I want answers, not faith.
Today in confirmation, I noticed that one of the vows of baptism is "Will you forgo all Satan's pleasures and temptations, for he is the Author of All Evil?" The proper response is "I do", but not for me.
If God created the world and everything, then why would he create an ultimate source of evil reputedly as great as himself? That doesn't make any sense. So I told my mom that I don't believe in Satan, I believe in people making their own (good or bad) decisions, and evil men blaming their own crimes on an imaginary figure. I told her I don't believe in evil beings lurking behind trees just waiting to strike evil into the hearts of children. Then she said to me, "What about exorcisms?"
Oh, you mean the excuses ignorant doctors and con men used to give for mental diseases, disorders or retardation? She insists that while that's true, every year there is a tiny percentage of "real" exorcisms performed. I don't think God would have created evil beings to torture people, the children he is said to love. She told me to have faith, or to discuss it with my grandmother, who is almost a saint. She told me most people don't think as deeply as I do about these things. I told her then that they don't think, but follow a church blindly because they have wine and bread that they insist turns into blood and body of a man who died over two thousand years ago.
Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of God. To think that there is somebody all powerful watching over me and loving me, it's very reassuring. But I just think the Catholic Church has no idea what's all about it. It contradicts itself at every step, and this is only one vow.
If God created the world and everything, then why would he create an ultimate source of evil reputedly as great as himself? That doesn't make any sense. So I told my mom that I don't believe in Satan, I believe in people making their own (good or bad) decisions, and evil men blaming their own crimes on an imaginary figure. I told her I don't believe in evil beings lurking behind trees just waiting to strike evil into the hearts of children. Then she said to me, "What about exorcisms?"
Oh, you mean the excuses ignorant doctors and con men used to give for mental diseases, disorders or retardation? She insists that while that's true, every year there is a tiny percentage of "real" exorcisms performed. I don't think God would have created evil beings to torture people, the children he is said to love. She told me to have faith, or to discuss it with my grandmother, who is almost a saint. She told me most people don't think as deeply as I do about these things. I told her then that they don't think, but follow a church blindly because they have wine and bread that they insist turns into blood and body of a man who died over two thousand years ago.
Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of God. To think that there is somebody all powerful watching over me and loving me, it's very reassuring. But I just think the Catholic Church has no idea what's all about it. It contradicts itself at every step, and this is only one vow.