[bornacatholic]

It reveals so much more than that, all of which I gained a sense of way too early on. This need of theirs to pristinate Mary, to pristinate her hymen is at its core, that which is the reason for their pederasty scandal, for their incredible propensity for cruelty, as I and many other catholic kids experienced, most of which stems from their perversion of the sexual impulse in man.

*See, you, as a convert, weren't taught of all this as a kid. Aren't you happy?

Before converting, did you consider just how evil we are? I mean you threw-in with a gang of vicious,cruel, sexual perverts who are obsessed with Mary's purity. Didn't you know the Doctrine of Mary's Perpetual Virginity, formulated at an Ecumenical Council, was but a ploy to trick men into pederasty and homosexuality?

Talk about wishing others glad tidings :)

[adiaireton8]

I have mixed feelings about not being raised Catholic. Part of me regrets missing out on that intangible depth of soul and character which orthodox and devout cradle Catholics possess. But I am also glad for the very thorough grounding in the Scriptures I received growing up fundamentalist Protestant, even if our interpretations were quite often misguided. My mother used to read the Bible to my siblings and I every night, often chapters at a time. And she had us memorize whole chapters. And lastly, part of me wonders whether I would be what I am as a Catholic now, if I had not learned all that I learned as a son of devout Protestant parents. Unfortunately, many Catholic children are just not well catechized. So, in a way, I am very grateful for and indebted to my Protestant upbringing, as well as my Protestant seminary training. I respect those seminary professors very much, even though I disagree with them on important points.

Regarding my conversion, the 'sex perverts' issue was initially a stumbling block, as was the Mary issue (not her perpetual virgnity, which was just a non-issue to me) but her being 'co-mediatrix', and her role in our prayers and in Christ's blessings of His Church. Growing up, everything I knew about the Catholic Church I learned from Chick comic books and tracts, which were readily available at the local Christian bookstore. So, uniquely Catholic terms like "Eucharistic sacrifice", "co-mediatrix", "Vicar of heaven", "penance", "indulgence", etc. were utterly repulsive to me at a gut level. The key for me to overcome that baggage and my theological/Scriptural objections was the fathers, just seeing the Church and the Scriptures through the eyes of the fathers. The more I studied the fathers, the more I realized that the early church was undeniably and universally Catholic. When you read Church history, then you see the big picture. You see how the Church grows organically, with continuity both geographically and temporally. And yet it is always One organism, one body. Yes, the sex perverts in the Church today really bother me, and rightly so. But, in the big picture, the Church has gone through much worse. A good understanding of the Donatist heresy allows one to see that the authenticity and identity of the Church is not conditioned on the sins of its leaders. And as a Protestant I realized that I would be wrong for not uniting to Christ's Church on account of the sins of others. In other words, I could not justify remaining in schism because of their sins. Rather, no matter what evil others do, it was my responsibility as a Christian to be in full communion with the Church, and in that state of union to do whatever I could to help restore the Church to righteousness and holiness.

Christ's prayer in John 17 was also one of the most powerful things that led to my conversion. I could no longer justify remaining in schism. It was clear to me that Christ's heart is revealed in that prayer, and I could no longer justify thwarting the intentions of His sacred heart, especially as I came to understand from the fathers the authority of the Magisterium. Once I understand that, then my theological questions/objections on other matters were moot. For some of those objections it was only after I had decided to become Catholic that I started seeing the answers to them. My dear friend and sponsor told me that one does not become a Catholic because one happens to agree with all of Catholic doctrine; one believes Catholic doctrines (even if one does not understand them all) because of the authority of the Catholic Church. The former way of thinking is a Protestant way of thinking; "I won't become a Catholic unless I agree with all that the Catholic Church teaches." In that way of thinking, "I" am still the boss. As Augustine said, "For my part, I should not believe the Gospel except as moved by the authority of the Catholic Church."

-A8