Best I can figure, I am a Cathodist Misallievangelical with close ties to the Baptist’s. However, I am mostly Catholic, then Methodist. The other two churches I elected to become a member of, I did so during my seeking years. I spent a few looking for a place where I would feel that I “fit in.”
My mom might disagree with me and say I am mostly Methodist, since I was born into a Methodist family, baptized as a baby in the Methodist Church and where I attended for the first twenty-two years of life. A good case, but so is the one that claims I am mostly Catholic. I had to earn it.
After attending weekly classes for a year after Dave and I were married, I passed the test that declared me to be Catholic. I probably had an advantage as well, since I had graduated from Cathedral High School. The church accepted my baptism as a baby but not my confirmation, which they call first communion. So I took part in a ceremony with a class of second graders in order for the Catholic church to recognize our union under God. Whew, we pulled it off – married by the Methodists AND approved by the Catholics. Both in-laws were in luck.
We did about a decade of semi-faithful Catholicism before long days at the community park took over the time commitment. Before too long, though, we started going to a Christian and Missionary Alliance Church after a neighbor invited us. We loved it until they lost the pastor to a better town. Years later, a colleague invited us to an Evangelical Church, which we also loved, until the hour-long drive started to wear on us.
When my church-hopping escapades ended up at the Baptist Church, my enthusiasm to study the bible really took off. For I had never heard of the rapture before, in all of my almost 40 years in a handful of churches, some of which, I also taught Sunday School. I was also looking for where the bible says that I would go to hell if I were not baptized Baptist. What I found, was a little more shocking. And I was intrigued.
Before I get into all that, I just want to say – my goal is to share what I have been studying about the bible, nothing more. I do not care to try to convince anyone of anything. I would simply like to share some things I have discovered, in case others are searching like I was and struggling with a faith not making much sense. And if what I have to share, happens to add to your already sense-filled faith, well then that would be fine. The thing is, the bible was not written to not make sense. Man has made this so through the many translations. This will be in an upcoming post.
As far as my faith, it is overflowing. Because of this, I feel I can “fit in” just about anywhere, even when I don’t. As far as what to call me, should you have a need to label it, we’ll go with Cathodist. Predominantly Catholic and then Methodist. And because Cathodist sounds better than Metholic.
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