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I do not believe everyone selects the path which leads to what should be their destiny. While the deity which chooses a person might be the same deity their family raised them to believe in, this is not always the case. People often go off the path they are intended for, which leads to what I consider a hollow life devoid of miracles, and obvious influence of deity. Some people never hear their deity's call, and some are just never called.
@Demonslayer, I don't think you're realizing that not all theistic religions believe in an omnipotent god.
Well, I believe in God and I feel a closeness to Christian spirituality, for one. When I'm more grounded in it and not letting people cloud my views of it (which includes not only Christians who are acting wrongly, but non-Christians who bash me and who try to make me drop my beliefs) and not letting my depression and anger win, it gives me hope, strength, meaning and purpose in life. It helps me to fought against my inner darkness, which is important to me since I often feel like I'm just falling apart.
Yes, when it comes to the LGBT issue, there's a wide diversity of opinion on it. I expect that eventually the Vatican will eventually liberalize its stance on it, as it has on many other issues over the centuries. The laity in the West tends to be more supportive of LGBT rights than the general population, according to polls, and there are liberal clergy members who are accepting and even religious brothers and sisters who are affirming and minister to LGBT people. So I suppose it's really a matter of looking for a more liberal congregation. In the end, I need to stop caring so much about how other people view me and focus on my relationship with God, while forgiving those who mistreat me out of ignorance. He seems not to want to let me go. My patron Saint is Joan of Arc, after all.
The idea was more confidence than certainty. I completely get what you're saying, and sometimes we do have multiple or changing influences, but my quarrel was more with jumping labels. There's quite a difference between saying "I have history in this and this, and I'm looking at that, but I'm still working it out" and saying "I'm this. Now I'm this. Never mind, I'll be that instead. But I'm serious about it this time!"I know this wasn't addressed to me, but I had to think about what you said.
I don't meet many people who say they are 100 percent sure they of who they are in their given faith/s. It's more I'm 100 percent committed to a given faith/s. So, for example, I can speak about Catholicism and the love for it and my being part of the Church as if I am still in it. It's a part of my being and soul. I can't take that away.
I can speak about it from experience even though I'm not at all committed to it anymore. It's more of a personal thing. It's like going out with someone and you love him or for me, um, her to death. You dated for years, and then for a good reason, you two had to break it off.
Now, just because you flip from one person to date to the next doesn't negate that you still have love for the first or second person you were with. It also doesn't negate that you still have feelings for this person and to make it more closer to religion, if you were married, then it's even harder to break that marriage even if legally. It's a personal experience not flipping belief and not a dogma.
I know I was confused when @Saint Frankenstein changed faiths from the what two or three years I've been here and I know in my personal experience that we have a plethora of beliefs built into our own bodies that to me, it doesn't seem like people chosen one faith, they just chose a faith or morals that they agree with more than others.
I think that's the same with Saint (if I am not mistaken?). There may be a pull to this to that or whatever, but spirituality isn't a social club. It isn't chaos, and it isn't eclectic. It's a solid foundation to which one's other beliefs and practices bounce on. So, for example, my foundation is Buddhism. However, my practices are not only that of The Buddha, I also revere my ancestors through pagan (well, spiritualist, rather) practices.
I remember talking to a Bahai here that said h/she doesn't question h/her belief and never felt a need to. Almost as if this person had no doubts, no use of faith, no challenge thereof, they just live. I find that weird from any person growing on their spiritual walk.
So, anyway, it's confusing, yes; and, that's how it should be. I don't know many people who shop around for faiths, but I know eclectics have a different view on how they choose than someone who literally has a crisis in faith. The former may know what or who they want to worship or revere (whatever) but the latter, it's more of a internal thing. It's something that needs to be worked out between that person and who/whatever they with. Spiritual depression.
I don't know how anyone can call this anything other than spiritual growth. It's normal and healthy.
Nam.
I had a very negative view of Catholicism for a long time. Finding out about Saint Francis and then seeing Pope Francis changing the tone of the Church 180 degrees changed my attitude. Add to this that everything you've written in this thread indicates you still feel at home as a Catholic, it strikes me that you have a better chance of finding a more accepting congregation than ever before and I hope you do.
If you want the feel of the Mass without the anti-LGBT stuff, there's always high Anglican. If it matters to you, a case could be made that they have Apostolic Succession, too - the Vatican's argument for why they don't always seemed kinda shaky to me.
