Gargoyles and Psychics
I was raised Catholic.
When people say they were "raised" something it usually implies that they are no longer that something. Catholicism is a real all or nothing religion, so if you're not down with it %100 then they're not letting you in. So I guess you could say the implication is true in this case but I am most certainly a Christian in what I hope is the true sense of Christianity, which is the message of Christ. Not the rhetoric, or the ceremony, or the songs, just the message. A lot of the time I feel like while those things are nice expressions of God's work they're not necessarily focused, and a lot of times I feel like it really misses the point. I have some friends who play worship and they do a wonderful job, but the message is what's really important to me.
When I was in high school we had mass every friday morning, it was really great acctually. I got out of 2nd period and missed some of 3rd to sing with the choir. But I would sit there waiting for the homily, or the sermon as most of you would call it. Everything leading up to it had been said in done a million times before (not cool) for a thousand years in some form (pretty cool). But I got my fill in the homily, especially if I enjoyed the priest. When he ended it was back to "the play" for me, even though it was a beautiful play, one I had seen many times.
I devoted my college experience to the exploration of thought in general, mainly abstract concepts that won't get me a job. Free will, consciousness, good and evil, the nature of reality, all types of fun stuff. In 4 years I didn't get any real answers, just pieces of the puzzle. I don't feel like I have any insight that might be considered more valuable than the next person but more than anything I'm willing to learn from others no matter who they are or where they're from. If you step outside of your box you start to see how religious concepts relate, how we may all be relating to the same thing in different ways. You start to feel like there may be one thing out there that we're all a little mixed up about in our interpretation, and maybe (or necessariliy) its outside of our grasp, in science they refer to this as cognitive closure. Anyways, I've learned as much from Bhuddist thought, specifically that of Robert F. Thurman, and Hinduism lately as I have from most Christian thought. It wasn't that I wasn't looking for it, I really want a great intellectual leader for Christian thought with some charisma, because modern Christianity is so polar. All I want is an intellegent take on ancient scripture that doesn't think that science is the devil or that all scripture is literal given by someone who isn't looking for the non-existence cash in my pocket.
Then I found Msgr. Lorenzo Albacete.
Msgr. Lorenzo Albacente on Death
His thought on the essence of death is nothing short of revolutionary for the Catholic church and very few people reallize that this is accepted thought and not blasphemy. This man is saving Christianity for me right now. There's such a vast difference between the perception of Christianity* and the message of Christ right now, it's hard to reconcile. But, this man is the future of the Church for me. Hope you enjoy it.
For the full interview check out meaningoflife.tv
They have an excellent collection of interviews with great modern thinkers from all over the place (philosophy, psychology, religion, sociology).
*Is this Christianity?