "universal call to holiness".

The Catholic parts are not pointless because without them and individual is hard pressed to draw near to Christ and become Christ like. How can you make a pizza without cheese? How can an individual become conformed to Christ if they do not have the Eucharist? It is very hard to do such things.

We know that God created the world because we believe in God. Because He told us. Because we find evidence. Evolution did not create anything. Evolution is a process and a biological one at that. Evolution cannot create rock. Now God is a God of history so that means that much of what was created was created through the historical process. So there was a sun before our sun and it exploded and created a dust cloud and that eventually collapsed and formed our solar system and our sun. But that is telling how not who. They are different questions. Don't forget that...evolution is telling you how not who. When we say God created the world we are telling you who not how.

Yes we have proof of Adam and Eve. The proof is rather simple. All early cultures speak of them. If you go back and look at the stories the histories the legends of all the ancient peoples, they speak of two first parents. We don't need to find their bones to know about them rather we should listen to those that came from them. Look at it this way. You know about your great great grandparents not because you know where their grave is but rather because you were told about them. So too with Adam and Eve. We know about them because their children's children's children's children tool us about them.

We have lots of proof about Jesus. There is more proof about Jesus than about most other people in the historical record.

If you have any other questions message me.

Answer 5

As for why you "should" be a Catholic as opposed to a Presbyterian, Methodist, Southern Baptist, Jehovah's Witness, Seventh Day Adventurist, Episcopalian, Jesuit, Calvinist, or any of the other hundreds of sects of Christianity out there...that's up for you to figure out. Ask your priest. You're required to have an interview with him before confirmation anyway.

"Evalution"? Evaluation? Oh, you mean "evolution"! Yes, science has good explanations of the world, but that doesn't rule out the possibility of God. There are plenty of Catholics who are good, honest scientists too. Go look up Ron Miller's work. Catholics do not take the Bible as a literal history book; to them it is a communications book. Some would say that to treat Adam & Eve as a literal story, and not a lesson about temptation and trusting God, is to miss the point.

Answer 6

First, realize that the Catholic church allows you to interpret parts of the bible for yourself. If you think Adam and Eve are purely literary figures that are used to show the first men and women then you are free to believe that.

If you don't even believe something as paramount as is there a God, you should delay your confirmation. Ask your parents to find a study group that can explain some of these things to you. I promise your parents will not be mad that you want to explore your faith more before you are confirmed. Your confirmation is your chance to truly state your belief in God, if you aren't ready to do that then you shouldn't.

Answer 7

Being Catholic is one of the many Christian faiths and there are plenty of other faiths that are called Christian as well. Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, Episcopal, Quaker,etc... They all have some variation as to what they believe about Christianity.
The Bible is the true word of God and, in Genesis, God states that He created the universe, through Jesus, who is the "Word" of God and also the Son of God who died for our salvation on the cross. He created the earth and all the plants and animals in it and man and woman. Laws of nature tell us that life cannot start on it's own so there must have been a creator which Christians know and believe is God of the Bible....it's the only explanation that makes any sense. Evolution is just a "belief" in a natural explanation for how life began and has evolved from lower to higher, more complex life forms over great periods of time but it is not real, observable, testable science..only speculation and guesswork. There has never been any real scientific proof for it so don't lose your faith in the Bible because someone tells you or teaches evolution is true---it's 100 percent not true but a lot of people teach that it is. Very confusing for young people without a good faith in God's Word.
Talk to your family priest on your concerns about your religion.
Answersingenesis.org is a good site for info on creation versus the evolution theory.

Answer 8

I think you should probably wait before being "confirmed".
You still have questions about your faith, the Catholic church,
the beginning of the world, the stories of the Bible being truth,
etc. You need to study more, talk with heads of the church
about your questions, pray more, read your Bible daily, and
maybe even watch some Christian tv programming (like
Les Felding in Through the Bilbe, Pensacola Christian College program on Sunday nights, and even the 700 Club).
This world began somehow and I don't know how anyone can
believe a huge bang happened and order of the world came
into being. No, there was a Creator who created everything
in six days. He is the God of the Holy Bible. He tells us thro
the scriptures how it all began, the history of the people after
creation, the birth of His Son Jesus who lived on this earth
with the people as He did miracle after miracle to get the
people to believe who He was. He died for our sins and went
to be back with His Father and promised us a place there
too if we only believe in Him. Then He tells us in the Good
Book how it all ends (which is not too pretty) yet we can be
triumph in the end which is our goal in life. It all makes sense
to me and I've not heard anything else from any other so-called
God that could convince me any other way. May your faith
save you now or in the future. God Bless.

Answer 9

first thing i can suggest to you is to use spell check. it does wonders. secondly Christian and Catholic isn't exactly the same. christian is more of an umbrella term now that means everybody that follows christ. this includes Lutherans, baptists, protestants, and any other denomination that believes jesus is the literal son of god. by saying catholic you are narrowing down to a specific denomination of Christianity.

it all comes down to faith. do you believe god created the world? if you are not sure, thats ok. questioning your faith is possibly one of the best things you can do because you will either strengthen your current faith or find truth elsewhere.

talk to all kinds of people and find out what they believe. if you just talk to a priest or your parents (who i assume are catholics) they will give you the catholic answer. ask questions here (just ignore the smart@$$es) and if possible ask friends or religious leaders of other as well. research other religions, open your mind and become a well rounded individual. dont spend years upon years doing extensive research, just enough to keep an open mind and have a basic understanding what other people believe.

Answer 10

My best advice would be to talk to your priest, parents and other church leaders. I would also talk to other Christians as well, and do your own study. If you find that your Confirmation is CONSISTENT with what the BIBLE says then you will get peace to go ahead with it, and you will be Confirmed in understanding of what you are doing. If you cannot have your questions satisfied, then your confirmation will be a time of confusion and doubt... please rembember that God is not a god of confusion...

2 Tim 1:7 ~ For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Take care, pray and meditate on the Word, and don't get railroaded by ADULTS telling you what you should do concerning your faith, if you feel uncomfortable.

God bless

Answer 11

Faith is a tree that grows. First it is small, nd vulnerable to many things. It takes time to be strong and take the wind, and no more trampling. Be patient. There was an Adam and an Eve. Archaeologists and Geneticists can prove we came from a very very small group of homosapien sapiens about 60-70,000 years ago*

Also, do not worry about Confirmation. I was confirmed when I was baptized, and trust me, it's a piece of cake. You don't have to be all knowledgable in one instant. It's a happy moment. Believe it, and it will be so.