GOB Soccer Mom writes about dealing with the question of "Why we go to a different church than Christians who aren't Catholic, and what the difference is" with her 7 1/2-year-old daughter.
Aside from kids from the parish school, all my friends growing up were the kids of my parents set of friends from college -- in which they were some of the only Catholics. So this brings up fuzzy memories of trying to understand the differences between our Church and their churches at ages four to eight. However, after some early confusion, I think growing up mainly among Protestants (though in my case mostly Episcopalians and Methodists rather than Evangelicals) is actually one of the things that helped me form such a strongly apologetic/doctrinal mindset.
FROM THE ILLUSTRATED EDITION.
3 hours ago
3 comments:
When groing up in the Archdiocese of Detroit in the 1970's the difference was simply that the Protestant kids went to Sunday school to learn how Catholics aren't Christians and we went to Catechism class to be indoctrinated in some sort of relativist-hippy cult...
Growing in Texas, you run into strong Evangelical and Fundalmentalist currents. My friend who was dating a Baptist (I forget which kind...) girl, and went to Sunday school with her one time. The moderator/teacher type person, asked my friend, "So when are gonna start coming to church here?" My friend said that he was Catholic and wasn't gonna change that. The moderator/teacher person then repeated the question with more emphasis.
I would have to echo Rick's sentiments about the Protestant kids... so many of them went and learned why Catholicism was "wrong."
Fortunately, my best friend was Catholic, I went to a decent Catholic school, and my Protestant friends rarely went to church. However, it was memories like those of my best friend's experience at the local Baptist church that drove me to an apologetic mindset. NO ONE was gonna tell me that I was not Christian, hellbound etc... because I was Catholic. Thus, the large amounts of Catholic books I devoured in college.
Rick, too funny.
Darwin, my experience was much the same. My teenaged years consisted of memorizing _Catholicism and Fundamentalism_ so that I could best answer the inevitable questions from the teachers who weren't sure they could explain Catholic teaching right to the rest of the class. It took me a while to go beyond an apologetics-based approach to my faith and to focus less on "Why The Church Is Right And You Are Wrong" and more on humility and growing in love for Christ and his Church.
Not to bash apologetics - that's the primary thing I do in the classroom most days. But I do have to remind myself to "fill up" at the grace station on a regular basis instead of trusting in my own rightness about everything.
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