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Checking in. I'm a Catholic lurker who converted at 15 (just weeks after my Lutheran confirmation). I'm in a bit of a limbo and have been for a while due to an attachment to the Church and its traditions that I can't shake, despite being an out lesbian who plans to live my life in a committed monogamous relationship that probably won't be blessed by the Church in my lifetime. Since I'm not really involved in a faith community of any kind, this thread has become bit of a substitute for me 
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Jan 14, 2021 15:29
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Nessus posted:One of the factors you have to consider is individual experience. I was pretty wideranging/agnostic until I had a personal event and resulting experience on the grounds of a nearby Buddhist temple, and now I am a Buddhist (if not of that temple's sect). I have no idea how common experiences such as this are, but when they happen to you it's very hard to argue with them. So this isn't always a process done by cost-benefit analysis, or based on philosophical comparison and contrast. This. Religious experiences are strange, but so immensely powerful. For me, Christianity just feels right and makes sense for me. I can't explain it but my faith has persevered despite not nurturing it for long stretches of time. There's no alternative.
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Jan 14, 2021 21:29
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This is a great, and necessary, discussion to have. A major part of my faith is that it's not evil for God to let disease, disasters etc happen/exist. I agree with Hopper that often it's a natural consequence of how our planet works. Rather, the real issue is that humans allow other people to suffer as a result. We choose to create and uphold unjust societies that can't adequately deal with poverty, global warming, and so on. I wish God would inspire us all to create a Star Trek-like utopia, but I don't blame him. It doesn't feel right to hold God accountable for human actions.
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Feb 6, 2021 17:02
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I don't really have any good additions to this conversation, but this exact discussion is a recurring one in my life. I'm a lesbian Catholic in a long-term relationship with a woman who regularly attends mass with my three queer anarchist friends. We aren't stellar Catholics by any means. It was never truly an option for any of us to convert back to Protestantism or stop believing altogether. We belong in the Church and we find ways to persevere, even though I agree that some parts of the Church are very good at alienating folks like me.
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Jun 14, 2021 23:20
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Fritz the Horse posted:Each priest is allowed to decide on their own? It's not done by like a vote of the local congregations? I can answer this isn case military cervix doesn't return. The Norwegian state church allows priests to individually abstain from officiating same-sex marriages, but in case no priest in your local parish wants to marry you, it's the Church's responsibility to provide you with one that will. This is also the case for divorcees remarrying. Another thing to note is that the Norwegian State Church has regular elections to their congress, where all registered members of the church (about 78% of Norwegians iirc) can vote. The deciding factor in the church allowing same-sex marriage was a massive surge in interest among the general population on this particular issue. This means the relative conservativeness of the church is all down to its tolerance to intolerance.
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Jun 15, 2021 08:36
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